Caste and Devotion: A Casteless Framework for (Some) Forms of Hindu Devotionalism

The caste system has caused widespread oppression within Hinduism. In this paper, I analyze the Bhagavad Gītā (c. 500 BCE–200 CE) and the Bhāgavata Purāṇa (c. 9th century CE), two highly influential Hindu sacred texts, to understand how they conceptualize the relationship between caste and devotion...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. VerfasserIn: Gupta, Akshay (VerfasserIn)
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
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Veröffentlicht: Wiley-Blackwell 2022
In: Journal of religious ethics
Jahr: 2022, Band: 50, Heft: 4, Seiten: 623-644
weitere Schlagwörter:B Bhakti
B Bhagavad Gītā
B Bhāgavata Purāṇa
B Caste
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Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:The caste system has caused widespread oppression within Hinduism. In this paper, I analyze the Bhagavad Gītā (c. 500 BCE–200 CE) and the Bhāgavata Purāṇa (c. 9th century CE), two highly influential Hindu sacred texts, to understand how they conceptualize the relationship between caste and devotion (bhakti). I argue that there is a societal framework that does not maintain the caste system but which is consistent with these texts' soteriological vision and can be implemented in lieu of such a system. This framework demonstrates that for certain forms of Hindu religiosity, caste is not essential to uphold from a scriptural perspective. Given this framework, the caste system can be challenged and interrogated to a significant extent and alternative societal frameworks can be proposed. I also consider and respond to objections to the framework I put forth.
ISSN:1467-9795
Enthält:Enthalten in: Journal of religious ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/jore.12416