The Power of Words: Joy and Teaching in Indian Classical Literature

Date: June 3, 2021

 

Speaker: QU Yang (Harvard University)

The lecture introduced the Sanskrit literary theorists represented by Bharata, Daṇḍin, Bhāmaha, Rājaśekhara, and Abhinavagupta and their discourses, and discussed Kuntaka’s Vakroktijīvit’s theory. Secondly, the talk attempted to explore the meaning of prīti and vyutpatti in classical Indian literature by reading passages from Kuntaka’s Vakroktijīvitam. The lecture was succinct and engaging. Qu used graphs, modern case studies and offered a lively introduction to the theory of Sanskrit Literary Criticism.