Ramaraghaviah Sathyanarayanan

R. Sathyanarayanan is a researcher at the École française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO), Pondicherry Center, which he joined in October 1991. Early in his career at the Center, he contributed to the publication of inscriptions from the Pondicherry region, for which he compiled a detailed glossary of the terms and expressions used. Beginning in 1998, he also contributed to the cataloging of palm-leaf manuscripts in the collection of the French Institute of Pondicherry.

His research focuses primarily on Sanskrit philology and the Śaivite traditions of South India, particularly the Śaiva-Siddhānta and the normative texts of the Dharmaśāstra. He is working on the critical edition and translation of several important texts from the Śaivite tradition, including Rāmanātha’s Siddhāntadīpikā (11th century), Śrīkaṇṭhasūri’s Ratnatrayaparīkṣā with Aghoraśiva’s commentary, Vedajñāna’s Dīkṣādarśa, and the Viratantra, one of the twenty-eight revealed scriptures of the Śaiva canon. He is also preparing a complete Tamil translation of the Sivadharmottara.

He is also involved in several international research projects, including the ERC DHARMA project on the textual sources of medieval Shaivism, as well as collaborative programs focusing on ritual traditions and temple networks in South India.

In addition to his research activities, he supervises doctoral students affiliated with the Pondicherry Center and regularly participates in conferences, workshops, and training programs focused on Sanskrit manuscripts and textual criticism.

• 1989, Śiromaṇi (Sāhitya) in Sanskrit Literature, The Madras Sanskrit College
• 1991, Master of Sāhitya, University of Madras
• 1992, M.Phil., University of Madras
• 2003, Ph.D. on Ānandaraṅgacampū – study and translation, Pondicherry University

• Technical Assistant, École française d’Extrême-Orient, Pondicherry Center, 1998–2003
• Technician (1st Class), École française d’Extrême-Orient, Pondicherry Center, 2003–2006
• Assistant Engineer, École française d’Extrême-Orient, Pondicherry Center, from 2006 to 2011
• Research Fellow, École française d’Extrême-Orient, Pondicherry Center, since 2011

• 2022 — Vedāgama āyvukkalai vallunar Award, presented by the Sri Enatinatar Ātīnam, Thirumurukanpundi (Tamil Nadu, India).
• Dr. Sathyanarayanan ranked first in the university examinations for the Śiromaṇi degree as well as for the M.A., and received gold medals for both distinctions.

Translated with DeepL.com