Centre for Shaiva Studies
The Centre for Shaiva Studies is a research institute based in Pondicherry dedicated to the advanced study of Śaiva traditions. A central focus of the Centre’s research is the preparation of critical editions of pre-modern Śaiva texts from manuscript sources, alongside the translation of key Śaiva works. In addition to textual scholarship, the Centre documents living Śaiva traditions, including temple practices, yoga lineages, and devotional arts, and organises lectures and workshops devoted to the study of Śaiva thought and practice. The Centre is headed by eminent Śaiva scholar, Dr. T Ganesan.
What they do
- Prepare critical editions and translations of Śaiva works
- Support scholars through fellowships and short-term research grants
- Organise courses, workshops, and temple-based learning programmes
- Document contemporary Śaiva ritual, yoga, and devotional practices
karṇāṭa: Centre for Classical Kannada
karṇāṭa is a cultural and scholarly initiative devoted to the study, preservation, and revitalisation of classical Kannada language, literature, and material culture. The Centre works to make classical Kannada texts and sources more accessible through modern translation, commentary, digitisation, and structured documentation. In doing so, the Centre fosters a shared intellectual space in which Kannada literary tradition and culture can be approached as a living intellectual and cultural inheritance, accessible to both scholars and wider public.
What they do
- Translate classical Kannada texts into English and modern Kannada
- Produce Kannada commentaries and explanatory studies of difficult texts
- Digitise manuscripts, inscriptions, and literary works with metadata
- Build searchable databases of Kannada authors, texts, and epigraphy
- Support scholars through fellowships, grants, and outreach programmes
Projects
The Foundation undertakes a set of long-term research and documentation projects aimed at preserving, organising, and making accessible primary sources central to the study of Indian cultural and intellectual history. These projects combine fieldwork, textual scholarship, and digital methods to create durable scholarly resources for both researchers and the wider public.
Heritage Temples Documentation Initiative (heritagetemples.org)
The Heritage Temples programme undertakes systematic documentation of pre-British-era temples in the Pune District through on-site surveys and structured fieldwork. For each temple, the project records architectural layouts, key structural features, local legends, ritual practices, and current conservation conditions. This material is supported by photographic documentation and relevant textual references, and is compiled into detailed digital records.
By creating a publicly accessible repository, the programme aims to support future conservation efforts, improve scholarly and public access, and bring attention to historically significant but often neglected temple sites. The project is envisaged as a model that can be extended to other regions over time.
Nature of work
- Architectural and site documentation
- Visual and descriptive archival records
- Historical and textual contextualisation
- Digital presentation of temple heritage
A Digital Corpus of Indian Inscriptions (forthcoming)
The Epigraphy & Inscriptions Programme is a forthcoming initiative dedicated to the systematic transcription and organisation of Indian inscriptions. The programme aims to create a searchable, structured digital corpus of Indian inscriptions drawn from published sources and archival records, with each inscription accompanied by an introduction, glossary, and standardised metadata
This programme is conceived as long-term scholarly infrastructure, supporting research in history, religion, and language through reliable access to primary epigraphic sources.
Nature of work
- Transcription of inscriptions from published corpora
- Standardised metadata and cataloguing
- Language, dynasty, and period-based organisation
- Development of a searchable digital corpus
- Development of inscriptional glossary