Jaina Studies

Eva De Clercq

Contact details

Faculty of Arts and Philosophy
Ghent University
Blandijnberg 2
5th floor, office 150.003
B-9000 Gent
Belgium
email: Ev.DeClercq@Ugent.be
Tel. +32 - 9 - 264 40 42
Fax. +32 - 9 - 264 41 94

Office hours: by appointment

Academic career

  • Master degree in Oriental Languages and Cultures, Ghent University. Dissertation: "The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: Kiṣkindhākāṇḍa, sarga 1-17, annotated translation with transliteration, introduction and index." (1998)
  • Ph.D. Oriental Languages and Cultures, Ghent University. Doctoral thesis: "Critical study of Svayambhūdeva's Paumacariu" (in Dutch) (2003)
  • Part time teacher at Ghent University in various subjects (Hindi, Sanskrit, Middle-and New-Indic, Language, text and context: Old and Middle Indic) (10/1999 - 01/2009)
  • Post-doctoral research assistant of the BOF at the Department of Languages and Cultures of South- and East-Asia, University of Ghent. Project:The 63 Mahāpuruṣas of Jainism. (2004 - 2007)

Research field

Main research topics are South-Asian religions (esp.Jainism), Sanskrit epics and Purāṇas, and Apabhraṃśa literature.

Research projects

  • Manuscript research, consultation of experts on Jainism and Apabhraṃśa at Bhandarkar Oriental Institute (Pune), L.D. Institute of Indology (Ahmedabad) and Oriental Institute (Baroda). (January 2000)
  • Manuscript research, consultation of experts on Jainism and Apabhraṃśa at Bhogilal Institute of Indology (New Delhi), and Apabhraṃśa Sāhitya Kendra (Jaipur). (January 2001)
  • Consultation of experts on (Digambara) Jainism in Bangalore (Prof. Dr. Hampa Nagarajaiah) and Mysore (Prof. Dr. M. D. Vasanth Raj). (June-August 2002)
  • Consultation of Digambara Jains at Kundkund Bharti (New Delhi). (January 2005)
  • Contributor to the Eurindia project (with Dr. Jan Parmentier, Dept. of Early Modern History), a 36 months project co-funded by the European Commission under the Economic Cross Cultural Programme. Field of research: Weavers in South India between the 16th and 18th century. (2005-present) 
  • Consultation of experts on (Digambara) Jainism and classical Kannada. (September 2007)
  • Research associate for the project "North Indian Literary Culture (1450-1650)" of the AHRC at SOAS, London. Field of research: Apabhraṃśa literature in North India between the 15th and 17th century. (10/2008 - 12/2008)

  • Research Fellowship for postdoctoral researchers, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the University of Wuerzburg. Field of research: South-Asian religions (esp. Jainism), Rāmāyaṇa. Project: Unjust battle: different critical voices on the Vāli-vadha episode in  the Jaina Rāmāyaṇas. Promoter: Prof. Dr. Heidrun Brueckner. (May 2009 - April 2010)

Publications

  • (2005), "The influence of Svayambhūdeva's Paumacariu on Puṣpadanta's Rāma story in the Mahāpurāṇa", Shramana, January-March 2001, pp. 103-121.
  • (2005), "The Jain Ramayana", Jain Spirit 24, pp. 76-78.
  • (2005), "The Jain Rāmāyaṇa-Purāṇa: Paumacariyaṃ-Padmacarita-Paumacariu", in: Koskikallio, P. (ed.), Epics, Khilas and Purāṇas: Continuation and Ruptures (DICSEP III), Zagreb, pp. 597-608.
  • (2004-2005), "Mārkaṇḍeya's Apabhraṃśa: Prākṛtasarvasva Pāda 17-18", Bulletin d'Études Indiennes No. 22-23, pp. 121-51.
  • (2007), "Jaina Studies at the 13th World Sanskrit Conference Edinburgh, 10th-14th July, 2006", in: Flügel, P. (ed.), Jaina Studies - Newsletter of the Centre of Jaina Studies 2, pp. 15-16.
  • (2007), "Doctrinal passages of the Jain Rāmāyaṇas", in: Caillat, C. (ed.), Jaina Studies (Papers of the 12th World Sanskrit Conference, vol. 9), New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, pp. 87-99.
  • (2007), "Svayambhūdeva on the anuprekṣās (Pamacariu 54.5-16), in: Dwivedi, S. K. (ed.) Sumati-Jnāna - Perspectives of Jainism, A Commemoration Volume in the Honour of Acarya 108 Sri Sumatisagara Ji Maharaja - Budhana, Muzaffar Nagar: Acharya Shanti Sagar Chhani Smriti Granthamala, 20. Muzaffarnagar (UP), pp. 81-98.
  • (2009), The Apabhramsa of Svayambhudeva's Paumacariu (Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series 17) Mumbai: Hindi Granth Karyalay.
  • (2009), “The great men of Jainism in utero” in Vanessa R Sasson and Jane Marie Law (eds.), Imagining the Fetus: Embryology and Mythology from Around the World. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 33-55.
  • (2009), “Sleep and dreams in the Rama-kathas” in Claudine Bautze-PicronClaudine Bautze-PicronClaudine Bautze-Picron (ed.) in The Indian Night, Sleep and Dream in Indian Culture, pp. 303-328.
  • (2010), “Jaina Jatayus or the story of king Dandaka” in N. Balbir (ed.) Svasti, pp.168-175.
  • (2010), Book review of Ramayana. Book One, Boyhood, by Valmiki. Translated by Robert P. Goldman. New York: New York University Press. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 160 (2), pp. 515-519.
  • (2010), “On Jaina Apabhramsa prasasti's”, Acta Orientalia 63(3), pp. 275-287.
  • (2011), “Bhattarakas and Digambara monastic lineages of fifteenth century Gwalior : glimpses of Raïdhu's writings”, Journal of Asian History 45 (1-2), pp. 63-83.

In press or accepted for publication:

  • "Svayambhūdeva's Paumacariu and the Jain doctrine", in: Fluegel, P. (ed.), Jaina Sacred Places (Studies in Jaina History and Culture 3), London: Routledge Curzon (in press)
  • "Jaina vs. "Hindu" versions of the Rāmāyaṇa" to be published in: Dwivedi, S. K. (ed.) Sūrya-Prabhā - Studies in Jainology, A Commemoration Volume in the Honour of Acarya 108 Śrī Sūrya Sāgara Jī Mahārāja (in press).
  • "The Jaina Harivaṃśa and Mahābhārata tradition - A preliminary survey", in: Koskikallio, P. (ed.), Parallels and Comparisons in the Sanskrit Epics and Puràõas (DICSEP IV) (accepted for publication)
  • “Memories of Yoginīpura: Delhi’s Digambara merchant community after Timur came”, South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies.
  • “Non-human animals in the Jain Universal History”, Religions of South Asia.
  • “Apabhraṃśa as a literary medium in fifteenth century north India”, in Orsini, F. (ed.), After Timur Came. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • “A note on Sītā as Rāvaṇa’s daughter in the Jain Rāmāyaṇas”, Journal of Vaishnava Studies.

Forthcoming:

  • Review of Rāmāyaṇa books 2 - 4 of the Clay Sanskrit Library for Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft.
  • "Cotton in Medieval and Early Modern South-India (10th-18th century)" to be published in Parmentier, J. (ed.) Fruit of the Indian Loom.
  • "Kṛṣṇa in the Śvetāmbara canon" to be published in the proceedings of the 13th World Sanskrit Conference.
  • Translation of Rājaśekhara's Karpūramañjarī (Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series), commissioned by Manish Modi, publisher of Hindi Granth Karyalay (Mumbai).
  • Svayambhūdeva's Paumacariu (Jaina Studies Series). London: Routledge Curzon. (doctoral thesis to be translated into English, accepted by P. Fluegel, general editor of Jaina Studies Series).

Conferences

Regular participation at the Dubrovnik International Conference on the Sanskrit Epics and Purāṇas, the World Hindi Conference, the International Conference on Early Literatures in New Indo-Aryan Languages, the Annual Meeting of the Belgian Indological Association, the World Sanskrit Conference, etc.