Studies on the idea of 'sacred' received a renewed interest in the academic

domain especially after the postcolonial interrogation of the Western gaze on the

Eastern cultures and religions. This has resulted in the focus on the native point of

view in anthropological and ethnographical studies on the one hand, and on the

cultural thrust in the study of religion, on the other. But the textual mediations of the

sacred has, hitherto, remained least explored as it demands a turn towards literary,

media and other representations, which seem to only entertain and engage with the

reader/audience. It is in this context, that this thesis attempts a study of the

representational aspects involved in the experience of the sacred. After a detailed

discussion of scholarly studies on the idea of the 'sacred', this chapter will juxtapose

the canonical views of the sacred with the experience of the 'sacred' among the

marginalised communities with a view to locating the role and function of culture in

the experience of the 'sacred'.