Haunting the Buddha: Indian Popular Religions and the Formation of Buddhism

242 Pages·2004·2.96 MB·English

by  Robert DeCaroli

Haunting the Buddha:
Indian Popular Religions
and the Formation of
Buddhism
ROBERT DECAROLI
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Haunting the Buddha
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Haunting the Buddha
Indian Popular Religions and the
Formation of Buddhism
robert decaroli
1
2004
1
Oxford NewYork
Auckland Bangkok BuenosAires CapeTown Chennai
DaresSalaam Delhi HongKong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata
KualaLumpur Madrid Melbourne MexicoCity Mumbai Nairobi
Sa˜oPaulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto
Copyright(cid:1)2004byOxfordUniversityPress,Inc.
PublishedbyOxfordUniversityPress,Inc.
198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NewYork10016
www.oup.com
OxfordisaregisteredtrademarkofOxfordUniversityPress
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,
storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,
electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,
withoutthepriorpermissionofOxfordUniversityPress.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
DeCaroli,Robert.
HauntingtheBuddha:Indianpopularreligionsandtheformationof
Buddhism/RobertDeCaroli.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-19-516838-0
1. Buddhism—India—History. 2. Art,Buddhist—India. 3. Gods,
Buddhist,inart. 4. Artandmythology. I. Title.
BQ336 .D43 2004
294.3'0934—dc22 2003019860
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
onacid-freepaper
For my parents
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Acknowledgments
Thiswork,whichdealswithsupernaturalbeingsofimmensegener-
osityandinsight,owesitscreationtobeingswho,althoughperhaps
lessdivine,areequallyremarkableintheirgenerosity.Thisbookis
theculminationofalongprocessandovertheyearsithasunder-
gonemanyphasesandincarnations.Noneofitwouldhavebeenre-
motelypossibleifnotfortheguidance,patience,andsupportof
RobertL.BrownandGregorySchopen.Nodoubtanymatterofin-
terestormeritinthefollowingchaptersisinsomewayattributable
totheirinstructionandadvice.Iamalsogratefulforthecareful
readingandhelpfulcommentsmadebySusanDowney,Katherine
Harper,LewisLancaster,HartmutScharfe,WalterSpink,andLothar
vonFalkenhausen,allofwhomwereinstrumentalinshapingthe
earlystagesofthisproject.
IwishtothanktheAsianCulturalCouncilandtheEdwardA.
DicksonFellowshipcommitteeforprovidingthemonetarysupport
thatmadeallofmyfieldworkinIndiaandthesubsequentperiodof
writingpossible.Ialsowishtoacknowledgethesupportofthe
GeorgeMasonUniversityResearchGrant,whichfacilitatedmywork
inSoutheastAsia,andtheMathyJuniorFacultyAward,whichaf-
fordedmethetimeneededtoincorporatemynewresearchintothe
manuscript.
Overtheyearsmanyindividualshavebeenkindenoughtoread
variousportionsofthisproject;theircommentshavehelpedrescue
mefrommanyoverlookederrors,andtheirsuggestionshavebeena
viii acknowledgments
welcome source of inspiration. In particular, I would like to recognize Kurt
Behrendt, Pia Brancaccio, Joan Bristol, Michael Chang, Steven DeCaroli, Jef-
frey Durham, Bindu Gude, Santhi Kavuri, Paul Lavy, Janice Leoshko,JohnR.
McRae, Tobie Meyer-Fong, Randolph Scully, Akira Shimada, Monica Smith,
and Ellen Todd. Each of these individuals took the time to make suggestions
oroffercritiquesthatultimatelyservedtostrengthenthework.Fortheirefforts
and their insights, I am deeply grateful. I am also very appreciative to Sylvia
Fraser-Lu,AlexandraGreen,andDonaldStadtner,allofwhomwerewillingto
share with me their expertise on Burmese art and history. Their knowledge
andadvicehasproventobeaninvaluableresource.
I would like to express my gratitude to the skillful editors atOxfordUni-
versity Press (USA). In particular, I would like to thank Cynthia Read, Theo
Calderara,ChristiStanforth,andMargaretCaseforalloftheirgoodadviceand
persistenteffortsinseeingthebookthroughtoproduction.
Likewise, I wish to thank the Archaeological Survey of India under the
guidance of Director General R.S. Bisht and Director of Monuments R.C.
Agrawal, who generously gave me permission to photograph the numerous
and spectacular sites that were relevant to my project. I also wish to express
mygratitudetothecuratorsatthePrinceofWalesMuseumofWesternIndia,
Mumbai,whokindlymadephotographsoftheirexcellentcollectionsavailable
tome.
And, ultimately to my family and friends who provided an unlimited
sourceofencouragement,support,andwelcomediversions,Igivemyheartfelt
gratitude.