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Indian Religions
Buddhist Studies March 25, 2023

Toward a New Image of Paramartha

Yogacara and Tathagatagarbha Buddhism Revisited

Ching Keng

Hosted by Jessica Zu
Today I talked to Ching Keng about his book Toward a New Image of Paramartha: Yogacara and Tathagatagarbha Buddhism Revisited (Bloomsbury, 2022). Yogacara and Tathagatagarbha are often regarded as antagonistic Indian Buddhist …

Indian Religions

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South Asian Studies March 24, 2023

Merchants of Virtue

Hindus, Muslims, and Untouchables in Eighteenth-Century South Asia

Divya Cherian

Hosted by Sanjukta Poddar
Merchants of Virtue: Hindus, Muslims, and Untouchables in Eighteenth-Century South Asia (U California Press, 2022) explores the question of what it meant to be Hindu in precolonial South Asia. Divya …
Indian Religions March 23, 2023

Tantra, Magic, and Vernacular Religions in Monsoon Asia

Texts, Practices, and Practitioners from the Margins

Andrea Acri and Paolo Eugenio Rosati

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Tantra, Magic, and Vernacular Religions in Monsoon Asia: Texts, Practices, and Practitioners from the Margins (Routledge, 2022) explores the cross- and trans-cultural dialectic between Tantra and intersecting 'magical' and …
Nordic Asia Podcast March 17, 2023

Rethinking Community in Myanmar

Practices of We-Formation Among Muslims and Hindus in Urban Yangon

Judith Beyer

Hosted by Nordic Asia Podcast
Where does the concept of “community” come from? How does it shape the lives of Hindus and Muslims in metropolitan Yangon? And how do these people navigate between their ethno-religious …
Indian Religions March 16, 2023

The Nature of Endangerment in India

Tigers, 'Tribes', Extermination and Conservation, 1818-2020

Ezra Rashkow

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Perhaps no category of people on earth has been perceived as more endangered, nor subjected to more preservation efforts, than indigenous peoples. And in India, calls for the conservation of …
Ministry of Ideas March 14, 2023

Divine Technology--or, Religion, Technology, and Magic

Illuminations Episode 3

Tulasi Srinivas

Hosted by Zachary Davis
It’s common to feel that technology removes the magic of the world, but Hindu worshippers in Bangalore have shown that it's all in the approach. Guest: Tulasi Srinivas, associate professor of …
Islamic Studies March 10, 2023

The Language of History

Sanskrit Narratives of Indo-Muslim Rule

Audrey Truschke

Hosted by SherAli Tareen
In her layered and theoretically astute new book The Language of History: Sanskrit Narratives of Indo-Muslim Rule (Columbia UP, 2021), Audrey Truschke documents and analyzes a range of Sanskrit texts …
Indian Religions March 9, 2023

The Vinayaka Mahatmya

Greg Bailey

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
The Vinayaka Mahatmya is a late Puranic text which contains myths of eight of Gaṇeśa’s avatāras. It presents Gaṇeśa as the supreme deity who empowers Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva to …
Indian Religions March 2, 2023

The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Indian Philosophy and Gender

Veena R. Howard

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
'How do gender constructions transform religious experiences?' 'What is the role of bodily materiality in ethics and epistemology?' 'How does rethinking gender and sexuality force us to reconceptualise settled …
Indian Religions February 23, 2023

Routledge Handbook on the Philosophy of Meditation

Rick Repetti

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Rick Repetti's Routledge Handbook on the Philosophy of Meditation (Routledge, 2022) provides a comprehensive overview and analysis of the state of the field of the philosophy of meditation and …
Indian Religions February 22, 2023

The UW-Madison Center for South Asia

A Discussion with Anthony Cerulli and Sarah Beckham

Anthony Cerulli and Sarah Beckham

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Anthony Cerulli and Sarah Beckham share the history, mandate and vision for the UW-Madison Center for South Asia, especially its vibrant annual conference. Find out more about the conference (which takes …
Philosophy February 20, 2023

Selfless Minds

A Contemporary Perspective on Vasubandhu's Metaphysics

Monima Chadha

Hosted by Malcolm Keating
Buddhists are famous for their thesis that selves do not exist. But if they are right, what would that thesis mean for our apparent sense of self and for ordinary …
Indian Religions February 18, 2023

Stephanie Corigliano on TARKA

Stephanie Corigliano

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Stephanie Corigliano discusses TARKA, a quarterly journal published by Embodied Philosophy that explores yoga philosophy, contemplative studies, and the world’s wisdom and esoteric traditions. TARKA call for papers here.  …
Indian Religions February 16, 2023

Ravana's Kingdom

The Ramayana and Sri Lankan History from Below

Justin W. Henry

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Ravana, the demon-king antagonist from the Ramayana, the ancient Hindu epic poem, has become an unlikely cultural hero among Sinhala Buddhists over the past decade.  In Ravana's Kingdom: The Ramayana and …
Indian Religions February 11, 2023

The Creative South

Buddhist and Hindu Art in Mediaeval Maritime Asia (2 Volumes)

Andrea Acri and Peter Sharrock

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Andrea Acri and Peter Sharrock's The Creative South: Buddhist and Hindu Art in Mediaeval Maritime Asia (2 volumes; Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute, 2022) examines the creative contribution of Maritime Asia towards shaping …
Indian Religions February 2, 2023

Laughter, Creativity, and Perseverance

Female Agency in Buddhism and Hinduism

Ute Hüsken

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
In most mainstream traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism, women have for centuries largely been excluded from positions of religious and ritual leadership. However, as this volume shows, in an increasing …
Religion February 1, 2023

A Radical Pluralist Philosophy of Religion

Cross-Cultural, Multireligious, Interdisciplinary

Mikel Burley

Hosted by Tiatemsu Longkumer
A Radical Pluralist Philosophy of Religion: Cross-Cultural, Multireligious, Interdisciplinary (Bloomsbury, 2020) is a unique introduction to studying the philosophy of religion, drawing on a wide range of cultures and literary …
Indian Religions January 26, 2023

Opening Kailasanatha

The Temple in Kanchipuram Revealed in Time and Space

Padma Kaimal

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
In Opening Kailasanatha: The Temple in Kanchipuram Revealed in Time and Space (U Washington Press, 2020), Padma Kaimal deciphers the intentions of the monument’s makers, reaching back across centuries to …
Indian Religions January 19, 2023

Temples, Texts, and Networks

South Indian Perspectives

Malini Ambach, Jonas Buchholz and Ute Hüsken

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
For many centuries, Hindu temples and shrines have been of great importance to South Indian religious, social and political life. Aside from being places of worship, they are also pilgrimage …
Indian Religions January 12, 2023

Divine Descent and the Four World-Ages in the Mahābhārata

Or, Why Does the Krsna Avatāra Inaugurate the Worst Yuga?

Simon Brodbeck

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Divine Descent and the Four World-Ages in the Mahābhārata reflects on the theology of time in this early Hindu text and poses the key question: why does the Krishna avatāra …