The Bhagavad Gita: Contested Readings of a World Classic

Undergraduate / Graduate

Few religious classics have been as variously interpreted as the Bhagavad Gītā, which is surely among the most often-translated works in the world. A text of long-standing importance in Hindu traditions, the Bhagavad Gītā has had an especially interesting career in modernity, having been of great significance not only for M. K. Gandhi, but also for the likes of Thoreau and Eliot, not to mention the many less widely appreciated interpreters for whom the text's martial setting has been of central significance. After taking some steps to situate this great Sanskrit text in the context of its early Indian history, this course will explore a representative range of its available interpretations. Along the way, it is hoped that we will learn something not only about the Bhagavad Gītā, but also about the very ideas of interpretation and understanding.