The aṃśāvataraṇa Intervention: from the Ādiparvan to Kṣemendra

The Mahābhārata's Ādiparvan description of the descent of the gods (aṃśāvataraṇa, MBh 1.58-61) is retold in the Harivaṃśa (HV 40-45), which expands significantly upon the epic's plan of and rationale for divine intervention. The first task of this paper is to underscore how and why the Harivaṃśa modifies and amplifies the Mahābhārata aṃśāvataraṇa. Secondly, however, I treat a number of sources which refine the aṃśāvataraṇa intervention account. Some of these have been treated already by Paul Hacker (e.g. the Rāmopākhyāna within the Mahābhārata, MBh 3.258-260 and Brahma Purāṇa 180-181). My chief focus, however, will be the Bhāratamañjarī of Kṣemendra (ca. 11th century), whose handling and retelling of the original Ādiparvan and Harivaṃśa materials may help to attest the impact of the Harivaṃśa on the popular reception and understanding of the epic story itself.