ABSTRACT

The aim of this essay is to examine ways in which Hindus dispose of worn-out or damaged copies of sacred texts. Since Hinduism is an ocean of widely differing beliefs and practices, which has induced some scholars to avoid the term as a label for the multiple Hindu traditions (Flood 2003, 1–17), the chapter will focus on one case of practices among Caitanya Vaiṣṇavas in the north Indian pilgrimage town of Vrindavan (also spelled Vṛndāvana, Brindavan or Vrindaban). As the Caitanya Vaiṣṇavas of Vrindavan take great pride in their orthopraxy (Case 2000), the material presented below could be applicable to Sanskritic Hinduism in general. 1