About this course
This course surveys the greatest devotees (bhaktas) celebrated across Hindu scriptures—Veda–Upanishads, Itihasa (Ramayana and Mahabharata), Puranas (Bhagavata, Shiva, Devi), and the Tamil bhakti canon (Alvars and Nayanmars). Learners will meet exemplary figures whose lives embody courage, surrender, love, service, and wisdom, and see how devotion is portrayed across diverse traditions and eras....
What you'll learn
- Identify major devotees across Veda–Upanishads, Itihasa, Puranas, and Tamil bhakti literature
- Explain archetypes of bhakti and their scriptural contexts
- Compare Rama-centered and Krishna-centered devotional models
- Analyze devotional narratives in the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, and Bhagavata Purana
- Recognize distinct Vaishnava, Shaiva, and Shakta devotional ideals and practices
- Situate the Alvars and Nayanmars within the South Indian bhakti movement
- Trace thematic continuities and variations in devotion across time and region
- Read and interpret primary devotional passages with historical and literary awareness
Prerequisites
No prior background in Hindu studies required; comfortable reading academic and translated primary texts is helpful.
- Level
- Intermediate· Level
- Duration
- 8 weeks· Duration
- Language
- English· Language
- Modules
- 10· Modules
Skills you'll gain
- Scriptural literacy
- Comparative religious analysis
- Textual interpretation
- Historical contextualization
- Cultural literacy of Hindu traditions
- Close reading of devotional narratives
- Critical thinking about religious practice
- Scholarly writing on religion
- Appreciation of devotional diversity
What you'll study
10 modules — work at your own pace.
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