In Dialogue with the Mahabharata

与摩诃婆罗多对话

• 批准号: AH/M008827/1
• 负责人: Brian Black
• 金额: $ 11.5万
• 依托单位: Lancaster University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2016 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FM008827%2F1
• 关键词: Dialogue; Mahabharata

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.

这一项目将是对《摩诃婆罗多》中对话的第一次彻底审查。《摩诃婆罗多》（Mahabharata）是一部以梵文写成的叙事长诗，可能在公元前400年至公元400年之间，它记录了印度人民在善与恶之间的神圣斗争背景下的历史。纵观印度历史，《摩诃婆罗多》一直具有重要的文化和宗教意义。除了对《摩诃婆罗多》本身进行新的阐释外，该项目还将展示该文本与当前哲学、政治、伦理和宗教辩论的相关性。我们将分析所有的框架对话，中心人物之间的所有主要讨论和辩论，以及嵌入主要故事中的主要对话，同时检查不同对话之间的关系。研究结构特征，文本中对话之间的互文关系，以及与文本之外的对话者进行有意义参与的潜在途径，该项目将是对《摩诃婆罗多》对话的全面和纲领性研究。我们将通过关注《摩诃婆罗多》中四种不同但相互关联的对话类型来进行分析：（1）困境和辩论：我们将分析解决冲突或困境的对话。我们将把这些对话与米哈伊尔·巴赫金、汉斯-格奥尔格·伽达默尔和德米特里·尼库林的著作联系起来，并考虑以下问题：《摩诃婆罗多》中的对话在多大程度上提供了对对话本身性质的有意义的探索？知识的对话性呈现对知识的本质有何说明？(2)与国王的对话：我们将分析以国王为主角的对话。我们将把这些对话与阿希斯·南迪（Ashis Nandy）、阿马蒂亚·森（Amartya Sen）、拉吉夫·巴尔加瓦（Rajeev Bhargava）和查尔斯·泰勒（Charles Taylor）的著作联系起来，并牢记这些特定的问题：《摩诃婆罗多》在多大程度上为印度世俗主义提供了先例？《摩诃婆罗多》所提供的国王伦理在多大程度上与更世俗的治理模式兼容？(3)与“他人”对话：我们将探讨对话如何建构社会认同，以及如何协商这些认同之间的差异，不论这些差异是以种姓、种族、宗教传统或性别为沿着。我们将把这些对话与马丁·布伯（Martin Buber）、伊曼纽尔·列维纳斯（Emmanuel Levinas）和雅克·德里达（Jacques Derrida）的著作联系起来，并考虑以下问题：与他人的相遇在多大程度上是伦理探究的起点？对话在多大程度上提供了通过相遇实现成长或改变的可能性？这些对话在多大程度上为处理多样性和差异提供了一个道德框架？(4)与神的对话：我们将看以一个神圣的对话者为特色的对话，特别关注克里希纳。我们将把这些对话与约翰·希克、罗文威廉姆斯和比库·帕里克的著作联系起来，同时考虑以下问题：《摩诃婆罗多》中的对话在多大程度上传达了宗教多元主义？包括多种宗教观点的神学理由是什么？在整个项目中，我们将把《摩诃婆罗多》作为一部保留了其认知价值的作品，因此可以为今天的辩论做出重要的贡献、干预和视角转变。与今天的学者在讨论与哲学、政治、伦理和宗教有关的当代问题时仍然卓有成效地借鉴古典希腊和罗马思想家的著作的方式类似，我们将把《摩诃婆罗多》作为一部活生生的相关著作，对人类状况有着宝贵的见解。

项目成果

In Dialogue with Classical Indian Traditions - Encounter, Transformation and Interpretation

对话印度古典传统——相遇、转化与诠释

• DOI: 10.4324/9781351011136
• 发表时间: 2019
• 作者: Ram-Prasad C