India’s Great Epics

South Asia 142

Spring Semester 2021
MWF 11:10–12 Noon
Remote Version

Professor Robert P. Goldman

email: rpg@berkeley.edu
Office Hours: By Appointment

Course Requirements: Midterm Exam (30%); Term Paper (40%); and Final Exam (30%).

Important Dates:
Midterm Exam: Friday, March 19.
Term Paper: Due: Friday, April 9.
Final Exam: Tuesday, May 11, 7:00–8:00 PM.

Required Texts:
1. The Mahābhārata. Abridged and Translated by John Smith. Penguin Classics. 2009 (Smith) If you
do not already have this volume from a previous course, you need to order it online from
penguinrandomhouse.com, Amazon or another online source asap.
2. Course Reader in India’s Great Epics. Two Volumes (CR I and CR II). Both Readers are under the
‘files link’ (files > Mahābhārata Reader; files > Rāmāyaṇa Reader) on the bCourses website as are
files of bibliographical materials and scholarly articles for your research papers in CR I (pp. 167–
178).

Requirements

EXAMS: There will be one midterm exam during the class period on Friday, March 19th and a
final exam to be held during the regularly scheduled examination period on Tuesday, May 12th,
7:00–8:00 PM. Each of these exams will account for 30% of the grade.

TERM PAPER: There will be one ten–page research paper (around 3000 words) due on Friday,
April 12th. It must be submitted under the assignments link on the bCourses site in MS Word or
pdf format. The paper will account for 40% of the course grade.

A Selected Bibliography for Term Paper Research is found on pp. 167–185 (pdf
pagination) of CR I.

READINGS: Students will be responsible for all required readings listed in the syllabus.
GRADING RUBRIC: Grades on the three written assignments are calculated on a
percentage basis and are not curved. Grades are awarded according to the following
rubric:

98 and above = A+
95–97 = A
90–94 = A-
85–89 = B+
80–84 = B
75–79 = B-

And so on down the scale with scores in each succeeding lower set of 5 percentage points
awarded a corresponding letter grade one half grade below the next highest as in B+, B, B-)

REQUIRED READINGS
Course Readers:

All required readings, including both primary and secondary materials, will be available in the
form of a paperback abridgement and translation of the Mahābhārata (Smith) and a two volume
Course Reader (CR I [Mahābhārata Course Reader] and CR II [Rāmāyaṇa Course
Reader]). The Course Readers are available in the Files folder of the bCourses site.

NOTE: All page numbers for the Course Readers refer to the pagination of the PDF-s.
Ignore the pagination on the printed source materials and that found at the bottom of the
Readers’ pages.

SYLLABUS, CALENDAR AND READING LIST

Jan. 19– Jan. 22 Readings: The Mahābhārata (Smith, pp.

xi–lxx; CR I: Sukthankar, “The Mahā-
bhārata and its Critics,” pp. 10–26; Gold-
man, “Kāvyamaya Itihāsa…” and Goldman,
“Keśin…” (both in “General Epic Articles”
under the files link).

Jan. 25–Jan. 29 Readings: Smith, pp. 1–63, 68–89; CR I:

Sutherland, “The Bad Seed,” pp. 27–43

Feb. 1–Feb. 5 Readings: Smith, pp. 104–163, 214–233;

CR I: Goldman, “Masters of the Earth,” pp.
46–56.
Feb. 8–Feb. 12 Readings: Smith, pp. 166–176; CR I:
Ramanujan, “Repetition in the
Mahābhārata,” pp. 57–82.

Feb. 15–Feb. 19 Readings: Smith: pp. 243–281; CR I

Goldman, “Fathers, Sons, and Gurus,” pp.
83–118.

PRESIDENTS’ DAY HOLIDAY—NO CLASS

MONDAY, FEB. 15

Feb. 22–Feb. 26 Readings: Smith: pp. 305–316, 349–412;

CR I: Goldman, “Gods in Hiding,” pp. 119–
134.

Mar. 1–Mar. 5 Readings: Smith: pp. 454–525; CR I:

Matilal, “In Defense of a Devious Divinity,”
pp. 135–145.

Mar. 8–Mar. 12 Readings: Smith: pp. 538—58; CR I:

Goldman, “Eṣa Dharmaḥ Sanātanaḥ,” pp.
147–166.

Mar. 15–Mar. 19 Readings: Smith: pp. 703–791.

MIDTERM EXAM (Mahābhārata) FRIDAY, MARCH 19

SPRING RECESS MARCH 22–26

Mar. 29–April 2 Readings: CR II: Goldmans, The Vālmīki

Rāmāyaṇa and the Rāmāyaṇa Tradition;
Goldman, Bāla Kāṇḍa, pp. 60–91; 106–109;
112–116. Goldman, “Matricide. . pp. 117–
125.

TERM PAPER DUE FRIDAY, APRIL 9

April 5–9 Readings: CR II: Pollock, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa,

pp. 129–144; 150–162;165–197; 200–209;
218–231.; Goldman, “Rāmaḥ
 Sahalakṣmaṇaḥ: Psychological and Literary
Aspects of the Composite Hero of Vālmīki’s
Rāmāyaṇa,” pp. 232–252.

April 12–16 Readings: CR II: Pollock, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa

pp. 254––262; 267–274. ; Araṇya Kāṇḍa,
pp. 280–347;
Ramanujan, “Three Hundred Rāmāyaṇas,”
pp. 351–364.

April 19–23 Readings: CR II: Pollock, Araṇya Kāṇḍa

pp. 366–413; Lefeber, Kiṣkindhā Kāṇḍa pp.
414–448; Masson, “Fratricide Among the
Monkeys,” 449–456.

April 26–30 Readings: CR II: Lefeber, Kiṣkindhā

Kāṇḍa, pp. 457–472; Goldmans, Sundara
Kāṇḍa, pp. 473–602; Goldmans, Yuddha
Kāṇḍa, pp. 603–649; Goldmans, Uttara
Kāṇḍa, pp. 650–739; Mumme “Rāmāyaṇa
Exegesis,” pp. 740–747.

May 3–7 RRR Week

FINAL EXAM TUESDAY, May 11, 7:00–8:00 PM