{"product_id":"the-relic-in-the-glass-avni-chag-9780197827635","title":"The Relic in the Glass Cabinet: A History of the \u0026#346;ik\u0026#7779;\u0026#257;patr\u0026#299; With New Translation and Notes","description":"The \u003cem\u003eShikshapatri\u003c\/em\u003e (1826) is a scripture presented as a letter to devotees from Swaminarayan (1781-1830), the founder and principal deity of the eponymous Swaminarayan tradition. Designated by millions as a revelatory scripture down to the belief of its divine authorship, the text is treated as a succinct and authoritative index of Swaminarayan beliefs and practices. Early manuscripts of the text are so cherished that some, like the one enclosed in a glass cabinet in the Oxford Bodleian libraries, are treated as relics. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor the first time, Avni Chag's thorough text and historical analysis of the \u003cem\u003eShikshapatri\u003c\/em\u003e adds nuance to the story of its canonization. Featuring the first English translation of an earlier, shorter version of the text (1823), \u003cem\u003eThe Relic in the Glass Cabinet \u003c\/em\u003esubmits the text's authorship, intent, and historical development to critical scrutiny. Based on a comparative study of two \u003cem\u003eShikshapatri\u003c\/em\u003e recensions, Chag demonstrates that the text did not originally align with the specific Vaisnava theological identity it now claims. Instead, doctrinal commitments were added after Swaminarayan's passing, fundamentally reshaping how the text, its author, and his tradition have been understood. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Relic in the Glass Cabinet\u003c\/em\u003e offers novel dimensions to existing scholarly interpretations of early Swaminarayan history, theology, and literature. It tells an untold story of the complex histories of textual production, exploring the interplay between historically contingent circumstances and inherited, albeit negotiated, religious ideas and practices, all at the formative moment of a tradition's inception in early nineteenth-century western India, present day Gujarat.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Avni Chag\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0197827632\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780197827635\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/16\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 318\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.27lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.52w x 1.25d","brand":"Avni Chag","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48874528375039,"sku":"9780197827635","price":140.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-relic-in-the-glass-avni-chag-9780197827635","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}