Ascetic teachings for householder kings in the Mahābhārata

Thesis

This thesis traces the development of the idea that householder kings can be liberated or can benefit in some other way from the ascetic teachings that are usually associated with wandering mendicants. This research objective is pursued by examining the narrative contexts in which ascetic teachings are delivered to householder kings as well as by analysing the key debates about kingship, asceticism, and liberation in the Mahābhārata. The first part of this thesis introduces ascetic literature in the Mahābhārata and discusses the role of ascetic ideals in the Mahābhārata narrative with special reference to the character of Yudhiṣṭhira. The second part of the thesis argues that ascetic teachings are commonly offered to kings as a means to overcome a crisis and/or counter grief in the Mahābhārata as well as the Rāmāyaṇa and early Buddhist literature. Usually these are general or stoic ascetic teachings on such topics as impermanence and the inevitability of death and separation. The third part of the thesis analyses those Mahābhārata passages that engage directly with the question of whether a king can be liberated while remaining a householder. It argues that the Mahābhārata offers some models of the liberated householder king that are different from the better-known karmayoga of the Bhagavadgītā. The main textual passages discussed in this thesis are placed in a tentative chronological framework, arguing for a gradual development of the ideal of the liberated householder king.

Authors: Negribs, V

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-nbr2mbzgw
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: liberation; asceticism; Mahābhārata; householder; Indian kingship; mokṣadharma; Hinduism and Buddhism
• Subjects: Asceticism; Mahābhārata