ABSTRACT
When does a body become Hindu or Muslim? Indian or Persian? Esoteric or exoteric? Mystical or mundane? In pre- and early-modern South Asia there were numerous translations and interpretations of a set of divination techniques known in Sanskrit as svarodaya (“the attainment of the toned breath”). These techniques were translated into Persian as `ilm-i dam (“the science of the breath”). Drawing on connections to yoga, Ayurveda, and Sufism in northern India and Bengal, this paper mines the science of the breath for its potential to enhance understandings of the body. These understandings invite scholars to further develop an Islamic imagining of the body that were thoroughly rooted in a pluralistic religious environment. The science of the breath demonstrates how esoteric knowledge holds highly practical information, aiding practitioners in dealing with daily struggles such as succeeding in warfare, courtly intrigue, marriage, purchasing animals, and predicting the health of an unborn child.
