PHILOSOPHY OF THE ANCIENT INDIAN EPIC MAHĀBHĀRATA IN THE CONTEXT OF THE NOVEL DRAUPADĪ (1984) BY PRATIBHĀ RĀY

Russian linguistic Bulletin. 2022. No. 3(31). Article 5.

Maretina K. A.

In the article, the author examines the novel Draupadī (1984) by the Indian writer Pratibhā Rāy, which plot is based on the ancient Indian epic Mahābhārata. The correspondence between the philosophical ideas presented in the novel and the philosophy of the epic itself is analyzed, in accordance with the way it is presented in the Bhagavad Gita, which is considered the didactic-religious and philosophical core of the Mahābhārata. It is concluded that, despite the general correspondence and fairly accurate adherence of the philosophy of the novel to the concepts of the Bhagavadgītā, at the end of the novel the main character makes an unexpected decision, from the point of view of traditional Hindu philosophy: she prefers rebirths on earth to the liberation from the cycle of births samsara and union with the absolute reality of the Brahman. Such a decision, however, is quite consistent with the humanistic message of the novel by Pratibhā Rāy.

Keywords: Indian philosophy, индуизм, индийская философия, эпос, современная индийская литература, древняя и средневековая индийская литература, ancient and medieval Indian literature, modern indian literature, Махабхарата, intangible cultural heritage, нематериальное культурное наследие, epic, Hinduism