Against Vai??ava Deviance: Brāhma?ical and Bhadralok Alliance in Bengal

摘要

This article sets out to problematise the notion that late nineteenth and early twentieth century Vai??ava anti- sahajiyā polemics can be taken as a definitive index of colonial wrought rupture within Gau?īya Vai??avism. It proceeds by (1) drawing attention to oblique, yet unmistakably polemical, forms of response to sahajiyā currents in pre-colonial Gau?īya literature that are indicative of a movement towards a brāhma?ically-aligned Vai??ava normativity; and (2) highlighting how this movement towards normativity was further fostered in colonial times by Gau?īya gosvāmī types, who were often extensively involved in bhadralok Vai??ava domains.