In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Chapter 7  The Conundrum of the Warrior-Ascetic Whatever is hard to be traversed, whatever is hard to be attained, whatever is hard to be reached, whatever is hard to be performed, all (this) may be accomplished by austerity; for austerity (possesses a power) which it is difficult to surpass. Manusmr .ti1 Arjuna’s Austerity: Variations on a Theme Arjuna’s austerity is a seminal event in the action of the Kirātārjun ı̄ya. It is remarkable, though, that Bhāravi describes the hero’s tapas in no less than four sequences of verses in cantos 6 and 12, twice in the authorial voice, and twice in the speeches of the denizens of the Himalayas, who report the hero’s ascetic rites to the gods.2 Whereas in the Mahābhārata Indra intercepts Arjuna as soon as he has reached Indrakı̄la, in the Kirātārjunı̄ya the god arrives at the scene only after Arjuna’s ascetic practice is well under way, and the guhyakas who live on the mountain have approached him with the news of Arjuna’s ascetic practice (canto VI). Similarly, after Indra’s visit, in canto XII the description of Arjuna’s renewed efforts at asceticism is followed by the complaint of the worried Himalayan hermits to Śiva. In part, the repetition is a result of the poet’s need to resume the thread of the main narrative (and a contrasting mood as a bridge to the heroic) after the sequence with the nymphs.3 The details of Bhāravi’s treatment of the austerity theme suggest, however , that the poet has courted this repetition, using it to artistic advantage. Studied in relation to each other, the four passages on the tapas reveal the function of Arjuna’s penance as a central motif in the poem’s thematic rhetoric.4 117 118 Design and Rhetoric in a Sanskrit Court Epic Tapas, literally “a burning”, has been variously translated as “penance,” “austerity,” and “ascetic practice.” With the exception of the expiatory meaning of “penance,” the Sanskrit term “tapas” carries most of the connotations of the above English terms in varying degrees in different contexts.5 Although the range of activities that can be included under tapas is wide, at the very least tapas presupposes the disciplining of mind and body according to the philosophy and technique of yoga, as a result of which the practitioner of tapas accumulates great magico-spiritual power.6 Arjuna’s initiation in the third sarga is the first step towards his yogic practice. In the preparatory stages of yoga, the person undertakes psychophysical and ethical discipline in order to create in himself a preponderance of the existential quality called sattva (purity, exaltation, goodness, light), the subordination of rajas (the intermediate, active mode) and the destruction of tamas (“darkness”): “Through the performance of the members of Yoga, and with the dwindling of impurity, [there comes about] the radiance of gnosis [which develops] up to the vision of discernment.” (Yogasūtra 2.28).7 Bhāravi’s description of Arjuna’s tapas closely relates to the rules (vidhi) of yoga described in the Yogasūtra of Patañjali, also evoking many of the severe ascetic practices prescribed for hermits of various kinds in the law texts such as Manu.8 The eight components (aṅga) of yogic practice as presented in Patañjali’s Yogasūtra (PYS) begin with the exterior elements, yama (the abstinences or restraints) and niyama (the observances), and culminate in the interior practice: yogic concentration (dhāran . ā,) meditation (dhyāna), and enstasy (samādhi.)9 The five abstinences listed in PYS 2.30 are: noninjury, truthfulness, chastity, not stealing , and absence of acquisitive desire.10 The five observances (PYS 2.32) are cleanliness (e.g., the savana, bathing at the appointed times), contentment, austerity, recitation and study of scripture and mantra, and surrender of works to God.11 Posture (āsana) and breath control (prān . āyāma) are also crucial components of yoga. The actual practice of austerity includes activities ranging from severely restricting one’s food intake, or eating nothing at all for long periods of time, to deliberately exposing oneself to the elements. In the tapas sequences Bhāravi richly documents the hero’s progression from the various yogic disciplines to the harsher aspects of tapas. The poet begins his first account of Arjuna’s asceticism by describing the hero’s success in increasing his sāttvic quality by...

Share