Shows / New Books in Indian Religions
New Books in Indian Religions
This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: newbooksnetwork.com Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to get informative, engaging content straight to your inbox: https://newbooksnetwork.substack.com/…
Episodes
- New Books in Indian Religions
Vineeta Sinha. "Temple Tracks: Labour, Piety and Railway Construction in Asia" (Berghahn Books, 2023)
The notions of labour, mobility and piety have a complex and intertwined relationship. Using ethnographic methods and a historical perspective, Vineeta Sinha's…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Between Jesus and Krishna: Christian Encounters with South Indian Temple Dance
One of the eight national dances of India, bharatanatyam, partly originates from the area around Tranquebar. During the time that Tranquebar was a Danish…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Pankaj Jain, "Modern Jainism: A Historical Approach" (Springer, 2023)
Pankaj Jain's book Modern Jainism: A Historical Approach (Springer, 2023) presents a substantive yet accessible introduction to the modern thought of Jainism…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Violent Majorities, Indian and Israeli Ethnonationalism. Episode 1
"The Slippery Slope to a Multiculturalism of Caste" Professor Balmurli Natrajan has long studied questions of caste, nationalism and fascism in the Indian…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Afsar Mohammad, "Remaking History: 1948 Police Action and the Muslims of Hyderabad" (Cambridge UP, 2023)
The story Afsar Mohammad's book Remaking History: 1948 Police Action and the Muslims of Hyderabad (Cambridge UP, 2023) follows begins on August 15, 1947. As…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Samiparna Samanta, "Meat, Mercy, Morality: Animals and Humanitarianism in Colonial Bengal, 1850-1920" (Oxford UP, 2021)
Meat, Mercy, and Morality: Animals and Humanitarianism in Colonial Bengal, 1850-1920 (Oxford University Press, 2023) by Dr. Samiparna Samanta disentangles…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Vedic Texts, Indus Script, Aryan Migration
Seasoned scholar Asko Parpola discusses his Indological career, from how it began in the 1960s to what he’s working on now. Key themes include his longstanding…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Greg Bailey, "The Brahmavaivarta Purana (Ganesa Khanda): Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology" (Motilal Banarsidass, 2022)
Greg Bailey discusses his new translation of the Gaṇeśa Khaṇḍa of the Brahmavaivarta Purāṇa, one of the few texts dedicated solely to the popular…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Dominik A. Haas, "Gāyatrī: Mantra and Mother of the Vedas" (Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2023)
The mantra known as Gāyatrī or Sāvitrī (Ṛgveda III 62.10) is one of the most frequently recited texts of mankind. Over the course of time it has not only been…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Raj Balkaran and McComas Taylor, "Visions and Revisions in Sanskrit Narrative: Studies in the Sanskrit Epics and Purāṇas" (ANU Press, 2023)
Sanskrit narrative is the lifeblood of Indian culture, encapsulating and perpetuating insights and values central to Indian thought and practice. Raj Balkaran…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Keith Cantú, "Like a Tree Universally Spread: Sri Sabhapati Swami And Śivarājayoga" (Oxford UP, 2023)
Keith Cantú's Like a Tree Universally Spread: Sri Sabhapati Swami And Śivarājayoga (Oxford UP, 2023) examines the life of a nineteenth- to early…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Steven E. Lindquist, "The Literary Life of Yājñavalkya" (SUNY Press, 2023)
In The Literary Life of Yājñavalkya (SUNY Press, 2023), Steven E. Lindquist investigates the intersections between historical context and literary production…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Episode 300: Christopher Miller interviews "New Books in Indian Religions" host Raj Balkaran
In honour of his 300th New Books Network podcast, a flip interview featuring a candid conversation with NBN host Raj Balkaran ranging from scholarship, to…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Vanessa R. Sasson, "The Gathering: A Story of the First Buddhist Women" (Equinox, 2023)
Vanessa R. Sasson's book The Gathering: A Story of the First Buddhist Women (Equinox, 2023) is a retelling of the story of the first Buddhist women's request…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Yigal Bronner, "A Lasting Vision: Dandin's Mirror in the World of Asian Letters" (Oxford UP, 2023)
A Lasting Vision: Dandin's Mirror in the World of Asian Letters (Oxford University Press, 2023) is a collaborative, interdisciplinary volume that introduces a…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Christopher Jain Miller, "Embodying Transnational Yoga: Eating, Singing, and Breathing in Transformation" (Routledge, 2023)
Christopher Jain Miller's book Embodying Transnational Yoga: Eating, Singing, and Breathing in Transformation (Routledge, 2023) is a refreshingly original…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Réka Máté, "Portrayals of Women in Pakistan: An Analysis of Fahmīdah Riyāẓ's Urdu Poetry" (de Gruyter, 2023)
Réka Máté's Portrayals of Women in Pakistan: An Analysis of Fahmīdah Riyāẓ's Urdu Poetry (de Gruyter, 2023) examines the connection between progressivism and…
- New Books in Indian Religions
From the Indian Goddess to Icelandic Spirits
A candid conversation with Corinne Dempsey on her wide-ranging, fascinating research in religion, from the Indian Goddess in New York and Icelandic Spirit…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Patrick Laude, "Surrendering to the Self: Ramana Maharshi's Message for the Present" (Hurst, 2021)
The Indian sage Ramana Maharshi (1879- 1950) is perhaps the most widely known Indian spiritual figure of the last century, second only to Gandhi. Patrick…
- New Books in Indian Religions
The Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik
Learn about the history and mandate of the Inter-University Centre, which is affiliated with over one hundred academic institutions across the globe. The…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Ishvarchandra Vidyasagar, "Against High-Caste Polygamy: An Annotated Translation" (Oxford UP, 2023)
Against High-Caste Polygamy: An Annotated Translation (Oxford UP, 2023) offers a complete, annotated translation of Ishvarchandra Vidyasagar's 1871 tract…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Teaching (and Learning) at a University Online
There is a lot of talk about online learning, and particularly universities going online. Today I talked to Caleb Simmons, Executive Director of Arizona Online…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Sumit Chakrabarti, "Local Selfhood, Global Turns: Akshay Kumar Dutta and Public Culture in Nineteenth-Century Bengal" (Cambridge UP, 2023)
Sumit Chakrabarti's book Local Selfhood, Global Turns: Akshay Kumar Dutta and Public Culture in Nineteenth-Century Bengal (Cambridge UP, 2023) examines the…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Jain Studies and the Arihanta Institute
Today I talked to Christopher Jain Miller about practicing and studying Jainism, the founding of Jain Studies professorships and the Arihanta Institute, an…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Divya Cherian, "Merchants of Virtue: Hindus, Muslims, and Untouchables in Eighteenth-Century South Asia" (U California Press, 2023)
In her formidable and fiercely well-argued new book Merchants of Virtue: Hindus, Muslims, and Untouchables in Eighteenth-Century South Asia (U California…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Jennifer D. Ortegren, "Middle-Class Dharma: Gender, Aspiration, and the Making of Contemporary Hinduism" (Oxford UP, 2023)
Middle-Class Dharma: Gender, Aspiration, and the Making of Contemporary Hinduism (Oxford UP, 2023) is a contemporary ethnography of class mobility among Hindus…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Matthew R. Dasti, "Vatsyayana's Commentary on the Nyaya-Sutra: A Guide" (Oxford UP, 2023)
In Vatsyāyāna's Commentary on the Nyāya-Sūtra: A Guide (Oxford University Press, 2023), Matthew Dasti unpacks a canonical classical Indian text, the…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Christopher T. Fleming et al., "Science and Society in the Sanskrit World" (Brill, 2023)
Science and Society in the Sanskrit World (Brill, 2023) lauds the remarkable career of Christopher Z. Minkowski, the erstwhile Boden Professor of Sanskrit at…
- New Books in Indian Religions
A Better Way to Buy Books
Bookshop.org is an online book retailer that donates more than 80% of its profits to independent bookstores. Launched in 2020, Bookshop.org has already raised…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Richard Sclove, "Escaping Maya's Palace: Decoding an Ancient Myth to Heal the Hidden Madness of Modern Civilization" (Karavelle Press, 2022)
Richard Sclove’s newest book — Escaping Maya’s Palace: Decoding an Ancient Myth to Reveal and Heal the Hidden Madness of Modern Civilization (Karavelle Press…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Oliver Crisp and Daniel J. Hill, eds., "Reason in the Service of Faith: Collected Essays of Paul Helm" (Routledge, 2023)
Paul Helm is a distinguished philosopher, with particular interests in the philosophy of religion. His work covers some of the most important aspects of the…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Kerry P. C. San Chirico. "Between Hindu and Christian: Khrist Bhaktas, Catholics, and the Negotiation of Devotion in Banaras" (Oxford UP, 2022)
On the second Saturday of each month, on the outskirts of the ancient city of Varanasi, Shiva's own city, thousands of shudra and Dalit devotees worship Yesu…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Ravi Gupta and Kenneth Valpey, "The Bhagavata Purana: Sacred Text and Living Tradition" (Columbia UP, 2013)
Today I talked to Ravi Gupta and Kenneth Valpey about The Bhagavata Purana: Sacred Text and Living Tradition (Columbia UP, 2013) A vibrant example of living…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Annie Rachel Royson, "Texts, Traditions, and Sacredness: Cultural Translation in Kristapurana" (Routledge, 2023)
Annie Rachel Royson's book Texts, Traditions, and Sacredness: Cultural Translation in Kristapurana (Routledge, 2023) presents a critical reading of…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Emilia Bachrach, "Religious Reading and Everyday Lives in Devotional Hinduism" (Oxford UP, 2022)
Religious texts are not stable objects, passed down unchanged through generations. The way in which religious communities receive their scriptures changes over…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Sharada Sugirtharajah, "Religious and Non-Religious Perspectives on Happiness and Wellbeing" (Routledge, 2022)
Sharada Sugirtharajah's edited volume Religious and Non-Religious Perspectives on Happiness and Wellbeing (Routledge, 2022) explores the theme of happiness and…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Renny Thomas, "Science and Religion in India: Beyond Disenchantment" (Routledge, 2022)
Science and Religion in India: Beyond Disenchantment (Routledge, 2022) provides an in-depth ethnographic study of science and religion in the context of South…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Michael Baltutis, "The Festival of Indra: Innovation, Archaism, and Revival in a South Asian Performance" (SUNY Press, 2023)
Michael Baltutis' book The Festival of Indra: Innovation, Archaism, and Revival in a South Asian Performance (SUNY Press, 2023) details the textual and…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Marnie Feneley, "Reconstructing God: Style, Hydraulics, Political Power and Angkor's West Mebon Visnu" (National U of Singapore Press, 2022)
In December 1936, a villager was led by a dream to the ruins of the West Mebon shrine in Angkor where he uncovered remains of a bronze sculpture. This was the…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Zhihua Yao, "Nonexistent Objects in Buddhist Philosophy: On Knowing What There is Not" (Bloomsbury, 2020)
Can we know what there is not? Zhihua Yao's Nonexistent Objects in Buddhist Philosophy: On Knowing What There is Not (Bloomsbury, 2020) examines the historical…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Brenda E. F. Beck, "Hidden Paradigms: Comparing Epic Themes, Characters, and Plot Structures" (U Toronto Press, 2022)
Brenda Beck discusses her lifelong work on a Tamil folk legend, resulting in a graphic novel, an English translation and Hidden Paradigms: Comparing Epic…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Dimitry Shevchenko, "Mirror of Nature, Mirror of Self: Mirror of Self: Models of Consciousness in Sāṃkhya, Yoga, and Advaita Vedānta" (Oxford UP, 2023)
In Indian philosophical traditions, a reflection in a mirror frequently serves as a metaphor, suggesting that just as a face in a mirror appears where it is…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Ankur Barua, "Exploring Hindu Philosophy" (Equinox Publishing, 2023)
Ankur Barua's book Exploring Hindu Philosophy (Equinox Publishing, 2023) points to some of the diverse tapestries of Hindu worldviews where scriptural…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Daniel J. Soars and Nadya Pohran, "Hindu-Christian Dual Belonging" (Routledge, 2022)
Daniel J. Soars and Nadya Pohran's book Hindu-Christian Dual Belonging (Routledge, 2022) focuses on dual belonging within Hindu-Christian contexts. Written by…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Laura Atmadarshan Santoro, "Hearing The Song of Your Soul: A Poetic Translation of the Bhagavad Gita" (2022)
Geared toward modern Westerners and presented in the original poetic rhythm, Hearing the Song of Your Soul is an approachable, beautiful new translation of the…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Sangraha: Digital Cataloguing of Sanskrit Manuscripts
Sanjaya Singhal discusses Sangraha, an ambitious digital enterprise cataloguing India's millions of decaying Sanskrit manuscripts. Sangraha is a detailed…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair, "Sikh Philosophy: Exploring Gurmat Concepts in a Decolonizing World" (Bloomsbury, 2022)
In his new contribution to the Bloomsbury Introductions to World Philosophies, Sikh Philosophy: Exploring Gurmat Concepts in a Decolonizing World (Bloomsbury…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Douglas Ober, "Dust on the Throne: The Search for Buddhism in Modern India" (Stanford UP, 2023)
Received wisdom has it that Buddhism disappeared from India, the land of its birth, between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, long forgotten until…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Simon Paul Cox, "The Subtle Body: A Genealogy" (Oxford UP, 2021)
How does the soul relate to the body? Through the ages, innumerable religious and intellectual movements have proposed answers to this question. Many have…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Loriliai Biernacki, "The Matter of Wonder: Abhinavagupta's Panentheism and the New Materialism" (Oxford UP, 2023)
In the early 11th century, the Kashmiri philosopher Abhinavagupta proposed panentheism-seeing the divine as both immanent in the world and at the same time as…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Anantanand Rambachan, "Pathways to Hindu-Christian Dialogue" (Augsburg Fortress, 2022)
Hindus and Christians have a long history of interaction on the Indian subcontinent. Since the latter half of the twentieth century, with the increased…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Ashok Gopal, "A Part Apart: The Life and Thought of B. R. Ambedkar" (Navayana, 2023)
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891–1956) is perhaps the most iconised historical figure in India. Born into a caste deemed ‘unfit for human association’, he came to…
- New Books in Indian Religions
How Do We Know What We Know?: A Day School from Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies
The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies is holding a Day School on "How Do We Know What We Know?" Today I talked to Gavin Flood bout the day school, discusses how…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Baba Padmanji, "Yamuna's Journey" (Speaking Tiger Books, 2022)
In 1856, the East India Company imposed the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act, allowing widows to remarry after their husband’s death. The Act was controversial at…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Elise Coquereau-Saouma and Daniel Raveh, "The Making of Contemporary Indian Philosophy: Krishnachandra Bhattacharyya" (Routledge, 2022)
This book engages in a dialogue with Krishnachandra Bhattacharyya (K.C. Bhattacharyya, KCB, 1875-1949) and opens a vista to contemporary Indian philosophy. KCB…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Moyukh Chatterjee, "Composing Violence: The Limits of Exposure and the Making of Minorities" (Duke UP, 2023)
In 2002, armed Hindu mobs attacked Muslims in broad daylight in the west Indian state of Gujarat. The pogrom, which was widely seen over television, left more…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Divya Cherian, "Merchants of Virtue: Hindus, Muslims, and Untouchables in Eighteenth-Century South Asia" (U California Press, 2023)
Merchants of Virtue: Hindus, Muslims, and Untouchables in Eighteenth-Century South Asia (U California Press, 2023) explores the question of what it meant to be…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Farah Godrej, "Freedom Inside?: Yoga and Meditation in the Carceral State" (Oxford UP, 2022)
Are meditation and yoga offered to prisoners merely to have them acquiesce to being incarcerated and degraded? Or can they help prisoners interrogate the…
- New Books in Indian Religions
The Canadian South Asian Studies Association
Andrea Farran and Julie Vig discuss the fast approaching first in-person Canadian South Asian Studies Association hybrid conference. This hybrid conference…
- New Books in Indian Religions
A Conversation with Ramdas Lamb
A candid conversation with Ramdas Lamb about his experiences as a sadhu, his journey to academia and his professorial pedagogy. Ramdas Lamb received a Bachelor…