A significant new chapter is opening in the academic study of the Mahābhārata. On the auspicious occasion of Vijayadaśamī, Central Sanskrit University (@CentralSanskrit ) and INDICA have announced the Master of Arts in Mahābhārata Studies (MA–MBH) — a pioneering two-year, 90-credit postgraduate programme. What makes this initiative particularly noteworthy is its attempt to approach the Mahābhārata not merely as a literary epic, but as a vast intellectual, philosophical and civilisational corpus. The programme is structured around three interconnected pillars: TEXT · RESEARCH · IMMERSION Students will engage with the Mahābhārata through Sanskrit textual sources, translations, commentarial traditions and the wider Itihāsa–Purāṇa and Śāstric corpus. Sustained engagement with original Sanskrit passages, including the Udyoga Parva, forms part of the proposed programme. But the scope goes considerably beyond textual study. The curriculum brings together questions of **Dharma, the Puruṣārthas, the Bhagavadgītā, Mokṣadharma, Ātman, ethics and human agency, alongside Rājadharma, governance, diplomacy, statecraft, social institutions, economy and ecology. It also turns towards the living presence of the Mahābhārata — its regional traditions, sacred geographies, performance traditions, cultural memory and continuing transmission across communities. Equally important is the emphasis on research methodology. Students will be trained to formulate research questions, critically examine sources and work with textual, philosophical, historical, social, cultural and interdisciplinary approaches. The programme culminates in a substantial 20-credit Capstone Project, giving students the opportunity to undertake sustained independent research in an area of Mahābhārata Studies. The pedagogical orientation — Śravaṇam · Mananam · Nididhyāsanam— is particularly evocative: attentive learning, critical reflection and deeper assimilation. At a time when there is renewed interest in Indian Knowledge Systems, the institutionalisation of Mahābhārata Studies as a postgraduate field could become an important development. The Mahābhārata has for millennia been a site of inquiry into some of the most difficult questions human beings face: How does one act when every available choice carries a moral cost? What is Dharma when duties conflict? What constitutes just governance? How should power be exercised? What is the relationship between individual responsibility and collective welfare? A serious academic engagement with these questions requires more than admiration for the epic — it requires close reading, intellectual discipline, methodological rigour and openness to multiple interpretive traditions. The proposed MA–MBH seeks to create precisely such a space. With Central Sanskrit University as the degree-awarding institution and INDICA as the academic collaborator, this initiative also represents a significant step in building institutional pathways for advanced study and research within Indian Knowledge Systems. Admissions, eligibility, commencement dates and application procedures are expected to be announced after the requisite university approvals. Details here: indica.in/announcing-a-maste… #Mahabharata #MahabharataStudies #IndianKnowledgeSystems #Sanskrit #Itihasa #Dharma #Indology #CentralSanskritUniversity #INDICA #BharatiyaKnowledge #IndianCivilisation #HigherEducation #Vijayadashami