Dr Rakesh Verma
On the auspicious occasion of Vijayadasami—a day traditionally associated with the triumph of knowledge and the beginning of new learning—the Central Sanskrit University (CSU) and the INDICA Academy announced a pioneering academic venture: a Master of Arts in Mahabharata Studies (MA–MBH). This two-year, 90-credit postgraduate programme, the first of its kind in India, seeks to elevate the study of the epic from a component of broader Indological or Sanskrit curricula to a fully fledged, interdisciplinary discipline in its own right.
The announcement, signals a significant shift in how Indian higher education engages with its civilisational texts. While the Mahabharata has long been studied within departments of Sanskrit, Hindu Studies, or Religious Studies, the MA–MBH programme is designed to treat the epic not merely as a work of literature or mythology, but as a comprehensive intellectual, philosophical, and civilisational corpus that demands dedicated, rigorous, and sustained inquiry.
Beyond Literature: A Civilisational Text
The foundational premise of the programme, as outlined in its concept note, is that the Mahabharata scope is vast and its contemporary relevance undeniable, yet its study has remained fragmented. The epic has shaped India’s intellectual, cultural, and social traditions for centuries, influencing commentaries, regional retellings, art, theatre, religious practices, sacred geography, and living traditions across the subcontinent and beyond. Despite this pervasive influence, the note argues, the epic has rarely been taught through a dedicated and expansive postgraduate course that integrates its text, philosophy, society, and civilisation into a single, coherent framework. The MA–MBH aims to fill this void.
“This will be the first full-time course in India dedicated to Mahabharata studies,” said Dr. K. Manogna, Assistant Professor in the Department of Vedanta at CSU, in an interaction. The programme is being developed in collaboration with INDICA, a non-profit organisation focused on Indian philosophical and cultural traditions, which has previously collaborated with CSU on academic initiatives, including a master class on the Mahabharata by Professor Vishwa Adluri. This partnership underscores a shared commitment to fostering a new generation of scholars who can engage with the text with both depth and precision, and who can teach it with confidence.
The curriculum is structured around three core pillars—text, research, and direct experience—and is organised into four broad domains: text, thought, society, and civilisation. Students will not only engage in close readings of the Sanskrit primary text and its varied commentaries but will also explore the epic’s treatment of the Bhagavad Gita, dharma, ethics, statecraft, diplomacy, social institutions, and even environmental thought. The programme further extends its inquiry into regional retellings, sacred sites, cultural memory, and the living impact of the Mahabharata on contemporary society.
A Pedagogy Rooted in Tradition and Modernity
What sets the MA–MBH apart is its deliberate integration of traditional Indian pedagogical principles with modern postgraduate research methods. The course will adopt the classical framework of sravanam, mananam, and nididhyasanam—listening and learning with attention, reflecting deeply, and internalising knowledge through sustained contemplation. This is complemented by contemporary academic training, including a mandatory 20-credit final research project, a public presentation of findings, and a comprehensive viva voce examination. The aim is to produce scholars who are not only well-versed in the text but also capable of independent research and public scholarship.
The programme is designed for students who have completed a four-year undergraduate degree, or a three-year undergraduate degree followed by a two-year postgraduate degree in any discipline. “The idea is to bring in students who have already worked in a specific field,” Dr. Manogna explained. “We want to help them understand how the teachings of the Mahabharata can be applied in their respective domains”. This interdisciplinary admission policy reflects the programme’s ambition to foster a diverse cohort of researchers, educators, and practitioners who can carry the insights of the epic into fields as varied as law, management, psychology, and public policy.
Building an Academic Ecosystem
The collaboration between CSU and INDICA extends beyond the classroom. The two institutions plan to cultivate a robust academic ecosystem around Mahabharata studies, encompassing guest scholars, research collaborations, fellowships, special lectures, book publications, and structured interactions with traditional knowledge holders and cultural institutions. Students will have opportunities to work with scholars, practitioners, archives, and living traditions associated with the epic, ensuring that their learning is grounded in both textual rigour and experiential engagement. This initiative is also positioned as part of a broader effort to promote Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) in higher education through systematic postgraduate study and research.
The announcement on Vijayadasami carries symbolic weight. The festival, which celebrates the victory of the divine and the commencement of learning, provides a fitting backdrop for a programme that seeks to reclaim and revitalise the study of a text that has been central to India’s self-understanding for millennia. For the Central Sanskrit University, which has traditionally focused on Sanskrit language and literature, the MA–MBH represents a strategic expansion into interdisciplinary, research-driven postgraduate education. For INDICA, it is a step toward institutionalising the study of the Mahabharata as a civilisational resource rather than a mere historical artefact.
Challenges and Opportunities
The launch of the programme also raises important questions about pedagogy, access, and outcomes. The Mahabharata is a vast and complex text, and teaching it as a standalone discipline requires a careful balance between philological rigour, philosophical interpretation, and contemporary relevance. The programme’s emphasis on the Vedic intellectual tradition and its integration of traditional pedagogical methods will need to be complemented by critical, comparative, and theoretical frameworks to prepare students for global academic conversations. Furthermore, the success of the initiative will depend on the quality of faculty, the availability of accessible translations and study materials, and the ability to attract students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds.
Nevertheless, the MA–MBH represents a bold and necessary intervention. In a global academic landscape where the study of epics is often confined to area studies or religious studies departments, the creation of a dedicated, credit-bearing postgraduate programme in Mahabharata Studies is a significant development. It acknowledges that the Mahabharata is not just a text to be read but a world to be inhabited—a corpus that contains within it profound reflections on ethics, politics, psychology, cosmology, and the human condition.
As the Central Sanskrit University prepares to roll out the programme in the upcoming academic session, with the application process to be announced shortly, the eyes of the Indian academic community will be on this experiment. If successful, it could pave the way for similar dedicated programmes in other civilisational texts, marking a new era in Indian higher education where the study of the past is not merely an exercise in antiquarianism but a living dialogue with the ideas that continue to shape the present. For now, the message from Vijayadasami is clear: the Mahabharata is ready for the classroom, and the classroom is ready for the Mahabharata. |
