Prof. Dr. Lawrence A. Babb
Thus far we have considered a Jain ritual culture in relative isolation. While we have alluded from time to time to its wider context, both in the Jain world and even beyond, our object has been to map its internal terrain, not its location on broader landscapes. In this chapter we turn from the tradition itself to its wider context in South Asian religion, with a particular emphasis on other South Asian ritual cultures. Doing so discloses a surprising result. Seen purely as a system of ideas embodying a strategy for achieving liberation - which is the view often taken of Jainism - Jain traditions seem radically different from the "Hindu" traditions that form their cultural surround. This sort of comparison seems to vindicate the familiar image of Jainism as "heterodoxy." If, however, we shift the focus to ritual culture we discover that Jainism is far less "other" to other South Asian traditions than is commonly supposed. From this perspective it represents a variation - perhaps an extreme variation - on common South Asian ritual themes. At this level, Jain ritual culture itself might be seen as a subculture of a more generalized South Asian ritual culture.
The crucial issue, as we shall see, is that of exchange. A consideration of who gives what to whom in situations of worship turns out to be a powerful technique for tracing essential similarities and differences between religious traditions.
