|
|
|
Asoka and Yudhishthira: A Historical Setting for the Ideological Tensions of the Mahabharata?
| Title: | Asoka and Yudhishthira: A Historical Setting for the Ideological Tensions of the Mahabharata?
| | Author: | Sutton N. | | Publication: | Religion / Academic Press | | Enumeration: | vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 333-341, October 1997 | | Abstract: | The Mahabharata presents its hearers with the key figure of Yudhishthira, a king who repeatedly refuses to accept that violent opposition is the correct way to respond to the assaults of his aggressive political enemies. Historical evidence reveals that in the third century BCE India was ruled by a renowned emperor who was similarly opposed to the use of violent means to achieve political goals. By highlighting parallels between the text of the epic and the Asokan edicts, this paper suggests that the character of Yudhishthira may have been modeled on the historical Asoka and that the extended debates about the nature of royal dharma contained in the text may reflect ideological controversies arising from Asoka's ideas on kingship. Copyright 1997 Academic Press Limited Source of Abstract: Provided by Publisher | | Tools: |
| |
|
