The Mahabharata is a very fascinating and versatile scripture whose relevance is growing over time. The Mahabharata Upanayanam course does a great job of gathering up the lesser known but also the interesting and influential aspects of Mahabharata. I joined the course given my initial interest of the great Ithihasa. What the program has helped me achieve is understand the scriptures in greater detail and it has widened my view of the world itself. One aspect that I liked was that the course is self-paced and the continuous dialogue that the group had during the course of the program.

The Mahabharata Upanayanam is a great course that brings out the breathtaking beauty, pearls of wisdom, values, and principles from the greatest epic mankind has ever seen. The academic setting means that the course lays down facts, opens itself up for questions, and separates itself from perspectives and folklore, very much to the delight of a theology student as to a layperson. It looks at the various characters, their situations and tries to highlight the complexities of the decision-making process, the consensus and compromises they make, and the resulting fortunes and misfortunes.