UC Berkeley

Through a focus on the lives and works of three Hindi authors and intrepid travelers—Anand Kausalyayan, Rahul Sankrityayan, and Nagarjun—this dissertation investigates the emergence of “the wanderer” as a cultural hero in India during the twentieth century as part of efforts to define modern Buddhism for Hindi audiences. Beginning with a study of each author’s involvement in Buddhist revival efforts in India, it follows their careers and peregrinations across South Asia and around the world, exploring how each one contributed to the construction of a unique image of the wanderer through their writings and own lived example. Considering the image of the wanderer in the lives and works of these three authors, from its appearance in Buddhist tracts during the 1930s and ‘40s though later figurations of travelers in Hindi travel literature of the 1960s and ‘70s, this dissertation goes on to explore how the act of wandering came to be understood as a model for social, political, and religious reform and development.