In the modern West, we hear little about vows. There are, of course, marriage vows, courtroom oaths, and oaths of office sworn by politicians. But the public vow to a deity is rare today, and rarer still is a vow to a deity outside one's own religion.

In South Asia, however, such vows are widespread and cover a variety of religious traditions. In this collection of articles, edited by Selva J. Raj and William P. Harman, we can see ritual vows in Hindu, Jain, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, and Sikh traditions. We also see Hindus taking vows at Muslim shrines, Hindus and Muslims both vowing at Roman Catholic shrines, Buddhists performing vows to gods and planets at Buddhist shrines, and Jains worshipping Hindu deities and guardian spirits.

Taking vows to a different god than one's own is not considered heresy. It is more like a choice in medical care: One might...

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