The academic study of Tantrism has blossomed in recent decades. Once dismissed as marginal, or unworthy of serious attention, we now understand the study of Asias Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain esoteric or tantric religious traditions to be integral to the religious and cultural landscapes of medieval South, Southeast, Central

and East Asia. This shift in reshaping the historiography of medieval India is in no small measure due to the major contributions of Alexis Sanderson, Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at Oxford University. The proposed symposium, to be held at the University of Toronto, with Sanderson in attendance,

seeks to honour and engage with his scholarship on the eve of his retirement.

SPONSORS OF THE SYMPOSIUM

DEPARTMENT AND CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF RELIGION, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO ALL SOULS COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO CENTRE FOR SOUTH ASIAN CIVILIZATIONS, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO AT MISSISSAUGA

CENTRE FOR SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO BRILL PUBLISHERS, LEIDEN, THE NETHERLANDS

CONVENERS: SRILATA RAMAN (UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO) AND SHAMAN HATLEY (CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY)VENUE: CROFT CHAPTER HOUSE, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

program synopsis

aivism and the Tantric Traditions: A Symposium in Honour of Alexis G. J. S. Sanderson

THURSDAY, MARCH 269:159:30 Arrival, coffee9:3010:15 Welcome (John Kloppenborg, John Marshall, Srilata Raman,

Shaman Hatley) 10:1510:45 Alexis Sanderson and Indology Harunaga Isaacson, University of Hamburg10:4511:15 An Overview of the Worship of Rudra in Vedic Ritual Shingo Einoo, University of Tokyo11:1511:30 Coffee break11:3012:00 The Vedic veneer: On antinomian Tantric movements

claiming to follow orthodox Vedic religion and ritual Judit Trzsk, University of Lille III, France12:0012:30 The Right Rituals for a Vaidika Vaiava:

The rvaiava Borders between Vedic and Tantric Saskras

Srilata Raman, University of Toronto 12:302:00 Lunch2:002:30 From Mantramrga back to Atimrga: Atimrga as a

self-referential term Peter Bisschop, Leiden University 2:303:00 The usage of the terms ivadharmin/ivadharmastha in

pre-modern Tantric sources Nina Mirnig, Austrian Academy of Sciences3:003:15 Coffee break3:153:45 The Nivsatattvasahits Guhyastra: the latest layer of

redaction of the earliest surviving aiva Tantra Dominic Goodall, cole franaise dExtrme-Orient, Paris3:454:15 The Lotus Garland (padmaml) and Cord of Power

(aktitantu): Body and Ritual in the Tantric Yoga of the Brahmaymala

Shaman Hatley, Concordia University, Montreal4:154:45 Two ninth-century works against Buddhist antinomian

practice Pter-Dniel Sznt, University of Oxford4:455:15 Buddhism, kingship and the protection of the state:

notes on the Suvaraprabhsottamastra Gergely Hidas, Etvs Lornd University, Budapest

FRIDAY, MARCH 279:3010:00 Conceptual and Non-Conceptual Cognition in Early aiva

Siddhnta: Some Unanswered Questions Alexander Watson, Harvard University10:0010:30 Doxastic cognition or epistemic imagination: Ruyyaka and

obhkarevaramitra on the definition of utprek Somdev Vasudeva, Kyoto University10:3011:00 TBA 11:0011:20 Coffee break11:2011:50 To edit or not to edit: Observations based on Recent

Editions of Kashmirian Sanskrit Texts Jrgen Hanneder, Philipp University of Marburg11:5012:20 Innovation and Social Change in the Vale of Kashmir

circa 900-1200 C.E. John Nemec, University of Virginia12:201:45 Lunch1:452:15 Hahayogas aiva Idiom James Mallinson, School of Oriental and African Studies2:152:45 The Historical Importance of the Yogatrval Jason Birch, University of Oxford2:453:00 Coffee3:003:30 The Maha, its Form and Function Elizabeth Mills, University of Toronto 3:304:00 Tantric Iconography in the Manmohan Courtyard in

Kathmandus Hanmndhok Palace Gudrun Bhnemann, University of Wisconsin-Madison 4:004:30 The place of Buddhism in the Hindu kingdoms of

medieval Nepal Alexander von Rospatt, University of California-Berkeley4:305:00 Traditions of the Autumnal Nine Nights Festival of the

Goddess Bihani Sarkar, University of Oxford

SATURDAY, MARCH 28 9:3010:00 TBA Harunaga Isaacson, University of Hamburg10:0010:30 Gateway to Kashmir Hans Bakker, Groningen University/British Museum 10:3010:45 Coffee10:4511:45 Keynote address Alexis G. J. S. Sanderson, Spalding Professor of Eastern

Religion and Ethics, All Souls College, University of Oxford11:451:15 LunchSeating for the symposium is limited.

Anyone interested in attending the event is requested to contact Eric Steinschneider (Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Religion, University of Toronto) eric.steinschneider@mail.utoronto.ca