Dialogue with a Devious Divinity: Sovereignty, Kinship, and Kṛṣṇa’s Ethics in the Mahābhārata

The character of Lord Kṛṣṇa has long confounded students of the Sanskrit epic, the Mahābhārata. In addition to the problem of his divinity, many have questioned the nature of Kṛṣṇa’s ethical standpoint, some presenting him as a being who transcends questions of right and wrong, others depicting him as unconcerned with the ethical limitations of human beings. This paper explores these issues through a close examination of Kṛṣṇa’s first significant dialogue with Yudhiṣṭḥira in the epic, in which he seeks to convince Yudhiṣṭhira to slay the autocrat of Magadha, Jarāsaṃdha. It is argued that, through this dialogue, Kṛṣṇa reveals himself to be neither ethically transcendent nor amoral; rather, he is deeply committed to a traditional system of ethics according to which defense of one’s kin group is the highest value and justifies all action.