The Sanskrit Traditions Symposium

Organisers

Dr Jessica Frazier
Dr Rembert Lutjeharms
Dr Bjarne Wernicke-Olesen

The 39th Annual Sanskrit Traditions Symposium

Date: 2 June 2023
Time: 11.00 am – 4.45 pm (BST)
Location: Trinity College, Oxford

The Sanskrit Traditions Symposium is a forum for the discussion of the Sanskrit traditions of South Asia, and the texts and cultures that have risen out of them. It brings together established and rising academics for the focused examination of research pertaining to various aspects of South Asia’s rich Sanskrit religious and intellectual culture. It thereby seeks to sustain and build upon the long history of scholarship in this important area of study.

The Concept of Sukha in the Ascetic Traditions of Ancient India
Valters Negribs (Sorbonne)

The Textual Sanctification of Vārāṇasī
Olli-Pekka Littunen (Leiden)

The Significance of Etymology in Early Modern Polemical Works Of Vedānta
Vinoth Murali (Cambridge)

A Temple of Stone and a Temple of Love: Govindadeva in the Religious Imagination of Early Gauḍīyas in Braj
Rembert Lutjeharms (OCHS)

Instructions for contributors

Full papers

  • Papers are pre-circulated so that participants can read them before the seminar to ensure the best possible use of discussion time. Papers are therefore not read out at the seminar itself. Each full paper will be allocated 40 minutes of discussion time. The paper will be briefly introduced by the person chairing the session, who will then raise questions to the paper-giver, before opening the discussion.
  • Papers should be no longer than 20 pp, A4, including notes and references, and should be presented in a font size no smaller than Times New Roman 12 point. Line spacing should be no less than 1.5. (Papers will be reduced for photocopying).
  • To facilitate discussion for those short of reading time, paper-givers should provide a one page abstract of the key argument of the paper, along with their paper. Please include your email address for further feedback.

Chairing

  • The chair of each main session will be responsible for introducing the paper-giver and paper in no more than 5 minutes, in initiating a discussion with the paper-giver (15 mins max) and in ensuring there is ample time for discussion from the floor (at least 20 mins).
  • In the case of Research Reports, the chair’s job is to introduce the candidate and to ensure that all comments from the floor are heard where possible.
  • Since the programme is packed, it is vital that chairs time-keep efficiently.