The Function of Weapons in the Kṛṣṇa-Cycle

Száler, Péter (2024) The Function of Weapons in the Kṛṣṇa-Cycle. In: Proceedings of the Tenth Dubrovnik International Conference on the Sanskrit Epics and Puranas. Dev Publishers. (Submitted)

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Abstract

When Robert P. Goldman argued that the legendary Kṛṣṇa may have been rooted in two unrelated figures, he drew attention to an often-overlooked difference between Kṛṣṇa’s work as the cowherd of Mathurā and as the prince of Dvārakā. According to this, the Kṛṣṇa of Mathurā was involved in bare-handed combat (niyuddha), unlike the Kṛṣṇa of Dvārakā, who was celebrated as a discus-wielding warrior. In this article I am keen on investigating how the available sources interpret Kṛṣṇa’s involvement in these two types of combat. When the Bhagavadgītā (2.31–32) introduces warfare as the most convenient way for the warriors to attain heaven, it immediately attributes some divine power to the weapons as the physical vehicles that transport the fallen heroes to the celestial world. In the context of the unarmed combat, on the other hand, the Harivaṃśa (76.40) affirms that the absence of weapons in combat causes an unfruitful death and leads the fallen one to hell. These approaches unfold two opposing roles of Kṛṣṇa’s earthly career, which are punishment and salvation. My aim is to show how the appearance of weapons in different sources (Mahābhārata, Harivaṃśa, Brahma-, Viṣṇu- and Bhāgavata-purāṇa) transforms the divine hero from punisher to saviour.

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