Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c6.s3.7

c6.s3.7

Thus one of the recurring themes for debate in *Mahābhārata* is the conflict between *karma* (action) and *jñāna* (knowledge). The concept of *bhakti* (devotion) as an alternate vision for life came to be introduced later. The first thirty-five cantos of the Śāntiparva in *Mahābhārata* are devoted to this debate. The theme is again taken up in the dialogue between Suvarcalā and Śvetaketu referred earlier. Vyāsa comes back to the same question of choice between action and knowledge in the cantos 267-70 and also 326, opening the gateway of diverse conflicting views.