Bidyanath Saraswati (b. 1932) is Research Professor in Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi; former Professor of Anthropology in North Eastern Hill University, Shillong. Professor Saraswati's major publications include: Contributions to the understanding of Indian civilization; Pottery making cultures and Indian classical cultural tradition; Brahmanic ritual traditions; The spectrum of the sacred; and Ascetics of Kashi: an anthropological exploration (with Surajit Sinha.