Hugo David

Hugo David is a Lecturer in Philosophy and Philology (Sanskrit) at the École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO), based at the Pondicherry Centre. He specializes in Advaita-Vedānta, Vedic hermeneutics (Mīmāṃsā), and the history of Indian linguistic thought.

• PhD from EPHE (2012), supervised by Gerdi Gerschheimer
• Newton International Fellow at University of Cambridge
• Postdoctoral work at Vienna Academy of Sciences
• Chief Editor of the "Indologie" collection (2016–present)
• Director of Indology Department at French Institute of Pondicherry (2020–2022)

His research focuses on ancient Indian systems analyzed through their own foundations and historical developments. Key projects include a critical edition of Bhartṛhari's Vākyapadīya auto-commentary, the Vyaktiviveka in Sanskrit poetics, and philosophical doxography in old Tamil. Since 2018, he leads a large-scale palm-leaf manuscript preservation initiative in Kerala.

Scientific Awards:

• Newton International Fellowship