MASTER CLASS ON MAHĀBHĀRATA BY PROF VISHWA ADLURI

INDICA & CENTRAL SANSKRIT UNIVERSITY

Present

MASTER CLASS ON MAHĀBHĀRATA

A Four Day Workshop on the text, tradition, & interpretation of the epic

INDICA and Central Sanskrit University are collaborating to launch a Master’s program in Mahābhārata Studies, a rigorous graduate degree rooted in close textual reading, philosophical inquiry, and the wider Vedic intellectual tradition from which the epic emerged. The program aims to nurture a new generation of scholars who can study the Text with depth and precision, teach it with confidence, and help build a strong and growing community of Mahābhārata specialists.

From 5 to 8 January 2026, we are hosting a Master Class on Mahabharata by Prof. Vishwa Adluri, that reflects the same pedagogical depth, textual rigour, and interpretive framework that will shape the upcoming program. The venue is Lecture Hall 1, India International Centre, 40, Max Mueller Marg, Lodhi Gardens, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi – 110003.

The workshop offers an intensive text-based study of the Mahābhārata, situating it within the Vedic textual tradition. Participants will study sections from Ṛg-veda-samhitā, Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad and finally Bhāgavatapurāṇa to unearth textual connections operating under the name “Vyāsa.” This workshop will introduce the method of mīmāṁsā or interpretation, to explore how the Mahabharata itself is an interpretation of the Vedas, particularly in clarifying the intricate relationship between karma (action) and jnana (knowledge), and how this interpretation created the bhakti tradition.

Throughout the workshop, participants will delve into the epic’s critique and interpretation of varṇa (social order) and adhikāra (qualification), engaging in elaborate debates set against the backdrop of a symbolic literary yajna: war. The Mahābhārata will challenge the notion of varṇa as merely hereditary and critically deconstruct the lineage (vaṃśa) of the Kurus, offering a nuanced perspective on social and moral orders.

Through this preview we intend to give prospective students and scholars a first-hand experience of the intellectual method that the forthcoming Masters seeks to cultivate. It is designed for serious readers, researchers, and seekers who wish to study the Mahābhārata within its Vedic matrix and understand its interpretive architecture with scholarly precision.

Speakers

Prof. Vishwa Adluri

Professor, Scholar, and Speaker

Prof. Vishwa Adluri is a philosopher and Indologist known for his groundbreaking work on the Mahābhārata and the philosophical foundations of Hindu thought. He holds doctorates in Philosophy (The New School for Social Research, New York) and Indology (University of Marburg, Germany). His collaborations with Joydeep Bagchee, including The Nay Science: A History of German Indology and Philology and Criticism: A Guide to Mahābhārata Textual Criticism, have been widely acclaimed for exposing the ideological biases of colonial Indology and restoring dignity to Indian hermeneutics. Prof. Adluri’s work reveals the Mahābhārata not as a mythological epic but as a profound philosophical text that encodes the highest expressions of Hindu theology. His scholarship combines philological precision, philosophical depth, and cross-cultural insight, offering a voice that bridges ancient wisdom and modern intellectual discourse.