Maanasa Visweswaran

Maanasa Visweswaran completed her undergraduate degree in South Asian Studies (Sanskrit Pathway) at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London (2015–2019). During her studies, she undertook intensive Sanskrit training at the American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS), Pune (2017–2018). She subsequently pursued Classical Tamil at the University of Hamburg under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Eva Wilden and Dr. Jean-Luc Chevillard. Her Master’s thesis comprised an annotated translation of the Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai, alongside an analysis of Sanskrit influence on the text. From December 2022 to December 2025, she worked as a research associate at the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) on the project “The Use of Grantha in Classical Tamil Manuscripts.” Her doctoral research focused on an annotated translation and critical edition of the Ciṟupāṇāṟṟuppaṭai, based on the ten surviving manuscripts.

Since January 2026, she has been a postdoctoral researcher and member of the Tamilex team, specialising in the Pattuppāṭṭu corpus. Her current research aims to produce critical editions and annotated translations of the Neṭunalvāṭai and Mullaippāṭṭu, as well as an annotated translation of the Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai. She is also engaged in translation and research on the Cevvēḷ (Murukaṉ) hymns of the Paripāṭal.

Alongside Classical Tamil literature, her research interests extend to textual criticism, manuscript provenance, Tamil Śāstric literature, and Sanskrit kāvya.