Indian Religions

Indian Religions

episodes

Interviews with scholars of Indian religions about their new books.

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The Examination of Religion (Dharmaparīkṣā): A Jain Tradition of Narrative Adaptations with Heleen De Jonckheere (Brill, 2026)

October 8, 2026

The Examination of Religion (Dharmaparīkṣā)

Heleen De Jonckheere
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Repetition, reconfiguration, or adaptation form key characteristics of the Indian literary traditions. Jain literature exemplifies this vividly, espec…

Allama Prabhu and the Shaiva Imagination with N.S. Gundur

October 1, 2026

Allama Prabhu and the Shaiva Imagination

DR Nagaraj translated by NS Gundur
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Engages with the life and ideas of the twelfth-century Shaiva mystic and philosopher-poet Allama Prabhu.  In his last, profoundly innovative work Alla…

Karline McLain, "Living with Gandhi: Experiments in Utopia" (Association for Asian Studies, 2026)

September 24, 2026

Living with Gandhi

Karline McLain
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Mahatma Gandhi was an anticolonial activist, lawyer, and politician. Less famously, but no less importantly, he was also a back-to-the-land farmer, a …

James D. Ryan, "The Upanisads as They Are: Brhadaranyaka, Chandogya, Aitareya, Taittiriya, Kausitaki" (Bloomsbury, 2026)

September 17, 2026

The Upanisads as They Are

James D. Ryan
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

These Upanisads (c. 800-300 BCE) are almost always read from the point of view of the later Vedantins, but they do not share in the neatly tailored ch…

Sanjay Joshi, "Brahmins of the Himalaya: Upper-Caste Ways of Belonging, 1850-1950" (SUNY Press, 2026)

September 10, 2026

Brahmins of the Himalaya

Sanjay Joshi
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Uses the everyday histories of Brahmin clans, communities, and families in a prominent small town in the Indian Himalaya to challenge the assumption t…

Enclosing Caste with Rupa Viswanath and Joel Lee

September 7, 2026

Enclosing Caste

Rupa Viswanath and Joel Lee

This episode features a conversation with historian Rupa Viswanath and anthropologist Joel Lee. We covered the remarkable transformations of the late …

Tatjana Kochetkova and Anway Mukhopadhyay eds., "Transhumanism and Divine Humanity in Global Traditions" (Routledge, 2026)

September 3, 2026

Transhumanism and Divine Humanity in Global Traditions

Tatjana Kochetkova and Anway Mukhopadhyay eds
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Amid global dialogue on the nature of human enhancement, this book traces humanity's pursuit of self-transcendence and enhancement from ancient times …

Theo Wildcroft and Beverley Nolan, "Leading Safe and Simple Yoga Nidras: A Yoga Teacher's Guide" (Singing Dragon, 2026)

August 27, 2026

Leading Safe and Simple Yoga Nidras

Theo Wildcroft and Beverley Nolan
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

In Leading Safe and Simple Yoga Nidras: A Yoga Teacher's Guide (Singing Dragon, 2026), experienced yoga teachers Theo Wildcroft and Beverley Nolan pro…

Aleksandar Uskokov, "Deciphering the Hidden Meaning: Language and the Highest Good in Early Advaita Vedānta" (Oxford UP, 2026)

August 20, 2026

Deciphering the Hidden Meaning

Aleksandar Uskokov
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Deciphering the Hidden Meaning: Language and the Highest Good in Early Advaita Vedānta (Oxford UP, 2026) presents a transformative history of one of t…

Utathya Chattopadhyaya, "Ganja Matters: Empire and the Pursuits of Cannabis in British India" (U California Press, 2026)

August 19, 2026

Ganja Matters

Utathya Chattopadhyaya
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Ganja is the popular name in Hindustani, Bengali, and other South Asian languages for intoxicating substances produced from the plant species Ca…

James Lochtefeld, "God’s Own Land: Sacred Landscape, Pilgrim Economy and Religious Change in the Ganga Himalaya" (Lever Press, 2026)

August 13, 2026

God’s Own Land

James Lochtefeld
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

God’s Own Land: Sacred Landscape, Pilgrim Economy and Religious Change in the Ganga Himalaya (Lever Press, 2026) follows the tectonic shift from tradi…

Edward T. G. Anderson, "Hindu Nationalism in the Indian Diaspora: Transnational Politics and British Multiculturalism" (Oxford UP, 2024)

August 8, 2026

Hindu Nationalism in the Indian Diaspora

Edward T. G. Anderson
Hosted by Sachin Nikarge

Hindu nationalism is transforming India as an increasingly dominant ideology and political force. But it is also a global phenomenon, with sections of…

Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz and Alaka Atreya Chudal, "The Swasthani Vrata Katha" (Oxford UP, 2026)

August 6, 2026

The Swasthani Vrata Katha

Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz, Alaka Atreya Chudal
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

The Swasthani Vrata Katha is the most widely read, recited, and listened to Hindu devotional text, especially of local indigenous origin, among Hindu …

James L. Fitzgerald, "The Mahabharata, Volume 8" (U Chicago Press, 2026)

July 30, 2026

The Mahabharata, Volume 8

James L. Fitzgerald
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

The Mahabharata, Volume 8 (U Chicago Press, 2026) is a translation of the twelfth book of The Mahābhārata, an epic tale of history and kingship, reinf…

Dominik A. Haas, "South Asia Before Religion: Reflections on an Anachronistic Concept" (Knowledge Commons Works, 2026)

July 23, 2026

South Asia Before Religion

Dominik A. Haas
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

South Asia Before Religion: Reflections on an Anachronistic Concept (Knowledge Commons Works, 2026) critically examines the applicability of the conce…

Ute Hüsken and Suganya Anandakichenin eds., "Pathika: Studies of South Asian Texts and Traditions" (HAS, 2026)

July 16, 2026

Pathika

Ute Hüsken and Suganya Anandakichenin eds.
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

A conversation featuring the editors of the new Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing series Pathika - Studies of South Asian Texts and Traditions (HAS,…

Pratap Kumar Penumala and Arvind Sharma, "The Bloomsbury Handbook of Hindu Ethics" (Bloomsbury, 2026)

July 9, 2026

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Hindu Ethics

Pratap Kumar Penumala and Arvind Sharma
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

With the plurality of Hinduism in mind, The Bloomsbury Handbook of Hindu Ethics focuses on the human, sociological and situational ethical framework u…

Gajendran Ayyathurai, "Tamil Buddhism and Brahminism in Modern India: Deep Resistance Against Caste" (Oxford UP, 2026)

July 4, 2026

Tamil Buddhism and Brahminism in Modern India

Gajendran Ayyathurai
Hosted by Sanjukta Poddar

Tamil Buddhism and Brahminism in Modern India: Deep Resistance Against Caste (Oxford University Press, 2026) explores Tamil Buddhism in modern India, …

Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan, "Tamil Śiva Temples, Āgamas, and Śivabrāhmaṇas/Ādiśaivas" (YSSR Foundation, 2026)

July 2, 2026

Tamil Śiva Temples, Āgamas, and Śivabrāhmaṇas/Ādiśaivas

Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Tamil Śiva Temples, Āgamas, and Śivabrāhmaṇas/Ādiśaivas addresses the issue of whether members of all castes can become priests in Tamil Śiva temples.…

Aditi Chandra, "Unruly Monuments: Disrupting the State at Delhi's Islamic Architecture" (Cambridge UP, 2025)

July 1, 2026

Unruly Monuments

Aditi Chandra
Hosted by Sohini Majumdar

Unruly Monuments: Disrupting the State at Delhi's Islamic Architecture (Cambridge University Press, 2025) examines how Delhi's Sultanate and Mughal ar…