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Hindu devotional traditions have long been recognized for their sacred geographies as well as the sensuous aspects of their devotees' experiences. Largely overlooked, however, are the subtle links between these religious expressions. Based on intensive fieldwork conducted among worshippers in Bengal’s Navadvip-Mayapur sacred complex, this book discusses the diverse and contrasting ways in which Bengal-Vaishnava devotees experience sacred geography and divinity. Sukanya Sarbadhikary documents an extensive range of practices, which draw on the interactions of mind, body, and viscera. She shows how perspectives on religion, embodiment, affect, and space are enriched when sacred spatialities of internal and external forms are studied at once.
Sukanya Sarbadhikary?is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Presidency University, Kolkata.?
Sophisticated in areas of theory,The Place of Devotionteases out the subtle nuances of affect for four groups within the Gaudiya Vaishnava community, demonstrating not only how they differ, but how the differently interiorized experiences become social practices that generate strong empathic continuities. Tony K. Stewart, Gertrude Conaway Chair in Humanities, Vanderbilt University
With exemplary skill and sensitivity, Sarbadhikary vividly documents the complex mix of emotional, aesthetic, and erotic sensibilities engaged and cultivated at one of India's most celebrated Hindu holy places.The Place of Devotionis a must-read for anyone interested in Hinduism, in India, and in the implications of profound religious experiences for the understanding of self in today's modern world. Susan Bayly, University of Cambridgels.
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