Getting the spirit right

Wendy Doniger delivered a lecture on Hinduism in London in 2003. As she propounded her favourite thesis on the intimate relationship between Lakshman and his sister-in-law Sita in the Ramayana, someone from the audience (probably an irate Hindu fanatic who mistook an intellectual discourse on the relationship between two characters in an epic for profane thoughts being hurled at his venerable gods and goddesses) threw an egg at her.

The missile missed Doniger. But she was visibly shaken. Standing by her side at that time was William Dalrymple, who has yet not been as controversial in his rendering of Indian history as she has been and who gave her courage and support to go through that ordeal. Later, Dalrymple even wrote an article urging her to tell the history of Hinduism in a new way.

The response from Doniger, arguably one of the most erudite and perceptive scholars of Sanskrit and Indian studies, comes almost six years later with this book, which can certainly be called a masterpiece. As the title suggests, this is no ordinary rendering of the evolution of the Hindus. Doniger has painstakingly put together instances, culled from Hindu scriptures and Vedic texts, mostly maintaining a chronological order, to bring out aspects of a Hindu way of life that so far has remained largely outside the domain of public discourse.

To describe such rendering and analysis as an alternative history, as Doniger has claimed, is perhaps not entirely appropriate. What Doniger has achieved in this book is not really the recording of an alternative history. Indeed, her thesis — that Hindu scriptures, mythological tales and Vedic texts were not just a product of a Brahminical and male-centric view of life and the world — is very much a mainstream view. Most Hindu texts have evolved over time and the influence of periodic reforms, as captured through the various renderings of those texts in different forms, languages and rituals, shows how inclusive and varied the Hindus have been in the way they have looked at life, work and religion.

The idea of Eklavya, a tribal who was denied education by Dronacharya because he did not belong to the right caste, his commitment to the idea of a guru and the unjust world where a tribal warrior is not allowed to excel have been part of the Mahabharata and the Hindu psyche as a consequence. Equally telling, as a commentary on the Hindu ethos, is the manner in which Rishi Gautam agrees to educate Satyakam after conferring on him the status of an honorary Brahmin since the young boy showed that he did not flinch from telling the truth about his dubious parentage.

Where Doniger excels is in compiling such stories from different epics and Vedic texts (including Upanishads) to show that the perspective has not always been dominated by the Brahmins or by men. Sita decides to sacrifice herself on being doubted by Rama only after she gets a clean chit from Mother Earth. Her attempt at re-evaluating Rama’s relationship with Lakshman in the context of what he does to Vali, the monkey king who had apparently run away with his brother’s wife, certainly offers a new dimension to the study of the character of the Ayodhya king.

In the long lineage of books on Indian epics and mythologies, there is no book like Doniger’s which so meticulously and faithfully interprets the Hindu spirit, which clearly distinguishes itself for its catholicity and comprehensiveness of approach. This may not be an alternative history. But there is no doubt that her book will enhance the reader’s understanding of the variety, richness and complexities of Hindu scriptures and mythological texts.

The book can be neatly divided in two sections, though Doniger presumably never intended it to be read that way. The first part deals with Hindu epics, Vedic texts and mythological stories. The second part delves into the way Hindus dealt with their religion during the Mughal period and British rule in India. While the first part is clearly the book’s strength, its weaknesses surface in the second section.

Long references to Akbar’s and other Mughal kings’ dalliance with Hindu concubines do not offer any insight into the Hindu way of life. Swami Vivekananda’s role in the revival of Hinduism is dismissed in one page. While Rammohun Roy gets some mention for having worked towards abolishing the Sati system, there is no mention of Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, who not only helped Roy in his reform movement, but also influenced the British to allow remarriage of Hindu widows.

Doniger could have done well to have stopped with analysing Hindu texts, which she does with finesse and intellectual rigour. The chapters on Hindus in the last five centuries appear to be an afterthought and suffer in comparison with the previous ones.