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ISSUES OF IDENTITY IN THE MAHABHARA TA by Lisa Lias submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in History of Religions: The Hindu Tradition Chairir: [^3 a-/----D ~1 • o r Q y . - Dr. David Rndier C s4 l s Dr. AlfHiltebeitel Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Date ^ 1999 American University Washington, D.C. 20016 MERH9M BHKRSIY UBM fi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number 1405027 UMI’ UMI Microform 1405027 Copyright 2001 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ISSUES OF IDENTITY IN THE M AH ABH AM TA BY LISA LIAS ABSTRACT This thesis deals with the nature of identity in the Indian epic known as the Mahabharata. The question of what constitutes identity and whether or not it is in fact a tangible concept in the world view of the epic is explored by looking at three different “cases” which appear in the epic. The first case is a comparison of the characters Vyasa and Karna, whose lives bear remarkable similarities as well has significant differences. The second case is an examination of the use of disguise as a means of revealing identity. This involves comparing the story of Nala and Damayanti to the story of the Pandavas’ thirteenth year of exile, spent in the court of Virata. The final case is that of Krsna, whose identity appears more fluid than that of other characters in the epic. Together, these cases give a sense of the epic view of identity. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Dr. Pierre Ausloos Jessie D. Garrison Dr. Alf Hiltebeitel Dr. Sharon G. Lias Dr. Joe Martin Dr. David Rodier Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................. iii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................ I 2. FALLEN WOMEN, BASTARD SONS...........................................................4 3. COME AS YOU ARE....................................................................................27 4. KRSNA’S CONSCIOUSNESS ..................................................................... 46 5. CONCLUSION .............................................................................................65 BIBLIOGRAPHY.......................................................................................................... 66 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION The issue of identity is something with which a reader is confronted many times in the Mahabharata. There are so many instances in which standard ideas of what constitutes identity are subverted, that the careful reader ultimately begins to question received ideas about what it is that makes a person who he is. Furthermore, those received ideas are replaced by precious little. What is left in the end is the concept expressed in the Upanisads that we are not, in essence, anything that can be named or grasped. Of course, the action of the epic does not tend to revolve around the characters agonizing over issues of identity. While there are some obvious exceptions to this, Kama’s concerns about his origins being a prime example, it is for the most part activity of a more external nature that occupies the characters. The plot slows at times, and there are many digressions from it, but it is never lost. Even so, in the Mahabharata philosophy is inseparable from the plot, and issues of identity are among the philosophical topics which arise. Here, three “case studies” in which the nature of identity is dealt with will be examined. The first of these involves looking at Vyasa and Kama. The remarkable parallels between the lives of their mothers seem to imply some kind of relationship between these two men, despite the lack of interaction between them. Their “relationship” is ultimately much more about the counterpoint they provide to one another from opposites sides of the 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. about the concept of identity cannot be reduced to a simple statement - looking at the two of them together in fact raises more questions than it answers. Nonetheless, there is a level on which they complete each other, as will be demonstrated. After looking at Vyasa and Kama, the topic of disguise will be taken up. This is an unavoidable subject when looking at identity in the Mahabharata, because it is employed numerous times, both in the main plot and in stories within the story. For the purposes of this discussion, we will confine ourselves to two episodes of disguise which, like Vyasa and Karna, seem to have a relationship. These episodes are that of the Pandavas’ time in the court of King Virata during the thirteenth year of their exile, and that of Nala and Damayanti. An effort will be made to understand what “disguise” in fact reveals, as paradoxical as that may seem. As with Vyasa and Kama, there is not a simple answer. Even so, the fact that the story of Nala and Damayanti is told to Yudhisthira prior to the Pandavas’ tenure in Virata’s court is a set up for the reader, who cannot fail to notice parallels between the two stories. There is a degree to which entertainment value is involved in the proximity and similarity of the two episodes in question. The humorous elements of the Pandavas disguise sequence is a definite contrast with the more uniform pathos of Nala and Damayanti. In addition, it is not out of the question that repetitive elements and recurring motifs are evidence of the oral tradition origins of the epic. But after acknowledging these things, there is still something to be learned about identity in the Mahabharata by investigating the two episodes together. The final look at identity will use as its basis the character of Krsna. The obvious Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 3 reason for this is that Krsna is a character for whom identity is a tool. Though he is the Divine, he has taken form. Though subject to all that taking form involves (including, finally, death), he is not form’s slave. The ways in which he manipulates identity and his fluidity within it will be examined in detail. In as much as the individual’s unity with the divine is part of Krsna’s message in the epic, his example in regard to identity is perhaps the most important “statement” about the issue of all those which will be examined. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER 2: FALLEN WOMEN, BASTARD SONS 1. Karna and Vyasa Of all the offspring in the Mahabharata who result from special circumstances, and clearly there are many, there are two individuals who are in a category of their own by virtue of being the secret progeny of women who were virgins both before conception and after the birth of these sons. The sons in question, Karna and Vyasa, are each blessed by their fathers at birth - Karna with armor and earrings, Vyasa with the admirable qualities of the ideal brahmin. It is here that