VARANASI: Banaras Hindu University's Bharat Adhyayan Kendra has invited registrations for a certificate course on the eighteen Puranas, with details reported on Friday, November 13, 2026. The programme at the BHU campus in Varanasi runs from November 20 to December 8. Registration closes on November 19, giving interested students, teachers and researchers less than a week to make arrangements.

The official programme offers both online and in person participation, with teaching in Hindi and English. Its detailed timetable lists classes from 2 pm to 3:30 pm IST. Regular BHU students have a registration fee of Rs 1,200; students from outside the university pay Rs 2,000. Teachers, scholars and other participants are listed in a separate Rs 3,000 category.

Residents interested in joining should read the full programme, choose the applicable fee category and use the registration link supplied by the university. The hybrid format gives participants a choice of attendance mode. Anyone planning to travel to the campus should confirm the room and joining instructions with the organisers before the first session.

A programme connecting texts with the city

The university's official event entry identifies Bharat Adhyayan Kendra as both organiser and location. Its linked three page programme sets out fifteen dated sessions. The title is Major Themes of the Eighteen Mahapuranas, and the subjects extend from relationships between texts to environmental ideas, cultural geography, social memory and water conservation.

The opening session on November 20 concerns the relationship between Agama and Purana. The programme names Rajeshwar Mishra, formerly a dean and Sanskrit department head at Kurukshetra University, for that lecture. On November 21, Devesh Kumar Mishra of the Indira Gandhi National Open University is listed to discuss the relationship between Purana and Itihasa.

For readers interested in the city's own cultural geography, November 25 is the session to note. Madhav Janardan Ratate of BHU is scheduled to discuss Kashi in the Puranas through knowledge, devotion and renunciation. A separate session on December 2 covers pilgrimage places and cultural geography, with Vijay Shankar Shukla, director of Parshwanath Vidyapith in Varanasi.

Environmental themes appear at two different points in the timetable. Sharadindu Kumar Tiwari of BHU is listed for the November 23 discussion of nature and ecology. On December 7, Arpita Chattaraj of the University of Burdwan is scheduled to examine rivers, lakes and traditions of water conservation. These are listed as academic discussions of the texts.

Dates and subjects to check before registering

The programme assigns November 26 to Vastu science and November 27 to astronomy in the Puranas, followed by debate, dialogue and counterargument on November 28. The November 30 session addresses women, power, knowledge and autonomy, with Anway Mukhopadhyay of IIT Kharagpur. December 1 turns to ethics and value education.

On December 3, Raj Balkarn is listed for a lecture on concepts of public welfare, governance and Rajadharma. The programme identifies him with McMaster University's Spiritual Care and Learning Centre and as a tutor at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. December 4 covers the tradition of praise, while December 5 addresses social harmony with Ravi Shankar Pandey of Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya.

The closing session on December 8 concerns folk life, traditions, culture and social memory. It lists Shraddha Singh, professor and head of BHU's Hindi department. Applicants can use these dated subjects to assess whether the course matches their interests before completing registration, rather than relying only on its broad title.

  • Registration deadline: November 19, 2026.
  • Programme dates: November 20 to December 8, 2026.
  • Detailed timetable: 2 pm to 3:30 pm IST.
  • Attendance: online and in person.
  • Teaching languages: Hindi and English.
  • Foreign and NRI student fee: US$40, as listed in the programme.

What residents should do

The university event page links directly to the programme and its registration form. The form required account access when checked publicly; no registration was submitted for this report. Applicants should follow the university's own link and confirm any joining requirements with the course coordinators. Payment instructions are printed in the programme and should be checked there before making a transfer.

The programme names Jaya Pandey as course coordinator and Aradhana Mishra as co coordinator. It says a certificate of participation will be awarded at the end. Applicants who need clarification about attendance, the applicable fee or the precise campus venue should obtain that information from the organisers rather than assuming that a payment alone confirms every arrangement.

For other local academic and cultural background, see the earlier reports on BHU's Nepal conference invitation, the Dikshitar commemoration at BHU and MGKVP's law syllabus information. Each is a separate programme or notice with its own dates and requirements.