Krishna in the Mahabharata (Set of 3 Books)

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

The Role of Sri Krishna in The Mahabharata

The Ritual of Battle (Krishna in The Mahabharata)

Krishna in Mahabharatham

What more can be said about the Mahabharata that has not already been said over the thousands of years? Perhaps, a lot; perhaps, nothing. But when one reads a work like this one, by Prof. K. S. Narayanacharya, more nuggets of wisdom reveal themselves through his pen and percipience. In the five chapters of this book, he walks us through different aspects of Krishna-as a statesman and strategist, a peace-maker, a philosopher and yogi, his role in the Kurukshetra war, and his status as both a man and a God. This delightful and incisive book will have served its purpose if readers take away a greater appreciation of Lord Krishna after reading it, and if they are inspired, after reading it, to dive into the limitless ocean of the complete, unabridged Mahabharata.

I am glad to subscribe this brief preface to the scholarly treatise, "The role of Sri Krishna in the Mahabharata" by Prof. K. S. Narayanacharya This volume contains the text of the five lectures delivered on the subject by the learned Professor at the Academy of Comparative Philosophy and Religion, Gurudev Ranade Mandir, Belgaum. It is very nice of the Academy to publish these lectures in a book form for the benefit of students and scholars interested in the subject and we must be highly grateful to the Academy for this.

Prof. Narayanacharya is one of the most eminent scholars of our country and needs no introduction. He is well known for his vast erudition and spiritual insight. He is a thinker in the real sense and many of his interpretations are most revealing. He is a prolific writer and a very popular exponent of our spiritual texts. It is indeed fortunate that he has chosen to write on our great epics and Vedic literature. Having a deep understanding of our spiritual and cultural traditions, he has set right many misinterpretations of our sacred texts. We can rely on him as an authentic and faithful interpreter of our great works.

The present volume contains five chapters representing five lectures given by the author. The author refers, in the very beginning, to the various viewpoints of different people about Sri Krishna, and points out rightly, that it is the human aspect of this incarnation that is highlighted in the Mahabharata, though He is undoubtedly reverred as God. In the fist lecture the role of Sri Krishna as statesman, diplomat and stragegist is expounded with profuse references to the various situations in the Mahabharata. The second lecture is solely reserved for depicting Sri Krishna as a peace maker. The author traces the very many references in the Mahabharata, analyses them and makes an assessment on their merits, like a true investigator and comes to undeniable conclusions. The questions- "was sri Krishna realy sincere in his peace making efforts?" -is posed and answered. "He wanted peace, but was prepared for war, in case those powers did not listen to his advice." Krishna was a practical minded diplomat and subtleties of his diplomacy are traced accodring to the epic in a factual and interesting way. Sri Krishna's efforts were not to save Duryodhana, but the rest of the innocent world from the clutches of death. It was his duty and great law of life to save all that can be saved. If he did not do it, even though he was capable of doing it, people later on would put the blame on him for not averting the war. The role of Krishna as a diplomat is thus thoroughly expounded.

Where there is dharma, there is Krishna; where there is Krishna, there is victory. This, in a nutshell, encapsulates the life and message of Lord Krishna, as delivered in the greatest dharmashastra that there is, the Mahabharata.

Krishna's understanding of dharma and truth were contextualized in both time and space. As he tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, it is better to follow one's own dharma, even if imperfectly, than to follow someone else's dharma, even if perfectly [6.25.35]. Krishna assured the Pandavas after they had lost everything in the crooked game of dice that justice would be theirs, but the time for that was not now. It was Yudhishthira's swadharma during the twelve and one years of exile to learn, prepare, and acquire the wisdom and weapons that would be needed for the war that was inevitable, unavoidable. It was to avert the same war that Krishna tried, as an emissary of the Pandavas, one last time. However, once war was declared, it was dharma to fight it and fight to win. Krishna ensured that where there was dharma, there would be victory. For wasn't Krishna on the side of dharma?

The subtlety of dharma and the infinite dilemmas that warriors faced when trying to follow dharma at this intersection of the Dwapara and Kali Yugas can only be understood by reading the Mahabharata and Krishna's actions. At the end of the war, when Yudhishthira succumbed once more to the urge to gamble and in a moment of utter foolishness [9.57.11], staked everything on the result of the duel between Bhima and Duryodhana, it fell upon Krishna to tilt the scales in Bhima's favour. For Krishna knew that while Bhima was the stronger of the two, it was Duryodhana who had more practice. Following the rules of dharma, Duryodhana could not be defeated [9.57.4].

When Arjuna, on the seventeenth day of the Kurukshetra war, in a moment of utter rashness, took an oath to kill Yudhishthira [8.49.11], it fell upon Krishna to mediate and find a compromise. If Arjuna wanted to kill Yudhishthira, and if that was what he had sworn to do, then there was a way to accomplish it in more ways than one. For didn't Krishna tell Arjuna that insulting one's elders was as good as killing them [8.49.67]? Similarly, didn't Krishna also say that a person who was always based on truth was a juvenile-immature and intellectually a child [8.49.30]? While there was nothing better than truth, it was equally difficult to know when it was better to not speak the truth. When one's life was in danger, when one's possessions were in danger of being robbed, it was preferrable to lie than to speak the truth. Wasn't this yet another stunning insight into approaching the world from a practical point of view, on how to navigate the unfathomable subtleties of dharma in Kaliyuga?

Bhishma may have had his reasons for not following dharma-for did he not lament that the Kauravas had robbed him through wealth [6.41.36-37]? Didn't Kripa also confess the same to Yudhishthira, that man was a servant of wealth, but wealth never a servant of anyone [6.41.66]? What was their swadharma? Clearly, being on the side of adharma could never be dharma. Letting adharma win could never be dharma. Devising means for the Pandavas to tackle such redoubtable warriors as Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Jayadratha, Duryodhana, and others was left to Krishna, with Arjuna and the other Pandavas acting on his advice. For hadn't Krishna said he would not pick up arms in Kurukshetra war? If he threatened to pick up arms, as he did, twice frustrated by Arjuna's reluctance to wage against Bhishma with his full force, it was only to shame Arjuna into following what was his dharma.

**Contents and Sample Pages**

This book is a study of India's great epic, the Mahabharata, against the background of Indo-European myth, epic, and ritual. It builds upon the pioneering studies in these areas by Georges Dumezil and Stig Wikander to work toward the goal of understanding how this epic's Indo-European heritage is interpreted and reshaped within the setting of bhakti or devotional Hinduism.

The book begins with a comparative typology of traditional classical epics, arguing that epic is a distinctive mythical genre, and that the Mahrib/grata in particular should be studied as part of an Indo-European epic (and not just mythical) continuum. The reshaping of Indo-European themes is then examined in relation to the Mahabharata's central mystery: the figure of Krishna, hero and ally of the Partclava brothers in their struggles against their cousins, the Kauravas, and incarnation of Visnu.

The study argues that Krishna figures in the epic at the center of a coherent theological ensemble that builds upon continuities in Indo-European, Vedic, and particularly Brahmanic sacrificial idioms. Ultimately, Krishna guides the forces of dharma or righteousness through a great "sacrifice of battle" whose eschatological background recalls Indo-European and Vedic themes, while projecting them into the Hindu bhakti cosmology of universal dissolutions, recreations, and divine grace. The study vigorously opposes attempts to "explain" Krishna by arbitrary theories of the Maluibhdrata's growth through interpolations.

Alf Hiltebeitel is Professor in the Department of Religion at George Washington University. Dr. Hiltebeitel is the editor of Criminal Gods and Demon Devotees: Essays on the Guardians of Popular Hinduism, also published by SUNY Press, and he is the author of The Cult of Draupadi, Vol. 1, Mythologies: From Gingee to Kuruksetra.

The Ritual of Battle is a benchmark in Indology; it is in some ways the culmination of a long series of approaches to the great Epic formulated for many decades before it, and it has proved to be the source of a whole series of new approaches in the decade that has followed its original publication, leading on to other important works including Alf Hiltebeitel's own on-going, multivolume, epic study of Draupadi. His debt to the more recent past is to several giants - primarily Georges Dumezil, Madeleine Biardeau, J. A. B. van Buitenen, Victor Turner, and Mircea Eliade -whose shoulders provide what turns out to be not so much a resting place as a springboard for his own contribution to the never-ending parampara of Mah7bhTirata studies. The book abounds in theories which appear far-fetched at first but are invariably substantiated - that there are three black Krishnas that mediate between the red and the white; that both Krishna and Siva, though ostensibly absent from or passive at the disrobing of Draupadi and the disastrous dice game, are in fact essential elements of these episodes; and many more. Several chapters deal at length, and in great detail, with the death of the hero, the destruction of the world, and other aspects of the tragedy at the heart of the Epic. These are analyzed in the light of many complementary theories gleaned from an impressive array of scholarly works cited in the copious footnotes. But this is no patchwork of other peoples' theories; it is an integrated and highly original view of Krishna and and of the great Epic as a whole.

To begin with, Hiltebeitel is one of Georges Dumezil's greatest supporters, who paid his homage to the master by translating a number of Dumezil's works into English. One great strength of this book is the skill with which the author places the Krishna epic in the context of other Indo-European epics that Dumezil has elucidated, particularly the Scandanavian and Greek epics. Many of Dumezil's ideas are put to new tests here. Some of them prove, in Hiltebeitel's hands, to be even more exciting than when they were first boldly suggested by Dumezil. Some are right but not particularly illuminating. Some of them prove to be dead wrong.

For Hiltebeitel challenges Dumezil on many important points. Thus, where Dumezil (and J. A. B. van Buitenen) regarded the story of the Pandavas' divine heritage as a late addition, with even later Saiva retouchings, Hiltebeitel suggests that an old tradition may have been preserved and linked with Siva, and he argues that the activities of Visnu and Siva were integral to the work from an early period of its construction (p. 174). Unlike Dumezil, he views the mythological paternities of the heroes as an integral part of the Epic. Following the lead suggested by Dahlmann at the turn of the century, that the myths are not "interpolations," Hiltebeitel builds upon Angelo Brelich's formulation and argues that the Epic integrates myths, which tell how gods create fate, with legends, which tell how heroes challenge fate. The didactic elements, too, and the whole consideration of sin and virtue, are correctly regarded as part and parcel of the epic narrative.

But Hiltebeitel is also an admirer of Madeleine Biardeau, who is critical of the Critical Edition that Dumezil and van Buitenen endorse, an edition that has selected what appears to be the oldest layer of the major epic, called it "the MahTib h-drata," and relegated all other variants to appendices. Thus, like Biardeau and unlike Dumrezil, Hiltebeitel consistently draws upon material that is rejected by the critical edition, using what the critical edition labels "interpolations" to develop his persuasive ideas about such matters as the scene in which Draupadi, distressed by the efforts to disrobe her, calls upon Krishna to rescue her and he appears (p. 88); the importance of the jeu truqfie in Indo-European eschatology in general and the death of Abhimanyu in particular (343 n.); and the reference to the warrior Salya as an incarnate demon (p. 91) and to the Madraka as "dirt" (p. 277). He remarks that an essential variant of the myth of Visnu as the dwarf is provided by "what must be regarded as one of the earliest tellings of the myth even though it occurs only in the Northern recension of the Mah7bh-drata" (p. 137). Yet, though Hiltebeitel follows Biardeau in many of her interpretations, he does not follow her slavishly. Thus, in discussing a possible interpolation that would make Draupadi an incarnation of Saci, the wife of Indra, rather than or Sri, goddess of fortune, he notes that "Biardeau seems to want it both ways... This solves little"

**Contents and Sample Pages**

Sri A. Krishnan is a post graduate in Mathematics from Madras University. He studied in Sri Vivekananda College in Chennai and Passed out in the Year 1956, securing the first rank and gold medal. He hails from a family of eminent Sanskrit Scholars.

He took up banking as his career spanning for 38 years. He served in State;_Bank of India rising to the level of Deputy Managing Director and retiring as Managing Director of State Bank of Mysore in the year 1996. He is ageded 30 years presently.

He took up writing after retirement based on great Indian epics Ramayana m and Mahabharatham. His works are treatises undertaken after a great deal of research. He has succeeded in making the most truthful presentation of the originals, vouchsafing For their originality and purity. While his first work SRIMAD VALMIKI RAMAYANAM places before the readers the Sanskrit original of Sage Valmiki in simple English, PURE GEMS OF RAMAYANAM in English makes a detailed analysis of twelve characters of Ramayanam offering man-y rare commentaries, not known before. That was the English version of his RAMAYANA THOOMANIGAL in Tamil.

He published KRISHNA lN MAHABHARATAHM in Tamil delineating on the character of KRISHNA in Mahabharatham. dispelling some of the misunderstandings of Krislitiafs deeds by the commentators and presenting the true picture and in their proper sequence. The present work is its English version. The highlight of this work is the treatment of SRIMAD BHAGAWAD GITA in a manner capable of easy understanding of the complicated philosophies underlying those great sermons of Lord Krishna, an internationally respected masterpiece.

In the year 2013, I published the book 'MAHABHARA THATHIL KRISHNAN' in Tamil. This book is its English version. The aim is to reach a vast number of readers.

Mahabharatham is one of the great epics of India, written in Sanskrit by Sage Vyasa. Krishna plays an important role in Mahabharatham. It is very difficult to identify who is the hero of Mahabharatham. However, Krishna's role is very crucial in that epic and there would be no Mahabharatham without him. Mahabharatham is essentially a story depicting the rivalry between Pandavas and Kauravas who were first cousins. Pandavas led by Yudhishtra were virtuous, whereas Kauravas led by Duryodana were symbols of evil. Pandavas were compelled to undergo a very long and arduous forest life, after treacherously getting cheated by the wily Kauravas. They faced many dangerous ordeals having been deprived of their own kingdom. They tried to get back the lost kingdom in the legitimate way but failed due to the stubborn and unjustifiable opposition of Kauravas. War became inevitable between the two. Ultimately Kauravas were totally eliminated and Pandavas succeeded. Krishna was an ally of Pandavas throughout.

If Pandavas had emerged out of their exile successfully and had also won the war, it was entirely due to Krishna's direct and indirect assistance throughout, which had restored the glory to Pandavas.

Kauravas had the physical support of the invincible grandfather Bhishma, the formidable teacher Drona, the most valiant ally Kama and hosts of several other great warriors. It would have been impossible for Pandavas to kill them all and register victory, if Krishna had not been associated with them. Bhishma, Drona, Kama, Duryodana and others had to be killed despite their enormous power and skill. Krishna had been identified as the principal architect of vanquishing them all one after another. It was, however, noteworthy that Krishna never touched a weapon in the war. Krishna's role in the entire Mahabharatham has been the subject matter of criticisms. But, a correct reading of the original text in a dispassionate manner and a very strict interpretation of the sequences would reveal that Krishna had acted strictly adhering to established codes of Dharma and warfare. The object of this book is to understand Krishna's role in Mahabharatham truly and in the proper perspective. Krishna was the direct incarnation of Lord Narayana on earth as a man and Lord Narayana would never playa questionable role.

In Mahabharatham, Srimad Bhagawad Gita forms an integral part. It is Bhagawan Krishna's gospel to remove the darkness of Arjuna but its message is for the entire mankind Srimad Bhagawad Gita is a jewel whose glitter shines not only in India but all over the world as it carries several translations. This book contains that subject matter presented as simply as possible.

I commend this book to the readers for their correct understanding of its contents.

**Book's Contents and Sample Pages**