Thirukkural in Bonus Episode, outside India series/book
I second the Thirukkural idea, but there's one problem: It doesn't fit into the post-classical Indian philosophy timeline, even if it's referenced by many later philosophers (including Gandhi). And it's not possible to insert it into the existing flow, since that will generate the need for a book revision too. So: How about a standalone Bonus Episode like the Animals series, that draws on many of the traditions covered so far but in a standalone fashion?
It looks like this is the only major classical Indian philosophical text that hasn't been covered, and if it does get a bonus episode it'll be fun to discuss how it fits into what's already on the India series. There are debates, for instance, on whether Thiruvalluvar (author of the Kural) drew on Jain thought or Upanishads, given the references to non-harm, non-violence, and veganism. And while the text is often regarded "secular ethical", it's interesting to see resemblances of stances from explicitly religious philosophies too. You could do a single episode, or two-part series of an explainer and an expert interview.
But the Thirukkural still seems anchored in its social context, whenever it was written: The text is divided into three parts, covering Virtue, Kingship, and Family Life. Notice that while virtue seems timeless, kingship was anchored in the political contexts of the day—just like Machiavelli's The Prince or Hobbes' Leviathan, to give two canonical Western examples. And of course there's the problem of pinpointing exact dates and authorship as with other ancient texts, Indian or otherwise. To reconsider the veganism case, it's interesting how the same view can be defended on multiple grounds: ancient thought to modern animal-rights ethicists.
Thirukkural in Bonus Episode, outside India series/book
I second the Thirukkural idea, but there's one problem: It doesn't fit into the post-classical Indian philosophy timeline, even if it's referenced by many later philosophers (including Gandhi). And it's not possible to insert it into the existing flow, since that will generate the need for a book revision too. So: How about a standalone Bonus Episode like the Animals series, that draws on many of the traditions covered so far but in a standalone fashion?
It looks like this is the only major classical Indian philosophical text that hasn't been covered, and if it does get a bonus episode it'll be fun to discuss how it fits into what's already on the India series. There are debates, for instance, on whether Thiruvalluvar (author of the Kural) drew on Jain thought or Upanishads, given the references to non-harm, non-violence, and veganism. And while the text is often regarded "secular ethical", it's interesting to see resemblances of stances from explicitly religious philosophies too. You could do a single episode, or two-part series of an explainer and an expert interview.
But the Thirukkural still seems anchored in its social context, whenever it was written: The text is divided into three parts, covering Virtue, Kingship, and Family Life. Notice that while virtue seems timeless, kingship was anchored in the political contexts of the day—just like Machiavelli's The Prince or Hobbes' Leviathan, to give two canonical Western examples. And of course there's the problem of pinpointing exact dates and authorship as with other ancient texts, Indian or otherwise. To reconsider the veganism case, it's interesting how the same view can be defended on multiple grounds: ancient thought to modern animal-rights ethicists.