Hamsa Stainton
McGill University
Poet-prayer scholar: Poetry as Prayer (OUP 2019) on Kashmir's stotra genre incl. nondual authors; Stutikusumāñjali first study; Sāhib Kaula lineage hymns with Williams; edits Muktabodha KSTS translation series.
Bio. Poetry as Prayer in the Sanskrit Hymns of Kashmir (OUP 2019): stotra as theology and practice, bhaktirasa before the Vaiṣṇavas, first European-language study of Jagaddhara Bhaṭṭa's Stutikusumāñjali. Co-edits Tantrapuṣpāñjali (with Bäumer, 2018); Kaula hymn editions/translations with Ben Williams (forthcoming Dec 2026); co-edits SUNY Muktabodha KSTS series incl. Śivasūtravimarśinī with Kaul/Williams.
Read with
Abhinavagupta — Abhinavagupta as poet-theologian
Bhattanarayana — Kashmir hymn genre; Stavacintamani era
Lalla (Lal Ded, Lalleshvari) — Kashmiri devotional poetry in context
Utpaladeva (Utpalacarya) — Śivastotrāvalī as prayer-theology
McGill University · status: active · dates: active since 2019 — OUP monograph 2019; Naropa/Munk records confirm joint projects to 2026
Poetry as Prayer in the Sanskrit Hymns of Kashmir (OUP 2019) 2019
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Used for: stotra genre; Utpaladeva/Abhinavagupta/Kṣemarāja as poet-theologians
The Guru as Śiva: Gurustutiratnāvalī of Govinda Kaula (2021) 2021
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Used for: early-modern guru-praise; Kashmir Śaivism after the masters
Hymns of the Kaula Lineage (with B. Williams, forthcoming Dec 2026) 2026
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Used for: Sāhib Kaula descendants; 17th–19th c. continuity
Sources & corrections: edit source →. bio + bibliography live here.