Description
Course Description:
In this Course students will learn a select set of shlokas from Adi Shankara’s Bhaja Govindam text. The entire course will be taught in the Samskrtam language. Using special handouts, select verses of the Bhaja Govindam will be expounded to unravel both the meaning of the verses and the philosophical foundations of the bhakti tradition in Hinduism. Students will learn to think about the Bhaja Govindam from within the Sanskrit language, along with the cosmology and worldview that it represents.
Course Content:
One translation of the title “Bhaja Govindam” into English could be “Seek (the Lord) Govinda” along with its alternative name “Moha-Mudgara” i.e. “destroyer of attachments”. The Sanskrit text consists of 31 verses which in fact describe many facets of Vedantic thought. It is also a “PrakaraNa-grantha” or primer text to the major works of Adi Shankara, addressing many aspects of self-introspection.
This course is part of a series of horizontal multi-course offerings, which constitute the Satsang in Sanskrit collection offered by Hindu University of America. Being taught in Samskrtam as the medium of instruction, it is accessible to students who already possess a measure of Sanskrit Proficiency, especially in spoken (i.e. sambhaaShaNa) Samskrtam. In the process of teaching the Bhaja Govindam text, this course enables students to expand their competency in the Sanskrit language itself.
Course Learning Objectives:
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
1. Explain select concepts from the original Bhaja Govindam verses
2. Illustrate the various Sanskrit paradigms used in Bhaja Govindam
3. Recognize Sanskrit poetic structures (figures of speech) in the text
4. Communicate understanding of Bhaja Govindam in Samskrt if needed
5. Summarize nominal & internal meaning of Bhaja Govindam at basic level
6. Interpret the essence of Bhaja Govindam by synthesizing key verses
Area of Study: Sanskrit Studies
Core/ Elective:Required
Prerequisites: Admission to Program of Study, Familiarity in at least one Indic Language, willingness to understand simple Samskrtam
Instructor: Shri. Srinath Chakravarty
Day: Every Monday
Time:
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Quarter Offered:
