Pranshu Samdarshi

Dr. Pranshu Samdarshi is Associate Professor at Nalanda University, Rajgir, India. His research specialises in the history and literature of Himalayan Buddhism across India, Nepal, and Tibet.

Dr. Samdarshi earned his Ph.D. in History from the University of Delhi, where his doctoral thesis examined the relationship between sacred feminine imagery in Mahāyāna Buddhism and its ritual practices. He also holds an M.A. and an M.Phil. in Buddhist Studies, as well as a Diploma in Pāli, from the University of Delhi. Alongside his formal academic training, he has studied Buddhist philosophical texts under traditional masters for over two decades.

His principal research interests include historiographical questions in Buddhism, the Madhyamika philosophical tradition, visualisation-based meditation practices, and Kashmir Śaivism. A significant portion of his scholarship is devoted to the esoteric (Tantric) Buddhism of India, Nepal, and Tibet.

He is the author of two monographs and numerous research papers, articles, book chapters, and reviews, published by Routledge, Cambridge University Press, The Hindu Group, the Publications Division of India, and the Delhi University Journal. He has been awarded both Junior and Senior Research Fellowships by the University Grants Commission (UGC), India, and has contributed course modules on Buddhism and History to the UGC’s SWAYAM platform.

Prior to his present appointment, Dr. Samdarshi served as Assistant Professor at the International Centre for Spiritual Studies, Amrita University, Bengaluru. He has also been invited to design and teach courses at the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Gangtok, and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi, India.