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 This is discussed in chapters 4 and 5 of my unpublished thesis "Ascetic Teachings for Householder Kings in the Mahābhārata", which I would be happy to share off-list.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@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@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

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__________________
Dr. Dominik A. Haas, BA MA
dominik@haas.asia | ORCID 0000-0002-8505-6112 | academia.edu DominikAHaas | twitter DominikAHaas | hcommons DominikAHaas
ÖGRW | DMG | SDN | WPU
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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