The Mahābhārata, the Bhagavad Gītā, & Bhakti Flashcards
What does Mahabharata mean?
“The great story of the descendants of Bharata” or “The great war of the Bharatas.”
When was the Mahābhārata composed?
200 BCE – 300 CE.
What kind of text is the Mahābhārata considered to be?
Considered to be smṛti - “that which has been remembered”.
How many verses are in the Mahābhārata?
100,000 verses
Is there one Mahabharata?
- Extremely fluid – there is no single Mahābhārata
- Comics, television series, films.
- Hundreds of myths and folktales, philosophical discourses, religious parables.
When were the events in the Mahabharata said to take place?
- Events said to have taken place at the end of Dvāpara Yuga.
- -Superior to present Kali age but a time of less perfection than earlier ages.
- Reflected in the characters – more human – more flaws and shortcomings than heroes of Rāmāyaṇa.
- Wonder what to do when confronted with hard choices and at times make wrong choices.
The Mahabharata is primarily concerned with the dharma of which class?
Also primarily concerned with kṣatriya dharma
Which author is the mahabharata attributed to and who is said to be the scribe?
- Authorship attributed to the sage Vyāsa.
- Name means “the separator”.
- Gaṇeśa is said to be the scribe.
Who were the two families involved in the mahabharata?
- The kauravas (Dhrtarastra and Gandhari, had 99 sons and 1 daughter and Duryodhana)
- the Pandavas (sonsof pandu). Pandu had two wives Kunti (who had three sons: Yudhissthira, Bhima and Arjuna) and Madri (who had two sons: Nakula and Sahadeva)
What kind of things are discussed in the Mahabharata?
- Discussions about dharma, spiritual peace and liberation from saṃsāra.
- Vedic sacrifices.
- Debates about ahimsa and the justice of war.
- Challenges to and justifications for the class structure.
- The start of the sects and sectarianism.
- Great gods of classical Hinduism.
- Pilgrimage.
- Concern for the dharma of warriors, the goal of mokṣa, and the importance of devotion to the gods.
What are the three layers of meaning in the Mahabharata?
- Mundane – the epic story about the war between cousins.
- Ethical – war as conflict between dharma and adharma – the final victory of dharma.
- Transcendental – war is between the higher and lower self in man.
- - Kṛṣṇa – charioteer – divine power that drives the lives of all persons.
- - Pāṇḍavas – internal virtues
- - Kauravas – innumerable psychological obstructions (anger, greed, vengeance, etc.).
What is the mahabharata war symbolic of?
The Mahābharata war – symbolic representation of the inner battle between our quest to live dharmically and the internal forces that draw us to adharmic deeds.
What did the early vedic religion focus on?
- Focused on ritual sacrifice for this wordly benefits and to maintain social order. Conventional practices associated with householders way of life (sacrificial rites).
- Goal: Dharma
What was the sramana philosophies/ upanisadic worldview?
- Focused on renunciation and the practice of meditation.
- Quest for Self-realization and ending of suffering.
- Goal: moksa
How did brahman orthodoxy suggest compromise for the two conflicting goals?
- Two conflicting goals – Brahminic orthodoxy suggested compromise: Included Upaniṣads, varṇāśramadharma, The goals of dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa could all be pursued.
- Many wanted to devote their lives to mokṣa.
- Mounting pressure for religious inclusion from other disenfranchised groups.
- Buddhism responded by permitting women, śūdras, and untouchables to become monks and nuns.
- This was the social backdrop for the emerging teachings of the Bhagavad Gītā.
What was the view on Asceticism by the epic period?
- By the time of Mahābharata– asceticism regarded with considerable respect.
- Depicted as powerful.
- Śiva, the ascetic god, is given some importance in Mahābharata – attests to increasing importance of world renunciation.
What two central scenes are set in the context of this tension?
Two central scenes are set in the context of this tension and seek to provide solutions:
- Arjuna’s reluctance to fight before the great battle (Bhagavad Gītā).
- Yudhiṣṭhira’s dilemma (to rule his kingdom or renounce after the battle).
The solutions provided, permit a balance.
What was Yudhiṣṭhira’s dilemna?
- Now heir to the kingdom.
- Disheartened by the battle and death of his allies - wanted to renounce - seek peace and liberation in the forest.
- To rule as king would require he punish others in order to maintain order – sick of misery and pain.
- Best path is renunciation.
- Brothers, counselors and wife object to his desire to renounce the world.
What were the counter-arguments from Draupadi (Yudhiṣṭhira’s) wife?
- inconsistent
- Brother’s fought for him, no reward for them?
- Calls manhood into question
What were Arjuna’s counter arguments for Yudhiṣṭhira’s?
- he should follow custom]
- disorder and chaos will result
- bad karma- lowly rebirth
- violence is natural and meritorious for a king in administration of kingly duties
- violence is natural order of things
- use of violence by king is divinely sanctioned
What were the brothers counter arguments for Yudhiṣṭhira’s?
- Gods use violence against their enemies .
- To administer punishment and fight in battle - sacred rites for a king.
- All of the world, including the gods, depends on the king doing his duty.
- Householder stage superior to all the rest.
- True renunciation is renunciation of desires.
- Renunciation before fulfilling ones obligation to society - unnatural and untraditional.
- Put it off until later – follow the stage of life appropriate to his age.
What is the conclusion of Yudhisthira’s dilemna?
- After all this, he takes the throne.
- At end of the Mahābhārata when he is old, he does abandon the world.
- So – not convinced of the superiority of worldly life - just of its necessity.
- Still views renunciation as ultimate path to liberation – convinced that it should be put off until a more appropriate time/stage of life.
What does the Bhagavad gita mean?
(“Song of the Lord”)
What is the bhagavad gita?
- 200 BCE – 200 CE.
- Found within the Mahābhārata but read as a stand-alone text.
- 18 chapters in length.
- One of the holiest books in the Hindu tradition.
- Widens the parameters of what composes Hinduism.
What were the three paths to liberation that emerged from the Bhagavad gita?
Discusses three major approaches (marga) to liberation.
- the Jñāna Marga (The Path of Knowledge)
- the Karma Marga (The Path of Action)
- the Bhakti Marga (The Path of Loving Devotion).
What happens between Krishna and Arjuna in the Bhagavad gita?
- A conversation between Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa (avatar/ incarnation of the god Viṣṇu).
- Takes place on the eve of the great battle between the Pāṇḍavas and the Kauravas.
- Arjuna asks his charioteer, Kṛṣṇa, to take him out on battlefield so he can see the enemy assembling.
- Arjuna sees his family, friends and beloved teachers on the side of the enemy.
- He loses the will to fight.
- In refusing to fight, Arjuna calls into question the virtue of his social role as a warrior and the importance of upholding social order.
- Vedic ideal his duty is clear – as warrior it is his responsibility to combat forces that threaten order.
- He suggests to Kṛṣṇa that it will be preferable to renounce.
- Kṛṣṇa tells him that it is correct to fight for what is right – must fight for righteousness (dharma).
What does Krishna offer to Arjuna as a compromise for his conflicting ideals?
- Kṛṣṇa offers Arjuna a brilliant compromise between conflicting ideals – the three paths:
- Jñāna Marga (Path of Knowledge)
- Karma Marga (Path of Action)
- Bhakti Marga (Path of Loving Devotion).
What are the teachings of the Bhagavad gita?
- Appeals to dharma:
- The true Self endures beyond death.
- Arjuna, Kṛṣṇa and all the warriors assembled have always existed and always will.
- True Self changes bodies with each rebirth as a person changes clothes.
What is the Jnana Marga?
- Jñāna means “knowledge.” (path of knowledge)
- True knowledge = insight into real nature of the universe, divine power and human soul.
- Teaches Arjuna many conventional ways to attain the highest knowledge.
- Self restraint, concentration of mind, yoga.
What is the Karma Marga?
- One should perform one’s ordained duty, act – yes.
- Key is performance of action with the proper understanding/attitude/knowledge.
- Actions themselves are not binding - desire that prompts actions that cause bondage.
- Acting with expectation of future reward (or repercussion) leads to bondage and unhappiness.
- Karmaphalasanga – karma = action/act, phal = fruit, results, asanga = without attachment (niṣkāma karma - action without attachment)
- True renunciation is not renunciation of one’s social role and retirement from society but renunciation of desires for the fruits of actions.
- Doesn’t matter what a person’s social role may be, anyone may seek liberation while remaining in society if one disciplines one’s actions.
- May gain mokṣa by doing this.
When Arjuna asks how the path of action is possible, what did krishna say?
- Arjuna asks how this is possible.
- Kṛṣṇa recommends that he perform every action as a sacrifice to him.
- “Whatever you do – what you take, what you offer, what you give, what penances you perform – do as an offering to me, Arjuna!”
What is the Bhakti Marga?
- First text to elaborate upon the meaning of bhakti.
- Bhakti grants access to worship and mokṣa to all.
- Sincere devotees uplifted to the highest status.
- Kṛṣṇa teaches that even those who worship other deities with sincerity actually worship him.
- Kṛṣṇa identifies himself with every deity that receives genuine devotion.
- Important in understanding Hinduism’s characteristic tolerant polytheism.
- All devotion – regardless of the form this devotion takes or to whom the devotion is directed – leads the devotee to to liberation.
- Kṛṣṇa is a god with qualities (saguna) whom Arjuna can love and and reach union with the god without qualities (nirguna) - Brahman
Who is Krsna?
- Shows Arjuna his universal form (viśvarūpa).
- Makes statements that mark a shift in Hindu theology.
- Identifies himself with Upaniṣadic Brahman.
- And with the traditionally imagined 4-armed Viṣṇu.
- He is the ultimate deity, a personal god, incarnates periodically to protect humans.
What do the Bhagavad Gita’s teachings allow for?
- Gītā’s teachings allow for the understanding that God is embodied within the creation.
- Allows a panentheistic formulation.
- Panentheism – the belief that God encompasses the creation and yet is greater than it - God is both within and also transcends the creation.
- Rationale for traditional form that pūjā, Hindu devotional worship, takes.
How does the Bhagavad gita make a compelling case for the bhakti marga?
- Makes compelling case for Bhakti Marga.
- It links the other paths to devotion.
- Jñāna Marga - effective, but highest knowledge (knowledge of God) most easily attained through loving devotion.
- Karma Marga – detached/selfless action best applied to devotion to God.
- Only by fixing one’s mind on God through loving devotion can one’s true Self, come to God.
How does the gita redefine the meaning of action and sacrifice?
- The Gītā, while not contradicting Vedic views – redefines the meaning of action and sacrifice.
- ”Action” -not only the performance of sacrificial rituals.
- ”Action” becomes more encompassing – includes all of one’s thoughts, words and deeds.
- Sacrifice then becomes offering up these actions with devotion, while renouncing attachment to their fruits – this is the supreme sacrifice – can obtain liberation.
- Fuses renunciation with the householder way of life.
- Synthesizes the world-maintaining view of the Vedic tradition and the world-denying view of Upaniṣads.
