PRZEMYS\u0141AW SZCZUREK
Wroc\u0142aw University\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 szczurek@uni.wroc.pl<\/p>\n\n\n\n
THE PROMISE AND CONDITION OF \u015aALYA <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u015aalya\u2019s promise (to serve as Kar\u1e47a\u2019s charioteer) made to Duryodhana and Kar\u1e47a on the penultimate day of the great battle on the Kuruk\u1e63etra (Mah\u0101bh\u0101tata<\/em>, 8,22\u201331), together with the condition attached to it by the king of the Madras (that, as charioteer, he would be free to admonish Kar\u1e47a with harsh words), constitutes an intriguing motif that diversifies an otherwise rather monotonous battle narrative. In the present version of the epic, this episode is further differentiated and enriched by mythological tales, fable-like narratives, and passages of an anthropological character. It appears that, within the principal narrative thread of this entire episode, one may discern some inconsistencies and even contradictions. \u015aalya, craftily won over by Duryodhana as an ally of the Kauravas, promises Yudhi\u1e63\u1e6dhira\u2014foreseeing, even before the battle, his future conduct\u2014that during the fighting he will endeavour, in his capacity as Kar\u1e47a\u2019s charioteer, to undermine his martial spirit (MBh 5,8; 5,18). This promise, however, pertains exclusively to Kar\u1e47a (not to any other warrior) and is only realised on the seventeenth day of the battle, without any prior mention of it during the battle itself. When asked to assume the role of charioteer to the \u2018Son of Charioteer\u2019, \u015aalya initially refuses in agitation, expressing his sense of superiority (8,23)\u2014in contradiction to his assurances prior to the battle. Only subsequently does Duryodhana persuade him, and \u015aalya\u2019s consent is accompanied by his preliminary condition (8,23.51-54; 8,25.3-6), which becomes the basis of the quarrel between Kar\u1e47a and \u015aalya. During the duel itself between Kar\u1e47a and Arjuna, \u015aalya\u2019s role is minimal; his earlier harsh words bear no significance for the combat or for the treacherous killing of Kar\u1e47a by Arjuna. After Kar\u1e47a\u2019s death, there is no reflection on \u015aalya\u2019s negative role as charioteer. \u015aalya himself, until the end of his life, fights bravely and fiercely against the P\u0101\u1e47\u1e0davas as commander of the Kauravas, and Yudhi\u1e63\u1e6dhira slays him, unreflectively, in single combat as an enemy (9,16)\u2014his earlier secret ally. The present paper constitutes an attempt to examine the composition of this section of the Mah\u0101bh\u0101rata<\/em> with regard both to its narrative coherence and to the possibility of analysing it as a multilayered composition. The author considers whether the text of the epic permits the identification of a hypothtically earlier and a later (i.e. expanded) version of the motif of \u015aalya\u2019s promise and condition. Particularly helpful in this respect appears to be the reference to a certain passage preserved in numerous manuscripts constituting the Northern Recension of the epic (and the Bombay Edition), and subsequently transferred in the Critical Edition of MBh 9 to the Appendices as redundant (CE, App. I, No. 5).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PRZEMYS\u0141AW SZCZUREKWroc\u0142aw University\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 szczurek@uni.wroc.pl THE PROMISE AND CONDITION OF \u015aALYA \u015aalya\u2019s promise (to serve as Kar\u1e47a\u2019s charioteer) made to Duryodhana and Kar\u1e47a on the penultimate day of the great battle on the Kuruk\u1e63etra (Mah\u0101bh\u0101tata, 8,22\u201331), together with the condition attached to it by the king of the Madras (that, as charioteer, he would be free […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2303","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dicsep.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dicsep.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dicsep.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dicsep.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dicsep.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2303"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dicsep.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2304,"href":"https:\/\/dicsep.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2303\/revisions\/2304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dicsep.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}