of actual historical figures has been hotly debated, and, if so, when they may
have lived is unclear. It is plausible that the Maha ̄bha ̄ratareflected some of
the infighting that was occurring earlier in the Gangetic basin. In any case,
there is a thread of a “plot” that holds the various strands of the epic
together.
A basic feud arose over succession to the kingdom of Kuruks.etra. The
rivals were two sets of cousins, descended from a legendary King Bharata;
five sons of Pa ̄n.du, known as the Pa ̄n.d.ava brothers; and 100 sons of
Dhr.tara ̄s.t.ra (who was blind and hence ineligible for the throne). Pa ̄n.du
retired to the forest, still without offspring, then fathered five sons, the
Pa ̄n.d.ava brothers. These five brothers were educated in the court of
Dhr.tara ̄s.t.ra, who had become regent in Pa ̄n.du’s absence. Their teachers
included their great uncle Bhı ̄s.ma (spiritual power) and the priest Drona
(master of archery). These brothers exceeded their cousins in all virtues,
including martial skill, incurring the jealousy of Duryodhana, Dhr.tara ̄s.t.ra’s
eldest son. Duryodhana plotted to get the throne; Yudis.t.hara, eldest son
of Pa ̄n.du, and rightful heir to the throne, lost his kingdom in a dice game,
said to be “crooked.” Duryodhana refused to step aside when the Pa ̄n.d.avas
returned after their thirteen year exile. War became inevitable and lasted
for eighteen days.
Numerous sub-plots and subsidiary stories flesh out the didactic value of
the account. These were often told by raconteurs or enacted dramatically.
Tucked into the Maha ̄bha ̄ratais one of those literary pieces that has become
so well known in the Western world – the Bhagavadgı ̄ta ̄(literally, the
“Song of God”). The Bhagavadgı ̄ta ̄was set on the battlefield of Kuruks.etra.
Dhr.tara ̄s.t.ra heard of the war through the narration of San.jaya.Implied also
was an inner battle as Arjuna, a Pa ̄n.d.ava brother, is instructed by Kr.s.n.a.
The structure of the Gı ̄ta ̄includes some four sections: the first, chapter
one, set the stage by recounting Arjuna’s dilemma: he did not want to go to
battle against his own cousins. In the second stage, chapters two to seven,
Kr.s.n.a summarized some options for living. There was a dialectic presented
between sacrifice and action (chapters three and four) and between
renunciation and action (chapters five and six). The third section (chapters
eight to twelve) appears to represent the “core” of the text; this part, at least,
if not the entire text, was clearly written by a devotee of Kr.s.n.a, as this section
provided an epiphany of Kr.s.n.a, who was presented as the fulfillment of
all cosmologies and devotion (bhakti) to him as the culmination of all paths.
The final section, chapters thirteen to eighteen, apparently using the
dualistic Sa ̄m.khya system as a base, presented homologies to two polarities
- purus.aandprakr.tı ̄– and to the three characteristics (gun.as).
TheBhagavadgı ̄ta ̄did many things at once. Clearly, it presented bhaktiand
Kr.s.n.a as the epitome of all previous options. As indicated earlier, some
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