‘[T]hese contributions give us an excellent series of conceptual case studies of how to do more with normative texts than affirm or deny their applicability or reality. By reaching out to contemporary theoretical work, Squarcini shows how perennial topics of ideology-formation, the politics of contested language, and the non-physical effects of punishment may be studied through the lens of even ancient Sanskrit intellectual traditions.’ —Donald R. Davis, ‘Journal of Hindu Studies’