In January 1999, the distinguished scholar Pandit Dr. Parameswara Aithal retired from his position at Heidelberg University. To mark this occasion, Prof. Axel Michaels organized a symposium on the institution of the Pandit and the future of traditional Sanskrit scholarship in India and the West. Pt. Aithal, an internationally esteemed expert in Dharmashastra and manuscriptology, was born in Kota (Karnataka). He received his early Sanskrit education in the ...
Hinduism is currently followed by one-fifth of humankind. Far from a monolithic theistic tradition, the religion comprises thousands of gods, a complex caste system, and hundreds of languages and dialects. Such internal plurality inspires vastly ranging rites and practices amongst Hinduism’s hundreds of millions of adherents. It is therefore not surprising that scholars have been hesitant to define universal Hindu traditions, beliefs, and rituals Hindus hold in ...