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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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Published in:Journal of Religious Ethics Vol. 50; no. 4; pp. 623 - 645
Main Author: Gupta, Akshay
Format: Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Dec2022
Subjects:
Bhagavadgita
Hindus
Caste
Hinduism
Oppression
Religiousness
Devotion
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        atl: Caste and Devotion: A Casteless Framework for (Some) Forms of Hindu Devotionalism.
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        au: Gupta, Akshay
      su:
        Bhagavadgita
        Hindus
        Caste
        Hinduism
        Oppression
        Religiousness
        Devotion
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          Bhagavadgita
          Hindus
          Caste
          Hinduism
          Oppression
          Religiousness
          Devotion
      keyword:
        Bhāgavata Purāṇa
        Bhagavad Gītā
        bhakti
        caste
      ab: 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.
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    language: English
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      custom: Copyright of Journal of Religious Ethics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
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