The planned project aims to examine the role of canons and standards in the linguistic and cultural history of a specific geographical region (i.e. the South Asian subcontinent, particularly India) using an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach. The project will also explore the phenomena and processes that led to the formation of these canons and standards, and how they were preserved, renewed and received. Although the individual research projects cover several areas (e.g. language, literature, religion and philosophy), we always pose our research questions from a unified perspective. In other words, we strive to reveal the patterns specific to South Asia that individuals (e.g. poets or philosophers) or social groups (e.g. speakers of a language or dialect, or representatives of a religion or sect) have expressed in relation to the canons and standards that serve as reference points.

Another subject of investigation is how innovation arises within a given tradition, and the possibilities for renewal and establishing new directions. The project aims to examine the role of canons and standards in a well-established cultural tradition. While we assume that many elements of this complex topic have remained constant in South Asia over the centuries, we must also consider diachronic changes and diatopic variations in the treatment of canons and standards. Our research is embedded in international canon studies and, by using its conceptual framework and methodology, we expect the results to lead to a new understanding of tradition, development, archaism and innovation.