Persuading Death (Exploring the Mahabharata)

Those who have a way with words set themselves apart from those who don't. Aptitude for speech and reason gives power to those who possess it. Power to entrance those who hear their voice and fill their souls with emotion - pain, joy, sadness or excitement. Power to convince others to do or believe what the speaker wants. This is the power of rhetoric.

In fact, with enough practice and skill, one can talk their way out of almost anything. But have you ever heard of someone who could talk their way out of death itself? In the Mahabharata, a virtuous woman does just that.

Sanskrit writings from the Mahabharata

Today I began my investigation of ancient India by picking up a new book namely, the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata is an epic poem written by Vyasa in Sanskrit  probably around 400 BC. According to tradition, the poem was actually dictated by Vyasa to his scribe Ganesha who agreed to write it down only on the condition that Vyasa never pause in this recitation. Vyasa agreed. This is perhaps one of the earliest records we have of an oral tradition being written down for the first time.

Even within the poem itself, the oral tradition is praised. The Mahabharata is a story within a story, meaning that within the poem, the tale is first taught to Vaisampayana by the author Vyasa, who then recounts the epic to King Janamejaya, and later is recited by a professional storyteller to the general public.

A war scene depicted in the Mahabharata

In many Indian cultures, the Mahabharata is considered a sacred text and a depiction of true events. For others, the morals taught serve to enlighten and guide us even if it's not necessarily true. In any case, the Mahabharata is very long. Translator Narasimhan (in his translation of Mahabharata) states, "It is the longest epic in any language, consisting of some 88,000 verses in its shortest recension." Since this epic is about ten times longer than the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, I obviously seek to only read a small portion of the text. Today, I read a few of the short stories and my favorite portion recounted the story of Savitri, a virtuous woman who seeks to save her husband's life.

Savitri pleading with Yama

In the story (see the book here), the beautiful and brilliant princess Savitri chooses Satyavan to be her husband based on his merits and good qualities even though he only has one year left to live. After a year of blissful marriage, Yama, the lord of death, comes to claim Satyavan's soul as his own, deftly tying a noose around his neck and dragging his soul away. Savitri follows the lord of death and begins to converse with him, praising him and impressing him with her incredible mastery of the spoken word.

"Lord Yama replied, 'The more you speak such significant words- full of sweet phrases, invested with virtue and pleasing to the mind- the more I feel respect for you. Therefore, ask me for a great blessing.'"

Lord Yama's response reflects the mindset of ancient India where rhetoric (defined here as the art of persuasion and effective speaking) was highly valued. One who could masterfully command the language could expect to demand great respect and honor. In fact, the sky's the limit! That viewpoint finds expression in the outcome of the story. After repeated impressing the lord of death with her wit and rhetoric, Princess Savitri persuades Yama to let her husband live.

"'You've blessed me to have a hundred sons. Yet you've taken away my husband. Please bring him back! Only then will your words prove true!' Realizing that he had no other choice, Yama said, 'So be it!' Then he untied the noose around Satyavan's soul."

And so it was that Savitri saved her husband's life, not by trickery but rather by reason and persuasion.

In ancient India, this knowledge was taught by oral tradition, so naturally a mastery of rhetoric was highly prized above all other skills. An effective teacher relied on both his memory and his ability to clearly communicate his message. Stories like this one provide a window into Indian values and culture and allow us to see the importance of rhetoric in the oral tradition. In writing this blog post, I have had the leisure of choosing my words over and over, erasing if I make a mistake or rearranging my ideas. That's something that ancient Indians were not given. Even if I'm not required to express my ideas perfectly the first time like they were, a mastery of rhetoric proves itself to be an important quality even today.