Reading Roundtable Session

The Samyak-jñāna Candrikā is a seminal Hindi commentary on Gommaṭasāra (10th century CE), authored by Pandit Todarmal (1719–1766), a distinguished Jain scholar who played a pivotal role in making Jain philosophical texts accessible through vernacular commentaries. In his preface (pīṭhikā), Todarmal poses a fundamental question: Why study scriptures at all? This general section (sāmānya prakaraṇa) explores intellectual and ethical challenges in scriptural study and reflects on the very purpose of writing and publishing commentaries. This Reading Roundtable invites scholars to engage with Todarmal’s dialogical approach, situating his reflections within the socio-cultural milieu of his time and examining their resonance in contemporary thought. The online session will present concise summaries of key sections, followed by expert-led discussions.

Session Chair: Prof. Shivani Bothra (California State University, Long Beach) Led by: Pragya Jain (Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur)

Panelists:
Kshitij Jain (University of Oxford)
Vishesh Kothari (University of Oxford)
Ruth Westoby (Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies)
Anthony Ruda (University of Oxford)
Anahita Hoose (University of California, Los Angeles)
Samyak Modi (University of California, Riverside)
Joanna Flynn (Ghent University)
Erika Caranti (University of Turin)
Jinesh Sheth (University of Birmingham)
Anubhav Jain (SOAS)
Surbhi Jain (SOAS)
Leonardo Stockler (Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo)

Date: 25 November 2025 Time: 4 PM to 6 PM GMT (London)
Zoom: Meeting ID: 825 7365 0417 Passcode: 137231
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82573650417? pwd=pLeCQdVZw3WJVnfzx02vu2RdR02Q0b.1

Week 4, Wednesday 5 November 2.30-3.30, OCHS Library

Dr Theo Wildcroft and Dr Barbora Sojkova

Yoga Studies in Five Minutes provides an accessible guide to the diverse and growing field of research into yoga as a social, historical and cultural phenomenon. Both leading scholars and innovative researchers offer 60 brief responses to questions that offer insights into the study of yoga, such as: Who was the first teacher of yoga? Is yoga Indian? What is parampara? Are there holy texts in yoga? What are the goals of yoga? Why do yogis hold their breath? The collection covers ancient history, modern developments, and contemporary issues, considers the diverse practices and philosophies of yoga in a range of contexts, and uses a range of approaches, from philology to anthropology to art history. The collection is useful for established scholars looking to broaden their understanding of this rapidly developing field, as well as for those new to the subject. The book is an ideal starting point for both independent study and the classroom.

At this book launch event, the two editors, together with a few of the contributors, will introduce the book, talk about the process of producing it, and read a few of the entries. This will be a relaxed event to celebrate the book’s publication, free to attend, and with a few nibbles to tempt you. Anyone is very welcome to join us.

Theo Wildcroft, PhD is a yoga teacher-trainer, writer and scholar who is interested in the democratization of yoga post-lineage, somatic literacy, meaning-making and the counter-culture. She is an Associate Lecturer at the Open University, UK, Visiting Lecturer in Dharmic Worldviews at the University of Chester, Fellow of the HEA, former Coordinator of the SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies, editor of the BASR Bulletin, an honorary member of the British Wheel of Yoga, member of the IAYT, a continuing professional development trainer and consultant for Yoga Alliance (E-RYT® 500, YACEP®), and Council Member for the American Yoga Council. She is the author of Post-lineage yoga: from guru to #metoo, co-writer of Leading Safe and Simple Yoga Nidras (coming soon), editor of Religion and the Sense of Self (also coming soon), and co-editor of The Yoga Teachers’ Survival Guide and Yoga Studies in Five Minutes.

Barbora Sojkova holds a DPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Sanskrit) from Balliol College, University of Oxford, where her research focused on human-animal relationships in Vedic Sanskrit literature. She is a qualified librarian (PgDip in Library and Information Studies, UCL, 2024) and has previously worked at All Souls College and the Bodleian Library, Oxford. She was a postdoctoral researcher in the MANTRAMS Project at the University of Oxford, working on the history of mantra in Vedic. She is also a certified yoga teacher and trainer focusing on history and philosophy of yoga.

Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8, Thursday 5.00-6.00, OCHS Library

Professor Alexis Sanderson

The Kashmirian Śaiva theologian Abhinavagupta offers in his magisterial Tantrāloka, composed c. 1000 CE, an all-embracing analysis of the Tantric Śaiva paths to liberation from the standpoint of the Śākta Śaiva system known as the Trika. In these four lectures I will complete my exposition of the opening verses of this text.

Alexis Sanderson studied first Classics and then Sanskrit at Oxford as an undergraduate (1967–71). As a postgraduate student he spent six years in Kashmir studying the Śaiva literature of that region under the guidance of Swami Lakshman Joo, the last learned exponent and practitioner of the Kashmirian Śākta Śaiva tradition. He returned to Oxford in 1977 to teach Sanskrit and Indology. He held that post until 1992, when he became a Fellow of All Souls College through election to Oxford’s Spalding Professorship of Eastern Religions and Ethics. He retired from that position in 2015. He moved to Japan in August of 2022 and there continues his work on the history of the religions of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.  He is currently writing a history of the pre-Islamic religious traditions of Kashmir and producing a critical edition and English translation of the Tantrāloka of Abhinavagupta (fl.c. 975–1025) accompanied by an extensive commentary.