In Dialogue with the Mahābhārata

'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. This work is an important contribution to Indological and Dialogic Studies'. Lakshmi Bandlamudi, Professor, City University of New York. 'This wonderfully rich book by Brian Black 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, 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. This work is an important contribution to Indological and Dialogic Studies. - Lakshmi Bandlamudi, City University of New York This wonderfully rich book by Brian Black 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, Northern Arizona University In Dialogue with the Mahabharata is a nuanced study of the dialogic form in the Mahabharata. [...] One of the strongest features is its critical examination of contradictions and inconsistencies as an important part of the literary and philosophical fabric of the epic itself. [...] In Dialogue is an insightful study of dialogue and its centrality to the epic's multivalent understandings of dharma. It is an engaging read for scholars of religion and world literature, as well as non-specialists who want to grapple with the complexities of the Mahabharata. - Anusha Sudindra Rao, Reading Religion