Shankar Rajaraman

Shankar Rajaraman

Contact Information

  1. MBBS – 1994-2000, Bangalore University
  2. DPM (Diploma in Psychological Medicine) – 2003-2005, RGUHS University
  3. Research Associate – 2005-2007, at the National Institute of Mental Health And Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, in the project titled “Duration of Untreated Psychosis”
  4. MA (Sanskrit) – 2006-2008, KSOU, Mysore, 1st rank with gold medal
  5. Senior Research Associate – 2007-2008, Center for Literary Research, at Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT)
  6. Program Officer – 2008-2011, Center for Literary Research, at FRLHT MSc (Psychology) – 2011-2013, KSOU, Mysore
  7. Research Associate – 2011-2012, ICPR Project on Indian Aesthetics, at NIAS.
  8. NET (Sanskrit) – qualified on 10.11.2014
  9. Research Associate – 2018, at NIAS, under ICPR project on Consciousness and Self- reflection in Kashmir
  10. PhD (Psychology) – 2019, University of Mysore. Post
  11. Doctoral Fellowship – 2019 till date, at National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore, under the Programme “The Tata Education Trust – NIAS Consciousness Studies Programme (Kashmir Shaivism, Causality and Information Theory Project)”
  1. Research Associate at NIMHANS in the project titled “Duration of Untreated Psychosis”. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22303040/ . The job profile involved interviewing patients for obtaining their history, diagnosing, and recruiting them into the project., applying two questionnaires, IRAOS (Instrument for Retrospective Assessment of Schizophrenia) and PANSS (Positive and Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia) and examining for the presence of soft neurological signs followed by treatment and follow-up assessments
  2. Senior Research Associate at FRLHT – translated Kshemakutuhalam, a 16th century Sanskrit work on Ayurvedic dietetics, into English
  3. Program Officer at FRLHT – translated Bhojanakutuhalam, a 17th century Sanskrit work on Ayurvedic dietetics, into English
  4. Research Associate in ICPR Project at NIAS The following papers were written as part of the project • Kalidasa’s Aja – A case of complicated grief • A comparison of Bharata’s Bhayanaka vis-à-vis Darwin’s Fear Response • An English translation of Abhinavabharati, the Sanskrit commentary on Bharata’s Natyashastra, in the context of Karuna rasa and Bhayanaka rasa • A comparative literature study of Vyabhicharibhavas (transient emotions) from Bharata’s Natyashastra with corresponding entities from Ayurveda, especially Ashtanagasamgraha and Ashtangahrdaya and their commentaries • What triggers emotions? – A comparison of vibhava-s (antecedent stimuli) of selected emotions from Natyashastra and Psychology • A study of words denoting emotions in the Natyavarga of Amarakosha • A study of sattvika-bhava-s with examples as delineated by Simhabhupala in Rasarnavasudhakara
  5. Doctoral Fellow under NIAS Doctoral Fellowship • Title of thesis – A Qualitative Approach to the Psychology of Three Self-Conscious Emotions from Sanskrit Poetics • Supervisor – Prof. Sangeetha Menon, Professor and Dean, Consciousness Studies Programme, School of Humanities, NIAS, Bangalore • Shodhganga link of thesis Shodhganga@INFLIBNET: A qualitative approach to the psychology of three self conscious emotions from Sanskrit poetics
  6. Research Associate – under ICPR project on Consciousness and Self-reflection in Kashmir. The following 3 papers were submitted as part of the project • Abhinavagupta’s concept of Bhāva from the perspectives of philosophy and poetics • The tenets of Kashmir Shaivism as expounded in the poem Śrīkaṇṭhacarita • The Paramārthacarcā of Abhinavagupta with the commentary of Hara Bhatta Shastri
  7. Post-doctoral Fellow – 2019-till date, at NIAS. The details of the fellowship are as follows: Programme: The Tata Education Trust – NIAS Consciousness Studies Programme (Kashmir Shaivism, Causality and Information Theory Project) Project theme: Pratyabhijñā Philosophy, Rasa Aesthetics, and Kashmir Kāvya literature Brief description of the project: My research work can be placed under the overarching umbrella of Kashmir Monistic Shaivism/Trika philosophy. The ultimate principle in this philosophical system is a single, real, self-illuminating, self-aware, transcendental, all- pervading, eternal, absolutely free, and blissful Consciousness/Self (Saṃvit/Cit/Śiva) which, with the help of its innumerable powers (Śakti-s) manifests the multiplicity of the world around us. At a theological level, Consciousness has been correlated with the deity Śiva. At a literary level, the same Śiva has been conceptualized as a hero with several attributes. And finally, Sanskrit aestheticians have argued that the joyful aesthetic experience is the aesthete’s experience of his/her mundane mental states that are temporarily severed off from their limitations (time, etc.) and shine in the pristine light of the transcendental, blissful Self. In my research work, I aim to study the Consciousness (described in Kashmir Shaivism) in its multi-dimensionality. Specifically, I focus on the English translation of a meta-poetic work – Śrīkaṇṭhacarita – by the Kashmirian poet Mankha (12th century AD). Śrīkaṇṭhacarita is a large epic poem in 25 cantos that is also relevant to the understanding of Kashmir’s cultural history.
  • Co-guidance of Mrs. Niharika Sharma for the thesis titled “Parasamvit and Pratyabhijna: An onto-epistemic enquiry from Trika philosophy” – since 2019
  • Co-guidance of Mrs. Amrutha for the thesis titled “Theoretical Study of Two Ethnic Performances – Tirayattam and Sarpamthullal: Interpretations using Dhvani Theory” – since 2019
  • Co-guidance of Dr. Pushya – since 2021 – for her thesis that is placed at the interface of Ayurveda and well-being
  • Co-guidance of Mrs. Anna George for the thesis titled “Reverberations of Cilappatikaram and the worship of Kannaki in Kerala and Tamil Nadu” – since 2020
  1. Conducted a course titled “The Pratyabhijñā school of Indian philosophy and its importance for understanding consciousness and aesthetic experience” from August- November, 2018
  2. Lecture under the “Thinking Experiences” course titled “The Interplay of form/sound (Shabda) and content/sense (artha) in literature – a Sanskrit Poetics perspective” in November 2018
  3. 2 classes of 3hrs each under the course “Knowing, Experiencing, and Being: Methods, Applications, and Philosophies inspired by Phenomenology, Collective Frameworks, and Reflective Capabilities”, conducted at NIAS. The Module was titled “Articulating Experience – Understanding Mental States from an Indian Aesthetics Perspective” – on 12.03.20 and 13.03.20
  4. Offered an online course titled “Readings from Indian Aesthetics”: on 17th, 18th, 20th August, 2020, covered portions from 3 texts – Abhinavabharati, Vakroktijivita, and Shrngaraprakasha Links – Readings from Indian Aesthetics Lecture 1. By Dr. Shankar Rajaraman – YouTube, Readings from Indian Aesthetics Lecture 2. By Dr. Shankar Rajaraman – YouTube, Readings from Indian Aesthetics Lecture 3. By Dr. Shankar Rajaraman – YouTube
  5. Two online lectures under the NIAS Foundation Course, on 26.09.2010 and 9.10.2020, titled “Do literary characters have a self? An Indian aesthetics perspective” and “Whose emotions? Poet’s, Character’s, Actor’s, or Spectator’s?” respectively
  6. Lecture under Philosophy-Self-Consciousness Course, 05.04.2021, titled “Self and Experience in Indian Aesthetics” Link: Philosophy, Self & Consciousness Lecture 9 – By Dr. Shankar Rajaraman – YouTube
  7. Lecture under Research Writing and Communication Course, 04.05.2021, titled “The Art of Writing Well – Perspectives from Indian Knowledge System”. Link: News – NIAS CSP (niasconsciousnesscentre.org)
Published papers
  1. Rajaraman. S (2018). The West on our Poems: A critique. In K.S. Kannan (Ed.). Western Indology on Rasa: A Purvapaksha (pp. 227-249). Chennai: Infinity Foundation India
  2. Sangeetha Menon, Shankar Rajaraman, and Lakshmi Kuchibhotla (2018). Well-being and Self-transformation in Indian psychology. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies. 37(1), 13-26
  3. Rajaraman. S., & Kotamraju. V. (2018). ‘Excerpts from Kokila Sandesa – Purva Bhaga’ Museindia, Issue 80 (July-August 2018), Focus: Sanskrit Literature. https://museindia.com/Home/ViewContentData?arttype=feature&issid=80&menuid=7930
  4. Rajaraman. S. (2018). ‘Autotranslation from ‘Citranaisadham’ Museindia, Issue 80 (July- August 2018), Focus: Sanskrit Literature. https://museindia.com/Home/ViewContentData?arttype=feature&issid=80&menuid=7931
  5. Rajaraman. S. (2018). ‘Citranaisadham’, Issue 80 (July-August 2018), Focus: Sanskrit Literature. https://museindia.com/Home/ViewContentDataarttype=feature&issid=80&menuid=7941
  6. Rajaraman. S (2017). Bhoja’s Model for analysing the mental states of literary characters based on Samkhya Metaphysics. In Sangeetha Menon, Nithin Nagaraj, and VV Binoy (Eds.). Self, Culture, and Consciousness (pp. 235-258). Singapore: Springer
  7. Rajaraman. S., & Menon. S (2015). The Theory of Emotions in Sanskrit Poetics and its Implications for Psychiatric practice. Journal of Indian Psychology, 29, 34-44.
  8. Rajaraman. S., & Kotamraju. V. (2013). Sound Play and the Madhurā Vijaya of Gaṅgādevī. Asian Literature and Translation, 1, 1-17. 

Published Essays

  1. Rajaraman. S (2020). Vyutpatti (Education) in Indian Drama and Literature. margASIA, 2, 18-21

Articles in social media platform

  1. Rajaraman. S. (2018, November 22). The Place of Kāma among other Puruṣārthas: A Sanskrit Poetics perspective (Indiafacts article) http://indiafacts.org/the-place-of-kama- among-other-puru%E1%B9%A3arthas-a-sanskrit-poetics-perspective

Primary Sanskrit works

  1. Śaṅkara, Ār. (2011). Devīdānavīya. New Delhi: Samskrita Bharati (Web link – http://samskritabharati.in/preview.php?id=110)
  2. Shankar Rajaraman. (2016). Chitranaishadham. Mumbai: Niramaya Publications
  3. Rajaraman, S. (2019). Bharavatarastava. Bangalore: Preksha Pratishtana
  4. Rajaraman, S. (2019). Nipunapraghunakam. Bangalore: Preksha Pratishtana

Books translated from Sanskrit to English:

  1. Shankar Rajaraman and Venetia Kotamraju. (2013). The Conquest of Madhurā. Bangalore: Rasala (Web link: http://www.rasalabooks.com/books/poetry-kavya/madhura-vijaya/)
  2. Shankar Rajaraman and Venetia Kotamraju. (2012). The Message of the Koel. Bangalore: Rasala (Web link: http://www.rasalabooks.com/books/poetry-kavya/kokila-sandesa/).
  3. Shankar. R (trans) (2010). Bhojanakutuhalam. Bangalore: Institute of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine
  4. Shankar. R (trans) (2009). Kshemakutuhalam. Bangalore: Institute of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine

Books translated from Sanskrit to Kannada:

  1. Shankar. R (Trans) (2015). Annabhoga and padabhyangabhoga, verses 1342-1638. In Mallepuram. J. Venkatesh (Ed.) Shrisomeshwarabhupati virachita Manasollasa (part 2, pgs. 295-348). Bangalore: Daresa Publishers   

Books translated from Kannada to Sanskrit:

  1. Shankar.R (Trans) (2012). Vachanas 216-432. In H.V. Nagaraj Rao (Ed.) Vachanam. (pgs. 59-120). Bangalore: Basava Samiti

Co-edited books

  1. A.N.D. Haksar. (2016). The Ending of Arrogance. Bangalore: Rasala
  2. Usha Kishore and M. Sambasivan. (2015). Translating the Divine Woman. Bangalore: Rasala

Book reviews

  1. Rajaraman. S. (2010). Review of ‘Naturalist’s “Food-Medicine’’ for your Wellness’. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 1, p. 301.
 
  1. Talk titled “Communicating through Constraints: The Wondrous World of Citrakavya”, on 11.06.2021, under the NIAS-SERB Workshop
  2. Online talk titled “Ganesasya KavervAcAm ananya-kShuNNamArgatA” on 2.03.2021 under the seven-day international webinar titled “Modern writings in Sanskrit” conducted by Dept. of Sanskrit, University of Kerala.
  3. Talk titled “Shiva-kesAdipAda-varNanA-stotram” of AdiShankaracharya on 12.02.2021 at Rama Seva Mandali, Bangalore
  4. Talk titled “Benedictory verses from Sanskrit literature on Shiva” on 23.02.2020 at Rama Seva Samiti, Bangalore
  5. Online joint talk titled “Impersonal Joy and the Phenomenology of Aesthetic experience: Perspectives from Kant and Indian Aesthetics” along with Dr. Saurabh Todariya – 11.02.2021 as part of Reading Glass Presentation
  6. Lecture titled “Literature as Pedagogy: Insights from Indian Aesthetics” on 18.12.2020 as part of Friday Lecture Series.
  7. Online Kannada talk titled “Sanskrutakavyameemaamseyalli manovaijnyanikatattvagaLu” on 28.11.2020 under Abhijnana Foundation
  8. Online talk titled “Math, Meter, and Poetry” on 5.09.2020 as part of Namaste 2020: Global Utsava of Indian Soft Power
  9. Talk titled “The Poetic Self” under the course “Nine Dimensions of Lockdown” on 22.06.2020
  10. Co-presented (with Ms. Niharika Sharma) the talk titled “The five faces of Shiva” on 13.07.2020, under Reading Glass presentation
  11. Co-presented (with Dr. Nithin and Dr. Saurabh) the talk titled “Consciousness and Causality: Perspectives from Integral Information Theory, phenomenology, and Kashmir Shaivism” on 25.10.2019, under Reading Glass presentation.
  12. Gave a Sanskrit talk titled “Nalachampu” at Karnataka Samskrut University, Bangalore, under the series titled “Champu Kavyagala Samskruta Vaacana Vyakhyana Sarani” on 28.11.2019
  13. Presented a talk under Shaale.com on “The structuredness of Kavya with special reference to Chitrakavya” on 31.08.2019
  14. Talk titled “Applying the principles of Steganography and Pattern Poetry for figuring out faulty manuscript readings – A case study” at ISKCON, Bangalore, in the National Seminar on Cataloging, Editing, & Publishing of Ancient Indian Manuscripts on Science and Technology held between 26.03.2019 and 28.03.2019
  15. Talk titled “The greatness of Shivarathri as expounded in Sanskrit poetry” at Shri Rama Mandira, Bangalore, on 01.03.2019
  16. Presented a paper titled “Poetic conventions in the works on Banabhatta” at the National Conference on Banabhatta and his works at Karnataka Sanskrit University, Bangalore, on 12.01.2019
  17. Talk titled “Shaiva poems from Kashmir” at Hindu Sadara Kshemabhivruddhi Sangha, Bangalore, on 27.12.2018
  18. Talk titled “Intertextuality in Sanskrit texts” under the Reading Glass initiative – September 2018
  19. Talk on Abhinanda’s Ramacharita at Institute of World Culture, Basavanagudi, Bangalore, on 25.05.2018
  20. Talk titled “A Sanskrit Poetics’ Perspective on Well-being” in the International Seminar on “Altruism, Wellbeing, and Purpose: Vantage views on Planetary life and its Meaning from Biology, Indian Philosophy and the Arts”, jointly organized by METI and NIAS, on 02.02.2018, at NIAS
  21. Talk titled “Bhoja’s personality types and Erich Fromm’s Orientations – A comparison” in the seminar “Beyond the Rasa Theory: New Directions in Understanding the Natyashastra” held at NIAS, Bangalore, on 08.12.2017
  22. Paper titled “Impact of Bhagavata on Sanskrit literature” at the National Seminar on Bhagavata held at ISKCON, Bangalore, on 17.06.2017
  23. Paper in the National Seminar on “New trends in Sanskrit poetry – conference of modern Sanskrit poets” sponsored by UGC – 07.08.2015 to 08.08.2015
  24. Talk on “Sandeshakavyas in Sanskrit” at the Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs, Bangalore on 11.08.2015 and 12.08.2015
  25. Talk titled “The theory of emotions in Sanskrit poetics and its implications for psychiatric practice” under the NIAS Consciousness Studies Program, at NIAS, on 12.12.2014
  26. Paper on “Veda-s through the creative eye of Poets” organized by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and ISKCON, Bangalore – 21.07.2013 to 27.07.2013
  27. Talk on ‘Literary appreciation of Gitagovindam by Jayadeva’ organized by ‘Praharshini’, IISc – 30.03.2010
  1. Coordinating and co-organizing Svasthya-rasa-bodhini Public Lecture Series, inviting speakers to give public lectures on topics relating to indigenous health traditions, aesthetics, and the domain of knowledge in general. Co-ordinated and co-organized 10 lectures in this series, including 10 offline and 2 online. I was also the chairperson in 5 of the 10 lectures. Details of these lectures are given below – • Indian Aesthetics — Dr H V Nagaraja Rao — 25th February 2019 – chaired • Artificial Intelligence — Dr. Prabhat Shankar — 8th March 2019 • From the Sensuous to the Super-Sensuous: An Outline of Abhinavagupta’s Aesthetics — Dr C. Rajendran — 27 June 2019 – chaired • The Idea of ‘Witch’ in Central India” — Dr. Shashank S. Sinha — 23 July 2019 • God in Twenty-first Century” — Prof. Sachchidanand Mishra — 25 July 2019 • Understanding others through understanding oneself: the relevance of ‘mirror’ neurons to mental health — Dr. Urvakhsh Mehta — 28th May 2019 • Between Dionysus and Plato: Is there aesthetic thinking in ancient Greece? — Dr Soumyabrata Choudhury — 18th September 2019 • Phenomenological approach to Qualitative research” — Prof. Koshy Tharakan and Dr P Biswas — 22nd October 2019 • Language, Meaning, and Linguistic Theories — Dr Niranjan Uppoor — 1 October 2020 • Scope of Sanskrit Usage in India — Dr. Madhav M. Deshpande — 28 October 2020
  2. Kaavyaalaap: An online forum aiming at popularizing multilingual poetry and allied art forms. I co-ordinated and co-organized a total of 18 poetry sessions under this forum
  3. Took a series of 8 lectures on “Indian Psychology and Philosophy” as a Guest Lecturer at NIMHANS, Bangalore between February and March of 2014.
  4. Interview: for Indic Today, “Citrakavya: The Wonder Poetry – An interview with Dr. Shankar Rajaraman – 28.08.2019 https://www.indictoday.com/conversations/citrakavya-the-wonder-poetry-an-interview- with-dr-shankar-rajaraman
  5. U-tube interviews on “Chitrakavya” and “Relevance of poetry in modern world” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqhw_Z8mL5A 
  1. “Badarayan Vyas Samman” by the President of India in the year 2019 for contribution to Sanskrit language and literature
  2. Vagdevi Prashasti by the Akhila Bharatiya Sahitya Parishat for contribution to Sanskrit literature in 2021
  3. Bannanje Award for contribution to Sanskrit literature in 2017
  4. Professor M. Hiriyanna Sanskrit Works Award for the best Sanskrit poet of the year – for the work Devidanaviyam. The award was conferred by Karnataka Samskrutha University in 2013.
  5. Secured first rank and gold medal in MA Sanskrit
  6. Ashtavadhani in Sanskrit: Ashtavadhanam is an ancient Indian literary and memory-based feat where an Avadhani, the person who performs it, is required to simultaneously concentrate on varied literary tasks amidst constant disturbance. Have performed a total of 12 ashtavadhanams till date. Given below are two U-tube links of my Ashtavadhanam performance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUOUhi5UPlU and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xudsVBBC8s
  7. Inclusion of the poem “Bhootadhaatri tava kutra sa putrah” in the syllabus of Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi Vishwavidyalaya
  8. Wrote the Sanskrit lyrics for the first Sanskrit animation movie Punyakoti. The lyrics was set to music by the famous music composer Ilaiyaraaja
  9. Invited to recite Sanskrit poetry in ‘Dasara Kavi Goshthi’ held in Jaganmohan Palace, Mysore – 18.10.2007
  10. Advisory Board Member of the Centre for Avadhanam, jointly set up by Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Veliyanad, Kerala and Indic Academy

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