Recalling his own long-ago transition from China to India, our host previews our journey’s next stop, where we will immerse ourselves in the literature of a spectacular culture. Marked by classics like the Rig Veda (1500 – 1200 B.C.) and the Upanishads (ca. 900 B.C.), the Ramayana (ca. 550 B.C.), and the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita (400 B.C. – 400), classic Indian literature is known for its deep engagement with universal questions like how the world was created, what our understanding of God is and can be, how we should treat one another, and what it means to be human. Jacke Wilson prepares our palate for a feast of Indian literature, one of the greatest achievements in the history of civilization.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:12 — 15.5MB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS | More Subscribe Options

Show Notes:

You can find more literary discussion at jackewilson.com and more episodes of the series at historyofliterature.com.

Contact the host at jackewilsonauthor@gmail.com or by leaving a voicemail at 1-361-4WILSON (1-361-494-5766).

Further Reading:

The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic (Penguin Classics) (tr. Narayan)

The Ramayana: A Modern Retelling of the Great Indian Epic (tr. Menon)

The Bhagavad Gita (Classics of Indian Spirituality) (tr. Easwaran)

Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation (tr. Mitchell)

The Upanishads (Classic of Indian Spirituality) (tr. Easwaran)

The Upanishads: Breath from the Eternal (tr. Prabhavanada)

Classic Indian Cooking (Julie Sahni)

The Norton Anthology of World Literature (Third Edition) (Vol. Package 1: Vols. A, B, C)

Music Credits:

“Handel – Entrance to the Queen of Sheba” by Advent Chamber Orchestra (From the Free Music Archive / CC by SA).

“Jalandhar” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0