The Hindu University of America in Orlando, Fla., is the only university in the West entirely dedicated to the study of all things Hindu.

The Center for the Study of Hindu Traditions is at the University of Florida in Gainesville. It is the nation’s first Center for the Study of Hindu Traditions, and it works to encourage the teaching, understanding and research of Hindu culture.

The American Institute of Indian Studies is a consortium of universities and colleges in the United States at which scholars actively engage in teaching and research about India. It is at the University of Chicago.

Rebecca J. Manring is an associate professor of India studies and religious studies at Indiana University. She contributed a chapter on Sita Devi to The Graceful Guru: Hindu Female Gurus in India and the United States.

Kathleen M. Erndl is an associate professor of religion at Florida State University in Tallahassee. She has written about gender issues and the worship of female deities.

Bruce M. Sullivan is a professor of religious studies at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. He is a specialist in Hinduism, Buddhism, and India’s classical Sanskrit literary and theatrical traditions. He teaches a course on the Hindu epics.

Paula Richman is a professor of religion at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. She is an expert on the Hindu epics, especially the Ramayana.

Mandakranta Bose is a professor emerita at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. She is an expert on the Ramayana.

Laurie L. Patton is the dean of arts & sciences and a professor of religion at Duke University. She is an expert in Hindu mythology.