Theme, Language, and Meter in the Mahābhārata

This seminar will undertake systematic studies of thematic, linguistic, and metric continua in the text of the written Sanskrit Mahābhārata. We shall alternate between the discussion of important scholarly works of interpretation of the epic, important methodological controversies, and selected case studies focused upon variations in epic language and meter and the tracing of the 'threads' of important epic themes across large stretches of the epic. Prerequisite: three or more years study of Sanskrit. Instructor permission required.