A Note on the Multi-Centered Imagination of the Mahabharata

Abstract

This article, "A Note on the Multi-Centered Imagination of the Mahabharata" by Eric A. Huberman, explores how the Mahabharata transcends being a mere poetic chronicle to embody a "multi-centered imagination." Huberman argues that the epic actively resists singular interpretations and definitive closures through its massive scope, constant self-renewal, and inherent intertextuality.

The essay highlights how the Mahabharata ironically undercuts its own dominant paradigms of order, such as genealogy and dharma. Genealogical succession is frequently flawed or interrupted, exemplified by figures like Bhishma and Vyasa, leading to complex and often problematic familial relationships. Similarly, dharma is continually undermined throughout the narrative, particularly during the Kurukshetra War, where characters, including the divine Krishna himself, engage in deceit and violation of rules.

Huberman posits that the epic's primary "centering dynamic" is its poeticity, characterized by digressions, embedding narratives, and paradoxes, leading to a fluid, conversational text rather than a fixed one. The Mahabharata's narrative form, with multiple possible beginnings and varied endings, and its mirroring of scenarios (like Nala's story to Yudhishthira's), reinforces its open-ended nature. This multi-centered approach reflects a psyche that "cannot end," suggesting the epic chronicles not just the end of an era but the continuous turning of the wheel of ages, forever recreating its past in its future iterations, such as the devotional Bhagavata Purana.