The world renouncer and man-in-the-world: Revisiting an old paradigm

Abstract

This article is a critical re-evaluation of Louis Dumont’s theory of the opposition between the man-in-the-world and the world renouncer within traditional Indian society. Drawing on new research into gṛhastha, the most common indigenous term for a householder, the article shows that Dumont’s theory is basically flawed. When due attention is paid to historical developments within Hinduism, the grhastha and the renouncer ( pravrajita) are seen as complementary and sharing a common ideology. Contrary to Dumont’s basic thesis, the individual is conceptually very much alive within society and not just within its repudiation in the institution of world renunciation.