Zukunftsphilologie
2010/ 2011

Travis L. Smith

Presenting the Past in the Sacred City: the Varanasi Mahatmya Traditions of the Sanskrit Puranas

Travis L. Smith is an Assistant Professor of Religion at the University of Florida. He studied at Williams College and Antioch University (BA), and conducted graduate work in Sanskrit language and South Asian religions at the University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University (PhD). Travis L. Smith will be Fellow of the project Zukunftsphilologie from January until July 2011.

Presenting the Past in the Sacred City: the Varanasi Mahatmya Traditions of the Sanskrit Puranas

Smith's current book project, “Presenting the Past in the Sacred City: the Vārāṇasī Māhātmya Traditions of the Sanskrit Purāṇas” explores the literary form of the māhātmya – religious “glorification” of a sacred place – as applied to the ancient pilgrimage city of Varanasi, India. Constructed around narrative presentations of the city’s legendary past, the māhātmyas praise the city as sacred and eternal, while reinforcing traditional norms of social and religious practice. A literary and historical study, the project links the theological and sociological discourse in the texts to the changing patterns of patronage and social dynamics within Varanasi history, highlighting the often dramatic theological and political maneuvers that each text uniquely articulates in retelling and updating the traditional lore of the city