Madhuvidya

Author(s): S D Laddu, T N Dharmadhikari, Madhvi Kolhatkar, Pratibha Pingle
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 725

86 / Indian Literature
for such important statements as those made by Markandeya (p.50), and Bhisma (p.51)'. This practice has led him to assume, as is widely done, that the famous stanza janami dharmam etc. (p.51) occurs in the Mahābhirata. But this is not true. The stanza occurs in the Pandavagitā (57) of unknown authorship and there it is put in the mouth, not of Dhrtarāsıra but, of Duryodhana. However a stanza occurs in the Mahobharata (2.57.8) the last two lines of which are somewhat similar to those of stanza janami dharmam etc. The last two lines of the Pandavagitā stanza run as kenāpi devena hrdi sthitena vathá niyukto 'smi tathi carimi. The Mahabharata lines run as : teninusispaḥ pravanad frumbho yatha niyukto 'smi tatha valami.
Arjuna's dilemma---should he fight the war and be responsible for killing his kinsmen or should he lay down the arms and spare their lives-has been referred to by many contributors participating in the colloquium. M.M. Agrawal devotes an entire paper to this subject: “Arjuna's Moral Predicament". In Agrawal's opinion Arjuna's hesitation reflects partly a conflict of sentiments and partly of prudence, nevertheless it is a moral dilemma. In the light of the famous Gita stanza naşso mohah smrtir labdha ... (18.73). Agrawal states the net result of the Gira-teaching to be as follows: "He (i.e. Arjuna) is free from moha, and relinquishing all thoughts of personal gain he is now in a position to act from the motive of duty alone" (p.140). But it would be well to remember that this is true only in the limited context of the Gită. It is not true in the larger Mahābhārata context because Arjuna's subsequent behaviour during and after the war does not bear this out. Also Arjuna does not really say what Agrawal makes him say. He simply says that he is now free from the mola regarding his duty (he was dharmasammüdhacetaḥ [2.7]a before the Gitā was told to him), he has regained the memory of his duty which he had lost and is therefore willing to do what Kșşna has asked him to do.
These are about all the papers (a total of four out of thirteen) that have a direct bearing on the subject of the moral dilemma. The rest of the papers have only a somewhat loose connection
Nov.-Dec. 1990
Madhu Vidyā/700