Expecting the Unexpected:

The Secret of ‘The Gift’ in the Bengali Vaishnava Tradition

Abstract

Drawing from Derrida’s theory of the “pure gift,” Taneja explores gift-giving in Krishna bhakti through the lens of the Sudāma-Kṛṣṇa story. She contrasts philosophical notions of disinterested giving with the devotional dynamic in Vaishnavism, where intention, humility, and divine reciprocation defy transactional logic. The gift becomes not just an object but a theological expression of surrender and grace. Taneja argues that the tension between material exchange and transcendental offering is resolved in the bhakti paradigm as an act of sacred intimacy.