Krishna’s rhetorical argumentation in The Bhagavadgita
Date
2022
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Abstract
In the battlefield of Kurukshetra, seeing his relatives lined up in battle against each other, Arjuna decides to withdraw from the battle. He does not want the glory smeared with the blood of his loved ones. So, he asks Krishna for guidance regarding his duty and wonders what could possibly give him happiness even if he wins the battle by killing his own people. Through The Bhagavadgita, Krishna convinces Arjuna to rejoin the battle by answering his queries and dispelling his dilemma. This research studies this persuasion through the lens of rhetorical analysis and argues that it is Krishna’s logical appeals backed by his ethos that changes Arjuna’s pathos from hesitancy to willingness and convince him to take part in the war. It is because Arjuna has seen Krishna live the life of action without attachment that he preaches to Arjuna that his arguments find their mark in Arjuna’s mind and convince him to take part in the war. The findings suggest that all the elements of Krishna’s arguments: the context, audience, appeals, the structure, style and media work together to persuade Arjuna to rejoin the battle but primarily, it is the relationship that Krishna shares with Arjuna that makes him ready and open to receive Krishna’s message. Thus this research concludes that Krishna succeeds in persuading Arjuna to live the life of action without attachment because Arjuna has seen Krishna do that and knows that it is possible.
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Rhetorical analysis, Bhagavadgita, Self-realization