Revenge, Hatred, Love, and Regret

Abstract

This article analyses the character of the demon found in the Sanskrit Bhadrakālīmāhātmya. This regional Purāṇic text, pertaining to the narrative tradition of the Dārikavadham from Kerala, adopts a specific stance with regard to its main antagonist, the asura king Dārika. While the Bhadrakālīmāhātmya eagerly engages with various Mahāpurāṇas such as the Liṅga and the Mārkaṇḍeya, the demon that it depicts contrasts with the rather rigid image set out by his counterparts in those texts. Instead, the demon's character is carefully drawn and led through an array of emotional states in a way that tempts the audience to empathize. In this article, I explore this strategic empathy. Perusing the narratives of the Bhadrakālīmāhātmya, I identify passages that are activated by strategies of affect and show how they construct the character of the demon. In the second part of the article, I attempt to unravel the motives for this alternative view of the demon, relying on frameworks stemming from contemporary studies of narrative empathy and classical Indian theories of aesthetics.

Bloodthirsty, or Not, That Is the Question: An Ethnography-Based Discussion of Bhadrakāḷi’s Use of Violence in Popular Worship, Ritual Performing Arts and Narratives in Central Kerala (South India)1

“…The myth of Dārikavadham is not different: scholars have highlighted its interconnection, even for some of its kinship link with different purān . as, primarily the Devī Māhātmyam 12 , from the point of view of content (e.g., Freeman 1991;Caldwell 1999, p. 19;Aubert 2004, p. 71;Van Brussel 2016) and religious 'power' of the text (e.g., Tarabout 1986, p. 122). Yet, differences between the myth and its alleged orthodox models are significant, such as the fact that Kāl˙i isŚiva's daughter and not his consort as in the purān .…”