In this workshop, presenter Seok-hyo Cho will explain how 13th-century Tibetan scholar and Buddhist thinker Sakya Paṇḍita Kunga Gyaltsen (Sa skya Paṇḍita Kun dga’ rgyal mtshan, 1182–1251, hereafter referred to as Sapan) laid the foundation for Tibetan academic disciplines through his studies of Sanskrit and Indian scholarship. Specifically, the presentation will cover the following points:

1. Sapan’s understanding of Sanskrit and his emphasis on its necessity in scholarly pursuits.
2. The influence of Sapan’s pioneering translation of Daṇḍin’s Kāvyādarśa (Snyan ngag me long, Mirror of Poetry) on the prosody and stylistic expressions in later Tibetan scholarship.
3. The impact of his studies on Indian rasa theory on subsequent interpretations of Tibetan arts.