ERC Synergy MANTRAMS Project
@mantrams.bsky.social
Mantras in Religion, Media, and Society in Global Southern Asia. A Synergy Project funded by the European Research Council. Grant N° 101118934
In so doing, it acknowledged the inseparable interconnectedness with, and profound impacts that territorial deity cosmologies have had on, Tantrism—both Śaiva and Buddhist.
📷 Photos:
1. Conference Poster
2. Presentation by SAS Sarma
📷 Photos:
1. Conference Poster
2. Presentation by SAS Sarma
November 7, 2025 at 1:11 PM
In so doing, it acknowledged the inseparable interconnectedness with, and profound impacts that territorial deity cosmologies have had on, Tantrism—both Śaiva and Buddhist.
📷 Photos:
1. Conference Poster
2. Presentation by SAS Sarma
📷 Photos:
1. Conference Poster
2. Presentation by SAS Sarma
These are intertwined in textual and non-textual traditions, as well as written and oral manifestations of mantras and supernatural efficacious practices (‘magic’, and management of such entities) by ritual specialists—whether exponents of Indic, Sinitic, or animistic religions.
November 7, 2025 at 1:11 PM
These are intertwined in textual and non-textual traditions, as well as written and oral manifestations of mantras and supernatural efficacious practices (‘magic’, and management of such entities) by ritual specialists—whether exponents of Indic, Sinitic, or animistic religions.
Framed as a collaboration between ERC MANTRATANTRAM and ERC MANTRAMS, it approached territorial deities and/as Nāgas in a comparative fashion as markers of a phenomenon that can be regarded as an integral feature of the Tantra-influenced cultures of Monsoon Asia.
November 7, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Framed as a collaboration between ERC MANTRATANTRAM and ERC MANTRAMS, it approached territorial deities and/as Nāgas in a comparative fashion as markers of a phenomenon that can be regarded as an integral feature of the Tantra-influenced cultures of Monsoon Asia.
📌On 19th and 20th September, a conference took place at Harris Manchester College at the University of Oxford (UK), titled Nāgas and Territorial Deity Cosmologies in Monsoon Asia: Tantras, Mantras, and Worldly Rituals in Comparative Perspective.
November 7, 2025 at 1:11 PM
📌On 19th and 20th September, a conference took place at Harris Manchester College at the University of Oxford (UK), titled Nāgas and Territorial Deity Cosmologies in Monsoon Asia: Tantras, Mantras, and Worldly Rituals in Comparative Perspective.
📷 Photo Credits:
1. Self-portrait
2. Giriraj, Krishna in the form of a mountain rock (photo by Prema Goet)
3. Fieldwork at Radhakunda, with Nitai Das (photo by Ferdia G)
1. Self-portrait
2. Giriraj, Krishna in the form of a mountain rock (photo by Prema Goet)
3. Fieldwork at Radhakunda, with Nitai Das (photo by Ferdia G)
July 4, 2025 at 11:20 AM
📷 Photo Credits:
1. Self-portrait
2. Giriraj, Krishna in the form of a mountain rock (photo by Prema Goet)
3. Fieldwork at Radhakunda, with Nitai Das (photo by Ferdia G)
1. Self-portrait
2. Giriraj, Krishna in the form of a mountain rock (photo by Prema Goet)
3. Fieldwork at Radhakunda, with Nitai Das (photo by Ferdia G)
(cont'd.) and the relationship between the aniconic materiality of mantras and the somatic experiences provided by embodied practices amongst the practitioners of rāgānugā bhakti at the greater area of Vrindavana in Uttar Pradesh, India.
July 4, 2025 at 11:20 AM
(cont'd.) and the relationship between the aniconic materiality of mantras and the somatic experiences provided by embodied practices amongst the practitioners of rāgānugā bhakti at the greater area of Vrindavana in Uttar Pradesh, India.
Goet’s thesis focuses on the translocality of sacred spaces within the lived and imagined Gaudiya Vaishnavism cartography
July 4, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Goet’s thesis focuses on the translocality of sacred spaces within the lived and imagined Gaudiya Vaishnavism cartography
📌His doctoral research at University of Vienna combines multi-disciplinary methodologies from across various fields.
July 4, 2025 at 11:20 AM
📌His doctoral research at University of Vienna combines multi-disciplinary methodologies from across various fields.
He has produced and published films and books on material culture and performative rituals ranging from popular to ascetic practices in Vaishnava communities, Shaiva and Shakta tantras, folk religion, Newar Buddhism, Himalayan animism and more.
July 4, 2025 at 11:20 AM
He has produced and published films and books on material culture and performative rituals ranging from popular to ascetic practices in Vaishnava communities, Shaiva and Shakta tantras, folk religion, Newar Buddhism, Himalayan animism and more.
He holds a B.A., in Sanskrit and South Asian Studies and an M.A., in Philosophy and Religion from The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) – University of London. Goet possesses a wide range of theoretical and practical expertise in ethnographic fieldwork in South Asia.
July 4, 2025 at 11:20 AM
He holds a B.A., in Sanskrit and South Asian Studies and an M.A., in Philosophy and Religion from The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) – University of London. Goet possesses a wide range of theoretical and practical expertise in ethnographic fieldwork in South Asia.
He is an ethno-indologist, artist and multi-disciplinary researcher whose main interest lies in ritual and visual studies, intellectual history, cultures and languages of South Asia.
July 4, 2025 at 11:20 AM
He is an ethno-indologist, artist and multi-disciplinary researcher whose main interest lies in ritual and visual studies, intellectual history, cultures and languages of South Asia.
Additionally, by focusing on the marginalized voices of Dalit women, her research will also explore how sound, silence, and listening reclaim agency within male-dominated public soundscapes.
📷 Photo Credits:
Image 2- Painting by P. B. Madakwar, showing Dr. Ambedkar, the Buddha, and Deekshabhoomi.
📷 Photo Credits:
Image 2- Painting by P. B. Madakwar, showing Dr. Ambedkar, the Buddha, and Deekshabhoomi.
July 1, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Additionally, by focusing on the marginalized voices of Dalit women, her research will also explore how sound, silence, and listening reclaim agency within male-dominated public soundscapes.
📷 Photo Credits:
Image 2- Painting by P. B. Madakwar, showing Dr. Ambedkar, the Buddha, and Deekshabhoomi.
📷 Photo Credits:
Image 2- Painting by P. B. Madakwar, showing Dr. Ambedkar, the Buddha, and Deekshabhoomi.
It further investigates the interplay between the "religious" and "secular" in neo-Buddhist Dalit practices and explores how these auditory forms reshape urban spaces into sites of belonging and resistance.
July 1, 2025 at 7:54 AM
It further investigates the interplay between the "religious" and "secular" in neo-Buddhist Dalit practices and explores how these auditory forms reshape urban spaces into sites of belonging and resistance.
Devyani’s research aims to understand how these sonic practices shape and transform both physical and social landscapes creating social agency and reasserting identities.
July 1, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Devyani’s research aims to understand how these sonic practices shape and transform both physical and social landscapes creating social agency and reasserting identities.
She will do so by revisiting physical spaces of cultural significance in the annual Dalit calanders such as Chaityabhumi in Mumbai, Deekshabhumi in Nagpur, and Mahad to name a few, and explore the intersection of religious sounds and spaces for Dalit Buddhists.
July 1, 2025 at 7:54 AM
She will do so by revisiting physical spaces of cultural significance in the annual Dalit calanders such as Chaityabhumi in Mumbai, Deekshabhumi in Nagpur, and Mahad to name a few, and explore the intersection of religious sounds and spaces for Dalit Buddhists.
📌Devyani’s research for MANTRAMS focuses on the role of sonic elements—such as mantras, chanting, greetings, and slogans—in the assertion of Dalit identity, visibility, and resistance in urban spaces of Western India.
July 1, 2025 at 7:54 AM
📌Devyani’s research for MANTRAMS focuses on the role of sonic elements—such as mantras, chanting, greetings, and slogans—in the assertion of Dalit identity, visibility, and resistance in urban spaces of Western India.
Her master's thesis explored the impact of anti-caste ideological discourse on the creation of popular prints and iconographies. Additionally, she has explored themes in South Asian art history and visual culture, with a particular focus on Dalit Neo-Buddhist popular practices in Maharashtra.
July 1, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Her master's thesis explored the impact of anti-caste ideological discourse on the creation of popular prints and iconographies. Additionally, she has explored themes in South Asian art history and visual culture, with a particular focus on Dalit Neo-Buddhist popular practices in Maharashtra.
She also holds a second master's in Social Work in Dalit and Tribal Studies and Action from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India.
July 1, 2025 at 7:54 AM
She also holds a second master's in Social Work in Dalit and Tribal Studies and Action from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India.
She is also in charge of navigating transparency and access with data protection and vulnerabilities as well as the digital sustainability of the project and data.
📷 Photo Credits:
1.Marshia Khan
2. Edda Sofie Schwarzkopf
📷 Photo Credits:
1.Marshia Khan
2. Edda Sofie Schwarzkopf
June 25, 2025 at 10:45 AM
She is also in charge of navigating transparency and access with data protection and vulnerabilities as well as the digital sustainability of the project and data.
📷 Photo Credits:
1.Marshia Khan
2. Edda Sofie Schwarzkopf
📷 Photo Credits:
1.Marshia Khan
2. Edda Sofie Schwarzkopf
She negotiates and collaborates with technicians, and carries the digital data coming in to the OMnibus, an immersive multimedia website that will be a key deliverable of the project.
June 25, 2025 at 10:45 AM
She negotiates and collaborates with technicians, and carries the digital data coming in to the OMnibus, an immersive multimedia website that will be a key deliverable of the project.
📌While most MANTRAMS team members are heading out into the world, Edda's work is mostly concerned with holding down the technical fort at home. She develops, maintains and mends the MANTRAMS Data Hub, our cloud infrastructure.
June 25, 2025 at 10:45 AM
📌While most MANTRAMS team members are heading out into the world, Edda's work is mostly concerned with holding down the technical fort at home. She develops, maintains and mends the MANTRAMS Data Hub, our cloud infrastructure.
With a background in Cultural Anthropology, Conflict Studies, Communication Studies and having completed a M. Sc. Digital Humanities, she is located at the intersection between project members and research data management institutions like the Digital Humanities Center at the University of Tübingen.
June 25, 2025 at 10:45 AM
With a background in Cultural Anthropology, Conflict Studies, Communication Studies and having completed a M. Sc. Digital Humanities, she is located at the intersection between project members and research data management institutions like the Digital Humanities Center at the University of Tübingen.