New Delhi: Amidst a controversy over the affidavit on Lord Ram filed by the government in the Supreme Court, the warrior prince's advice to his brother Bharat as he embarked on a 14-year exile in the epic Ramayana has become part of material for management studies. The episode where Lord Ram is leaving for vanvas has been incorporated in a course on public administration and management by the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthanam, an autonomous body under the Union human resource development ministry.

The course also contains Bheeshma's advice to Yudhishtir, described in the great epic Mahabharata. "We have designed a course on public administration and management, which is based on relevant aspects of Lord Ram's advice to Bharat on good governance. The relevant aspects from the Mahabharata will also be included," its Vice Chancellor V Kutumbshastri said.

Lord Ram had asked Bharat about 400 questions on governance when the younger brother requested him not to go into exile, he noted. "All the questions related to the principles of administration. The questions and other conversations with Bharat had an underlying message -- what is the thrust of good governance, how public grievances should be taken care of and so on," he said.

The entire conversation has a lot of relevance in present times to improve public administration, Kutumbshastri said. Besides this, there are several instances in the Ramayana of Lord Ram speaking on issues of public administration and these will find a place in the course material too, he said. "The relevant material has already been collected and the study material is in the process of preparation. The course structure is in the final stages of being finalised," Kutumbshastri said.

The institute has set up a committee, which is looking into the study material and course structure. "Hopefully, the course will be launched within a few
months. It will be in distant education mode," Kutumbshastri said. "Pitamaha Bheeshma, when he was lying on a bed of arrows, had given certain advice to Yudhishtir on better management of public services. These things will be included in the study material," he said.

Asked whether the course could be affected in view of the recent controversy over the government's affidavit on the Sethusamudram project, which was later withdrawn, he said it has nothing to do with the row. The institute, set up to promote Sanskrit education in the country, has got the permission from the Distance Education Council to start courses in distance mode, Kutumbshastri said. This may initially be a three-month certificate course
that will later be upgraded into a diploma or advanced diploma course, he said.