ABSTRACT
Although the Maha¯bha¯rata is arguably a text devoted to s´a¯nti (peace, tranquility) and the achievement of mukti (i.e. moks
˙ a), actual models of enlight-
ened souls are few.1 Several enlightened figures are mentioned in the work: Mudgala, Medha¯vin, Asita Devala, Jaigı¯s´avya, Sanatkuma¯ra, and Ma¯rkan
˙ d ˙ eya, among others. Studying references to these characters, how-
ever, we learn very little about them beyond what we may infer from the detritus of other tales: that the mukta have privileged knowledge of people’s thoughts and actions, that they pass freely through portals of space and time; that they have a penchant for being somewhat meddlesome, with a knack for turning up in moments of nail-biting intensity; that they are, of course, beyond death. Other than this, the presence of the mukta is shadowy, hazy; they exist like blurred, out-of-focus figures in otherwise sharply vivid family photographs. Two exceptions to this pattern might be S´uka (12.30918), the son of the author Vya¯sa, and to a lesser extent Sulabha¯ (12.308), the bhiks
˙ ukı¯ (female mendicant) who matches wits with King Janaka in the
S´a¯ntiparvan. The narrative of S´uka tells us something about the path to a complete and final acorporeal freedom from the world, for which one shuns all attachment and proceeds on the course of eternity along a solitary path. The story of Sulabha¯ informs us about the values associated with an enlightened mind, and presents a figure who, although apparently possessing liberating knowledge, nevertheless remains active in the world. Both accounts deal with renunciation and the sacrifices it entails.2 In the following, I will analyse these narratives with a view to observing both the social aspects of renunciation and the personal ones. My ultimate interest is in the ethical import of the brahmava¯din’s actions as they valorize or contest the persistent categories by which Hinduism orders society. While brahmanirva¯n
˙ am implies
the absolute purge of social values, it would nevertheless appear that the brahmava¯din’s acts are yet circumscribed by social biases to which s/he pays a
muted ideological deference. These matters are of concern to an ethicist. The Maha¯bha¯rata is a key scriptural text of Hinduism, with tremendous power to shape and form the imagination of modern Hindus. This given, its ethical stances bear scrutiny. What enlightened perspectives do the mukta bring to questions of entrenched social hierarchies? Given the text’s leanings toward an ethics of non-harm, how do these speak to concerns of social justice? By focusing on two case studies of the mukta, I hope to elicit some critical answers to these contemporary questions, bearing in mind that the epics are works that continue to have profound relevance for Hindus.
