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The Ritual of Battle: Krishna in the Mahābhārata
This book is a study of India's great epic, the Mahabharata, against the background of Indo-European myth, epic, and ritual. It builds upon the pioneering studies in these areas by Georges Dumezil and Stig Wikander to work toward the goal of understanding how this epic's Indo-European heritage is interpreted and reshaped within the setting of bhakti or devotional Hinduism.
The book begins with a comparative typology of traditional classical epics, arguing that epic is a distinctive mythical genre, and that the Mahabharata in particular should be studied as part of an Indo-European epic and (and not just mythical) continuum. The reshaping of Indo-European themes is then examined in relation to the Mahabharata's central mystery: the figure of Krishna, hero and ally of the Panbrothers in their struggles against their cousins, the Kauravas, and incarnation of Vis.
The study argues that Krishna figures in the epic at the center of a coherent theological ensemble that builds upon continuities in Indo-European, Vedic, and particularly Brahmanic sacrificial idioms. Ultimately, Krishna guides the forces of dharma or righteousness through a great "sacrifice of battle" whose eschatological background recalls Indo-European and Vedic themes, while projecting them into the Hindu bhakti cosmology of universal dissolutions, recreations, and divine grace. The study vigorously opposes attempts to "explain" Krishna by arbitrary theories of the Mahabharata's growth through interpolations.
The book begins with a comparative typology of traditional classical epics, arguing that epic is a distinctive mythical genre, and that the Mahabharata in particular should be studied as part of an Indo-European epic and (and not just mythical) continuum. The reshaping of Indo-European themes is then examined in relation to the Mahabharata's central mystery: the figure of Krishna, hero and ally of the Panbrothers in their struggles against their cousins, the Kauravas, and incarnation of Vis.
The study argues that Krishna figures in the epic at the center of a coherent theological ensemble that builds upon continuities in Indo-European, Vedic, and particularly Brahmanic sacrificial idioms. Ultimately, Krishna guides the forces of dharma or righteousness through a great "sacrifice of battle" whose eschatological background recalls Indo-European and Vedic themes, while projecting them into the Hindu bhakti cosmology of universal dissolutions, recreations, and divine grace. The study vigorously opposes attempts to "explain" Krishna by arbitrary theories of the Mahabharata's growth through interpolations.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
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October 13, 2021
Book: The Ritual of Battle: Krishna in the Mahabharata
Author: by Alf Hiltebeitel
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass; 1st edition (1 January 2017)
Language: English
Hardcover: 368 pages
Dimensions: 20 x 14 x 4 cm
Country of Origin: India
Price: 297/-
The Mahabharata has entirely taken a hold of yours truly in the last ten odd days.
Whenever it comes to the epics, I am everlastingly enamoured by the deepest and most insightful riddle – Vasudeva Shrikrishna.
Perhaps the best way, as an objective reader, to reach some understanding of the implication of Krshna’s passing, is to review his total role in the Mahabharata narrative.
One would remember what Buddhadev Basu, with his razor-sharp scrutiny, has done just that in his Bengali masterpiece ‘Mahabharater Katha’. Rather than seeking to ‘reinvent the wheel’, one may consequently try and present, with some supplementary comments, the assorted spirit of that fine analysis in the present context.
It’s tad humorous, actually – about a couple of months back I had rather inadvertent conversation with an idiot regarding the relative diplomatic worth of Rama and Krishna. The aforestated idiot suggested that I hadn’t read the Ramayana enough. Of all the things that I had learnt from my Marxist instructors was this: Drown your adversary in a bombardment of data.
The bald rascal was a cute one. I let it go.
Coming back to the book – the tome commences with Wendy Doniger's introduction. An orderly job! No issues there.
Much of the Krshna-enigma in the Mahabharata develops from the outwardly mystifying contradictions inbuilt in many of his actions in the great epic.
In a way, for all the modern talks of exclamation of didactic matters, these Krshna-related ‘contradictions’ in themselves comprise the center elements of trustworthiness that time after time characterise the essential structure of the traditional Vyasa narrative, which has undergone little or no change in all ensuing accretions.
That integrity, in turn, is fundamentally derived from the authority of Krshna (Krishna) himself as a soaring personality with a human side to his ‘demigod-God’ characteristics.
One ‘inconsistency’ that readers may find about Krshna’s role, is the seeming breach between what he promised and what he did, in relation to the Kurukshetra war.
From the time that war clouds gather on the horizon, we see Krshna working to what appears to be a complex and deliberately considered script.
At the start of the Udyoga-parva (Book 5; Chapter 4), he professes equivalent relationship with the Kauravas and Pandavas, but when, brusquely thereafter, both Duryodhana and Arjuna approach him for help, his rejoinder, involving what is known in popular tradition as Krshna’s ‘feigned slumber’, betrays an embryonic bias towards the latter (Udyoga; Chapter 6).
Thereafter, once the war begins, even that fig-leaf of detachment is removed.
Krshna, in his utterances, considerations and exploits, divulges himself as the leading catalyst and guardian of the Pandavas, particularly Arjuna; and the archenemy of the Kauravas.
He breaks his own pledge of remaining unarmed and disengaged from vigorous conflict on the third day of the war, when, seeing the Pandava forces in frenzy under Bheeshma’s offensive, with Arjuna unenthusiastic to face the grandsire in stern battle, he determines on killing the heroic and righteous Kaurava general himself.
Throwing to the winds all pretence of remaining a non-combatant, he jumps down from the chariot and, with the deadly Sudarshana chakra raised in his hand, rushes at Bheeshma ‘like a lion attacking an elephant in rut’.
Arjuna, in trying to restrain him by holding on to his hands, is ‘dragged like a tree is dragged by a great storm’, and only manages to stop him by forcibly holding his feet and appealing for calm.
Again, later in the Bheeshma-parva, Krshna makes his bias abundantly clear to Yudhishthira in these words of unequivocal partisanship:
Pashya me vikramam raajan mahendrasyeva samyuge /
Vimunchantam mahaastraani paatayishyaaami tam rathaat //
Yah shatruh paanduputraanaam macchaatruh sa nasamshayah/
Madarthaa bhavadeeyaa ye ye madeeyaas-tavaiva te //
Tava bhraataa mama sakhaa sambandhee shishya eva ca /
Mamsaan-yutkrtya daasyaami phaalgunaarthe maheepate // ( Bheeshma; 107.31-33)
O King, see my Indra-like might in tomorrow’s battle. I shall kill and fell Bheeshma, the employer of many great weapons, from his chariot on to the ground.
One who is the Pandavas’ enemy is my enemy too — about that there is no doubt. Those who are your friends are my friends; and those who are my friends, know them also as your friends.
O Ruler of the Earth, your brother Arjuna is my friend, brother-in-law, and disciple. I shall even cut my own flesh and dedicate the same for the sake of Phaalguni.
Thus, for all his assurance to stay unarmed, the objective to use weaponry as a last resort is copiously clear from Krishna’s words and actions at Kurukshetra. And his most potent weapons– his highbrow power and his premeditated prowess – are in reality used to telling effect in almost all the influential moments of the Bhaarata war.
What is even more baffling to any lay reader is the lack of all normal principled qualms in most of these Krshna-driven tactics of war.
None else but Krshna could perhaps have hit upon the brilliant, but utterly unscrupulous plan that the way to to kill the invincible Bheeshma had to be elicited from Bheeshma himself.
The disarming and killing of a rampaging Drona through Yudhishthira’s half-lie regarding the purported death of Drona’s son Ashvatthama – perhaps the most sordid act in the supposedly ‘just war’ – is again the direct result of Krshna’s counsel.
It is with a heavy heart that Krshna gives that fateful advice, but the deceitful nature of that patently unethical advice cannot be condoned under any code of morality. Indeed, the single-mindedness with which Krshna drives the ‘kill-Drona-at-any-cost’ strategy is writ large in his two interventions preceding the reprehensible episode of disarming and killing the Acharya.
First, he seeks to sway Arjuna with the words: ‘Only when Drona casts off his weapons can he be slain by humans. Hence, you all should make efforts to kill him by artifice, forsaking inhibitions about slaying your mentor. I think he will cease fighting once he believes that Ashvatthama has been killed; therefore, let someone go and tell him that Ashvatthama is dead.’ (Drona; 190. 11-12)
The upright Arjuna does not find the advice in good taste; but Bheema willingly does Krshna’s bidding. Drona, however, has his doubts about the authenticity of Bheema’s message. So Krshna now convinces Yudhishthira, whom Drona regards as the epitome of truthfulness, to do the dirty work:
Yady-ardhva-divasam drono yudhyate manyumaasthitah /
Saatyam braveemi te senaa vinaasham samupaishyati //
Sa bhavaam-straatu no dronaat satyaaj-jyaayo-hnrtam vachah /
Anrtam jeevitasyaarthe vadanna sprshyate-hnrtaih //
~ Drona; 190. 46-47
O King, if the enraged Drona fights for another half a day then, trust my words, your entire army will be destroyed.
As a result, you save us from Drona; at this grave hour, resorting to untruth is more expedient than adhering to truth. One does Therefore, you save us from Drona; at this grave hour, resorting to untruth is more expedient than adhering to truth. One does not incur sin by telling a lie to save life.
[Here, the pronoun ‘us’ shows Krshna’s personal identification with the Pandava war effort.]
Almost all the formidable heroes on the Kaurava side are slain in battle. But Arjuna stands strong, withstanding myriad assaults, an improbable outcome made possible in large measure by Krshna’s shrewd stratagems. Bhagadatta’s all-powerful vaishnavaastra (Vishnu-weapon) would have certainly proved fatal had it hit Arjuna’s breast, as targeted; but Krshna covers Arjuna to take the missile on his own chest, where it turns into a divine garland.
A ‘distressed’ Arjuna cannot help reminding him that such interference is counter to his own guarantee of non-participation in direct battle (Drona; 29.22).
Arjuna’s relatable humiliation should also remind us, as objectively critical readers, of the ringing last words of the Gita:
Yatra yogeshvaro krshno yatra paartho dhanurdharah /
Tatra shreer-vijayo-bhootir dhruvaa neetir-matir mama //
~ Gita; 18.78)
Wherever there is Krshna, the Lord of yoga, and Partha (Arjuna), the archer; to my mind, there surely will be fortune, victory, welfare and morality.
The Krshna-Arjuna combine did bring fortune, victory, welfare, and morality to the Pandavas, but all these results came in mixed shades of grey – leading to, as predicted by the dying Duryodhana, ‘a disheartened and mournful existence’ for them (Shalya; 61.53).
We shall talk about Krshna’s practical vision of dharma, which motivated his win-at-any-cost approach, a little later. But in the immediate context of his tactics at Kurukshetra, morality and ethics seem to be at a premium.
As already seen, his tactics to eliminate Bheeshma and Drona cannot be construed as just and honourable, by any standard of morality.
But it is in meeting the threat posed to Arjuna by the valiant Karna, that Krshna amazes us by the core consistency of his adroitly planned battle strategy, which is to evade any direct encounter between the two great heroes until Karna is reduced to a lesser force by expending his main weapon elsewhere.
It is mainly due to Krshna’s manoeuvres that the Indra-given all-powerful Shakti missile, which Karna had carefully preserved for use against Arjuna, is expended in slaying Ghatotkaca.
Krshna’s aberrantly wild celebration of Ghatotkaca’s death drives home the facts of his partisanship and guardianship of the Vedic-Brahminical order.
While all the Pandavas are mourning the death of Bheema’s demon son, Krshna embraces Arjuna with an ecstatic war cry.
Then, after bringing his horses under control, he performs a jig, working up a wild beat by striking his palms together. When a disapproving Arjuna asks the reason for this paradoxical, almost vulgar, elation, Krshna makes a clean breast of how his own masterplan has worked to perfection in Karna being weakened, first by the gifting away of his enduring armour and talismanic ornaments, and now by his infallible one-strike missile having been used to kill Ghatotkaca.
He then makes a noteworthy statement to reveal to Arjuna and to us, his larger scheme of things:
‘O Arjuna, it is only for your benefit that I have ensured the destruction, through various means, of Jarasandha, Shishupala, and Ekalavya; as also of demons like Hidimba, Kirmeera, Baka, Alaayudha, Ugrakarmaa, and Ghatotkaca’ [Drona; 181].
It is to be noted that of all these characters, only one warrior– Shishupala – was directly slain by Krshna himself. He was not present at the scene when Hidimba, Kirmeera, Baka and Alaayudha, were killed; and when Ekalavya made the death-like sacrifice of his archer’s thumb, Krshna had not even entered the Mahabharata plot.
Obviously, in assuming overall responsibility for all these killings, Krshna is alluding to some divine controlling role on his part, as the unseen mover and shaker of the actions of Bheema, Drona, Arjuna, and others (including Ghatotkaca and Karna themselves, vis-à-vis Alaayudha and Ghatotkaca, respectively).
Such a controlling influence seems to be in line with Krshna’s other, and significantly deeper, revelations in the Bhagavad-Gita:
Tasmaat tvam-uttishtha yasho labhasya /
Jitvaa shatroon bhunksho raajyam samrddham //
Mayai-vaite nihataah poorvam-eva /
Nimittamaatram bhava savyasaachin // ~ Gita; 11.33
Therefore, arise thou and gain glory. Conquering thy foes, enjoy a prosperous kingdom. By Me alone are they slain already. Be thou merely the occasion, O Savyasaachi.
And,
Eeshvarah sarva-bhootaanaam hrddesheh-rjuna tishthati /
Bhraamayan sarva-bhootaani yantraaroordhaani maayayaa //
~ Gita; 18.61
The Lord abides in the hearts of all beings, O Arjuna; causing them to move around by His power as if they were mounted on a machine.
Arjuna, as is his inquisitive wont, asks Krshna how he attributes the aforementioned killings as being to his benefit.
Krshna explains that Jarasandha, Shishupala and Ekalavya would otherwise have fought on Duryodhana’s behalf; the slaying of the demons was to save the world from the evil depredations of those God-denying entities. As for Ghatotkaca, he clarifies his double-edged strategy.
‘Had Karna not done the job, I myself would have killed him, which I had not done out of my attachment to you Pandavas. That demon was a sinful brahmin-baiter, yajna-spoiler, and a destroyer of the order of dharma. Hence I had him killed through artifice; in the bargain, I have accomplished the task of compelling Karna to spend the sure-shot Indra-given missile, which he had otherwise kept to use against you.’
But in the matter of Karna, Arjuna’s most potent adversary, Krshna does not leave things to chance by just weakening him. Knowing that even without his divine missile, Karna is almost invincible in fair and equal battle, he tells Arjuna the only way to kill him.
‘When in the course of Karna’s battle with you, he is otherwise harassed on account of his chariot-wheel getting accursedly bogged down into the earth – at that very moment you should slay him quickly by following my hints to that effect.’
The book has been carved up in the following sections:
Part 1 is entitled ‘Preliminaries’. It contains two chapters –
1. Traditional Epics
2. Three Krishnas: Variations on a Theme
Part 2 is entitled ‘Before the War’. It contains four chapters –
3. The Marriage of Draupadi
4. Krishna's Absence from the Dice Game and the Disrobing of Draupadi
5. Krishna and Odinn: Interventions
6. Two Theophanies, Three Steps
Part 3 is entitled ‘World Sovereignty’. It contains five chapters –
7. Sri and the Source of Sovereignty
8. The Royal Virtues
9. Sins of the Sovereign
10. The Deaths of the Four Marshals
11. Absolutions
Part Four is entitled ‘The End of an Age’. It contains three chapters –
12. Epic Eschatology
13. "Renaissance"
14. Conclusions
How can one possibly justify Krshna’s seeming lack of compunction in destroying the great Kaurava generals? Bheeshma, Drona, Karna, Duryodhana – all were casualties, not of fair battle, but Krshna’s machinations. The answer has to be explored in the macro context of Krshna’s overall mission, rather than in the micro analysis of his actions on the battlefield alone. That overall mission is summed up in two nuance-laden statements in the Gita. One is that the Lord manifests Himself in every age to establish righteousness:
Dharmasamsthaapanaaya sambhavaami yuge yuge
~ Gita; 4.8
And quite conceivably from this very proclamation of the Lord, there sprouts Arjuna’s realisation, after beholding Krshna’s cosmic form: Tvam-avyayahshaashvato-dharmagoptaa
~ Gita; 11.18
Thou art the undying guardian of the eternal law.
It is this eternal or ultimate law or dharma that becomes the dominant principle in a dharma-yuddha, requiring the subordination of other principles to attain its end.
The Ramayana too, evocatively illustrates the point in the variant responses of Ravana’s two conscientious brothers, to his war with Rama. Vibheeshana and Kumbhakarna were both confronted with a choice of principles – whether to embrace bhraatr-dharma (brotherly duty) and support Ravana, notwithstanding his wrong deeds; or to serve the ultimate dharma by joining the righteous side. Kumbhakarna chose to sleep through the unholy war for as long as he could, but finally discharged his brotherly duty by fighting till his own death.
Vibheeshana, on the other hand, tried to deter Ravana, and only when he was kicked out did he decide to subordinate his brotherly duty to the ultimate dharma by crossing over to Rama’s camp.
Even in the context of seeking to avoid war, Krshna surely was the foremost emissary of peace in the failed negotiations of the Udyoga-parva.
There can be no doubt that he did his best to prevent the equally destructive civil war by brokering a settlement that recognised the justified claims of the Pandavas (who, thanks to Yudhishthira’s reasonableness, were prepared to forgive and forget all harms caused to them by the Kauravas in return for just five villages).
It was only after that fair and right solution was summarily rejected by Duryodhana and his coterie, that Krshna remoulded himself in the role of a master war strategist – to win at any cost in the armageddon forced on the righteous by the intransigence of the unrighteous.
As succinctly put by RN Dandekar, this ‘significant trait of Krishnaism’ involves a ‘new ethical code’ that emphasises the desirability and urgency of attaining the right end by any expedient means, even though some of those means may not seem right.
It is this new dharma propounded by Krshna that Vyasa, as reported by Sauti, seems to be proclaiming near the fag end of the epic:
Urdhvabaahur viraumy esa na ca kashcic-chrnoti me /
Dharmaad arthash-ca kaamash-ca sa kimartham na sevyate //
~ Svargaarohanikaa; 5.49
With uplifted arms I am crying aloud but nobody hears me. From righteousness is wealth as also pleasure. Why should not righteousness, therefore, be courted?
Inconsistent as it may seem, ‘this dharma is essentially secular in character; not only does it not reject artha (material progress and prosperity), and kaama (pleasures of life), but it actually promotes them’.
At the same time, one must not overlook that Krshna’s commendation of a ‘win at any cost’ approach was in the context of a dharma-yuddha, a label which may not apply to the generalization of warfare.
Vaasudev says: “What they are doing is adharma; what we are doing is also adharma, but we are doing it with an purpose of establishing dharma. They are doing it with the intent of establishing adharma.”
It is not a matter of correct and incorrect. It is an issue of rationale. And of whether you would be triumphant within the limitations of the law or not.
Vasudeva did not for a single instance acknowledge what he was doing was right – he knew it was partially off beam. But what he was trying to achieve was ‘dharmavijaya’. Ends for eternity substantiate means.
Krishna, with the exception of Vyasa is the sole hero of the epic.
The modern Sun Tsu!
Bloody brilliant.
Grab a copy if you choose.
Author: by Alf Hiltebeitel
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass; 1st edition (1 January 2017)
Language: English
Hardcover: 368 pages
Dimensions: 20 x 14 x 4 cm
Country of Origin: India
Price: 297/-
The Mahabharata has entirely taken a hold of yours truly in the last ten odd days.
Whenever it comes to the epics, I am everlastingly enamoured by the deepest and most insightful riddle – Vasudeva Shrikrishna.
Perhaps the best way, as an objective reader, to reach some understanding of the implication of Krshna’s passing, is to review his total role in the Mahabharata narrative.
One would remember what Buddhadev Basu, with his razor-sharp scrutiny, has done just that in his Bengali masterpiece ‘Mahabharater Katha’. Rather than seeking to ‘reinvent the wheel’, one may consequently try and present, with some supplementary comments, the assorted spirit of that fine analysis in the present context.
It’s tad humorous, actually – about a couple of months back I had rather inadvertent conversation with an idiot regarding the relative diplomatic worth of Rama and Krishna. The aforestated idiot suggested that I hadn’t read the Ramayana enough. Of all the things that I had learnt from my Marxist instructors was this: Drown your adversary in a bombardment of data.
The bald rascal was a cute one. I let it go.
Coming back to the book – the tome commences with Wendy Doniger's introduction. An orderly job! No issues there.
Much of the Krshna-enigma in the Mahabharata develops from the outwardly mystifying contradictions inbuilt in many of his actions in the great epic.
In a way, for all the modern talks of exclamation of didactic matters, these Krshna-related ‘contradictions’ in themselves comprise the center elements of trustworthiness that time after time characterise the essential structure of the traditional Vyasa narrative, which has undergone little or no change in all ensuing accretions.
That integrity, in turn, is fundamentally derived from the authority of Krshna (Krishna) himself as a soaring personality with a human side to his ‘demigod-God’ characteristics.
One ‘inconsistency’ that readers may find about Krshna’s role, is the seeming breach between what he promised and what he did, in relation to the Kurukshetra war.
From the time that war clouds gather on the horizon, we see Krshna working to what appears to be a complex and deliberately considered script.
At the start of the Udyoga-parva (Book 5; Chapter 4), he professes equivalent relationship with the Kauravas and Pandavas, but when, brusquely thereafter, both Duryodhana and Arjuna approach him for help, his rejoinder, involving what is known in popular tradition as Krshna’s ‘feigned slumber’, betrays an embryonic bias towards the latter (Udyoga; Chapter 6).
Thereafter, once the war begins, even that fig-leaf of detachment is removed.
Krshna, in his utterances, considerations and exploits, divulges himself as the leading catalyst and guardian of the Pandavas, particularly Arjuna; and the archenemy of the Kauravas.
He breaks his own pledge of remaining unarmed and disengaged from vigorous conflict on the third day of the war, when, seeing the Pandava forces in frenzy under Bheeshma’s offensive, with Arjuna unenthusiastic to face the grandsire in stern battle, he determines on killing the heroic and righteous Kaurava general himself.
Throwing to the winds all pretence of remaining a non-combatant, he jumps down from the chariot and, with the deadly Sudarshana chakra raised in his hand, rushes at Bheeshma ‘like a lion attacking an elephant in rut’.
Arjuna, in trying to restrain him by holding on to his hands, is ‘dragged like a tree is dragged by a great storm’, and only manages to stop him by forcibly holding his feet and appealing for calm.
Again, later in the Bheeshma-parva, Krshna makes his bias abundantly clear to Yudhishthira in these words of unequivocal partisanship:
Pashya me vikramam raajan mahendrasyeva samyuge /
Vimunchantam mahaastraani paatayishyaaami tam rathaat //
Yah shatruh paanduputraanaam macchaatruh sa nasamshayah/
Madarthaa bhavadeeyaa ye ye madeeyaas-tavaiva te //
Tava bhraataa mama sakhaa sambandhee shishya eva ca /
Mamsaan-yutkrtya daasyaami phaalgunaarthe maheepate // ( Bheeshma; 107.31-33)
O King, see my Indra-like might in tomorrow’s battle. I shall kill and fell Bheeshma, the employer of many great weapons, from his chariot on to the ground.
One who is the Pandavas’ enemy is my enemy too — about that there is no doubt. Those who are your friends are my friends; and those who are my friends, know them also as your friends.
O Ruler of the Earth, your brother Arjuna is my friend, brother-in-law, and disciple. I shall even cut my own flesh and dedicate the same for the sake of Phaalguni.
Thus, for all his assurance to stay unarmed, the objective to use weaponry as a last resort is copiously clear from Krishna’s words and actions at Kurukshetra. And his most potent weapons– his highbrow power and his premeditated prowess – are in reality used to telling effect in almost all the influential moments of the Bhaarata war.
What is even more baffling to any lay reader is the lack of all normal principled qualms in most of these Krshna-driven tactics of war.
None else but Krshna could perhaps have hit upon the brilliant, but utterly unscrupulous plan that the way to to kill the invincible Bheeshma had to be elicited from Bheeshma himself.
The disarming and killing of a rampaging Drona through Yudhishthira’s half-lie regarding the purported death of Drona’s son Ashvatthama – perhaps the most sordid act in the supposedly ‘just war’ – is again the direct result of Krshna’s counsel.
It is with a heavy heart that Krshna gives that fateful advice, but the deceitful nature of that patently unethical advice cannot be condoned under any code of morality. Indeed, the single-mindedness with which Krshna drives the ‘kill-Drona-at-any-cost’ strategy is writ large in his two interventions preceding the reprehensible episode of disarming and killing the Acharya.
First, he seeks to sway Arjuna with the words: ‘Only when Drona casts off his weapons can he be slain by humans. Hence, you all should make efforts to kill him by artifice, forsaking inhibitions about slaying your mentor. I think he will cease fighting once he believes that Ashvatthama has been killed; therefore, let someone go and tell him that Ashvatthama is dead.’ (Drona; 190. 11-12)
The upright Arjuna does not find the advice in good taste; but Bheema willingly does Krshna’s bidding. Drona, however, has his doubts about the authenticity of Bheema’s message. So Krshna now convinces Yudhishthira, whom Drona regards as the epitome of truthfulness, to do the dirty work:
Yady-ardhva-divasam drono yudhyate manyumaasthitah /
Saatyam braveemi te senaa vinaasham samupaishyati //
Sa bhavaam-straatu no dronaat satyaaj-jyaayo-hnrtam vachah /
Anrtam jeevitasyaarthe vadanna sprshyate-hnrtaih //
~ Drona; 190. 46-47
O King, if the enraged Drona fights for another half a day then, trust my words, your entire army will be destroyed.
As a result, you save us from Drona; at this grave hour, resorting to untruth is more expedient than adhering to truth. One does Therefore, you save us from Drona; at this grave hour, resorting to untruth is more expedient than adhering to truth. One does not incur sin by telling a lie to save life.
[Here, the pronoun ‘us’ shows Krshna’s personal identification with the Pandava war effort.]
Almost all the formidable heroes on the Kaurava side are slain in battle. But Arjuna stands strong, withstanding myriad assaults, an improbable outcome made possible in large measure by Krshna’s shrewd stratagems. Bhagadatta’s all-powerful vaishnavaastra (Vishnu-weapon) would have certainly proved fatal had it hit Arjuna’s breast, as targeted; but Krshna covers Arjuna to take the missile on his own chest, where it turns into a divine garland.
A ‘distressed’ Arjuna cannot help reminding him that such interference is counter to his own guarantee of non-participation in direct battle (Drona; 29.22).
Arjuna’s relatable humiliation should also remind us, as objectively critical readers, of the ringing last words of the Gita:
Yatra yogeshvaro krshno yatra paartho dhanurdharah /
Tatra shreer-vijayo-bhootir dhruvaa neetir-matir mama //
~ Gita; 18.78)
Wherever there is Krshna, the Lord of yoga, and Partha (Arjuna), the archer; to my mind, there surely will be fortune, victory, welfare and morality.
The Krshna-Arjuna combine did bring fortune, victory, welfare, and morality to the Pandavas, but all these results came in mixed shades of grey – leading to, as predicted by the dying Duryodhana, ‘a disheartened and mournful existence’ for them (Shalya; 61.53).
We shall talk about Krshna’s practical vision of dharma, which motivated his win-at-any-cost approach, a little later. But in the immediate context of his tactics at Kurukshetra, morality and ethics seem to be at a premium.
As already seen, his tactics to eliminate Bheeshma and Drona cannot be construed as just and honourable, by any standard of morality.
But it is in meeting the threat posed to Arjuna by the valiant Karna, that Krshna amazes us by the core consistency of his adroitly planned battle strategy, which is to evade any direct encounter between the two great heroes until Karna is reduced to a lesser force by expending his main weapon elsewhere.
It is mainly due to Krshna’s manoeuvres that the Indra-given all-powerful Shakti missile, which Karna had carefully preserved for use against Arjuna, is expended in slaying Ghatotkaca.
Krshna’s aberrantly wild celebration of Ghatotkaca’s death drives home the facts of his partisanship and guardianship of the Vedic-Brahminical order.
While all the Pandavas are mourning the death of Bheema’s demon son, Krshna embraces Arjuna with an ecstatic war cry.
Then, after bringing his horses under control, he performs a jig, working up a wild beat by striking his palms together. When a disapproving Arjuna asks the reason for this paradoxical, almost vulgar, elation, Krshna makes a clean breast of how his own masterplan has worked to perfection in Karna being weakened, first by the gifting away of his enduring armour and talismanic ornaments, and now by his infallible one-strike missile having been used to kill Ghatotkaca.
He then makes a noteworthy statement to reveal to Arjuna and to us, his larger scheme of things:
‘O Arjuna, it is only for your benefit that I have ensured the destruction, through various means, of Jarasandha, Shishupala, and Ekalavya; as also of demons like Hidimba, Kirmeera, Baka, Alaayudha, Ugrakarmaa, and Ghatotkaca’ [Drona; 181].
It is to be noted that of all these characters, only one warrior– Shishupala – was directly slain by Krshna himself. He was not present at the scene when Hidimba, Kirmeera, Baka and Alaayudha, were killed; and when Ekalavya made the death-like sacrifice of his archer’s thumb, Krshna had not even entered the Mahabharata plot.
Obviously, in assuming overall responsibility for all these killings, Krshna is alluding to some divine controlling role on his part, as the unseen mover and shaker of the actions of Bheema, Drona, Arjuna, and others (including Ghatotkaca and Karna themselves, vis-à-vis Alaayudha and Ghatotkaca, respectively).
Such a controlling influence seems to be in line with Krshna’s other, and significantly deeper, revelations in the Bhagavad-Gita:
Tasmaat tvam-uttishtha yasho labhasya /
Jitvaa shatroon bhunksho raajyam samrddham //
Mayai-vaite nihataah poorvam-eva /
Nimittamaatram bhava savyasaachin // ~ Gita; 11.33
Therefore, arise thou and gain glory. Conquering thy foes, enjoy a prosperous kingdom. By Me alone are they slain already. Be thou merely the occasion, O Savyasaachi.
And,
Eeshvarah sarva-bhootaanaam hrddesheh-rjuna tishthati /
Bhraamayan sarva-bhootaani yantraaroordhaani maayayaa //
~ Gita; 18.61
The Lord abides in the hearts of all beings, O Arjuna; causing them to move around by His power as if they were mounted on a machine.
Arjuna, as is his inquisitive wont, asks Krshna how he attributes the aforementioned killings as being to his benefit.
Krshna explains that Jarasandha, Shishupala and Ekalavya would otherwise have fought on Duryodhana’s behalf; the slaying of the demons was to save the world from the evil depredations of those God-denying entities. As for Ghatotkaca, he clarifies his double-edged strategy.
‘Had Karna not done the job, I myself would have killed him, which I had not done out of my attachment to you Pandavas. That demon was a sinful brahmin-baiter, yajna-spoiler, and a destroyer of the order of dharma. Hence I had him killed through artifice; in the bargain, I have accomplished the task of compelling Karna to spend the sure-shot Indra-given missile, which he had otherwise kept to use against you.’
But in the matter of Karna, Arjuna’s most potent adversary, Krshna does not leave things to chance by just weakening him. Knowing that even without his divine missile, Karna is almost invincible in fair and equal battle, he tells Arjuna the only way to kill him.
‘When in the course of Karna’s battle with you, he is otherwise harassed on account of his chariot-wheel getting accursedly bogged down into the earth – at that very moment you should slay him quickly by following my hints to that effect.’
The book has been carved up in the following sections:
Part 1 is entitled ‘Preliminaries’. It contains two chapters –
1. Traditional Epics
2. Three Krishnas: Variations on a Theme
Part 2 is entitled ‘Before the War’. It contains four chapters –
3. The Marriage of Draupadi
4. Krishna's Absence from the Dice Game and the Disrobing of Draupadi
5. Krishna and Odinn: Interventions
6. Two Theophanies, Three Steps
Part 3 is entitled ‘World Sovereignty’. It contains five chapters –
7. Sri and the Source of Sovereignty
8. The Royal Virtues
9. Sins of the Sovereign
10. The Deaths of the Four Marshals
11. Absolutions
Part Four is entitled ‘The End of an Age’. It contains three chapters –
12. Epic Eschatology
13. "Renaissance"
14. Conclusions
How can one possibly justify Krshna’s seeming lack of compunction in destroying the great Kaurava generals? Bheeshma, Drona, Karna, Duryodhana – all were casualties, not of fair battle, but Krshna’s machinations. The answer has to be explored in the macro context of Krshna’s overall mission, rather than in the micro analysis of his actions on the battlefield alone. That overall mission is summed up in two nuance-laden statements in the Gita. One is that the Lord manifests Himself in every age to establish righteousness:
Dharmasamsthaapanaaya sambhavaami yuge yuge
~ Gita; 4.8
And quite conceivably from this very proclamation of the Lord, there sprouts Arjuna’s realisation, after beholding Krshna’s cosmic form: Tvam-avyayahshaashvato-dharmagoptaa
~ Gita; 11.18
Thou art the undying guardian of the eternal law.
It is this eternal or ultimate law or dharma that becomes the dominant principle in a dharma-yuddha, requiring the subordination of other principles to attain its end.
The Ramayana too, evocatively illustrates the point in the variant responses of Ravana’s two conscientious brothers, to his war with Rama. Vibheeshana and Kumbhakarna were both confronted with a choice of principles – whether to embrace bhraatr-dharma (brotherly duty) and support Ravana, notwithstanding his wrong deeds; or to serve the ultimate dharma by joining the righteous side. Kumbhakarna chose to sleep through the unholy war for as long as he could, but finally discharged his brotherly duty by fighting till his own death.
Vibheeshana, on the other hand, tried to deter Ravana, and only when he was kicked out did he decide to subordinate his brotherly duty to the ultimate dharma by crossing over to Rama’s camp.
Even in the context of seeking to avoid war, Krshna surely was the foremost emissary of peace in the failed negotiations of the Udyoga-parva.
There can be no doubt that he did his best to prevent the equally destructive civil war by brokering a settlement that recognised the justified claims of the Pandavas (who, thanks to Yudhishthira’s reasonableness, were prepared to forgive and forget all harms caused to them by the Kauravas in return for just five villages).
It was only after that fair and right solution was summarily rejected by Duryodhana and his coterie, that Krshna remoulded himself in the role of a master war strategist – to win at any cost in the armageddon forced on the righteous by the intransigence of the unrighteous.
As succinctly put by RN Dandekar, this ‘significant trait of Krishnaism’ involves a ‘new ethical code’ that emphasises the desirability and urgency of attaining the right end by any expedient means, even though some of those means may not seem right.
It is this new dharma propounded by Krshna that Vyasa, as reported by Sauti, seems to be proclaiming near the fag end of the epic:
Urdhvabaahur viraumy esa na ca kashcic-chrnoti me /
Dharmaad arthash-ca kaamash-ca sa kimartham na sevyate //
~ Svargaarohanikaa; 5.49
With uplifted arms I am crying aloud but nobody hears me. From righteousness is wealth as also pleasure. Why should not righteousness, therefore, be courted?
Inconsistent as it may seem, ‘this dharma is essentially secular in character; not only does it not reject artha (material progress and prosperity), and kaama (pleasures of life), but it actually promotes them’.
At the same time, one must not overlook that Krshna’s commendation of a ‘win at any cost’ approach was in the context of a dharma-yuddha, a label which may not apply to the generalization of warfare.
Vaasudev says: “What they are doing is adharma; what we are doing is also adharma, but we are doing it with an purpose of establishing dharma. They are doing it with the intent of establishing adharma.”
It is not a matter of correct and incorrect. It is an issue of rationale. And of whether you would be triumphant within the limitations of the law or not.
Vasudeva did not for a single instance acknowledge what he was doing was right – he knew it was partially off beam. But what he was trying to achieve was ‘dharmavijaya’. Ends for eternity substantiate means.
Krishna, with the exception of Vyasa is the sole hero of the epic.
The modern Sun Tsu!
Bloody brilliant.
Grab a copy if you choose.
July 12, 2021
This book is a rigorous eschatological study of Krishna as well as other 'heroic' characters mentioned in Mahabharata.
Preceded by Wendy Doniger's 'Foreword' it contains the following sections~
Part One— Preliminaries
1. Traditional Epics
2. Three Krishnas: Variations on a Theme
Part Two— Before the War
3. The Marriage of Draupadi
4. Krishna's Absence from the Dice Game and the Disrobing of Draupadi
5. Krishna and Odinn: Interventions
6. Two Theophanies, Three Steps
Part Three— World Sovereignty
7. Sri and the Source of Sovereignty
8. The Royal Virtues
9. Sins of the Sovereign
10. The Deaths of the Four Marshals
11. Absolutions
Part Four— The End of an Age
12. Epic Eschatology
13. "Renaissance"
14. Conclusions
The book concludes with an Appendix (Genealogical Table) and an Index.
It's a thorough job. It's also typically passive-aggressive, trying to judge everything on tjhe basis of predecessors' opinions and simultaneously trying to counter them. The result is excruciatingly soporific— I'm afraid.
Nevertheless, for those who have to study such topics, it’s indispensable.
Your call.
Preceded by Wendy Doniger's 'Foreword' it contains the following sections~
Part One— Preliminaries
1. Traditional Epics
2. Three Krishnas: Variations on a Theme
Part Two— Before the War
3. The Marriage of Draupadi
4. Krishna's Absence from the Dice Game and the Disrobing of Draupadi
5. Krishna and Odinn: Interventions
6. Two Theophanies, Three Steps
Part Three— World Sovereignty
7. Sri and the Source of Sovereignty
8. The Royal Virtues
9. Sins of the Sovereign
10. The Deaths of the Four Marshals
11. Absolutions
Part Four— The End of an Age
12. Epic Eschatology
13. "Renaissance"
14. Conclusions
The book concludes with an Appendix (Genealogical Table) and an Index.
It's a thorough job. It's also typically passive-aggressive, trying to judge everything on tjhe basis of predecessors' opinions and simultaneously trying to counter them. The result is excruciatingly soporific— I'm afraid.
Nevertheless, for those who have to study such topics, it’s indispensable.
Your call.
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