This course explores how this conception is the result of a historical process by examining documentable transformations in the reception of the Ramayana. Our focus will be on the shift in the classification of the Ramayana from the inaugural work of Sanskrit literary culture (adi-kavya) in Sanskrit aesthetics to a work of tradition (smrti) in theological commentaries, the differences between the Ramayana's ideal of divine kingship and medieval theistic approaches to Rama's identification with Visnu, the rise of Rama worship, and the use of Rama's divinity in contemporary political discourse.
This course explores how this conception is the result of a historical process by examining documentable transformations in the reception of the Ramayana. Our focus will be on the shift in the classification of the Ramayana from the inaugural work of Sanskrit literary culture (adi-kavya) in Sanskrit aesthetics to a work of tradition (smrti) in theological commentaries, the differences between the Ramayana's ideal of divine kingship and medieval theistic approaches to Rama's identification with Visnu, the rise of Rama worship, and the use of Rama's divinity in contemporary political discourse.
