Toward a history of devotional Vaishnavism in the West Himalayas

Kullu and the Ramanandis, c. 1500–1800

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8961586
AutoresArik Moran (0000-0002-3451-2050, University of Haifa, autor de correspondencia)
Año2013
Volumen50
Número1
Páginas1-25
Fecha de publicación2013-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe Indian Economic & Social History Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0019-4646 • E-ISSN: 0973-0893
EditorialSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0019464612474165
OpenAlexW2043609944
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas16

The unlikely emergence of the remote Himalayan valley of Kullu as a centre of devotional ( bhakti) Vaishnavism c. 1650 has customarily been explained as the residual outcome of regional integration into the Mughal Empire. However, recent research on the role of ascetic movements in the history of early modern India suggests the bairagi sadhus behind this shift in religious orientation played a far greater role in the mountain kingdom’s development than the mere ‘conversion’ of its raja that is reported in local tradition. This article traces the development of bairagi involvement in Kullu to revise the customary account of state formation in the region. It shows that Vaishnava ascetics directly contributed to Kullu’s development at various historical junctures and links these processes with parallel phases of the Ramanandi sampraday’s evolution in north India. In investigating a pan-Indian phenomenon in a limited area, this article highlights the importance of integrating regional histories within the broader framework of the history of the subcontinent

Ancient history · Archaeology · Asceticism · Empire · Epistemology · Geography · Indian subcontinent · Phenomenon · State (computer science · Diverse Philosophical and Cultural Studies · History · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Indian History and Philosophy · Philosophy