Yudhisthira's Figure in the 14th Volume of the Mahābhārata : In Comparison with the Characteristics of Cakravartin in the Buddhist Texts

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  • ユディシュティラと仏教的「転輪王」の観念 --『マハーバーラタ』第14巻と仏典の転輪王説話との比較--
  • ユディシュティラ ト ブッキョウテキ 「 テンリンオウ 」 ノ カンネン : 『 マハーバーラタ 』 ダイ14カン ト ブッテン ノ テンリンオウ セツワ ト ノ ヒカク

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Abstract

Yudhisthira's Aśvamedha depicted in the Āśvamedhika-Parvan (ĀśvP) of the Mahābhārata (MBh) is characterised by the long episode of chasing the sacrificial horse, in which Arjuna as the chief of horse guards often fights against the bereaved kin of Kauravas, and finally subjugates them by expressing a merciful message from King Yudhisthira. The most remarkable thing in our discussion is that the horsechasing episode in the ĀśvP shows some similarities to an episode of Cakravartin found in some early Buddhist texts: (1) the monarch tours in all directions while chasing the royal symbol (horse or cakra 'wheel'); (2) the monarch subjugates the kings in all directions; (3) the monarch repeatedly expresses his merciful message with the same word "not to be killed" (Pa. na hantabbo/Skt. na hantavyās). Based upon some examinations, including the comparison with the above-mentioned Buddhist texts, we may suppose that the horse-chasing episode in the ĀśvP borrowed its outer frame from some sort of the cakra-chasing episode in the Buddhist tradition, which was circulated at the time of compiling the ĀśvP. On the other hand, the story of ĀśvP focuses on the "peace of survivors' minds". Yudhisthira's Aśvamedha itself has the function of purifying his all sins. The remaining issue is "appeasing the grudge of bereaved opponents after war", and the horse-chasing episode depicts on how Yudhisthira accomplishes this difficult task. The cakrachasing episode in the Buddhist tradition was probably an important source of the entire plot of the horsechasing episode in the ĀśvP, and it provided also the conceptual basis of Yudhisthira's figure in the ĀśvP, viz. the "merciful ruler" who appeases the grudge of opponents with his own virtue.

Journal

  • 人文學報

    人文學報 115 27-49, 2020-06-30

    THE INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH IN HUMANITIES, KYOTO UNIVERSITY

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