Abstract
The Mahābhārata has been interpreted differently by various scholars.
Some consider it as a text whose layers should be separated to find out an
historical kernel, some view it as a synthetic whole. It has been variously
seen as a history of the Kurus, as a literary creation based on the śānta rasa,
as an extension of Indo-European mythology, or as a Brahmanical reaction
against heterodox religions. However, a careful survey of the text, by
analyzing its internal evidence and comparing it with other corroborative
sources may be useful to historically locate the history of its text-creation
in various stages by various authors.
In that history, a very significant factor seems to be its attributed
author, Vyāsa. The paper tries to show the intricacies of that attribution
which is crucial for the text’s assertion of a new philosophy of behavioural
fitness and ability over the crystallizing Brahmanical notion of hereditary varṇa. The
paper also discusses how this fresh and unusual voice makes the text an
epoch-making one in tradition, representative of the end of an era, the
juncture in history when ‘past’ ends and ‘future’ begins.
Speaker:
Kanad Sinha, Research Scholar, CHS, SSS, JNU
Venue:
Committee Room, JNU Central Library
Date and Time: 31st August 2013 (Saturday),
4:30 pm
