Bigness, Brilliance, the Buddhi, and the Brāhmaṇya Yoked-Up King

Abstract

The Udyoga parvan’s framing narrative about Indra, Viśvarūpa, Vṛtra, and Nahuṣa is crafted to facilitate the translation of the Vedic paradigm of sovereignty into a sāṃkhya-yoga idiom. This essay reads the ‘The Victory of Indra’ as a rhetorical device that introduces a correlation between a sovereign’s bigness and brilliance—key metrics of Vedic sovereignty—and his buddhi. Through the practice of sensory restraint and (or as a kind of) brahmacarya, the Udyoga’s sovereign swells his buddhi to a point of identification with the comprehensive greatness of his realm. He further wards off mental/consumptive afflictions like distraction, lust, or pride, sustaining his rule through the vigilant observance of a brahman-centred habit. As a result, his buddhi is like a well-fed fire whose light comprehends the realm that he thereby rules with the clear understanding of the stable, expansive, and dharma-aligned force of brahman.