Religious Studies: Indian Mythology
The God of Paradox:
Analyzing Krsna’s contradictory preaching of
Dharma in the Mahabharata
Rohit Rajkumar
Religious Studies C166
Professor Goldman
April 18th, 2014
2 Rajkumar I.
Introduction
When in doubt about the various facets of life, or when lost and looking for some kind of
guiding light, the tendency of the every-day man is to look to the heavens to for an answer. It is not uncommon to hear “help me God,” or “what do I do, God” as desperate pleas for some kind of moral and ethical guidance to help man move forward and decide on a course of action. What happens, however, when God walks among us? What if it were possible to approach God and get a definitive answer to your questions? In the great Indian epic, The Mahabharata, Lord Krsna walks among the Kauravas and the Pandavas and acts as a mentor as well as a guide to these warriors. In the epic, Krsna is seen to be the ultimate authority of Dharma itself, but repeatedly seems to ask the Pandavas to violate their dharma in order to win. This brings up the question of why Lord Krsna, the avatar of Visnu reborn on earth to ensure the triumph of dharma, seems to at ease at letting the consequences associated with the act outweigh the duty outlined by the dharma of the individual in importance. In this paper, I will explore the nature of Krsna’s actions and analyze in order to determine what ethical belief Krsna would belong to according to what he says about when and where an individual should follow their dharmic code.
The Mahabharata is the epic tale of the legendary Bharata war – the war between the two factions of a royal family, the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The Pandavas are the sons of Pandu, while the Kauravas are the descendants of Pandu’s older brother, Dhrtarastra. Although younger,
Pandu is crowned as king over his older brother, as Dhrtarastra is blind – thus making him ineligible to rule. During his reign, Pandu accidentally mortally wounds and kills a sage and he is cursed to
Analyzing Krsna’s contradictory preaching of
Dharma in the Mahabharata
Rohit Rajkumar
Religious Studies C166
Professor Goldman
April 18th, 2014
2 Rajkumar I.
Introduction
When in doubt about the various facets of life, or when lost and looking for some kind of
guiding light, the tendency of the every-day man is to look to the heavens to for an answer. It is not uncommon to hear “help me God,” or “what do I do, God” as desperate pleas for some kind of moral and ethical guidance to help man move forward and decide on a course of action. What happens, however, when God walks among us? What if it were possible to approach God and get a definitive answer to your questions? In the great Indian epic, The Mahabharata, Lord Krsna walks among the Kauravas and the Pandavas and acts as a mentor as well as a guide to these warriors. In the epic, Krsna is seen to be the ultimate authority of Dharma itself, but repeatedly seems to ask the Pandavas to violate their dharma in order to win. This brings up the question of why Lord Krsna, the avatar of Visnu reborn on earth to ensure the triumph of dharma, seems to at ease at letting the consequences associated with the act outweigh the duty outlined by the dharma of the individual in importance. In this paper, I will explore the nature of Krsna’s actions and analyze in order to determine what ethical belief Krsna would belong to according to what he says about when and where an individual should follow their dharmic code.
The Mahabharata is the epic tale of the legendary Bharata war – the war between the two factions of a royal family, the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The Pandavas are the sons of Pandu, while the Kauravas are the descendants of Pandu’s older brother, Dhrtarastra. Although younger,
Pandu is crowned as king over his older brother, as Dhrtarastra is blind – thus making him ineligible to rule. During his reign, Pandu accidentally mortally wounds and kills a sage and he is cursed to
Bibliography: Agarwal, M. M., 1992. Arjuna’s Moral Predicament. In B. Matilal, ed. Moral Dilemmas in the Mahabharata Buitenen, J.A.B van, ed. and trans., 1975. The Mahabharata. Vol. 2. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Creel, A., 1972. Dharma as an Ethical Category Relating to Freedom and Responsibility. Philosophy East and West, 22(2), pp. 150-169 Dimmitt, C., 1978 Goldman, R., 1997. Esa Dharmah Sanatanah: Shifting Moral Values and the Indian Epics. In P. Krishan, Y., 1992. The Meaning of the Purusarthas in the Mahabharata. In B. Matilal, ed. Moral Dilemmas in the Mahabharata Matilal, B., 1991. Krsna: in Defense of a Devious Divinity. In A. Sharma, ed. Essays on the Mahabharata Smith, J. D., trans., 2009. The Mahābhārata. New Delhi: Penguin, pp. 243-413 Sukthankar, V.S., 1957