Extracting the Kathā-Amṛta (Elixir of Story):
Creation, Ritual, Sovereignty and Textual Structure in the Sanskrit Mahābhārata
Keywords:
Mahābhārata, kathā-amṛta, narrative recursion, ritual structure, textual performance, fifth Veda, epic storytelling, sovereignty, cosmogonyAbstract
The article "Extracting the Kathā-Amṛta (Elixir of Story): Creation, Ritual, Sovereignty and Textual Structure in the Sanskrit Mahābhārata" by James M. Hegarty explores how the Mahābhārata enacts its cosmological and ritual vision not only through content but through its very narrative structure. Hegarty argues that the epic’s layered storytelling mirrors Vedic ritual processes by employing a recursive, "mirror-like" logic—stories within stories—reflecting a cosmic order that is continually generated and sustained by narration itself. Focusing particularly on the amṛta manthana (churning of the ocean) episode, he illustrates how the Mahābhārata aligns mythic creation with textual transmission, suggesting that storytelling becomes a mode of world-making. Hegarty also ties this structural creativity to the themes of kingship and sovereignty, noting that the epic casts rulers and narrators alike as agents of order. Ultimately, the article reveals how the Mahābhārata, in presenting itself as the fifth Veda, asserts a performative and sacred function akin to ritual: to recite the text is to participate in the maintenance of dharmic and cosmic stability.