Garland of Devotees: Nābhādās' Bhaktamāl and Modern Hinduism
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Garland of Devotees: Nābhādās' Bhaktamāl and Modern Hinduism James P. Hare Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2011 © 2011 James P. Hare All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT Garland of Devotees: Nābhādās' Bhaktamāl and Modern Hinduism James P. Hare This dissertation explores the Bhaktamāl and its subsequent tradition. Nābhādās' late sixteenth- or early seventeenth-century collection of hagiographies praises the qualities of hundreds of devotees and thereby sets the boundaries of a devotional community that far exceeds the sectarian context in which its author wrote. By closely considering the Bhaktamāl, its commentaries, manuscripts, and print editions, this thesis traces crucial aspects of the development of modern Hinduism from the early seventeenth century until the beginning of the twentieth. Priyādās completed the first major commentary on the Bhaktamāl in 1712, approximately a century after Nābhādās composed his garland. Priyādās presents a conception of the Vaishnava community that differs significantly from Nābhādās'. After Priyādās, the Bhaktamāl tradition continued to develop through a thriving manuscript culture, and the Bhaktamāl became a popular text. During the nineteenth century, the Bhaktamāl shaped British understandings of Indian society and played a central role in traditionalist articulations of modern Hinduism. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the concerted efforts of “Sītārāmśaraṇ” Bhagvān Prasād “Rūpkalā” and George Abraham Grierson helped to create a sense of fixity within the Bhaktamāl tradition. Since the time of its composition, the Bhaktamāl has remained a prominent locus of dispute over the boundaries and logic of the broad-based devotional community that we now know as Hinduism. Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction............................................................................................................... 1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................................1 Nābhādās and His Precursors.................................................................................................................4 The Bhaktamāl Genre..............................................................................................................................6 Hinduism before Colonialism.................................................................................................................8 The Consolidation of Hinduism...........................................................................................................11 Imagined Religious Communities.......................................................................................................14 Chapter Outline......................................................................................................................................18 Chapter Two: Nā bh ā d ā s' Bhaktam ā l.............................................................................................. 22 Introduction............................................................................................................................................22 Previous Scholarship............................................................................................................ 23 Nābhādās: person, place, and time.....................................................................................................26 Authorship............................................................................................................................ 26 Birth Date............................................................................................................................. 30 Birthplace..............................................................................................................................31 Parents and Caste.................................................................................................................. 31 Childhood............................................................................................................................. 34 Adult Life..............................................................................................................................34 Date of Death........................................................................................................................36 Guru and Spiritual Lineage.................................................................................................. 37 Other Compositions..............................................................................................................43 i The Text of the Bhaktamāl...................................................................................................................44 Date of the Bhaktamā l..........................................................................................................44 Overview of the Text............................................................................................................ 45 Structure and Organization...................................................................................................46 Introductory Stanzas ............................................................................................................48 Bhaktas from Previous Ages................................................................................................ 50 Bhaktas from the Kaliyug.....................................................................................................53 The Bhaktamāl's Imagined Community.............................................................................................66 History in the Bhaktamā l......................................................................................................67 Vaishnava Catholicity........................................................................................................... 72 Sampradā y............................................................................................................................ 73 Poets......................................................................................................................................74 Caste..................................................................................................................................... 76 Family................................................................................................................................... 78 Kingship............................................................................................................................... 79 Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................84 Chapter Three: Priyā d ā s' Bhaktirasabodhin ī..................................................................................86 Introduction............................................................................................................................................86 Previous Scholarship............................................................................................................ 87 Priyādās' Life and Work........................................................................................................................91 Date.......................................................................................................................................91 Place..................................................................................................................................... 94 ii Guru......................................................................................................................................94 Other Works..........................................................................................................................95 Other Evidence..................................................................................................................... 96 The Bhaktirasabodhinī..........................................................................................................................97 Title.......................................................................................................................................98 Interpolations........................................................................................................................98 Meter.....................................................................................................................................99 Structure .............................................................................................................................. 99 Narrative ............................................................................................................................ 100 Priyā d ā s on N ā bh ā d ā s.........................................................................................................101 Nā bh ā d ā s' Order..................................................................................................................102 Contested Communities......................................................................................................................103 Anantadā s' Paraca ī s...........................................................................................................