Yudhiṣṭhira, Salvation, and the Struggle for Selfless Action in the Sanskrit Mahābhārata - (Brill's Indological Library)

About the Book

This book proposes that the Sanskrit Mahābhārata's main character, King Yudhiṣṭhira, serves as a conduit for the integration and organization of diverse ideas of salvation. Notably, he aids to redefine mokṣa as selfless action done for the sake of duty.

Book Synopsis

How does the Sanskrit Mahābhārata act as a religious text? What is the relation between this text's ideas of salvation and its main character King Yudhiṣṭhira? This book shows that Yudhiṣṭhira serves as a medium for the organization of diverse soteriological ideas. Examining this character's narrative trajectory of struggles and redemptions, this book shows he is intimately associated with mokṣa (liberation from rebirth). Importantly, Yudhiṣṭhira serves to redefine mokṣa as selfless action performed as part of a person's inherited duty (svadharma), action done for the sake of dharma alone.

About the Author

Paloma Muñoz Gómez, Ph.D. (2020) University of Queensland, is an Adjunct Professor at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. Her research investigates ideas of moral behavior, personal salvation, emotions and other mental states in Sanskrit religious narratives.