Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T05:04:23.072Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Arjuna and the Second Function: A Dumézilian Crux

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 September 2009

N.J. Allen
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Arjuna is in many ways the central character of the Mahābhārata, the great Sanskrit epic. By order of birth he is the third among the Pāṇḍavas, the five sons of Pānḍu, who represent the forces of cosmic order. When, after humiliation and exile, the Pānḍ;avas finally triumph, primogeniture prevails, and it is the eldest brother, Yudhisfhira, who takes the throne; but in other respects, Arjuna is usually a more salient figure than his dutiful eldest brother. Thus it is to Arjuna that Krishna addresses his teaching in the Bhagavad Gitā (part of Book 6 of the Epic). Moreover although Pānḍu is pater to the five brothers, each has his own divine genitor, and the genitor of Arjuna is Indra, king of the gods in the classical pantheon. A paper about Arjuna is a paper about a major figure in Hindu tradition.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , Volume 9 , Issue 3 , November 1999 , pp. 403 - 418
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allen, N. J., 1995. “Why did Odysseus become a horse?” Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford, XXVI(2), pp. 143–54.Google Scholar
Allen, N. J., 1996a. “The hero's five relationships: a proto-Indo-European story”. In Myth and Myth-making, ed. Leslie, J., pp. 1–20. London.Google Scholar
Allen, N. J., 1996b. “Homer's simile, Vyasa's story”. Journal of Mediterranean Studies, VI, pp. 206–18.Google Scholar
Allen, N. J., 1996c. “Romulus and the fourth function”. In Indo-European Religion after Dumézil, ed. Polomé, E., PP. 13–36. WashingtonGoogle Scholar
Allen, N. J., 1998 “The Indo-European prehistory of yoga”. International Journal of Hindu Studies, II, pp. 1–20.Google Scholar
Allen, N. J., In press a. “Imra, pentads and catastrophes”. In Georges Dumézil (1898–1986):dix ans après: Témoignage, bilan, perspectives, ed. Michel, J. H. and Sterckx, C.. Brussels.Google Scholar
Allen, N. J., In press b. “Hinduism, structuralism and Dumézil“. To appear in Polomé, E., ed. Vana Indo-Europea.Google Scholar
Bailey, G. 1983. “Suffering in the Mahābhārata: Draupadī and Yudhiȧṭhira”. Puruȧārtha, VII, pp. 109–29.Google Scholar
Biardeau, M. 1982. “The salvation of the king in the Mahābhārata”. In Way of Life: King, Householder, Renouncer (Essays in Honour of Louis Dumont), ed. Madan, T. N., pp. 75–97. Paris,Google Scholar
Péterfalvi, J-M. 1985. Le Mahābhārata, vol. I: Livres 1–5. Paris.Google Scholar
Brockington, J. 1998. The Sanskrit epics. Leiden.Google Scholar
Dubuisson, D. 1986. La légende royale dans l'hide ancienne. Paris.Google Scholar
Dumézil, G. 1938. “La préhistoire des flamines majeurs”. Revue de l'histoire des religions, CXVIII, pp. 188–200.Google Scholar
Dumézil, G. 1968. Mythe et épopée: l'idéologie des trois fonctions dans les é;popées des peuples indo-européens. Vol. 1. Paris.Google Scholar
Dumézil, G. 1971. Mythe et épopée, Vol. 2. Paris.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dumézil, G. 1977. Les dieux souverains des Indo-Européans. Paris.Google Scholar
Dumézil, G. 1974. La religion romaine archaïque. 2nd ed. Paris.Google Scholar
Dumézil, G. 1981. (Entretien). In Georges Dumézil, ed. Bonnet, J., pp. 15–44. Paris.Google Scholar
Dumézil, G. 1985. Heur et malheur du guerrier. 2nd ed. Paris.Google Scholar
Dumézil, G. 1987. Entretiens avec Didier Eribon. Paris.Google Scholar
Hiltebeitel, A. 1986. The Ritual of Battle: Krishna in the Mahābhārata. Ithaca.Google Scholar
Katz, R. 1989. Arjuna in the Mahabharata: Where Krishna is There is Victory. Columbia.Google Scholar
Macdonell, A. A. 1898 (1974 reprint). Vedic mythology. Delhi.Google Scholar
O'Flaherty, W. D. 1981. The Rig Veda: an anthology. Harmondsworth.Google Scholar
Rees, A., and D., Rees. 1961. Celtic heritage: ancient tradition in Ireland and Wales. London.Google Scholar
Renou, L. 1961. Grammaire sanskrite (2nd ed). Paris.Google Scholar
Scheuer, J. 1982. Śiva dans le Mahābhārata. Paris.Google Scholar
Schlerath, B. 1960. Das Königtum im Rig- und Atharvaveda. Wiesbaden.Google Scholar
Sergent, B. 1997. Genèse de l'Inde. Paris.Google Scholar
Sterckx, C. 1975. “Le ‘Panthéon théorique’ des Indo-Européens et le nombre cinq.” Latomus, XXIV, pp. 3–16.Google Scholar
Sterckx, C. 1992. “Les sept rois de Rome et la sociogonie indo-européenne.” Latomus, LI, pp. 52–72.Google Scholar
van Duitenen, J. A. B. IB. 1973–1978. The Mahābhārata. Vols. 1–3. Chicago.Google Scholar
Vielle, C. 1996. Le mytho-cyde héroïque dans l'aire indo-européenne: correspondances et transformations helléno-aryennes. Louvain-la-neuve.Google Scholar