Abstract
This article examines closely an important passage at the conclusion of the Mahābhārata wherein the final state of the epic heroes after death is defined. The Critical Edition’s phrasing of what precisely became of the characters once they arrived in heaven is unclear, and manuscript variants offer two apparently contradictory readings. In this article I present evidence in support of one of these readings, and respond to the Mahābhārata’s seventeenth century commentator Nīlakaṇṭha Caturdhara, who champions the other. Underlying and prompting this debate is a much broader issue of the epic narrative: the complex nature of the Mahābhārata heroes as both agents in a universe governed by karma, and their identities as “portions” of divine figures acting within a broader dramatic structure of eschatological myth.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- BāU:
-
Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad
- BrS:
-
Brahmasūtra
- CE:
-
Critical Edition Mahābhārata
- CU:
-
Chāndogya Upaniṣad
- MBh:
-
Mahābhārata
- Vu:
-
Vulgate Mahābhārata
References
Biardeau M. (1981) Études de Mythologie Hindoue I: Cosmogonies Purāṇiques. Publication de l’École Française d’Extrême-Orient, Pondichéry
Biardeau M. (1990) Études de mythologie hindoue II: Bhakti et Avatāra. Publication de l’École Française d’Extrême-Orient, Pondichéry
Brahmasūtram. (1985). With the commentary of Śāṇkarācārya. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Couture A. (2001) From Viṣṇu’s deeds to viṣṇu’s play, or observations on the word avatāra as a designation for the manifestations of Viṣṇu. Journal of Indian Philosophy, 29(3): 313–326
Dumézil G. (1959) La transposition des dieux souverains mineurs en héros dans le Mahābhārata. Indo-Iranian Journal, 3(1): 1–16
Dumézil, G. (1968–1973). Mythe et Épopée: L’Idéologie des Trois Fonctions dans les Épopées des Peuples Indo-Européens (3 vols). Paris: Éditions Gallimard.
Gonda J. (1974) Dumézil’s tripartite ideology: Some critical observations. Journal of Asian Studies, 34(1): 139–149
Hacker, P. (1960). Zur Entwicklung der Avatāralehre. Archiv für Indische Philosophie, 4(14),47–70. Reprinted from Paul Hacker: Kleine Schriften: Herausgegeben von Lambert Schmithausen, 1978, Wiesbaden: Steiner: pp. 404–427.
Īśādidaśopaniṣadaḥ. (1964). With the commentary of Śāṇkarācārya. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Jacobsen K.A. (2006) What similies in Sāṃkhya do: A comparison of the similies in the Sāṃkhya texts in the Mahābhārata, the Sāṃkyakārikā and the Sāṃkhyasūtra. Journal of Indian Philosophy, 34(6): 587–605
Johnson G. (1966) Varuṇa and Dhrtarāṣṭra. Indo-Iranian Journal, 9(4): 245–265
Kinjawadekar, P. R., (Ed.) (1929–1936). The Mahābhāratam with Nīlakaṇṭha’s commentary Bhāratabhāvadīpa (7 vols). Poona: Shankar Narhar Joshi (Citrashala Press).
Long J.B. (1980) The concepts of human action and rebirth in the Mahābhārata. In: O’Flaherty W.D. (eds) Karma and rebirth in classical indian traditions. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp 38–60
Minkowski C.Z. (1989) Janamejaya’s Sattra and ritual structure. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 109(3): 401–420
Minkowski C.Z. (2002) Nīlakaṇṭha Caturdhara’s Mantrakāśīkhaṇḍa. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 122(2): 329–344
Minkowski, C. Z. (2005a). Nīlakaṇṭha’s vedic readings in the Harivaṁśa commentary. In P. Koskikallio (Ed.), Epics, Khilas, and Purāṇas: Continuities and ruptures. Proceedings of the third Dubrovnik international conference on the sanskrit epics and Purāṇas, September 2002 (pp. 411–433). Zagreb: Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
Minkowski C.Z. (2005) What makes a work “traditional”? On the success of Nīlakaṇṭha’s Mahābhārata commentary. In: Squarcini F. (eds) Boundaries, dynamics and construction of traditions in South Asia. Firenze University Press, Firenze, pp 225–252
Olivelle, P. (Ed., Trans.) (1996). Upaniṣads. New York: Oxford University Press.
Potter K.H. (1980) Karma theory in some Indian philosophical systems. In: O’Flaherty W.D. (eds) Karma and rebirth in classical Indian traditions. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp 241–267
Potter, K.H. (eds) (1981) Encyclopedia of Indian philosophies. Vol. 3: Advaita Vedānta up to Śaṃkara and his pupils. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi
Roy, P. C. (1952–1962). The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa: Translated into English prose [by Kisari Mohan Ganguli] from the original Sanskrit text (2nd ed., 12 vols). Calcutta: Oriental Publishing.
Sharma R.K. (2001) Salient features of Nīlakaṇṭha’s introduction to the Mahābhārata. PurāG 43: 95–100
Sinha, N. (Trans.) (1915). The Samkhya philosophy: Containing (1) Sâmkhya-Pravachana Sûtram, with the Vrtti of Aniruddha, and the Bhâṣya of Vijñâna Bhikṣu and extracts from the Vrtti-Sâra of Mahâdeva Vedantin; (2) Tatva Samâsa (3) Sâmkya Kârikâ; (4) Panchaśikhâ Sûtram. Allahabad: Sudhindra Nath Vasu.
Śrīmadbhagavadgītā. (1929). With the commentary of Śāṇkarācārya. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Sukthankar (Ed.) (1933–1966). The Mahābhārata (19 vols). Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.
Sullivan B.M. (1990) Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa and the Mahābhārata: A new interpretation. E.J. Brill, New York
Sutton N. (2000) Religious doctrines in the Mahābhārata. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi
Van Buitenen, J. A. B. (Ed., Trans.) (1973). The Mahābhārata: I. The book of the beginning. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Austin, C.R. Janamejaya’s Last Question. J Indian Philos 37, 597–625 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-009-9075-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-009-9075-y