Studium der Indologie, Tibetologie, Religionswissenschaft und Germanistik an den Universitäten Bonn, Münster und Wien; Promotion in Wien 1980. Forschungsaufenthalte an der Universität von Pune und am Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, Indien von 1980-1989 (als Forschungsstipendiatin des DAAD, der DFG und des Indian Council of Historical Research, Delhi); Postdoctoral Fellow der Japan Society for the Promotion of Science an der Nagoya University (1989-1991) und der Numata-Foundation an der Kyoto University, Japan (1991-1992); Spalding Visiting Fellow am Wolfson College, Oxford (1992); Assistant Professor (1992-1994), Associate Professor (1994-1999) und Professor (seit 1999) an der University of Wisconsin-Madison; Senior Long Term Fellowship, American Institute of Indian Studies (1996); Fellowship for University Teachers, National Endowment for the Humanities (1997–1998); Research Fellowship, American Council of Learned Societies (1998); Vilas Associate Award, UW-Madison (2000-2002); Resident Fellowship, Institute for Research in the Humanities, UW- Madison (2006); Chair of the Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia, UW- Madison (2010-2013).

• Klassische Indologie, insbesondere Ritual und Ikonographie des Hinduismus und des Buddhismus in Indien und Nepal

• Der allwissende Buddha. Ein Beweis und seine Probleme. Ratnakirtis Sarvajnasiddhi übersetzt und kommentiert. Wien, 1980.
• Budha-Kausika’s Ramaraksastotra. A Contribution to the Study of Sanskrit Devotional Poetry. Vienna, 1983. Translated into Marathi, Puṇe (India), 2007; reprint 2010.
• Puja. A Study in Smarta Ritual. Vienna, 1988.
• The Worship of Mahaganapati according to the Nityotsava. Wichtrach, 1988. First Indian Edition (slightly revised). Delhi, 2003.
• Tantric Forms of Ganesa According to the Vidyarnavatantra. Indian Edition (revised and updated). New Delhi, 2008.
• The Iconography of Hindu Tantric Deities. 2 volumes. Groningen, 2000- 2001.
• Mandalas and Yantras in the Hindu Traditions (with contributions by H. Brunner, M.W. Meister, A. Padoux, M. Rastelli and J. Törzsök). Leiden, 2003. Revised Edition (hardbound and paperback), New Delhi, 2007.
• Eighty-four Asanas in Yoga. A Survey of Traditions (with Illustrations). New Delhi, 2007. Second edition (hardbound and paperback), 2011. Russian translation, 2009.
• Buddhist Iconography and Ritual in Paintings and Line Drawings from Nepal. Lumbini, 2008.
• The Life of the Buddha: Buddhist and Saiva Iconography and Visual Narratives in Artists' Sketchbooks from Nepal. Lumbini, 2012.