Research Overview

I received my MA and PhD in the Study of Religions from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. I teach courses on Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as on comparative philosophy. I am author of the books:

• The Character of the Self in Ancient India: Priests, Kings, and Women in the Early Upaniṣads
• In Dialogue with the Mahābhārata

I am co-editor of the following books:

• Gender and Narrative in the Mahābhārata
• Confronting Secularism in Europe and India: Legitimacy and Disenchantment in Contemporary Times
• Dialogue in Early South Asian Religions: Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain Traditions
• In Dialogue with Classical Indian Traditions: Encounter, Transformation, and Interpretation

I am co-editor (with Laurie Patton and Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad) of the book series: Dialogues in South Asian Traditions: Religion, Philosophy, Literature and History

My primary areas of research are:

• Hinduism
• Buddhism
• Indian Philosophy
• Indian Ethics
• Comparative Philosophy
• Multiculturalism, social justice, and secularism in South Asia
• Gender in Indian religion and philosophy
• Dialogue and narrative in the textual sources of South Asian religions

Current Projects

Currently I am working on a series of articles on the relationship between philosophy and narrative in ancient Indian sources.

PhD Supervision Interests

I would be happy to supervise doctoral students working in the following areas - Hinduism, Indian Buddhism, Indian philosophy, Hindu ethics, Buddhist ethics, comparative philosophy, Indian secularism, gender and South Asian religions, religion and narrative in South Asia.