Third Kumārila conference (18–22 May 2026)

elisa freschi — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 18:01:41 +0000

Kumārila is one of the rare thinkers who are truly irreplaceable. Sanskrit philosophy would not have been the same without his contributions to epistemology (e.g., his epistemology of absence, of linguistic communication, his theory of intrinsic justification…), philosophy of action, deontics, hermeneutics and ontology. Still, his work is partly untranslated and largely understudied. A group of scholars started meeting in 2024 with the shared purpose of studying Kumārila and making him accessible to scholars of philosophy. As a result of the first two Kumārila conferences, a reader on Kumārila will be published by OUP at the end of 2026. During this third conference scholars will translate, analyse and discuss new passages by Kumārila in 2- or 3-hours sessions. Younger scholars (including students) will also be invited to the conference and will deliver shorter talks.

Preliminary program

Monday May 18th (Kumārila’s Ślokavārttika 1)
Chair: John Nemec
8.30 onwards: Breakfast
9–10 Alessandro Ganassi, The final argument from Śūnyavāda’s pūrvapakṣa: how the nature of things can be contradictory (ŚV, sūnyavāda)
10–10:15 Tea break
10:15-11:15am Zihao Wu, Toward a more comprehensive understanding of svataḥprāmāṇya: suspension of awareness beyond temporal sequence
11:15–11:30 Tea break
11:30–12:30 Devansh Bharadvaj, Kumārila on the perception of the self (ŚV, ātmavāda)
12:30–2 Lunch break
Chair: Daniele Cuneo
2–4:30: Taisei Shida, Ślokavārttika Śabdādhikaraṇa vv. 1–19b & 163c–201b

Tuesday May 19th (Kumārila’s Ślokavārttika 2; Kumārila’s Tantravārttika 1)
Chair: Manasicha Akepiyapornchai
8:30 onwards: Breakfast
9–10: Sarju Patel, svataḥprāmāṇya in Kumārila and Bhāsarvajña
10–10:15 Tea break
10:15–12:45: Jonathan Peterson, brāhmaṇapratyakṣa (TV)
12:45–2:15 Lunch break
Chair: Ajay Rao
2:15-4:45pm: Andrew Ollett, āgnēyyadhikaraṇa (TV ad 3.2.8)
4:45–5: Tea break
5–6: Aaron Minnick, Kumarila on caste (TV ad 1.2.2)

Wednesday May 20th (Kumārila’s Tantravārttika 2)
Chair: Vincent Lee
8.30 onwards: Breakfast
9–10: Nirali Patel, Kumārila has his yogic cake and eats it: Kumārila on ātmatuṣṭi (TV 1.3.adh.7)
10–10:15 Tea break
10:15–12:45: Alessandro Graheli, Kumārila on Grammar in the vyākaraṇādhikaraṇa (TV 1.3.adh. 9)
12:45–2:15 Lunch break
Chair: tbd
2:15–4:45: Monika Nowakowska, upāṃśuyājādhikaraṇa (TV ad MS 2.2.9-12)
4:45–5 Tea break
5-6: Nilanjan Das, Kumarila on the meaning of common nouns

Thu May 21st (Kumārila’s Tantravārttika 3)
Chair: Munena Moiz
8.30 onwards: Breakfast
9–10 Kiyotaka Yoshimizu, Nitya or Kāmya from the Mīmāṃsā Viewpoint (TV ad 2.4, adh. 1)
10-10.15: Tea break
10.15–12:45: Larry McCrea, vacanavyakti from Grahaikatvādhikaraṇa (TV ad 3.1.7, pp. 705-709 in the Anandashrama 1st ed.)
12:45-2:15pm Lunch break
Chair: Jesse Pruitt
2:15-4:45pm: Akane Saito, śeṣatvasya lakṣyanirdeśādhikaraṇa and teṣāmarthādhikaraṇa (TV ad MS 3.1.3-6, 7-10)

Fri May 22nd (Kumārila’s Tantravārttika 4, Kumārila’s Ṭupṭīkā)
Chair: Shashank Rao
8:30 onwards: Breakfast
9–11:30: Kei Kataoka, The Definition of a Single Sentence in Kumārila’s Tantravārttika: A Translation of the Ekavākyatālakṣaṇādhikaraṇa (TV 2.1.46)
11:30–11:45: Tea Break
11.45–12.45: Akane Saito, Theories of Error in Medieval Indian Philosophy, with special focus on Kumārila
12:45-2:15: Lunch break
Chair: tbd
2:15-4:45pm: Elisa Freschi adhikāra (ṬṬ ad 6.1.1–3)

Venue: University of Toronto, Mississauga campus

elisa freschiThird Kumārila conference (18–22 May 2026) – elisa freschi

Third Kumārila conference (18–22 May 2026)