Lifting Brides/Lifting Enemies

Abstract

The paper examines four lifting scenes in the Mahabharata: (1) Bhisma lifting Amba, Ambika and Ambalika (1.96), (2) Arjuna lifting Subhadra (1.212), (3) Susarman lifting Virata / Bhima lifting Susarman (4.32), and (4) Arjuna lifting Uttara (4.36). Its main claim is that the bride abductions provide the key elements in terms of textual materials for the enemy ‘abductions’, which may then be seen as adaptations. This reading contributes to the understanding of some auctorial techniques within the Mahabharata, such as depictions of masculinity, comical reversals and self-references in general.