Elena Mucciarelli

Elena Mucciarelli is an Assistant Professor for Hinduism in the Sanskrit Tradition and Gonda Lecturer at the University of Groningen's Faculty of Religion, Culture and Society. Her research focuses on Vedic rituals, South Asian performance traditions, and medieval religious texts. She holds a Ph.D. from the Universities of Turin-Milan and Tübingen, with a dissertation on semantic shifts in Vedic rituals. Mucciarelli has held fellowships at institutions like the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and directed the Institute of Indian Studies. Her work bridges textual analysis, performance studies, and epigraphy, with notable projects including the Epigraphia Carnatica digitization and studies on Kūṭiyāṭṭam theater.

Her research interests include ritual language evolution, Sanskrit theater (e.g., Kūṭiyāṭṭam), Malayalam literature, and inscriptions as historical sources. Awards include the Martin Buber Society Fellowship and ERC-funded projects. She teaches courses on religious concepts, media, and heritage studies, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches.