Bonus Episode 38b
December 22, 2020
Luther Obrock on the Mahabharata
Hosted by Chris Piuma and Suzanne Conklin Akbari with Luther Obrock
The very first word of the Bhagavad Gita is, of course, dharma. And I find that rather beautiful, how this is set up, and that we’re automatically embedded within a story, within a telling. So we have this theophany that’s absolutely beautiful that itself is already being part of a story that’s being told through us. I find that rather beautiful.
Luther Obrock is assistant professor in the department of Historical Studies and the Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto. His area of research focuses on Sanskrit poetry in the second millennium, specifically on the literary and cultural place of Sanskrit in the Sultanate period — that is during the first centuries of Muslim rule in South Asia. He is also an avid reader of the Mahabharata since his undergraduate days.
He joins Chris and Suzanne to provide them with a bit more context on the Mahabharata, to read a few lines of the original Sanskrit, and to share some of his favourite stories and passages.
![[Episode artwork]](/images/podcast/art/s/spouter.png)
Show Notes.
Our main episode on the Mahabharata.
Our episodes on the Iliad and the Symposium.
Luther’s article (which we also posted with our main article), “Mahabharata Brahmins, Kings, and the South Asian Social World”.
James L. Fitzgerald on the Mahabharata.
A.K. Ramanujan: “Is There an Indian Way of Thinking? An Informal Essay”. [You, uh, may be able to google a non-paywalled copy.]
If you want more, check out the Mahabharata podcast!