About Kshitij Jain

I am currently pursuing my MPhil in Classical Indian Religion at the University of Oxford. My primary areas of interest include Sanskrit narratives, Jain narrative literature and specifically the questions related to how Jains engaged with the non-Jain communities through their narrative literature being situated as a minority community in pre- modern society, formulating a unique socioreligious identity of their own. Apart from this, I am also interested in the intellectual history of India, especially the ancient philosophical and political traditions of ancient India.

Kshitij Jain is pursuing an MPhil in Classical Indian Religion at the University of Oxford.

NBN Episodes hosted by Kshitij:

Ellen Gough, "Making a Mantra: Tantric Ritual and Renunciation on the Jain Path to Liberation" (U Chicago Press, 2021)

July 6, 2024

Making a Mantra

Ellen Gough
Hosted by Kshitij Jain

Jainism originated in India and shares some features with Buddhism and Hinduism, but it is a distinct tradition with its own key texts, art, rituals, …

Jason Birch, "The Amaraugha and Amaraughaprabodha of Goraksanatha" (Institut Francais de Pondichery, 2024)

April 29, 2024

The Amaraugha and Amaraughaprabodha of Goraksanatha

Jason Birch
Hosted by Kshitij Jain

The Lineage of Immortals (Sanskrit Amaraugha) is the earliest account of a fourfold system of yoga in which a physical practice called Haṭha is taught…

Eva De Clercq, ed. and trans., "The Life of Padma" (Harvard UP, 2023)

March 15, 2024

The Life of Padma, Volume 2

Eva De Clercq, ed. and trans.
Hosted by Kshitij Jain

The Life of Padma, or the Paümacariu, is a richly expressive Jain retelling in the Apabhramsha language of the famous Ramayana tale. It was written by…

Patrick Olivelle, "Ashoka: Portrait of a Philosopher King" (Yale UP, 2024)

March 8, 2024

Ashoka

Patrick Olivelle
Hosted by Kshitij Jain

There are few historical figures more integral to South Asian history than Emperor Ashoka, a third-century BCE king who ruled over a larger area of th…