The Mahabharata (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: n/a
- First Published: 1834
- Type of Work: Poetry
- Type of Plot: Epic
- Time of Work: Remote Antiquity
- Setting: Northern India
- Genres: Poetry, Epic, Narrative poetry
- Subjects: Parents and children, Mythology or myths, Fathers, Good and evil, Kings, queens, or royalty, Legends, India or East Indian people, Civil wars, Heads of state
- Locales: India
Characters Discussed
Krishna (KREESH-nuh), An Incarnation (avatar) Of the god Vishnu. Krishna rules the Yadavas, on the northwestern coast of India. He is a close friend of Arjuna. In the great war between the Kauravas (KOW-ruh-vuhs) and the Pandavas (PAHN-duh-vuhs), Krishna acts as Arjuna’s charioteer. When Arjuna feels reluctance to fight and kill his cousins, Krishna convinces him to fight, teaches him basic truths about the universe, and reveals his divine glory. This extended scene is related in the Bhagavad Gita, a major Hindu scripture. In the battle, Krishna...
[The entire page is 1030 words long]
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