Between History and Divine Plan

The Mahabharata royal patriline is tracked and contextualized here in relation to two prominent themes: its concept of a divine plan (somewhat paralleled in the Ramayana) and its chief genre term itihasa or ‘history’. It is found that these two themes intersect in the Mahabharata at the point where the goddess Ganga ‘descends’ into the royal line as the wife of King Samtanu. Ganga’s intervention then provides new means to interpret the part played by Samtanu’s second wife, Kali Satyavati. Attention is given to etymological clues to the ways these two mothers, and their sons Bhisma and Vyasa respectively, supply continuity to the dynastic line

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Literature · Plan (archaeology · Point (geometry · Relation (database · Theology · Wife · Ancient Near East History · Computer Science · Eurasian Exchange Networks · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Mathematics · History · Philosophy