The Rhetoric of the Bhagavad Gita: Unpacking Persuasive Strategies from a Non-Western Perspective

Jagadish Paudel

doi:10.1080/02773945.2022.2095421

Rhetoric Society Quarterly Mar 2023

The Rhetoric of the Bhagavad Gita: Unpacking Persuasive Strategies from a Non-Western Perspective

Jagadish Paudel Poder Judicial de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires

Abstract

The Bhagavad Gita—an acclaimed and venerated ancient sacred religious and philosophical text integral to the Hindu faith—shows several rhetorical strategies. To figure out these strategies, in this essay I analyze the Gita using the Nyayasutras method—a systematic guide to rhetorical analysis of Hindu philosophy. Rhetorical scrutiny is applied to the dialog between two main characters of this sacred text: Bhagavan Krishna and Arjuna. I first introduce the Gita and its significance for rhetorical scholarship. In what follows, I present briefly the Nyayasutra method and discuss three types of rhetorical strategies found in the text: Astikya/bhava (ontological) strategy, jnapaka (revelatory) strategy, and tattva/nyaya (axiological) strategy. I also discuss very briefly some counter-arguments that are offered in the rhetoric of the Gita. My rhetorical analysis contributes to the rich ongoing academic discussion of Hindu rhetorical traditions and deepens existing English-medium scholarly discussion about rhetorical strategies employed in the text.

Journal: Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Published: 2023-03-15
DOI: 10.1080/02773945.2022.2095421
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Open Access: Closed
Topics: rhetorical criticism
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The Rhetoric of the Bhagavad Gita: Unpacking Persuasive Strategies from a Non-Western Perspective

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References (34) · 3 in this index

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