[INDOLOGY] Purūravas’s buddhi in MBh II 69.15

Mon Jun 5 09:39:55 UTC 2023

Dear Dominik,

It seems to me that Purūravas is mentioned here simply as a person who is
famous for his buddhi. As was just pointed out, he is elsewhere associated
with rājadharma. The story about his affair with Urvaśī does not seem to be
relevant here.

The meaning of buddhi in this passage is unclear, but I suspect that it
means something like stoic wisdom, namely, a wisdom that allows Yudhiṣṭhira
avoid suffering in exile and thereby retain capacity for action when the
exile ends and it is time to retake the kingdom.

This interpretation is in harmony with the earlier mention of samādhi,
which here seems to mean something like "composure" and with another
previous statement in Vidura's speech: 02,069.007c nādharmeṇa jitaḥ kaś cid
vyathate vai parājayāt (Van Buitenen: "No one who has been defeated against
the Law should suffer from his defeat.")

There are a number of Mahābhārata passages where buddhi is a means of
overcoming suffering. This is discussed in chapters 4 and 5 of my
unpublished thesis "Ascetic Teachings for Householder Kings in the
Mahābhārata", which I would be happy to share off-list. For now, here is
one relevant reference that mentions buddhi and the same verb as Vidura
(i.e., vyathate):

12,105.012a purastād eva te buddhir iyaṃ kāryā vijānataḥ
12,105.012c anityaṃ sarvam evedam ahaṃ ca mama cāsti yat
12,105.013a yat kiṃ cin manyase 'stīti sarvaṃ nāstīti viddhi tat
12,105.013c evaṃ na vyathate prājñaḥ kṛcchrām apy āpadaṃ gataḥ

Van Buitenen's translation of buddhi as "resolve" is probably inspired by
the vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ of Bhagavadgītā 2.41. While buddhi does appear
to be related to resolve in this passage, I understand that it is
Yudhiṣṭhira's understanding of dharma that is the basis of his composure
and resolve.

These two papers on buddhi may also be useful:
"Saving Buddhis" in Epic "Mokṣadharma" by James L. Fitzgerald ;
International Journal of Hindu Studies Vol. 19, No. 1/2, Special Issue:
Studies in Honor of Edwin Gerow (APRIL–AUGUST 2015), pp. 97-137

The Buddhi in Early Epic "Adhyātma" Discourse (the Dialog of Manu and
"Bṛhaspati") by James L. Fitzgerald ; Journal of Indian Philosophy Vol. 45,
No. 4, Special Issue on Locating Philosophy in the Mahābhārata (September
2017), pp. 767-816

Best wishes,
Valters

On Mon, 5 Jun 2023 at 11:44, Christophe Vielle via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> Maybe his ritual role - alluded in  ṚV 1,31.4, cf. ŚBM 11, 5, 1.14-17.
> See MBh:
> 01,070.016a purūravās tato *vidvān* ilāyāṃ samapadyata
> 01,070.017a trayodaśa samudrasya dvīpān aśnan purūravāḥ
> 01,070.017c amānuṣair vṛtaḥ sattvair mānuṣaḥ san *mahāyaśāḥ*
> ...
> 01,070.021c ānināya kriyārthe 'gnīn yathāvad vihitāṃs tridhā
>
> He is also the interlocutor of two discussions about rājadharma in MBh 12,
> 73-74
>
> Le 5 juin 2023 à 09:41, Dr. Dominik A. Haas, BA MA <dominik at haas.asia> a
> écrit :
>
> Dear colleagues,
>
> I have a brief question regarding the interpretation of a passage in the
> Mahabhārata. In II 69.15, as the Pāṇḍavas are about to go into exile,
> Vidura says to Yudhiṣṭhira:
>
> *purūravasam ailaṃ tvaṃ buddhyā jayasi pāṇḍava* /
> “With (your) resolve/intellect, you surpass Purūravas Aila, O Pāṇḍava!”
>
> As I understand it, this means that Yudhiṣṭhira’s *buddhi * is greater
> than Purūravas’s. Purūravas is of course well known for his affair with the *apsaras
> *Urvaśī; I wonder, however, what *buddhi *refers to here. How would you
> interpret this passage?
>
> Below I attach MBh II 69.11–16 and Van Buitenen’s translation.
>
> Thank you for your time and best regards
>
> D. Haas
>
>
> 02,069.011a eṣa vai sarvakalyāṇaḥ samādhis tava bhārata
> 02,069.011c nainaṃ śatrur viṣahate śakreṇāpi samo 'cyuta
> 02,069.012a himavaty anuśiṣṭo 'si merusāvarṇinā purā
> 02,069.012c dvaipāyanena kṛṣṇena nagare vāraṇāvate
> 02,069.013a bhṛgutuṅge ca rāmeṇa dṛṣadvatyāṃ ca śaṃbhunā
> 02,069.013c aśrauṣīr asitasyāpi maharṣer añjanaṃ prati
> 02,069.013d*0596_01 kalmāṣītīrasaṃsthasya gatas tvaṃ śiṣyatāṃ bhṛgoḥ
> 02,069.014a draṣṭā sadā nāradasya dhaumyas te 'yaṃ purohitaḥ
> 02,069.014c mā hārṣīḥ sāṃparāye tvaṃ buddhiṃ tām ṛṣipūjitām
> 02,069.015a purūravasam ailaṃ tvaṃ buddhyā jayasi pāṇḍava
> 02,069.015c śaktyā jayasi rājño 'nyān ṛṣīn dharmopasevayā
> 02,069.016a aindre jaye dhṛtamanā yāmye kopavidhāraṇe
> 02,069.016c visarge caiva kaubere vāruṇe caiva saṃyame
>
> <LU2Akavj1oGOKUJP.png>
>
>
>
> __________________
> *Dr. Dominik A. Haas, BA MA*
> dominik at haas.asia | ORCID 0000-0002-8505-6112
> <https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8505-6112>| academia.edu DominikAHaas
> <https://univie.academia.edu/DominikAHaas>| twitter DominikAHaas
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> Lecturer, University of Vienna (2023–)
> DOC Fellow, Austrian Academy of Sciences (2020–2022)
>
> Recent publications:
> – Translating the Gāyatrī-Mantra
> https://alt.cardiffuniversitypress.org/articles/10.18573/alt.57
> – Puṣpikā 6. Proceedings of the 12th International Indology Graduate
> Research Symposium (Vienna, 2021). https://doi.org/10.11588/hasp.1133
> – Gāyatrī: Mantra and Mother of the Vedas. A Philological-Historical
> Study. Dissertation. https://doi.org/10.25365/thesis.72156
>
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