U N I V E R S I T Y O F C A L I F O R N I A SANTA BARBARA Lord in the Temple, Lord in the Tomb The Hindu Temple and Its Relationship to the Samādhi Shrine Tradition of Jñāneśvar Mahārāj A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies by Mark Joseph McLaughlin Committee in charge: Professor Barbara A. Holdrege, Chair Professor David Gordon White Professor Juan E. Campo December 2014 The dissertation of Mark Joseph McLaughlin is approved. _____________________________________________ David Gordon White _____________________________________________ Juan E. Campo _____________________________________________ Barbara A. Holdrege, Committee Chair September 2014 Lord in the Temple, Lord in the Tomb The Hindu Temple and Its Relationship to the Samādhi Shrine Tradition of Jñāneśvar Mahārāj Copyright © 2014 by Mark Joseph McLaughlin iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS hetve jgtamev s=sara%Rvsetve| p/wve svRiváana= xMwve gurve nm:£ HI gu; gIta 33 all my love and gratitude to Asha, Oliver, & Lucian iv I first visited the samādhi shrine of Jñāneśvar Mahārāj in the village of Āḷandī during the winter of 2001 at the end of a year-and-a-half stay in India. Though I only spent a morning there, the experience was quite profound, and I was genuinely moved by the notions of embodiment expressed through the space. I did not know then that this experience would prove a strong catalyst for my eventual commitment to the study of sacred space at the graduate level, nor did I know that this space would subsequently become the focus of my doctoral dissertation. Thus, it is only fitting that my first debt of gratitude be paid to Jñāneśvar himself, whose powerful presence in Āḷandī has been the inspiration for much of my studies thus far on sacred space. As I stand on the cusp of completion of this dissertation I am struck by the enormous integrity of the guides and mentors I have had along the way. Yet still, like many scholars, I am acutely aware at this moment that this is but a stage along the way of a greater work in progress. In that regard, any flaws that remain are mine alone. Though this dissertation covers all that I intended in my prospectus, it is far greater due to the guidance, observations, comments, and critiques of an amazing array of scholars and colleagues who so generously added to my knowledge base at various stages of the project. While some consistently guided the development of my scholarship, the influence of others was less direct, but never less significant. It is toward this collection of inspiring minds and generous souls that I now turn with thoughts of gratitude. I am deeply thankful to my committee for their unwavering support throughout the years of this project. My advisor, Barbara Holdrege, has humbled me v by her insight, encyclopedic knowledge, and thorough attention to detail. Her mentorship through our regular discussions spanning into the late hours of the night over the arch of my graduate career have had an inestimable impact upon my work, and her thoughtful guidance enabled me to steer the ship of my being through the challenging waters of an exceptional doctoral education. I thank Juan Campo for cultivating my understanding of the intricacies of Islam’s presence in the fabric of Indian culture, and whose work on overlapping Muslim and Hindu sacred space in South India I greatly admire. To David White I am grateful for teaching me to pay attention to the peripheral and for his strong critique. In addition to my committee, I would like to express my gratitude to several other influential scholars at UCSB, especially Gregory Hillis, Vesna Wallace, William Powell, and José Cabezón. My interactions with each one of you over the years—from course work, seminar discussion, and general guidance—has had a hand in shaping who I am as a scholar. I owe a special thanks to John Cort whose classes at Denison University I was fortunate enough to takeover while he was on an NEH sabbatical leave over the 2012- 2013 academic year. I was even more fortunate that John chose to stay in town for most of that year while writing, and so I benefited from his frequent presence in the office next to mine. John was generous enough to read drafts of several chapters of this dissertation, and his thoughtful insight, recommendations, and general comments proved invaluable to its development. I am deeply grateful for John’s mentorship over that year and his continued guiding hand in regard to my work. vi In addition, I have benefited from both formal and informal exchanges with many other scholars in the field. I especially want to mention Christian Novetzke who generously provided insight and leads via email, and Anne Feldhaus who so generously hosted me and my two young sons for an afternoon in her apartment in Pune where I received priceless guidance over exceptional chai while my boys watched Indian cartoons in the other room. I also wish to thank my dear friend and colleague Amer Latif for his years of thoughtful guidance revealed over late night conversations in Vermont on the nature of Islam and the nuances of the Sufi dargah tradition in the subcontinent. In addition, I would like to thank my colleagues at the College of William and Mary for their gracious support and understanding during the final phases of this dissertation. I hold immense gratitude in my heart for the cadre of graduate students at UCSB with whom I shared the great journey of graduate school. I am so thankful to have been buoyed by their brilliance, joyous intellectual curiosity, eccentricities, and humor. I am most thankful for David Fowler, Rana Ajrawat, Shalini Kakar, Stuart Gray, Al Silva, Aaron Sokoll, Annalise Glauz-Todrank, Jason Schwartz, Elaine Fisher, Christopher Wallis and especially Megan Adamson Sijapati. Like many other scholars whose studies focus on South Asia, I own an enormous debt of gratitude to the American Institute of Indian Studies. This project would not have been possible without their generous support. In the summer of 2009, I studied Marathi at Deccan College in Pune through the AIIS language program. During this trip I was also able to lay the ground work for my eventual field research vii due to Pune’s proximity to Āḷandī. I owe a special thanks to my wonderful Marathi teachers, Sujata Mahajan and Shantanu Kher, who were not only exceptional language teachers, but who also made great strides in establishing critical contacts for me regarding my project. I especially want to thank them for introducing me to Sadanand More, who generously hosted several of us in Dehu and took the time to speak with me about my project. I also want to acknowledge the extended staff at AIIS Pune, most fondly those who cooked our wholesome lunches. I was extremely fortunate to receive an AIIS Junior Research Fellowship to support my field work during the 2010-2011 academic year. For their guidance and support of my project and for genuinely and thoughtfully looking after me and my family during this research trip, I want to thank Anil Inamdar at AIIS Pune and Purnima Mehta, Purushottama Bilimale, and Philip Lutgendorf at AIIS Delhi. Additionally, I especially want to thank Elise Auerbach for her tireless administration of AIIS from its home office in Chicago. During my research sojourn, I benefited from several archival libraries in Pune. I most notably want to thank the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, the Library of Archaeology at Deccan College, and the Pune University Library. In regard to my field research in Maharashtra, I am deeply indebted to Dr. Vishwanath Karad, the founder of the Maharashtra Academy of Engineering and Educational Research and dean of the Maharashtra Institute of Technology, who graciously accepted to become my academic host. Dr. Karad’s support, guidance, supervision, and contacts in regard to site visits in Āḷandī, Pandharpur, Paithan, viii Nevase, and Tryambakeshvar were generous and invaluable. I also must thank Dr. Karad for introducing me to Sakare Maharaj and arranging for me to spend an afternoon talking with him at his āśrama in Āḷandī. I am most thankful for the warm welcome and subsequent time spent with Trustees of the Shri Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Sansthan Committee in Āḷandī, and equally thankful for the welcome and hospitality received from the pūjārīs of the Vitthal Temple in Pandharpur, especially Shripad Dattatray Badave and Kaivalya Utpat. My heartfelt gratitude is extended to Medha and Yogesh Joshi for their tireless hospitality and gracious assistance during my time in Pune. I am wholeheartedly grateful for the friendship of Aji and Anand Joshi and for the joyous conversations about Jñāneśvar and his samādhi compound. To those special friends and colleagues with whom I hold a special bond regarding this work and from whom I have benefited beyond words, I thank you for always being there. These include: Kerry San Chirico, Ben Williams, Borayin Maitreya Larios, Hamsa Stainton, Corey Cardenas, Kabir Cardenas, Atmadeva Cornelius, Akkamahadevi Cornelius, and most especially Nikki Costello and Manjula Dean. To my Mother and my Father, I am overwhelmingly grateful for your love and for instilling in me a sense of self confidence enough to trust the heart and for providing me with an environment in which to thrive. As parents, your commitment to family nurtured the development of six amazing beings. I am so thankful to you for bringing them into the world and for creating an exuberant household filled with love. To my brothers and sisters—Phillip, Paula, Brian, Sheila, and Danny, and to my In- ix laws, Julie and Lou, I thank you for your continued moral support throughout this long journey and for your steady patience in our long periods of absences.