Between History and Divine Plan: The Mahābhārata’s Royal Patriline in Context

The Mahābhārata royal patriline is tracked and contextualized here in relation to two prominent themes: its concept of a divine plan (somewhat paralleled in the Rāmāyaṇa) and its chief genre term itihāsa or ‘history’. It is found that these two themes intersect in the Mahābhārata at the point where...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Religions of South Asia
Main Author: Hiltebeitel, Alf 1942-2023 (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Equinox 2011
In: Religions of South Asia
Further subjects:B Kālī
B divine plan
B Bhīṣma
B Gaṅgā
B Ambā
B Mahābhārata
B Rāmāyaṇa
B Vyāsa
B Satyavatī
B itihāsa
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Summary:The Mahābhārata royal patriline is tracked and contextualized here in relation to two prominent themes: its concept of a divine plan (somewhat paralleled in the Rāmāyaṇa) and its chief genre term itihāsa or ‘history’. It is found that these two themes intersect in the Mahābhārata at the point where the goddess Gaṅgā ‘descends’ into the royal line as the wife of King Śaṃtanu. Gaṅgā’s intervention then provides new means to interpret the part played by Śaṃtanu’s second wife, Kālī Satyavatī. Attention is given to etymological clues to the ways these two mothers, and their sons Bhīṣma and Vyāsa respectively, supply continuity to the dynastic line.
ISSN:1751-2697
Contains:Enthalten in: Religions of South Asia
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1558/rosa.v5i1/2.103