Paras Mehta

Paras Mehta has been a Sanskrit researcher at the École française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO), Pondicherry Center, since 2024. He is currently working on the edition of the Kāñcī-sthāna-māhātmya, in both its short and long versions, as part of the Hindu Temple Legends in South India project, which focuses on textual and narrative traditions associated with the temples of the city of Kanchipuram.

His work involves, among other things, transcribing the Sanskrit manuscripts of the Kāñcīsthānamāhātmya into XML markup language, producing a critical edition based on these transcriptions, and providing an English translation.

His analysis of the Kāñcīsthānamāhātmya highlights significant influences from the works of the great poet Kālidāsa, particularly the Kumārasambhava. Highlighting this influence would distinguish this text from other Sanskrit māhātmyas, which generally show little poetic ambition. He also seeks to determine whether the influence of other Sanskrit poets, such as Bhāravi, Māgha, and Bāṇa, can also be detected in it.

Her research also focuses on Sanskrit literature and Indian philosophy, particularly the Gauḍīya Vaishnavism tradition. Her doctoral dissertation was devoted to the concept of jīvātman in the Gauḍīya system.

• 2025, Ph.D. in Philosophy, University of Mumbai
• 2020, Master’s in Sanskrit, with a specialization in Indian philosophy (Darśana)

• Researcher, “Light on Haṭha Yoga: A Critical Edition and Translation of the Haṭhapradīpikā” project, an AHRC–DFG project led by James Mallinson and Jason Birch, Pondicherry Centre, September 2021–August 2022.
• Researcher, “Hindu Temple Legends in South India” project, Pondicherry Centre, from August 2024 to January 2025 (temporary contract), then from February 2025 (permanent contract).

• Research Assistant, Suśruta Project, University of Alberta, [2022–2024]
• Assistant Professor, Jiva Institute of Vedic Studies, [2023–2024]

Translated with DeepL.com