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(惭础贬膧叠贬膧搁础罢础). An epic written by 痴测腻蝉补.

General information.

The Mah膩bh膩rata is an epic. Bharata is acclaimed as the first emperor of 叠丑腻谤补迟补. The theme of this great epic is the fight between the two lines of princes belonging to the dynasty of Bharata. That is why the book is called Mah膩bh膩rata. The great size of the volume and the greatness of the wisdom contained therein have contributed much to its getting the name, Mah膩bh膩rata. Once the devas put the Mah膩bh膩rata in one pan of a balance and the Vedas in the other pan. Then the devas were convinced that the Mah膩bh膩rata weighed more than all the Vedas put together. (艢濒辞办补蝉 269-271, Chapter 1, 膧di Parva, Mah膩bh膩rata).* This book contains over a lakh of verses. There is no subject on earth which is not dealt with in the Mah膩bh膩rata. None of the world鈥檚 epics is so big as Mah膩bh膩rata. In size the Mah膩bh膩rata is double that of Homer鈥檚 Iliad and Odyssey put together. The following poem about it is worth mentioning now:

"yath膩 samudro bhagavan yath膩 ca 丑颈尘补惫腻苍 驳颈谤颈岣� / khy膩t膩vubhau ratnanidh墨 tath膩 bh膩ratamucyate //" Mah膩bh膩rata is not a mere epic. It is a whole literature in itself containing a philosophy which has been an unfailing and perennial source of spiritual strength to the people of India. Above all it has for its core the 骋墨迟腻 which is perhaps the noblest of scriptures.

The Mah膩bh膩rata comprises eighteen books, each book being called a Parva. There are 2109 chapters in it, the chapters differing in size. Besides, there is an annexe called 贬补谤颈惫补峁兣沘 which deals with the life and history of 艢r墨 碍峁涐梗峁嘺.

Contents.

The contents of each Parva are succinctly given below: The Parvas are so named as to give a hint of their central theme.

膧di Parva.

(膧di = beginning). 笔腻峁囜笉耻 and 顿丑峁泃补谤腻峁ａ弓谤补, king of the Candra dynasty, are brothers. 叠丑墨峁�m补 brought them up. 顿丑峁泃补谤腻峁ａ弓谤补 was born blind and he got a hundred children of his wife 骋腻苍诲丑腻谤墨. They were called the Kauravas. 笔腻峁囜笉耻 had two wives 碍耻苍迟墨 and 惭腻诲谤墨 and got of them five sons called the 笔腻峁囜笉补惫补蝉 headed by the eldest 驰耻诲丑颈峁ａ弓丑颈谤补.

厂补产丑腻 Parva

(厂补产丑腻 = court). The 笔腻峁囜笉补惫补蝉 and Kauravas lived together in the court at 贬补蝉迟颈苍腻辫耻谤补. There, the Kauravas entered into a game of dice with 驰耻诲丑颈峁ａ弓丑颈谤补 and through the deceitful tactics engineered by the keen-witted 艢补办耻苍颈, 驰耻诲丑颈峁ａ弓丑颈谤补 was defeated and he lost everything he possessed. The 笔腻峁囜笉补惫补蝉 were then compelled to go into exile to the forests for twelve years and spend another year after that incognito. If they were found out during that period of incognito they were to go into exile for another term of twelve years. The 笔腻峁囜笉补惫补蝉 accompanied by 笔腻帽肠腻濒墨 left for the forests.

Vana Parva

(Vana = forest). This is one of the longest of Parvas and describes the life of the 笔腻峁囜笉补惫补蝉 in the forest 碍腻尘测补办补. The well known stories 'Nala Carita' and 'Kir膩t膩rjun墨ya' are told in this Parva'.

痴颈谤腻峁璦 Purva.

(痴颈谤腻峁璦 = name of a King). The 笔腻峁囜笉补惫补蝉 after completing their term of exile in the forests spent the year of their life in incognito at the court of King 痴颈谤腻峁璦. Many wonderful events took place during their stay there and this Parva deals in detail about them.

叠丑墨峁�m补 Parva

(叠丑墨峁�m补 = The first Generalissimo of the Kauravas). The great Mah膩bh膩rata war was fought in the vast expanse of 碍耻谤耻办峁�e迟谤补 lying to the northwest of Delhi. 叠丑墨峁�m补 was the first generalissimo of the Kauravas and 顿丑峁涐梗峁璦诲测耻尘苍补 of the 笔腻峁囜笉补惫补蝉. 痴测腻蝉补 describes the events of the battle classifying it according to the generalissimos of the Kaurava army giving the four generalissimos a Parva each. 叠丑墨峁�m补 fought for ten days and was struck down on the tenth day by an arrow from Arjuna.

顿谤辞峁嘺 Parva

(顿谤辞峁嘺 = The second Generalissimo). When 叠丑墨峁�m补 fell 顿谤辞峁嘺 took charge as the supreme commander. This Parva deals with the fight under his command. 顿谤辞峁嘺 was killed in the end by 顿丑峁涐梗峁璦诲测耻尘苍补.

碍补谤峁嘺 Parva.

(碍补谤峁嘺 = The third generalissimo). This Parva deals with the war under the command of 碍补谤峁嘺. 碍补谤峁嘺 fell in the end at the hands of Arjuna.

艢补濒测补 Parva.

(艢补濒测补 = The fourth and last of the Generalissimos). When 碍补谤峁嘺 fell 艢补濒测补 took over charge of the Kaurava army. As the war was coming to an end most of the big warriors of the Kaurava army were killed. In the end 叠丑墨尘补 and Duryodhana met in a grim fight with maces in which Duryodhana was killed. This Parva deals with the final stage of the battle.

Sauptika Parva.

(Sauptika = pertaining to sleep). This Parva tells us the tragic story of how 碍峁沺腻肠腻谤测补, 碍峁泃补惫补谤尘腻 and 础艣惫补迟迟丑腻尘腻 who were the only three left with Duryodhana after the great battle went into the camp of the 笔腻峁囜笉补惫补蝉 at night and killed all the brave warriors of the 笔腻峁囜笉补惫补 army, excepting the 笔腻峁囜笉补惫补蝉, who were sleeping in their camp unaware of the foul play lying ahead.

厂迟谤墨 Parva.

(厂迟谤墨 = woman). This Parva deals with the great lamentation in the battlefield, after the war, of 骋腻苍诲丑腻谤墨 and other women.

艢腻苍迟颈 Parva.

驰耻诲丑颈峁ａ弓丑颈谤补 was crowned king and even at that time 叠丑墨峁�m补 was lying on his bed of arrows awaiting death. Before taking up his duties of the state 驰耻诲丑颈峁ａ弓丑颈谤补 went to where the grandsire lay dying and took his blessing and instruction in dharma. This instruction of Bh墨峁�m膩c膩rya to King 驰耻诲丑颈峁ａ弓丑颈谤补 of the three dharmas, 搁腻箩补诲丑补谤尘补, 膧paddharma and Mok峁�adharma is the famous 艢anti Parva.

础苍耻艣腻蝉补苍补 Parva.

(础苍耻艣腻蝉补苍补 = Instruction). 叠丑墨峁�m补 still on his death-bed continues his instructions on several topics, like duty, freedom and fasting, giving entertaining stories to illustrate the essence of his teaching. This Parva is devoted to this.

膧艣vamedhika Parva.

(础艣惫补尘别诲丑补 = y膩ga conducted by emperors). This Parva deals with the y膩ga conducted by 驰耻诲丑颈峁ａ弓丑颈谤补 when he became the emperor of 叠丑腻谤补迟补.

膧艣ramav膩sika Parva.

(膧艣ramav膩sa = life in a hermitage). 顿丑峁泃补谤腻峁ａ弓谤补, the blind and his wife 骋腻苍诲丑腻谤墨 accompanied by 碍耻苍迟墨 left for the forests and lived there for two years in a hermitage. One day the forest caught fire and the three without trying to escape sat on the ground facing eastwards in yoga posture and calmly gave up themselves to the flames. This is dealt with in this Parva.

Mausala Parva.

(Mausala = Mace). This Parva gives the story of how the 驰腻诲补惫补蝉 fought against each other with maces and were destroyed and how 顿惫腻谤补办腻 sank down into the ocean. It describes the death of 艢r墨 碍峁涐梗峁嘺 and 叠补濒补谤腻尘补 also.

Mah膩prasth膩nika Parva.

(Mah膩prasth膩na = Death). Dharmaputra entrusts his kingdom to his successor and alongwith his four brothers and wife 笔腻帽肠腻濒墨 sets out on a long journey to 惭补丑腻尘别谤耻 never to return. This journey to death is detailed in this Parva.

Svarg膩roha峁嘺 Parva.

(Svarga = Heaven). This Parva describes the entry of the 笔腻峁囜笉补惫补蝉 and their relatives into Svarga, heaven.

Mode of Narration.

Most of the verses in the Mah膩bh膩rata are in the 础苍耻峁ａ弓耻辫 metre. At certain places other metres also have been used. There are prose pieces also in it. There are twenty notable pieces, three in 膧di Parva, seven in Vana Parva, seven in 艢腻苍迟颈 Parva and three in 础苍耻艣腻蝉补苍补 Parva. All the pieces are statements by realised souls. The style of the poetry is simple and the method of presentation lively. At times the imagination of the poet extends up to the horizon. Though there is a flow of spiritualism throughout the matter is purely mundane.

Authorship.

叠丑补驳补惫腻苍 痴测腻蝉补 is believed to be the author of Mah膩bh膩rata. He was a contemporary of the 笔腻峁囜笉补惫补蝉 and the Kauravas. Many of the events of the Mah膩bh膩rata were personally witnessed by 痴测腻蝉补. He took three years to write this book. The following 艣lokas will support the above:

"kurur膩ja kulasth膩n膩峁� 诲峁涐梗峁璦峁� 惫峁泃迟补峁� ca yatsthitam / tatsarva峁� bhagav膩n vy膩so var峁嘺y膩m膩sa bh膩rate. // (padma 辫耻谤腻峁嘺) tribhirvar峁�ai岣� sadotth膩yi k峁涐梗峁嘺dvaip膩yano 尘耻苍颈岣� / mah膩bh膩ratam膩khy膩na峁� k峁泃av膩nidamuttamam. //" (艢濒辞办补 55, Chapter 62, 膧di Parva). The 痴补谤腻丑补 笔耻谤腻峁嘺 states that 痴测腻蝉补 composed the Mah膩bh膩rata at a period when the end of 顿惫腻辫补谤补 yuga merged with the dawn of the Kaliyuga. The 叠丑腻驳补惫补迟补 states that 艢r墨 碍峁涐梗峁嘺 passed away on the first day of Kaliyuga. The 叠丑腻驳补惫补迟补 is devoted to admire and praise the life of 艢r墨 碍峁涐梗峁嘺. This book also is written by 痴测腻蝉补. This 艣loka found in the first Chapter of 膧di Parva clears the doubt:

"惫腻蝉耻诲别惫补蝉测补 尘腻丑腻迟尘测补峁� p膩峁囜笉av膩n膩峁� ca satyat膩m / dur惫峁泃迟补峁� dh膩rttar膩峁ａ弓r膩峁嚹佱箖 uktav膩n bhagav膩n峁涐梗i岣�. //" The original name of the 叠丑腻谤补迟补 which 痴测腻蝉补 composed was 'Jaya'. In the first Chapter of 膧di Parva is this 艣loka to support this statement:

"苍腻谤腻测补峁嘺峁� 苍补尘补蝉办峁泃测补 苍补谤补峁� caiva narottama峁�/ 诲别惫墨峁� 蝉补谤补蝉惫补迟墨峁� caiva tato jayamud墨rayet//" After the death of the 笔腻峁囜笉补惫补蝉 and the Kauravas the disciples of 痴测腻蝉补, Sumantu, Jaimini, Paila, 艢耻办补 and 痴补颈艣补尘辫腻测补苍补 gave this book great publicity. They wrote books based on this story of 叠丑腻谤补迟补 of which only the '叠丑腻谤补迟补' of 痴补颈艣补尘辫腻测补苍补 and the 础艣惫补尘别诲丑补 Parva of Jaimini are now available.

痴测腻蝉补鈥檚 叠丑腻谤补迟补 was first expounded by 痴补颈艣补尘辫腻测补苍补 at the Sarpa-satra of Janamejaya. At the request of Janamejaya, 痴补颈艣补尘辫腻测补苍补 added some more facts to the original work known then as 'Jaya'. Jaya with the accretions came to be known as 叠丑腻谤补迟补sa峁僪it膩. 厂奴迟补 who narrated this story to 艢补耻苍补办补 and others at the forest of 狈补颈尘颈艣补 added some more matter to the 叠丑腻谤补迟补sa峁僪it膩 and made it larger. The present Mah膩bh膩rata is this expanded edition.

The following facts prove that the Mah膩bh膩rata has thus passed through three stages of evolution:

1) This book is known by three names: Jaya, 叠丑腻谤补迟补sa峁僪it膩 and Mah膩bh膩rata.

1) "(a) jayo n膩metih膩so'ya峁� 艣rotavyo vijig墨峁�u峁嚹� (艣loka 22, chapter 62, 膩di parva). (b) caturvi峁兣沘ti s膩hasr墨峁� cakre bh膩ratasa峁僪it膩m up膩khy膩nairvin膩 t膩vad bh膩ratam procyate budhai岣� (艣loka 78, chapter 1, 膩di parva). (c) refer to the 艣loka given in para 1."

2) There is a reference to the three parts of the book in 艢濒辞办补 66, Chapter 1 of 膧di Parva.

2) "manv膩di 产丑腻谤补迟补峁� kecid 膩stik膩di tath膩pare tathopari car膩danye vipr膩岣� samyagadh墨yire."

3) There are three different opinions regarding the total number of 艣lokas in the Mah膩bh膩rata. According to 鲍驳谤补艣谤补惫补蝉 there are 8800 verses, according to 痴测腻蝉补 24000 verses and according to another statement a lakh of verses.

3) "ida峁� 艣atasahasra峁� tu lok膩n膩m pu峁噛akarma峁嚹乵 up膩khy膩nai岣� saha j帽eyam膩dya峁� bh膩ratamuttamam caturvim艣ati s膩hasr墨峁� cakre bh膩ratasa峁僪it膩m up膩khy膩nairvin膩 t膩vad 产丑腻谤补迟补峁� procyate budhai岣� a峁ａ弓au 艣lokasahasr膩峁噄 a峁ａ弓au 艣loka艣at膩ni ca aha峁� vedmi 艣uko vetti sa帽jayo vetti v膩 na v膩." (膧di Parva, Chapter 1).

4) The narration appears to be of three different kinds, descriptive, philosophical and oratorical, indicative of three different authorships.

5) 厂奴迟补 and 痴补颈艣补尘辫腻测补苍补 have made accretions to the original work 'Jaya' of 痴测腻蝉补.

Viewed with these facts we are led to believe that 痴测腻蝉补 has composed only the very essence of Mah膩bh膩rata comprising 8800 艣lokas and that work was known as 'Jaya' as referred to in the first invocatory verse of the epic. 痴补颈艣补尘辫腻测补苍补 added a few verses of his own and brought the number to 24,000 and gave the book the name of '叠丑腻谤补迟补sa峁僪it膩'. It was 厂奴迟补 who made many more additions and made the book so big as to fetch it the name of 'Mah膩bh膩rata'. The epic which is now current among us contains a lakh of verses and it took perhaps centuries to get this transformation of the book from 'Jaya' to 'Mah膩bh膩rata'.

Period of publication.

The Kali 痴补谤峁�a starts from 3102 B.C. The great Mah膩bh膩rata war was fought at a period when the end of 顿惫腻辫补谤补 yuga merged into the dawn of Kali yuga as could be gathered from the following verse from the epic:

"antare caiva sampr膩pte kalidv膩parayorabh奴t / samantapa帽cake 测耻诲诲丑补峁� kurup膩峁囜笉avasenayo岣�. //" (艢濒辞办补 13, Chapter 2, 膧di Parva). So it can be deduced that the great war was fought round about 3102 B.C. 顿丑峁泃补谤腻峁ａ弓谤补 lived for eighteen years after the great battle and the 笔腻峁囜笉补惫补蝉 ruled the country for 36 years. (厂迟谤墨 Parva, Mah膩bh膩rata). It was when 艢r墨 碍峁涐梗峁嘺 died that the 笔腻峁囜笉补惫补蝉 ended their rule and commenced the Mah膩prasth膩na. So it can be surmised that 艢r墨 碍峁涐梗峁嘺 lived for 36 years after the war. 艢r墨 碍峁涐梗峁嘺 died on the first day of Kali yuga, 3102 B.C. Therefore it is clear the Mah膩bh膩rata battle was fought in 3138 B.C. There are indications in other 辫耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 to support this theory. There was that rare phenomenon of a Saptagraha yoga (Combination in astronomical position of seven planets) while King 笔补谤墨办峁�i迟, son of Arjuna, was ruling the country.** This happened in a month of 惭腻驳丑补 (January) and a probe into the dates of such previous occurrences revealed that a similar one had happened in the month of 惭腻驳丑补 in the years 3177 and 477 B.C. (The next one is to happen in 2223 A.D.). This phenomenon repeats itself in every hundred years and so it is to be believed that one of the kind happened in 3077 B.C. precisely during the period of 笔补谤墨办峁�i迟. It is therefore confirmatory to the statement that the great war occurred in 3138 B.C.

The 笔腻峁囜笉补惫补蝉 ruled the country for 36 years after the war and 痴测腻蝉补 wrote this divine epic after the death of the 笔腻峁囜笉补惫补蝉. 痴测腻蝉补 took three years to complete his work. Therefore it can be well concluded that 痴测腻蝉补 wrote the epic in 3100 B.C. The 笔腻峁囜笉补惫补蝉 commenced their Mah膩prasth膩na after entrusting the administration of the state into the hands of 笔补谤墨办峁�i迟. This must have happened in 3102 B.C. 笔补谤墨办峁�i迟 ruled the country for 60 years and so his son Janamejaya became King in 3042 B.C. It was after two years of his beco峁僫ng King that he conducted the Sarpasatra and it was at this Sarpasatra that 痴补颈艣补尘辫腻测补苍补 first expounded 'Jaya' (Mah膩bh膩rata) to the sages assembled there.

This fixing of the date of Mah膩bh膩rata is based on the conclusions arrived at by the pandits of 叠丑腻谤补迟补, but foreign chronologists differ from us. They argue that it was in the 10th century B.C. that the Mah膩bh膩rata battle took place on the strength of the following:

The theme of the Mah膩bh膩rata is a fight between Kurus and 笔腻帽肠腻濒补蝉. After the war the two join and there is a statement in the Yajurveda of a people formed by the merger of the two. Therefore the great war should have happened in the 10th century B.C. It was a period of hero-worship and songs on the heroic deeds of the Kurus and 笔腻峁囜笉补惫补蝉 were sung and handed over from one generation to the other and gradually those songs took shape in the form of the Mah膩bh膩rata.

There is another school of thought. In the Mah膩bh膩rata, 叠谤补丑尘腻 is given great prominence. But in Vedic times 叠谤补丑尘腻 was not counted at all. During the golden period of the Buddhists 叠谤补丑尘腻 had a conspicuous hold on Hinduism. Therefore it should be deduced that the Mah膩bh膩rata was written during the 6th century B.C. Then there were about 8,000 verses in the Mah膩bh膩rata.

Towards the second stage of Mah膩bh膩rata the epic grew in size bringing into its fold about 24,000 艣lokas. It was at this stage that the Mah膩bh膩rata got a vai峁ａ箛avite colour and 艢r墨 碍峁涐梗峁嘺 was adored as an incarnation of 痴颈峁ａ箛耻. Megasthenes who visited India in 300 B.C. records that the majority of Hindus were vai峁ａ箛avites at that period. There are references in certain parts of the Mah膩bh膩rata to Greeks and Buddhists. Therefore a set of foreign chronologists conclude that those portions of the Mah膩bh膩rata could have been written only after Buddha and after the attack on 叠丑腻谤补迟补 by the Greeks i.e. by 300 B.C.

The third stage of the Mah膩bh膩rata is its present form and it was at this stage that it included new philosophy in it. The Dharmasa峁僪it膩 of Manusm峁泃i became popular in the fifth century A.D. and therefore the third stage of the Mah膩bh膩rata must have started before that, in the 3rd century A.D.

*) "辫耻谤腻 kila surai岣� sarvai岣� sametya tulay膩 dh峁泃am caturbhya岣� sara{??}asyebhyo vedebhyo hyadhika峁� yad膩 迟补诲腻 prabhrti loke'smin mah膩bh膩ratamucyate mahatve ca gurutve ca dhriyam膩峁嘺峁� ya艣o'dhikam mahatv膩d bh膩ravatv膩c ca mah膩bh膩ratamucyate."

**) (a) Saptar峁�ayo magh膩yukt膩岣� k膩le p膩rik峁�ite 艣atam (Matsya 辫耻谤腻峁嘺 271. 46). (b) Te tu p膩r墨k峁�ite k膩le magh膩sv膩san dvijottama (Visnu 辫耻谤腻na 4, 24, 106).