1. North Indians refer to Tulsidas's Ramcaritmanas in a variety of ways, including "Tulsi Ramayan," " Manas ," or simply " Ramayan ." Of these designations '' Manas " is by far the most common and will he used throughout the present essay. North Indians generally refer to Valmiki's Sanskrit Ramayana as either "Valmiki Ramayan " or "Sanskrt Ramayan. "

2. Since there are no universally accepted demarcations of the categories sruti and smrti , I have chosen to begin with the prevailing Western academic definitions, which largely reflect contemporary orthodox Hindu beliefs. Supplementary views expressed by recent Indological scholars will be mentioned in the notes. Brian K. Smith points out that throughout the history of Hinduism, new texts have been composed and given the name "Upanisad," thus bringing them into the corpus of sruti —a process which clearly contradicts the supposedly bounded nature of the category: Reflections on Resemblance, Ritual, and Religion (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), 21.

3. Both Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty ( Other People's Myths [New York: Macmillan, 1988], 58) and Sheldon Pollock ("The 'Revelation' of 'Tradition': Sruti , Smrti , and the Sanskrit Discourse of Power" in Lex et Litterae [Festschrift Oscar Botto ], forthcoming) mention the fact that the chanted Veda was heard by the worshipers as a part of the explanation for the term sruti .

4. The innate power of mantras is activated through their recitation by srotriyas ("masters of sruti "). This belief in the inherent power of sounds underlies both the later concept of bija ("seed") mantras in the Tantric schools and the devotional sects' belief in the power of the Name of God. O'Flaherty ( Other People's Myths , 61), Brian K. Smith, and others point out that an understanding of the Vedas was considered by some to be of great importance. However, this was not crucial for the ritual use of the text, which was its primary raison d'être. Barbara A. Holdrege offers an extensive discussion of various conceptions of the Veda and their influence on the modes of preservation and memorization of the Samhitas in "Veda and Torah: Ontological Conceptions of Scripture in the Brahmanical and Judaic Traditions" (Ph.D. diss., Harvard University, 1987).

5. Thomas B. Coburn, "'Scripture' in India: Towards a Typology of the Word in Hindu Life," Journal of the American Academy oar Religion 52, no. 3 (September 1984): 448. Coburn presents an illuminating discussion of various approaches to the understanding of sruti and smrti and encourages a rethinking of traditional categorizations. The theoretical approach adopted in this section was to some extent inspired by his article.

6. William Graham, Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of Religion (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987), 5.

7. J. L. Brockington, Righteous Rama: The Evolution of an Epic (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1984), 206-13, 307-27.

8. In contemporary times, the Manas has occasionally been referred to as the "Fifth Veda" or the "Hindi Veda." According to Hindu cosmology, the world is now passing through the Kali Yug, the age of darkness, in which bhakti is the highest form of religious practice. Many devotional groups thus maintain that texts such as the Manas that extol bhakti have replaced the Vedas in delineating sruti for this age.

9. The process of vedacization is discussed in Sheldon Pollock, "From Discourse of Ritual to Discourse of Power in Sanskrit Culture"; and in Philip Lutgendorf, "The Power of Sacred Story: Ramayana Recitation in Contemporary North India," in Ritual and Power , special issue of the Journal of Ritual Studies (4, no. 1 [Summer 1990]), ed. Barbara A. Holdrege.

10. Philip Lutgendorf, "The Power of Sacred Story," p. 138.

11. As previously mentioned, texts of the smrti category are open-ended, i.e., subject to additions, interpolations, etc. As early as the nineteenth century, distinctly marked additions were made to the written text of Tulsidas's Manas by various publishers. These addenda, usually consisting of commentaries on events in the narrative or supplementary episodes in the life of Ram, most likely had their inception in the repertoires of the kathavacaks (storytellers) and Ramanandi ascetics who carried the Ram story from village to village. Owing in all probability to their popularity, certain of these additions eventually came to be included in some printed editions as part of the text. Although they are labeled ksepak ("addition, interpolation"), many readers have come to believe them to have been written by Tulsidas himself.

12. Lutgendorf, "The Power of Sacred Story," pp. 124-26.

13. The account presented here of Parasuram's life and of the formation of the Ramnami sect is based on his oral hagiography, recounted to me by several elder members of the sect.

14. The level of literacy in Madhya Pradesh is one of the lowest in India. At the turn of the century it was less than 10 percent, those classified as literate living primarily in the urban areas. Illiteracy among village harijans most likely exceeded 95 percent during this period. Even for those who are literate, understanding the Manas is extremely difficult, for it is written in a medieval dialect of Avadhi, while the Ramnamis speak a contemporary Chhattisgarhi dialect. Although in present times both are considered dialects of Hindi, medieval Avadhi is sufficiently different from modern Hindi dialects to discourage most speakers from gaining more than a cursory understanding of the Manas in its original language. When reading for understanding, rather than for ritual purposes, North Indians often use a text that provides a modem Hindi translation of each verse.

15. It should be noted that individual chanting of ramnam has never been a fundamental part of Ramnami practice. The sect maintains that if one is going to chant ramnam , one should do so in the company of others so that all can partake of its benefits.

16. For a more extensive discussion of the Ramnami Samaj and their various uses of the Name, see Ramdas Lamb, "Ramnamis, Ramnam , and the Role of the Low Caste in the Ram Bhakti Tradition" (Ph.D. diss., University of California, Santa Barbara, [1991]).

17. These numbers are approximations based on hundreds of hours spent sitting and listening to Ramnami bhajan .

18. In the Ramnamis' view the authoritativeness of a verse or text is determined not by its author but by its content. Sect members cite the example of Ravan, the demon king of Lanka, who on occasion in the Manas speaks words of great wisdom, thus illustrating that even demons can speak truth. The Ramnamis say that ultimately it is truth they seek, irrespective of its source.

19. Owing to the predominance of the doha (2 lines, 24 beats) and the caupai (4 lines of 4 parts, 64 beats) in the Manas , these two verse forms have set the metrical parameters of the Ramnamis' chanting style and thus have also determined which verses can be incorporated into bhajans . For a detailed explanation of the structure of Manas verses, see Philip Lutgendorf, The Life of a Text: Performing the Ramcaritmanas of Tulsidas (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1991).

20. Most of the supplemental writings used by the Ramnamis are in fact obscure texts with regional popularity at best, discovered by vidvans . Various verses from them have become popular with sect members because their contents and meter happen to make them suitable for chanting.

21. Nirgun bhakti is the practice of devotion to God, conceived of as not limited by, and therefore transcending, all forms. Most schools of Hindu devotionalism see the divine as sagun , perceptible to humans through one or several particular forms. Kabir's bhakti is exclusively nirgun and that of Raghunathdas primarily nirgun . For both, the name "Ram" is a primary focus of much devotion.

22. For Hindus Hanuman is obviously more than just a monkey. He is said to be the eleventh incarnation of Siva and the epitome of devotion. For the Ramnamis, however, the status of any being, human or divine, lies in his or her relationship of subservience to nirgun Ram.

23. In its original form the verse reads: Vipra dhenu sura santa hita linha manuja avatara | ( Ramcaritmanas 1.192). This is revised by the Ramnamis to: Ramnam dena sura santa . . . |

24. Citavata pantha raheun dins rati | Aba prabhu dekhi jurdani chati ||
Natha sakala sadhana main hina | Kinhi krpa jani jana dina || (3.6.2)

25. Aba mohi bha barosa Hanumanta |
Binu Hari krpa milahi nahiñ santa || (5.7.2)

26. Ki tumha Hari dasanha mahañ koi | Moreñ hradya priti ati hoi ||
Ki tumha Ramu dina anuragi | Ayahu mohi karana bardmagi || (5.6.4)

27. Natha Dasanana kara maiñ brata | Nisicara bans janama surtrata || (5.45.4)

28. Dhanya dhanya tain dhanya Bibhisana |
Bhayahu tata nisicara kula bhusana || (6.64.4)

29. It should be noted that vidvan is not an official designation. Any sect member who studies the Manas and/or other texts and actively takes part in philosophical dialogues may be called a vidvan . Although the term has been in use for over four decades, in recent years many Ramnamis have chosen to refer to active takkar participants as gyanis rather than vidvans . This is to emphasize that their primary focus is wisdom, as opposed to intellectual knowledge.

30. Not all verses are selected strictly on the basis of philosophical viewpoint. Many verses are learned simply as a matter of course, as a result of participation in the chanting, and thus are not necessarily in complete harmony with a Ramnami's

own philosophy. A sect member may also memorize certain commonly repeated verses without understanding them, solely out of a desire to join in whenever they are recited.

31. I sat in on one late night takkar that involved verses drawn solely from the Visram Sagar ; it lasted for nearly five hours. The participants were seven erudite vidvans , who continued until after I fell asleep.

32. Sivanandan Ram, Sur Sadhu Bharadvaj, and Sriram Lahare, Ram Rasik Gita (Raipur: Sriram Lahare, 1979).

33. The Ramnami Samaj holds a mela , or festival, every year in a different village in Chhattisgarh. The 1989 mela was the eightieth annual gathering.

34. Kahahiñ beda itihasa purana | Vidhi prapancu guna avaguna sana || (1.6.2)

35. Jarda cetana juna dosamaya bisva kinha kartara |
Santa hansa guna gahahin paya parihari bari bikara || (1.6 )
In India, enlightened saints, with their ability to distinguish the self from the nonself and good from evil, are often compared to swans ( hamsas ), who when given a mixture of milk and water are said to have the ability to separate out the milk, leaving behind the water.

36. Graha bhosaja jala pavana pata pai kujoga sujoga |
Hohin kubastu jubastu jaga lakhahiñ sulacchana loga || (1.7A)
Asa bibeka jaba dei Vidhata | Taba taji dosa gunahiñ manu rata ||
Kala subhau karama bariai | Bhaleu prakrti basa cukai bhalai || (1 .7.1)

37. The verse as it was chanted was a modification of a Manas caupai :
Siyaramamaya saba jaga jani | Karauñ pranama jori juga pani || (1.8.1)
The responding Ramnami replaced " Siyaramamaya " ("filled with Sita and Ram") with " Ramram namamaya '' ("filled with ramnam ").