Dear Mr. Haas,

As I recall, Robert Yelle's book Explaining Mantras includes some discussion of repetition. It is possible, too, that some of the articles in Alper's Understanding Mantras at least touch upon the topic. Others on the list may be able to offer some guidance to relevant sections in the writings of Frits Staal and others who have worked on Vedic recitation and related ritual theory.

good luck,

From: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces@list.indology.info> on behalf of Dominik Haas via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info>
Sent: Sunday, March 1, 2020 6:21 AM
To: indology@list.indology.info <indology@list.indology.info>
Subject: [INDOLOGY] Repetitive recitation of a mantra

Dear colleagues,

in my exploration of the history of the Gāyatrī mantra, I naturally have to deal with the practice of repetitive recitation of a mantra. I would like to collect as much literature as possible about the origins and the development of this specific practice in South Asian religions (of course there's a lot about japa and mantras in general, and repeated recitation is ubiquitous, but I am looking for more focused studies). Serious studies about the psychological effects of repeating a single text would also be interesting.

Any references (and/or PDFs) would be very welcome, on or off-list!

Best regards,
Dominik A. Haas