Dialoguing with Timeless Text: Revisiting the MAHĀBHĀRATA

Balaganapathi Devarakonda is Professor of Philosophy and former Head of the Department of Philosophy, University of Delhi. His research interests span the Historiography of Indian Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Social and Political Philosophy, Indian Epic Studies, and Philosophical Practice. He served as the ICCR Chair for Indology and Gandhian Studies at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica (2022-2024). He is a Certified Philosophical Counsellor and board member of the American Philosophical Practitioners Association (APPA), New York. Balaganapthi Devarakonda is the founding director of the Philosophical Practitioners Association of India (PPAI) and an elected member of the Steering Committee of the International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP) for 2024-2028. He also serves as the Regional Director for India at the Council for Research in Values and Philosophy (CRVP), Washington, DC. Currently, his work focuses on interpreting classical Indian texts-especially the Upaniṣads and Epics-as part of the Bharatiya Jñāna Paramparā (Indian Knowledge Systems), treating them as living sources of philosophical reflection and contemporary relevance. He is actively involved in international research collaborations and has published on Philosophical Wellness, AI Ethics, and Indian Cultural Narratives.

Geetesh Nirban is an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Kamala Nehru College, University of Delhi. Her research focuses on Ethics, Indian Philosophy, Mahābhārata Studies, Eco-Feminism, Mindfulness, Philosophy of Religion and Cross-Cultural Philosophy. She was awarded the University Grants Commission (UGC) Raman Post-Doctoral Fellowship for research at the Department of Comparative Cultural Studies, Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, USA (2014-2015). Additionally, Geetesh Nirban was a Visiting Scholar at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. (August-September 2018) and at the Confucius Research Institute in Qufu, Shandong, China (June- July 2024). As the Regional Director (India) for the Council for Research in Values and Philosophy (CRVP) in Washington, D.C., she works on Cross-Cultural Philosophical Initiatives and is presently involved in research and publications based on Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS).