Introduction

The purpose of this essay is to illustrate the prevalence of guru-student relationships in the Mahābhārata. I will argue that not only are stories of teachers and their students central to the epic, involving key characters and pivotal scenes of the narrative, but the guru-disciple relations presented therein are frequently marred by the shortcomings of the characters involved, confused by the circumstances in which they are formed, and morally complicated by the real virtues of some of the characters who nevertheless break the laws of dharma, as they are expressed in the Mānavadharmaśāstra (hereafter referred to as Manu). In a word, the Mahābhārata depicts what cannot but be described as failed teacher-student relationships and in doing so narrates the very deterioration of dharma that one would anticipate in the epic, given the work's larger themes.

That such concerns play themselves out within the parameters of the ideally sacrosanct teacher-student bond —a social institution meant to perpetuate knowledge, both by controlling access to it and ensuring its accurate transmission — further expresses a certain concern for the integrity of the institution. Historically derived from and structurally similar to the father-son bond, the Mahābhārata narrates the social dangers of failed teacher-student relationships, in particular those involving princes and kings, as well as the role that the institution plays in maintaining the integrity of the social order.