Mahabharata

Friday, 24 July 2015

 Sanskrit: महाभारतम्, Mahābhāratam, pronounced [məɦaːˈbʱaːrət̪əm]) is one in all the 2 major Indic epics of ancient Republic of India, the opposite being the Ramayana.

Besides its epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War and also the fates of the Kaurava and also the Pandava princes, the religious writing contains philosophical and pious material, like a discussion of the four "goals of life" or purusharthas (12.161). Among the principal works and stories within the religious writing square measure the Bhagavad religious text, the story of Damayanti, AN abbreviated version of the Ramayana, and also the Rishyasringa, usually thought of as works in their claim.

Traditionally, the authorship of the religious writing is attributed to Vyasa. There are several makes an attempt to unravel its historical growth and integrative layers. The oldest preserved components of the text square measure thought to be not a lot of older than around four hundred BCE, although the origins of the epic in all probability fall between the eighth and ninth centuries BCE.The text in all probability reached its final type by the first Gupta amount (c. fourth century CE). The title is also translated as "the nice tale of the Bhārata dynasty". in keeping with the religious writing itself, the story is extended from a shorter version of twenty four,000 verses known as merely Bhārata.

The religious writing is that the longest identified literary work|heroic poem|epic|epos|poem|verse form} and has been represented as "the longest poem ever written".[7][8] Its longest version consists of over a hundred,000 shloka or over two hundred,000 individual verse lines (each shloka may be a couplet), and long prose passages. About 1.8 million words in total, the religious writing is roughly 10 times the length of the Iliad and also the Odyssey combined, or concerning fourfold the length of the Ramayana. W. J. Johnson has compared the importance of the religious writing to world civilization to it of the Bible, the works of Shakspere, the works of Homer, Greek drama, or the Qur'an.

Textual history and structure

Modern depiction of Vyasa narrating the religious writing to Ganapati at the Murudeshwara temple, Karnataka.
The epic is historically ascribed to the sage Vyasa, UN agency is additionally a serious character within the epic. Vyasa delineated  it as being itihāsa (history). He conjointly describes the Guru-shishya parampara, that traces all nice academics and their students of the sacred text times.

The first section of the religious writing states that it absolutely was Ganapati UN agency wrote down the text to Vyasa's dictation. Ganapati is alleged to possess in agreement to jot down it provided that Vyasa ne'er paused in his recitation. Vyasa agrees on condition that Ganapati takes the time to know what was same before writing it down.

The epic employs the story among a story structure, otherwise referred to as frametales, in style in several Indian spiritual and non-religious works. it's recited by the sage Vaisampayana, an admirer of Vyasa, to the King Janamejaya UN agency is that the great-grandson of the Pandava aristocrat mythical being. The story is then recited once more by knowledgeable storyteller named Ugrasrava Sauti, a few years later, to Associate in Nursing assemblage of sages acting the 12-year sacrifice for the king Saunaka Kulapati within the Naimisha Forest.

The text has been delineated  by some early 20th-century western Indologists as unstructured and chaotic. Armin Oldenberg supposed that the first literary work should once have carried Associate in Nursing vast "tragic force" however unemployed the total text as a "horrible chaos." Moritz Winternitz (Geschichte der indischen Literatur 1909) thought-about that "only unpoetical theologists Associate in Nursingd clumsy scribes" might have lumped the components of disparate origin into an unordered whole

Accretion and redaction

Research on the Mahabharata has place a huge effort into recognizing and geological dating layers among the text. Some parts of this Mahabharata are often derived back to religious writing times. The background to the Mahabharata suggests the origin of the epic happens "after the terribly early religious writing period" and before "the initial Indian 'empire' was to rise within the third century B.C." That this is often "a date not too so much faraway from the eighth or ninth century B.C." is probably going. it's typically in agreement that "Unlike the Vedas, that ought to be preserved word-perfect, the epic was a preferred work whose reciters would inevitably change to changes in language and magnificence,"that the earliest 'surviving' parts of this dynamic text square measure believed to be no older than the earliest 'external' references we've to the epic, which can embrace associate mention in Panini's fourth century BCE synchronic linguistics Ashtādhyāyī 4:2:56. it's calculable that the Sanskrit text most likely reached one thing of a "final form" by the first Gupta amount (about the fourth century CE). Hindu deity Sukthankar, editor of the primary nice crucial edition of the Mahabharata, commented: "It is useless to consider reconstructing a fluid text during a virtually original form, on the idea of associate pilot and a stemma codicum. What then is potential? Our objective will solely be to reconstruct the oldest variety of the text that it's possible to succeed in on the idea of the manuscript material on the market." That manuscript proof is somewhat late, given its material composition and therefore the climate of Asian country, however it's terribly in depth.

The Mahabharata itself (1.1.61) distinguishes a core portion of twenty four,000 verses: the Bharata correct, as opposition further secondary material, whereas the Ashvalayana Grhyasutra (3.4.4) makes the same distinction. a minimum of 3 redactions of the text square measure usually recognized: Jaya (Victory) with eight,800 verses attributed to Vyasa, Bharata with twenty four,000 verses as recited by Vaisampayana, and eventually the Mahabharata as recited by Ugrasrava Sauti with over one hundred,000 verses.[17][18] but, some students like John Brockington, argue that Jaya and Bharata check with constant text, and impute the speculation of Jaya with eight,800 verses to a misinterpretation of a verse in Adiparvan (1.1.81).[19] The redaction of this huge body of text was administrated once formal principles, action the numbers 18 and twelve. The addition of the newest elements could also be dated by the absence of the Anushasana-parva and therefore the Virata parva from the "Spitzer manuscript".The oldest extant Sanskrit text dates to the Kushan amount (200 CE).

According to what one character says at Mbh. 1.1.50, there have been 3 versions of the epic, starting with Manu (1.1.27), Astika (1.3, sub-parva 5) or Vasu (1.57), severally. These versions would correspond to the addition of 1 and so another 'frame' settings of dialogues. The Vasu version would omit the frame settings and start with the account of the birth of Vyasa. The astika version would add the sarpasattra and ashvamedha material from Brahmanical literature, introduce the name Mahabharata, and establish Vyasa because the work's author. The redactors of those additions were probably} Pancharatrin students UN agency in step with Oberlies (1998) likely preserved management over the text till its final redaction. Mention of the Huna within the Bhishma-parva but seems to imply that this parva might are emended round the fourth century[citation needed].

The snake sacrifice of Janamejaya
The Adi-parva includes the snake sacrifice (sarpasattra) of Janamejaya, explaining its motivation, particularisation why all snakes living were supposed to be destroyed, and why in spite of this, there square measure still snakes living. This sarpasattra material was usually thought of associate freelance tale supplemental to a version of the Mahabharata by "thematic attraction" (Minkowski 1991), and thought of to possess a very shut association to religious writing (Brahmana) literature. The Panchavimsha Vedic literature (at twenty five.15.3) enumerates the man of the cloth monks of a sarpasattra among whom the names Dhrtarashtra and Janamejaya, 2 main characters of the Mahabharata's sarpasattra, similarly as Takshaka, the name of a snake within the Mahabharata, occur.

Historical references

The earliest notable references to the Mahabharatum and its core Bharata date to the Ashtadhyayi (sutra vi.2.38) of Pāṇini (fl. fourth century BCE) and within the Ashvalayana Grhyasutra (3.4.4). this might recommend that the core twenty four,000 verses, called the Bharata, also as AN early version of the extended Mahabharatum, were composed by the fourth century BCE.

A report by the Greek author Dio Chrysostom (c. 40 - c. a hundred and twenty CE) regarding Homer's poetry being sung even in India appears to imply that the epic had been translated into Sanskritic language. However, students have, in general, taken this as proof for the existence of a Mahabharatum at this date, whose episodes Dio or his sources determine with the story of the epic.

Several stories at intervals the Mahabharatum took on separate identities of their own in Classical literature. as an example, Abhijñānashākuntala by the far-famed Sanskritic language writer Kālidāsa (c. 400 CE), believed to own lived within the era of the Gupta sept, is predicated on a story that's the precursor to the Mahabharatum. Urubhanga, a Sanskritic language play written by Bhāsa WHO is believed to own lived before Kālidāsa, is predicated on the execution of Duryodhana by the cacophonic of his thighs by Bhima.

The copper-plate inscription of the prince Sharvanatha (533–534 CE) from Khoh (Satna District, Madhya Pradesh) describes the Mahabharatum as a "collection of a hundred,000 verses" (shatasahasri samhita).

The 18 parvas or books

The division into 18 parvas is as follows:

Parva	Title	Sub-parvas	Contents
1	Adi Parva (The Book of the Beginning)	1–19	How the Mahabharata came to be narrated by Sauti to the assembled rishis at Naimisharanya, after having been recited at thesarpasattra of Janamejaya by Vaishampayana at Takṣaśilā. The history and genealogy of the Bharata and Bhrigu races is recalled, as is the birth and early life of the Kuru princes (adi means first).
2	Sabha Parva (The Book of the Assembly Hall)	20–28	Maya Danava erects the palace and court (sabha), at Indraprastha. Life at the court, Yudhishthira's Rajasuya Yajna, the game of dice, the disrobing of Pandava wife Draupadi and eventual exile of the Pandavas.
3	Vana Parva also Aranyaka-parva, Aranya-parva (The Book of the Forest)	29–44	The twelve years of exile in the forest (aranya).
4	Virata Parva (The Book of Virata)	45–48	The year spent incognito at the court of Virata.
5	Udyoga Parva (The Book of the Effort)	49–59	Preparations for war and efforts to bring about peace between the Kaurava and the Pandava sides which eventually fail (udyogameans effort or work).
6	Bhishma Parva (The Book of Bhishma)	60–64	The first part of the great battle, with Bhishma as commander for the Kaurava and his fall on the bed of arrows. (Includes theBhagavad Gita in chapters 25[26]-42.[27])
7	Drona Parva (The Book of Drona)	65–72	The battle continues, with Drona as commander. This is the major book of the war. Most of the great warriors on both sides are dead by the end of this book.
8	Karna Parva (The Book of Karna)	73	The continuation of the battle with Karna as commander of the Kaurava forces.
9	Shalya Parva (The Book of Shalya)	74–77	The last day of the battle, with Shalya as commander. Also told in detail, is the pilgrimage of Balarama to the fords of the river Saraswati and the mace fight between Bhima and Duryodhana which ends the war, since Bhima kills Duryodhana by smashing him on the thighs with a mace.
10	Sauptika Parva (The Book of the Sleeping Warriors)	78–80	Ashvattama, Kripa and Kritavarma kill the remaining Pandava army in their sleep. Only 7 warriors remain on the Pandava side and 3 on the Kaurava side.
11	Stri Parva (The Book of the Women)	81–85	Gandhari and the women (stri) of the Kauravas and Pandavas lament the dead and Gandhari cursing Krishna for the massive destruction and the extermination of the Kaurava.
12	Shanti Parva (The Book of Peace)	86–88	The crowning of Yudhisthira as king of Hastinapura, and instructions from Bhishma for the newly anointed king on society, economics and politics. This is the longest book of the Mahabharata. Kisari Mohan Ganguli considers this Parva as a later interpolation.'
13	Anushasana Parva (The Book of the Instructions)	89–90	The final instructions (anushasana) from Bhishma.
14	Ashvamedhika Parva (The Book of the Horse Sacrifice)[28]	91–92	The royal ceremony of the Ashvamedha (Horse sacrifice) conducted by Yudhisthira. The world conquest by Arjuna. The Anugita is told by Krishna to Arjuna.
15	Ashramavasika Parva (The Book of the Hermitage)	93–95	The eventual deaths of Dhritarashtra, Gandhari and Kunti in a forest fire when they are living in a hermitage in the Himalayas. Vidura predeceases them and Sanjaya on Dhritarashtra's bidding goes to live in the higher Himalayas.
16	Mausala Parva (The Book of the Clubs)	96	The materialisation of Gandhari's curse, i.e., the infighting between the Yadavas with maces (mausala) and the eventual destruction of the Yadavas.
17	Mahaprasthanika Parva(The Book of the Great Journey)	97	The great journey of Yudhisthira, his brothers and his wife Draupadi across the whole country and finally their ascent of the great Himalayas where each Pandava falls except for Yudhisthira.
18	Svargarohana Parva (The Book of the Ascent to Heaven)	98	Yudhisthira's final test and the return of the Pandavas to the spiritual world (svarga).
khila	Harivamsa Parva (The Book of the Genealogy of Hari)	99–100	This is an addendum to the 18 books, and covers those parts of the life of Krishna which is not covered in the 18 parvas of theMahabharata.

Historical context

Further information: Epic India

The historicity of the Kurukshetra War is unclear. several historians estimate the date of the Kurukshetra war to Iron Age India of the tenth century BCE. The setting of the epic encompasses a historical precedent in Iron Age (Vedic) India, wherever the Kuru kingdom was the middle of political power throughout roughly 1200 to 800 BCE. A folk conflict of the amount might are the inspiration for the Jaya, the muse on that the Mahabharatam corpus was engineered, with a climactic battle eventually coming back to be viewed as associate degree significant  event.

Puranic literature presents kinship group lists related to the Mahabharatam narrative. The proof of the Puranas is of 2 sorts. Of the primary kind, there's the direct statement that there have been 1015 (or 1050) years between the birth of Parikshit (Arjuna's grandson) and also the accession of Mahapadma Nanda (400-329 BCE), which might yield associate degree estimate of concerning 1400 BCE for the Bharata battle. However, this may imply incredibly long reigns on the average for the kings listed within the genealogies.Of the second kind ar analyses of parallel genealogies within the Puranas between the days of Adhisimakrishna (Parikshit's great-grandson) and Mahapadma Nanda. Pargiter consequently calculable twenty six generations by averaging ten completely different folk lists and, forward eighteen years for the common length of a reign, received associate degree estimate of 850 BCE for Adhisimakrishna, and so roughly 950 BCE for the Bharata battle.

B. B. Lal used identical approach with a additional conservative assumption of the common reign to estimate a date of 836 BCE, and correlative this with archaeologic proof from Painted gray Ware sites, the association being robust between PGW artifacts and places mentioned within the epic.

Attempts so far the events mistreatment ways of archaeoastronomy have made, counting on that passages ar chosen and the way they're understood, estimates starting from the late fourth to the mid-2nd millennium BCE. The late fourth millennium date encompasses a precedent within the calculation of the Kaliyuga epoch, supported planetary conjunctions, by Aryabhata (6th century). Aryabhatta's date of Feb eighteen 3102 BCE for Mahabharatam war has become widespread in Indian tradition. coincidently, this marks the disppearance of avatar from earth from several supply. The Aihole inscription of Pulikeshi II, dated to Saka 556 = 634 cerium, claims that 3735 years have pass on since the Bharata battle, swing the date of Mahabharatam war at 3137 BCE. Another ancient faculty of astronomers and historians, portrayed by Vriddha-Garga, Varahamihira (author of the Brhatsamhita) and Kalhana (author of the Rajatarangini), place the Bharata war 653 years when the Kaliyuga epoch, love 2449 BCE.

The Pandava and Kaurava prince

Draupadi together with her 5 husbands - the Pandavas. The central figure is Yudhishthira; the 2 on all-time low area unit Bhima and Arjuna. Nakula and Sahadeva, the twins, area unit standing. Painting by Raja Ravi Varma, c. 1900.

When Vichitravirya dies young with none heirs, Satyavati asks her initial son Vyasa to father youngsters with the widows. The eldest, Ambika, shuts her eyes once she sees him, and then her son Dhritarashtra is born blind. Ambalika turns pale and bloodless upon seeing him, and so her son Pandu is born pale and unhealthy (the term Pandu may additionally mean 'jaundiced'). attributable to the physical challenges of the primary 2 youngsters, Satyavati asks Vyasa to do all over again. However, Ambika and Ambalika send their maid instead, to Vyasa's space. Vyasa fathers a 3rd son, Vidura, by the maid. he's born healthy and grows up to be one amongst the wisest characters within the religious writing. He is Prime Minister (Mahamantri or Mahatma) to King Pandu and King Dhritarashtra.

When the princes become older, Dhritarashtra is close to be topped king by Bhishma once Vidura intervenes and uses his information of politics to say that a blind man can not be king. this is often as a result of a blind person cannot management and shield his subjects. The throne is then given to Pandu thanks to Dhritarashtra's sightlessness. Pandu marries doubly, to Kunti and Madri. Dhritarashtra marries Gandhari, a aristocrat from Gandhara, United Nations agency blindfolds herself in order that she could feel the pain that her husband feels. Her brother Shakuni is angry by this and vows to require revenge on the Kuru family. One day, once Pandu is quiet within the forest, he hears the sound of a wild animal. He shoots associate degree arrow within the direction of the sound. but the arrow hits the sage Kindama, United Nations agency curses him that if he engages in an exceedingly sexual act, he can die. Pandu then retires to the forest at the side of his 2 wives, and his brother Dhritarashtra rules thenceforth, despite his sightlessness.

Pandu's older queen Kunti, however, had been given a boon by Sage Durvasa that she might invoke any god employing a special mantra. Kunti uses this boon to raise Hindu deity the god of justice, Hindu deity the god of the wind, and Indra the lord of the heavens for sons. She provides birth to 3 sons, Yudhisthira, Bhima, and Arjuna, through these gods. Kunti shares her mantra with the younger queen Madri, United Nations agency bears the twins Nakula and Sahadeva through the Ashwini twins. However, Pandu and Madri fancy sex, and Pandu dies. Madri dies on his pyre out of self-reproach. Kunti raises the 5 brothers, United Nations agency area unit from then on typically remarked because the Pandava brothers.

Dhritarashtra contains a hundred sons through Gandhari, all born when the birth of Yudhishtira. These area unit the Kaurava brothers, the eldest being Duryodhana, and therefore the second Dushasana. different Kaurava brothers were Vikarna and Sukarna. The group action and enmity between them and therefore the Pandava brothers, from their youth and into manhood, results in the Kurukshetra war

Marriage to Draupadi

Arjuna piercing the attention of the fish as pictured in Chennakesava Temple designed by Hoysala Empire.

Whilst they were out of sight the Pandavas learn of a swayamvara that is going down for the hand of the Pāñcāla patrician Draupadī. The Pandavas enter the competition in disguise as Brahmins. The task is to string a mighty steel bow and shoot a target on the ceiling, that is that the eye of a moving artificial fish, whereas watching its reflection in oil below. Most of the princes fail, several being unable to raise the bow. mythical being succeeds but. The Pandavas come home and inform their mother that mythical being has won a contest and to appear at what they need brought back. while not trying, Kunti asks them to share no matter it's mythical being has won among themselves. On explaining the previous lifetime of Draupadi, she finally ends up being the mate of all 5 brothers.

The battle at Kurukshetra

Main article: Kurukshetra War

A black stone relief portrayal variety of men sporting a crown and a loincloth, fighting with spears, swords and bows. A chariot with [*fr1] the horse out of the frame is seen within the middle.

A scene from the Mahabharatam war, Angkor Wat: A black stone relief portrayal variety of men sporting a crown and a loincloth, fighting with spears, swords and bows. A chariot with [*fr1] the horse out of the frame is seen within the middle.

The two sides summon immense armies to their facilitate and line up at Kurukshetra for a war. The kingdoms of Panchala, Dwaraka, Kasi, Kekaya, Magadha, Matsya, Chedi, Pandyas, Telinga, and therefore the Yadus of Mathura and a few different clans just like the Parama Kambojas were allied with the Pandavas. The allies of the Kauravas enclosed the kings of Pragjyotisha, Anga, Kekaya, Sindhudesa (including Sindhus, Sauviras and Sivis), Mahishmati, Avanti in Madhyadesa, Madra, Gandhara, Bahlika individuals, Kambojas and lots of others. Before war being declared, Rama had expressed his unhappiness at the developing conflict and left to travel on pilgrimage; so he doesn't participate within the battle itself. avatar takes half in a very non-combatant role, as charioteer for mythical being.

Before the battle, Arjuna, seeing the opposing army includes several relatives and loved  ones, together with his great grandparent Bhishma and his teacher Drona, has doubts concerning the battle and he fails to carry his Gāndeeva bow. avatar wakes him up to his decision of duty within the far-famed Bhagavad Bhagavadgita section of the epic.

Though at first projected to courteous notions of warfare, each side presently adopt dishonourable ways. At the top of the 18-day battle, solely the Pandavas, Satyaki, Kripa, Ashwatthama, Kritavarma, Yuyutsu and avatar survive

The end of the Pandavas

Gandhari, blindfold, supporting Dhrtarashtra and following Kunti once Dhrtarashtra became previous and infirm and retired to the forest. A miniature painting from a 16th-century manuscript of a part of the Razmnama, a Persian translation of the sacred writing

After "seeing" the butchery, Gandhari, World Health Organization had lost all her sons, curses avatar to be a witness to an analogous annihilation of his family, for although divine and capable of stopping the war, he had not done therefore. avatar accepts the curse, that bears fruit thirty six years later.

The Pandavas, World Health Organization had dominated their kingdom meantime, attempt to renounce everything. Clad in skins and rags they retire to range and climb towards heaven in their bodily kind. A stray dog travels with them. One by one the brothers and Draupadi fall on their manner. As each stumbles, Yudhisthira offers the remainder the explanation for his or her fall (Draupadi was a fan of mythical being, Nakula and Sahadeva were vain and happy with their appearance, and Bhima and mythical being were happy with their strength and athletics skills, respectively). solely the virtuous Yudhisthira, World Health Organization had tried everything to stop the butchery, and also the dog stay. The dog reveals himself to be the god Yama (also called Yama Dharmaraja), so takes him to the underworld wherever he sees his siblings and married person. once explaining the character of the check, Yama takes Yudhishthira back to heaven and explains that it had been necessary to reveal him to the underworld as a result of (Rajyante narakam dhruvam) any ruler should visit the underworld a minimum of once. Yama then assures him that his siblings and married person would be a part of him in heaven once that they had been exposed to the underworld for measures of your time per their vices.

Arjuna's grandchild Parikshit rules once them and dies bitten by a snake. His furious son, Janamejaya, decides to perform a snake sacrifice (sarpasattra) so as to destroy the snakes. it's at this sacrifice that the story of his ancestors is narrated to him.

The reunion

The sacred writing mentions that Karna, the Pandavas, and Dhritarashtra's sons eventually ascended to svarga and "attained the state of the gods" and banded along — "serene and free from anger."

Themes

Just war

The sacred writing offers one amongst the primary instances of theorizing regarding "just war", illustrating several of the standards that will be debated later across the planet. within the story, one amongst 5 brothers asks if the suffering caused by war will ever be even. an extended discussion ensues between the siblings, establishing criteria like proportion (chariots cannot attack cavalry, solely different chariots; no offensive folks in distress), simply means that (no poisoned or barbed arrows), simply cause (no offensive out of rage), and honest treatment of captives and also the wounded

Kuru family tree

This shows the line of royal and family succession, not necessarily the parentage. See the notes below for detail.

Kurua

Gangā

Shāntanua

Satyavati

Pārāshara

Bhishma

Chitrāngada

Ambikā

Vichitravirya

Ambālikā

Vyāsa

Dhritarāshtrab

Gāndhāri

Shakuni

Kunti

Pāndub

Mādri

Karnac

Yudhisthirad

Bhimad

Arjunad

Subhadrā

Nakulad

Sahadevad

Duryodhanae

Dussalā

Dushāsana

(98 sons)

Abhimanyuf

Uttarā

Parikshit

Janamejaya

Key to Symbols

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