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India has been the homeland of diverse manuscript traditions that do not cease to impress scholars for their imposing size and complexity. Nevertheless, many topics concerning the study of Indian manuscript cultures still remain to receive systematic examination. Of Gods and Books pays attention to one of these topics-- the use of manuscripts as ritualistic tools. Literary sources deal quite extensively with rituals principally focused on manuscripts, whose worship, donation and preservation are duly prescribed. Around these activities, a specific category of ritual gift is created, which finds attestations in pre-tantric, as well as in smarta and tantric, literature, and whose practice is also variously reflected in epigraphical documents. De Simini offers a first systematic study of the textual evidence on the topic of the worship and donation of knowledge. She gives account of possible implications for the relationships between religion and power. The book is indispensable for a deeper understanding of the cultural aspects of manuscript transmission in medieval India, and beyond.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Manuscripts, Ritual, and the State in Indian Sources -- The Task of Writing and the Art of Giving -- Manuscripts, Ritual, and the Medieval Literature on Dharma -- The Throne of Knowledge: Aspects of the Cult of the Book in the �Saiva and Vai�s�nava Tantric Traditions -- Appendix 1 -- Appendix 2 -- Table A: Structure of the Chapters on the Gift of Knowledge in the Sanskrit Law-Digests -- References -- Index of Authors -- Index of Works.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Appendices includes Sanskrit text from �Sivadharmottara with English translation.

Open Access EbpS