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Introducing Hinduism

Introducing Hinduism is the ideal sourcebook for those seeking a comprehensive

overview of the Hindu tradition. This second edition includes substantial treatments
of Tantra, South India, and women, as well as expanded discussions of yoga, Vedanta
and contemporary configurations of Hinduism in the West. Its lively presentation
features:

• case studies, photographs, and scenarios that invite the reader into the lived world
of Hinduism;
• introductory summaries, key points, discussion questions, and recommended
reading lists at the end of each chapter;
• narrative summaries of the great Epics and other renowned Hindu myths and
lucid explanations of complex Indian philosophical teachings, including Sankhya
and Kashmir Saivism;
• a glossary, timeline, and pronunciation guide for an enhanced learning experience.

This volume is an invaluable resource for students in need of an introduction to the

key tenets and diverse practice of Hinduism, past and present.

Hillary P. Rodrigues is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of

Lethbridge, Canada. His many authored and edited works include Studying Hinduism
in Practice (Routledge 2011) and Introduction to the Study of Religion (Routledge
2009).
World Religions series
Edited by Damien Keown and Charles S. Prebish
This exciting series introduces students to the major world religious traditions.
Each religion is explored in a lively and clear fashion by experienced teachers and
leading scholars in the field of world religion. Up-to-date scholarship is presented
in a student-friendly fashion, covering history, core beliefs, sacred texts, key figures,
religious practice and culture, and key contemporary issues. To aid learning and
revision, each text includes illustrations, summaries, explanations of key terms, and
further reading.

Introducing African American Religion

Anthony B. Pinn

Introducing American Religion

Charles H. Lippy
Introducing Buddhism, second edition
Charles S. Prebish and Damien Keown
Introducing Chinese Religions
Mario Poceski
Introducing Christianity
James R. Adair
Introducing Daoism
Livia Kohn
Introducing Islam, second edition
William E. Shepard
Introducing Japanese Religion, second edition
Robert Ellwood
Introducing Judaism
Eliezer Segal
Introducing Tibetan Buddhism
Geoffrey Samuel
Introducing Hinduism, second edition
Hillary P. Rodrigues
Introducing Hinduism
Second edition

Hillary P. Rodrigues
Second edition published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Hillary P. Rodrigues
The right of Hillary P. Rodrigues to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Routledge 2006
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Rodrigues, Hillary, 1953- author.
Title: Introducing Hinduism / Hillary P. Rodrigues.
Description: Second edition. | New York : Routledge, 2016. |
Series: World religions series |
Previously published: 2006.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016003915| ISBN 9780415549578 (hbk) | ISBN
9780415549660 (ppbk)
Subjects: LCSH: Hinduism--Textbooks.
Classification: LCC BL1202 .R53 2016 | DDC 294.5--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016003915
ISBN: 978-0-415-54957-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-54966-0 (pbk)
Typeset in Jenson and Tahoma
by HWA Text and Data Management, London
To Michelle
sarvo mamāyaṃ vibhava ityevaṃ parijānataḥ/
viśvātmano vikalpānāṃ prasare ‘pi maheśatā//
Īśvara-pratyabhijñā (IV-1-2) by Utpaladeva

Supreme mastery comprehends that “This entire manifestation

is of me” is the essence of everything, even though mental
phenomena manifest.
Contents

List of illustrations xi
Acknowledgements xv
Preface to the second edition xviii
A note on transliteration xxiv
Preliminary guidelines on pronunciation xxv

Introduction 1
Preamble 2
“Hinduism,” “Hindu,” and “India” defined 5
The geographical distribution of Hindus 6
The Indian subcontinent 7
The Indus Valley Civilization 9
The Āryans 14
Āryan and non-Āryan influences 16
A brief history of Hinduism 19

1 Vedic religion and the Sanskrit language 26

The Vedic saṃhitās 27
Vedic deities 28
Ṛta and the cosmic order 29
The Brāhmaṇas 30
Vedic rituals (yajña) 30
Soma 35
The Āraṇyakas 36
The Upaniṣads 36
Ātman and Brahman 38
Śruti and smṛti 39
Other Vedic literature 41
The Sanskrit language 44
A brief history of Sanskrit 46
Structure of the Sanskrit alphabet 48
viii Contents

Pāṇinī and the Aṣṭādhyāyī 49

The sphoṭa theory of language 49
Mantra and the theology of sound 50

2 Karma, time, and cosmology 58

Hindu conceptions of time and creation 58
The Hindu calendar 60
The Hindu universe 61
Karma, saṃsāra, and reincarnation 63
Mokṣa 65

3 Hindu social organization and values 69

Dharma and the Dharma Śāstras 69
The four classes of Hindu society 71
The caste system 75
The Untouchables 80
Purity and pollution 81
Auspiciousness and inauspiciousness 85

4 Dharma and the individual 91

Hindu rites of passage (saṃskāra) 92
The four goals/aims and the four stages of life 104
Women in Hinduism 110

5 Indian philosophical schools 122

The wandering philosophers 127
Orthodox versus heterodox schools 128
The heterodox philosophies 129
The six orthodox systems 131

6 The Epics, Bhagavad Gītā, and the rise of bhakti 153

The Epics (Itihāsa) 154
The householder versus the renouncer 168
The Bhagavad Gītā 169
The Bhagavad Gītā’s three yogas 171
South Indian Hinduism and the rise of devotionalism 178
The Alvārs and the Nāyanārs 179

7 Major Hindu sects, deities, and Purāṇic myths 189

The Purāṇas 190
The decline of the Vedic deities 192
Śaivism 194
 Contents ix

Śaiva deities: iconography, myths, and festivals 199

Vaiṣṇavism 207
Vaiṣṇava deities: iconography, myths, and festivals 210
Śāktism 217
Śākta Deities: iconography, myths, and festivals 221
Other deities 229

8 The Hindu temple and worship rituals 241

A note on orthodoxy 244
Domestic worship and pūjā 246
Darśana and temple worship 249
The Hindu temple 253
Sacred specialists 259
Hindu pilgrimage 261

9 Tantra 269
The origins of Tantra 269
Characteristic elements of Hindu Tantra 271
Tantric Śaivism in Kashmir 272
Kuṇḍalinī yoga 275
The Left Hand Path 277
Goddesses and women in Tantra 277
Symbolism of tantric mantras and yantras 279

10 Colonization and reform 286

Early critiques of Hinduism and its responses 287
Islam in India (a brief history) 288
Hinduism under Islam 290
Religious syncretism in North India 291
The British in India (a brief history) 294
Hindu responses to Christianity 296
Hinduism and politics 298

11 Transnational Hinduism in Asia 309

Hinduism in Nepal 314
Hinduism in Southeast Asia 316
Hinduism in Indonesia 319

12 Revitalization and modernity 324

Hinduism and humanism 325
Hinduism in universalistic religion 327
Noteworthy figures in contemporary Hinduism 330
Hinduism and modernity 333
x Contents

13 Hinduism and the West 344

Transnational Hinduism 348
Hinduism for the West 349
Some contemporary teachers of Hinduism to Westerners 356

Appendix I: A timeline of Hinduism 363

Appendix II: Pronunciation guide and glossary 368
Further reading 426
Index 428
Illustrations

0.1 A temple lies partly toppled and submerged on the banks of the river Gaṅgā in
whose holy waters worshippers bathe (Banāras) 3
0.2 Map of the Indian subcontinent indicating the states, major cities, and religious
centers 8
0.3 Exhibit displaying terracotta artifacts from the Indus Valley Civilization and
rectangular seals with animal motifs and undeciphered script 11
0.4 Liṅga and yoni stones sprinkled with flower petal offerings at the edge of a Hindu
temple’s bathing tank (Nepal) 14
1.1 Brahmins chant Vedic verses and make offerings as a Brahmin patron pours ghee
into the flames during this modern homa ritual, derived from ancient yajña
procedures 31
1.2 In the classic Upaniṣadic image of the student sitting next to the teacher, a father
recites from a Sanskrit text teaching his son the value of such learning 37
1.3 A woman makes an offering to Rāhu, one of the inauspicious grahas, at a temple
dedicated to the Navagraha, the nine “graspers” in Hindu astrology (Assam) 42
1.4 Brahmins skilled in recitation, read aloud from a sacred text. Even simply listening
to the sound of the Sanskrit verses is believed to be beneficial to the listener 51
2.1 A stone relief depicting the creator god Brahmā seated on a lotus flower emerging
from the navel of Viṣṇu, who reclines on the endless serpent Ananta (Vijayanagar) 60
3.1 Although some may be very wealthy, most members of the merchant class
(vaiśya varṇa), such as this vegetable vendor, run small businesses 72
3.2 Vagish Shastri, a Brahmin paṇḍita and founder of the Vāg-Yoga Institute, at work
in his library (Banāras) 74
4.1 A young Brahmin priest performs a saṃskāra rite on behalf of a Brahmin family 93
4.2 A newly wed Hindu couple at a Nāga (snake deity) shrine making offerings in the
hope of begetting children (South India) 100
4.3 A priest performs a ritual for a married couple, who seek to enhance the
auspiciousness of their family 107
4.4 A renouncer (saṃnyāsin) sits beside an image of Gaṇeśa in the hope of receiving
donations from passing worshippers 110
4.5 Hindu widows sing devotional songs to the god Kṛṣṇa as part of a daily regimen
at a hermitage (āśrama) that offers them shelter and support (Vṛndāvana) 117
5.1 At a renowned Tantric pilgrimage site, a renouncer inhales cannabis from a pipe,
illustrating that the ancient tradition of wandering seekers (śramaṇa) eager to
explore the nature of consciousness is still widespread (Assam) 127
xii List of illustrations

5.2 A relief on a temple pillar depicts a yogi in a Haṭha Yoga balance posture (āsana),
which can sometimes be sustained for very long periods as a form of austerity
(tapas) 136
5.3 At the Kumbha Mela pilgrimage festival, a Vaiṣṇava renouncer, with distinctive
sect marks on his forehead, uses prayer beads concealed in a cloth bag as an aid to
concentration (dhāraṇa) in his spiritual practice (Nasik) 138
6.1 Lithograph depicting Hanumān setting Laṅka ablaze with his fiery tail 159
6.2 Rāma (right) slays the demon king Rāvaṇa in this Javanese ballet performance of
the Rāmāyaṇa, which is still enormously popular in Southeast Asia 159
6.3 Lithograph depicting Vāmikī composing the Rāmāyaṇa in hermitage (āśrama)
with Sitā and her twin sons Lāva and Kuśa in the background. 160
6.4 Lithograph depicting Vyāsa dictating the Mahābhārata to Gaṇeśa, the elephant-
headed deity who serves as his scribe 162
6.5 Lithograph depicting Duḥśāsana in his attempt to disrobe Draupadī, who is saved
from complete humiliation by Kṛṣṇa’s miraculous intercession 165
6.6 Life-size statue depicting Kṛṣṇa as charioteer delivering the teachings of the
Bhagavad Gītā to Arjuna (Rishikesh) 169
6.7 A fifteenth-century bronze statue from Vijayanagar depicting Sambandar, the
renowned Nāyanār as a child, because this Śaiva saint was reputedly composing
devotional poems at the age of three 180
7.1 A large Khmer-styled statue of Brahmā, the creator god, portrayed with his
distinctive four heads that point in the cardinal directions 193
7.2 This renouncer’s topknot, trident, and triple horizontal line markings clearly
identify him as belonging to a Śaiva sect, some of which have existed for over
2,000 years 195
7.3 Bronze masterpiece depicting Śiva and Pārvatī in a classic embrace that has rich
symbolic significance, evoking mythic tales of their intimate relationship, and
Tantric metaphysical notions of the passive and dynamic components of
consciousness 202
7.4 A colossal statue of the elephant-headed god Gaṇeśa with his mouse vehicle
(bottom right). He holds an elephant goad, a noose, and sweets, and the multi-
headed serpent that serves as his throne uses its flared hood as a protective
canopy (near Kolhapur, India) 204
7.5 A devotee of Murugan, with piercings through his tongue and cheek, prepares
to carry a decorated kavaṭi arch supported by long metal needles inserted in his
flesh (Malaysia) 206
7.6 Stone relief at Changu Narayan, regarded as the oldest temple in Nepal, depicting
Viṣṇu in his man-lion incarnation (avatāra), disemboweling the demon
Hiraṇyakaśipu 212
7.7 Lithograph depicting Kṛṣṇa in the classic mythic period of his life as an irresistibly
attractive flute-playing cowherd (gopāla), who would charm the milkmaids (gopī)
of Vṛndāvana 216
7.8 An Aghori Śākta Tantric master, Nāgabābā (centre), with disciples, friends, and
local village children (Tārāpīṭha, Vindhyachal) 219
7.9 Lithograph depicting Sarasvatī holding the lute (vīṇā), prayer beads, and the Vedas 221
 List of illustrations xiii

7.10 Lithograph depicting Lakṣmī, seated on a lotus, holding lotus flowers and the jar of
plenitude. It also portrays Viṣṇu witnessing Lakṣmī’s emergence during the mythic
churning of the ocean 223
7.11 Close up of an image of Kālī, tongue extended, wielding a sword and a severed
head, in a Tantric practitioner’s home shrine 225
7.12 Large bas-relief depicting the Great Goddess Durgā riding her lion mount into
battle against the buffalo demon Mahiṣa (Mahabalipuram) 227
8.1 Author (right) joins singers of devotional hymns (bhajan) in the temple courtyard
of the goddess Āvarī Mātā, where dozens huddle through a night-long vigil in the
hope of being cured of their ailments (Rajasthan). 243
8.2 A woman offers flowers and burns honorific flames in her own rites of devotional
worship (pūjā) at a small shrine to the goddess Durgā, situated within a large
South Indian temple complex (Cidambaram) 247
8.3 A woman takes darśana (i.e., has an audience with) of the weapon-wielding,
multi-armed image (mūrti) of a goddess at the Sri Veeramakaliamman temple
(Singapore). 251
8.4 Kandāriya Mahādeva is a classic example of the North Indian or Nāgara temple
style, with its soaring spire (śikhara) and mountain motif 253
8.5 The immense bathing tank and one of the many soaring gateways (gopura) at
the South India temple of Cidambaram, renowned as the home of Śiva in his
form as Lord of the Dance (Naṭarāja), where he is ministered to by Dīkṣitar
priests (pūjāri). 255
8.6 Colossal door guardians (dvarapāla) flank a side entrance to
Gangaikondacolapuram temple built by Rajendra I, son of the Cola emperor
Rājarāja I, who built the renowned Bṛhadīśvara temple (Tamil Nadu) 258
8.7 Sensuous figure of an apsaras or surasundarī, a class of heavenly females, whose
sculptural forms often grace the walls of Hindu temples (Khajuraho 261
9.1 An experienced and highly skilled Bengali ritualist, assisted by a novice
tantradhāraka, performs an elaborate Tantric pūjā to Durgā 270
9.2 A woman prepares to perform rites of worship at a large stone image (mūrti)
of Kāla Bhairava, the terrifying aspect of Śiva (Kathmandu, Nepal) 274
9.3 A human skull adorns the fire altar of a female Aghori master, who instructs a
deeply reverent male disciple, in a telling illustration of the elevated status of
certain women within Tantric milieus (Kāmarūpa, Assam) 278
9.4 A sacred diagram or instrument (yantra) made of copper is embedded in a temple
floor, and strewn with flower petals, rice, and other offerings (Nepal) 280
10.1 The Taj Mahal, which was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for
his beloved wife Mumtaz, is an iconic example of Islamic architectural influence
in India 289
10.2 Lithograph depicting Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh (“Disciple”) religion,
and the first in a succession of ten Gurus, or revered teachers 294
10.3 Large billboard depicting Bhārat Mātā, a goddess who is a deified representation
of India and her people, and often invoked to elicit nationalistic sentiments. 303
11.1 A Hindu ascetic, suspended with hooks through his back and thighs, swings on
a metal scaffold and offers prophesies (Kataragama, Sri Lanka) 314
xiv List of illustrations

11.2 Devotees scramble to touch one of the Navadurgā (Nine Durgās) masks worn
by trance dancers of the Newari Hindu community. The ritual begins at the end
of Dasain and lasts for several months (Bhaktapur, Nepal) 315
11.3 Situated near Panduranga, the last capital of the Champa kingdom, these three
brick towers exemplify the architectural styles of Cham temples, many of which
were destroyed during periods of warfare (Po Klong Garai, Vietnam) 317
11.4 A Tenggerese priest makes offerings at a temple shrine situated within the large
crater of Mount Bromo, while ash spews from the volcano’s smaller and still active
cone (East Java, Indonesia). 319
11.5 A dance performance in Bali enacts religious themes 321
12.1 Statues depicting Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, founders
of the Theosophical Society, at the Society’s headquarters (Chennai, India) 328
13.1 Lifelike image of Swami Bhaktivedanta, founder of the International Society for
Kṛṣṇa Consciousness (ISKCON), at the organization’s headquarters in Great
Britain (Watford) 354
Acknowledgments

It may seem odd to offer formal thanks to India, the land of my birth, but I cannot
dismiss the crucial role that it played in shaping the experiences and sensibilities of
my childhood. My father was a forest officer, who sometimes walked a 20-mile daily
beat in the jungles of Bombay State (now Maharashtra), and my mother was a school
teacher who studied in Calcutta (Kolkata), where she majored in French language and
literature. Our family moved frequently, based on where my father was posted, and so
I lived in Dohad (Dahod), Mandvi, Kolhapur, Poona (Pune), and Bandra, a suburb
of Bombay (Mumbai), which was home for both my parents. My mother’s father was
a chief engineer for the Bombay electrical and transport system, and as kids we thus
often found ourselves oscillating between my father’s work world in the forest, and my
mother’s world, shaped by vestigial colonial values.
On jungle visits we would stay in forest bungalows and even in huts floored with
dried cow dung, or ride in bullock carts. Sometimes we would gather around campfires
where villagers wrapped in rough blankets told stories about tigers and local spirits.
I particularly remember my father overseeing the construction of the Tabak Bagh
botanical park at the hill-station of Panhala, not far from Kolhapur, where we lived for
many years. In Kolhapur, the mahārāja’s son would come to school in an elegant coach
drawn by different pairs of horses. We got to school by horse-drawn tonga or the school
bus. In sharp contrast to the forest life when with my father at his work, in my mother’s
father’s home we would dine on porcelain dishes set on white linen, and be expected
to eat with at least six pieces of silver cutlery. My grandfather would don a sola-topee
as he tended to his large garden, teeming with fruit trees and flowers. We would often
spend the long holidays with him in Bombay flying kites, going to movies at the Bandra
Talkies, or playing by the seaside and eating bhelpuri at sunset.
When our family left India, its reality faded as I grew and embraced the culture of
our new world and life in Canada. Although I graduated with a degree in chemistry,
the counter-culture movement of the 1960s and 1970s had rekindled my interest
in the East. During my year-long travels in Latin America in the mid-1970s I heard
stories from fellow backpackers who fed the flames of my curiosity about Asian lands
and philosophies, and I was soon doing the (mostly) overland route from Montreal to
xvi Acknowledgments

Bali, an ultra low-budget journey of many years in duration. On a sunset ride with my
brother on the rooftop of a bus through the Khyber Pass, we entered the subcontinent
and into the long-forgotten but unmistakable smell of India. I spent about a year and
a half in the region, traveling alone, crisscrossing the country from the Punjab to Sri
Lanka to Kashmir and Nepal to Bengal. I flew out of Calcutta (Kolkata) to Rangoon
(Yangon) on Holi, witnessing the joyous pandemonium as millions doused each other
with color, realizing even then that India was a place of such tantalizing complexity
that I would certainly be drawn back to her.
However, it was almost another decade before I returned to India in order to
conduct fieldwork as part of my doctoral degree work in Religious Studies. Then, too,
I spent another 18 months there, mostly in Banāras, where I was affiliated with the
History of Art Department at Banāras Hindu University, but did manage to travel
extensively for months at a time. In the ensuing quarter century, I have been back to
India and Southeast Asia every few years, for weeks or months, with or without my
children. Although it may sound clichéd, the lands of my travels and all of the people
I have encountered along the way, from con-men, touts, and thieves, to relatives, wise
travelers, sages, and local inhabitants, have been my teachers. At times, some of them
imparted lessons I still value more highly than much of what I have learned through my
formal instruction, and so I must acknowledge them here.
Of course, I would not have been able to write this book were it not for my formal
education in the academic study of religion and Hinduism. However, here, too, I
recognize that my professors and colleagues taught me as much through the qualities
they themselves embodied as through the knowledge they imparted. For instance,
from John Arapura and Krishna Shivaraman I learned a love of Indian philosophical
traditions, a respect for the profundity of their content, and a realization that sound
thinking applied in any particular intellectual context may be easily transposed to other
spheres of thought. From Paul Younger I learned to strive to look beyond the obvious
appearances of phenomena, such as festival rituals, and to ask courageous questions of
my data in order to extract concealed meanings. David Kinsley taught me, through his
example, how to teach large audiences of students, and how to mentor with infectious
enthusiasm. It was he who sparked my interest in Hinduism’s goddess traditions. Ellen
Badone, Bill Rodman, and Richard Preston showed me how I might conduct, read,
and write ethnography, skills that were subsequently nourished by my colleagues in
the Department of Anthropology at the University of Lethbridge, which I chaired
for several years. Rosalind Lefeber and Phyllis Granoff guided me deftly through the
study of Sanskrit, revitalizing my scientist’s delight in rigor, and awakening in me an
appreciation for the elegance of grammar.
Om Prakash Sharma, known to virtually every scholar who has conducted fieldwork
in Banāras, embodied many of the ambiguities and shifting characterizations of the
indigenous research assistant and informant. A master research assistant, Omji was
tutored in his craft as a young man by Jonathan Parry, and served as such for innumerable
 Acknowledgments xvii

scholars. However, as a devout Śākta, to me he was both an informant and mentor, by

turns serving as my helper, or my teacher. I am particularly proud to have known him
as my friend. Although Pandits Vagish Shastri and Hemendranath Chakravarty both
enhanced my understanding of Sanskrit, my respect, affection, and memories seem
hinged on different associations. Vagish Shastri, founder of the Vāg-Yoga Institute,
is an icon of orthodox, yet accessible Brahminism, who also provided me with crucial
insights into the Hindu teacher–student relationship. Pandit Chakravarty, a student
of the renowned scholar Gopinath Kaviraj, taught with a wry humor, patience, and
open-mindedness that embody attitudes I can no longer disassociate from Tantrism.
There are dozens of people, some formal instructors, others friends, who have
nourished my understanding of Hinduism. I cannot list them all here. Similarly, I can
but acknowledge my gratitude to the hundreds of fellow scholars who do not know me
personally, but from whose labors I continue to learn. Although I have had the benefit
of living in India for extended periods of time, and studying Hinduism with an array
of teachers from the East and the West, I have also learned enormously through the
writings of my academic colleagues. Thus although I hope that this book encourages
some to embark on travels to and studies in the East, or to further their learning with
living teachers, I would be particularly pleased to know that the novice reader has
come away with an enhanced and appreciative understanding of the Hindu tradition
simply by studying this text. Should this prove true, it would affirm the value of the
academic enterprise, which holds the written word as both a crucial medium for the
transmission of knowledge, and, despite contrary assertions, an effective catalyst in the
expansion of consciousness.
On the practical side, this book would not have been written were it not for the
vision of Charles Prebish, one of the editors of this series. I also received unflagging
support and guidance for its first iteration from Lesley Riddle and Gemma Dunn,
editors at this publishing house, and must thank Eve Mayer and Laura Briskman for
helping to bring this edition to completion. I benefitted immensely from the extensive
feedback (mostly very positive) from seven anonymous reviewers of the first edition,
all professors who have used the book in their classes in the United States, UK, and
Canada. Of course, the students in my introductory course on Hinduism at the
University of Lethbridge over the decades have been my major source of my inspiration,
direction, and grounding as I worked on this project. In particular, the students in
the Spring 2014 semester wrote critical appraisals of each of the chapters of the first
edition. I would like to take the opportunity to thank all the students in Dr. Yasaman
Munro’s second-year Hinduism course at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2014, each of
whom wrote me an extensive review/report on their experience using the first edition
of the text. I was flattered, humbled, and challenged by their discerning comments. I
extend a special thanks to two of my student research assistants, in particular, J’Lean
Lawton and Brandon McNally, whose keen eyes and wide assortment of labors have
made this a much better book than it would otherwise have been.
Preface to the second edition

Although introductory texts on Hinduism are not particularly abundant, there

are certainly a number of excellent ones available. However, after having taught a
second-year undergraduate course on the Hindu tradition for over a dozen years,
and having evaluated or utilized virtually all of the then existing texts, I found myself
still yearning for a book that would present Hinduism in a manner that was effective
for my students. This led me to write the first edition of Introducing Hinduism, which
I was pleased to discover was very well received by both instructors and students. I
teach at the University of Lethbridge in the Western Canadian province of Alberta.
Although Canada’s multicultural character and the university’s foreign student
population ensures that my classes have a small percentage of Hindus, some directly
from India and several second-generation immigrants, the majority of students enter
my courses knowing surprisingly little about Hinduism or Asia. Their background
knowledge may derive from some rudimentary exposure to the geography of Asia
in elementary school and through occasional interactions with Hindu classmates or
friends. They have had virtually no exposure to the history of South Asia. Mostly, they
are equipped with caricature images of Hindus through movies or television shows
such as The Simpsons. Many, although not all, may have had nominal instruction
about Hinduism in an introductory course in World Religions. Conversations with
colleagues indicate that such a relatively limited background of understanding is
typical for the majority of students in most introductory level Western university
classes.
This book is, therefore, crafted for the benefit of anyone wishing to embark
upon the academic study of Hinduism, and whose foundational knowledge is
relatively slight. Its material is not presented with the assumption that the reader
already knows where Bengal or the Punjab are located, or even that these are
states in India. There is no expectation that the reader knows when and how
Islam or the British entered the Indian subcontinent. Instead, the book has brief
introductory sections on the geography and history of the subcontinent, and is
equipped with a map and a chronological chart as a handy reference. Efforts are
 Preface to the second edition xix

frequently made to clarify whether the item under discussion is a book, a person,
a school of thought, a scriptural genre, and so on, since most of the words used for
these items are linguistically unfamiliar to students. Furthermore, since the vast
majority of students who take up this text are unlikely to continue much further
with the formal study of the Hindu tradition, I have refrained from introducing
a plethora of unnecessary names, such as those of contemporary scholars and
their theories or findings, in the body of the text. The intention is to introduce
students to the Hindu tradition, and not on the scholarly study of Hinduism. Of
course, I am indebted to the all of the scholars whose academic labors underlie
the content of this book. It is crucial to stress that although accessible prose
and succinct presentations are vital in an introductory text written for novice
students, reasonable efforts have been made to address the most recent theoretical
formulations, academic issues, and research content. Bibliographic references after
each chapter point to more detailed studies in various areas by notable scholars,
should readers be interested in writing research essays or otherwise deepening
their investigations. These references are not exhaustive and do not include the full
corpus of materials consulted when writing each chapter.
This book attempts to strike a balance between the two extremes that are
characteristic of most of the existing Hinduism texts – namely, conveying too much
or too little information. Certain introductory studies of Hinduism are so brief as to
be only useful for casual readers, while others go into such excessive enumerations of
scriptural texts, thinkers, sects, political parties, deities, the research discoveries of
particular scholars, and so on, that the novice student, who is the intended reader, is
left bewildered. It is challenging to avoid the tendency to demonstrate one’s personal
expertise and range of knowledge, or to try to please one’s academic colleagues by
illustrating familiarity with their cutting-edge work. A comprehensive university-
level introduction to the Hindu tradition should indeed expose students to more
texts than the Ṛg Veda, the Bhagavad Gītā, and the Rāmāyaṇa, but it need not discuss
the Yoginīhṛdaya. And while it should introduce more than Śaṅkara and Mahatma
Gandhi, it need not discuss Nimbarka or Utpaladeva, however fond one might be
of those texts and thinkers. Of course, this does not imply any less worth to these
exclusions, but merely reflects a restriction on the depth to which a particular topic
may be reasonably plumbed.
More than a decade has elapsed since the first edition of this text, which had been
used by thousands of students and dozens of instructors. Many of them provided
me with very detailed appraisals of the book, and, where possible, I have attended to
their suggestions for improvement when writing this second edition. Many students
would love to have had a book richly illustrated with dozens of color plates, and
certain instructors would have liked various sections to have been substantially
expanded. Where possible such changes were made, but publishing constraints place
limitations on the size and appearance of the non-digital version of the text.
xx Preface to the second edition

Although it purports to be comprehensive without being pedantic, this textbook

does contain more information than may be typically covered in a given semester.
This is due more to the array of topics within Hinduism than to the depth of coverage
within any particular section. Instructors may thus ignore particular sections or
subsections entirely, based on their preferences. There are diverse motivations for
embarking on the study of Hinduism, and this text attempts to engage students
with a wide assortment of related interests, including history, culture, art and
architecture, politics, social organization, language and literature, mythology, ritual,
and philosophy. Inevitably, even with this edition’s additions and modifications,
some instructors will wish that certain favorite topics (e.g., South Indian Hinduism,
women’s issues, or Hinduism in the West – although all these are discussed in more
detail than in many similar texts) were discussed in yet greater detail. However,
pragmatic decisions have also placed limits on the breadth and depth of the topics
covered. The book can certainly stand on its own as a resource for entering into
an understanding of Hinduism, and may be read profitably by anyone even outside
of a classroom setting. However, it is not written for popular consumption. It
is not written to promote or denigrate Hinduism, or to entertain the reader. Its
objective is to provide a balanced and comprehensive overview of a sophisticated
religious tradition that has flourished for millennia in a culturally diverse region
with a complex history. It certainly cannot replace a knowledgeable instructor, but
can effectively complement an instructor’s capacity to lead their students into more
detailed investigations in areas of their specialization, interest, or concern.
While certain religious traditions, such as Buddhism or Islam, readily lend
themselves to a presentational structure derived from their origins, historical
developments, and spread, the structuring of a Hinduism text presents distinctive
challenges. This book might have been organized thematically, divided into such
categories as beliefs, practices, scriptures, values, and so on. It could have started
with contemporary Hindu practices and then, like peeling an onion-skin, worked
to uncover the ancient sources layered in these rites. Other texts have adopted such
strategies. However, one has to make a choice, and I have found the semi-historical
structuring of material to be particularly effective. After having discussed the early
configurations of some religious phenomenon, such as a belief or ritual practice, the
text may then proceed, sometimes through a case study, to illustrate its endurance
in contemporary Hinduism. For instance, when discussing jñāna yoga in the context
of the Bhagavad Gītā, I offer the case of Ramaṇa Mahāṛṣi, a modern figure who
exemplifies this approach.
This structure might be initially frustrating to some, particularly to students
from Hindu backgrounds, for instance, who might assume that vegetarianism was
always part of Hindu practice, or who do not “recognize” the face of “their religion”
in early Vedic or Tantric rites. Of course, the historical study of anyone’s own
religious tradition is often surprising and instructive. As the text progresses, these
 Preface to the second edition xxi

students will likely be pleased to find many of their questions answered, and indeed
recognize and better understand their brand of Hinduism. Often, the “burden” of
their familiarity with aspects of the tradition eventually becomes an asset. For the
majority of students, “unburdened” by experience and belief (in Hinduism), the
semi-historical approach can be reassuring. It provides them with a structure, like a
symbolic raft, with which to navigate the turbulent waters of the Hindu tradition,
from the various tributaries of its ancient sources, which repeatedly merge and
divide, to its surge into the future.
Some scholars who have examined an array of Hinduism textbooks have
suggested that most of them (less so this one) tend to perpetuate a sort of master-
narrative that privileges the Brahminic or Vedic tradition. They ask: Where is the
lived, highly diverse, regionally distinct Hinduism that one sees and experiences
everywhere in India? Even a superficial examination of this book will reveal that
although it walks through history more or less sequentially, it consistently undercuts
the master-narrative syndrome. The use of case studies, invitations into imaginary
scenarios, the recounting of myths, as well as topic choices are but some of the
inclusions that distinguish this book from most other scholarly textbooks. Even so,
it is not designed to confound the student by attempting to hammer home the point
of Hinduism’s complexity and diversity. Rather, it offers pathways to facilitate one’s
journey of understanding, and thereby serve as an authoritative and handy reference.
It is best utilized in tandem with a collection of essays, such as in Studying Hinduism
in Practice (Routledge, 2011), which allows the reader to share vicariously in the
experiences of scholars studying living expressions of the Hindu tradition.
If reader-friendliness is so fundamental to this text, one might wonder why I have
insisted on the use of diacritic marks when transliterating foreign language terms.
One compelling rationale is that every scholar who is seriously engaged in the study
of Hinduism uses them. Sanskrit, the foreign language most encountered in this
book, is a phonetic language. Thus if one knows its rules of pronunciation, words
may be uttered exactly as they should be. Scholars have agreed upon a standardized
method of transliterating Sanskrit into English. Phonetic spellings, without the use
of diacritics, may appear less intimidating, but tend to perpetuate errors. When
students who understand the rules of Sanskrit pronunciation see “Śiva,” they
immediately know how it is pronounced. However, when rendered as “Shiva” for the
reader’s convenience, instead of the correct “SHIV-uh,” it tends to be mispronounced
as “SHEE-vaa,” with lengthened “i” and “a” sounds. Also, without diacritics, there is
no way of distinguishing between the male god Śiva and the goddess Śivā, or between
the goddess Kālī and the Kali Yuga. Most importantly, an appreciation of the vital
role played by the Sanskrit language in the Hindu tradition (as discussed in Chapter
1) is greatly diminished when one shies away from diacritics.
The potential for progress in the study in Hinduism may also be impeded
when diacritics are not used. A formally transcribed word such as “saṃskāra”
xxii Preface to the second edition

may be informally rendered as “samskara,” “sanskara,” “samskar” or “sanskar” in

various formulations, based on whether one opts for Sanskritic or Hindi-based
pronunciation schemes. A student who has been taught “sanskar” would later find it
difficult to recognize that “saṃskāra” in other textbooks refers to the same concept.
It is true that words such as Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa appear unusual when compared to
the commonly rendered Vishnu and Krishna. However, the pronunciation guide
that is provided will enable students to pronounce such frequently occurring terms
correctly. Presenting Sanskrit terms without their diacritics would be like rendering
French words, such as “garçon” or “élève,” without their distinctive accents.
As technology and the forces of globalization help to dissolve the boundaries
that isolated cultures from each other, we begin to see more examples of foreign
words entering the English language. One no longer resists using the word “sushi,” or
stumbles with the name of one’s friend, Māyā. Thus this text has not shied away from
introducing key Sanskrit terms. These generally serve a purpose and are not included
to make the subject needlessly challenging. Incidentally, all translations in this text,
often rendered as paraphrases, are my own. When translating a verse or phrase
from a scripture, I have occasionally indicated key terms in the original language,
sometimes to justify my rendition. Novice students are sometimes intimidated when
seeing a host of foreign words in parentheses on a page, but they must grapple with
and overcome this initial consternation. After all, they are embarking upon the
study of a religious tradition that developed in a non-Western cultural context. Just
as the sight of an elephant-headed god may seem unusual at first, but one may soon
come to delight in the image of the Lord of Obstacles, Gaṇeśa, it is not long before
students appreciate the significant place of Sanskrit within Hinduism, and grow
progressively more comfortable with appropriate scholarly transliteration. Most of
the foreign terms that appear in this text are crucial for understanding the Hindu
tradition. They are intended to provide readers with a solid foundation, leaving them
poised for further formal or informal studies.
An obvious departure from the format of traditional textbooks is evident in
the “Imagine, if you will” scenarios scattered throughout the volume. While a
textbook should be designed as a reliable reference, its value is diminished if it is
not consulted, and it should, therefore, also be something that is appealing to read.
The scenarios are a pedagogic tool, which was experimentally added to the first
edition. The overwhelmingly positive response to the feature from both professors
and students has led to the addition of more in this edition. These narratives are
provided to animate the presentation of the material. Intended to draw students
into the world of Hinduism through the proven powers of narrative, creative
visualization, humor, and mystery, the scenarios are not completely fabricated
fictions. A complete fabrication could reasonably be criticized for being just that. But
an overly personal narrative might be just as summarily dismissed. By inviting the
reader into imaginative participation in a “real” experience, the boundaries between
 Preface to the second edition xxiii

such dichotomies as author/reader, researcher/student, then/now, teacher/student,

insider/outsider, credible/fictitious, and so on, are blurred. The narratives’ fictions lie
in what they do not tell as much as in the distortions inherent in any kind of telling.
Although this book is written for the scholarly study of a religious tradition, I felt
it was worth conveying the slightest sense of the lived experience of Hindus, or at
least of someone engaged in discovering what that might be. Students of religion
must be willing to enter into worlds different from their own, and emerge with their
own worlds thereby transformed, and hopefully widened. Empathy and imagination
are indispensable aids in that process. There is no intention in these scenarios to
be comprehensive, to avoid Orientalism or Occidentalism, to provide a balanced
treatment of gendered, class, regional, or topical perspectives. They are fragmentary
vignettes, theoretically grounded in a variety of postmodern sensibilities. As much
as it is also related to social, cultural, political, and economic factors, religion is very
much about an engagement with the sacred, which is “set apart” from this-worldly
values and realities. Thus although there is little justification for accepting the
“reality” of a sui generis “sacred” in the scholarly study of religion, it is crucial that the
scholar acknowledge the acceptance of such a reality among adherents to particular
religious worldviews. The scenarios are thus also intended to evoke a sense of that
encounter with the “other” (natural and supernatural), which is intrinsic to any such
study.
A note on transliteration

Sanskrit diacritics are used for Sanskrit words, which are also used where a choice
exists between Sanskrit and Hindi or Tamil equivalents. Hindi words, if used, are
transliterated phonetically. Thus one finds the Sanskrit “dharmaśālā” instead of the
Hindi phonetic “dharamsālā” and the Sanskrit Śiva and Saṅgham instead of the
Tamil Civaṉ and Caṅkam, although Tamil and Hindi equivalents are provided on
occasion. The compromise is to facilitate the students’ learning experience without
impeding their ability to engage in advanced studies.
The transliteration choices of the names of people, places, or organization may
appear arbitrary, and to some extent they are. Place names are written as they
commonly appear on maps, unless they figure significantly in religious or scholarly
literature. Thus one finds Maharashtra, not Mahārāṣṭra, and Sri Lanka, not Śrī
Laṅkā, but Kāśī, not Kashi, and Gaṅgā, not Ganga or the Ganges. The names of
some persons or organizations, especially contemporary ones, which are routinely
rendered in familiar ways, are reproduced in their commonly known forms. Thus
one encounters Ramakrishna and Gangaji, instead of Rāmakṛṣṇa and Gaṅgājī.
The illustrative lithographs used in this book are from my personal collection, and
all photos are my own unless otherwise acknowledged. I have included lithographs
not only because they convey aspects of contemporary Hindu aesthetics, but
because, when framed and used for worship by Hindus, which they often are, they
may actually be regarded as images that embody a divine presence. At the end of
each chapter, this book also presents brief sections on Further Readings. More
extensive bibliographies for instructors and self-directed students who wish to kick-
start further investigations, research essays, and so on, may be found at http://www.
mahavidya.ca/. This website, which mostly consists of encyclopedia-styled articles
written by undergraduate students, also provides links to translated scriptures, as
well as to some in Sanskrit and Tamil for instructors who have facility with these
primary languages. Audio-visual resources listed there not only provide general
information on pertinent titles, but also wherever possible connect directly to a
supplier site.
Preliminary guidelines
on pronunciation

The glossary in this text’s Appendix II provide phonetic pronunciations for significant
Sanskrit words and other terms. Other pertinent comments on pronunciation are
also found in the section on the Sanskrit language in Chapter 1. The following
general guidelines will enable the reader to pronounce many of the foreign terms
mostly correctly, from the outset.
The short “a” in Sanskrit words is always pronounced like the “uh” in “huh,” and
the letter “c” is always pronounced like the “ch” in “chat.” Thus cakra is not pronounced
“SHAK-raa,” but “CHUK-ruh,” and Cola is not “KO-laa,” but “CHO-luh.” The
long “ā” is pronounced like the “a” in “art,” while “ś” and “ṣ” are mostly pronounced
like the “s” in “sugar.” Thus āsana is pronounced “AA-suh-nuh,” while āśrama is not
pronounced “ash-RAMA,” but “AA-shruh-muh.” The short “u” and long “ū” are
pronounced, respectively, like the “oo” in “loot” and a somewhat lengthened “oo” in
“ooze.” The so-called retroflex consonants such as “ṭ” “ḍ” and “ṇ” and the vowel “ṛ” are
sounded with the tongue at the roof of the mouth, as in the words “frond” or “front.”
Particularly difficult to indicate are the Sanskrit dental “t” and “d” pronounced
sounds. In the English alphabet, “t” and “d,” when pronounced, actually sound
closer to the Sanskrit “ṭ” and “ḍ” sounds. Thus aṣṭa and maṇḍala are pronounced
like “UHSH-tuh” and “MUHN-duh-luh” respectively. By contrast, the Sanskrit “t”
should be pronounced more like the “th” in “this” or “these.” So satya does not sound
like “SUT-yuh,” but is pronounced “SUTH-yuh.” It is somewhat more problematic
to indicate the dental “d” in words such as darśana, which is somewhere between
“DHUHR-shuh-nuh,” and “THUHR-shuh-nuh.” In the Glossary’s pronunciation
guide, such mixed consonant sounds will, for example, be indicated as “D/
THUHR-shuh-nuh.” Thus the word Hindu, which is commonly mispronounced
as “HIN-doo,” actually sounds somewhat closer to “HIN-d/thoo.” So too, Hindi
and Hinduism sound more like “HIN-d/thee” and “HIN-d/thoo-ism,” respectively.
Long vowels provide an indication as to which syllable is emphasized. Unlike
English, in polysyllabic words Sanskrit will place the emphasis, by default, on the
third-from-last rather than on the second-last syllable. So Rāmāyaṇa is not “Raa-
xxvi Guidelines on pronumciation

maa-YAA-naa,” but something like “raa-MAA-yuh-nuh,” and Mahābhārata is not

pronounced “ma-haa-bha-RAA-taa,” but “muh-HAA-BHAA-ruh-thuh. Students
may take heart to know that many reputable and renowned scholars of Hinduism,
including those who have made outstanding contributions in the area of Sanskrit
translations, routinely mispronounce Sanskrit words. This is because the emphasis
in Western scholarship has been on appropriating the language’s challenging
grammar, and learning to read and translate written material. Ironically, the religious
significance of Sanskrit, particularly in the Hindu tradition, has been centrally based
on its oral and sonic dimensions. This text thus seeks to orient the novice towards an
appreciation of those crucial aspects of the sacred language even as they continue to
struggle with appropriate pronunciation.
Introduction

In this chapter
This chapter is written to provide the reader with a broad orientation to the study
of Hinduism. It discusses the problems involved in defining Hinduism and the
tradition’s inherent complexities. It presents an overview of the geography of the
Indian subcontinent and the worldwide distribution of Hindus. Since the text
is mostly structured along the lines of Hinduism’s historical development, the
Indus Valley Civilization and speculations on its religion serve as a starting point.
Scholarly controversies concerning the nature of the Āryans are explored, as is the
Āryan relationship to non-Āryan cultures. Foreshadowing the topical content and
organizational layout of the book, the chapter ends with a succinct summary of the
history of Hinduism.

Main topics covered

• Preamble
• “Hinduism,” “Hindu,” and “India” defined
• The geographical distribution of Hindus
• The Indian subcontinent
• The Indus Valley civilization
◦ Discovery and nature
◦ Indus Valley religion
• The Āryans
◦ The Indo-European (Āryan) Migration Thesis
◦ The Cultural Diffusion Hypothesis
• Āryan and non-Āryan influences
• A brief history of Hinduism
2 Introduction

Preamble
“Hinduism” is a loosely defined term used to designate the broad array of beliefs
and practices of the majority of the people of South Asia, particularly those of India
and Nepal. Practitioners of Hinduism are known as Hindus. If you walked along
the banks of the Gaṅgā (Ganges) River in Vārāṇasī (Banāras), one of Hindu India’s
holiest cities, you would almost certainly begin to appreciate the wide diversity of
Hinduism.

Imagine, if you will, this scenario

As the sun rises above the eastern horizon, it bathes the Gaṅgā and its western
riverbank with a golden light, suggestive of one of Banāras’s other names, Kāśī, the
“luminous.” The river Gaṅgā (aka the Ganges) is believed to be a living goddess,
and is thus deeply revered by most Hindus. At Banāras, the river’s western bank
is lined with old palaces, temples, and even the occasional hotel. Stone steps lead
down to the river where hundreds of persons regularly perform ritual baths believed
to be spiritually purifying. Here, a man clad only in a loincloth stands in the river
and performs oblations facing the rising sun. He fills a copper pot with river water
and then, while uttering a Sanskrit prayer, pours it back in a slow stream. A loop
of string is draped over his left shoulder and around his torso. There, an elderly
widow who has finished her bath and donned a clean dry white sārī, carries away
a jar of Gaṅgā water as she walks to the temple of the smallpox goddess, Śītalā, to
perform her morning worship. You pass wandering cows, venerated by Hindus, and
even large bulls, sacred to the god Śiva. A group of men squats on a stone platform
by the river. Their hair is wild and matted, and they have long beards and mustaches.
Their bodies are smeared in ash. Their foreheads and upper arms are marked with
three horizontal lines and two of the men appear to be holding tridents. They pass
around a clay pipe filled with hashish, calling out in praise some of the many names
of the great god Śiva, and then draw deeply of the intoxicating smoke. Nearby,
tourist-pilgrims from the metropolis of Mumbai (Bombay), dressed in blue jeans and
T-shirts click photos of these scenes from a large weathered rowboat, oared by one of
the city’s many boatmen. As part of their pilgrimage, these urban visitors will make
offerings to the black stone phallic emblem (liṅga) of Śiva as Lord of the Universe
(Viśvanātha) in his golden-roofed temple located within a honeycomb of narrow,
congested alleys in the heart of the old city.
Further along on your walk you come upon a cluster of large bonfires. You note
that the flames lick at human corpses atop the wood pyres and realize that you have
reached the city’s cremation grounds. “Those men who burn the dead bodies are
Doms,” intones a distinguished elderly gentleman, wearing a long white shirt (kurtā)
 Introduction 3

Figure 0.1 A temple lies partly toppled and submerged on the banks of the river Gaṅgā in
whose holy waters worshippers bathe (Banāras)

over drawstring pants (pāyajāmā), hoping to engage you in conversation. “They are
Dalits.” Through the ensuing discussion you learn more about the Hindu caste system
and some of its complexities. For instance, even Brahmins, the highest class in the
Hindu social hierarchy, who would acquire ritual pollution through contact with a
Dalit (hence the term “Untouchable” is often used for members of that group), might
nevertheless be cremated by an “Untouchable” Dom. You learn that your informant,
himself a Brahmin, is a professor at Banāras Hindu University. You express to him
your sense of wonder, yet confusion, about the many castes in Hindu society, the
numerous deities, and so on. “All that exists is Śiva,” he replies. “You, me, that Dom,
those burning bodies, the Gaṅgā, the sand on its banks, the earth, the heavens, and
all the gods and goddesses in those temples – they are all part of one great whole, and
that is Śiva,” he continues.
“Does that mean everyone is a Hindu?” you ask.
“No,” he replies, “but everyone is Śiva, at least according to the philosophy that I
follow.” You leave with enhanced clarity about some issues, but with new questions
about the relationship between religion and philosophy, about what it means to be
a Hindu, and about how you and a grain of sand can both be God. As you leave the
riverbank and meander with a group of pilgrims through the city’s alleys towards
4 Introduction

the temple of Śiva Viśvanātha, you hope for a glimpse of its sacred stone liṅga.
Unfortunately, your appearance alerts the priests to your non-Hindu status, and you
are prevented from entering the temple.

The complexities of Hinduism are visible everywhere: in its social structure, its
rituals, its vast mythology, its many scriptures, its variety of deities, and its religious
philosophies. It is unreasonable to expect this book to plumb these complexities in the
detail that they deserve. However, it does offer the reader an inroad into several of the
most significant dimensions of the Hindu tradition. An ideal companion volume to
this text is Studying Hinduism in Practice (Routledge 2011), which brings to life facets
of the experience of Hinduism as it is actually practiced, and how the living tradition
is studied by scholars. Studying Hinduism in Practice has been written especially for
students, with engaging narratives of the experiences of scholars engaged in studying
Hinduism in all its complexity. In tandem with material found at http://www.
mahavidya.ca/ (a site with encyclopedia-styled articles researched and written by
students, which provides a window to a large assortment of resources), these books
are highly effective starting points for a comprehensive study of Hinduism.
Although this is an introductory book, it does not present complex Hindu
philosophies (e.g., Kashmir Śaivism) superficially, because it is written with the
assumption that inquisitive readers will be dissatisfied with bland or distorting
oversimplifications. The names of scholars are mostly avoided, because the focus is
on Hinduism and not on academia, even though the content is derived from the most
current academic studies, some of which are mentioned in the section on Further
Readings at the end of each chapter. As an introduction to the academic study of
Hinduism, this book’s content is not concerned with trying to portray Hinduism in
either a favorable or unfavorable light; rather, it strives for neutrality and objectivity.
However, the “Imagine if you will …” scenarios at the start of some chapters are
designed to problematize such tropes as radical objectivity and absolute rationality,
by inviting the reader into a more fully human engagement with the study of religion
(e.g., through imagination, sensory descriptions, the evocation of emotions, and even
encounters with uncanny, or seemingly inexplicable phenomena).
This book uses historical transformations and developments as an organizing
structure. There is an inherent limitation in this approach because it tends to privilege
the priestly class’s writings when telling the story of Hinduism. Of course, Hinduism
is a much more complex tradition of beliefs and practices than is articulated even
within the rich corpus of Sanskrit literature mostly composed by the priestly class.
Nevertheless, anyone who studies this text closely will see that the broader realities
of the Hindu world are not ignored, and the contributions of the folk, village, tribal,
non-literate components are also always implicit because they transform the priestly
tradition’s values, concerns, and writings from antiquity to the present.
 Introduction 5

“Hinduism,” “Hindu,” and “India” defined

“Hinduism” is actually a term that has been coined fairly recently. The words “Hindu”
and “India” are derived from the Sanskrit word Sindhu (literally, “ocean” or “river”),
used to name the great river now known as the Indus, which flows from the Himalaya
Mountains in Tibet, through modern-day Pakistan into the Arabian Sea. The Sanskrit
word for “place” is sthāna, and thus the region around and beyond the Indus River was
known as Sindh or Hindusthāna. One of the great river valley civilizations, the Indus
Valley Civilization, flourished there from about 2500 bce to 1500 bce. The Greeks,
after Alexander the Great’s encounter with the territory in the fourth century bce,
named the region India. India itself is still often called Hindustan. However, because
the term “Hindu” now refers to a religious orientation, many consider Hindustan
inappropriate for the religiously plural country of India. Use of the term “Hindu,” as a
religious designation, developed with the spread of Islam into the Indian subcontinent.
Muslims from neighboring Persia originally used “Hindu” to refer to the people of
Sind/India, but eventually “Hindu” became a term to differentiate Muslims from non-
Muslims. When the British ruled India from the eighteenth century, they continued
to use “Hinduism” as a blanket term for the religion of the Indian people, unless
they belonged to other religions with readily identifiable designations, such as Islam,
Christianity, and Jainism. It is only in the last two centuries that the terms “Hinduism”
and “Hindu” have gained widespread usage.
Despite the common use of the terms “Hinduism,” and “Hindu,” it is difficult to
define with precision what Hinduism is, and what makes one a Hindu. Most attempts
fall short because they tend to exclude the beliefs, practices, or philosophical orientations
of sizeable segments of the Hindu world. For instance, some definitions attempt to
give preeminence to a particular set of scriptures, notably the Vedas. Others might
offer the terms dharma or sanātana dharma (“eternal faith”) as better designations than
Hinduism, because they are at least indigenous categories rather than a word of foreign
extraction. However, in spite of the important place of the Vedas in much of Hinduism,
not all Hindus hold them, in particular, as preeminent. Some prefer the scriptures
of their own sectarian traditions. Others disregard the importance of any scripture,
preferring to apprehend their religion through practices or spiritual experiences. As for
the term dharma, its meaning may vary from duty, righteousness and legal prescriptions,
to social responsibility and obligation, and even to the specific religious teachings of a
particular sect. Moreover, Hindu practices may actually encompass much more than the
notions covered by the term. The term sanātana dharma is charged with universalistic,
upper class, and orthodox connotations, which diminishes the authenticity of a wide
range of regional beliefs and popular practices that are clearly part of Hinduism. This
is because Hinduism includes elements that many of the mainstream world religions
would not deem centrally religious. For instance, Hindu scriptural texts include works
on astrology, medicine, prosody, and even logic and grammar. There is even a resilient
6 Introduction

tendency in Hinduism to locate all of reality, and certainly all human endeavors,
especially those pertaining to knowledge and creativity, within the compass of the
sacred. Religious practices found within villages and among forest tribes, for example,
may deviate dramatically from prescriptions in Sanskrit texts, but are also part of what
we regard as Hinduism. Thus although the word Hinduism has intrinsic weaknesses,
its nebulous connotations are workably appropriate for its object of study, which is an
equally expansive and loosely defined constellation of constituents.

The geographical distribution of Hindus

The vast majority of Hindus live on the Indian subcontinent. However, emigration to
other countries, particularly in the last few centuries, has created a worldwide Hindu
diaspora, or trans-Indian Hinduism. A conservative estimate of the global population
of Hindus is about 1.1 billion; most of these (over 98 percent) live in South Asia. About
80 percent of the people of Nepal are Hindus. The estimated population of India in
2014 was 1.27 billion people. In the 2001 census of India 80.5 percent of its population
declared themselves to be Hindu. If that percentage has not changed, we can estimate
a Hindu population in India of about 1.02 billion in 2014. There are many Hindus
in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Hindus also constitute substantial percentages (25-
48 percent) of the populations of Fiji, Mauritius, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The population of Hindus in North America has been growing, and forms about
0.5 percent of the total population in the United States, and about 1.2 percent in
Canada. About 1.5 percent of the population of Great Britain is Hindu.

A note about statistics

All numerical data provided on populations in this text, such as national
percentages, should be understood as approximations. The difficulties
inherent in gathering statistical data on populations can be enhanced in remote
regions and where the population is illiterate or suspicious of government
questionnaires. Furthermore, questionnaires sometimes restrict a person’s
choices to particular religions, caste affiliations, and so on, and responses
to these may not accurately reflect the social and cultural reality of the
populace. Such factors contribute to inaccuracies in such counting procedures.
Moreover, numerical data, such as population counts, also change with time.
Nevertheless, just as maps provide variously useful indications of the territory
represented and the concerns of the map-makers, statistics can have both
value and limitations. They are presented in this book to serve the curiosity of
the reader, and should be appraised thoughtfully.
 Introduction 7

The Indian subcontinent

The Indian subcontinent is shaped roughly like a diamond whose upper half is
embedded in the continent of Asia, whereas the lower half extends as a peninsula into
the Indian Ocean. The subcontinent generally includes the countries of Pakistan,
Bangladesh, and India, although Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka are often included.
The country of India consists of 29 states, with Telangana, partitioned from the state
of Andhra Pradesh, formed as recently as June 2, 2014. The Indian state of Jammu
and Kashmir is located at the northern tip of the diamond, and the states of Kerala
and Tamil Nadu occupy its southern tip. The island of Sri Lanka is located just off
India’s southernmost point, known as Kanyā Kumārī (Cape Comorin). The eastern
corner of the subcontinent contains a collection of isolated and protected states, such
as Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, and Manipur, as well as the independent nation of
Bangladesh, whereas the western corner is occupied by the state of Gujarat. India is
bordered by Pakistan on its upper western side, along which runs the Thar Desert.
The states of Rajasthan and Punjab are also located there. The subcontinent’s upper
eastern side is flanked by the states of Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh, the
country of Nepal, and the massive wall of the Himalaya Mountains, beyond which
lies the Tibetan high plateau and China. India’s lower eastern side is bordered by
the Bay of Bengal, and the lower western side faces the Arabian Sea. The oceans,
mountains, rivers and deserts that bound the subcontinent have inhibited overland
travel into modern-day India and Pakistan, providing this region with natural
defenses against invasion.
The Indian portion of the subcontinent is often spoken of as roughly divided
into North and South India by the Narmadā River and the Vindhya mountain
range. The Gaṅgā River flows through the northern portion of the country,
through the highly populated states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal.
The country’s capital, New Delhi, is also located in the northern half. Central
Indian states include Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha
(Orissa). Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Karnataka are among
the states in the south. Between early June and mid-July, India’s major monsoon
begins its sweep northwest from the Bay of Bengal. The monsoons usher in a four-
month rainy season, which is vital for India’s agricultural food base. Rivers swell
and transportation is hindered. From the alpine conditions of the Himalayas,
the highest mountains in the world, to the tropical rain forests in its eastern and
southern regions, India possesses a full spectrum of geographic terrains. In terms of
biodiversity, more than 7 percent of the world’s various animal species and over 10
percent of its floral species are represented on the subcontinent. Among its unique
animal species is the Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica), found in the Gir Forest
National Park in Gujarat. India’s national tree is the banyan (Ficus benghalensis),
which puts down aerial roots from its branches, sometimes creating a small grove
8 Introduction

Figure 0.2 Map of the Indian subcontinent indicating the states, major cities, and religious
centers

from a single massive parent. Alexander the Great is reputed to have camped with
several thousand soldiers under a single banyan. The sacred Bodhi tree, under
which the Buddha is believed to have attained nirvāṇa is a banyan species. The
Hindu tradition itself may be likened to a banyan tree, whose sprawling branches
are buttressed by dozens of trunks, each of which draws support and nourishment
from the same soil as the central trunk.
 Introduction 9

The Indus Valley Civilization

Discovery and nature

Some four and a half millennia ago (c. 2500 bce) a vast civilization flourished in the
northwest of the Indian subcontinent. Like the other great early civilizations, such
as the Egyptian on the river Nile, the Mesopotamian on the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers, and the Yellow River Civilization in China, it developed on the floodplains
of the Indus River valley, but eventually spread much farther. Since remnants of its
cities only began to be unearthed in the 1920s, there are ongoing discoveries being
made about the actual extent and nature of the Indus Valley Civilization.
The earliest European account of the Indus Valley Civilization is in the writings of
a British adventurer, who in the 1820s chanced upon the ruins of Harappa. Harappa
is one of the largest cities of the Indus Valley Civilization, which is thus also called
Harappan Civilization. In the second half of the nineteenth century, a British
archeologist began some excavations, and uncovered a stone seal depicting a one-
horned animal and an unknown script. In 1922, an Indian archeologist discovered the
ruins of another large city center, Mohenjodaro, which yielded weights, pottery, and
a collection of seals similar to those being uncovered at Harappa. These discoveries
at Mohenjodaro and Harappa made the world aware that a great urban culture once
flourished on the Indian subcontinent. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Archaeological
Survey of India uncovered such structures as the “Granary,” now thought to be a
“Great Hall.” In 1946, the remains of a pre-Indus Valley civilization were discovered.
A current archeological research project has been conducting regular excavations at
Harappa since 1986. Their discoveries suggest that Harappa, which was the major
urban center in the upper Indus Valley Civilization, was continuously inhabited
since 3300 bce. Mohenjodaro was the major center in the lower Indus Valley, and
there were other cities of comparable size scattered throughout the cultural region.
The Indus Valley Tradition began as early as 6000 bce when inhabitants of
the region began to develop a distinct cultural style. In about 2600 bce city-states
begin to emerge with common, standardized, and shared elements, such as writing,
pottery styles, bricks, and stone weights. There was internal trade throughout the
civilization, consisting of beads, lumber, pottery, and cotton, transported by bullock
carts and boat, as well as far-flung trade with surrounding cultures to the east and
west. Certain Mesopotamian sites, such as the ancient city of Ur, have yielded
materials of Harappan origin. By 1900 bce there appear signs of distinct regional
developments. Local languages and writing began to develop and long-distance
trade diminished. However, a broader-based, more fluid cultural tradition emerged,
stretching from the Indus to the flood plains of the Gaṅgā in North India.
The Indus Valley Civilization covered a region much larger than most scholars
imagined, even a few decades ago. There is evidence of the Indus Valley Tradition
10 Introduction

stretching from the Himalayas and upper Afghanistan to its north, as far as modern-
day Mumbai (Bombay) to its south, along with a substantial coastal network in
the state of Gujarat. Settlements also stretch over a thousand miles from modern-
day Delhi in the east, westward to the border of Iran. Apart from the major cities
such as Mohenjodaro and Harappa, which at their peak may have each had over
40,000 inhabitants making them among the largest cities of the ancient world, the
people lived in small towns and villages. These were located not just along the Indus
River, but mostly along the Ghaggar-Hakra River which lay to the east of the Indus
and ran parallel to it. The ancient Vedic scriptures referred to the Sarasvatī River,
whose existence is thought by some scholars to be a myth, whereas others regard
the Ghaggar-Hakra to be the Sarasvatī. Satellite imaging reveals the location of the
dried up river bed of the Ghaggar-Hakra and provides a rationale for the position
of the old settlements. The demise of the Ghaggar-Hakra, a monsoon fed river, due
to shifts in the patterns of annual rainfall, likely contributed to the demise of the
Indus Valley Civilization, whose inhabitants appear to have migrated farther to the
south and east over the centuries. In time, the Indus River, too, changed its route.
The absence of ready access to the rivers likely led to the abandonment of many
settlements and a decline in the highly uniform characteristics of the civilization.
Subsequent to the Indus Valley Civilization (also referred to as the Sarasvatī-Sindhu
Civilization by some scholars), the region was occupied by cultures named after the
ceramic production with which they are associated. The Painted Grey Ware culture
flourished from 1200 to 800 bce, the time of the early Iron Age in India, followed by
the Northern Black Polished Ware culture from about 700 to 300 bce.
Indus Valley urban planning was sophisticated. Each city was built on a mud
brick platform, providing it with a protective elevation against rainy season flooding.
Mohenjodaro had a large paved water tank used for public or ritual bathing, as
well as a citadel and a Great Hall. The roads were paved, and drains were covered.
Homes were often two stories and constructed of uniformly cast baked or sun-dried
mud bricks that were used throughout the civilization. Homes were equipped with
bathrooms, with drainage systems that funneled water to communal sewer systems.
The standardization of the bricks, and other elements such as weights and measures,
used over such a large territorial area of hundreds of thousands of square miles and
through a period of many hundreds of years, suggests a strong centralized government.
Artisans fabricated jewelry and implements of stone, ceramics, bone, shell, ivory,
and soft metals such as bronze, copper, gold, and silver. One finds cookware, mirrors,
toys, tools, and game pieces. Among the most intriguing objects excavated are an
abundance of small square seals fashioned from stone or clay. They mostly depict
animals – particularly, a one-horned creature designated a unicorn.
These seals are also engraved with symbols of the Indus Valley script.
Unfortunately, due to the short strings of characters found on the seals, and the
absence of bilingual inscriptions, the script has not yet been deciphered. A shard of
 Introduction 11

Figure 0.3 Exhibit displaying terracotta artifacts from the Indus Valley Civilization and
rectangular seals with animal motifs and undeciphered script (Musée Guimet,
Paris)

pottery, dated to about 3500 bce, has been discovered with a few symbols that appear
to be rudimentary forms of the Indus Valley script, and may be the earliest evidence
of writing, even older than Egyptian hieroglyphs and Mesopotamian cuneiform.
Unfortunately, with the demise of the Indus Valley Civilization, evidence of writing
appears to have vanished from the Indian subcontinent by about 1700 bce. After
that, the next evidence of writing, with different scripts from the Indus Valley, only
emerges in the fourth century bce during the reign of the Mauryan Dynasty. Certain
scholars doubt that an evolved written language ever existed among the Harappans.
They suggest that the sophisticated symbol system evident on the seals unites with
a certain disdain for writing and the primacy given to oral transmission in the elite
orthodox Hinduism of a later period.
A small population of Brahui people lives near Mohenjodaro, which is about a
hundred miles from their home in Kalat, Baluchistan. Samples of pottery and script
from other early settlements in Baluchistan, such as Mehrgarh, closely resemble
Harappan findings. The Brahui are an isolated group of Dravidian language speakers,
numbering about a million, in the Indus Valley region. These observations have
contributed to scholarly speculation that the people of the Indus Valley Civilization
may have spoken a Dravidian language and originally come from Baluchistan.
12 Introduction

A note on dates
One of the earliest histories of India was written in the fourteenth century,
which is not so very long ago. So historians of ancient India have had to rely on
epigraphic (i.e., inscriptional) evidence, linguistic analysis, textual references, and
so on, to ascertain dates for the compositions of various texts, or the periods in
which particular people lived. When dates cannot be established with certainty
– and there is no shortage of uncertainty when trying to piece together ancient
Indian history – we note that cultural, political, and religious agendas often play
mischievous roles in the attribution of dates. For instance, a person who reads
scriptures literally may choose to believe that certain events took place long
before or long after most positivist historians might date these events. Positivist
historians attempt to analyze the evidence at their disposal as objectively as
possible following the parameters of the scientific method. There are obvious
limitations in the scientific approach to history because the foundational data
may sometimes be culled from non-scientifically compiled narratives, such as
scriptures. Moreover, historical analysis is vulnerable to the historian’s biases and
assumptions, to limited and inadequate data, and a host of other factors, even
among those striving for neutrality and objectivity. As a result, there are often
disagreements even among positivist historians. Variations of a few centuries, or
even a few decades, may carry implications as to who influenced whom.
Unless expressed with precision, the dates provided in this book are
conservative approximations derived from contemporary scholarly literature,
and generally defer to the reckonings of positivist rather than idealist
historians. Students are advised to utilize a healthy skepticism when evaluating
the approximate dating provided in this text, but should insist on compelling
evidence, and be vigilant towards idealist agendas when trying to assess the
validity of alternate claims.

Indus Valley religion

It is difficult to know with certainty what the religious practices of the Indus
Valley people were because we do not have any decipherable written information
available. The archeological record provides us with the material basis for reasoned
speculations, but most of these ideas are open to debate. The dead, for instance, were
buried in wooden coffins, and were accompanied with jars that probably contained
food. Both the food provision and the burial suggest a belief in some form of afterlife.
There have been no examples of royal tombs or elaborate burials with expensive
ornaments, such as of gold and silver.
 Introduction 13

Simple terracotta images of men, women, and animals have been unearthed. A
particularly well-crafted image is of a man who sports a beard and a disc forehead
ornament, as well as a decorated cloak draped over his left shoulder. His eyes seem
half shut, as if in meditation. The royal demeanor and garb of this figure led some
archaeologists to dub it the “Priest-King,” although whether such functionaries as
“priests” or “kings” even existed in the Indus Valley Civilization, and what their roles
might have been, is unknown.
The large number of terracotta female figurines suggests a cult of the feminine,
and have prompted scholarly speculation that goddesses were widely worshipped.
Many female images appear to have headdresses that could be filled with oil and
burned as lamps in rituals.
The seals and molded tablets sometimes depict narrative scenes. For instance, one
tablet shows a figure with a foot pressing down on the head of a water buffalo, which
it is simultaneously spearing. A figure with a horned headdress seated in an atypical
posture of the sort we associate with yogic practice, with the soles of the feet pressed
together, rather than simply cross-legged, looks on. The obverse image on that tablet
shows a female figure throttling two tigers. An elephant stands below. Such images
suggest continuities with myths and beliefs in modern Hinduism. For instance,
various Hindu deities (such as Skanda and Durgā) are associated with the slaying
of a buffalo demon, and modern representations of Hindu deities are still portrayed
accompanied by animals such as tigers and elephants. Certain Indus Valley seals
portray female figures entwined in or fused with trees and plants, which resonates
with the association Hindus still draw between women, goddesses, fertility, and
vegetation.
The figure in the unusual seated posture mentioned above is particularly
intriguing. There are several seals depicting such a figure, some with different details
than others. In one seal the figure appears to have a horned headdress and three faces.
He is seated in what is neither a simple cross-legged posture (the half-lotus or tailor
posture, with one ankle over the other), nor the more contrived full-lotus posture
(cross-legged with feet resting on opposite thighs with the soles pointing upwards),
but in a much more athletic and challenging seated stance that we currently associate
with yogic posture practice. He wears a number of bracelets on his arms. The figure
appears to possess an erect penis. Animals – including a water-buffalo or bull,
rhinoceros, elephant, and tiger – are also depicted around the figure, which has come
to be referred to as the “ithyphallic proto-Śiva.” This is because the seal contains
many characteristics similar to those associated with the Hindu god Śiva, and have
led some to suggest that this is an early depiction of that deity. Śiva is regarded as the
yogi par excellence, and is often worshipped in the form of an erect phallus (liṅga). His
animal mount is the bull, and he is also called Paśupati (Lord of Animals). Despite
such compelling connections, the evidence that these seals actually depict an early
form of Śiva is inconclusive.
14 Introduction

Figure 0.4 Liṅga and yoni stones sprinkled with flower petal offerings at the edge of a Hindu
temple’s bathing tank (Nepal)

Another potential continuity between Indus Valley religion and modern

Hinduism is the emphasis on ritual bathing and personal hygiene. The bathing tank
at Mohenjodaro suggests a connection with the bathing tanks found at many Hindu
temple sites. Similarly, smooth oval and doughnut-shaped stones at Indus Valley
sites have led to speculations that these are evidence of early worship of the symbols
of male and female generative principles, the liṅga and yoni, respectively, which are
widespread in Hinduism today.
However, these may merely have been grinding or tethering stones. We shall
have to await the accumulation of much more data before we can comfortably assert
knowledge about the nature of Indus Valley religion.

The Āryans
From about 1500 bce, a pastoral, cattle-herding people known as the Āryans (Noble
Ones), appeared on the Indian subcontinent. The prevailing view among scholars is
that they originated from the area of central Asia near the Caucasus Mountains and
migrated westward into Europe, and eastward into the Indian subcontinent. However,
there is also a view held by a minority of scholars that the Āryans originated in or
close to the Indus Valley. This Cultural Diffusion Hypothesis derives from a number
 Introduction 15

of uncertainties inherent in the Indo-European (i.e., Āryan) Migration Thesis. It is

also bolstered by orthodox Hindu religious and political ideologies. In this regard, it
suspects the Āryan Migration Thesis of being based on a white-supremacist ideology
and a colonialist paradigm. These theses will continue to be hotly debated until new
evidence, particularly from archeological excavations, provides a compelling answer.

The Indo-European (Āryan) Migration Thesis

According to this dominant thesis, the Āryans were a light-skinned, Indo-European
people, who migrated into the Indian subcontinent in waves. They carried with
them a set of sacred oral scriptures, known as the Vedas, which tell us much about
their beliefs and practices. They were warrior-nomads who had the horse-drawn
war chariot, which enabled them to conquer many of the cultures they encountered.
The Vedas tell of the Āryans conquering the darker-skinned Dāsas and Dasyus, and
scholars originally speculated that this referred to a conquest of the people of the
Indus Valley. However, archeological evidence mostly suggests that the Indus Valley
Civilization had already declined before the arrival of the Āryans. Some scholars
suggest that there may have been interaction, in part because there is evidence of
cremations (Āryan-style) and burials (IVC-style) from the same time period. There
is scarce evidence of the horse or a violent overthrow at the excavated Indus Valley
sites. The Āryans thus moved beyond the Indus, pushing east and south into the
subcontinent. The people that they encountered as they moved south may have
been the descendants of the displaced Indus Valley inhabitants. In the nineteenth
century, the term “Dravidian” (Southern) was coined to refer to the family of the
non-Sanskritic based languages spoken mainly in South India, and to the shared
Dravidian culture of the speakers of these tongues. According to the Migration
Thesis, a mingling of Āryan and Dravidian cultures took place. Āryan cultural
elements, such as their sacred language, Sanskrit, and derivative forms, eventually
became dominant, particularly in the north. However, Dravidian cultural elements
endured with more resilience in the south.
In support of this thesis, one notes that North Indian languages are based on Sanskrit
and belong to the Indo-European family of languages, which includes English. By
contrast, South Indian languages belong to the family of Dravidian languages, probably
based on an ancient form of Tamil, a language with a rich literature and tradition, as
ancient as Sanskrit, but linguistically quite different from it. Furthermore, the Brahui
language – spoken by the Brahui people, who are relatively isolated in the vicinity
of the Indus Valley sites – is a Dravidian language. Since Brahui is now surrounded
by Sanskritic-based languages in North India, it suggests that Dravidian languages
and culture originally inhabited the Indus Valley, and were at that time much more
widespread on the subcontinent. These languages were eventually superseded in the
north by the Indo-European languages such as Sanskrit.
16 Introduction

In further support of this thesis, the Vedas describe a civilization that does not
seem particularly urban. It refers to a pastoral culture, with practices such as the
herding of cows, and does not refer to temples, bathing tanks, and so on.

The Cultural Diffusion Hypothesis

This hypothesis proposes that Āryan civilization, whose sacred language was
Sanskrit, and where the Vedas originated, developed close to the Harappan
Civilization, and may well have been one and the same with it. As an advanced
civilization, with great social and political stability, the complex Vedic/Āryan culture
that developed in the Indus Valley diffused into neighboring lands. Although the use
of scriptures as historical documents is fraught with problems, proponents of both
the Indo-European Migration Thesis, and the Cultural Diffusion Hypothesis often
use the content of the Vedas to substantiate their arguments. This is because, in
the absence of datable inscriptions or other evidence from the archeological record,
these ancient scriptures offer the only other source of potentially valid embedded
historical information. Thus Cultural Diffusion theorists note, for instance, that the
Vedas contain many references to the ocean, which casts doubt on the proposition
that they were composed in landlocked central Asia. And references to astronomical
phenomena, such as the positions of particular constellations, suggest that the Vedas
were composed far earlier than the Indo-European Migration Thesis would suggest.
Furthermore, there is very little archeological evidence of the Indo-European
Migration.

Āryan and non-Āryan influences

The prevailing scholarly view is that Vedic literature can tell us much about the
early religious culture of the Āryans. This is because we have that ancient scriptural
record of their beliefs and practices. By contrast, we do not have any written
testimony of ancient non-Āryan religion. The Āryans strove to maintain an elite
status, distinguishing themselves from non-Āryans through such measures as the
class (varṇa) system and the privileged status granted to knowledge of the Sanskrit
language and its literature. Nevertheless, over the centuries Āryan and non-Āryan
cultures mingled and influenced each other, and aspects of these changes were
progressively reflected in the content of Sanskritic scriptures themselves. We may
thus infer something about the nature of ancient non-Āryan religions through the
changes that took place in the Āryan/Vedic/Sanskritic corpus of scriptural writings
over the course of time. For instance, there is no mention of the god Śiva in the
earliest Vedic (i.e., Āryan) scriptures (e.g., the Ṛg Veda Saṃhitā). This suggests that
his worship originates from a non-Āryan religious tradition on the subcontinent.
Some scholars propose, based on such evidence as the “ithyphallic proto-Śiva” seals,
 Introduction 17

that Śiva’s worship derives from the Indus Valley Civilization, but this is certainly
speculative because we do not know with any certainty if the figure depicted on
those seals is Śiva, or even a god. However, by the time of the composition of later
Vedic scriptures, such as the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad, we find mention of Śiva, and
later still, when the Epics and Purāṇas were composed, he is one of the great gods of
Hinduism. Similar processes hold true for a number of other Hindu deities, such as
the elephant-headed god Gaṇeśa, the monkey god, Hanumān, and a large number
of goddesses, all of whom were progressively assimilated into the Vedic pantheon.
This process, designated by some social scientists as “universalization,” in which
the elite, dominant classes (aka, the “Great Tradition”) adopt the practices of the
subordinate classes (aka, the “Little Tradition”), and legitimize them by incorporating
them into the cultural forms of the upper classes (e.g., incorporating them into
Sanskrit scriptural texts), is still underway. However, nowadays, we see it more at
work between upper-class and popular (i.e., that of the masses) culture, between
orthodox and unorthodox (e.g., Tantric) Hindu beliefs, and between mainstream
priestly and low-class/tribal practices, than between Vedic and non-Vedic high
cultures, which initially took place. The upper classes portray their value system as
normative – that is, as the authoritative standard which pertains to everyone (i.e.,
universal). Furthermore, because they dominate political and legal systems, the term
“universalization” also refers to their advancement of these values throughout their
spheres of influence.
A corollary of this trend is a process known as “Sanskritization,” in which the
lower classes, in order to enhance their social status, adopt the values and practices of
the upper dominant classes, such as notions of purity (e.g., adopting vegetarianism)
and pollution (e.g., renouncing animal sacrifice), and hold similar things (e.g., the
Vedas) to be sacrosanct. For instance, quite early in the process of contact between
the Āryans and non-Āryans, we note that local, non-Āryan rulers (rājan) allowed
Brahmin priests to perform various rites of consecration, and adopted some of
the Brahmin notions of religious righteousness (dharma). In so doing these rulers
enhanced their status and that of their subjects. As more rulers accepted this form
of status-enhancement, Hinduism spread throughout the Indian subcontinent and
into parts of Southeast Asia, such as Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia.
The concepts of “universalization” and “Sanskritization” have often been used
interchangeably, and somewhat loosely, in the context of South Asian studies. To
a large extent, the development of what we today call Hinduism could be imagined
as an ongoing interaction between the religious culture of the Āryan priestly
elite (i.e., the Brahmins) and other religious cultures through such processes as
“Sanskritization” and “universalization.” However, orthodox values (i.e., those of
the Brahmin elite) did not spread uniformly, and were imposed on broader bodies
of peoples with varying degrees of success. Moreover, various forms of non-Āryan
religious traditions persisted, and select dimensions of these influenced Brahminic
18 Introduction

traditions, until they were adopted by the upper classes after undergoing adaptations
into forms acceptable to the orthodoxy.
In order to simplify the complex dynamic of socio-cultural interactions that
have been taking place on the Indian subcontinent for millennia, we suggest that
modern Hinduism is thus a blend of three main components. The first is what one
might loosely term Āryan religion, also known as Vedic religion, the Sanskritic, or
orthodox tradition, or Brahmanism (after the priestly Brahmin class). As these terms
suggest, it is characterized by the high regard it has for the Vedas and other Vedic
scriptures and their religious teachings, which are upheld as authoritative. It also
firmly upholds the hierarchy of the class (varṇa) system, which grants a privileged
status to the upper three classes of priests (Brahmins, brāhmaṇa), warriors (kṣatriya),
and merchants (vaiśya), over the servant (śūdra) class, with Brahmins at the top of
the pyramid.
The second component may be, somewhat problematically, termed “Dravidian
religion,” which refers to the non-Āryan high-cultures on the Indian subcontinent.
“Dravidian religion” may include the Indus Valley Civilization religious traditions
and, after its demise, those that followed in the Gaṅgā River valley and further
south, as well as those that may have developed independently in those regions.
These religious cultures are also loosely linked to the peoples who speak the
Dravidian family of languages such as Tamil and Telugu. The term “Dravidian”
for this culture and religion is problematic because certain medieval myths, held
to be true by people who believe the religious texts containing those myths to
be accurate historical documents, speak of Vedic, Āryan origins of the Dravidian
(Southern) peoples and languages. Also, because invasions and colonial rule
ravaged Hindu culture in North India, the South Indian traditions often preserve
better instances of Vedic religion. Furthermore, drawing “racial” distinctions
between North and South India is sometimes seen as the vestige of a British
colonial strategy to divide the nation. The notion of “Dravidian identity” has
spearheaded separatist political movements in South India in the last century.
In this book, Dravidian will be used to refer to the category of non-Sanskritic
languages related to Tamil, and to indicate the non-Sanskritic, non-Āryan people,
societies, and high cultures indigenous to the Indian subcontinent, but excluding
the subcontinent’s aboriginal, tribal societies.
The third component contributing to the formation of Hinduism derives from
the assortment of disparate religious beliefs and practices of aboriginal tribal groups
throughout the subcontinent. Living in remote areas or thick jungles, these groups
did not belong to the non-Vedic (i.e., Dravidian) high-cultural traditions. In general
terms, one associates animistic beliefs (e.g., that spirits inhabit rocks, trees, lakes,
and other natural phenomena), concerns with the fertility of the community and
the natural world, and the presence of shamanic religious specialists with such
tribal societies. Because the Sanskritic/Āryan tradition developed hegemony (i.e.,
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 El coche paró junto a la casa. Era el carruaje de Calomarde, que
vivía frente por frente de Carnicero, en el palacio del duque de Alba.
—Su Excelencia ha entrado en su palacio —dijo el conde de Negri
atisbando por los vidrios verdosos y pequeñuelos de uno de los
balcones.
—Todo se andará —manifestó don Felicísimo—. La conversación
que tuvimos él y yo hace dos días, me hace creer que don Tadeo
tardará en ser apostólico lo que tarde Su Majestad en tener, ji, e
ataque de gota que corresponde al otoño próximo.
—Y si no —dijo Negri tornando a su asiento—, le barrerán. Después
veremos quién toma la escoba... ¡Cuidado con doña Cristina y qué
humos gasta! ¡Si creerá que está en Nápoles y que aquí somos
lazzaronis...! ¿Pues no se atrevió a pedir mi destitución del puesto que
tengo en la mayordomía del señor infante? Gracias a que los señores
me han sostenido contra viento y marea. Aquí, entre cuatro amigos —
añadió el conde bajando la voz—, puede revelarse un secreto. He
dado ayer un bromazo a nuestra soberana provisional, que va a da
mucho que reír en la corte. En imprenta que no necesito nombrar se
están imprimiendo unos versos de no sé qué poeta en elogio de su
majestad napolitana. Hacia la mitad de la composición se habla de la
angélica Isabel y de la inmortal Cristina. Pues yo...
El conde se detuvo, sofocado por la risa.
—¿Qué?
—Pues yo, como tengo relaciones en todas partes, me introduje en
la imprenta, y di ocho duros al corrector de pruebas para que quitara
bonitamente la t de la palabra inmortal.
—La inmoral Cristina, ji, ji...
—Espadas, espadas —gruñó Maroto—, y no bromas de esa
especie.
—Toda cooperación debe aceptarse —dijo Elías refunfuñando—
aunque sea la cooperación de una errata de imprenta.
Cuando esto decían, la luz de la lámpara, ya fuera porque doña
María del Sagrario, firme en sus principios económicos, no le ponía
todo el aceite necesario, ya porque don Felicísimo descompusiera, a
fuerza de darle arriba y abajo, el sencillo mecanismo que mueve la
mecha, empezó a decrecer, oscureciendo por grados la estancia.
—Voy a contar a ustedes, señores —dijo Elías—, la conversación
que ayer tuve con el señor Abarca, obispo de León, el hombre de
confianza de Su Majestad... Pero, don Felicísimo, esa luz...
—Empiece usted. Es que la mecha... —replicó Carnicero moviendo
la llave.
—Pues el señor Abarca me pidió informes de lo que se pensaba y
se decía en el cuarto del infante. Yo creí que con un hombre tan sabio
y leal como el señor Abarca no debía guardar misterios... Le dije pan
pan, vino vino... Pero esa luz...
—No es nada; siga usted; ya arderá.
—Le expuse la situación del país, anhelante de verse gobernado
por un príncipe real y verdaderamente absoluto, que no transija con
masones, que no admita principios revolucionarios, que cierre la
puerta a las novedades, que se apoye en el clero, que robustezca a
clero, que dé preeminencias al clero, que atienda al clero, que mime a
clero... Pero esa luz, señor don Felicísimo...
—Verdaderamente no sé qué tiene. Siga usted.
—Convino conmigo Su Ilustrísima en que por el camino que va e
rey marchamos francamente, y él el primero, por la senda de la
revolución... ¡Que nos quedamos a oscuras!...
La luz decrecía tanto que los cuatro personajes principiaron a deja
de verse con claridad. Las sombras crecían en torno suyo. Los
empingorotados respaldos de los sillones parecían extenderse por las
paredes en correcta formación, simulando un cabildo de fantasmas
congregados para deliberar sobre el destino que debía darse a las
ánimas. Las rojas llamas del cuadro se perdían en la oscuridad, y solo
se veían los cuerpos retorcidos.
—Díjome también Su Ilustrísima que ahora se va a emprender una
campaña de exterminio contra los liberales... ¡Por Dios, señor don
Felicísimo, luz, luz!
La lámpara se debilitaba y moría, derramando con esfuerzos su
última claridad por las paredes blancas y por el techo blanco también
Lanzaba a ratos la llama un destelllo triste, como si suspirase, y
después despedía un hilo de humo negro que se enroscaba fuera de
tubo. Luego se contraía en la grasienta mecha, y burbujeando con una
especie de lamento estertoroso, se tornaba en rojiza. Las cuatro caras
aparecían ora encendidas, ora macilentas, y la sombra jugaba en las
paredes y subía al techo, invadiendo a ratos todo el aposento
retirándose a ratos al suelo para esconderse entre los pies y debajo de
los muebles.
 —Esa campaña de exterminio que se va a emprender, fíjense
ustedes bien —prosiguió Orejón—, no favorece al rey, sino al infante
Todo lo que ahora sea reprimir es en ventaja de la gente apostólica
Así nos lo darán todo hecho, y lo odioso del castigo caerá sobre ellos
mientras que nosotros... ¡Luz, luz!
Don Felicísimo quiso llamar; pero en aquella casa no se conocían
las campanillas. Así es que empezó a gritar también:
—¡Luz, luz; que traigan una luz!
La lámpara se extinguió completamente y todos quedaron de un
color.
—¡Luz, luz! —volvió a gritar don Felicísimo.
Orejón, que estaba muy lleno de su asunto y no quería soltarlo de la
boca, a pesar de la oscuridad, prosiguió así:
—Que utilizando con energía la horca y los fusilamientos, limpien e
reino de esas perversas alimañas, es cosa que nos viene de molde.
—Aguarde usted, hombre... Estamos a oscuras...
—Ji..., se han dormido y no nos traen luz —dijo don Felicísimo—
Sagrario, Sagrario. Tablas... Nada, todos dormidos.
Así era en verdad.
—¿Tiene usted avíos de encender, señor conde? Aquí, en este
cajoncillo de la mesa, debe de haber, ji, ji, pajuela.
Pronto se oyó el chasquido del eslabón contra el pedernal. Las
súbitas chispas sacaban momentáneamente la estancia de la
oscuridad. Se veían como luz de relámpago las cuatro caras
apostólicas, la fúnebre fila de sillas de caoba y el cuadro de ánimas.
—La raza liberalesca y masónica estará ya exterminada cuando
llegue el momento de la sucesión de la corona —decía Orejón
entusiasmado—. ¡Admirable, señores!
Don Felicísimo tenía la pajuela en la mano para acercarla a la
mecha luego que esta prendiese, y al brotar de la chispa, su cara
plana, en que se pintaban la ansiedad y la atención, parecía figura de
pesadilla o alma en pena.
—Trabajan para nosotros, y ahorcando a los liberales se ahorcan a
sí mismos.
—Es evidente —murmuró don Rafael Maroto.
—¡Demonches de pedernal!
—¡Luz, luz! —volvió a decir don Felicísimo—. Pero Sagrario..
Nada, lo que digo, todos dormidos.
 Por fin prendió la mecha, y aplicada a ella la pajuela de azufre
ardió rechinando como un condenado cuyas carnes se fríen en las
ollas de Pedro Botero. A la luz sulfúrea de la pajuela reaparecieron las
cuatro caras, bañadas de un tinte lívido, y la estancia parecía más
grande, más fría, más blanca, más sepulcral...
—De modo —continuaba Elías, cuando don Felicísimo encendía e
candilón de cuatro mecheros— que en vez de apartarles de ese
camino, debemos instarles a que por él sigan.
—Sí, que limpien, que despojen...
—Pues ahora —dijo Negri— contaré yo la conversación que tuve
con Su Alteza la infanta doña Francisca.
—Y yo —añadió Carnicero— referiré lo que me dijo ayer fray Cirilo
de Alameda y Brea.
 XX

Jenara no pudo dormir en el camastro abominable que le destinara

doña María del Sagrario, el cual estaba en un cuarto más grande que
bonito, todo blanco, todo frío, todo triste, con alto ventanillo por donde
venían mayidos y algazara de gatos. Al amanecer pudo aletargarse un
poco, y en su desvariado sueño creía ver a don Felicísimo hecho un
demonio, ora volando montado en su pluma, ora descuartizando gente
con la misma pluma, en cuchillo convertida. La casa se le
representaba como un lisiado que suelta sus muletas para arrojarse a
suelo, y allí eran el crujir de tabiques, el desplome de paredes, la
pulverización de techos y las nubes de polvo, en medio del cual, como
ave rapante, revoloteaba don Felicísimo llorando con lúgubre graznido
mientras los demás habitantes de la casa se asfixiaban sepultados
entre cascote y astillas.
Al despertar sin haber hallado reposo, sus ojos enrojecidos
reconocieron la estancia, que más tenía de prisión que de albergue, y
acometida de viva aflicción lloró mucho. Después las reflexiones, los
planes habilísimos que había concebido, y más que nada la valentía
natural de su espíritu, la fueron serenando. Vistiose y acicalose como
pudo, echando muy de menos los primores de su tocador, y pudo
presentarse a Micaelita y a doña Sagrario con semblante risueño.
En sus planes entraba el de amoldar su conducta y sus opiniones a
las opiniones y conducta de los dueños de la casa, y así, cuando visitó
al señor don Felicísimo en su despacho y hablaron los dos, era tan
apostólica que el mismo infante la habría juzgado digna de una cartera
en su ministerio futuro. Según ella, la perseguían por apostólica, y su
apostoliquismo (fue su palabra) era de tal naturaleza, que la llevaría
valientemente a la lucha y al martirio. Carnicero, que en su marrullería
no carecía de inocencia (virtud hasta cierto punto apostólica), creyó
cuanto la dama le dijo, y establecida entre ambos la confianza, e
anciano le contaba diariamente mil cosas de gran sustancia y meollo
referentes a la causa. Sirvan de ejemplo las siguientes confidencias.
«¡Bomba, señora! Direle a usted lo más importante que he sabido
anoche. Una monjita de las Agustinas Recoletas de la Encarnación
soñó no hace mucho que el infante se ceñía la corona asistido de no
sé cuantas legiones de ángeles. Escribió su sueño en una esquelita
que remitió a Su Alteza, el cual la besó y tuvo con esto un grandísimo
gozo. Me lo ha contado Orejón».
«¡Bomba, señora! La trapisonda de Andalucía ha terminado. Los
marinos que se sublevaron en San Fernando están ya fusilados, y e
bribón de Manzanares, que desembarcó con unos cuantos tunantes
ha perecido también. ¡Si no hay sahumerio como la pólvora para
limpiar un reino! Que desembarquen más si quieren. El gobierno se ha
preparado, arma al brazo. Ahora, vengan pillos».
«¡Gran bomba, señora! Mañana ahorcan a Miyar, el librero de la
calle del Príncipe, por escribir cartas democráticas. Pronto le harán
compañía Olózaga, Bringas y Ángel Iznardi». Generalmente estas
noticias eran dadas al anochecer o durante la cena, en presencia de
Tablas. Después se rezaba el rosario, con asistencia de todos los de la
casa, y de Jenara, que desempeñaba su parte con extraordinario
recogimiento y edificación.
Ya se habrá comprendido que la muy pícara se valió de los ahogos
pecuniarios del bueno de Perico Tablas para sobornarle y ponerle de
su parte. El demandadero de la cárcel de Villa, que no era ciertamente
un Catón, se rindió a la voluntad dispendiosa de Jenara, sirviéndole
como se sirve a una dama que reúne en sí afabilidad, hermosura y
dinero.
Dos días habían pasado desde la prisión de Olózaga, cuando se vio
a Tablas y a Pepe Olózaga, hermano menor de Salustiano, bebiendo
medios chicos de vino en la taberna de la calle Mayor, esquina a la de
Milaneses. Jenara no solo supo explotar en provecho propio los
buenos servicios de Tablas, sino que los utilizó en pro de Salustiano
por quien mucho se interesaba.
Este insigne joven, que había de alcanzar fama tan grande como
orador y hábil político, fue primero encerrado en lo que llamaban E
Infierno, lugar tenebroso, pero más horrendo aún por sus habitantes
que por sus tinieblas, pues estaba ocupado por bandidos y rateros, la
peor y más desvergonzada canalla del mundo. No creyéndole seguro
en El Infierno, el alcaide le trasladó a un calabozo, y de allí a una de
las altas buhardillas de la torre. Antes de que mediara Tablas, pudo
Pepe Olózaga ponerse en comunicación con su hermano, valiéndose
de una fiambrera de doble fondo y del palo del molinillo de la
chocolatera.
El ingenio, la serenidad, la travesura de Salustiano eran tales, que
en pocos días se hizo querer y admirar de los presos que le rodeaban
y que allí entraron por raterías y otros desafueros. Los demás presos
no se comunicaban con él. Pepe Olózaga, después de ganar a Tablas
a quien hizo creer que su hermano estaba encarcelado por cosas de
mujeres, intentó ganar también a uno de los carceleros; pero no pudo
conseguirlo. Más afortunado fue Salustiano, que, seduciendo dentro
de la prisión a sus guardianes con aquella sutilísima labia y trastienda
que Dios le dio, pudo comunicarse con Bringas. Ambos sabían que s
no se fugaban serían irremisiblemente ahorcados. Discurrieron los
medios de alargar los procedimientos para ver si ganando tiempo
adelantaba el negocio de su salvación, y al cabo convinieron en que
Bringas se fingiría mudo y Olózaga loco.
Tan bien desempeñó este su papel, que por poco le cuesta la vida
Principió por fingirse borracho; propinose una pulmonía acostándose
desnudo sobre los ladrillos, y los carceleros le hallaron por la mañana
tieso y helado como un cadáver. Tras esto venía tan bien la farsa de su
locura, que siete médicos realistas le declararon sin juicio. Así ganó un
mes.
Miyar, que no era travieso, ni abogado, ni hombre resuelto, pereció
en la horca el 11 de abril.
Mejor le fue a Olózaga con su locura que a Bringas con su mutismo
porque impacientes los jueces con aquel tenaz silencio, que les
impedía despachar pronto, imaginaron darle un ingenioso tormento, e
cual consistía en clavarle en las uñas astillas o estacas de caña. Nada
consiguieron con esto; pero Bringas perdió la salud y no salió de la
cárcel sino para morirse. Es un mártir oscuro, del cual se ha hablado
poco, y que merece tanta veneración como lástima.
Pepe Olózaga y los amigos de Salustiano trabajaban sin reposo
Las comunicaciones con el preso eran frecuentes, y no solo recibió
este ganzúas y dinero, que son dos clases de llaves falsas, sino
también el correspondiente puñal y un poquillo de veneno para e
momento desesperado. Antes el suicidio que la horca.
Jenara, que salía de noche furtivamente de la casa de don
Felicísimo, iba donde se le antojaba sin que nadie la molestase, y as
pudo ayudar a la familia de Olózaga. Hízose muy amiga de la muje
del escribano señor Raya, y también de la mujer del alcaide. A la
sangre fría del preso primeramente, a la constancia y diplomacia de su
hermano Pepe, al oro de la familia, y, por último, a la compasión y
buen ingenio de algunas mujeres, debiose la atrevidísima y dramática
evasión que referiremos más adelante en breves palabras, aunque
referida está del modo más elocuente por quien debía y sabía hacerlo
mucho mejor que nadie.
Jenara, preciso es declararlo, no tenía puestos los ojos en la cárce
de Villa por el solo interés de Salustiano y su apreciabilísima familia
Allí, en la siniestra torre que modernamente han pintado de rojo, para
darle cierto aire risueño, estaba un preso menos joven que Olózaga
de gentil presencia y muchísima farándula, el cual pasaba por preso
político entre los rateros, y por un ladronzuelo entre los políticos. Era
según Tablas, hombre de grandes fingimientos y transmutaciones, a
parecer instruido y cortés. Figuraba en los registros con dos o tres
nombres, sin que se hubiera podido averiguar cuál era el suyo
verdadero. Tablas reveló a la señora que no era ella sola quien se
interesaba por aquel hombre, sino que otras muchas de la corte le
agasajaban y atendían.
Las señas que el demandadero indicaba de la persona del preso
convencían a Jenara de que era quien ella creía, y más aún las
respuestas que a sus preguntas daba. No obstante, la dama no pudo
lograr ver su letra, por más que a entablar correspondencia le instó po
conducto del demandadero. El preso pidió algunas onzas y se las
mandaron con mil amores. Se trabajó con jueces y escribanos para
que le soltaran, estudiose la causa, y ¿cuál sería la sorpresa, e
despecho y la vergüenza de Jenara, al descubrir que el preso
misterioso no era otro que el celebérrimo Candelas, el hombre de las
múltiples personalidades y de los infinitos nombres y disfraces, figura
eminente del reinado de Fernando VII, y que compartió con José María
los laureles de la caballería ladronera, siendo el héroe legendario de
las ciudades como aquel lo fue de los campos?
 Corrida y enojada, la señora descargó su cólera contra Pipaón, a
quien puso cual no digan dueñas, y no le faltaba motivo para ello
porque el astuto cortesano de 1815 la había engañado, aunque no a
sabiendas, diciéndole que el que buscaba estuvo primero en casa de
Olózaga y después preso en la Villa con los demás conjurados
noticias ambas enteramente contrarias a la verdad.
A todas estas, Jenara no tenía valor para abandonar la hospitalidad
que le había ofrecido don Felicísimo, y continuaba embaucándole con
su entusiasmo apostólico, sabedora de que la mayor tontería que
podía hacerse en tan benditos tiempos, era enemistarse con la gente
de aquel odioso partido.
Al anochecer de cierto día de mayo, Jenara vio salir al padre Alel
del cuarto de don Felicísimo, y poco después de la casa. Como no
tenía noticias de Sola ni del estado de su peligrosa y larga
enfermedad, luego que el fraile se marchó fue derecha a la madriguera
de don Felicísimo para saber de la protegida del señor Cordero.
—¡Grande, estupenda bomba, señora! —dijo el anciano, a quien
acompañaba, rosario en mano, el atlético Tablas.
—¿Se sabe algo de esa joven?...
—Ya pasó a mejor o peor vida, que eso Dios lo sabrá —repuso
Carnicero volviendo hacia Jenara su cara plana, que iluminada de
soslayo parecía una luna en cuarto menguante.
—¡Ha muerto! —exclamó la dama con aflicción grande.
—Ya le han dado su merecido. Conozco que es algo atroz; pero no
están los tiempos para blanduras. Hazme la barba y hacerte he e
copete.
—Yo pregunto por la pupila de nuestro amigo Cordero —insistió
Jenara.
—Acabáramos: yo me refiero a esa señora que han ahorcado en
Granada. ¿Cómo la llamaban, Tablillas?
—Mariana Pineda.
Eso es. Bordadme banderitas para los liberales desembarcadores
El cabello se pone de punta al ver las iniquidades que se cometen
¡Bordar una bandera, servir de estafeta a los liberales!, y ¡sabe Dios
las demás picardías que los señores jueces habrán querido deja
ocultas por miramientos al sexo femenino...!
—¡Y esa señora ha sido ahorcada! —exclamó Jenara, lívida a
causa de la indigación y el susto.
 —¿Que si ha sido...? Y lo sería otra vez si resucitara. O hay justicia
o no hay justicia. Como el gobierno afloje un poco, la revolución lo
arrastra todo, monarquía, religión, clases, propiedad... Esta doña
Mariana Pineda debe ser nieta de un don Cosme Pineda que vino aqu
por los años de 98 a gestionar conmigo cierto negocio de las
capellanías de Guadix... Buena persona, sí, buena. Era poseedor de
una de las mejores ganaderías de Andalucía, la única que podía
competir con la de los Religiosos Dominicos de Jerez de la Frontera
donde se crían los mejores toros del mundo.
—Y esa doña Mariana —dijo Jenara— era, según he oído, joven
hermosa, discreta... ¡Bendito sea Dios que entre tantas maravillas de
hermosura, ha criado, Él sabrá por qué, tantos monstruos terribles, los
leones, las serpientes, los osos y los señores de las Comisiones
Militares...!
—¿Chafalditas tenemos...? —dijo don Felicísimo echando de su
boca un como triquitraque de hipos, sonrisillas y exclamaciones que no
llegaban a ser juramentos—. Mire usted que se puede decir: «al que a
mí me trasquiló, las tijeras, ji, ji, le quedaron en la mano».
La dama le miró, reconcentrada en el corazón la ira; mas no tanto
que faltase en sus ojos un destello de aquel odio intenso que tantos
estragos hacía cuando pasaba de la voluntad a los hechos. En aque
momento Jenara hubiera dado algunos días de su vida por pode
llegarse a don Felicísimo y retorcerle el pescuezo, como retuerce e
ladrón la fruta para arrancarla de la rama; pero excusado es decir que
no solo no puso por obra este atrevido pensamiento homicida, sino
que se guardó muy bien de manifestarlo.
—Yo no soy tampoco de piedra —añadió Carnicero echando un
suspiro—; yo me duelo de que se ahorque a una mujer; pero ella se lo
ha guisado y ella se lo ha comido, porque ¿es o no cierto que bordó la
bandera? Demostrado está que sí. Pues la ley es ley, y el decreto de
octubre ha proclamado el tente-tieso. Conque adóbenme esos
liberales. Dicen que fueron tigres los señores jueces de Granada
Calumnia, enredo. Yo sé de buena tinta..., vea usted: aquí tengo la
carta del señor Santaella, racionero medio y tiple de la Catedral de
Granada..., hombre veraz y muy apersonado, que por no gustar de
clima de Andalucía, quiere una plaza de tiple en la Real Capilla de
Madrid... Pues me dice, vea usted, me dice que cuando la delincuente
subió al patíbulo, los voluntarios realistas que formaban el cuadro se
echaron a llorar... Un padrenuestro, Tablas; recémosle un
padrenuestro a esa pobre señora.
Igual congoja que los voluntarios realistas sintió Jenara al oír el rezo
de Carnicero y Tablas; pero dominándose con su voluntad poderosa
varió de conversación diciendo:
—¿Se sabe de la pupila de Cordero?
—Esa... —replicó don Felicísimo con desdén— está fuera de
peligro. Hierba ruin no muere.
 XXI

—Sí, ya está fuera de peligro, gracias al Señor y a su Santísima y

única Madre la Virgen del Sagrario. Decir lo que he padecido durante
esta larga y complicada dolencia de la apreciable Hormiga, durante
estos cuarenta y tantos días de vicisitudes, mejorías, inesperados
recargos y amenazas de muerte, fuera imposible. El corazón se me
partía dentro del pecho al ver cómo caía y se deslizaba hasta el borde
del sepulcro aquella criatura ejemplar, dotada por el cielo de tantas
riquezas de espíritu, y que parece puesta adrede en el mundo para
que sirva de espejo a los que necesitamos mirarnos en un alma
grande para poder engrandecer un poquito la nuestra. Y más me
angustiaba el ver cómo se moría sin quejarse, aceptando los dolores
como si fueran deberes: que su costumbre es llevar sobre sí las
pesadumbres de la vida, como llevamos todos nuestra ropa.
»Ya está fuera de peligro, y gracias a Dios sigue bien. Me parece
mentira que es así, y a cada instante tiemblo, figurándome que su cara
no recobra tan prontamente como yo quisiera los colores de la salud
Si la oigo toser, tiemblo; si la veo triste, tiemblo también. Pero don
Pedro Castelló, que es el primer Esculapio de España, me asegura
que ya no debo temer nada. Es fabuloso lo que he gastado en
médicos y botica; pero hubiera dado hasta el último maravedí de m
fortuna por obtener una probabilidad sola de vida. Mi conciencia está
tranquila. Ni sueño ni descanso ha habido para mí en este período
terrible. He olvidado mi tienda, mis negocios, mi persona, y al fin, con
la ayuda de Dios, he dado un bofetón a la pícara y fea muerte. ¡Viva la
Virgen del Sagrario, viva don Pedro Castelló y también Rousseau, que
dice aquello tan sabio y profundo: no conviene que el hombre esté
solo!
 Así hablaba don Benigno Cordero en la tienda con un amigo suyo
muy estimado, el marqués de Falfán. Y era verdad lo que decía de sus
congojas y del gran peligro en que había puesto a Sola una traidora
pleuresía aguda. La naturaleza, con ayuda de la ciencia y de cuidados
exquisitos, triunfó al cabo; pero después recayó la enferma, hallándose
en peligro igual, si no superior, al primero. Cuanto humanamente
puede hacerse para disputar una víctima a la muerte, lo hizo don
Benigno, ya rodeándose de los facultativos más reputados, ya
procurando que las medicinas fueran escogidas, aunque costaran
doble, y principalmente asistiendo a la enferma con un cuidado
minucioso, y con puntualidad tan refinada, que casi rayaba en
extravagancia. Digamos en honor suyo que había hecho lo mismo po
su difunta esposa.
Aunque parezca extraño, doña Crucita manifestó en aquella
ocasión lastimosa una bondad de sentimientos y una ternura franca y
solícita de que antes no tenían noticia más que los irracionales. Sin
dejar de gruñir por motivos pueriles, atendía a la enferma con el más
vivo interés, velaba y hacía las medicinas caseras con paciencia y
esmero. Bueno es decir, para que lo sepa la posteridad, que doña
Crucita tenía en su gabinete el mejor herbolario de todo Madrid.
Cuando don Pedro Castelló dijo que la enferma no tenía remedio
don Benigno manifestó grandeza de ánimo y resignación. No hizo
aspavientos ni habló a lo sentimental. Solamente decía: «Dios lo
quiere así; ¿qué hemos de hacer? Cúmplase la voluntad de Dios». La
Paloma ladrante, que tenía en su natural genio el quejarse de todo, no
supo mantenerse en aquellos límites de cristiana prudencia, y dijo
algunas picardías inocentes de los santos tutelares de la casa; pero a
solas, cuando nadie podía verla, se secaba las lágrimas que corrían de
sus ojos. La posteridad se enterará con asombro de las palizas que la
buena señora daba a sus perros para que no hicieran bulla ni salieran
del gabinete en que estaban encerrados.
Los Corderillos mayores compartían la pena de su padre y tía, y los
minúsculos, sin darse cuenta de lo que sentían, estaban taciturnos y
con poco humor para pilladas. Deportados con las cotorras en e
gabinete de su tía, jugaban en silencio, desbaratando una obra de
encaje que Crucita tenía empezada, para rehacerla después ellos a su
modo. Cuando Sola estuvo fuera de peligro y sin fiebre, lo primero que
pidió fue ver a los chicos. Radiante de alegría les llevó don Benigno a
cuarto de la enferma diciendo: «aquí está la Guardia Real Granadera»
y al mismo tiempo se le aguaron un poco los ojos. Sola les besó uno
tras otro, y puso sobre su cama a Juan Jacobo, diciendo:
—¡Cómo ha crecido este!... Y ¡qué gordo está! Bendito sea Dios
que me ha dejado vivir para que os siga viendo y queriendo a todos.
Cordero se había vuelto de espaldas y hacía como que jugaba con
el gato. Después se quitó las gafas para limpiarlas. Lo que realmente
hacía era defender su emoción de las miradas de Sola y los chicos
Aun en aquel primer día de su convalecencia, pudo Sola hacer a la
Guardia Real Granadera un obsequio inusitado. Desde el día anterio
había guardado cuatro piedras de azúcar de pilón, y dio una a cada
muchacho, destinando la mayor a Juanito Jacobo, precisamente po
ser el más chico y a la vez el más goloso.
—Un ángel —les dijo— que ha venido todas las noches a pregunta
por mí y a ver si se me ofrecía algo, me dio anoche estos terrones
para todos, encargándome que no se los diera si no se habían portado
bien. Yo no sé qué tal se han portado...
—Muy mal, muy mal —dijo doña Crucita—. No merecían sino
azúcar de acebuche y miel de fresno.
—Lo pasado, pasado —añadió Sola—. Ahora se portarán bien.
No había concluido de decirlo, cuando ya se oían los fuertes
chasquidos de los dientes de Juanito Jacobo partiendo el azúcar. Los
cuatro besaron a la que había hecho con ellos veces de madre, y se
retiraron muy contentos. Don Benigno no podía contener cierta
expansión de gozosa generosidad que, naciendo en su corazón, lo
llenaba todo entero. Fue tras los muchachos, y dio cuatro cuartos a
cada uno para que compraran chufas, triquitraques, pasteles o lo que
quisieran. Después le pareció poco, y a los dos mayores les dio una
peseta por barba, advirtiéndoles que aquel dinero era para correrla en
celebración del restablecimiento de Sola, y, por tanto, no debía se
metido en la hucha. Cada uno tenía su hucha con sendos capitales.
Crucita se fue a sus quehaceres, y don Benigno se quedó solo con
la Hormiga. En los días de gravedad, cuando le acometía fuertemente
la calentura, Sola deliraba. Los individuos conservan en sus desvaríos
febriles casi todas las cualidades que les adornan hallándose en
estado de perfecta salud, y así Sola enferma era diligente, bondadosa
y afable. Agitándose en su lecho con horrible desvarío, mandaba a los
chicos a la escuela, le pasaba lección a Rafaelito, reñía a Juanito
Jacobo por romper los figurines del Correo de las Damas, bromeaba
con Crucita por cuestión de pájaras lluecas o de perros con moquillo
daba órdenes a la criada sobre la comida, se afligía porque no estaban
planchadas las camisas de don Benigno, le pedía a este cigarros para
el padre Alelí, preguntaba a los dos qué plato era el más de su gusto
para la próxima cena, y hablaba con todos de los Cigarrales y de cierta
expedición que tenían proyectada; era una reproducción o un lúgubre
espejismo de su actividad y de sus pensamientos todos en la vida
ordinaria. Acontecía que después de un largo período de exaltación
febril, Sola se quedaba muda y sosegada otro largo rato, sin decir más
que algunas palabras a media voz. Don Benigno, que atendía a estos
monólogos con tanto dolor como interés, pudo entender algunas
palabras; entre ellas, don Jaime Servet.[2]
[2] Véase Un voluntario realista.

Aquel famoso día de los terrones de azúcar, don Benigno, luego

que con ella se quedó solo, le preguntó quién era el tal don Jaime
Servet que en sueños nombraba, y ella quiso explicárselo punto po
punto; pero apenas había empezado, cuando entraron Primitivo y
Segundo trayendo un grande, magnífico y oloroso ramo de rosas, que
ofrecieron a Sola con cierto énfasis de galantería caballeresca. Los
dos chiquillos tuvieron la excelente idea de emplear las dos pesetas
que les dio su padre en comprar flores para obsequiar con ellas a su
segunda madre en el fausto día de su restablecimiento; y en verdad
que era de alabar la delicadeza exquisita con que procedían
demostrando que en la edad de las travesuras no escasea cierta
inspiración precoz de acciones generosas y de la más alta cortesía
Decir cuánto agradeció Sola la fineza, fuera imposible; y si el fuerte
olor de las flores no la marease un poco, habría puesto el ramo sobre
la almohada. Les dio besos, y luego pasó el ramo a Cordero para que
aspirase la rica fragancia.
Don Benigno no cabía en sí de satisfacción. Se puso nervioso, se le
resbalaron las gafas nariz abajo, y esta parecía hacerse más picuda
tomando no sé qué expresión de órgano inteligente. Sonrisa de
vanagloria retozaba en sus labios, y aquel aroma parecíale que llevaba
a su alma un regalado confortamiento, paz deleitosa, esperanza, una
vida nueva. Los muchachos, al ver el éxito de su hazaña, reventaban
de orgullo.
 Don Benigno se los llevó prontamente a su cuarto y les dijo:
—Tomad..., un duro para cada uno. Sois caballeros finos y
agradecidos. Muy bien; muy bien, señoritos: este rasgo me ha
gustado. En vez de comprar golosinas que os ensucian el estómago..
comprasteis el ramo..., pues... Idos a paseo: no vayáis esta tarde a
colegio. Yo lo mando... Adiós... Un duro a cada uno.
Cuando volvió al lado de Sola, Crucita había llevado, para que la
enferma los viera, los pajarillos en cría, pelados y trémulos dentro de
nido, mientras la pájara saltaba inquieta de un palo a otro, y el pájaro
ponía muy mal gesto por aquel desconsiderado transporte de la jaula
Sola admiró todo lo que allí había que admirar, la sabiduría y la
paciencia de aquellos menudos animalillos, que así pregonaban con
su manera de criar la sabiduría maravillosa y el poder del Criador, e
cual, en todas partes donde algo respira, ha puesto un bosquejo de la
familia humana.
—Lléveselos usted —dijo Sola—, que se asustan y se enojan, y
creo que lo van a pagar los pequeñuelos, quedándose hoy sin
almorzar.
Después cargó Crucita, no sin trabajo, con algunos tiestos de
minutisa y pensamientos para que Sola viera cómo con el calor de la
estación se cubrían de pintadas florecillas, las unas formando
ramilletes o grupos, como un canastillo de piedras preciosas, otras
sueltas con diferentes tamaños y matices; pero todas guapas y
alegres. También trajo un lirio que parecía un obispo, vestido de largas
faldamentas moradas; un moco de pavo, que más bien parecía gallo
de cresta roja, y otras muchas hierbas que llevaban la alegría a la
alcoba, pocos días antes tan silenciosa y fúnebre. ¡Con cuánto gusto
recibía Sola aquellas visitas! Era la vida, que tales mensajes le
enviaba para cumplimentarla; era la amada casa, que saludaba con lo
hermoso y agradable que en sí tenía. Para que nada faltase, vino
también la cotorra, a quien Sola encontró más crecida; vino el loro, que
le pareció haber sufrido algún desperfecto en su casaca verde, y, po
último, entraron también los perros en tropel, y se lanzaron a la cama
aullando y lamiendo. En tanto, don Benigno, después de permanece
un rato como en éxtasis, bajó los ojos y apoyó la barba en su mano
trémula. O rezaba o recitaba algún famoso texto de Rousseau: en esto
no parecen acordes las crónicas, y por eso se apuntan las dos
versiones para que el lector elija la que más le cuadre.
 Pasó un rato. Todo estaba en silencio. El héroe de Boteros
saboreaba en el pensamiento la dicha presente, que no era sino
anticipado anuncio de su futura dicha.
—Pues como decía a usted... —indicó Sola.
—Eso es, apreciable Hormiga. Siga usted su cuento y dígame quién
es ese don Jaime Servet.
Sola satisfizo cumplidamente la curiosidad de su amigo.
 XXII

Habiendo ordenado los médicos que la enferma fuera a convalece

en el campo, empezó don Benigno a preparar el viaje a los Cigarrales
de Toledo, donde poseía extensas tierras y una casa de labranza
Extraordinario gusto tenía el héroe en estos preparativos, por ser muy
aficionado a la dulce vida del campo, al cultivo de frutales, a la caza, y
a la crianza de aves y brutos domésticos. Por su desgracia, no podía
abandonar su comercio en aquella estación, y érale forzoso seguir en
la tienda por lo menos hasta que pasase el Corpus, fiesta de gran
despacho de encajes para Iglesia y modistería. Pero resignándose a
su esclavitud en la corte, se deleitaba pensando en el dichoso verano
que iba a pasar. Amaba la naturaleza por afición innata y po
asimilación de lo que había leído en su autor favorito y maestro. Así
nada le parecía tan de perlas como aquella frase: el campo enseña a
amar a la humanidad y a servirla.
Su plan era llevar a Sola a últimos de mayo acompañada de Crucita
y los niños menores. Inmediatamente regresaría él solo a Madrid, y
cuando acabase junio, volvería con los otros dos chicos a los
Cigarrales, donde estarían todos hasta fin de septiembre.
¡Los Cigarrales! ¡Cuánta poesía, cuántas amenidades, qué de
inocentes gustos y de puros amores despertaba esta palabra sola en
el alma del buen Cordero! ¡Qué meriendas de albaricoques, qué gratos
paseos por entre almendros y olivos, qué mañanitas frescas para sali
con el perro y la escopeta a levantar algún conejo entre las olorosas
matas de tomillo, romero y mejorana! ¡Qué limpieza y frescura la de
las aguas, qué color tan hermoso el de las cerezas, y qué dulzura y
maravilla en los panales fabricados por el pasmoso arte de las abejas
en el tronco hueco de añosos alcornoques, o entre peñas y jaras! En
los cercanos montes el gruñido del jabalí hace temblar de ansiedad e
corazón del audaz montero, y abajo, junto a la margen del río aurífero
del río profeta que ha visto levantarse y caer tan diferentes imperios, la
peña seca y el remanso profundo solicitan al pescador de caña, flor y
espejo de la paciencia. Pensando en estos cuadros poéticos, y
gozando ya con la fantasía estos legítimos placeres, don Benigno se
sonreía solo, se frotaba las manos y decía para sí:
—Barástolis, ¡qué bueno es Dios!
¡Y luego...! Esta reticencia le regocijaba más que aquellas risueñas
perspectivas bucólicas. Había decidido no hablar a Sola de cierto
asunto hasta que ambos estuvieran en los Cigarrales y ella
completamente restablecida.
Cordero fue una mañana a la Cava Baja en busca de arrieros y
trajinantes para arreglar con ellos su viaje. Entró en la posada de la
Villa, y en la que antiguamente se llamaba del Dragón. En esta
encontró a un mayoral que ha tiempo conocía, y después de concerta
ambos las condiciones del viaje, siguieron en caloroso diálogo sobre e
mismo asunto, porque se había despertado en don Benigno cierto
entusiasmo pueril por la dichosa expedición. Allí preguntó varias veces
Cordero la distancia que hay desde Madrid a Toledo; hizo comentarios
sobre tal cuesta, sobre cuál mal paso, y, finalmente, disertó largo rato
sobre si llovería o no al día siguiente, que era el señalado para la
salida. Cordero opinaba resueltamente que no llovería. Ya se
marchaba, cuando al pasar por el corredor alto, donde había varias
puertecillas numeradas, vio a un hombre que tocaba en una de estas
El hombre preguntó en voz alta:
—¿Don Jaime Servet, vive aquí?
Detúvose Cordero y oyó una voz que de dentro gritaba:
—No ha llegado todavía.
El héroe no dio a lo que había oído más importancia de la que
merece una simple coincidencia de nombres.
¡Qué afán puso el buen señor en preparar su viaje, en disponer lo
referente a vestidos, provisiones y todo lo demás que se había de
llevar! Creeríase que iban a dar la vuelta al mundo, según la prolijidad
con que Cordero se proveía de todo, y las infinitas precauciones que
tomaba, las advertencias que hacía, el itinerario escrupuloso que
trazaba, la elección de vituallas, y el acopio de drogas por si ocurrían
descalabraduras o molimiento de huesos. Todo le parecía poco para
que a Sola no faltara ninguna comodidad, ni se privase de nada que
pudiera convenir a su espíritu y su salud. Y deseando anticipar las
delicias del viaje, aquella noche le habló de la distancia, le describió
los pueblos que habían de recorrer, pintole paisajes de ríos y
montañas, diciendo estas o parecidas cosas:
—Cuando pasemos de Torrejón de la Calzada a Casarrubuelos
fíjese en aquellas lomas de viñas que están en fila y hacen unos bailes
tan graciosos cuando pasa el coche corriendo... Después, en tierra de
la Sagra, verá usted unos panoramas que encantan... Luego que se
pasa de Olías se quedará pasmada cuando vea allá lejos la torre de la
Catedral, que parece saluda al viajero... sin quitarse el sombrero, se
entiende, el cual es un capacete que está emparentando con el cielo y
que trata de tú a los rayos...
En fin, llegó la mañana y se marcharon despedidos por Alelí, que se
quedó muy triste. Cuando el coche, dejando atrás el puente de Toledo
entró en la extensa, libre y alegre campiña inundada de luz, don
Benigno sintió que la alegría se rebosaba del vaso de su espíritu
chorreando fuera como las caídas de una fuente de Aranjuez, y aque
chorrear de la alegría era en él risas, frases, exclamaciones
chascarrillos, y, por último, la elocuente frase:
—Barástolis, ¡qué bueno es Dios!
Aquel mismo día corrió por Madrid la noticia de haberse escapado
de la cárcel de Villa el preso que ya estaba destinado a la horca
Jenara se alegró tanto cuando Pipaón se lo dijo, que al instante salió a
la calle para felicitar a don Celestino. Hacía ya dos semanas que había
empezado a perder el miedo, y salía de noche a pie acompañada de
Micaelita, vestidas ambas en traje tan humilde que difícilmente podían
ser conocidas.
Después de dar la enhorabuena a don Celestino y a su hija, regresó
a casa de Carnicero y se entretuvo escribiendo algunas cartas. Pipaón
la visitó en su cuarto, donde hablaron un poco de la política. Jenara
fue luego a ver cenar a don Felicísimo, operación que le hacía gracia
por las singularidades y extravagancia de aquel santo hombre en tan
solemne instante, y le halló sumamente ocupado con un alón que po
ninguna parte quería dejarse comer, según estaba de cartilaginoso y
duro.
—¡Bomba, señora...! —dijo Carnicero picoteando el hueso por aqu
y por allá, de modo que unas veces se lo ponía por bigote y otras lo
tascaba como un freno—. En Portugal el señor don Miguel está