Inversion, Krishnafication, Brahmanization: The Explanatory Force of Some Extraordinary Figures of Speech

Abstract

Bagchee probes literary devices in the Mahābhārata that invert or subvert conventional expectations—particularly surrounding character, caste, and cosmic order. He introduces the concepts of “Krishnafication” and “Brahmanization” to explain how theological meanings reframe earlier heroic narratives. These processes, he argues, are not interpolations but intentional strategies that give the epic its layered brilliance.