So Bhisma, the son of Samtanu, Grand-father of the Bharatas, Learned, a knower of time and place, knower of truth, aware of all dharma A plethora of complex and nuanced characters populate the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. One in particular stands tall even today as the face of moral authority Bhisma Devavrata, the eldest of the Kuru clan. In this book, the prolific scholar of Indic and Greek classics, Kevin McGrath, studies in microscopic detail the authority of this pitamaha, ‘grand-father’/patriarch and explores why he still resonates with 21st century India.