Part of Paryushan & Das Lakshan English Speaker Series 2026
Fasting During Paryushan and Das Lakshan
Thu, Sep 24 · 9:00 PM EDT
Prof. Carol Rodriguez Gutierrez on what fasting means in Jain practice - and how it is lived transnationally.
About this session
Fasting is the most visible Jain practice of these days and the least understood outside the tradition. Prof. Carol Rodriguez Gutierrez, PhD, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Arihanta Institute whose doctoral research explored contemporary Jainism in transnational spaces, sets out what the fasts are, what they are for, and how Jains away from India keep them.
Speaker
Prof. Carol Rodriguez Gutierrez, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow · Arihanta Institute
Carol Rodriguez Gutierrez is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Arihanta Institute. She received her PhD in 2026 from the Religion Department at the University of Florida, where she explored contemporary Jainism in transnational spaces. Her research interests include Jain studies, religious and cultural identity in transnational communities, Sanskrit literature, gender and narrative traditions.