The development of the story of Tuladhara in the Mahabharata with reference to the ideal of non-violence

Abstract

The history of a conception like ahimsa presents problems of interpretation which can best be overcome by analysing a self-consciously developed tradition which embodies changing or differing views. The Mahabharata comprises such material, but it cannot be validly employed unless segmented on grounds extrinsic to the issue under examination. Taking the story of Tuladhara (Hbh.xii.252-257) as a paradigm, a segmentation of the material on internal formal evidence proves feasible, from the analysis of that material conclusions are drawn concerning the character and history of the Moksadharma text tradition from a consideration of the material segmented into its historically separate components, light is cast upon some aspects of the evolution of the ideal of ahimsa, The analysis discusses the implications of the trader hero as an embodiment of disinterested non-involvement, and the association of the ideal of ahimsa with altruistic reciprocity, with bralumanic disputes over the proper form of the sacrifice, and with the virtue of cow-protection.