This post is partly my response to an offline discussion I had with a blogger I admire, whose original post trigged this response. Jagadish writes:

This makes it even tougher to explain how dark-skinned chaps became heroes in the epics since most folks in northern/western India were fair skinned. The likes of Krishna, Arjuna and Rama are exceptions. Then again, maybe their skin was just a shade darker than the others and poetic license was liberally used to make them blue/blue-black in colour! But, if they were exceptions, isn’t it still too much of a coincidence that all three major protagonists were dark coloured?

In two words, the reply is: conditioning and education. I know they don’t suffice so here goes.

The fundamental question to ask is this: how important was/is colour in ancient Indian thought, philosophy, mythology, and in general, literature. The answer: almost zero. And two, when analyzing questions like this, it is important–as I mentioned in several earlier posts–to take a holistic view rather than a reductionist/narrow view of the issue. And this includes at least a working knowledge of Sanskrit. Let’s see why this is important as we go on.

The concept of associating colour with specific human traits such as good and evil holds minor, or no significance. Indian philosophy has no place for the (in)famed problem of evil because both good and evil are seen as deriving from the same source. The problem of evil is the consequence of looking at the world from a Dwandva (dual, separate) perspective. The story of Prahlada illustrates this best. When his demonic father, Hiranyakashyipu, asks him where Vishnu is, Prahlada simply says that “he’s within you; I look for him through love and you through hatred.”

The use of black and white as character/behavioural attributes is a product of White racial superiority theory. In one of his essays on Indian art, Ananda Coomaraswamy severely criticizes Western critics of Indian art for holding the view that Indian sculpture/idols were not artistic because they were “hideously dark/black.” I don’t need to spell it out that black was associated with evil. Also sample the famous phrase, “black magic,” a Christian/Western concept, which has evil connotations only.

Specifically, there’s not a single text in the whole of ancient Indian philosophy/mythology which treats black as evil or inauspicious.

Why Vyasa or Valmiki chose to portray Rama, Krishna, Draupadi, Arjuna, and Hanuman in their respective colours is best known to them but it certainly has nothing to do with race or superiority.

The Mahabharata like other Indian philosophical/mythological texts and treatises, is full of symbols. Krishna and Arjuna both individually and together represent one of the most fantastic symbols we’ve been given. That the word Krishna means black is common knowledge but that’s not all. Which is why I repeatedly stress on the importance of learning Sanskrit. The word Krishna is derived from the Krush root (dhaatu), which means to attract, to rub and not just black. Thus, Krishna also means, one who attracts, who is capable of attracting etc. This fits perfectly with Krishna’s character as there’s none who escaped his charms.

The literal meaning of Arjuna is white, clear, (of the) lightning, (of) milk, etc. One of Arjuna’s ten names happens to also be Krishna, an apparent contradiction. But this is understandable if one goes beyond the colour framework, and understand it from the Krush perspective. Vyasa portrays Arjuna as an extremely handsome, and attractive warrior. Hence the synonym, Krishna.

Symbolically, the characters of Krishna and Arjuna is a stroke of Vyasa’s genius. Interpreted purely in “colour” terms, the contrast cannot be more severe: “black” and “white” side-by-side, close friends and confidants. This is exactly the opposite of Western thought that regards black and white as eternal, irreconcilable foes. Black also has connotations of the mysterious, which is how Krishna is throughout the epic. His words, deeds and their consequences are unexplainable yet achieve noble ends. Time to recall what we were taught in school: white disperses colours while all colours lose themselves in black. Krishna as the Eternal Cosmic Consciousness symbolizes this, while Arjuna as his friend and disciple, tries to implement what his teacher taught him.

It is time we stopped thinking in racial terms of skin colour.

Cross posted on Desicritics