SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This thesis examines the life and works of the 15th century Indian Saint known as Raidas by Hindi speakers and as Ravidas by Panjabi speakers. The first chapter surveys the sources for the study of his life and investigates what is known of his life and the development of his hagiography. The second chapter describes the manuscript sources for the vani of Raidas. The third chapter examines the original form of Raidas's works and how their transmission within oral traditions influenced their content prior to their being set down in manuscript form. The fourth chapter is a study of the teachings of Raidas as found in this critical edition of his works. The fifth chapter is an examination of the differences between the DSdQ PanthT, Sikh, and Nath recensions of the vani. In this chapter it is argued that it is those portions of the vani which are found in most, or all, the recensions of the vani which are most likely to represent original compositions of Raidas himself and the early Raidas tradition. The sixth chapter is a critical edition of 111 padas and 6 sakhis based on twelve sources which predate AD 1700, accompanied by an annotated translation of the text. The seventh and eighth chapters contain a full etymological glossary of the text and brief descriptive grammar of the vani and its prosody.