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Alexis Sanderson

University of Oxford, All Souls College, Faculty Member

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Papers by Alexis Sanderson

The Śaiva Age: The Rise and Dominance of Śaivism during the Early Medieval Period. In: Genesis and Development of Tantrism, edited by Shingo Einoo. Tokyo: Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, 2009. Institute of Oriental Culture Special Series, 23, pp. 41-350.

The Śaiva Literature. Journal of Indological Studies (Kyoto), Nos. 24 & 25 (2012–2013), 2014, pp. 1–113.

This study is an analytic survey of the surviving religious literature of the Śaivas of India, pr... more This study is an analytic survey of the surviving religious literature of the Śaivas of India, predominantly prescriptive and predominantly in Sanskrit but also in regional languages, from the early centuries of the common era onwards, including the Śākta developments, with the primary aim of providing scholars with a chronologically ordered map of the main divisions of this literature, their interlocking religious contexts, and the regions in which the texts were composed where evidence is available. The survey takes in not only published works but also many texts at present accessible only in manuscripts, whose study during the last four decades by myself and others in tandem with the study of inscriptions and other non-prescriptive records is radically altering our understanding of the development, character, reach, and weight of the traditions that produced these texts. The survey is comprehensive to the extent that it covers all the major branches of the religion of which I have become aware during this period; but in the case of some of these branches, especially those that developed or continued to develop from the twelfth century down to the recent past, it has been feasible to mention only the major among the works that have reached us and, among minor and ancillary texts, such as anonymous ritual handbooks and devotional hymns, only some examples.

The Śaiva Literature. Journal of Indological Studies (Kyoto), Nos. 24 & 25 (2012–2013), 2014, pp. 1–113. With JISt cover and front matter.

This study is an analytic survey of the surviving religious literature of the Śaivas of India, pr... more This study is an analytic survey of the surviving religious literature of the Śaivas of India, predominantly prescriptive and predominantly in Sanskrit but also in regional languages, from the early centuries of the common era onwards, including the Śākta developments, with the primary aim of providing scholars with a chronologically ordered map of the main divisions of this literature, their interlocking religious contexts, and the regions in which the texts were composed where evidence is available. The survey takes in not only published works but also many texts at present accessible only in manuscripts, whose study during the last four decades by myself and others in tandem with the study of inscriptions and other non-prescriptive records is radically altering our understanding of the development, character, reach, and weight of the traditions that produced these texts. The survey is comprehensive to the extent that it covers all the major branches of the religion of which I have become aware during this period; but in the case of some of these branches, especially those that developed or continued to develop from the twelfth century down to the recent past, it has been feasible to mention only the major among the works that have reached us and, among minor and ancillary texts, such as anonymous ritual handbooks and devotional hymns, only some examples.

Śaiva Texts. Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism, vol. 6, pp. 10–42, 2014

This is the text of The Śaiva Literature (Sanderson 2014) with the extensive annotation and bibli... more

The Śaiva Exegesis of Kashmir. In Mélanges tantriques à la mémoire d’Hélène Brunner / Tantric Studies in Memory of Hélène Brunner, edited by Dominic Goodall and André Padoux, Pondicherry: IFI / EFEO, 2007, pp. 231–442 and (bibliography) pp. 551–582.

The Śaiva Exegesis of Kashmir. In Mélanges tantriques à la mémoire d’Hélène Brunner / Tantric Studies in Memory of Hélène Brunner, edited by Dominic Goodall and André Padoux, Pondicherry: IFI / EFEO, 2007, pp. 231–442 and (bibliography) pp. 551–582, with front matter and contents

The Meaning of the Term Trairūpyam in the Buddhist Pramāṇa Literature

Essays in Honour of Raffaele Torella, 2022

Tolerance, Exclusivity, Inclusivity, and Persecution in Indian Religion During the Early Mediaeval Period. In Honoris Causa: Essays in Honour of Aveek Sarkar, edited with a foreword by John Makinson (Allen Lane, 2015), pp. 155–224.

The Śākta Transformation of Śaivism. Keynote Lecture Handout. WSC Vancouver 2018.pdf

How Public Was Śaivism?

How public was Śaivism?

Tantric Communities in Context ed. by Nina Mirnig, Marion Rastelli, and Vincent Eltschinger (Vienna: OAW), pp. 1–46, 2019

This paper examines the extent and manner in which the various Śaiva initiatory traditions made ... more

Progress since ‘Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions’ (Sanderson 1988). Keynote Address at the end of the Symposium Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions, University of Toronto, March 26–28, 2015. Handout.

This lecture reviews the principal respects in which I have modified, revised, and extended in th... more

Video-recording of Progress since ‘Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions’ (Sanderson 1988). Keynote Address at the end of the Symposium Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions, University of Toronto, March 26–28, 2015.

Atharvavedins in Tantric Territory. In: The Atharvaveda and its Paippalāda Śākhā: Historical and Philological Papers on a Vedic Tradition, edited by Arlo Griffiths and Annette Schmiedchen. Aachen: Shaker Verlag, 2007. Geisteskultur Indiens: Texte und Studien, 11, Indologica Halensis, pp. 195-311.

Yoga in Śaivism: The Yoga Section of the Mṛgendratantra. An Annotated Translation of the Text with the Commentary of Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇakaṇṭha (Unpublished draft, 1999)

The Yoga of Dying. 5 Handouts for 5 lectures, October 12, 2004–November 9, 2004 (All Souls, Oxford).

The Yoga of Dying. Handouts for lectures, October 12–November 9, 2004 (All Souls College, Oxford), 50 pp.

Handout for the lecture The Tantric Rebirth of Indian Buddhism under Śākta-Śaiva Influence during the 7th to 11th centuries delivered on September 29, 2015 in the panel Cross-cultural and Cross-religious Encounters in Historical Context in the Tsukuba Global Science Week, 2015.

The Smārta Śāktism of South India: Lalitātriśatīstotra, edited with a brief introduction, an annotated English translation, and an appendix containing the Nāmāvalī.

An Outline of Brahmanism (ca. 900 C.E.). Lectures delivered in All Souls College in 1993

The Śaiva Age: The Rise and Dominance of Śaivism during the Early Medieval Period. In: Genesis and Development of Tantrism, edited by Shingo Einoo. Tokyo: Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, 2009. Institute of Oriental Culture Special Series, 23, pp. 41-350.

The Śaiva Literature. Journal of Indological Studies (Kyoto), Nos. 24 & 25 (2012–2013), 2014, pp. 1–113.

This study is an analytic survey of the surviving religious literature of the Śaivas of India, pr... more This study is an analytic survey of the surviving religious literature of the Śaivas of India, predominantly prescriptive and predominantly in Sanskrit but also in regional languages, from the early centuries of the common era onwards, including the Śākta developments, with the primary aim of providing scholars with a chronologically ordered map of the main divisions of this literature, their interlocking religious contexts, and the regions in which the texts were composed where evidence is available. The survey takes in not only published works but also many texts at present accessible only in manuscripts, whose study during the last four decades by myself and others in tandem with the study of inscriptions and other non-prescriptive records is radically altering our understanding of the development, character, reach, and weight of the traditions that produced these texts. The survey is comprehensive to the extent that it covers all the major branches of the religion of which I have become aware during this period; but in the case of some of these branches, especially those that developed or continued to develop from the twelfth century down to the recent past, it has been feasible to mention only the major among the works that have reached us and, among minor and ancillary texts, such as anonymous ritual handbooks and devotional hymns, only some examples.

The Śaiva Literature. Journal of Indological Studies (Kyoto), Nos. 24 & 25 (2012–2013), 2014, pp. 1–113. With JISt cover and front matter.

This study is an analytic survey of the surviving religious literature of the Śaivas of India, pr... more This study is an analytic survey of the surviving religious literature of the Śaivas of India, predominantly prescriptive and predominantly in Sanskrit but also in regional languages, from the early centuries of the common era onwards, including the Śākta developments, with the primary aim of providing scholars with a chronologically ordered map of the main divisions of this literature, their interlocking religious contexts, and the regions in which the texts were composed where evidence is available. The survey takes in not only published works but also many texts at present accessible only in manuscripts, whose study during the last four decades by myself and others in tandem with the study of inscriptions and other non-prescriptive records is radically altering our understanding of the development, character, reach, and weight of the traditions that produced these texts. The survey is comprehensive to the extent that it covers all the major branches of the religion of which I have become aware during this period; but in the case of some of these branches, especially those that developed or continued to develop from the twelfth century down to the recent past, it has been feasible to mention only the major among the works that have reached us and, among minor and ancillary texts, such as anonymous ritual handbooks and devotional hymns, only some examples.

Śaiva Texts. Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism, vol. 6, pp. 10–42, 2014

This is the text of The Śaiva Literature (Sanderson 2014) with the extensive annotation and bibli... more

The Śaiva Exegesis of Kashmir. In Mélanges tantriques à la mémoire d’Hélène Brunner / Tantric Studies in Memory of Hélène Brunner, edited by Dominic Goodall and André Padoux, Pondicherry: IFI / EFEO, 2007, pp. 231–442 and (bibliography) pp. 551–582.

The Śaiva Exegesis of Kashmir. In Mélanges tantriques à la mémoire d’Hélène Brunner / Tantric Studies in Memory of Hélène Brunner, edited by Dominic Goodall and André Padoux, Pondicherry: IFI / EFEO, 2007, pp. 231–442 and (bibliography) pp. 551–582, with front matter and contents

The Meaning of the Term Trairūpyam in the Buddhist Pramāṇa Literature

Essays in Honour of Raffaele Torella, 2022

Tolerance, Exclusivity, Inclusivity, and Persecution in Indian Religion During the Early Mediaeval Period. In Honoris Causa: Essays in Honour of Aveek Sarkar, edited with a foreword by John Makinson (Allen Lane, 2015), pp. 155–224.

The Śākta Transformation of Śaivism. Keynote Lecture Handout. WSC Vancouver 2018.pdf

How Public Was Śaivism?

How public was Śaivism?

Tantric Communities in Context ed. by Nina Mirnig, Marion Rastelli, and Vincent Eltschinger (Vienna: OAW), pp. 1–46, 2019

This paper examines the extent and manner in which the various Śaiva initiatory traditions made ... more

Progress since ‘Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions’ (Sanderson 1988). Keynote Address at the end of the Symposium Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions, University of Toronto, March 26–28, 2015. Handout.

This lecture reviews the principal respects in which I have modified, revised, and extended in th... more

Video-recording of Progress since ‘Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions’ (Sanderson 1988). Keynote Address at the end of the Symposium Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions, University of Toronto, March 26–28, 2015.

Atharvavedins in Tantric Territory. In: The Atharvaveda and its Paippalāda Śākhā: Historical and Philological Papers on a Vedic Tradition, edited by Arlo Griffiths and Annette Schmiedchen. Aachen: Shaker Verlag, 2007. Geisteskultur Indiens: Texte und Studien, 11, Indologica Halensis, pp. 195-311.

Yoga in Śaivism: The Yoga Section of the Mṛgendratantra. An Annotated Translation of the Text with the Commentary of Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇakaṇṭha (Unpublished draft, 1999)

The Yoga of Dying. 5 Handouts for 5 lectures, October 12, 2004–November 9, 2004 (All Souls, Oxford).

The Yoga of Dying. Handouts for lectures, October 12–November 9, 2004 (All Souls College, Oxford), 50 pp.

Handout for the lecture The Tantric Rebirth of Indian Buddhism under Śākta-Śaiva Influence during the 7th to 11th centuries delivered on September 29, 2015 in the panel Cross-cultural and Cross-religious Encounters in Historical Context in the Tsukuba Global Science Week, 2015.

The Smārta Śāktism of South India: Lalitātriśatīstotra, edited with a brief introduction, an annotated English translation, and an appendix containing the Nāmāvalī.

An Outline of Brahmanism (ca. 900 C.E.). Lectures delivered in All Souls College in 1993