NATALIYA YANCHEVSKAYA
Princeton University nay@princeton.edu
DHARMA AND TIME: FREEDOM AND DESTINY IN THE MAHĀBHĀRATA
What does it mean to act rightly in a universe governed by forces beyond one’s control? This paper takes up that question as it unfolds in the Mahābhārata, where the tension between human agency, moral order, and cosmic predetermination is never fully resolved — and perhaps never meant to be. At the heart of this inquiry stands the kālavāda, the epic’s doctrine of time, which frames kāla not merely as the medium through which events occur but as an active, sovereign force that governs the universe and determines the varying manifestations of dharma across successive cosmic cycles (yugas). Following Y. Vassilkov’s formulation of a “philosophy of heroic fatalism,” this paper argues that time in the epic transcends conventional understanding to become the supreme arbiter of human destiny, predetermining the outcomes of all actions and rendering even deliberate moral choices part of a larger cosmic design. The paper addresses several interconnected questions: How do kāla and dharma function within the Mahābhārata’s cosmological framework, and what is the nature of their relationship? To what extent do the epic’s heroes exercise genuine moral autonomy and freedom? What forces—such as time and dharma—ultimately govern their actions, fate, and afterlife?