
Sanne Mersch
PhD candidate
- Name
- Dr. S. Mersch
- Telephone
- +31 71 527 8797
- s.mersch@hum.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0002-2904-7895
Sanne Mersch is a PhD candidate at the Institute for Area Studies.
More information about Sanne Mersch
Fields of interest
Purāṇa literature, classical Hinduism, Śaivism, philology, Sanskrit manuscripts
Research project
From Universe of Viṣṇu to Universe of Śiva
PhD research
Counter-Narratives: Parallel Themes in Ś́aiva and Vaiṣṇava Mythology
Supervisor: prof. dr. P.C. Bisschop
After several centuries of religious dominance by Vaiṣṇavism as the foremost Hindu tradition in Northern India, including the privilege of being supported by royal courts, Śaivism rapidly took over to become the major tradition in the 6th-7th century. It is in this period that one of the founding documents of Śaivism came into existence: the Skandapurāṇa. Not only is it a source of new Śaiva material, such as yet unseen myths about god Śiva and his wife Pārvatī, but it also contains myths and narratives that have been taken over from other Hindu traditions. This PhD research will address those myths and narratives that have been incorporated by the Skandapurāṇa from Vaiṣṇava texts, primarily the Viṣṇupurāṇa and the Harivaṃśa, and have been remodeled after Śaiva believes; and how Śiva himself is portrayed in these early Vaiṣṇava texts. Having investigated how, why and by whom these myths were incorporated and remodeled, the research aims at answering the question of what role myths and narratives played in the shift of Vaiṣṇavism towards Śaivism as the primary Hindu tradition in medieval Northern India.
CV
Jan 2016 –today |
PhD-candidate at Leiden Institute of Area Studies, Leiden University |
Sep 2011 – Aug 2013 | Research Master ‘Area Studies: Asian Studies’ (cum laude), Leiden University and Universität Hamburg |
Sep 2007 – Aug 2011 | Bachelor ‘Comparative Indo-European Linguistics’, Leiden University |
PhD candidate
PhD candidate
No relevant ancillary activities