Bhakti Studies

by I. Kesarcodi Watson (Editor), G.M. Bailey (Editor)

This is a collection of eleven essays grouped together under the subject of bhakti or 'religious devotion' understood in the widest possible sense. It is best described as interdisciplinary in so far as the contributors are historians, literary critics and anthropologists. The majority of the essays are about bhakti in Hinduism, though one is on bhakti in Buddhism. Most are based on sources in North Indian languages (Sanskrit, Hindi and Pali), but one is based on Tamil sources. The essays vary considerably in content, yet this variety merely reflects the variety of expressions of bhakti itself. Several of the essays set up models of devotion which enable scholars to give special interpretations of material demonstrably of a devotional nature.

333 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1992