Vasudha Narayanan is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Religion at the University of Florida and director of the Center for the Study of Hindu Traditions at the University of Florida. Educated at the Universities of Madras and Bombay in India and at Harvard University, she is author or editor of several books including The Vernacular Veda, Hinduism, and The Life of Hinduism and has received grants and fellowships from several institutions, including the National Endowment for the Humanities.