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Lehrstuhl für Indologie

Forschung

Laufende Projekte

The Proto-Śāradā Project: Towards the edition of a new collection of administrative letters and documents from pre-modern South Asia (2024–2027)

The core of the project is formed by a study of a collection of birch-bark manuscripts and bullae presently kept in the Jehan Zaib Collection (JZC), a private collection in Leeds, United Kingdom. After some inquiry it became clear that this new collection represents a hitherto unknown type of manuscripts – apparently administrative letters and ledgers. read more


The Story of King Yaśōdhara in the Religious and Cultural Environment of Karnāṭaka

This project, funded by the German Research Foundation, focusses on the Yaśōdharacarite (“The Story of [King] Yaśōdhara”) of Janna - a key text in Kanarese literature, created during a time of transition in Karnāṭaka: While until the end of the first millennium the members of the ruling dynasties were predominantly close to Jainism, towards the middle of the 12th century the Vīraśaivas gained more and more power. ... read more


Spatial Texts, Cartography and Pilgrimage Practices in North India

This ongoing project builds on previous research on the visualization of space in religious maps as well as spatial texts that have been produced in the context of pilgrimage practices in Vārāṇasī. The focus...read more.


Alain Daniélou and the Construction of Śaivism

This project is carried out in collaboration with the India-Europe Foundation for New Dialogues (FIND). It aims at reconstructing Alain Daniélou’s philosophy of life...read more


Sacrality and power: The tradition of the Śaṅkarācāryas of Śṛṅgerī

The Śaṅkarācāryas  of Śṛṅgerī (Karnataka, Chikkamagaluru district) are considered the representatives of the southern tradition of the Śāṅkara sampradāya, as evidenced by the designation of their maṭha as śrī-śrī-jagadguru śaṅkarācārya mahāsaṃsthānam dakṣināmnāya śrī śāradā pīṭham. This long-term project....read more.