Behind Kṛṣṇa's smile. The Lord's Hint of Laughter in the Bhagavadgītā and Beyond

The monograph examines Kṛṣṇa’s prahasann iva in Bhagavadgītā 2.10 and its implications in the context of the poem as a whole, considering the impact of prahasann iva on the poem’s central teachings. In addition, it focuses upon the understanding of Kṛṣṇa’s hint of laughter in the Sanskrit commentarial tradition, mainly dealing with the most prominent representatives of the schools of Vedānta. Moreover, it explores the uses of prahasann iva and its akin form hasann iva within the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa epics. The final part of the book presents the typologies of laughter (hāsyarasa) within the Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata (200–300 CE), confronting them with Kṛṣṇa’s hint of laughter in the Bhagavadgītā and with the representation of the deity in the performing arts.