RÄKá¹£asa BhÄ«ma: Wolfbelly Among Ogres and Brahmans in the Sanskrit MahÄbhÄrata and the Veá¹Ä«saá¹hÄra

David L. Gitomer

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RÄKá¹£asa BhÄ«ma: Wolfbelly Among Ogres and Brahmans in the Sanskrit MahÄbhÄrata and the Veá¹Ä«saá¹hÄra

In: Essays on the MahÄbhÄrata

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David L. Gitomer

David L. Gitomer
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 296â323

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004644670_017

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Abstract

BhÄ«maâs killing of Duryodhana ends the great MahÄbhÄrata war and intiates the reestablishment of dharma in the reign of his older brother Yudhiá¹£á¹hira. Like many of the PÄá¹á¸ava victories, however, the act itself is essentially one of adharma. Yet the extreme violence, submerged sexual cannibalism, and suggested sacrificial motifs in BhÄ«maâs murder of Duryodhana and especially of his brother Duá¸¥ÅÄsana go beyond mere adharma: they look like the work of a rÄká¹£asa. This observation prompts a reexamination of the preceding BhÄ«ma stories in the main narrative. Not only does BhÄ«ma possess certain physical and behavioral characteristics of these ogres, he actually weds a rÄká¹£asÄ« (Hiá¸imbÄ) and on her fathers a son (Ghaá¹otkaca) who figures significantly in the later narrative. Further, a programmatic series of encounters with (and killings of) rÄká¹£asas construct (or reveal) the various aspects of BhÄ«maâs identity, culminating in the persona capable of destroying Duá¸¥ÅÄsana by ripping open his chest and drinking his blood. Most important, these encounters place BhÄ«ma in the center of the opposition between brahmans and rÄká¹£asas, the keepers of the sacrifice and the smashers of the sacrifice. He intervenes as a âgoodâ rÄká¹£asa in scenarios of distress involving these two orders of beings (who are actually mirror images of each other), with the result that rÄká¹£asas and PÄá¹á¸avas undergo transformations. All these motifs are highlighted in the Sanskrit drama called Veá¹Ä«saá¹hÄra of Bhaá¹á¹a NÄrÄyaá¹a, which uses BhÄ«maâs bloodthirst to articulate his passionate devotion to DraupadÄ«; the dynamics of this relationship can thus be more easily traced in the epic itself. Since the play also features a number of rÄká¹£asas who seem to be functioning as vidÅ«á¹£akas (normally the degraded brahman buffoons), we find peculiar confirmation of the brahman-rÄká¹£asa connection as well as new insights into the nature of the comic in the classical drama.

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Essays on the MahÄbhÄrata

Series:Â Brill's Indological Library, Volume: 1

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004644670

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 01 Jan 1991

Subjects
- Asian Studies
  - South Asia

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RÄKá¹£asa BhÄ«ma: Wolfbelly Among Ogres and Brahmans in the Sanskrit MahÄbhÄrata and the Veá¹Ä«saá¹hÄra

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Essays on the MahÄbhÄrata

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RÄKá¹£asa BhÄ«ma: Wolfbelly Among Ogres and Brahmans in the Sanskrit MahÄbhÄrata and the Veá¹Ä«saá¹hÄra

Essays on the MahÄbhÄrata