At Play with Krishna: Pilgrimage Dramas from Brindavan, published by Princeton University Press in 1981, is a scholarly study of the Ras Lila pilgrimage dramas performed annually in Brindavan reenacting episodes from Krishna's childhood, translating four plays from the cycle. It is co-authored by John Stratton Hawley, a historian of religion, together with Shrivatsa Goswami, an Indologist scholar with a philosophy degree from and a teaching post at Banaras Hindu University who is also the hereditary acharya of Vrindavan's Radha Raman Temple, a position his brahmin family has held for more than four centuries. Its strength is that it combines outside academic method with a coauthor's own standing as both a trained scholar and a religious leader within the tradition the dramas belong to. Its limit is that Goswami's own position as acharya of a living Vaishnava temple means the book is not written from full outside distance, so a claim needing that distance is better checked against a source with no personal stake in the tradition it describes.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier2
Tier two: an academic monograph from Princeton University Press, co-authored by a historian of religion together with a scholar who is also the hereditary acharya of Vrindavan's Radha Raman Temple, a position his family has held for over four centuries. Its strength is that it combines outside academic method with a coauthor's own standing as both a trained Indologist and a religious leader within the tradition the book describes. Its limit is that his own position as a living temple's acharya means the book is not written from full outside distance, so a claim needing that distance is better checked against a source with no personal stake in the tradition. NotesJohn Stratton Hawley is a professor of religion at Barnard College and Columbia University. This 339 page study translates four ras lila plays spanning a performance cycle and situates them within Braj pilgrimage practice, in collaboration with Vrindavan scholar Shrivatsa Goswami. Tier 2, a named scholars' monograph rather than a tertiary encyclopedia entry.
Citation
AuthorJohn Stratton Hawley and Shrivatsa Goswami
PublisherPrinceton University Press
Publication Year1981
Source Typeacademic monograph
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Krishna directly: "At Play with Krishna: Pilgrimage Dramas from Brindavan, published by Princeton University Press in 1981, is a scholarly study of the Ras Lila pilgrimage dramas performed annually in Brindavan..."
Radha, Deities This source names Radha directly: "the hereditary acharya of Vrindavan's Radha Raman Temple, a position his brahmin family has held for more than four centuries."
Claims Backed By This Source (10 claims)
This source backs 10 claims across the atlas. As facts: 7 well-attested. As cited relationships: 2 holds. Plus 1 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 9 claims: 7 well-attested, 2 holds.
- Performance Works, 1 claims: 1 general references.
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