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| File:Krishna as Chariot Driver.jpgKrishna as Parthasarathy (Charioteer of Arjuna) | |
| Affiliation | Vaishnavism |
| Symbol | Chariot |
Sarathy (also spelled Sarathi, both from Sanskrit saratha, "one with a chariot" or "charioteer") is an epithet of Krishna (an avatar of Vishnu) in the Mahabharata, a major Hindu historical epic. It is also a common name in South India.
In the Mahabharata, Krishna initially counselled peace to the Pandavas and Kauravas, two closely related families that chose to fight over the Kuru kingdom in northern India. Eventually siding with the Pandavas, he offered his services as acharioteer to Arjuna, the Pandavas' greatest archer. The Bhagavad Gita, considered by many traditions to be Hinduism's most important religious text, consists of a dialogue between Krishna the charioteer and Arjuna just before the actual battle begins, when Krishna instructs Arjuna in the principle of dharma in response to his hesitation to fighting against his own relatives.
Krishna is also known as Parthasarathy, which translates to the charioteer of Partha (another name for Arjuna), or Sanathana Sarathi, eternal charioteer.
Symbolism
In Hinduism, as aligned with Plato's philosophy, the dynamic interaction of persons, horses, and parts are "yoked," "reined," and "bound" together, serve as an allegory for the atman or "self", and its relationship to the senses and the body.
"Know the Self as the lord of the chariot (atmanam rathinam viddhi) and the body as, verily, the chariot, know the intellect as the charioteer (buddhim tu saradhim viddhi) and the mind (manas) as, verily, the reins. The senses, they say, are the horses.... He who has understanding for the driver of the chariot (vinyanasarathir) and controls the rein of his mind, he reaches the end of the journey, the supreme abode of the all-pervading."
— Katha Upanisad, 1.3.3-4
In the Stri Parva of the Mahabharata, Vidura explains the concept of samsara to his brother grieving Dhritarashtra by offering the metaphor of a chariot and a charioteer.
The body of creatures is a chariot; sattva they call the charioteer; the senses they call horses; the mental organ of action (karmabuddhi) is the reins. Whoever follows after the rush of those running steeds, he turns about like a wheel in the cycle of samsara. Whoever restrains them with understanding (buddhi), that restrainer/charioteer (yantr) does not return. This chariot, by which the unwise are bewildered, must be controlled ....Restraint, renunciation, and vigilance (damastyago pramadasca), these three are the horses of brahman. Whoever is firm in this spiritual chariot (manase rathi), and yoked with the reins of morality, having renounced the fear of death, O king, he attains to the world of Brahman.
— Veda Vyasa, Stri Parva, Mahabharata, (11.4.1, 5.1)
References
- https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/The_Spirit_of_the_Unborn/hnpTDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
- Debroy, Bibek; Books, Penguin (2005-12). The Bhagavad Gita. Penguin Books India. ISBN 978-0-14-400068-5.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Hiltebeitel, Alf (1984). "The Two Kṛṣṇas on One Chariot: Upaniṣadic Imagery and Epic Mythology". History of Religions. 24 (1): 1–26. ISSN 0018-2710.
- Hiltebeitel, Alf (1984). "The Two Kṛṣṇas on One Chariot: Upaniṣadic Imagery and Epic Mythology". History of Religions. 24 (1): 1–26. ISSN 0018-2710.