The Bhāgavata Purāṇa: Text and Reception

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa narrates the stories of Kṛṣṇa and other gods and is rich with philosophical and theological discourse. Though relatively late, it became one of the most prominent religious texts, attracting many formal commentaries from the 13th century into the modern period. In this course, students will apply their knowledge of the foundational grammar of language to interpret the complex, poetic language of the Bhāgavata, and learn the language and idioms of scholastic Sanskrit to access the interpretations of centuries of the Purāṇa's audiences.