Abstract
This article discusses the first Indian compilation of the four Vedic Samhitās into a printed book in the year 1971 entitled “Bhagavān Vedah.” This endeavor was the life’s mission of an udāsīn ascetic called Guru Gangeśvarānand Mahārāj (1881–1992) who in the year 1968 founded the “Gangeśvar Caturved Sansthān” in Bombay and appointed one of his main disciples, Svāmī Ānand Bhāskarānand, to oversee the publication of the book. His main motivation was to have a physical representation of the Vedas for Hindus to be able to have the darśana (auspicious sight) of the Vedas and worship them in book form. This contribution explores the institutions and individuals involved in the editorial work and its dissemination, and zooms into the processes that allowed for the transition from orality to print culture, and ultimately what it means when the Vedas are materialized into “the book of the Hindus".
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 15-42 |
| Number of pages | 28 |
| Journal | Philological Encounters |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue number | 1-2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 23 Jul 2021 |
| Event | Manuscript, Print and Publication Cultures in South Asia: From the 19th Century to the Present - Institut für Südasien-, Tibet- und Buddhismuskunde, Universität Wien, Wien, Austria Duration: 20 Sept 2018 → 21 Sept 2018 https://southasiapublicationcultures.wordpress.com/ |
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 602031 History of literature
- 603904 Hinduism
Keywords
- Vedas
- bibliolatry
- materiality
- modern Hinduism
- darśana
- holy book
- darsana
- Bibliolatry
- Materiality
- Modern Hinduism
- Holy book
- Darśana