Beyond Performative Morality Based on A Thematic Interpretation of The Satya-Māyā Dialectic in The Ethics of Power of Śakuni and Kṛṣṇa in The Mahābhārata
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37329/jpah.v10i4.5704Keywords:
Mahābhārata, Bhagavad Gītā, Śakuni, Kṛṣṇa, Satya, Māyā, Performative Morality, Public EthicsAbstract
The phenomenon of performative morality and religiosity in the contemporary public sphere (moral and religious expressions intended for public consumption, rather than the manifestation of inner dispositions) highlights the need for a conceptual framework that distinguishes between ethical appearance and substance. This research develops a thematic-hermeneutic reading of the satya-māyā dialectic in the Mahābhārata, examining how Śakuni and Kṛṣṇa represent two opposing ethical orientations within the relationship between truth and power. This study of the philosophy of religion employs a hermeneutic-phenomenological approach to the dice-playing episode in the Sabhā Parva and selected ślokas from the Bhagavad Gītā, combined with a comparative analysis drawing on political realism. The results indicate that Śakuni represents the instrumentalisation of truth and morality as tools of power, whilst Kṛṣṇa articulates an ethic that subordinates power to satya and dharma through niṣkāma karma. Māyā is understood as an epistemological condition that enables the disjunction between appearance and essence, whilst sattva and lokasaṅgraha form the textual basis for leadership with integrity. Performative morality and religiosity are formulated as new analytical categories that bridge performativity theory with the conceptual structure of the Bhagavad Gītā, characterised by the gap between appearance and essence, the instrumentalisation of symbols, and visibility, accompanied by critical scrutiny of Kṛṣṇa’s controversial actions, without theological justification. The research concludes that the Mahābhārata offers a model of the ethics of power that positions truth as the foundation (rather than a tool) of leadership legitimacy; a thesis that holds internally within the text’s cosmology and is relevant by analogy (rather than empirically) to contemporary public ethical reflection.
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