Religious Culture of Gujarat

The 22 essays in this volume, written between 1974 and 2010, deal with the religious history and culture of Gujarat. The first part of this book focuses on Gujarati devotional literature: Vaiṣṇava pad-bhajan, Vallabhite dhoḷ, Sant-vāṇī Ismā'īlī Ginān, Ciśtī Gujarati bhajan, all with textual and thematic convergences. The second part analyses stories of saints and sacred places. Their constructions are in no way authentic historical accounts, but they provide a vivid picture of the time and society that produced them.

The focus of these essays is more on an explortation of popular religions (lok-dharma) mainly in Saurashtra and Kutch, both in their oral and written transmission. Gujarat has a rich variety of religious currents (all of which are not treated here; some are merely evoked). They are reflected in literary sources and local observation and they demonstrate Gujarat's capacity to promote a regional culture nourished by a multiplicity of religions.