In Dialogue with the Mahabharata
Lead Research Organisation:
Lancaster University
Department Name: Politics Philosophy and Religion
Abstract
This project will be the first thoroughgoing examination of dialogue in the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata, composed in Sanskrit - likely between 400 BCE and 400 CE - is a long, narrative poem that chronicles the history of the Indian people within the context of a divine struggle between good and evil. Throughout India's history, the Mahabharata has continued to be of central cultural and religious significance.
In addition to shedding new light on the Mahabharata itself, the project will demonstrate the contemporary relevance of the text in relation to a number of current debates in philosophy, politics, ethics, and religion. We will analyze all the frame dialogues, all the main discussions and debates among the central characters, and the major dialogues embedded within the main story, while at the same time examining the relationship between different dialogues with each other. Examining structural features, intertextual relationships amongst dialogues in the text, and potential avenues for a meaningful engagement with interlocutors beyond the text, this project will be both a comprehensive and programmatic study of dialogue in the Mahabharata. We will conduct our analysis by focusing on four distinct, yet interconnected, types of dialogue in the Mahabharata:
(1) dilemmas and debates: we will analyze dialogues that address a conflict or dilemma. We will relate these dialogues to the work of Mikhail Bakhtin, Hans-Georg Gadamer, and Dmitri Nikulin, with the following questions in mind: To what extent do dialogues in the Mahabharata offer a meaningful exploration of the nature of dialogue itself? What does the dialogical presentation of knowledge say about the nature of knowledge?
(2) dialogues with kings: we will analyze dialogues that feature a king. We will relate these dialogues to the work of Ashis Nandy, Amartya Sen, Rajeev Bhargava,and Charles Taylor, with these particular questions in mind: To what degree does the Mahabharata offer a precedent for Indian secularism? To what extent are the ethics of the king, as offered by the Mahabharata, compatible with more secular models of governance?
(3) dialogues with 'others': we will look at how dialogues construct social identities and negotiate the differences between such identities, whether those differences are defined along the lines of caste, race, religious tradition, or gender. We will relate these dialogues to the work of Martin Buber, Emmanuel Levinas, and Jacques Derrida with the following questions in mind: To what degree is an encounter with the other a starting point for ethical enquiry? To what degree does dialogue offer the possibility for growth or change through an encounter? To what degree do these dialogues provide an ethical framework for dealing with diversity and difference?
(4) dialogues with God: we will look at dialogues that feature a divine interlocutor, with a particular focus on Krishna. We will relate these dialogues to the work of John Hick, Rowan Williams, and Bhikku Parekh as we consider the following questions: To what extent does dialogue in the Mahabharata convey a religious pluralism? What are the theological justifications for including multiple religious views?
Throughout the project we will approach the Mahabharata as a work that has retained its cognitive value and that can therefore make important contributions, interventions, and shifts in perspective to debates going on today. Similar to the way that scholars today still fruitfully draw upon the works of classical Greek and Roman thinkers when discussing contemporary issues related to philosophy, politics, ethics, and religion, we will engage with the Mahabharata as a living and relevant work with valuable insights into the human condition.
In addition to shedding new light on the Mahabharata itself, the project will demonstrate the contemporary relevance of the text in relation to a number of current debates in philosophy, politics, ethics, and religion. We will analyze all the frame dialogues, all the main discussions and debates among the central characters, and the major dialogues embedded within the main story, while at the same time examining the relationship between different dialogues with each other. Examining structural features, intertextual relationships amongst dialogues in the text, and potential avenues for a meaningful engagement with interlocutors beyond the text, this project will be both a comprehensive and programmatic study of dialogue in the Mahabharata. We will conduct our analysis by focusing on four distinct, yet interconnected, types of dialogue in the Mahabharata:
(1) dilemmas and debates: we will analyze dialogues that address a conflict or dilemma. We will relate these dialogues to the work of Mikhail Bakhtin, Hans-Georg Gadamer, and Dmitri Nikulin, with the following questions in mind: To what extent do dialogues in the Mahabharata offer a meaningful exploration of the nature of dialogue itself? What does the dialogical presentation of knowledge say about the nature of knowledge?
(2) dialogues with kings: we will analyze dialogues that feature a king. We will relate these dialogues to the work of Ashis Nandy, Amartya Sen, Rajeev Bhargava,and Charles Taylor, with these particular questions in mind: To what degree does the Mahabharata offer a precedent for Indian secularism? To what extent are the ethics of the king, as offered by the Mahabharata, compatible with more secular models of governance?
(3) dialogues with 'others': we will look at how dialogues construct social identities and negotiate the differences between such identities, whether those differences are defined along the lines of caste, race, religious tradition, or gender. We will relate these dialogues to the work of Martin Buber, Emmanuel Levinas, and Jacques Derrida with the following questions in mind: To what degree is an encounter with the other a starting point for ethical enquiry? To what degree does dialogue offer the possibility for growth or change through an encounter? To what degree do these dialogues provide an ethical framework for dealing with diversity and difference?
(4) dialogues with God: we will look at dialogues that feature a divine interlocutor, with a particular focus on Krishna. We will relate these dialogues to the work of John Hick, Rowan Williams, and Bhikku Parekh as we consider the following questions: To what extent does dialogue in the Mahabharata convey a religious pluralism? What are the theological justifications for including multiple religious views?
Throughout the project we will approach the Mahabharata as a work that has retained its cognitive value and that can therefore make important contributions, interventions, and shifts in perspective to debates going on today. Similar to the way that scholars today still fruitfully draw upon the works of classical Greek and Roman thinkers when discussing contemporary issues related to philosophy, politics, ethics, and religion, we will engage with the Mahabharata as a living and relevant work with valuable insights into the human condition.
Planned Impact
Impact is a core feature throughout the project, as one of the aims is to open up ways of engaging with the Mahabharata to explore its contemporary relevance. In terms of impact beyond academic communities, the project will work with teachers of RE throughout the UK to develop a teaching resource to supplement and enhance the teaching of Hinduism at AS and A levels. At the end of the project, we will host a teaching workshop at Lancaster University with a focus on the teaching of Asian religions. In addition to providing the occasion for launching the teaching resource, the workshop will stage a dialogue between university lecturers and professors of Asian religions, with AS and A level teachers of Asian religions. Through both the resource and the workshop, the project will make a positive and sustained contribution to the teaching of Asian traditions that prepares students for life in multicultural Britain.
The teaching resource will draw upon examples from the Mahabharata to teach topics on Hinduism from the AS level and A level syllabi. Based on years of using the Mahabharata as a way of illustrating Hindu ideas and practices to first year university students, the PI will work together with RE teachers to devise a teaching resource that draws on the approachability of the main story, the exhaustive range of ideas that are articulated within the text, and the complex, yet accessible ways in which conflicting doctrines are brought together. Because it is available through so many mediums - from retellings and translations, to two TV series, to a range of comic books and storybooks, as well as a number of films and novels through its allegorical representations - the Mahabharata offers a unique opportunity to capture the imagination of students unfamiliar with the Hindu tradition, as well as to continue to engage and to challenge those with some degree of background with Hinduism.
The teaching resource will be in the form of an electronic slideshow, like a Keynote or Power Point presentation. It will introduce the main story and its main characters, and provide a context for the Mahabharata in relation to Hinduism and to South Asian religious and cultural traditions more generally. It will contain links to translations, retellings, articles, and the Mahabharata podcast. It will also be beautifully designed, containing vivid depictions of the Mahabharata itself, images from a range of mediums within South Asian material cultures, as well as modern images to help set a number of issues and debates explored in the text within a modern context.
The teaching resource will be aimed at year 11, 12 and 13 students and will be designed to be used by teachers and students throughout all three years. There are three main areas (out of four) of the A-level syllabus that the resource will address:
1) Belief and Sources of Authority: within this area, it will specifically address the following topics: religious pluralism; the four aims of life; concepts of karma and samsara; and the Bhagavad Gita.
2) Worship: within this area, it will address: various forms of worship.
3) Personal Deities and Family Relations: within this area, it will specifically address: the four stages of life; the caste system; diet; the means of attaining moksha; and rites of passage.
When addressing these topics, the resource will direct students to a variety of sources to examine a particular episode or group of episodes that in one way or another address the topic. It will not attempt to summarize or interpret such episodes for students, but rather encourage an engagement with these episodes by asking students to consider a number of questions. Through engaging stories, vivid characters, and vexing ethical dilemmas, the resource will help teachers explore many of the themes they already teach in concrete and creative ways.
The teaching resource will draw upon examples from the Mahabharata to teach topics on Hinduism from the AS level and A level syllabi. Based on years of using the Mahabharata as a way of illustrating Hindu ideas and practices to first year university students, the PI will work together with RE teachers to devise a teaching resource that draws on the approachability of the main story, the exhaustive range of ideas that are articulated within the text, and the complex, yet accessible ways in which conflicting doctrines are brought together. Because it is available through so many mediums - from retellings and translations, to two TV series, to a range of comic books and storybooks, as well as a number of films and novels through its allegorical representations - the Mahabharata offers a unique opportunity to capture the imagination of students unfamiliar with the Hindu tradition, as well as to continue to engage and to challenge those with some degree of background with Hinduism.
The teaching resource will be in the form of an electronic slideshow, like a Keynote or Power Point presentation. It will introduce the main story and its main characters, and provide a context for the Mahabharata in relation to Hinduism and to South Asian religious and cultural traditions more generally. It will contain links to translations, retellings, articles, and the Mahabharata podcast. It will also be beautifully designed, containing vivid depictions of the Mahabharata itself, images from a range of mediums within South Asian material cultures, as well as modern images to help set a number of issues and debates explored in the text within a modern context.
The teaching resource will be aimed at year 11, 12 and 13 students and will be designed to be used by teachers and students throughout all three years. There are three main areas (out of four) of the A-level syllabus that the resource will address:
1) Belief and Sources of Authority: within this area, it will specifically address the following topics: religious pluralism; the four aims of life; concepts of karma and samsara; and the Bhagavad Gita.
2) Worship: within this area, it will address: various forms of worship.
3) Personal Deities and Family Relations: within this area, it will specifically address: the four stages of life; the caste system; diet; the means of attaining moksha; and rites of passage.
When addressing these topics, the resource will direct students to a variety of sources to examine a particular episode or group of episodes that in one way or another address the topic. It will not attempt to summarize or interpret such episodes for students, but rather encourage an engagement with these episodes by asking students to consider a number of questions. Through engaging stories, vivid characters, and vexing ethical dilemmas, the resource will help teachers explore many of the themes they already teach in concrete and creative ways.
Organisations
Publications
Black, Brian And Ram Prasad, Chakravarthi (Eds.)
In Dialogue with Classical Indian Traditions: Encounter, Transformation, and Interpretation
| Description | The major milestones on the project after one year was: 1) reading the Mahabharata in its entirely, while taking extensive notes; 2) mapping out a detailed structure of the monograph; 3) and beginning drafts of several of the chapters. This meets the objectives we set out in our proposal for our progress after one year. After the second year, I now have completed a draft of every chaper (five in total) and am now working on book proposal. I am about one year away from finishing the monograph, but I have already met all the milestones for the end of the second year, as articulated in the proposal. We have also met the milestones for the timeframe of the conference and edited book: 1) Last summer ( 5, 6, and 7 July 2017) we hosted an international conference in Lancaster which consisted of 18 speakers, each of whom presented papers; 2) in September our book proposal for an edited volume consisting of a select group of those papers was accepted by Routledge, with the submission date scheduled to be July 2018; 3) at present we have final drafts of 13 out of 15 chapters. We hope to receive the final two chapters in the next few weeks. We will then need to edit those chapters and write an introduction, which we have plenty of time to do within the timeframe. 2/2020: I have not completed the monograph and submitted it to Routledge. It's likely publication date is summer 2020. In addition to analysing the dialogues that the book set out analyse, I made a major discovery regarding a particular understanding of dharma - the subtle nature of dharma. As I showed in my book, this description of dharma - which other scholars have already identified as one of the text's central teachings - is articulated differently by different characters, depending on who they are speaking to and their dialogical context. While other scholars have attempted to understand the meaning of this aspect of dharma in terms of etymology, I have explored this term rhetorically to show that the various meanings argued by other scholars all can be true, but none of them explain the meaning of the phrase in all circumstances. My analysis also has brought attention to several meanings and implications of the term that have never been noticed by previous scholarship. Currently, now that I have submitted the manuscript, I am working on two articles to explore further the meanings and implications of the subtle nature of dharma. Meanwhile the manuscript as been very well received by two peer reviewers: This wonderfully rich book by Brian Black takes dialogue as its starting point in examining the Mahabharata, and shows that some of the philosophical and literary features of the text emerge from the Upani?ads. His work emphasizes the often noted subtlety of the dharma in the Mahabharata, and brilliantly shows how that subtlety carries different connotations depending on who is speaking, and the circumstances. This insightful work provides depth and specificity to our view of the text's presentation of the dharma as subtle, and is a major contribution to our understanding of the Mahabharata. - Bruce M. Sullivan. Author of K???a Dvaipayana Vyasa and the Mahabharata: A New Interpretation, and other works. Professor Emeritus, Northern Arizona University. In an ocean of studies on the Grand Epic - The Mahabharata - Brian Black's voice is unique, fresh and compelling. In a careful and detailed dialogic reading of select plots involving central characters like Bhishma, Draupadi, Duryodhana and Sri Krishna, the author points out inherent dialogicality in the epic text. By the time the text ends, it becomes clear that the Epic text not only invites, but also promotes Dialogic Consciousness. This work is an important contribution to Indological and Dialogic Studies. - Lakshmi Bandlamudi. Author of Dialogics of Self, The Mahabharata and Culture: The History of Understanding and Understanding of History. Professor, City University of New York. |
| Exploitation Route | A number of participants to the conference said it was the best academic conference they had ever attended. One of the greatest legacies of the conference will not only be the edited collection, but also the way in which the participants continue to explore the importance of dialogue in their own work. We genuinely feel that a number of scholars will continue to work with the same material, but with fresh eyes and new sets of questions because of the stimulating discussions that took place during the conference. 2/2020: One of the participants at the conference and contributors to the edited volume is currently planning a conference on pluralism to lead to an edited volume in my book series. HIs conference and proposed book is based on template of our dialogue conference and will include some of the same schools, but different ones as well. 2/2020: Another participant in the workshop is currently working on an AHRC proposal on the Mahabharata that will focus on modern interpretations and its performative dimension. His proposal is very much inspired by the format of In Dialogue with the Mahabharata. |
| Sectors | Education Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
| Description | As outlined in our Pathways to Impact, we have established a working relationship with six schools that teach Hinduism at GCSE and/or A Level. Last year we visited all six schools; this academic year we have already visited two of these schools and have scheduled visits to the other four. At each visit we have given a talk and led an exercise on the Mahabharata and our particular approach to it. As with last year, we have been piloting the teaching resources through the school visits and have collected feedback forms from our visits. We know that our findings are being used because the teachers are already using the draft resources we are making. In addition to meeting the objective we set out in our Pathway to Impact, over the past two years we have expanded our initial plans for impact activities by getting further financial support from Lancaster University. This further funding is allowing us enhance our impact activities in the following ways: 1) hire teaching assistants to accompany the PI on the school visits: this makes the group work more interactive and dynamic; 2) hire teaching assistants to contribute to making the teaching resources: the PI is still making the main resources, but by getting others involved, this project will now have a higher number and wider range of teaching resources; 3) pay for additional teachers' conferences: the AHRC grant only pays for one teachers' conference at the end of the project, but by getting money from our university, we are likely to have one every year during the project, which means that we are working with teachers even more closely than we had originally planned, which also helps our impact have a wider reach; 4) pay for videos to be included as part of the resources: in addition to providing power points and worksheets (as envisaged on our application), our teaching resources will now include videos, which should enhance the reach of the overall impact; we recorded the videos last week and they are currently being edited. The final versions of the videos will be completed in plenty of time to be showcased at this year's teaching conference; 5) pay for digital photography of a Mahabharata manuscript; since receiving the award, the research team has become aware of a manuscript at Edinburgh University library with beautiful illustrations of the story; we now have the funds from our university and permission from Edinburgh University library to have professional digital photos of the illustrations and to include those photos in the teaching resources. The digital photographs were taken last July and we now have copies of each photo, which we have permission to use in our resources. Images from the photographs might also be included in the videos. 2/2020: The impact from this project has now been selected as one of our department's Impact Case Studies for REF 2021. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2016 |
| Sector | Education |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal |
| Description | Influence on teaching |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | The impact work consists of three components: 1) school visits; 2) annual teachers' conferences; and 3) creating teaching resources. School Visits: Each academic year, Dr Black visits 6-10 schools, accompanied by one or two research students per visit. The format is to deliver 2-3 teaching sessions per visit. Each session consists of a half-hour talk and a half-hour of discussion based on the talk. Each talk is accompanied by a slide-show (in either the format of Keynote or Power Point), which includes traditional and modern images that help students visualise the narrative context. Although Dr Black and his students have been making school visits dating back to 2014, for the past three years they have worked closely with six schools in particular, as this is according to the impact component to Dr Black's AHRC-funded research grant. These schools are: Winstanley (Wigan); Blue Coat School (Liverpool); Alun (North Wales); Finham Park (Coventry); Altrincham Grammar School for Girls; and Nunthorpe Academy (Middlesbrough). During this time they have also visited several other schools when invited and funding could be secured from the department or faculty. These include: Ashton Sixth-Form College (Manchester), Asheville College (Harrogate), Broughton High School (Preston), Bruton School for Girls (Somerset), Burnley College (Greater Manchester), Kingdown School (Warminster), Monkwearmouth Academy (Sunderland), Newcastle Sixth Form (Newcastle), Southam College (Warwickshire), St Mary's Catholic High School (Newcastle), Wilsthorpe Community School (Derbyshire), York College (York). Funding for Dr Black's transportation and accommodation comes from his AHRC grant, while funding for the transportation, accommodation, and hours worked by the research students has come from 4 different internal grants that Dr Black has secured from Lancaster University. Teachers' Conferences: For the past two years, Dr Black has organised teachers' conferences on Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam that are held at Lancaster University. Each day of the conferences covers subject knowledge that teachers from the partner schools have advised are particularly challenging to teach or for which there are few to no existing resources. The talks at the teachers' conferences then serve as a template for the teaching resources. The conferences allow Dr Black and his impact team to reach a wider audience of teachers than the 6-10 school visits can allow. Each year approximately 120 teachers attend the conferences over the three day period. The cost of these conferences has been covered by the department and the faculty, with this year's Hinduism conference paid for by the AHCR grant. Teaching Resources: Over the past two years, Dr Black and his impact team have produced over 40 teaching resources for teachers on Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. The resources are of three types: 1) slide show presentations that include key facts, passages from primary sources, discussion questions, and suggestions for further reading; 2) Handouts that include a single passage and discussion questions; 3) and three podcasts delivered by Professor Ram-Prasad specifically on key concepts in Hinduism. The slide show presentations are first piloted during the school visits, updated for the teachers' conferences, and then polished for distribution to the teachers. The handouts are based on activities introduced during the school visits. The podcasts cover material that has been suggested by the partner teachers. Thus, all three types of resources have been made in collaboration with teachers, with much of the material having been tested out in the classroom. Also, the slides and handouts have been beautifully designed with images from classical and modern India. Many of the Hinduism resources include images from a beautifully illustrated manuscript of the Mahabharata that has been digitised with an impact fund that Dr Black received from Lancaster University. All resources are made available within two weeks after the conferences - in time for teachers to use as they begin planning their lessons for the subsequent academic year. The resources are made available electronically through a drop-box folder that is accessible to our network of over 250 teachers across the UK. To date there have been more than 350 downloads of the resources. Dr Black's impact work has proven to be particularly timely because of recent changes in the exam board specifications that demand more familiarity with primary sources. The focus on Indian religious such as Hinduism and Buddhism (as well as some impact work on Islam) is particularly valuable because the exam boards offer fewer and less detailed resources on Asian religions as they do for Christianity. A number of teachers have said that their decision to continue to teach Asian religions is because of the support the resources have provided. |
| Description | School engagement activities |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The impact work consists of three components: 1) school visits; 2) annual teachers' conferences; and 3) creating teaching resources. School Visits: Each academic year, Dr Black visits 6-10 schools, accompanied by one or two research students per visit. The format is to deliver 2-3 teaching sessions per visit. Each session consists of a half-hour talk and a half-hour of discussion based on the talk. Each talk is accompanied by a slide-show (in either the format of Keynote or Power Point), which includes traditional and modern images that help students visualise the narrative context. Although Dr Black and his students have been making school visits dating back to 2014, for the past three years they have worked closely with six schools in particular, as this is according to the impact component to Dr Black's AHRC-funded research grant. These schools are: Winstanley (Wigan); Blue Coat School (Liverpool); Alun (North Wales); Finham Park (Coventry); Altrincham Grammar School for Girls; and Nunthorpe Academy (Middlesbrough). During this time they have also visited several other schools when invited and funding could be secured from the department or faculty. These include: Ashton Sixth-Form College (Manchester), Asheville College (Harrogate), Broughton High School (Preston), Bruton School for Girls (Somerset), Burnley College (Greater Manchester), Kingdown School (Warminster), Monkwearmouth Academy (Sunderland), Newcastle Sixth Form (Newcastle), Southam College (Warwickshire), St Mary's Catholic High School (Newcastle), Wilsthorpe Community School (Derbyshire), York College (York). Funding for Dr Black's transportation and accommodation comes from his AHRC grant, while funding for the transportation, accommodation, and hours worked by the research students has come from 4 different internal grants that Dr Black has secured from Lancaster University. Teachers' Conferences: For the past two years, Dr Black has organised teachers' conferences on Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam that are held at Lancaster University. Each day of the conferences covers subject knowledge that teachers from the partner schools have advised are particularly challenging to teach or for which there are few to no existing resources. The talks at the teachers' conferences then serve as a template for the teaching resources. The conferences allow Dr Black and his impact team to reach a wider audience of teachers than the 6-10 school visits can allow. Each year approximately 120 teachers attend the conferences over the three day period. The cost of these conferences has been covered by the department and the faculty, with this year's Hinduism conference paid for by the AHCR grant. Teaching Resources: Over the past two years, Dr Black and his impact team have produced over 40 teaching resources for teachers on Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. The resources are of three types: 1) slide show presentations that include key facts, passages from primary sources, discussion questions, and suggestions for further reading; 2) Handouts that include a single passage and discussion questions; 3) and three podcasts delivered by Professor Ram-Prasad specifically on key concepts in Hinduism. The slide show presentations are first piloted during the school visits, updated for the teachers' conferences, and then polished for distribution to the teachers. The handouts are based on activities introduced during the school visits. The podcasts cover material that has been suggested by the partner teachers. Thus, all three types of resources have been made in collaboration with teachers, with much of the material having been tested out in the classroom. Also, the slides and handouts have been beautifully designed with images from classical and modern India. Many of the Hinduism resources include images from a beautifully illustrated manuscript of the Mahabharata that has been digitised with an impact fund that Dr Black received from Lancaster University. All resources are made available within two weeks after the conferences - in time for teachers to use as they begin planning their lessons for the subsequent academic year. The resources are made available electronically through a drop-box folder that is accessible to our network of over 250 teachers across the UK. To date there have been more than 350 downloads of the resources. Dr Black's impact work has proven to be particularly timely because of recent changes in the exam board specifications that demand more familiarity with primary sources. The focus on Indian religious such as Hinduism and Buddhism (as well as some impact work on Islam) is particularly valuable because the exam boards offer fewer and less detailed resources on Asian religions as they do for Christianity. A number of teachers have said that their decision to continue to teach Asian religions is because of the support the resources have provided |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |