Note on Translation and Transliteration

I have aimed to provide translations that maintain some of the distinctive flavour and rhythm of the Hindi (Braj Bhasha) literature under consideration, while also trying to appeal to contemporary English-reading audiences who may or may not have familiarity with the devotional world of Pushtimargi Hinduism. This means that at times I omit redundancies in my translations by paraphrasing or by including only select portions of the original text. I frequently simplify or alter names and titles for the reader’s clarity. On occasion I also offer modest embellishments for clarification. These translations are therefore meant to carry the mood of the originals more than they are meant to be precise or literal.

I have omitted diacritics on Indian-language terms, which appear in italics (except in the case of proper names, or words that have been absorbed into English). When discussing Sanskrit sources and terms therein, I have followed the conventions of contemporary Sanskritists by including the inherent ‘a’ vowel (e.g., purana rather than puran). In the context of discussing Hindi literature and terms therein, I generally omit the inherent ‘a’ vowel (e.g., Braj rather than Braja; laukik rather than laukika), but override this rule when such an omission may be awkward or confusing for the reader (e.g., I write maharajas rather than maharajs). Diacritics will, however, appear on transliterated text names originally composed in Hindi that are listed in the Bibliography.

Tilkayat Govindji on snan yatra, A.D. 1770, 29.2 x 16.8 cm (11.5 x 6.62 inch)