Revealing the Secret in an Open Court: Heeralal Dhole, Paul Carus, and the Translation Assemblage

This paper examines the role of print media in the 19th-century dissemination of transnational esotericism and the promotion of South Asian yoga traditions beyond their indigenous contexts through an examination of the local and global concerns of Heeralal Dhole, a print entrepreneur in colonial Calcutta (now Kolkata).  The paper examines the context and content of a selection of Dhole’s publications, revealing how translation facilitated appeals to transnational networks of cultural transmission and exchange.  Then, through an analysis of Dhole's connection to Paul Carus and the Open Court Publishing House, the paper explores how vernacular agendas were both influenced by and influential in shaping the anglophone public's reception of yoga. The paper contributes to the understanding of yoga's historical transformation through translation, highlighting the complex interplay between publishers, book distributors, and the market's appetite for esoteric knowledge.