Table of Contents

Text Abbreviations 1. Introduction: Texts in Context Jeffrey R. Timm Part I. Traditional Hermeneutics in "Hinduism" 2. Bhartrhari and the Veda David Carpenter 3. Where Words Can Set Free: The Liberating Potency of Vedic Words in the Hermeneutics of Sankara Anantanand Rambachan 4. Binding the Text: Vedanta as Philosophy and Commentary Francis X. Clooney, S.J. 5. Haunted by Sankara's Ghost: The Srivaisnava Interpretation of Bhagavad Gita 18:66 Patricia Y. Mumme 6. Oral and Written Commentary on the Tiruvaymoli Vasudha Narayanan 7. Vyasa as Madhva's Guru: Biographical Context for a Vedantic Commentator Daniel P. Sheridan 8. Scriptural Realism in Pure Nondualistic Vedanta Jeffrey R. Timm 9. Hermeneutics of a Kashmiri Mahatmya Text in Context Madhu Bazaz Wangu Part II. Traditional Hermeneutics in Other South Asian Religions 10. Svetambar Murtipujak Jain Scripture in a Performative Context John E. Cort 11. Evam Me Sutam: Oral Tradition in Nikaya Buddhism Frank J. Hoffman 12. Vasubandhu's Vyakhyayukti on the Authenticity of the Mahayana Sutras Jose Ignacio Cabez6n 13. Poetics as a Hermeneutic Technique in Sikhism Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh 14. The Textual Formation of Oral Teachings in Early Chishti Sufism Carl W. Ernst 15. Conclusion: Traditional Hermeneutics in South Asia Jeffrey R. Timm Contributors Index

About the Author

Jeffrey R. Timm is Assistant Professor of Religion at Wheaton College in Massachusetts.