Kavod on the Road: Religion Series: Myth, Land & Tradition: Making Modern Hinduism

In what ways are Hindu communities articulated, preserved, produced, and altered through stories and storytelling? This talk explores the intimate relationship between myth and community in the making of what we call “Hinduism” and what Hindus refer to as the practice of “sanātana dharma” or the eternal law. We will consider how myths inform and shape the cultural traditions, religious beliefs, and social and political structures of Hindu communities in contradictory and complementary ways. Hindu myths fall into four categories: myths that explain specific practices; myths justifying rituals; myths grounding philosophical beliefs and theological shifts in the tradition; and myths connected to land. We will see how myths operate paradoxically as both cultural “glue” and demarcations of difference, connecting elite and non-elite Hindu practices/beliefs through narrative iterations of community