Śraddhā in the Bhagavad Gītā

The Bhagavadgītā is an episode in the Mahābhārata when the climactic battle is about to begin. Here, Arjuna refuses to fight, and it is Krsna's counsel that will finally convince him.

The issue of Arjuna's transformation has recently attracted some scholarly comment, but most scholars do not discuss the role of śraddhā (zeal, religious fervour, enthusiasm) in this transformation. Rao does discuss śraddhā in the Gītā , but one needs to question his conclusion that śraddhā is the same as bhakti¹ Rao's conclusion contradicts, but does not refute, Hara's² earlier study showing that śraddhā and bhakti are different.

Given this scholarly indecision, this thesis is a theological effort to ask, What is the role of śraddhā in Arjuna's final acceptance of war as the necessary solution to his moral dilemma? It is my hypothesis that śraddhā differs from bhakti, and becomes the immediate cause that moves Arjuna to fight. When the Gītā¯ starts, Arjuna is a devotee (bhakta) without śraddhā, and, when the Gītā¯ ends, Arjuna is a devotee with śraddhā That is to say, one can he dejected and still he a devotee. However, one cannot he depressed and full of śraddhā at the same time. This distinction between śraddhā and bhakti represents the first part of my argument. The second part is the sense I want to convey by translating śraddhā as 'zeal, religious fervour, soul force, or enthusiasm.' I argue that the standard translation as 'faith' hinders the effort to construct a comprehensive theology of Arjuna's transformation.

In conclusion, I intend to demonstrate that śraddhā and bhakti are different, and that when śraddhā is translated by a term that points to the right psychological and religious experience it explains Arjuna's decision to fight.

¹See K. L. S. Rao, The Concept of Śraddhā (Patiala: Roy Publishers, 1971), and idem, "Sri Aurobindo on the Types of Sraddha (Faith) in the Gila," (Journal of Asian Literature, V. 24, No. 1, E. Lansing, 1989). ²See Minoru Hata, "NOTE ON TWO SANSKRIT TERMS - bhakti and śraddhā (Indo-Iranian Journal, VII, Hague: Mouton & Co. (1963-4), 124-145).