Minor in Middle East & South Asian Studies - The Mahabharata: India's Great Epic of Strife and Salvation
RELS 3113 The Mahabharata: India's Great Epic of Strife and Salvation
CREDIT HOURS: 3
Barring perhaps the Ramayana, the Mahabharata or "Great [Epic] of India" is the most widely known and retold narrative in all South Asian tradition, and is one of the most important literary works of human civilization. The Sanskrit Mahabharata is enormous, complex, endlessly fascinating, and has remained for 2000 years the principal venue for the Hindu tradition's reflection on the dark and elusive dimensions of war, violence, civil and divine law, human destiny and freedom. This course will lead students into the colourful world of India's great Sanskrit epic, provide them with the tools for mastering the narrative itself and the scholarly issues arising from its study.
FORMAT: Seminar
PREREQUISITES:
A 2000-level
RELS course o
r permission of the instructor.