Learn from debates and discussions in the Upaniṣads, Darśnas, epics, and legends to get an overview of the history, development, and nature of Va̅daparaṁpara̅ which is the Indian tradition of argumentation.
Since ancient times, India has a rich tradition of Va̅da. India's intellectual tradition has thrived, flourished, and progressed on the strong foundations of debates and argumentation on various ideas and thoughts. As a result, diverse perspectives and theories were shaped. This tradition of Va̅da imbibed the democratic and pluralistic values in the intellectual discourse of India which is a unique feature of Indian civilization.
Indian Literature offers various theories of Va̅da, classifies different types of Va̅da, and also provides ample stories of debates and dialogues from the scriptures, legends, and epics. Right from the Upaniṣads, the texts on the philosophy, poetics, and polity, to the Maha̅bha̅rata, the Ra̅maya̅ṇa, and other classical literature and even till modern times, the tradition of Va̅da i.e. argumentation imparted philosophical, political, social, cultural and civilizational wisdom. Such a rich tradition of Va̅da stands strong at the roots of Indian intellectual tradition.
The term Va̅da refers to debate, argumentation, dialogue, discussion, discourse, and even theory. It is one of the 16 categories of discussion (padārtha) according to the doctrine of the Nyāya-sūtras by Akṣapāda. These discussions or padārthas represent a method of intellectual analysis and categorize everything that is knowable and nameable.
Theoretical aspects of Va̅da as discussed in ancient Indian literature.
Overview of the history, development, and the nature of such tradition of argumentation in the Indian subcontinent.
Cases of debates and discussions from the Upaniṣads, Darśnas, epics, and legends.
Develop critical thinking, and an inquisitive approach.
Build individual perspective and opinion-making capability.
Starting from : Saturday, 17th September 2022
10-Hour Course
A Series of 5 Classes
Sat 7:30-9:30 pm IST
Check your local time here
Interact with the tutor and ask questions in a Zoom class
5-Week duration. Live-Interactive class every Saturday
Recorded lectures available for the duration of 6 months
Get a Certificate of Participation after completing the course
Prerequisite: None!
15+ age group is preferred in this course. The explanation will be in the English language.
Day 1: Nature of Va̅da, Brief Classification of Va̅da, Rules and Ethics of Va̅da, History and Development of Va̅da tradition, Nature of Va̅dasabha̅ in Ancient India
Day 2: History of Va̅da, Prominent Texts on Va̅da in Indian literature
Day 3: Rules and Theory of Va̅da, Debates from the Upaniṣads
Day 4:Debates from Maha̅bha̅rata, Ra̅maya̅ṇa, Debates from Philosophical and literary texts.
Day 5: Debates of Śaṅkara̅ca̅rya, Debates from Socio-political texts.
There are no pre-requisites for this course. Anyone above the age of 15 can join.
English will be the medium of instruction.
The classes will happen on Saturdays from 7:30 to 9:30 pm IST. If you stay in a different timezone, you can check your local time here - Saturday, 7:30 pm IST to my local time.
These classes will be conducted on Zoom video conferencing tool. Download it here Zoom on PC/Mac, Android and iPhone/iPad
Once you enroll for the classes by paying the course fee via online payment, we will send you joining details and regular class notifications through email and WhatsApp.
The classes will be recorded and made available for a duration of 6 months.
The course fee is non-refundable.
Every participant gets a certificate of participation!
