Part 2 - First Verses of Legendary Sanskrit Works: A Five-Class Series with Deven Patel *
5:00 - 6:00 PM Eastern Time
Tuition by Open Donation; Suggested $20/session or more
This is the second part of a series of first verses of great Sanskrit works. The first verse of these works is often coded, containing something special about the text that is about to unfold. On the surface it can seem to be about one thing; on further investigation, deeper interpretations may be uncovered.
The course includes readings from a wide array of classical works of poetry, drama, philosophy, linguistics, politics and science – by poets and playwrights such as Kālidāsa, Ashvaghoṣha, Bhavabhūti and Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa, and philosophers such as Rāmānuja and Shankarāchārya.
All of the material explored is part of the ancient Vedic tradition.
Join Professor Deven Patel for one or more delightful sessions. Teacher and students will collectively work on translating the verses and discuss their meaning. These classes can either be taken as a series (recommended) or as single sessions.
Deven M. Patel is an associate professor of Sanskrit language and the literatures of South Asia at the University of Pennsylvania. He is especially interested in the Sanskrit language and literature (belles-lettres, epics, and drama); grammar and linguistics; Indian philosophy and intellectual history; as well as Pali, Prakrit, Hindi and Gujarati languages and literature. He writes on literary history and the formation of literary communities. His published works include Text to Tradition: The Naiṣadhīyacarita and Literary Community in South Asia, Columbia University Press, 2014, and Kavirājamārgam: The Way of the King of Poets (co-authored with R.V.S. Sundaram), Jawaharlal Nehru University and Manohar Publishers, 2017.
