Voice, Script, and Tradition: Lok-Shastra Dynamics in Indian Knowledge Systems

The Indian subcontinent has fostered one of the world's most advanced knowledge systems, marked by an active dialectic between oral traditions (Lok) and textual knowledge (Shastra). This paper offers a detailed analysis of the ways in which these two means of knowledge transmission have interacted, impacted, and enriched one another over Indian history. Pushing against the Western epistemological dichotomy favoring textuality over orality, this paper illustrates how Indian systems of knowledge have sustained a dynamic progression between oral and written formulations. Using an interdisciplinary approach that integrates Indology, anthropology, and postcolonialism, we discuss decisive historical shifts - from the Vedic oral tradition to textualization of Bhakti poetry and the continuing vigor of folk tales. This article makes the case for a decolonial perspective in understanding Indian knowledge systems, one that acknowledges the inherent value of oral traditions and their interdependence with classical texts. Through analysis of digital revivals of oral forms in contemporary times, we underscore how technology is making it possible to return to voice-based knowledge transmission, completing the circular journey from voice to text to voice.