Yale > Religious Studies > About the Faculty

Dept. of Religious Studies
Yale University
451 College St.
P. O. Box 208287
New Haven, CT 06520-8287

Education:
1963-1965
Mount Holyoke College, Chemistry
1965-1966
International Christian University, Mitaka, Tokyo, Intensive Japanese
1966-1968
Radcliffe College, B.A Department of Far Eastern Languages, Summa cum laude, first in the class with an award for promise in the Humanities
1973
Harvard University, Ph.D. Departments of Sanskrit and Indian Studies and Fine Arts. Harvard Graduate Prize Fellowship and Kingsbury Fund, Fine Arts.

Employment History:
1975-1976
Austrian-American Institute, Vienna, taught English.
1976-1979
Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies,
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
1980-1984
Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, McMaster University.
1980
Visiting Professor, Department of South Asian Studies, University of California at Berkeley.
1984 (Sept - Jan)
Visiting Professor, Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies Harvard University.
1985-2004
Full professor, Department of Religious Studies, McMaster University
1993
Visiting Professor Ecole Pratiques, Sorbonne
2000 (Feb, June)
Visiting Professor, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales
2004
Full Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Yale University

Life member, Bhandarkar Oriental Institute
Association for Asian Studies
American Academy of Religion

Languages:
Sanskrit, Pali, Ardha Magadhi, Bengali, Hindi, Assamese, Japanese, Chinese, French, German, Gujarati, Oriya

Philosophy and Argument in Late Vedanta :Sri Harsa’s
Khandanalhandakhadya. D. Reidel and Company, Dordrecht Holland, 1978.

Strange Attachment: Short Stories of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay.Translations from Bengali. Oakville,Ontario: Mosaic Press, 1984. Accepted by UNESCO in their Representative Works of Asia Series.

Monks and Magicians, Religious Biography in Asia, edited with Koichi Shinohara. Oakville, Ontario:Mosaic Press, 1988. I also wrote pp., 45-91, see below under articles.

The Clever Adulteress : A Treasury of Jain Stories, Oakville, Ontario, Mosaic Press, 1990.I edited the book and translated pp. 140-186.

Speaking of Monks: Religious Biography in Asia, written with Koichi Shinohara, Oakville, Ontario: Mosaic Press, 1992. My contribution is pp. 1-97.

Other Selves: Autobiography and Biography in Cross-cultural Perspective, edited with K.Shinohara, Oakville,Ontario:Mosaic Press, 1994. My contributions are pp.16-35; 150-207.

The Forest of Thieves and the Magic Garden: An Anthology of Medieval Jain Stories, Delhi:Penguin Books, 1998 372 pages

The Journey: Stories by K.C. Das (translated from the Oriya) University of Michigan, 2001.

Pilgrims, Patrons and Place, Localizing Sanctity in Asian Religions, ed. With Dr. Shinohara, UBC Press, 2003.

Inner Voices:Stories of Kishor Charan Das, Penguin Books 2004. Revised Indian Edition of the Journey.

Images in Asian Religions: Texts and Contexts, ed with Koichi Shinohara, UBC Press, 2004.

"A Portable Buddhist Shrine from Central Asia," Archives of Asian Art, 1969, pp. 80-96.

"Tobatsu Bishamon: Three Statues in American Museums and the Rise of this Cult in East Asia", East and West, 1970, vol.20, nos 1-2, pp. 144-168.

"The Udayagiri Mahisasuramardini: An Analysis of the Myth", East and West, vol.29, nos. 1-4, 1979, pp. 139-151.

"Some Unusual Images of the Goddess of Learning in Medieval India", Annali Instituto Universitari Orientale di Napoli, 1978, vol.38, pp. 179-189.

"Vrscikoddari A Study of the Relationship Between Myth and Image in Indian Art", East and West, vol. 30, nos 1-4, December 1980, pp. 77-97.

"Reverse Glass Paintings from Gujarat in a Private Canadian Collection ", Artibus Asiae, vol. XL, 1978, pp. 204-1214.

"Mahesvara/Mahakala: A Unique Buddhist Image from Kashmir", Artibus Asiae, vol.XLI, 1979, pp. 64-84

"Nandagopla: A Modern Visionary in an Ancient Tradition", Art International, XXIII/10, March April, 1980, pp. 44-51.

"The Fattegarh Siva: A Response to Dr. Pratapaditya Pal, Art International, March/April, 1981.

"Traditional Goals for Modern Women: The Paradox of Asapurna Devi's Fiction", Journal of South Asian Literature, XXI, 1985, pp. 195-204.

"Religious and Philosophical Impediments to Social Change: The New Morality in Recent Bengali Fiction", South Asian Anthropologist, vol.4, no.,2, pp. 113-123.

"God as Idol: The Role of Images in Sectarian Conflict in Medieval Vaisnavism, South Asian Religious Art Studies, vol.3, 1983, pp. 12-24.

"Holy Warriors: A Preliminary Study of Some Biographies of Saints and Kings in the Classical Indian Tradition", Journal of Indian Philosophy, vol.11, 1985, pp. 1-13.

"Scholars and Wonder-workers:Some Remarks on the Role of the Supernatural in Philosophical Contests in Vedanta Hagiographies", Journal of the American Oriental Society, 105/3, July, 1985, pp. 459-469.

"The Miracle of a Religious Biography Without Miracles: Jain Biographies of the Pratyekabuddha Karakandu", Journal of Indian Philosophy, 14, 1986, pp. 390-404.

"Persistent Paradigms: Some Uses of Traditional Story Material in Recent Bengali Fiction, South Asian Anthropologist, 1987.

"The Jain Biographies of Haribhadra: An Inquiry into the Origins of the Legends", Journal of Indian Philosophy, 1988, vol.6, pp. 1-24.

"The Jain Biographies of Siddhasena:A Study of the Texture of Allusion and the Weaving of a Group Image", Journal of Indian Philosophy, vol. 17, 1989, pp. 329-384 and vol. 18, 1990, pp. 109-125.

"Authority and Innovation: A Study of the Use of Similes in the Biography of Hiravijaya", Jinamanjari, vol. 1, 1990, pp. 48-61.

"Recent Studies in Prakrit Narratives in the West," Prakrta Vidya, vol.2, no.2-3, 1990, pp. 57-63.

"Religious Biographies and Clan Histories Among the Svetambara Jains of North India", East and West, vol. 39, nos. 1-4, pp. 196-217.

"Tales of Broken Limbs and Bleeding Wounds: A Study of Some Hindu and Jain Responses to Muslim Iconoclasm", East and West, 41, 1991, pp. 189-205.

"The Politics of Religious Biography: The Biography of Balibhadra the Usurper", Bulletin d'Etudes Sanskrites et Indiennes, vol.9, 1991, pp. 75-93.

"Tolerance in the Tantras: Its Form and Function, Journal of Oriental Research,Madras festschrift for Dr.S.S. Janaki, vol. LVI-LVII, 1991-1992. pp. 283-302.

"The Violence of non-violence: Jain Responses to Buddhist vinaya rules on Murder", Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, vol. 15, 1992, pp. 1-43.

"The Householder as Shaman: Jain Biographies of Temple Builders", East and West, vol. 42, 1992, pp. 301-319.

"Worship as Commemoration: Pilgrimage, Death and Dying in Medieval Jainism", Bulletin d'Etudes Sanskrites et Indiennes, no. 10, 1992, pp;. 181-202.

"When Miracles Become Too Many: Stories of the Destruction of Holy Sites in the Tapi Khanda of the Skanda Purana", Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 77, 1992, pp . 47-71.

"This was my Life:Autobiographical Reflection and the Quest for Liberation in Medieval Jain Story Literature", Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Institute, vol. 75, 1994, pp. 25-50.

"Sarasvati’s sons: Biographies of Poets in Medieval India", Asiatische Studien, XLIX, 2, 26 pages.

“The Ambiguity of Miracles: Buddhist Understandings of Supernatural Power”, East and West, 1996, vol.46, pp. 79-97. Appeared 1997

“Patrons, Overlords and Artisans: Some Comments on the Intricacies of Religious Donations in Medieval Jainism”, in Bulletin of the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Instittue, vol.54-55, Sir William Jones Commemoration, 1994-1995, pp.269-291, appeared September 1997.

"Rama'sBridge:Some Notes on Journeys Real and Envisioned", East and West, vol. 48, nos 1-2, 1998, p.93-117.

"Cures and Karma II: Attitudes Towards Healing in Buddhist Story Literature", in Bulletin de l’Ecole Francaise d’Extreme Orient, 85, 1998, pp.285-305

“Maitreya’s Jewelled World: Some Remarks on Gems and Visions in Buddhist Texts”, in Journal of Indian Philosophy, vol. 26, 1998, pp. 347-371.

“Longing for the Lord: Dreams in the Lives of Medieval Vaisnava Devotees”, Anandam, Assam, vol. 3, 1998, pp. 10-33. appeared July 1999.

“Defining Sacred space: Priestly Conflict, Compromise and Control of the Sacred site in Hindu Mahatmya texts”, Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, vol. 79, 1998, pp. 1-28. Appeared 2000.

“Refutation as Commentary: Medieval Jain Arguments Against Samkhya”, Asiatische Studien LIII, 3, 1999, pp. 579-591.

"Other People's Rituals: Ritual Eclecticism in Early Medieval Indian religions", Journal of Indian Philosophy, vol. 28. no.4, August 2000, pp. 399-424.

"Seeking the Perfect Words: teachers and transmission in Buddhist Story Literature", Indologica Taurinensia, vol XVII-SVII 1991-1992 appeared 2001, pp 145-183.

My Ritual, My Gods: Ritual Exclusivism in Medieval India," Journal of Indian Philosophy, vol, 29, nos 1-2, 2001, 109-131.

“Medieval Jain Accounts of Mt. Girnar and Mt Satrunjaya: Visible and Invisible Sacred Realms”, Journal of Baroda Oriental Society, vol XLIX, nos 1-2, September 1999, appeared 2003. pp 143-170.

"A Family Affair: Reflections on Urban Guerilla Warfare in Recent Bengali Literature", Monterey, proceedings of symposium, 1984.

"Jain Biographies of Nagarjuna: Notes on the Composing of a Biography in Medieval India, for the volume Monks and Magicians that I edited with Koichi Shinohara, 1988, pp. 45-63.

"Manicuda's Sacrifice: Narrative Context as a Guide to Interpretation", in V.N. Jha, ed. Kalyanamitta, festschrift for Hajime Nakamura, Delhi: India Books, 1990, pp. 225-239.

"Ganesa in the Mudgala Purana: The God as Metaphor", in Robert Brown, ed. Ganesh: Studies of an Asian God, Albany:SUNY, 1991, pp. 85-101.

"The Yogavasistha: The Continuing Search for a Context",in V.N. Jha, ed. New Horizons of Research in Indology, Poona: Poona University, 1989, pp. 181-206.

"Buddhaghosa's Penance and Siddhasena's Crime: Indian Attitudes Towards Language, in K. Shinohara and G. Schopen, ed. From Benaras to Beijing festschrift for Dr. Jan .Oakville,Ontario: Mosaic Press, 1992, pp. 17-35.

"Halayudha's Prism: Temples and Worship in Medieval North India" in V. Desai and D. Mason, Gods, Guardians and Lovers: Temple Sculptures from North India, New York: Asia Society, 1993, pp. 66-97.

"Going by the Book: The Role of Written Texts in Medieval Indian Sectarian Conflict, in K. Watanabe, festschrift for J. Deleu, Tokyo, 1993, pp. 315-339.

"Being in the Minority: Jain Attitudes towards other Religious Groups", in N. N Bhattacharyya, ed. Jainism and Prakrit in Ancient and Medieval India, essays for Prof. J.C. Jain, Delhi:Manohar, 1994, pp. 241-267.

"Biographical Writing amongst the Svetambara Jains", in Rupert Snell and W. Callewaert, eds. According to Tradition: Hagiographical Writing in India, Wiesbaden:Otto Harrassowitz, 1994, pp. 131-159.

"Jain Pilgrimage in Memory and Celebration of the Jinas", in P. Pal, The Peaceful Liberators, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1994, pp. 63-77.

"Ritual and Biography: The Case of Bappabhattisuri", in the volume I edited with K.Shinohara, Other Selves, 1994, pp. 150-207.

“Heaven on Earth: Temples and Temple Cities of Medieval India”, in Dick van der Meij, ed. India and Beyond: Aspects of Literature, Meaning, Ritual and Thought. Leiden:International Institute for Asian Studies, 1997, pp. 170-194

“The Jina Bleeds: Threats to the Faith in Medieval Jain Stories”, in a volume of essays on miraculous images, ed. Richard Davis, Boulder Colorado: Westview Press, 1998, 121-141.

“Divine Delicacies: Monks, Images and Miracles in the Contest between Jainism and Buddhism”, in Richard Davis, ed. Images, Miracles and Authority in Asian Religious Traditions, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1998, pp. 55-97

“Cures and Karma: Attitudes Towards Healing in Medieval Jainism”, in Al Baumgarten ed. Self, soul and Body in Religious Experience, Leiden, E.J. Brill, 1998, pp. 218-56.

“Portraits, Likenesses and Looking Glasses: Some literary and philosophical reflections on representation and art in medieval India” in Jan Assmann and Albert Baumgarten, eds. Representation In religion: Studies In Honor of Moshe Barasch, Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2000, pp.63-107

"From Detachment to Engagement: The Construction of the Holy Man in Medieval Svetambara Jain Literature", in Francois Mallison, Constructions hagiographiques dans le monde indien, Paris: Librairie Honore Campion, 2001, pp. 97-121.

“Pilgrimage as Revelation: Sankaradeva’s Journey to Jagannatha Puri”, in Pilgrims, Patrons and Place, Localizing Sanctity in Asian Religions, ed. With Dr. Shinohara, UBC Press, 2003, pp181-203.

“Art and Religious Doctrine: Some Comments on the Hidden and Secret in Medieval Indian Religious Traditions”, Festschrift for R.Gnoli, ed. Raffaele Torella, Le Praole e I Marmi,Serie Orientale Roma, XCII,I, 2001

“Paradigms of Protection: Jain, Buddhist and Hindu Stories” in Essays in Jaina Philosophy and Religion. Edited by Piotr Balcerowicz, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi 2002, pp 181-212. ed. Piotr Balcerowicz, Warsaw

“The Absent Artist as an Apology for Image Worship: An Investigation of Some Medieval Indian Accounts of the Origins of Sacred Images”, in Jainism and Early Buddhism. Essays in Honour of Padmanabh S. Jaini. 2 Vols. Ed. by O. Qvarnstrom. Berkeley: Asian HumanitiesPress, 2003.

“The Place of Ritual: Geographical Boundaries and Sectarian Identity in Medieval Indian Religions,” in "Il luogo del rituale: limiti geografici e identità settaria nelle religioni indiane medievali" The volume= Etnosistemi vol.11 (special number: Terra, territorio e società nel subcontinente indiano, eds. D.Berti & G. Tarabout), 2003.

“Images and their Ritual Use in Medieval India: Hesitations and Contradicitons”, in Phyllis Granoff and Koichi Shinohara, ed. Images in Asian Religions: Texts and Contexts, Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2004, pp.19-56.

“ Saving the Saviour: Siva and the Vaisnava Avataras in the Early Skanda Purana”, Origin and Growth of the Puranic Text Corpus, ed. Hans T.Bakker, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2004 pp.111-139.

Book Review for the Bulletin of the Asian institute 14, 2000 no 3. pp 165-168 of Timothy Lenz, A New Version of the Gandhari Dhammpada and a Collection of Previous Birth Stories, Britihs Library Kharosthi fragments. London and Seattle.

"The Fight", translation from Bengali of a story by Samaresh Bose, Indian Literature, September 1983.

"The big Wide World, translation of a Bengali story by Sunil Gangopdhyay, Journal of South Asian Literature, 19/1, 1984.

"Blind", translation from Bengali of a story by Asapurna Devi, Journal of South Asian Literature, 21/2. 1986.

"A Woman's Secret Treasures, translation of a Bengali story by Asapurna Devi, Journal of South Asian Literature, 21/2, 19086.

"Shah Jahan and his Private Army",translation of a Bengali story by Sunil Gangopadhyay, Journal of South Asian Literature, 21/2, 1986.

"Torment", translation of Bengali story of Samaresh Bose, Journal of South Asian Literature, 1986.

Fear, Love and Marigolds: Growing old in the stories of K.C. Das. Translations from the Oriya. Calcutta: Three Stories Press

“Siva and his Ganas Techniques of Narrative Distancing in the Puranas” Festschrift U Dhar.

“Reading Between the Lines: Colliding Attitudes Towards Images Worship in Medieval Indian religious texts” in a volume ed. Gerard Colas and Gilles Tarabout.

“Fasting or Fighting: Dying the Noble Death in some Indian Religious Texts”, McMaster/Toronto conference, will be included in the edited volume.

“Printed and Variegated Cloth in the Imagination of Medieval India: From Poets to Philosophers”, paper delivered November 9, 2002, Communities and Commodities: Western India and the Indian Ocean, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan. Ars Orientalis

“The Gift of the Merchants: Defining the Buddhist Community Through Story” for the memorial volume for Maurizio Taddei.

“Fathers and Sons: The Ordination of Children in Medieval Jainism”, given at a conference on monasticism in February 2003, University of British Columbia. Wisdom Press.

“Protecting the Faith: Exploring the Concerns of Jain monastic rules”. School of Oriental and African Studies.

“Playing with the Winds: The Place of Yoga in the Vai?ˆava Movement of Íaikaradeva of Assam”, Journal of Vaisnava Studies

The Moment of Death: Cross-Cultural Perspectives. Editing with Koichi Shinohara and Jon Wilcox, in preparation.

“Fasting or Fighting: Dying the Noble Death in Some Indian Religious Texts”, in The Moment of Death: Cross-Cultural Perspectives.

“Telling the Life of the Buddha or the Telling Life of the Buddha: Selective Emphases and Interpretation.” McMaster conference on the Life of the Buddha, October 2003; to be included in conference volume.

“Putting the polish on the poet’s efforts: reading the Karnasundari as a reflection on poetic creativity conference on Kavya in at the Institute for Advanced Studies, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, May 2004

“The Mausalaparvan: Between Story and Theology”, festschrift Robert Goldman Ed. R.Sharma.

“Buddhist relics: Context and Controvery” for a panel on relics, University of California at Berkeley, October 2005.

I am currently working on several different projects. I continue to be interested in the origins of puranic Hinduism and early Indian religions. I have also been studying Jain monastic codes and medieval Indian law. In addition, I am beginning what I hope will be a larger project on 19th century Assam.