We are offering a full-time position (2yrs+3yrs) as postdoctoral research assistant to contribute to the ERC Starting Grant project “Medicine, Immortality, Moksha: Entangled Histories of Yoga, Ayurveda and Alchemy in South Asia.” The project is located at the department for South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies of the University of Vienna. The position is to be filled from 1st July 2015 or at the earliest possible time until 30th June 2017, with the possibility of a further three years extension. The gross salary for the full time position will be in the range € 49.644,00 --  € 55.003,20 per annum.

Candidates must hold a PhD degree in Indology, South Asian studies or related fields. Eligibility criteria include excellent knowledge of Sanskrit and/or classical Tamil and interest in medieval yoga literature. Experience in working with manuscripts, expertise in haṭhayoga literature, Tamil (Siddha) medical literature, ayurvedic literature and rasaśāstra literature would be advantageous.

The successful candidate will work as part of a team of three postdoctoral researchers in an ERC-funded project that will examine the histories of yoga, ayurveda and rasaśāstra from the tenth century to the present, focussing on the disciplines' health, rejuvenation and longevity practices. The goals of the project are to reveal the entanglements of these historical traditions, and to trace the trajectories of their evolution as components of today's global healthcare and personal development industries. Please refer to the project’s website ayuryog.org for further details on the project.

The successful candidate´s research will focus on the influence of ayurveda and rasaśāstra on haṭhayoga traditions and/or Siddha medicine between the twelfth and the eighteenth centuries, translating and analysing haṭhayoga/Siddha texts from that period.