Our Team

Prof. Prapod Assavavirulhakarn

Professor Prapod Assavavirulhakarn is one of Thailand's foremost scholars of Buddhism, Sanskrit, and Pāli whose scholarship has significantly advanced the study of Buddhist philosophy, Sanskrit and Pāli literature, manuscript traditions, and the transmission of Indian intellectual culture throughout South and Southeast Asia. Educated in Thailand and internationally, he has devoted his academic career to exploring the literary, philosophical, and historical dimensions of Buddhist traditions while fostering scholarly exchange between South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Professor Assavavirulhakarn is Professor of Buddhist Studies at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand's oldest and most prestigious university, where he previously served as Dean of the Faculty of Arts. Throughout his distinguished career he has played a leading role in the development of Buddhist Studies, Sanskrit Studies, and Indology in Thailand, strengthening international collaboration between Thai institutions and leading centres of scholarship across Asia, Europe, and North America.

His research spans Buddhist Sanskrit and Pāli literature, Mahāyāna and Theravāda Buddhism, Sanskrit philology, manuscript studies, Buddhist philosophy, and the historical transmission of Indian religious and intellectual traditions across Southeast Asia. Combining rigorous philological research with historical and comparative approaches, he has published extensively on Buddhist texts, Indian philosophical traditions, and the reception of Indian civilisation in the wider Buddhist world. His work has made important contributions to understanding the intellectual interactions between India and Southeast Asia and has helped promote the study of Sanskrit within the broader context of Buddhist civilisation.

In addition to his scholarly publications, Professor Assavavirulhakarn has held numerous international academic appointments and has actively promoted global cooperation in Buddhist and Sanskrit studies. He serves as a Member of the Governing Board of Nalanda University and has participated in major international initiatives dedicated to the advancement of Buddhist Studies, manuscript preservation, and South Asian intellectual history. His distinguished academic leadership has established him as one of the most respected representatives of Buddhist and Sanskrit scholarship in Southeast Asia.

As an Advisor to the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Assavavirulhakarn brings distinguished expertise in Buddhist Sanskrit literature, Pāli studies, Sanskrit philology, manuscript traditions, textual criticism, and the transmission of Indian intellectual heritage across South and Southeast Asia. His extensive scholarly experience, international academic leadership, and lifelong commitment to the preservation and study of classical Indian textual traditions will provide invaluable guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Prof. Hans T. Bakker

Professor Hans T. Bakker is one of the world's most distinguished Sanskritists and historians of early India, internationally renowned for his pioneering scholarship on Sanskrit literature, Hinduism, epigraphy, Purāṇic traditions, and the political and religious history of ancient South Asia. Educated in Indology at the University of Groningen, he has devoted more than four decades to the study of Sanskrit textual traditions and the historical development of Hindu civilisation, establishing himself as one of the leading authorities on the Gupta and post-Gupta periods of Indian history.

Professor Bakker served for many years as Professor of Sanskrit and Hinduism at the University of Groningen, where he trained a generation of Indologists while directing influential international research projects. His scholarship combines philology, epigraphy, archaeology, historical geography, and manuscript studies, providing a uniquely interdisciplinary perspective on the evolution of Hindu religious institutions and Sanskrit intellectual culture. His work has fundamentally transformed scholarly understanding of the formation of early medieval Hinduism and the relationship between Sanskrit textual traditions and the historical landscape of ancient India.

Among his many landmark publications are The World of the Skandapurāṇa, The Vākāṭakas: An Essay in Hindu Iconology, Monuments of Hope, Gloom and Glory in the Age of the Hunnic Wars, and numerous critical studies of the Skandapurāṇa, Gupta inscriptions, and early Śaiva traditions. His research on the Skandapurāṇa has been particularly influential, combining meticulous manuscript-based philology with historical analysis to reconstruct one of the earliest and most important Purāṇic texts. He has also made fundamental contributions to the study of Sanskrit inscriptions, sacred geography, temple culture, and the political history of early India, establishing new methodological standards in historical Indology.

Professor Bakker is a Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and has received numerous international honours in recognition of his outstanding contributions to Sanskrit studies, Hinduism, and South Asian history. His publications continue to serve as essential reference works for scholars of Sanskrit, archaeology, religious history, and Indian civilisation worldwide.

As an Advisor to the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Bakker brings unparalleled expertise in Sanskrit philology, Purāṇic literature, epigraphy, manuscript studies, textual criticism, archaeology, and the historical development of Hindu traditions. His distinguished scholarship, extensive editorial experience, and pioneering research on Sanskrit textual traditions will provide invaluable strategic guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Profile

Prof. John L. Brockington

Professor John L. Brockington is one of the world's most distinguished Sanskritists and historians of Hinduism, internationally renowned for his pioneering scholarship on the Sanskrit epics, Purāṇic literature, and the historical development of Hindu religious traditions. Educated at the University of Cambridge, he has devoted more than five decades to the study of Sanskrit literature, establishing himself as one of the foremost authorities on the Rāmāyaṇa, Mahābhārata, and the evolution of epic traditions in South Asia.

Professor Brockington served for many years as Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Edinburgh, where he trained generations of students in Sanskrit language, literature, and Hindu studies. Throughout his distinguished academic career he has combined rigorous philological analysis with literary, historical, and religious interpretation, producing landmark studies that have fundamentally shaped modern understanding of the Sanskrit epics and their place within Indian civilisation. His research encompasses Sanskrit epic literature, Hindu mythology, Purāṇic traditions, textual criticism, and the religious and cultural history of South Asia.

Among his many influential publications are The Sacred Thread: Hinduism in its Continuity and Diversity (1981), Righteous Rāma: The Evolution of an Epic (1985), The Sanskrit Epics (1998), and Epic Threads (2000), all of which have become standard reference works in the field of Indology. Together with Mary Brockington, he translated Rāma the Steadfast (2006) and subsequently edited The Other Rāmāyaṇa Women (2016), expanding scholarly understanding of the narrative, literary, and theological dimensions of the Rāmāyaṇa tradition. He has also compiled the comprehensive survey "Development and Spread of the Rāma Narrative (Pre-modern)" for the Oxford Research Archive, providing an authoritative account of the transmission of one of South Asia's most influential literary traditions.

In addition to his scholarly publications, Professor Brockington has played a leading role in the international advancement of Sanskrit studies through his service as Vice President of the International Association of Sanskrit Studies (IASS). His lifelong commitment to Sanskrit philology, epic studies, and the history of Hinduism has earned him worldwide recognition as one of the foremost interpreters of India's classical literary and religious heritage.

As an Advisor to the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Brockington brings unparalleled expertise in Sanskrit epic literature, Hinduism, Purāṇic traditions, textual criticism, and Sanskrit philology. His distinguished scholarship, international academic leadership, and extensive experience in interpreting and contextualising India's great epic traditions will provide invaluable strategic guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Prof. Stephanie W. Jamison

Professor Stephanie W. Jamison is one of the world's leading Sanskritists and historical linguists, internationally renowned for her pioneering scholarship on Vedic Sanskrit, Indo-Iranian linguistics, early Indian religion, comparative mythology, and the Rigveda. She received her Ph.D. in Historical and Indo-European Linguistics from Yale University in 1977 and has since established herself as one of the foremost interpreters of the earliest Sanskrit textual tradition. Throughout her distinguished academic career, she has combined rigorous philological analysis with historical linguistics, literary criticism, religious studies, and comparative Indo-European research.

Professor Jamison is Distinguished Professor of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she has taught and supervised generations of students in Sanskrit, Vedic literature, Indo-European linguistics, and South Asian religions. Her research encompasses Vedic Sanskrit, Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Iranian linguistics, historical grammar, ritual studies, mythology, law, poetics, and gender in ancient India, while also engaging extensively with comparative Greek and Indo-European traditions.

Among her many landmark publications, Professor Jamison is best known for The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India (2014), the monumental three-volume English translation of the Ṛgveda, prepared jointly with Professor Joel P. Brereton. This landmark work represents the first complete scholarly English translation of the earliest Sanskrit text in more than a century and has become the standard modern reference for Vedic studies worldwide. Complementing this achievement, she has developed an extensive online commentary that continues to illuminate the language, ritual context, and poetic artistry of the Vedic hymns. Her earlier publications—including influential studies on Vedic ritual, Sanskrit grammar, mythological traditions, and the language of early Indian religion—have fundamentally reshaped contemporary understanding of Vedic civilisation and Indo-European cultural history.

Professor Jamison's scholarship is distinguished by its breadth, combining expertise in historical linguistics, philology, religion, literary criticism, and comparative mythology. Her work has profoundly influenced the study of the earliest Sanskrit literature and has established new standards for the interpretation of Vedic texts within both South Asian and Indo-European contexts.

As an Advisor to the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Jamison brings unparalleled expertise in Vedic Sanskrit, Indo-Iranian linguistics, Sanskrit philology, historical linguistics, textual criticism, comparative mythology, and early Indian religious literature. Her internationally acclaimed scholarship, together with her lifelong dedication to the study and interpretation of the earliest Sanskrit texts, will provide invaluable strategic guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Profile

Prof. Shōryū Katsura (桂 紹隆)

Professor Shōryū Katsura is one of Japan's most distinguished Buddhologists and Sanskritists, internationally renowned for his pioneering scholarship on Indian Buddhist philosophy, Sanskrit Buddhist literature, Madhyamaka, Yogācāra, Buddhist logic (Hetuvidyā), and the history of Buddhist thought in India. He studied Indian philosophy and Buddhist studies at Kyoto University, where he subsequently established one of the world's leading centres for the study of Buddhist Sanskrit texts and Indian intellectual traditions.

Throughout his distinguished academic career, Professor Katsura served as Professor of Indian Philosophy at Kyoto University, where he trained generations of scholars in Sanskrit, Buddhist philosophy, and Indian intellectual history. He has also held numerous visiting appointments and research fellowships at leading universities and research institutes throughout Asia, Europe, and North America, contributing significantly to the international development of Buddhist and Sanskrit studies.

Professor Katsura's research spans Madhyamaka philosophy, Yogācāra, Buddhist epistemology and logic, Prajñāpāramitā literature, Sanskrit Buddhist manuscripts, and the philological study of Indian Buddhist texts. Combining rigorous philological analysis with philosophical interpretation, he has produced influential studies on Nāgārjuna, Candrakīrti, Dignāga, Dharmakīrti, Vasubandhu, and many other major Buddhist thinkers. His scholarship has been instrumental in deepening modern understanding of classical Indian Buddhist philosophy and the transmission of Buddhist textual traditions throughout Asia.

Among his many scholarly achievements are critical editions, translations, and numerous influential studies devoted to Buddhist Sanskrit texts and Indian philosophical literature. He has participated in several major international collaborative research projects on Buddhist manuscripts, textual criticism, and Sanskrit philology, while serving on the editorial boards of leading academic publications devoted to Buddhist and Indological studies. His work continues to shape contemporary scholarship on Buddhist philosophy, Sanskrit literature, and the intellectual history of South Asia.

Professor Katsura has long been recognised as one of the foremost representatives of Japanese Indology and Buddhist Studies, combining traditional philological excellence with contemporary philosophical analysis. His scholarship has fostered enduring academic collaboration between Japan and the international community of Sanskrit and Buddhist studies.

As an Advisor to the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Katsura brings unparalleled expertise in Buddhist Sanskrit literature, Indian Buddhist philosophy, Madhyamaka, Yogācāra, Buddhist logic, Sanskrit philology, manuscript studies, and textual criticism. His distinguished scholarship, international academic leadership, and lifelong dedication to the preservation and interpretation of Sanskrit Buddhist texts will provide invaluable strategic guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Prof. Mahesh Raj Pant

Professor Mahesh Raj Pant is one of Nepal's most distinguished historians and Sanskrit scholars, internationally renowned for his pioneering contributions to Sanskrit manuscript studies, Nepalese history, epigraphy, palaeography, and the intellectual history of the Himalayan region. For more than five decades he has played a central role in documenting, preserving, and interpreting Nepal's vast manuscript heritage, establishing himself as one of the world's leading authorities on the Sanskrit textual traditions preserved in Nepal.

Professor Pant served for many years as Chief Archivist of the National Archives of Nepal, where he was closely associated with the preservation, cataloguing, and scholarly study of thousands of Sanskrit manuscripts. His work has been fundamental to several major international manuscript preservation initiatives, particularly the Nepal-German Manuscript Cataloguing Project (NGMCP), one of the most significant collaborative enterprises devoted to documenting South Asia's manuscript heritage. Through this work he has helped make Nepal's rich collections of Sanskrit manuscripts accessible to scholars around the world.

His research spans Sanskrit philology, manuscript studies, codicology, palaeography, Nepalese history, inscriptions, historical chronology, and the cultural interactions between India and Nepal. Combining meticulous archival research with philological expertise, he has published extensively on Nepalese inscriptions, historical documents, manuscript traditions, and the chronology of medieval South Asia. His scholarship has substantially advanced modern understanding of Nepal's role as one of the most important centres for the preservation and transmission of Sanskrit learning after the decline of major scholastic traditions elsewhere in South Asia.

Professor Pant has authored and edited numerous scholarly publications on Nepalese history, Sanskrit manuscripts, historical records, and epigraphy, and has served as mentor and collaborator for many international research projects involving Nepalese manuscript collections. He is also the Head (Pramukha) of the Saṃśodhana Maṇḍala (Research Centre), Kathmandu, one of Nepal's oldest and most respected institutions devoted to Sanskrit, Nepalese history, manuscript studies, and historical scholarship. Under his leadership, the institution continues its long-standing tradition of advancing philological and historical research and publishes the renowned scholarly journal Pūrṇimā, one of Nepal's leading periodicals dedicated to Sanskrit studies, manuscript research, epigraphy, history, and Nepalese intellectual heritage. His deep familiarity with original archival sources and his lifelong dedication to manuscript preservation have earned him international recognition as one of the foremost custodians of Nepal's Sanskrit heritage.

As an Advisor to the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Pant brings unparalleled expertise in Sanskrit manuscripts, manuscript cataloguing, palaeography, codicology, epigraphy, historical chronology, and Nepalese intellectual history. His exceptional experience in preserving and interpreting one of the world's richest collections of Sanskrit manuscripts, together with his lifelong commitment to manuscript scholarship and leadership of Nepal's premier research institutions, will provide invaluable strategic guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Profile

Prof. Alexis G. J. S. Sanderson

Professor Alexis G. J. S. Sanderson is one of the most influential Sanskritists of the modern era, internationally renowned for transforming scholarly understanding of Śaivism, Tantra, Sanskrit philology, manuscript studies, and the religious and intellectual history of South Asia. Educated at the University of Oxford, he devoted his academic career to the study of Sanskrit religious literature, establishing himself as the world's leading authority on the Śaiva traditions and their profound influence on the development of Indian religion, philosophy, and culture. His scholarship has fundamentally reshaped the study of Hindu Tantra and its relationship with Buddhism and other religious traditions across Asia.

Professor Sanderson served for many years as Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at the University of Oxford and Fellow of All Souls College, occupying one of the most distinguished chairs in the field of Asian religions. Throughout his career he has trained generations of Sanskritists and Indologists, many of whom now hold leading academic positions around the world. His rigorous philological methodology, based upon the close study of previously unpublished Sanskrit manuscripts, has become the international standard for research on medieval Indian religious traditions.

His research spans Śaiva and Buddhist Tantra, Sanskrit philology, manuscript studies, textual criticism, Indian philosophy, ritual literature, and the political and religious history of medieval South Asia. Through the discovery, reconstruction, and critical interpretation of hundreds of Sanskrit manuscripts preserved in Nepal, Kashmir, and elsewhere, Professor Sanderson has revolutionised modern understanding of the origins and historical development of the Śaiva traditions. His landmark studies have demonstrated the central role of Śaivism in shaping the religious, philosophical, ritual, and political landscape of premodern South Asia while illuminating its extensive influence on Buddhist tantric traditions and the wider religious cultures of Asia.

Among his many seminal publications are groundbreaking studies on the Śaiva Siddhānta, the Bhairava traditions, the Mantramārga, Tantric ritual systems, and the interaction between Śaiva and Buddhist Tantra, all of which have become foundational works in Indology. His meticulous editions and analyses of previously unpublished Sanskrit sources have transformed the historiography of Indian religions and continue to guide contemporary scholarship worldwide. Few modern scholars have exercised a comparable influence on the study of Sanskrit religious literature and manuscript traditions.

Professor Sanderson's scholarship has been recognised internationally for its extraordinary depth, precision, and originality. His work has established new standards of philological research, manuscript-based textual criticism, and historical interpretation, making him one of the most respected figures in the global study of Sanskrit and Indian civilisation.

As an Advisor to the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Sanderson brings unparalleled expertise in Sanskrit philology, manuscript studies, textual criticism, Śaivism, Tantra, Indian philosophy, and the intellectual history of South Asia. His pioneering scholarship, exceptional manuscript-based research, and lifelong dedication to the recovery and interpretation of Sanskrit texts will provide invaluable strategic guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Profile

Prof. Jayandra Soni

Professor Jayandra Soni is an internationally respected Indologist and philosopher whose scholarship has made significant contributions to the study of Jainism, Indian philosophy, Sanskrit literature, Gujarati studies, and the intellectual history of South Asia. Born and educated in South Africa, he received his B.A. from the University of Durban-Westville before pursuing advanced studies in India at Banaras Hindu University, where he earned his first Ph.D. in Sanskrit and Indian Philosophy. He subsequently completed a second Ph.D. at McMaster University, Canada, further strengthening his expertise in comparative philosophy and religious studies.

From 1991 until his retirement in 2012, Professor Soni served in the Department of Indology and Tibetology at Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany, where he taught Sanskrit, Hindi, Gujarati, Indian philosophy, and South Asian religions. During more than two decades at Marburg, he trained generations of students in classical Indian languages and philosophical traditions while contributing substantially to the international development of Indological scholarship. Since his retirement, he has continued his academic work as a part-time lecturer at the Department of Philosophy, University of Innsbruck, Austria, while remaining actively engaged in research and publication.

Professor Soni's research encompasses Jain philosophy, Sanskrit literature, Indian ethics, comparative philosophy, Vedānta, and the history of Indian religious thought. He is internationally recognised for his extensive studies of Jainism, particularly its philosophical, ethical, and literary traditions, as well as for his work on the dialogue between Indian and Western philosophy. Combining rigorous philological scholarship with philosophical analysis, he has produced numerous studies that have deepened scholarly understanding of classical Indian intellectual traditions and their continuing relevance in contemporary philosophical discourse.

He is the author and editor of numerous books, translations, and scholarly articles on Jain philosophy, Sanskrit texts, Indian religions, and comparative ethics, and has lectured widely across Europe, India, North America, and South Africa. His publications are distinguished by their accessibility as well as their philological precision, making important contributions both to specialist scholarship and to the wider appreciation of India's philosophical heritage.

As an Advisor to the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Soni brings distinguished expertise in Sanskrit philology, Jain philosophy, Indian philosophy, classical Indian languages, comparative religion, and textual interpretation. His lifelong dedication to Sanskrit learning, philosophical inquiry, and international academic collaboration will provide invaluable strategic guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Profile

Prof. Ernst Steinkellner

Professor Ernst Steinkellner is one of the most influential Buddhologists and Sanskritists of the modern era, internationally renowned for his pioneering scholarship on Buddhist philosophy, Sanskrit philology, Buddhist logic and epistemology, manuscript studies, and the intellectual history of India and Tibet. He studied Indology at the University of Vienna under the eminent Indologist Erich Frauwallner, receiving his Ph.D. in 1963 and completing his Habilitation in 1967. His early academic career included appointments at the University of Vienna before serving as Visiting Lecturer and subsequently Associate Professor of Indian Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania.

In 1973, Professor Steinkellner returned to Austria as Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Vienna, where he established the Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, serving as its founding director until 2000. Throughout his distinguished career he has held numerous prestigious international appointments, including Visiting Professor at Kyoto University, Visiting Fellow at Balliol College, University of Oxford, and, more recently, Adjunct Professor and Honorary Researcher at the China Tibetology Research Center, Beijing.

Professor Steinkellner's research has fundamentally transformed modern understanding of Indian Buddhist logic (Hetuvidyā), epistemology (Pramāṇavāda), Madhyamaka, Yogācāra, Sanskrit Buddhist literature, and the transmission of Buddhist philosophy to Tibet. His pioneering studies of Dharmakīrti, Dignāga, and other great Buddhist philosophers have become foundational works in the field. Combining exceptional philological precision with philosophical insight, he has reconstructed, edited, translated, and interpreted numerous Sanskrit and Tibetan texts, restoring many of the most important sources for the history of Buddhist philosophy.

Among Professor Steinkellner's greatest scholarly achievements is his leadership in the international recovery of lost Buddhist Sanskrit manuscripts preserved in Tibet. Since 2004, he has played a central role in the landmark collaboration between the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the China Tibetology Research Center, dedicated to locating, editing, and publishing Sanskrit manuscripts dating from the eighth to the fourteenth centuries. These manuscripts preserve many philosophical works from the golden age of Indian Buddhism that disappeared from India but survived for centuries in Tibetan monasteries. This extraordinary project has transformed the study of Buddhist philosophy and manuscript culture by restoring numerous previously inaccessible Sanskrit texts to the scholarly world.

Professor Steinkellner's scholarship has profoundly influenced generations of researchers across Europe, Asia, and North America, establishing new international standards in Sanskrit philology, textual criticism, manuscript studies, and Buddhist intellectual history. His contributions remain indispensable for understanding the philosophical traditions of classical India and their transmission throughout Asia.

As an Advisor to the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Steinkellner brings unparalleled expertise in Buddhist Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit philology, manuscript studies, textual criticism, Buddhist logic, epistemology, and the recovery of lost Sanskrit manuscripts. His pioneering scholarship, international academic leadership, and lifelong commitment to preserving and critically editing India's Buddhist textual heritage will provide invaluable strategic guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Profile

Prof. Raffaele Torella

Professor Raffaele Torella is one of the world's foremost Sanskritists and Indologists, internationally renowned for his pioneering scholarship on Kashmir Śaivism, Tantric traditions, Buddhist philosophy, Sanskrit philology, and Indian intellectual history. Throughout a distinguished academic career spanning more than four decades, he has made fundamental contributions to the study of Sanskrit philosophical literature through critical editions, translations, and original research that have profoundly shaped modern understanding of medieval Indian thought.

Professor Torella served as Professor of Sanskrit at Sapienza University of Rome, where he also taught Indology and Religions and Philosophies of India for many years. From 2004 to 2020 he was Director of the Rivista degli Studi Orientali, one of Europe's oldest and most prestigious journals of Oriental studies. Between 2016 and 2019 he served as President of the University Council for Asian and African Studies, and since 2014 has been President of the Italian Association of Sanskrit Studies (AISS), playing a central role in advancing Sanskrit scholarship in Italy and internationally.

Professor Torella's research encompasses Tantric traditions, non-dual Kashmir Śaivism, Buddhist logic and epistemology, Sanskrit philosophy, linguistic speculation, aesthetics, and manuscript-based textual criticism. His scholarship is distinguished by the combination of meticulous philological analysis with philosophical interpretation, particularly in the study of the Pratyabhijñā tradition and the works of Utpaladeva, Abhinavagupta, Kṣemarāja, and other great thinkers of medieval Kashmir. He has also made important contributions to the study of Buddhist logical and epistemological traditions, illuminating the complex intellectual exchanges between Buddhist and Brahmanical philosophical schools.

Among his many landmark publications are the critically acclaimed edition and annotated translation of The Īśvarapratyabhijñākārikā of Utpaladeva with the Author's Vṛtti, widely regarded as the standard modern edition of this foundational philosophical text, together with The Philosophical Traditions of India: An Appraisal, Utpaladeva: Philosopher of Recognition (with Bettina Bäumer), The Aphorisms of Śiva (Śivasūtras) with Kṣemarāja's Commentary, and the forthcoming critical edition and translation of Vāmanadatta's Saṃvitprakāśa, Ātmasaptati, and Vikalpaviplava. He has also edited Italian Scholars on India, highlighting the long and distinguished history of Italian Indological research.

Professor Torella has held numerous prestigious international appointments, including Directeur d'études invité at the École Pratique des Hautes Études (Paris), Visiting Professor at the University of Málaga and the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, and has served as doctoral examiner for the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Paris-Sorbonne, Lausanne, Marburg, and La Trobe. He has also served on the Editorial Committee of the École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO), Centre de Pondichéry, and on the Kuratorium of the Austrian Academy of Sciences' Centre for Asian Studies and Social Anthropology, reflecting his outstanding international standing within the field of Indology.

As an Advisor to the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Torella brings unparalleled expertise in Sanskrit philology, Kashmir Śaivism, Tantric literature, Indian philosophy, Buddhist logic, manuscript studies, and textual criticism. His distinguished scholarship, extensive editorial experience, and lifelong commitment to the critical study of Sanskrit philosophical texts will provide invaluable strategic guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Profile

Prof. Bangwei Wang (王邦维)

Professor Wang Bangwei (王邦维) is one of China's foremost Indologists and Sanskrit scholars, internationally renowned for his pioneering contributions to the study of Buddhist Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit philology, Sino-Indian cultural exchange, and the history of Buddhism. Throughout a distinguished academic career at Peking University, he has played a central role in establishing and advancing Sanskrit and Buddhist Studies in China while mentoring several generations of leading Chinese Indologists.

Professor Wang's research encompasses Buddhist Sanskrit texts and their Chinese translations, Indian and Chinese Buddhist history, Sanskrit philology, Buddhist manuscript traditions, and the intellectual and cultural interactions between India and China. His scholarship has been particularly influential in reconstructing the historical transmission of Buddhism across Asia through the careful study of Sanskrit sources, Chinese translations, and historical records. Combining rigorous philological methods with historical analysis, he has substantially advanced understanding of the cultural dialogue between the Indian subcontinent and East Asia.

Among Professor Wang's most significant contributions are his extensive studies of the great Chinese Buddhist pilgrims Faxian, Xuanzang, and Yijing, whose journeys to India fundamentally shaped the transmission of Buddhist scriptures and knowledge between the two civilisations. Through detailed examination of their travel accounts and the historical, religious, and textual sources associated with them, he has illuminated the movement of Buddhist ideas, manuscripts, and monastic traditions across Asia. His work has become an indispensable resource for the study of Sino-Indian relations, Buddhist pilgrimage, and the historical geography of Buddhism.

Professor Wang has published numerous books and scholarly articles on Buddhist literature, Sanskrit texts, Chinese translations, Indian philosophy, Buddhist history, and cultural exchange, both in China and internationally. His scholarship has significantly strengthened academic collaboration between Chinese and international centres of Indological research and has contributed greatly to the global appreciation of India's Sanskrit intellectual heritage and its transmission into East Asia.

As an Advisor to the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Wang brings distinguished expertise in Buddhist Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit philology, Buddhist textual transmission, Sino-Indian cultural history, manuscript studies, and the history of Buddhism. His lifelong dedication to the study of Sanskrit sources, Buddhist manuscripts, and the intellectual exchanges between India and China will provide invaluable strategic guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Prof. Diwakar Acharya

Professor Diwakar Acharya is Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. He occupies a distinguished chair previously held by eminent scholars including Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, R. C. Zaehner, Bimal Krishna Matilal, and Alexis Sanderson. Internationally recognised as one of the leading scholars of South Asian religious and intellectual history, his research focuses on the historical development of Indian religions, Sanskrit textual traditions, epigraphy, and the philosophical and cultural history of early and medieval South Asia.

Before joining Oxford in 2016, Professor Acharya held academic appointments at Kyoto University (2006–2016), the University of Hamburg (2003–2006), and Nepal Sanskrit University (1993–2003), where he began his academic career. His scholarship is distinguished by the discovery, critical editing, and interpretation of previously unpublished Sanskrit texts and manuscripts. He has made major contributions to the study of early Vedānta, Tantra, Vaiṣṇavism, and Śaivism, most notably through the discovery and publication of Vācaspati Miśra’s Tattvasamīkṣā, a landmark work in the history of Advaita Vedānta, as well as through his editions and studies of early Tantric Vaiṣṇava texts based on newly identified Pañcarātra manuscripts.

Professor Acharya has published extensively on Indian philosophy, Upaniṣadic exegesis, Sanskrit literature, and the religious history of South Asia. His work combines meticulous philological scholarship with broader historical and intellectual inquiry, shedding new light on the formation and transmission of Indian religious traditions. He has also served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Indian Philosophy, one of the world's leading journals in the field.

As the Founding Trustee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Acharya provides scholarly leadership for the Society’s mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and promote Sanskrit texts and manuscript traditions. His internationally acclaimed research and lifelong commitment to Sanskrit scholarship continue to guide the Society’s efforts to make India’s intellectual heritage accessible to scholars and the wider public.

⁠Prof Jim Mallinson

Sir James Mallinson is Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford and Professorial Fellow of Balliol College. He holds the prestigious Boden Chair of Sanskrit, founded in 1832 and previously occupied by some of the most influential Sanskrit scholars of the modern era, including Horace Hayman Wilson, Monier Monier-Williams, Arthur Anthony Macdonell, and Richard Gombrich. Internationally recognised as one of the foremost authorities on Sanskrit and the religious history of South Asia, his scholarship has significantly advanced the understanding of yoga traditions, ascetic movements, tantra, pilgrimage, and the transmission of Sanskrit knowledge across centuries.

Before his appointment to the Boden Chair in 2023, Professor Mallinson served as Reader in Sanskrit and Yoga Studies at SOAS University of London, where he founded the SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies and led several major international research initiatives. Most notably, he was Principal Investigator of the European Research Council-funded Haṭha Yoga Project, a landmark programme that transformed scholarly understanding of the origins and historical development of yoga traditions. He subsequently co-directed the AHRC/DFG-funded Light on Haṭha project, devoted to the critical study and edition of the Haṭhapradīpikā, one of the most influential works in the history of yoga.

Professor Mallinson's scholarship is distinguished by its combination of rigorous philological research and extensive fieldwork among traditional ascetic communities throughout South Asia. He has edited, translated, and interpreted numerous Sanskrit texts and has published widely on yoga, Śaivism, ascetic traditions, and Indian religious history. Among his most influential works is Roots of Yoga (with Mark Singleton), an acclaimed sourcebook that has become a standard reference in the field. Through his textual discoveries, critical editions, and historical studies, he has played a leading role in reshaping contemporary understanding of the intellectual and lived traditions of South Asian religion.

As a Trustee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Sir James brings world-leading expertise in Sanskrit philology, manuscript studies, textual criticism, and the history of Indian religions. His distinguished scholarship, commitment to manuscript-based research, and longstanding engagement with traditional Sanskrit learning communities make him an invaluable guide in advancing the Society’s mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and promote the textual heritage of South Asia.

⁠Dr Jonathan Katz

Dr Jonathan Katz is Quondam Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and Public Orator of the University of Oxford. A distinguished classicist, Sanskritist, and scholar of comparative intellectual traditions , his academic interests span Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit language and literature, South Asian music and musicology, Indian music theory, and the comparative study of musical cognition. His work is marked by an exceptional breadth of learning that bridges the classical traditions of Europe and South Asia.

Dr Katz studied Classics and Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford before serving as Junior Research Fellow and Research Fellow at Wolfson College and as Head of the Indian Institute Library at the Bodleian Library. He subsequently spent more than two decades at Westminster School as Master of the Queen’s Scholars and Head of Classics, helping to shape the study of classical languages and literature for generations of students. Following his return to Oxford, he held teaching appointments in Classics and Sanskrit at St Anne’s and Brasenose Colleges and was elected to a Fellowship at All Souls College. Since 2016, he has served as the University’s Public Orator, a distinguished office responsible for composing and delivering ceremonial addresses on behalf of Oxford.

Alongside his work in classics and Sanskrit studies, Dr Katz has published on South Asian music and musicology and is an accomplished translator from German. His scholarship reflects a lifelong engagement with languages, literary traditions, and cross-cultural intellectual history, bringing together insights from classical antiquity, Sanskrit learning, and the study of music and aesthetics.

As a Trustee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Dr Katz brings a rare combination of expertise in Sanskrit, classical philology, librarianship, and academic leadership. His long association with Oxford’s Sanskrit and manuscript collections, together with his commitment to the study of classical languages and intellectual traditions, makes him a valued contributor to the Society’s mission of preserving, publishing, and promoting the textual heritage of South Asia.

Prof. Nina Mirnig

Professor Nina Mirnig is Professor of Cultural and Intellectual History of Premodern South Asia at the University of Vienna. An internationally recognised scholar of Sanskrit and South Asian religious history, her research focuses on the religious, cultural, and intellectual history of South Asia between the fifth and twelfth centuries, with particular emphasis on Śaivism, Tantra, epigraphy, manuscript culture, and the historical development of religious institutions and practices in South Asia and the Himalayan region.

Professor Mirnig studied Sanskrit and Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford, where she completed her BA, M.St., and D.Phil. under the supervision of Professor Alexis Sanderson. Following her doctoral studies, she held research appointments at the University of Groningen, the International Institute for Asian Studies in Leiden as a Jan Gonda Fellow, and the University of Cambridge. From 2015 to 2025, she was based at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, where she led and participated in several major research projects on South Asian religious history, culminating in her appointment as Professor at the University of Vienna.

Her scholarship is distinguished by the rigorous study of Sanskrit texts, inscriptions, and manuscripts, combined with broader historical inquiry into the formation and spread of religious traditions. She has made important contributions to the study of early Śaivism, tantric ritual traditions, the Śivadharma corpus, funerary rites, and the cultural history of early medieval Nepal. Among her major publications is Liberating the Liberated: Early Śaiva Tantric Death Rites, a landmark study of the origins and development of Śaiva tantric funerary practices. She has also co-edited influential volumes on Tantric traditions, early Śaivism, and South Asian intellectual history.

Professor Mirnig has received numerous academic distinctions, including the prestigious FWF Elise Richter Award, and was elected to the Young Academy of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Her work continues to illuminate the complex religious, social, and intellectual transformations that shaped premodern South Asia and the wider Indic world.

As a member of the Advisory Board of the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Mirnig brings outstanding expertise in Sanskrit philology, manuscript studies, epigraphy, and the history of South Asian religions. Her scholarship and commitment to the preservation and interpretation of textual heritage greatly strengthen the Society’s mission to preserve, publish, and promote Sanskrit knowledge traditions.

Dr. John Lowe

Dr John J. Lowe is Associate Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. He is one of the leading scholars of Sanskrit linguistics and Indo-Iranian philology of his generation, with research interests spanning Vedic and Classical Sanskrit, the ancient Indian grammatical tradition, Indo-Iranian historical linguistics, syntax, semantics, and Indo-European philology. His work brings together traditional Sanskrit scholarship and modern linguistic theory, illuminating the structure and history of some of the world's oldest recorded languages.

Dr Lowe studied Classics and Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford before pursuing graduate work in Linguistics and Philology at Wolfson College, where he completed his D.Phil. in 2012. Following a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellowship in Oxford's Faculty of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics, he held lectureships in syntax and Indo-Iranian philology before being appointed Associate Professor of Sanskrit in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.

His scholarship has made significant contributions to the study of Sanskrit grammar, Vedic language, and historical linguistics. He has led major research initiatives including the Leverhulme-funded “Uncovering Sanskrit Syntax” project and the European Research Council-funded LINGUINDIC project, which explores the relationship between ancient Indian linguistic thought and modern linguistic theory. Through these projects, Dr Lowe has helped bring the sophisticated insights of the Sanskrit grammatical tradition into dialogue with contemporary scholarship.

Dr Lowe is the author of influential works including “Participles in Rigvedic Sanskrit: The Syntax and Semantics of Adjectival Verb Forms” and “Transitive Nouns and Adjectives: Evidence from Early Indo-Aryan”, as well as numerous articles on Sanskrit linguistics and Indo-European philology. His research continues to shape contemporary understanding of Sanskrit language, grammar, and linguistic theory.

As a member of the Advisory Board of the Sanskrit Text Society, Dr Lowe brings exceptional expertise in Sanskrit language, grammar, philology, and manuscript-based scholarship. His work at the intersection of traditional śāstric learning and modern linguistics strongly supports the Society’s mission to preserve, study, and promote the rich intellectual heritage of Sanskrit.

Dr. Bihani Sarkar

Dr Bihani Sarkar is Senior Lecturer in Comparative Non-Western Thought at Lancaster University and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. An internationally recognised scholar of Sanskrit literature, Indian religions, and premodern South Asian history, her research explores the intersections of religion, politics, literature, aesthetics, and cultural memory in South Asia between the second and fifteenth centuries CE. Working primarily with Sanskrit sources, alongside Prakrit and other Indic traditions, she has developed an innovative interdisciplinary approach that combines philology, intellectual history, literary criticism, and the study of religion.

Dr Sarkar was educated at the University of Oxford, where she completed her M.Phil. and D.Phil. in Classical Indian Religions under the supervision of Professor Alexis Sanderson. Before joining Lancaster University, she held research and teaching appointments at the University of Oxford, the University of Hamburg, the University of Leeds, and the University of Winchester. Notably, she served as Departmental Lecturer in Sanskrit at Oxford's Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, carrying out the teaching responsibilities of the Boden Professor of Sanskrit.

Her scholarship has made significant contributions to the study of Śākta traditions, goddess worship, kingship, Sanskrit literature, aesthetics, and religious history. Her acclaimed monograph Heroic Śāktism: The Cult of Durgā in Ancient Indian Kingship (Oxford University Press, 2017) reshaped understanding of the relationship between goddess traditions and political authority in early India, while her Classical Sanskrit Tragedy (Bloomsbury, 2021) offered a pioneering reassessment of tragedy, suffering, and emotion in Sanskrit poetry and drama. Her current research continues to explore questions of gender, power, literary subjectivity, and the cultural history of religion in South Asia.

As a Trustee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Dr Sarkar brings outstanding expertise in Sanskrit philology, Indian religious history, literary studies, and intellectual history. Her scholarship, commitment to critical engagement with Sanskrit traditions, and dedication to expanding access to Sanskrit learning make her an invaluable contributor to the Society’s mission of preserving, publishing, and promoting the textual and intellectual heritage of South Asia.

Dr. Pongsit Pangsrivongse

Dr Pongsit Pangsrivongse is a postdoctoral researcher in Premodern Indology at the University of Vienna. Prior to returning to academia, he served for seven years as a diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, where his work focused largely on South Asian countries. This experience fostered a lasting engagement with the cultural and historical connections between South and Southeast Asia and continues to inform his scholarly interests.

Dr Pangsrivongse completed his M.A. at the University of Cambridge and his D.Phil. in Sanskrit Studies at the University of Oxford in 2023. His research focuses on Sanskrit manuscript traditions, Tantric religions, epigraphy, and the cultural history of South Asia, with particular emphasis on the Śākta traditions of Nepal and the Himalayan region.

At Oxford, he produced the first critical edition of the Kālīkulakramārcana of Vimalaprabodha, making an important contribution to the study of Tantric goddess traditions. His scholarship is distinguished by the integration of philological research with the study of material culture, drawing upon manuscripts, inscriptions, architecture, and religious artefacts to illuminate the historical development of South Asian religious traditions. His earlier work engaged extensively with manuscripts and ritual traditions associated with Tantric goddess worship in the Kathmandu Valley.

His current research centres on the edition and study of 107 previously unpublished Sanskrit inscriptions from the Kumārī Pāṭī, an enclosed arcade within the royal palace complex of Bhaktapur, Nepal, commissioned by King Jitāmitramalla. Alongside this epigraphic project, he is undertaking a detailed study of the accompanying sculptural reliefs and is working on several unpublished Śākta inscriptions and manuscripts of the Malla period. Through these projects, he continues to advance the understanding of the religious, political, and cultural history of premodern Nepal.

As a member of the Advisory Board of the Sanskrit Text Society, Dr Pangsrivongse brings valuable expertise in Sanskrit philology, manuscript studies, epigraphy, and Tantric traditions. His research contributes significantly to the Society’s mission of preserving, studying, and disseminating the textual and material heritage of South Asia.

Anupam Kumar Suman

Anupam Kumar Suman is a doctoral researcher in Sanskrit and South Asian intellectual traditions at the University of Oxford and serves as a Trustee of the Sanskrit Text Society. Prior to returning to academia, he served in the Indian Civil Service from 2004 to 2019, holding a variety of administrative and public leadership roles. This experience continues to inform his wider interests in governance, ethics, institutional development, and public policy, while shaping his engagement with the historical relationship between knowledge systems and society.

His research focuses on the history of jyotiḥśāstra and the mathematical sciences in South Asia, the development of Indian astronomy and astrology, and the philosophical and intellectual traditions of classical India, with particular emphasis on the relationship between cosmology, ritual practice, causation, and theories of karma. His work combines close philological engagement with Sanskrit texts and manuscripts with broader interdisciplinary approaches drawn from the history of science, religious studies, and intellectual history.

Anupam holds an M.Phil. in Classical Indian Religion from the University of Oxford (2024), an M.A. in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (2022), an M.Sc. in Social Policy and Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science (2017), and a B.A. (Honours) in Mathematics, History, and Geography from Patna University (1998). His interdisciplinary academic training reflects a longstanding engagement with both the scientific and humanistic dimensions of intellectual inquiry.

His current research explores the interaction between karmic theory and astral sciences, the historical development of horary astrology (praśna),and the transmission and transformation of astronomical, astrological, and philosophical ideas across cultural boundaries. In particular, he is interested in the intellectual exchanges between South Asia and the Mesopotamian, Greek, Persian, and Islamic worlds, and in the ways these interactions contributed to the formation and evolution of Sanskrit knowledge traditions. Through manuscript-based research and textual analysis, he seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of the global dimensions of South Asian intellectual history.

As a Trustee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Anupam plays an active role in advancing the Society’s mission to preserve, publish, and promote Sanskrit texts and manuscript traditions. He has been closely involved in developing international academic collaborations, scholarly publications, and institutional initiatives aimed at making the intellectual heritage of Sanskrit accessible to both specialist scholars and the wider public.

Prof. Arlo Griffiths

Professor Arlo Griffiths is an internationally distinguished Sanskritist, philologist, and epigraphist whose research has fundamentally advanced the study of Sanskrit, Old Javanese, Old Khmer, Old Cham, and other South and Southeast Asian textual traditions. Educated at Leiden University, where he completed his doctorate in Sanskrit and Vedic studies, he subsequently joined the École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO) in 2008 and has become one of the world's leading authorities on the transmission of Indian civilisation across Southeast Asia.

Professor Griffiths' scholarship combines rigorous Sanskrit philology with epigraphy, manuscript studies, historical linguistics, and the religious history of South and Southeast Asia. His early work focused on the Paippalāda recension of the Atharvaveda, including extensive fieldwork in Odisha documenting one of the last surviving Vedic traditions. He subsequently expanded his research to the Sanskrit and vernacular inscriptions of Indonesia, Cambodia, and Champa, producing authoritative editions and interpretations of many previously unpublished epigraphic and manuscript sources. His work has transformed scholarly understanding of the spread of Sanskrit learning, Hinduism, and Buddhism across maritime Asia.

Among his many scholarly achievements are critical editions of Vedic ritual texts, studies of Sanskrit and Old Javanese inscriptions, and numerous publications on the religious and intellectual history of Southeast Asia. He has co-edited important works such as The Vedas: Texts, Language and Ritual, From Laṅkā Eastwards, Champa: Territories and Networks of a Southeast Asian Kingdom, and Domestic Rituals of the Atharvaveda in the Paippalāda Tradition of Orissa. As co-director of the ERC DHARMA Project, he has led one of the largest international initiatives devoted to the digitisation, cataloguing, editing, and interpretation of Sanskrit and vernacular inscriptions from South and Southeast Asia, establishing new standards for digital epigraphy and manuscript scholarship.

As a member of the Academic Committee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Griffiths brings internationally recognised expertise in Sanskrit philology, Vedic studies, manuscript cultures, epigraphy, textual criticism, and the transmission of Indian intellectual traditions across Asia. His extensive experience in editing unpublished Sanskrit texts, directing major international research projects, and applying innovative digital methods to manuscript and inscription studies will provide invaluable guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the textual heritage of South Asia according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Profile

Prof. Harunaga Isaacson

Professor Harunaga Isaacson is one of the world's foremost Sanskritists and philologists, internationally renowned for his pioneering scholarship on Sanskrit manuscript traditions, Indian Vajrayāna Buddhism, classical Indian philosophy, and textual criticism. Born in Japan, he studied Philosophy and Indology at the University of Groningen before completing his doctorate in Sanskrit at Leiden University. Following postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford, where he worked closely with Professor Alexis Sanderson, he held appointments at the University of Hamburg and the University of Pennsylvania before being appointed Professor of Classical Indology at the University of Hamburg in 2006.

Professor Isaacson's research spans an exceptional range of Sanskrit intellectual traditions. He is widely regarded as one of the leading authorities on Indian Vajrayāna Buddhism, particularly its extensive unpublished Sanskrit and Tibetan textual corpus. His scholarship also encompasses classical Sanskrit literature, Nyāya–Vaiśeṣika philosophy, Purāṇic literature, Śaiva and Buddhist tantric traditions, manuscript cultures, and Sanskrit philology. Combining meticulous textual criticism with manuscript-based research, he has significantly advanced modern understanding of the transmission, preservation, and interpretation of South Asian intellectual traditions.

Among his many scholarly contributions are critical editions and studies of Buddhist tantric scriptures, collaborative research on Sanskrit manuscript culture, and major editorial projects devoted to previously unpublished Sanskrit texts. He has served as General Director of the Nepalese-German Manuscript Cataloguing Project, Principal Investigator of several major manuscript research projects at the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, and has played a leading role in international initiatives dedicated to cataloguing, preserving, and critically editing South Asian manuscripts. His publications—including the critical edition of the Sekanirdeśa, numerous studies on manuscript culture, and influential essays on tantric traditions and textual criticism—have become standard references within Indological scholarship.

As a member of the Academic Committee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Isaacson brings unparalleled expertise in Sanskrit philology, manuscript studies, textual criticism, and Buddhist and Brahmanical intellectual traditions. His decades of experience in discovering, cataloguing, editing, and interpreting previously unpublished Sanskrit manuscripts, together with his leadership of major international manuscript preservation projects, will provide invaluable guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the textual heritage of South Asia according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Profile

Dr Nirmalya Guha

Dr Nirmalya Guha is an internationally recognised scholar of Indian philosophy whose research has significantly advanced the study of Navya-Nyāya logic, Indian epistemology, philosophy of language, semantics, and formal reasoning. He received his undergraduate education in Linguistics at Sanskrit College, University of Calcutta, followed by master's degrees in Applied Linguistics from the University of Hyderabad and Philosophy from the University of Madras. He completed his PhD in Philosophy at Lancaster University (United Kingdom) with a dissertation on Postulation in Indian Epistemology. He later held a Nehru–Fulbright Professional and Excellence Fellowship at the University of Texas at Austin, further strengthening his engagement with comparative philosophy and analytic traditions.

Before joining IIT (BHU) Varanasi, Dr Guha taught at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Presidency University, Kolkata, and the Manipal Centre for Humanities, where he developed an interdisciplinary approach combining classical Indian philosophical traditions with contemporary logic and semantics. Since 2018 he has served as Associate Professor at IIT (BHU), where he teaches and researches Indian logic, epistemology, semantics, and philosophy of language.

Dr Guha's scholarship focuses primarily on Navya-Nyāya, one of the most sophisticated logical and analytical traditions in the history of philosophy. His publications explore inferential reasoning, testimony, meaning, ontology, causation, selfhood, Advaita Vedānta, and the technical language of Indian logic. He is the co-author (with Matthew Dasti and Stephen Phillips) of God and the World's Arrangement: Readings from Vedānta and Nyāya Philosophy of Religion (Hackett Publishing), and co-editor of the forthcoming Handbook of Indic Philosophy and Religion (Bloomsbury). His articles have appeared in leading international journals, and he has also contributed the authoritative survey "The Nyāya School of Indian Philosophy" to the St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology.

As a member of the Academic Committee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Dr Guha brings distinguished expertise in Navya-Nyāya, Indian logic, epistemology, philosophy of language, and Sanskrit philosophical literature. His command of the analytical traditions of Sanskrit thought and his engagement with both classical scholarship and contemporary philosophy will provide valuable guidance in the critical interpretation, editing, and dissemination of Sanskrit philosophical texts, thereby strengthening the Society's mission to preserve and promote India's intellectual heritage according to the highest standards of international scholarship.

Profile

Assoc. Prof. Dharmavardhana-Jñānagarbha

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dharmavardhana-Jñānagarbha (Vardhana) is an internationally respected scholar of Buddhist Sanskrit literature, Madhyamaka philosophy, Sanskrit philology, and Indian intellectual history. Originally educated in Italy, he later pursued formal Sanskrit studies in India, obtaining both BA and MA degrees in Sanskrit from RKM Vivekananda College, University of Madras, where he graduated with first rank. He subsequently completed his PhD in Buddhist Studies at SOAS, University of London, with a dissertation on agency and convention in Mahāyāna philosophy. He also participated in major international research projects on Vāstuśāstra under the direction of Professor Adam Hardy (Cardiff University).

Professor Dharmavardhana's research encompasses Buddhist philosophy in Sanskrit, Madhyamaka, Yogācāra, Abhidharma, Sanskrit grammar (Vyākaraṇa), Mahāyāna sūtras, Buddhist kāvya, and Vāstuśāstra. During many years of study in India and Nepal, he trained under distinguished Sanskrit scholars as well as eminent Tibetan Buddhist masters, enabling him to combine rigorous philological methods with a deep understanding of living Buddhist scholastic traditions. This rare combination has made him one of the leading contemporary interpreters of Buddhist Sanskrit texts.

Throughout his career he has taught at Rangjung Yeshe Institute (Nepal), Mahidol University (Thailand), and the International Buddhist College, while serving as a visiting professor or invited lecturer at institutions including Hamburg University, Oxford University, Kyoto University, Ashoka University, the University of Delhi, the University of Hong Kong, and Hua Fan University (Taiwan). His publications examine the philosophical foundations of Madhyamaka, Sanskrit Buddhist literature, Buddhist hermeneutics, and the relationship between philosophy and grammar. He is also the founder of the Saugatam initiative, an international platform dedicated to promoting the study, publication, and teaching of Buddhist Sanskrit texts, and has published both modern scholarly studies and works in the traditional Sanskrit scholastic format.

As a member of the Academic Committee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Dharmavardhana brings distinguished expertise in Buddhist Sanskrit manuscripts, Madhyamaka philosophy, Sanskrit philology, Buddhist textual criticism, Vyākaraṇa, and manuscript-based scholarship. His extensive experience in editing Sanskrit Buddhist texts, engaging with both traditional and modern methods of scholarship, and promoting the global study of Buddhist Sanskrit literature will make an invaluable contribution to the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Profile

Prof. Dominic Goodall

Professor Dominic Goodall is internationally recognised as one of the foremost scholars of Sanskrit philology, Śaiva literature, manuscript studies, and South Asian epigraphy. Educated at Pembroke College, University of Oxford, where he read Sanskrit and Pali, he subsequently studied medieval Tamil at the University of Hamburg before returning to Oxford to complete his doctorate under the supervision of Professor Alexis Sanderson. His doctoral research, devoted to the tenth-century Kashmiri Śaiva theologian Bhaṭṭa Rāmakaṇṭha and the Kiraṇatantra, established him as one of the leading specialists in the textual traditions of the Śaiva Siddhānta.

Since joining the École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO) in 2000, Professor Goodall has played a central role in advancing international research on Sanskrit manuscripts and Indian intellectual history. He served as Director of the EFEO Centre in Pondicherry from 2002 to 2011 and, following a period in Paris teaching at the École pratique des hautes études, resumed leadership of the Pondicherry Centre in 2016. His scholarship spans Śaiva Siddhānta, tantric literature, Sanskrit kāvya, textual criticism, manuscript cultures, Sanskrit epigraphy, and the religious history of India and Southeast Asia, particularly Cambodia.

Professor Goodall has edited, translated, and interpreted numerous previously unpublished Sanskrit scriptures and theological works, including the Kiraṇavṛtti, Parākhyatantra, Niśvāsatattvasaṃhitā, Prāyaścittasamuccaya, and several important Śaiva commentaries. His research has substantially reshaped scholarly understanding of the early development of tantric traditions and the transmission of Sanskrit learning across South and Southeast Asia. In addition to his philological work, he is a leading authority on Sanskrit inscriptions of ancient Cambodia, producing authoritative editions and translations that illuminate the intellectual and religious history of the Khmer world. He also co-edits the Early Tantra Series with Professor Harunaga Isaacson and serves as co-editor of the Tāntrikābhidhānakośa, one of the most significant international reference projects in tantric studies.

As a member of the Academic Committee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Goodall brings internationally recognised expertise in Sanskrit philology, manuscript studies, textual criticism, Śaiva literature, Sanskrit epigraphy, and the preparation of critical editions. His extensive experience editing previously unpublished manuscripts, directing major international research programmes, and fostering collaboration between traditional and modern scholarship will provide invaluable guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the textual heritage of South Asia according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Profile

Dr habil. Csaba Dezső

Dr habil. Csaba Dezső is an internationally respected Sanskrit philologist whose scholarship has made significant contributions to the study of classical Sanskrit literature, textual criticism, manuscript studies, and Indian intellectual history. He studied Indology, Classical Philology, and History at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, before undertaking doctoral research at Balliol College, University of Oxford, under the supervision of Professor Alexis Sanderson. His DPhil (2004), devoted to a critical edition and annotated translation of Bhaṭṭa Jayanta's Āgamaḍambara, established him as one of the leading younger scholars of Sanskrit philology.

Since returning to Budapest in 2002, Dr Dezső has taught Sanskrit and classical Indian literature at ELTE, where he is now Habilitated Associate Professor and Head of the Indian Studies Doctoral Programme. His research spans Sanskrit philology, classical kāvya, Sanskrit drama, Indian religious history, textual criticism, manuscript studies, and Sanskrit epigraphy. He has also held research appointments at Leiden University under the ERC-funded Asia Beyond Boundaries project, collaborating with leading international scholars on the literary and intellectual history of South Asia.

Dr Dezső has edited and translated numerous important Sanskrit works, combining rigorous philological analysis with meticulous manuscript research. Among his best-known publications is the critical edition and English translation of Dāmodaragupta's Kuṭṭanīmata (The Bawd's Counsel), prepared jointly with Professor Dominic Goodall, now regarded as the standard scholarly edition of this celebrated work. He has also translated several Sanskrit literary masterpieces for the Clay Sanskrit Library, edited rare dramatic fragments preserved in unique manuscripts, and is currently engaged, together with Dominic Goodall, Harunaga Isaacson, and Csaba Kiss, in preparing a critical edition of Vallabhadeva's commentary on Kālidāsa's Raghuvaṃśa. His research on Sanskrit poetics, court literature, and manuscript traditions has earned him an international reputation as one of Europe's foremost Sanskrit philologists.

As a member of the Academic Committee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Dr Dezső brings exceptional expertise in Sanskrit philology, textual criticism, manuscript editing, classical Sanskrit literature, and critical editions. His extensive experience working with unpublished manuscripts, producing authoritative editions of literary and religious texts, and collaborating on major international research projects will greatly strengthen the Society's efforts to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Profile

Prof. Timothy Lubin

Professor Timothy Lubin is an internationally distinguished Sanskritist, Indologist, and historian of religion whose scholarship has made major contributions to the study of Vedic literature, Dharmaśāstra, early Śaiva traditions, Sanskrit legal texts, epigraphy, and the historical development of religious and legal institutions across South and Southeast Asia. He received the Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S.) from Harvard University and completed his Ph.D. in Religion at Columbia University, specialising in Sanskrit, Hindu law, and the intellectual history of South Asia.

Professor Lubin's research explores the evolution, interpretation, and transmission of Sanskrit religious and legal literature from the Vedic period through the medieval era. His principal areas of expertise include the Vedas, Dharmaśāstra, early Śaiva scriptures, Sanskrit legal literature, epigraphy, and Old Javanese texts, with particular emphasis on how religious and legal ideas travelled across the Indian Ocean into Southeast Asia. Combining rigorous philological analysis with inscriptional and historical evidence, he has illuminated the interaction between textual traditions and lived legal practice in premodern South Asian societies.

Among his many scholarly achievements are authoritative studies of Hindu law, legal pluralism, land grants, royal administration, religious institutions, and Sanskrit inscriptions. He has edited and translated numerous Sanskrit legal and religious texts and has published extensively on Dharmaśāstra, early Śaiva literature, and South Asian epigraphy in leading international journals and edited volumes. His work on legal norms preserved in inscriptions has significantly reshaped scholarly understanding of the relationship between normative Sanskrit texts and the practical administration of justice across South and Southeast Asia. He has also collaborated on major international research initiatives devoted to the study of Sanskrit textual and inscriptional traditions and has played a leading role in promoting premodern Asian studies through his service in international scholarly organisations, including as President of the American Society for Premodern Asia (2026–27).

As a member of the Academic Committee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Lubin brings internationally recognised expertise in Vedic literature, Dharmaśāstra, Sanskrit philology, textual criticism, epigraphy, legal history, and the transmission of Sanskrit culture across South and Southeast Asia. His extensive experience in editing Sanskrit texts, interpreting manuscript and inscriptional evidence, and situating textual traditions within their broader historical context will provide invaluable guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Profile

Prof. Hong Luo (罗鸿)

Professor Hong Luo is an internationally distinguished Sanskritist and Buddhologist whose scholarship has significantly advanced the study of Buddhist Sanskrit literature, Tantric Buddhism, Madhyamaka philosophy, Vinaya literature, and Sanskrit manuscript traditions preserved in Tibet. He studied Indology and Buddhology at Peking University under the eminent scholar Professor Wang Bangwei, receiving his Ph.D. in 2007 with a dissertation devoted to the Pravrajyāvastu of Guṇaprabha's Vinayasūtra.

Following his doctorate, Professor Luo joined the China Tibetology Research Center, where from 2007 to 2017 he played a leading role in major international collaborative projects dedicated to the preservation, cataloguing, editing, and publication of Sanskrit manuscripts discovered in the Tibetan Autonomous Region. His work has contributed substantially to the recovery of previously inaccessible Buddhist Sanskrit texts and to international cooperation in manuscript studies. Between 2011 and 2025 he held research appointments and visiting fellowships at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the University of Hamburg, Ryukoku University, Peking University, and the Harvard–Yenching Institute. He also served as Numata Visiting Professor in the Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Vienna (2015–16). From 2018 to 2022 he was Professor of Sanskrit Studies at the Center for Tibetan Studies, Sichuan University, before joining Peking University in 2023 as Professor of Sanskrit Studies.

Professor Luo's research focuses on Tantric Buddhism, Buddhist philosophy, Sanskrit philology, manuscript studies, and the transmission of Indian Buddhist texts in Tibet. He has edited several important Sanskrit works preserved in Tibetan collections, most notably chapters 9–14 of the Buddhakapālatantra together with Abhayākaragupta's commentary, the Abhayapaddhati, published in the internationally renowned Sanskrit Texts from the Tibetan Autonomous Region (STTAR) series. He is also preparing critical editions and translations of Ratnākaraśānti's Prajñāpāramitopadeśa, Śuddhimatī, Abhayākaragupta's Madhyamakamañjarī, and several other important Buddhist philosophical works. His current research further investigates the Vinayasūtra and its Indian and Tibetan commentaries, the Jonang translation of the Laghukālacakratantra, and the Tibetan translation of Rāmacandra's Prakriyākaumudī.

In addition to his research, Professor Luo serves as a member of the Consultative Committee of the International Association of Sanskrit Studies (IASS) and as a member of the Editorial Board of the Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism series (Wisdom Publications), reflecting his prominent standing within the international community of Sanskrit and Buddhist studies.

As a member of the Academic Committee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Luo brings exceptional expertise in Buddhist Sanskrit manuscripts, Tantric literature, Madhyamaka philosophy, Vinaya studies, Sanskrit philology, and textual criticism. His extensive experience editing newly recovered Sanskrit manuscripts, directing international manuscript projects, and promoting collaboration between Chinese and global centres of Indological research will make an invaluable contribution to the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Profile

Dr Marion Rastelli

Dr Marion Rastelli is an internationally distinguished Sanskritist and Indologist whose scholarship has significantly advanced the study of Vaiṣṇava traditions, Pāñcarātra literature, Hindu Tantra, Sanskrit philology, and manuscript-based textual criticism. As Distinguished Researcher and Deputy Director of the Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia (IKGA) at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and a lecturer at the University of Vienna, she has played a leading role in international research on Sanskrit religious literature and the intellectual history of Hindu traditions.

Professor Rastelli's research focuses primarily on the Pāñcarātra, one of the most influential Vaiṣṇava tantric traditions of South Asia. Her work encompasses the theology, ritual systems, philosophy, textual transmission, and historical development of the Pāñcarātra corpus from its earliest strata through the medieval period. Through meticulous philological analysis and extensive manuscript research, she has produced authoritative studies that have transformed modern understanding of Vaiṣṇava tantric literature and its place within the broader history of Hindu religious thought.

Among her most important scholarly contributions are critical editions, translations, and analytical studies of numerous Pāñcarātra Saṃhitās, together with pioneering research on Vaiṣṇava ritual, iconography, temple traditions, and Sanskrit theological literature. She is internationally recognised as one of the principal editors of the Tāntrikābhidhānakośa, the monumental multi-volume Dictionary of Technical Terms from Hindu Tantric Literature, an indispensable reference work for scholars of Sanskrit, Tantra, and Indian religions. This long-term international collaboration has established new standards for the study of technical terminology across the vast corpus of Hindu tantric texts. In addition, she has directed and participated in several major research projects devoted to Sanskrit manuscripts, textual criticism, and the intellectual history of South Asian religions.

As a member of the Academic Committee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Dr Rastelli brings internationally recognised expertise in Vaiṣṇava Sanskrit literature, Pāñcarātra studies, Hindu Tantra, Sanskrit philology, manuscript studies, and textual criticism. Her extensive experience in preparing critical editions, interpreting complex Sanskrit religious texts, and leading major international collaborative research initiatives will provide invaluable guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Profile

Prof. Alexander von Rospatt

Professor Alexander von Rospatt is an internationally distinguished Buddhologist and Sanskritist whose scholarship has significantly advanced the study of Indian Buddhism, Buddhist Sanskrit literature, Newar Buddhism, Nepalese manuscript traditions, ritual studies, and the intellectual history of South Asia. He studied Indology and Buddhist Studies at SOAS, University of London, and the University of Hamburg, receiving advanced philological training in Sanskrit, Buddhist philosophy, and South Asian religions. Before joining the University of California, Berkeley in 2003, he served as Assistant Professor at the University of Leipzig and held visiting professorships at the University of Oxford and the University of Vienna.

Professor von Rospatt's research focuses on the doctrinal history of Indian Buddhism and the living Buddhist traditions of the Kathmandu Valley, where he combines rigorous philological scholarship with long-term ethnographic engagement. His work explores the continuity between classical Sanskrit Buddhist literature and the ritual, literary, and artistic traditions maintained by the Newar Buddhist community, making him one of the world's foremost authorities on Nepalese Buddhism and its Sanskrit heritage.

His publications encompass Buddhist philosophy, ritual literature, manuscript traditions, Buddhist historiography, sacred architecture, and Nepalese religious culture. He has authored numerous influential studies on Sanskrit and Newar Buddhist texts, ritual manuals, narrative literature, and the historical development of Buddhist institutions. His forthcoming monograph, The Svayambhu Caitya and its Renovations, synthesises decades of research on one of Nepal's most important Buddhist monuments, examining its ritual significance, textual traditions, architectural history, and continuing religious life. Through his extensive work on Nepalese manuscripts and living Buddhist traditions, Professor von Rospatt has made fundamental contributions to understanding how classical Sanskrit Buddhist learning has been transmitted, adapted, and preserved from medieval India into the present.

Beyond his publications, Professor von Rospatt has collaborated extensively with scholars and monastic communities in Nepal and internationally, contributing to the preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of Buddhist Sanskrit texts and manuscript collections. His interdisciplinary approach—integrating philology, history, ritual studies, anthropology, and art history—has established him as one of the leading contemporary scholars of Buddhist South Asia.

As a member of the Academic Committee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor von Rospatt brings internationally recognised expertise in Buddhist Sanskrit literature, manuscript studies, textual criticism, ritual literature, Nepalese Buddhism, and the historical transmission of Indian intellectual traditions. His extensive experience working with Sanskrit manuscripts, editing Buddhist texts, and connecting textual scholarship with living traditions will provide invaluable guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

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Dr Shishir Saxena

Dr Shishir Saxena is a Sanskritist and philosopher whose research brings together the traditions of Indian philosophy, Sanskrit hermeneutics, Mīmāṃsā, epistemology, and classical Sanskrit literature. He is currently Assistant Professor at Ahmedabad University, where he teaches courses in Sanskrit and Indian philosophy, with particular emphasis on the classical systems of philosophical reasoning and textual interpretation.

Dr Saxena received his M.A. from Banaras Hindu University, before pursuing advanced studies at the University of Cambridge, where he completed both his M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Indian philosophy. Prior to joining Ahmedabad University, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia (IKGA), Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, one of the world's leading centres for research in Sanskrit and South Asian intellectual history.

His research focuses on the sophisticated traditions of Indian epistemology (Pramāṇaśāstra) and the philosophical debates that shaped the development of classical Indian thought. A major area of his work concerns the deontic logic and hermeneutical principles of the Mīmāṃsā school, examining how Sanskrit thinkers developed highly refined methods for interpreting scriptural injunctions, reasoning about duty, and resolving normative conflicts. His scholarship combines close philological study of Sanskrit sources with contemporary philosophical analysis, demonstrating the continuing relevance of classical Indian theories of language, logic, and ethics.

In addition to his work on Indian philosophy, Dr Saxena has undertaken important research on the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata, exploring their philosophical, ethical, and intellectual dimensions. His publications investigate the intersections of hermeneutics, narrative, and philosophical reasoning, contributing to a deeper understanding of Sanskrit intellectual traditions and their enduring significance within the broader history of world philosophy.

As a member of the Academic Committee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Dr Saxena brings valuable expertise in Indian philosophy, Mīmāṃsā, Sanskrit hermeneutics, epistemology, and classical Sanskrit literature. His command of both traditional Sanskrit scholarship and contemporary philosophical methods will provide important guidance in the interpretation, critical editing, and publication of Sanskrit texts, further strengthening the Society's mission to preserve and promote the textual heritage of South Asia according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

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Prof. Péter-Dániel Szántó

Professor Péter-Dániel Szántó is an internationally distinguished Sanskritist, Buddhologist, and philologist whose scholarship has made fundamental contributions to the study of Buddhist Sanskrit literature, tantric Buddhism, manuscript studies, textual criticism, and the intellectual history of medieval India. Educated at Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest), he subsequently pursued advanced research at several leading European institutions, establishing himself as one of the foremost authorities on Buddhist Sanskrit manuscripts and the textual traditions of late Indian Buddhism.

Professor Szántó's research focuses on Buddhist Sanskrit philology, Vajrayāna and Yoginī Tantras, Madhyamaka philosophy, manuscript cultures, Sanskrit epigraphy, and the transmission of Buddhist texts across South and Central Asia. Combining meticulous manuscript-based research with rigorous textual criticism, he has recovered, edited, and interpreted numerous previously unpublished Sanskrit works preserved in Nepalese and Tibetan collections, significantly expanding modern knowledge of late Indian Buddhist literature.

His publications include critical editions, translations, and studies of a wide range of Buddhist tantric scriptures and scholastic treatises, particularly works associated with the Yoginītantras, Ratnākaraśānti, Abhayākaragupta, and other major Buddhist philosophers of medieval India. He has collaborated extensively with scholars across Europe, Japan, and South Asia on major international projects devoted to Sanskrit manuscripts, Buddhist textual history, and Nepalese manuscript collections. His research has become indispensable for understanding the development of Buddhist philosophy, ritual, and tantric traditions during the final centuries of Indian Buddhism.

Beyond his publications, Professor Szántó is widely recognised for his expertise in Sanskrit manuscript cataloguing, codicology, palaeography, and textual reconstruction, combining exceptional philological precision with broad historical insight. His work bridges the disciplines of Buddhist studies, Indology, manuscript studies, and intellectual history, making him one of the leading representatives of contemporary Sanskrit philology.

As a member of the Academic Committee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Szántó brings internationally recognised expertise in Buddhist Sanskrit manuscripts, tantric literature, textual criticism, manuscript studies, codicology, and Sanskrit philology. His extensive experience in editing previously unpublished Sanskrit texts, reconstructing damaged manuscript traditions, and advancing international collaboration in manuscript research will provide invaluable guidance in furthering the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

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Prof. Shaoyong Ye (叶少勇)

Professor Ye Shaoyong (叶少勇) is an internationally recognised Sanskritist and Buddhologist whose scholarship has made outstanding contributions to the study of Buddhist Sanskrit manuscripts, Madhyamaka philosophy, Sanskrit philology, and textual criticism. He received his doctorate in Indian Ancient Languages and Literature from Peking University in 2009, where his dissertation on the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā and Buddhapālita's Commentary was awarded the prestigious National Top-100 Excellent Doctoral Dissertations of China. Earlier, he pursued advanced Buddhist studies at the University of Delhi under a scholarship of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and later undertook research at the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology, Soka University (Japan) as a recipient of the Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai Fellowship.

Professor Ye is currently Associate Professor of Sanskrit Language and Buddhist Literature and Director of the Research Institute of Sanskrit Manuscripts & Buddhist Literature at Peking University, where he has established himself as one of the leading specialists in newly discovered Buddhist Sanskrit manuscripts. His research focuses on Madhyamaka philosophy, Sanskrit manuscript traditions, Buddhist textual criticism, and the recovery of lost Sanskrit works preserved in Tibetan collections. Through painstaking manuscript research, he has identified numerous previously unknown Sanskrit manuscripts and fragments, making important contributions to the reconstruction of India's Buddhist intellectual heritage.

Among his most significant scholarly achievements is the identification and critical study of long-lost Sanskrit manuscripts of such foundational works as the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, Buddhapālitamūlamadhyamakavṛtti, Yuktiṣaṣṭikāvṛtti, Tathāgatamahākaruṇānirdeśa, and Nyāyamukha. He has prepared authoritative critical editions of many of these texts, greatly advancing the study of Indian Buddhist philosophy and Sanskrit philology. His major publications include Mūlamadhyamakakārikā: New Editions of the Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese Versions, Mūlamadhyamakakārikā and Buddhapālita's Commentary: A Philological Study on the Basis of Newly Identified Sanskrit Manuscripts, and An Annotated Chinese Translation of the Buddhapālitamūlamadhyamakavṛtti, all of which have become standard reference works in the field. He also co-authored the critical edition of the Yuktiṣaṣṭikākārikā, incorporating Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese textual traditions.

Beyond his editorial work, Professor Ye has demonstrated exceptional leadership in the development of digital resources for Sanskrit studies. Since 2012 he has directed the Fanfo Dictionary Project, an ambitious open-access multilingual lexical database integrating Sanskrit, Pāli, Tibetan, and Chinese sources, now widely used by scholars around the world. He also serves as Editor-in-Chief of Studia Indica and is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Tibetan Palm-leaf Manuscript Studies, reflecting his prominent standing within the international community of Buddhist and Sanskrit scholarship.

As a member of the Academic Committee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Ye brings internationally recognised expertise in Buddhist Sanskrit manuscripts, Madhyamaka philosophy, Sanskrit philology, textual criticism, and digital manuscript studies. His remarkable achievements in discovering lost Sanskrit manuscripts, producing authoritative critical editions, and promoting international collaboration in Buddhist manuscript research will provide invaluable guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

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Dr Suganya Anandakichenin

Dr Suganya Anandakichenin is an internationally recognised Indologist whose scholarship has made significant contributions to the study of Tamil literature, manuscript studies, lexicography, Śrīvaiṣṇava traditions, and Sanskrit–Tamil intellectual history. She received her Ph.D. in Indology from the University of Hamburg, where she established herself as one of the leading specialists in the literary, theological, and manuscript traditions of medieval South India. Her research combines rigorous philological scholarship with deep engagement in traditional modes of learning, enabling her to bridge academic and indigenous approaches to classical Indian texts

Dr Anandakichenin's principal areas of research include Tamil Vaiṣṇavism, Āḻvār devotional poetry, Śrīvaiṣṇava theology, Manipravalam language and literature, manuscript cultures, and historical lexicography. Her work explores the rich intellectual interactions between Sanskrit and Tamil traditions, with particular attention to how bilingual literary cultures shaped the transmission of religious knowledge in South India. Through extensive manuscript research and textual analysis, she has made important contributions to understanding the development of Śrīvaiṣṇava philosophy and its literary heritage.

She is the author of three scholarly monographs, numerous peer-reviewed articles, and several edited and co-edited volumes covering a broad range of Indological subjects. Alongside her academic research, she continues to receive traditional instruction in Viśiṣṭādvaita philosophy under the guidance of eminent Śrīvaiṣṇava Ācāryas, bringing together the strengths of classical scholastic training and modern philological methods. This rare combination enables her scholarship to illuminate both the textual and living dimensions of the Śrīvaiṣṇava tradition.

Dr Anandakichenin currently serves as Principal Investigator of the European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant project MIRA (Grant No. 101229483), hosted by the University of Hamburg and undertaken in close collaboration with the École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO), Centre de Pondichéry. This major international research programme investigates South Indian manuscript cultures and the multilingual intellectual traditions of Sanskrit and Tamil, further strengthening global collaboration in manuscript preservation, digital humanities, and textual scholarship.

As a member of the Academic Committee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Dr Anandakichenin brings distinguished expertise in Tamil and Sanskrit manuscript traditions, Śrīvaiṣṇava theology, Manipravalam literature, lexicography, textual criticism, and South Indian intellectual history. Her extensive experience in manuscript-based research, critical textual scholarship, and international collaborative projects will provide invaluable guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and disseminate the Sanskrit textual heritage according to the highest international standards of scholarship.

Dr Anandakichenin also serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Sanskrit Studies, the flagship peer-reviewed journal of the Sanskrit Text Society, contributing to the promotion of rigorous international scholarship in Sanskrit studies and manuscript research.

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Prof. Yūto Kawamura (川村 悠人)

Professor Yūto Kawamura is an internationally recognised Sanskritist whose research has made significant contributions to the study of classical Sanskrit poetry, Sanskrit poetics, theories of language, and the intellectual and literary culture of ancient and medieval South Asia. He received his Ph.D. in Indian Philosophy from Hiroshima University in 2013, where he specialised in Sanskrit literature and literary theory. Following his doctoral studies, he held research appointments at Kyoto University and the University of Oxford between 2015 and 2019, further strengthening his international engagement with Sanskrit philology and classical Indian intellectual traditions.

Professor Kawamura subsequently joined Hiroshima University as Associate Professor in 2019 and was promoted to Professor in 2025. In April 2026, he joined the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, The University of Tokyo, as Associate Professor, where he continues his research and teaching on Sanskrit literature and South Asian intellectual history.

His scholarship focuses on Sanskrit poetry (kāvya), Sanskrit poetics (alaṅkāraśāstra), theories of language, and the literary and cultural history of South Asia. In recent years, he has devoted particular attention to the Mahābhārata, investigating its sophisticated poetic techniques, narrative strategies, and representations of human nature. His work demonstrates how the epic employs literary devices to articulate philosophical reflection, ethical dilemmas, and mythic imagination, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of India's classical literary heritage.

Professor Kawamura has published extensively on Sanskrit literary criticism, poetic theory, epic literature, and the history of Sanskrit intellectual culture, combining rigorous philological analysis with broader literary and philosophical interpretation. His research has established him as one of the leading younger scholars of Sanskrit literary studies, particularly in the fields of kāvya and the Mahābhārata.

As a member of the Academic Committee of the Sanskrit Text Society, Professor Kawamura brings distinguished expertise in Sanskrit poetry, poetics, literary criticism, epic literature, philology, and textual interpretation. His research on the literary and intellectual dimensions of Sanskrit texts, together with his commitment to rigorous philological scholarship, will provide valuable guidance in advancing the Society's mission to preserve, critically edit, publish, and promote the rich textual heritage of South Asia.

Professor Kawamura also serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Sanskrit Studies, the flagship peer-reviewed journal of the Sanskrit Text Society, contributing to the promotion of rigorous international scholarship in Sanskrit studies and manuscript research.

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