Fate, Agency, and Love in the Mahābhārata

This paper focuses on Queen Gāndhārī’s mapping of the battlefield in the “Book of Women” (Strī Parva,). After providing an overview of the narrative placement of this book, I will show how Gāndhārī’s divine vision of the battlefield reverses the gaze from masculine prowess and callous heroism to the reality of destruction and pain as experienced by women. Second, Gāndhārī, who narrates her vision to Lord Kṛṣṇa, does not recapitulate his message in the Bhagavad-Gītā of rising above emotions, rather, she elevates these emotions through the detailed description of the bodies of the dead. Gāndhārī’s lament affirms the value of body and arouses concern for war and violence. Finally, Gāndhārī reveals the cruel reality of the bodily dismemberment of the slain warriors and the unrestrained lament of the surviving women. Through the female divine sight, the Mahābhārata provides a new insight into the value of bodily existence, sensuality, and love.