ABSTRACT
How does Hinduism explain suffering? Since 'Hinduism' is an elastic term denoting a bulging compendium of religions, there can be no simple answer. This chapter will range across the classic statements of the Sanskritic textual tradition, including both soteriological and narrative material, and end with some of the shifting positions of contemporary belief and practice. I take the term 'suffering' to include everything from the status of the individual at birth (such as matters relating to caste and gender) to personal misfortune (such as poverty and bereavement) and specific physical problems (such as disability and disease).! In the process, I shall outline Hindu beliefs regarding the doctrine of karma and explore some of the implications of this doctrine for our understanding of the physical body.
