Department
Department of Religion
Phone
+1 (210) 9998433
Email Address
gclines@trinity.edu
Room
Dicke Hall, 224

Gregory M. Clines joined the Religion Department in 2018. He received a B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Virginia in 2009, an M.A. in Religion from Columbia University in 2010, and a Ph.D. from Harvard University's Committee on the Study of Religion in 2018. His research focuses on pre-modern Jain narrative literature in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and north-Indian vernacular languages.

Education

  • Ph.D., Harvard University
  • M.A., Columbia University
  • B.A., with High Distinction, University of Virginia

Selected Publications

  • Jain Rāmāyaṇa Narratives: Moral Vision and Literary Innovation. Routledge. April 2022.
  • “Samādhimaraṇotsāhadīpaka: Illuminating the Power of Death in Meditation,” English translation of Sanskrit text, Asian Literature and Translation 12, no. 1 (2025): 1-29.
  • “Heroism or Detachment: Reading Hastimalla’s Añjanāpavanañjaya.” In Literary Transcreation as a Jain Practice, edited by Eva De Clercq, Heleen De Jonckheere, and Simon Winant, 77-94. Ergon Verlag, 2025.
  • “Guys who Bond: Fraternal Love in Hemacandra’s Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacarita.” Cracow Indological Studies 25, no. 1 (2023): 319-342.
  • “Narrative and Doctrine: The Visceral Work of Karma in Raviṣeṇa’s Padmapurāṇa.” In Emotions in Jain Philosophy and Practice, edited by Aleksandra Restifo and Miki Chase. Forthcoming.

Subjects Taught

  • Asian Religions
  • Hinduism
  • Jainism
  • Buddhism
  • Religion and the Environment
  • Religion and Literature
  • Theory and Method in the Study of Religion

Teaching and Expertise

  • Jainism
  • Early Modern South Asia
  • Sanskrit Literature and Literary Theory

Honors & Awards

  • Distinguished Early Career Faculty Teaching and Research Award, Trinity University, 2025
  • Professor Ram Karan Sharma Award for Promising Emerging Scholar in Sanskrit Studies, International Association of Sanskrit Studies, 2023