Veronique BOUILLIER | Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique / French National Centre for Scientific Research (original) (raw)

Books by Veronique BOUILLIER

The Powers of the Nath Yogis. Yogic Charisma, Political Influence and Social Authority, 2022

This chapter fulfils two purposes: on the one hand it presents a comprehensive overview of the Nā... more This chapter fulfils two purposes: on the one hand it presents a comprehensive overview of the Nāth Yogīs, and on the other it pinpoints the various topics where further studies are still required, situations need to be clarified, and field data should be collected. Therefore, the chapter aims to synthetize these uncertainties in a hypothetic triangular schema with three corners, whose relation to one another is far from simple or straightforward: the Nāths Yogīs, haṭha yoga, and Gorakhnāth. Focusing on their link to powers (siddhis), the chapter stresses the sectarian continuity established through the adaptation to changing circumstances.

Manohar, 2017

How have the premodern Shaiva ascetic sect of the Nāth Yogīs (known also as the Yogīs with splitt... more How have the premodern Shaiva ascetic sect of the Nāth Yogīs (known also as the Yogīs with splitted ears) succeeded in maintaining its presence and importance until today ? This book intends to give a general survey of this sampradāya which is said to have been founded by the Siddha Gorakhnāth, known for his strong link to Haṭha Yoga. However, rather than to Yoga, the history and expansion of the Nāth sect are linked to its rich legendary corpus. Dealing first with the marks of belonging (such as the huge earrings weared by the fully initiated Yogīs) which give the sect its unity, the book then focuses on its organization and explores the dialectics between the wandering Yogīs and the monastic settlements.
The author’s argument is that, in renunciatory tradition of India, monasteries give cohesiveness and duration to outworldly movements which otherwise could easily become fragmented and loose their identity. The Nāth monasteries belong to two categories : the pañcāyati maṭhs, collectively owned and managed by the sectarian authorities, which ensure the permanency of the sect, and the nījī maṭhs, owned on a personal basis and transmitted from guru to disciple, which permits innovative initiatives.
The book gives a detailed account of two pañcāyati monasteries, the Kadri Maṭh of Mangalore where its head’s enthronement is spectacularly performed every twelve years, and the Caughera Maṭh of Dang Valley in Nepal, the royal foundation of which gives a glimpse of the complex relationships that can exist between monasteries and kingdoms. It then focuses on three nījī maṭhs: Amritashram in Fatehpur (Rajasthan), Ashtal Bohar in Rohtak (Haryana) and the Gorakhpur mandir (UP). Each of them shows a different mode of adaptation to a modern context and attests of the present importance and continuity of this pluri-secular tradition of asceticism.

The Na ¯th or Ka ¯nphat ˙ a ¯ Yogı ¯s belong to a Hindu Shaiva ascetic and monastic tradition whi... more The Na ¯th or Ka ¯nphat ˙ a ¯ Yogı ¯s belong to a Hindu Shaiva ascetic and monastic tradition which had a lot of influence on the religious and literary landscape of precolonial India and is still counted among the important sectarian movements of modern India. This survey offers a brief overview of scholarship on three key areas: first, the relationship to Yoga and the link with Gorakhna ¯th as the supposed author of Sanskrit treatises on Hat ˙ ha Yoga; second, the interpretation of the vernacular literature of the Na ¯th Yogı ¯s, their legends, their strong relationship to power and their convergence with the bhakti milieu; and third, the Na ¯th Yogı ¯s as constituting a modern sectarian organization , and recent developments relating to their organisation and rituals. The Hindu ascetics known by the name of Na ¯th Yogı ¯s have different appellations such as Ka ¯nphat ˙ a ¯ Yogı ¯s (Yogı ¯s with split ears) or Gorakhna ¯thı ¯ Yogı ¯s or Ba ¯rahpanthı ¯s. The term Ka ¯nphat ˙ a ¯ Yogı ¯s or Yogı ¯s with split ears alludes to the hallmark of their sect (thick hooped earrings in slits cut in the cartilage of their ears) but this appellation is now considered derogatory and the Yogı ¯s themselves prefer to be called Dars´andha ¯rı ¯s, (the wearers of dars´an, as they call their earrings). The name Gorakhna ¯thı ¯ evokes the identity of their presumed founder, Gorakhna ¯th, and Ba ¯rahpanthı ¯ refers to the 12 panths or branches in which the sect is understood to be divided. None of these terms, however, is without its problems: the Yogı ¯s now reject the name Ka ¯nphat ˙ a ¯; scholars question the historicity of Gorakhna ¯th and relativize many of the characteristics that the Yogı ¯s consider inextricably linked to their identity; and the number of branches is more than twelve. Even though their past history is difficult to reconstruct, the Na ¯th Yogı ¯s, a Shaiva ascetic tradition, are recognized as a samprada ¯ya, a religious community rooted in the transmission of a fundamental teaching (Malinar 2011, pp. 156–64). Though their former prominence and influence has receded, they nevertheless number among the important Indian sects whose peripatetic ascetics still roam the Himalayan wilderness and whose various monastic establishments are scattered across the religious landscape of the Indian subcontinent. Few studies have been exclusively devoted to the Na ¯th Yogı ¯s, which makes the pioneering work by G. W. Briggs (Gorakhna ¯th and the Ka ¯nphata Yogı ¯s, 1938) particularly remarkable. Its constant republishing attests to its importance but also points to the need for new studies. Briggs's book gives an enormous amount of detailed information, combining factual observation with historical data, and examining both textual and oral traditions. Briggs provides a survey of the different places connected to the Yogı ¯s that he visited or heard about, describing their specificities, and he refers to the many legends of the main Na ¯th heroes as well as to the textual tradition, even providing a translation of the key Na ¯th Yogı ¯ text, the Goraks ˙ as´ataka. However, the accumulation of often contradictory details, and the different levels of analysis, undermine the coherence of the Religion Compass 7/5 (2013): 157–

How have the premodern Shaiva ascetic sect of the Nāth Yogīs (known also as the Yogīs with splitt... more How have the premodern Shaiva ascetic sect of the Nāth Yogīs (known also as the Yogīs with splitted ears) succeeded in maintaining its presence and importance until today ? This book intends to give a general survey of this sampradāya which is said to have been founded by the Siddha Gorakhnāth, known for his strong link to Haṭha Yoga. However, rather than to Yoga, the history and expansion of the Nāth sect are linked to its rich legendary corpus. Dealing first with the marks of belonging (such as the huge earrings weared by the fully initiated Yogīs) which give the sect its unity, the book then focuses on its organization and explores the dialectics between the wandering Yogīs and the monastic settlements.
The author’s argument is that, in renunciatory tradition of India, monasteries give cohesiveness and duration to outworldly movements which otherwise could easily become fragmented and loose their identity. The Nāth monasteries belong to two categories : the pañcāyati maṭhs, collectively owned and managed by the sectarian authorities, which ensure the permanency of the sect, and the nījī maṭhs, owned on a personal basis and transmitted from guru to disciple, which permits innovative initiatives.
The book gives a detailed account of two pañcāyati monasteries, the Kadri Maṭh of Mangalore where its head’s enthronement is spectacularly performed every twelve years, and the Caughera Maṭh of Dang Valley in Nepal, the royal foundation of which gives a glimpse of the complex relationships that can exist between monasteries and kingdoms. It then focuses on three nījī maṭhs: Amritashram in Fatehpur (Rajasthan), Ashtal Bohar in Rohtak (Haryana) and the Gorakhpur mandir (UP). Each of them shows a different mode of adaptation to a modern context and attests of the present importance and continuity of this pluri-secular tradition of asceticism.

Pre-publication manuscript. C’est au sud-est du Népal, dans la vallée de Dang, non loin de la fro... more Pre-publication manuscript.
C’est au sud-est du Népal, dans la vallée de Dang, non loin de la frontière indienne, que se dressent les édifices du temple monastique de Caughera. Des ascètes hindous dévots de Shiva, les Kanphata Yogis –ou Yogis aux « oreilles fendues », porteuses de lourds anneaux- y célèbrent le culte du saint fondateur Ratannath et de son guru Gorakhnath. Ce dernier serait l’inventeur du Hatha Yoga, fondé sur les techniques du contrôle du souffle et s’inspirant de pratiques sexuelles ésotériques.
L’auteur nous depeint la vie cérémonielle de Caughera, dont elle détaille les rites quotidiens et les célébrations annuelles, et qui s’enracine autour du culte d’un objet sacré et caché, un vase de liqueur d’immortalité donné selon la légende par Gorakhnath à son disciple.
A la description de la dimension spirituelle du monastère succède son étude en tant qu’institution religieuse temporelle, richement dotée par une monarchie que les Yogis ont contribué à légitimer. Les archives et les documents judiciaires dépouillés montrent que les relations entre le monastère et ses dépendants d’une part, et le monastère et le pouvoir royal d’autre part, ont été souvent conflictuelles, à l’instar de ce que l’on peut observer pour les institutions de même nature dans d’autres univers religieux.
Cette étude de la vie spirituelle et matérielle d’un monastère hindou nous fait ainsi découvrir une secte mal connue, autrefois fort influente en Inde et au Népal, et qui fut la principale interlocutrice des Soufis, le saint fondateur Ratannath jouissant d’une grande notoriété dans la tradition musulmane.

On imagine volontiers les ascètes indiens errants et solitaires, notamment les Nâth Yogis, ces di... more On imagine volontiers les ascètes indiens errants et solitaires, notamment les Nâth Yogis, ces disciples de Gorakhnâth, thaumaturges et adeptes du Hatha Yoga, célèbres depuis le XIIIe siècle pour leurs exploits et, à ce titre, héros de ballades chantées dans toute l’Inde du Nord. Mais, s’ils sont d’infatigables pérégrins, ils possèdent également des modes d’organisation bien établis, en particulier monastiques, grâce auxquels cette tradition sectaire doit sa pérennité. C’est à ces monastères, point d’ancrage d’une tradition d’itinérance, que ce livre est consacré.
Ainsi proposons-nous une description et une analyse de la complémentarité de deux types de monastères, les monastères communautaires dans lesquels les ascètes se réunissent autour de symboles et de rites partagés, et les monastères personnels, transmis de maître à disciple au sein d’une lignée.
Le monastère de Kadri-Manjunâth à Mangalore (Karnataka) est le type même du monastère communautaire : nous verrons que l’intronisation du supérieur y est l’occasion, tous les douze ans, d’une grande célébration, précédée d’un pèlerinage à pied long de six mois entre Nasik et Kadri, réitération d’un mythe fondateur lié au dieu Parasurâm et illustration de l’histoire religieuse complexe de cette région.
Les monastères personnels, ici ceux de Fatehpur dans la Shekhavati (Rajasthan) et de Asthal Bohar en Haryana, sont en revanche le lieu d’innovations, souvent liées à un changement de patronage : un accent mis sur la dimension dévotionnelle derrière le culte du guru et le développement de l’hagiographie, un nouvel intérêt pour les activités caritatives, une ouverture aux laïcs mise en évidence lors de la cérémonie fastueuse tenue à Fatehpur pour leur bénéfice et caractérisée par un sacrifice qui se veut « védique ».
Ce livre présente la richesse et la diversité des institutions et des orientations qui concourrent, derrière l’atomisme des pratiques individuelles, à faire des Nâth Yogis une tradition sectaire vivante et cohérente.

Edited Books by Veronique BOUILLIER

Papers by Veronique BOUILLIER

Rivista di Studi Sudasiatici iII, 2008, 37–52, 2008

Exploring what links the Nāth Yogīs to the subterranean world, this articles focuses on the relat... more Exploring what links the Nāth Yogīs to the subterranean world, this articles focuses on the relationships between two underground chambers : the guphā, the meditation cave, and the samādhi, the burial place (where the Yogī is supposed to remain eternally in ecstatic state). It looks also at the different myths connecting Gorakhnāth and the Yogīs to the subterranean serpent-deities, the Nāgas. Relying on texts, myths and current Nāth practices, the article shows how these manifold connections take their meaning from common references to body symbolism. L es ascètes, les ermites, ont choisi souvent la solitude de grottes ou de cavernes retirées du monde pour s'adonner à leurs pratiques médi-tatives. Anachorètes chrétiens, religieux bouddhistes et ascètes hindous partagent la même quête du « désert », d'un lieu à l'écart des hommes et pro-che de la nature, que l'abri de rochers, la caverne symbolisent à merveille. La présence de la rhétorique de la grotte chez ces ascètes hindous shi-vaïtes que sont les Nāth Yogīs est plus fondamentale encore. Ce sont eux qui offrent l'ensemble le plus complexe et le plus articulé de croyances mettant en relation pratiques ascétiques et spatialité, eux qui donnent le mieux à voir le sens caché derrière des comportements souvent spectaculaires. Si certains usages ou croyances sont partagés par l'ensemble des ascètes hin-dous, comme l'inhumation, ce sont les Nāth Yogīs qui, me semble t-il, les incarnent de la façon la plus exemplaire. Nous verrons ainsi ce thème de la grotte associé à tout un ensemble de croyances qui ont trait au monde souterrain, aux conceptions du corps, Rivista di Studi Sudasiatici iII, 2008, 37-52 * Une première version de ce texte fut exposée lors du colloque « Sand, Stones, and Stars. Nature in the Religious Imagination » organisé en avril 2006 à Yale University (Council on East Asian Studies) par Phyllis Granoff: je la remercie vivement ainsi que tous les participants au colloque.

JRAS, Series 3, 28, 3 (2018), pp. 525–535, 2018

This article focuses on some representations of Aurangzeb in the Nath Yogi lore; their ambivalenc... more This article focuses on some representations of Aurangzeb in the Nath Yogi lore; their ambivalence appears as a signifier of the complex relationships the Nath Yogis had with Islam. Aurangzeb figures both as a powerful enemy and as a clumsy devotee, he is depicted more as a symbol than as an historical individual character. The N¯ ath Yog¯ ıs are well known for the rich tradition of narratives that shape their identity. 1 Many legends tell of the lives of the wondrous ascetics who made the sect famous, or celebrate the places where they performed their miraculous deeds. Usually we have very little information about the actual historicity of such personages or about the circumstances and time period of their lives. This accounts for our surprise and interest when we do sometimes meet some well-known characters of Indian history in this legendary core. This is all the more the case when the hero of the story is Aurangzeb. This article concerns the few N¯ ath Yog¯ ıs' legends that mention Aurangzeb, collected by myself, Georges Weston Briggs and Daniel Gold, or published by the N¯ aths' press. Depicting Aurangzeb as the b¯ adsh¯ ah, the emperor, they are rather diverse and even contradictory. The strangeness of some episodes is to be connected with the complex relationships the N¯ aths had with Islam, 2 of which the ambivalence of their representations of Aurangzeb acts as a signifier. This ambivalence can be understood more fully with examination of the few existing historical documents that attest to this relationship of Aurangzeb with the N¯ ath Yog¯ ıs. These reveal the collaboration that the N¯ ath Yog¯ ıs had with the powerful people of 1 A version of this article was presented as a paper at the 2014 ECSAS Zürich conference. I would like to thank all the participants for their questions and comments, and especially Heidi Pauwels and Anne Murphy for their invaluable help, and the anonymous reviewer/s for his/her apt remarks. 2 Many recent studies have documented encounters between Muslims (mainly Suf¯ ıs) and N¯ ath Yog¯ ıs from the Muslim side. In a recent paper I considered the other side of the encounters, from the N¯ ath point of view. My conclusion, which I cannot describe here fully, was that fluid boundaries with Islam were part of the religious identity of the N¯ ath Yog¯ ıs. For the argument and the bibliography, see V. Bouillier, "N¯ ath Yog¯ ıs' Encounters with Islam", South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal (May 2015), available at http://samaj.revues.org/3878 (accessed 1 January 2018). Regarding the N¯ ath Yog¯ ıs more generally, see V.

in "Prêtrise, Pouvoirs et Autorité en Himalaya", études réunies par V. Bouillier et G. Toffin, 19... more in "Prêtrise, Pouvoirs et Autorité en Himalaya", études réunies par V. Bouillier et G. Toffin, 1998, Purusartha 12

Diogenes. 2015 (English translation of "Comment juger l'autre")

in "Célébrer le Pouvoir. Dasaĩ, une fête royale au Népal". Sous la directions de G. Krauskopff et... more in "Célébrer le Pouvoir. Dasaĩ, une fête royale au Népal". Sous la directions de G. Krauskopff et Marie Lecomte-Tilouine. Paris, CNRS Editions, 1996, pp. 337-346.

Pre-publication manuscript. Published in 2008 by Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme. P... more Pre-publication manuscript. Published in 2008 by Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme. Paris

Etudes Rurales, juil-dec 1987, 107-108, "Paysages et divinités en Himalaya"

The Powers of the Nath Yogis. Yogic Charisma, Political Influence and Social Authority, 2022

This chapter fulfils two purposes: on the one hand it presents a comprehensive overview of the Nā... more This chapter fulfils two purposes: on the one hand it presents a comprehensive overview of the Nāth Yogīs, and on the other it pinpoints the various topics where further studies are still required, situations need to be clarified, and field data should be collected. Therefore, the chapter aims to synthetize these uncertainties in a hypothetic triangular schema with three corners, whose relation to one another is far from simple or straightforward: the Nāths Yogīs, haṭha yoga, and Gorakhnāth. Focusing on their link to powers (siddhis), the chapter stresses the sectarian continuity established through the adaptation to changing circumstances.

Manohar, 2017

How have the premodern Shaiva ascetic sect of the Nāth Yogīs (known also as the Yogīs with splitt... more How have the premodern Shaiva ascetic sect of the Nāth Yogīs (known also as the Yogīs with splitted ears) succeeded in maintaining its presence and importance until today ? This book intends to give a general survey of this sampradāya which is said to have been founded by the Siddha Gorakhnāth, known for his strong link to Haṭha Yoga. However, rather than to Yoga, the history and expansion of the Nāth sect are linked to its rich legendary corpus. Dealing first with the marks of belonging (such as the huge earrings weared by the fully initiated Yogīs) which give the sect its unity, the book then focuses on its organization and explores the dialectics between the wandering Yogīs and the monastic settlements.
The author’s argument is that, in renunciatory tradition of India, monasteries give cohesiveness and duration to outworldly movements which otherwise could easily become fragmented and loose their identity. The Nāth monasteries belong to two categories : the pañcāyati maṭhs, collectively owned and managed by the sectarian authorities, which ensure the permanency of the sect, and the nījī maṭhs, owned on a personal basis and transmitted from guru to disciple, which permits innovative initiatives.
The book gives a detailed account of two pañcāyati monasteries, the Kadri Maṭh of Mangalore where its head’s enthronement is spectacularly performed every twelve years, and the Caughera Maṭh of Dang Valley in Nepal, the royal foundation of which gives a glimpse of the complex relationships that can exist between monasteries and kingdoms. It then focuses on three nījī maṭhs: Amritashram in Fatehpur (Rajasthan), Ashtal Bohar in Rohtak (Haryana) and the Gorakhpur mandir (UP). Each of them shows a different mode of adaptation to a modern context and attests of the present importance and continuity of this pluri-secular tradition of asceticism.

The Na ¯th or Ka ¯nphat ˙ a ¯ Yogı ¯s belong to a Hindu Shaiva ascetic and monastic tradition whi... more The Na ¯th or Ka ¯nphat ˙ a ¯ Yogı ¯s belong to a Hindu Shaiva ascetic and monastic tradition which had a lot of influence on the religious and literary landscape of precolonial India and is still counted among the important sectarian movements of modern India. This survey offers a brief overview of scholarship on three key areas: first, the relationship to Yoga and the link with Gorakhna ¯th as the supposed author of Sanskrit treatises on Hat ˙ ha Yoga; second, the interpretation of the vernacular literature of the Na ¯th Yogı ¯s, their legends, their strong relationship to power and their convergence with the bhakti milieu; and third, the Na ¯th Yogı ¯s as constituting a modern sectarian organization , and recent developments relating to their organisation and rituals. The Hindu ascetics known by the name of Na ¯th Yogı ¯s have different appellations such as Ka ¯nphat ˙ a ¯ Yogı ¯s (Yogı ¯s with split ears) or Gorakhna ¯thı ¯ Yogı ¯s or Ba ¯rahpanthı ¯s. The term Ka ¯nphat ˙ a ¯ Yogı ¯s or Yogı ¯s with split ears alludes to the hallmark of their sect (thick hooped earrings in slits cut in the cartilage of their ears) but this appellation is now considered derogatory and the Yogı ¯s themselves prefer to be called Dars´andha ¯rı ¯s, (the wearers of dars´an, as they call their earrings). The name Gorakhna ¯thı ¯ evokes the identity of their presumed founder, Gorakhna ¯th, and Ba ¯rahpanthı ¯ refers to the 12 panths or branches in which the sect is understood to be divided. None of these terms, however, is without its problems: the Yogı ¯s now reject the name Ka ¯nphat ˙ a ¯; scholars question the historicity of Gorakhna ¯th and relativize many of the characteristics that the Yogı ¯s consider inextricably linked to their identity; and the number of branches is more than twelve. Even though their past history is difficult to reconstruct, the Na ¯th Yogı ¯s, a Shaiva ascetic tradition, are recognized as a samprada ¯ya, a religious community rooted in the transmission of a fundamental teaching (Malinar 2011, pp. 156–64). Though their former prominence and influence has receded, they nevertheless number among the important Indian sects whose peripatetic ascetics still roam the Himalayan wilderness and whose various monastic establishments are scattered across the religious landscape of the Indian subcontinent. Few studies have been exclusively devoted to the Na ¯th Yogı ¯s, which makes the pioneering work by G. W. Briggs (Gorakhna ¯th and the Ka ¯nphata Yogı ¯s, 1938) particularly remarkable. Its constant republishing attests to its importance but also points to the need for new studies. Briggs's book gives an enormous amount of detailed information, combining factual observation with historical data, and examining both textual and oral traditions. Briggs provides a survey of the different places connected to the Yogı ¯s that he visited or heard about, describing their specificities, and he refers to the many legends of the main Na ¯th heroes as well as to the textual tradition, even providing a translation of the key Na ¯th Yogı ¯ text, the Goraks ˙ as´ataka. However, the accumulation of often contradictory details, and the different levels of analysis, undermine the coherence of the Religion Compass 7/5 (2013): 157–

How have the premodern Shaiva ascetic sect of the Nāth Yogīs (known also as the Yogīs with splitt... more How have the premodern Shaiva ascetic sect of the Nāth Yogīs (known also as the Yogīs with splitted ears) succeeded in maintaining its presence and importance until today ? This book intends to give a general survey of this sampradāya which is said to have been founded by the Siddha Gorakhnāth, known for his strong link to Haṭha Yoga. However, rather than to Yoga, the history and expansion of the Nāth sect are linked to its rich legendary corpus. Dealing first with the marks of belonging (such as the huge earrings weared by the fully initiated Yogīs) which give the sect its unity, the book then focuses on its organization and explores the dialectics between the wandering Yogīs and the monastic settlements.
The author’s argument is that, in renunciatory tradition of India, monasteries give cohesiveness and duration to outworldly movements which otherwise could easily become fragmented and loose their identity. The Nāth monasteries belong to two categories : the pañcāyati maṭhs, collectively owned and managed by the sectarian authorities, which ensure the permanency of the sect, and the nījī maṭhs, owned on a personal basis and transmitted from guru to disciple, which permits innovative initiatives.
The book gives a detailed account of two pañcāyati monasteries, the Kadri Maṭh of Mangalore where its head’s enthronement is spectacularly performed every twelve years, and the Caughera Maṭh of Dang Valley in Nepal, the royal foundation of which gives a glimpse of the complex relationships that can exist between monasteries and kingdoms. It then focuses on three nījī maṭhs: Amritashram in Fatehpur (Rajasthan), Ashtal Bohar in Rohtak (Haryana) and the Gorakhpur mandir (UP). Each of them shows a different mode of adaptation to a modern context and attests of the present importance and continuity of this pluri-secular tradition of asceticism.

Pre-publication manuscript. C’est au sud-est du Népal, dans la vallée de Dang, non loin de la fro... more Pre-publication manuscript.
C’est au sud-est du Népal, dans la vallée de Dang, non loin de la frontière indienne, que se dressent les édifices du temple monastique de Caughera. Des ascètes hindous dévots de Shiva, les Kanphata Yogis –ou Yogis aux « oreilles fendues », porteuses de lourds anneaux- y célèbrent le culte du saint fondateur Ratannath et de son guru Gorakhnath. Ce dernier serait l’inventeur du Hatha Yoga, fondé sur les techniques du contrôle du souffle et s’inspirant de pratiques sexuelles ésotériques.
L’auteur nous depeint la vie cérémonielle de Caughera, dont elle détaille les rites quotidiens et les célébrations annuelles, et qui s’enracine autour du culte d’un objet sacré et caché, un vase de liqueur d’immortalité donné selon la légende par Gorakhnath à son disciple.
A la description de la dimension spirituelle du monastère succède son étude en tant qu’institution religieuse temporelle, richement dotée par une monarchie que les Yogis ont contribué à légitimer. Les archives et les documents judiciaires dépouillés montrent que les relations entre le monastère et ses dépendants d’une part, et le monastère et le pouvoir royal d’autre part, ont été souvent conflictuelles, à l’instar de ce que l’on peut observer pour les institutions de même nature dans d’autres univers religieux.
Cette étude de la vie spirituelle et matérielle d’un monastère hindou nous fait ainsi découvrir une secte mal connue, autrefois fort influente en Inde et au Népal, et qui fut la principale interlocutrice des Soufis, le saint fondateur Ratannath jouissant d’une grande notoriété dans la tradition musulmane.

On imagine volontiers les ascètes indiens errants et solitaires, notamment les Nâth Yogis, ces di... more On imagine volontiers les ascètes indiens errants et solitaires, notamment les Nâth Yogis, ces disciples de Gorakhnâth, thaumaturges et adeptes du Hatha Yoga, célèbres depuis le XIIIe siècle pour leurs exploits et, à ce titre, héros de ballades chantées dans toute l’Inde du Nord. Mais, s’ils sont d’infatigables pérégrins, ils possèdent également des modes d’organisation bien établis, en particulier monastiques, grâce auxquels cette tradition sectaire doit sa pérennité. C’est à ces monastères, point d’ancrage d’une tradition d’itinérance, que ce livre est consacré.
Ainsi proposons-nous une description et une analyse de la complémentarité de deux types de monastères, les monastères communautaires dans lesquels les ascètes se réunissent autour de symboles et de rites partagés, et les monastères personnels, transmis de maître à disciple au sein d’une lignée.
Le monastère de Kadri-Manjunâth à Mangalore (Karnataka) est le type même du monastère communautaire : nous verrons que l’intronisation du supérieur y est l’occasion, tous les douze ans, d’une grande célébration, précédée d’un pèlerinage à pied long de six mois entre Nasik et Kadri, réitération d’un mythe fondateur lié au dieu Parasurâm et illustration de l’histoire religieuse complexe de cette région.
Les monastères personnels, ici ceux de Fatehpur dans la Shekhavati (Rajasthan) et de Asthal Bohar en Haryana, sont en revanche le lieu d’innovations, souvent liées à un changement de patronage : un accent mis sur la dimension dévotionnelle derrière le culte du guru et le développement de l’hagiographie, un nouvel intérêt pour les activités caritatives, une ouverture aux laïcs mise en évidence lors de la cérémonie fastueuse tenue à Fatehpur pour leur bénéfice et caractérisée par un sacrifice qui se veut « védique ».
Ce livre présente la richesse et la diversité des institutions et des orientations qui concourrent, derrière l’atomisme des pratiques individuelles, à faire des Nâth Yogis une tradition sectaire vivante et cohérente.

Rivista di Studi Sudasiatici iII, 2008, 37–52, 2008

Exploring what links the Nāth Yogīs to the subterranean world, this articles focuses on the relat... more Exploring what links the Nāth Yogīs to the subterranean world, this articles focuses on the relationships between two underground chambers : the guphā, the meditation cave, and the samādhi, the burial place (where the Yogī is supposed to remain eternally in ecstatic state). It looks also at the different myths connecting Gorakhnāth and the Yogīs to the subterranean serpent-deities, the Nāgas. Relying on texts, myths and current Nāth practices, the article shows how these manifold connections take their meaning from common references to body symbolism. L es ascètes, les ermites, ont choisi souvent la solitude de grottes ou de cavernes retirées du monde pour s'adonner à leurs pratiques médi-tatives. Anachorètes chrétiens, religieux bouddhistes et ascètes hindous partagent la même quête du « désert », d'un lieu à l'écart des hommes et pro-che de la nature, que l'abri de rochers, la caverne symbolisent à merveille. La présence de la rhétorique de la grotte chez ces ascètes hindous shi-vaïtes que sont les Nāth Yogīs est plus fondamentale encore. Ce sont eux qui offrent l'ensemble le plus complexe et le plus articulé de croyances mettant en relation pratiques ascétiques et spatialité, eux qui donnent le mieux à voir le sens caché derrière des comportements souvent spectaculaires. Si certains usages ou croyances sont partagés par l'ensemble des ascètes hin-dous, comme l'inhumation, ce sont les Nāth Yogīs qui, me semble t-il, les incarnent de la façon la plus exemplaire. Nous verrons ainsi ce thème de la grotte associé à tout un ensemble de croyances qui ont trait au monde souterrain, aux conceptions du corps, Rivista di Studi Sudasiatici iII, 2008, 37-52 * Une première version de ce texte fut exposée lors du colloque « Sand, Stones, and Stars. Nature in the Religious Imagination » organisé en avril 2006 à Yale University (Council on East Asian Studies) par Phyllis Granoff: je la remercie vivement ainsi que tous les participants au colloque.

JRAS, Series 3, 28, 3 (2018), pp. 525–535, 2018

This article focuses on some representations of Aurangzeb in the Nath Yogi lore; their ambivalenc... more This article focuses on some representations of Aurangzeb in the Nath Yogi lore; their ambivalence appears as a signifier of the complex relationships the Nath Yogis had with Islam. Aurangzeb figures both as a powerful enemy and as a clumsy devotee, he is depicted more as a symbol than as an historical individual character. The N¯ ath Yog¯ ıs are well known for the rich tradition of narratives that shape their identity. 1 Many legends tell of the lives of the wondrous ascetics who made the sect famous, or celebrate the places where they performed their miraculous deeds. Usually we have very little information about the actual historicity of such personages or about the circumstances and time period of their lives. This accounts for our surprise and interest when we do sometimes meet some well-known characters of Indian history in this legendary core. This is all the more the case when the hero of the story is Aurangzeb. This article concerns the few N¯ ath Yog¯ ıs' legends that mention Aurangzeb, collected by myself, Georges Weston Briggs and Daniel Gold, or published by the N¯ aths' press. Depicting Aurangzeb as the b¯ adsh¯ ah, the emperor, they are rather diverse and even contradictory. The strangeness of some episodes is to be connected with the complex relationships the N¯ aths had with Islam, 2 of which the ambivalence of their representations of Aurangzeb acts as a signifier. This ambivalence can be understood more fully with examination of the few existing historical documents that attest to this relationship of Aurangzeb with the N¯ ath Yog¯ ıs. These reveal the collaboration that the N¯ ath Yog¯ ıs had with the powerful people of 1 A version of this article was presented as a paper at the 2014 ECSAS Zürich conference. I would like to thank all the participants for their questions and comments, and especially Heidi Pauwels and Anne Murphy for their invaluable help, and the anonymous reviewer/s for his/her apt remarks. 2 Many recent studies have documented encounters between Muslims (mainly Suf¯ ıs) and N¯ ath Yog¯ ıs from the Muslim side. In a recent paper I considered the other side of the encounters, from the N¯ ath point of view. My conclusion, which I cannot describe here fully, was that fluid boundaries with Islam were part of the religious identity of the N¯ ath Yog¯ ıs. For the argument and the bibliography, see V. Bouillier, "N¯ ath Yog¯ ıs' Encounters with Islam", South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal (May 2015), available at http://samaj.revues.org/3878 (accessed 1 January 2018). Regarding the N¯ ath Yog¯ ıs more generally, see V.

in "Prêtrise, Pouvoirs et Autorité en Himalaya", études réunies par V. Bouillier et G. Toffin, 19... more in "Prêtrise, Pouvoirs et Autorité en Himalaya", études réunies par V. Bouillier et G. Toffin, 1998, Purusartha 12

Diogenes. 2015 (English translation of "Comment juger l'autre")

in "Célébrer le Pouvoir. Dasaĩ, une fête royale au Népal". Sous la directions de G. Krauskopff et... more in "Célébrer le Pouvoir. Dasaĩ, une fête royale au Népal". Sous la directions de G. Krauskopff et Marie Lecomte-Tilouine. Paris, CNRS Editions, 1996, pp. 337-346.

Pre-publication manuscript. Published in 2008 by Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme. P... more Pre-publication manuscript. Published in 2008 by Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme. Paris

Etudes Rurales, juil-dec 1987, 107-108, "Paysages et divinités en Himalaya"

Far from modern ideologies focusing on fixed ascriptive religious identities, the Shaivite asce... more Far from modern ideologies focusing on fixed ascriptive religious identities, the Shaivite ascetic sect of the Nāth Yogīs had a long tradition of close relationships with Islam. This article will focus on two levels where this lack of concern for encompassing religious labels manifests: the doctrinal vernacular texts and the Nāth hagiographic tradition. A surprising text edited under the name of ‘Mohammad Bodh’ by contemporary Nāth authorities will be presented. It is composed of short elliptical verses, which have to be recited during the month of Ramadan and are thus intended for Muslim Yogīs. However, more familiar to the mainstream Nāth Yogīs are the many narratives that function as carriers of sectarian identity. Several of them present heroes characterised by a somewhat ambiguous relation to Islam; they may be blessing Muslim rulers or be granted a dual identity (like Ratan Bābā and Raja Bākshar), a shifting identity (like Gūgā), or come from a Muslim background (Hanḍī Bhaṛang). In conclusion, we may even think that fluid boundaries with Islam were part of the religious identity of the Nāth Yogīs.
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Diogène. Translated from French

2011. In "Cultural Expertise and Litigation", ed. by Livia Holden

in "Images du corps dans le monde Hindou", V. Bouillier et G. Tarabout eds., 2002. Paris, CNRS Ed... more in "Images du corps dans le monde Hindou", V. Bouillier et G. Tarabout eds., 2002. Paris, CNRS Editions

2009. in "Moines et Moniales de par le Monde. La vie monastique au miroir de la parenté" ed. by A... more 2009. in "Moines et Moniales de par le Monde. La vie monastique au miroir de la parenté" ed. by A. Herrou and G. Krauskopff

2009. In "Patronage and Popularisation, Pilgrimage and Procession" , ed. by H.R.M. Pauwels.

2012. in "Public Hinduisms" ed. by John Zavos § all.

Journal of Indian Philosophy, 2009

This article deals with the complex personality and legacy of a mysterious saint known both as a ... more This article deals with the complex personality and legacy of a mysterious saint known both as a Sufī (Ḥājji Ratan) and a Nāth Yogī (Ratannāth) and links his multiple identity as well as the religious movement originated from him, to the specific cultural context of the former North-West Indian provinces. The first part is devoted to Ratan in the Nāth Yogī tradition, the second to his many facets in the Muslim tradition, in connection with his dargāh in the Panjabi town of Bhatinda. The third and main part explores a particular movement, the Har Śri Nāth tradition. Presently centered around a “dargāh mandir” in Delhi, this movement, with its two branches issued from Ratan and from his “son” Kāyānāth, was rooted in what is now Pakistan. The influence of location and history has led to many peculiarities which lead us to stress the blurred boundaries between Islam and Hinduism and the essential part played by charismatic figures in the construction of religious identities.

in "De l'Arabie à l'Himalaya. Chemins croises en hommage à Marc Gaborieau", Paris 2004

A Nath Yogi monastery in Sekhavati: merchant patronage and demonstration of powers. This article ... more A Nath Yogi monastery in Sekhavati: merchant patronage and demonstration of powers.
This article is about the link between a community of Marwaris originally from Shekhavati and a monastery of ascetics from the Nath Yogi sect. The details of this paradoxical link are studied according to the oral and written accounts of the devotees who insist upon the numerous material advantages and miracles they were granted. Accent is put on the exchange relationship between the generous donations from the devotees and the worldly successes they expect in return, a pattern which is quite new among the Nath community.