Mahabharata – 22
By
Sankar
Mukherjee
&
Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
Asramavasikaparva, Maushala ,
Mahaprasthanika , Svarga Parva &Khilavansa
Next the fifteenth Parva or Asramavasikaparva.Here the King Dhritarashtra leaves the kingdom accompanied by Gandhari & Vidura for a life in the ashram or sylvan monastery, Kunti also follows him.Here they meet their sons, grandsons & Kshatriya heroes who died in the battle. This reminds one of the meetings with the dead & ancestors as in classical western epic. Finally King Dhritarashtra achieves the highest stage of salvation along with Gandhari. The wise Sanjaya & Vidura also attain the blessed state. It is in this parva that Yudhishthira learns from Narada the news of the extinction of the Yadava clan.
Next the fifteenth Parva or Asramavasikaparva.Here the King Dhritarashtra leaves the kingdom accompanied by Gandhari & Vidura for a life in the ashram or sylvan monastery, Kunti also follows him.Here they meet their sons, grandsons & Kshatriya heroes who died in the battle. This reminds one of the meetings with the dead & ancestors as in classical western epic. Finally King Dhritarashtra achieves the highest stage of salvation along with Gandhari. The wise Sanjaya & Vidura also attain the blessed state. It is in this parva that Yudhishthira learns from Narada the news of the extinction of the Yadava clan.
The parva has forty sections & eleven hundred eleven slokas.
The next is the Maushala parva, Sauti observed that it is horrible one.Here in this parva the great Yadava warriors kill each other & are destroy at the curse of a brahmin.Both Krishna & Balaram see the destruction of their race. They can not prevent their clan from destruction. Arjuna is very upset at this. He arranges the cremation of Krishna & Balaram & other Yadavas where the latter were drinking alcohol. Then Arjuna accompanied by children, women & the elderly people of theYadavas has to encounter dacoits. But his Gandiva does not operate. He perceives the loss of his memory. He can not any more use celestial weapons.
The next is the Maushala parva, Sauti observed that it is horrible one.Here in this parva the great Yadava warriors kill each other & are destroy at the curse of a brahmin.Both Krishna & Balaram see the destruction of their race. They can not prevent their clan from destruction. Arjuna is very upset at this. He arranges the cremation of Krishna & Balaram & other Yadavas where the latter were drinking alcohol. Then Arjuna accompanied by children, women & the elderly people of theYadavas has to encounter dacoits. But his Gandiva does not operate. He perceives the loss of his memory. He can not any more use celestial weapons.
This parva has eight sections & three hundred twenty slokas.
Next comes the Mahaprasthanika Parva or seventeenth Parva. In this Parva Pandavas accompanied by Draupadi leave the Kingdom in quest of a celestial region. On arriving the bank of the Red Sea the Pandavas meet the fire God. Arjuna returns the weapons that earlier he received from the fire god. On the road to the celestial world the brothers drop dead one after another.Yudhishthira continues his journey. This Parva has three sections & one hundred twenty three slokas.
Next the most extraordinary eighteenth Parva or Svarga Parva. A dog follows Yudhishthira along his road to the celestial world.A chariot comes to carry Yudhishthira to heaven.But Yudhishthira refuses the chariot ride because he will not abandon the dog who accompanies him. The dog is in fact the incarnation of the god of Justice or Dharma. Reaching heaven Yudhishthira feels sad. Yudhishthira has a vision of the hell, where Bhima & others suffer. There Yudhishthira takes a bath in the celestial Ganges. There he drops his human body. Then by the grace of god of justice & Indra the god of the heaven, he meets his brothers. He attains heaven.
Next comes the Mahaprasthanika Parva or seventeenth Parva. In this Parva Pandavas accompanied by Draupadi leave the Kingdom in quest of a celestial region. On arriving the bank of the Red Sea the Pandavas meet the fire God. Arjuna returns the weapons that earlier he received from the fire god. On the road to the celestial world the brothers drop dead one after another.Yudhishthira continues his journey. This Parva has three sections & one hundred twenty three slokas.
Next the most extraordinary eighteenth Parva or Svarga Parva. A dog follows Yudhishthira along his road to the celestial world.A chariot comes to carry Yudhishthira to heaven.But Yudhishthira refuses the chariot ride because he will not abandon the dog who accompanies him. The dog is in fact the incarnation of the god of Justice or Dharma. Reaching heaven Yudhishthira feels sad. Yudhishthira has a vision of the hell, where Bhima & others suffer. There Yudhishthira takes a bath in the celestial Ganges. There he drops his human body. Then by the grace of god of justice & Indra the god of the heaven, he meets his brothers. He attains heaven.
The eighteenth Parva contains five sections & three thousand thirteen
slokas. Next the Khilabansa shows up.It is again divided into Harivamsa,
Bhavishya & Pauskara. The Khilavamsha dwells on the incarnation of Lord
Naryana on earth. Naryana is borne in the house of Vasudeva. Later on he is
brought in the house of Nandagopa. His strange feats during the childhood &
his extraordinarily way of life in the youth has been delineated here. He kills
Kamsa. He gets Jarasandha killed.He carries off Rukmini & marries her. He
builds the city of Dwaraka.He kills the
king of Kalinga. He also kills Dantavakra. He marries Satyabhama. Thereafter he kills Dhanuka, ogre Narakasura,Kaliya, Keshi, Kalayavan, & Kalanemi. He cuts off one thousand arms of King Bana. And he liberates Usha & Aniruddha. Harivamsha dwells on the race of Bharata & Yadu. The part that dwells on the future of Harivamsha is known as Khila.
The episodes of Varaha,Vamana & Puskara are narrated here.There are one thousand sections & ten thousand & two hundred slokas.
The person who knows the Upanishads & the Vedas is not educated enough.He must know the Mahabharata by heart. The Mahabharata is a text book of economics, religion & amour. One who listens to this Mahabharata does not like to hear any other narrative.Just as the five elements have created these three worlds, similarly poetic intelligence is generated by proper historical consciousness. He who listen to this illustrious Mahabharata uttered by Vedavyasa attains the purest form of truth.His sins are destroyed listening to the Mahabharata. It is like a bathing in the sacred Puskara.Thus the chapter called Parvasangraha ends.
king of Kalinga. He also kills Dantavakra. He marries Satyabhama. Thereafter he kills Dhanuka, ogre Narakasura,Kaliya, Keshi, Kalayavan, & Kalanemi. He cuts off one thousand arms of King Bana. And he liberates Usha & Aniruddha. Harivamsha dwells on the race of Bharata & Yadu. The part that dwells on the future of Harivamsha is known as Khila.
The episodes of Varaha,Vamana & Puskara are narrated here.There are one thousand sections & ten thousand & two hundred slokas.
The person who knows the Upanishads & the Vedas is not educated enough.He must know the Mahabharata by heart. The Mahabharata is a text book of economics, religion & amour. One who listens to this Mahabharata does not like to hear any other narrative.Just as the five elements have created these three worlds, similarly poetic intelligence is generated by proper historical consciousness. He who listen to this illustrious Mahabharata uttered by Vedavyasa attains the purest form of truth.His sins are destroyed listening to the Mahabharata. It is like a bathing in the sacred Puskara.Thus the chapter called Parvasangraha ends.
Mahabharata –23
By
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
Adi Parva CHAPTER III
Janamejaya & Sarama
Sauti said --- Janamejaya the son of Parikshit along with his brothers Srutasena, Ugrasena & Bhimasena were performing a time taking long sacrifice at Kurukshetra.A dog arrived there. The brothers of Janamejaya beat it & drove it away. On hearing this the mother of the dog Sarama went where Janamejaya was performing the sacrifice, in a rage Sarama asked Janamejaya why her son was beaten for no fault of his own. Janamejaya & others were not able to utter a single word in reply. Surama then pointed out that since they had beaten her child for no fault of his, They must face some unknown danger during the course of sacrifice.
This is the most interesting fable. A fable is that kind of story where plants & animals participate like human beings. The fable could be interpreted on many levels. Adi Parva of the Mahabharata takes us back when men & animals could communicate with one another & when a dog could lodge a complaint with the King & the complaint was against the King itself. Such a situation is beyond our imagination.When democracy in the air, the dog might stand for the have-nots in the society. But can s/he raise his/her voice against the authority? During the days of Mahabharata the so called meanest person among the have-nots go directly to the King himself to complain against his brothers. There must not be any place where entrance of the common man prohibited. Only thing is that the latter must not disturb the activities conducted in the prohibited place. But this is not all. True that the Kings might perform their activities in great glory, but even a dog might curse it & may be such curse of the meanest of the mean does not fall flat. That is why Janamejaya on hearing the curse of Sarama is full of anxiety, lest the curse become true.
We wish the democracy today had learnt a little from this story of the
Mahabharata Adiparva.
Janamejaya & Sarama
Sauti said --- Janamejaya the son of Parikshit along with his brothers Srutasena, Ugrasena & Bhimasena were performing a time taking long sacrifice at Kurukshetra.A dog arrived there. The brothers of Janamejaya beat it & drove it away. On hearing this the mother of the dog Sarama went where Janamejaya was performing the sacrifice, in a rage Sarama asked Janamejaya why her son was beaten for no fault of his own. Janamejaya & others were not able to utter a single word in reply. Surama then pointed out that since they had beaten her child for no fault of his, They must face some unknown danger during the course of sacrifice.
This is the most interesting fable. A fable is that kind of story where plants & animals participate like human beings. The fable could be interpreted on many levels. Adi Parva of the Mahabharata takes us back when men & animals could communicate with one another & when a dog could lodge a complaint with the King & the complaint was against the King itself. Such a situation is beyond our imagination.When democracy in the air, the dog might stand for the have-nots in the society. But can s/he raise his/her voice against the authority? During the days of Mahabharata the so called meanest person among the have-nots go directly to the King himself to complain against his brothers. There must not be any place where entrance of the common man prohibited. Only thing is that the latter must not disturb the activities conducted in the prohibited place. But this is not all. True that the Kings might perform their activities in great glory, but even a dog might curse it & may be such curse of the meanest of the mean does not fall flat. That is why Janamejaya on hearing the curse of Sarama is full of anxiety, lest the curse become true.
We wish the democracy today had learnt a little from this story of the
Mahabharata Adiparva.
Mahabharata –24
By
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
Adi Parva CHAPTER III
Janamejaya appoints a priest
Sarama is a dog in the Adiparva of the Mahabharata, her curse upon the
King Janamajaya sang deep into the heart of the King. He was anxious
to get rid of the curse. This is significantly important, the king of the Mahabharata gives importance to the curse of the lowest of the lowly & the King needs a priest to get rid of the curse. At once Janamejaya goes into the deep forest ahunting. He comes across a sage father & his sage son. Janamejaya takes fancy on the ascetic father & the son. Janamejaya approaches the father & prays for appointing his son as the priest.The father tells Janamejaya that his son was born in the womb of a snake. He is a very good ascetic & he can dispel curses, if any, except those of Mahadeva God of the gods. But his son has a particular idiosyncracy. He does not refuse any Brahmin. If any Brahmin asks anything from him give he must. This Janamejaya should know. Janamejaya has no difficulty in appointing such a sage as his priest. So he returns to his palace & appoints the sage -- the son of a snake as his priest.
This is a significant fable where a snake figures. Commonly according to Manu Smriti anuloma marriage is not ideal. The child thereof is not at per with a child where parents belong to the same caste. But the Mahabharata acknowledges the child as consequence of some form of marriage between a saint & a snake. Thus the Mahabharata seems to defy Manu Smriti at certain points.
Be that it may, after appointing a priest after the heart, Janamejaya sets out for the conquest of Takshila. He occupies Takshila. Thus there is no doubt of the fact that the India of the Mahabharata included Takshila, which is now in Pakistan.
Janamejaya appoints a priest
Sarama is a dog in the Adiparva of the Mahabharata, her curse upon the
King Janamajaya sang deep into the heart of the King. He was anxious
to get rid of the curse. This is significantly important, the king of the Mahabharata gives importance to the curse of the lowest of the lowly & the King needs a priest to get rid of the curse. At once Janamejaya goes into the deep forest ahunting. He comes across a sage father & his sage son. Janamejaya takes fancy on the ascetic father & the son. Janamejaya approaches the father & prays for appointing his son as the priest.The father tells Janamejaya that his son was born in the womb of a snake. He is a very good ascetic & he can dispel curses, if any, except those of Mahadeva God of the gods. But his son has a particular idiosyncracy. He does not refuse any Brahmin. If any Brahmin asks anything from him give he must. This Janamejaya should know. Janamejaya has no difficulty in appointing such a sage as his priest. So he returns to his palace & appoints the sage -- the son of a snake as his priest.
This is a significant fable where a snake figures. Commonly according to Manu Smriti anuloma marriage is not ideal. The child thereof is not at per with a child where parents belong to the same caste. But the Mahabharata acknowledges the child as consequence of some form of marriage between a saint & a snake. Thus the Mahabharata seems to defy Manu Smriti at certain points.
Be that it may, after appointing a priest after the heart, Janamejaya sets out for the conquest of Takshila. He occupies Takshila. Thus there is no doubt of the fact that the India of the Mahabharata included Takshila, which is now in Pakistan.
Mahabharata –25
By
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
Adi Parva CHAPTER III
Aapoda Dhaumya &Aaruni
During the reign of Janamejaya there is a great teacher named Apada
Dhaumya. He has three disciples namely Aaruni,Upamanyu,& Veda. The
teacher Dhaumyu has agricultural land. Since there has been a lot of
rains & a flood, the land is inundated under water. The earthen ridges
that divide the land into different sections are perhaps down razed due to the flood. Consequently Dhaumyu asked Aaruni to look after the ridges that might check that flooding waters. So Aaruni goes out from the preceptors house to obey the commands of his teacher, perhaps early in the morning. He does not return to the preceptor during the live long day.Evening descends upon the scene. Finally night shows up. The preceptor is anxious. What makes Aaruni come late? May be he is carried away by the current of the fierce water.So the preceptor goes out to find out Aaruni. It is dark all about & nothing can be espied.So the preceptor reaching the plot cries out calling the name of Aaruni. In the darkness a voice responds to the cry --- O Sir I am lying in the waters functioning as a ridge of raised earth to check the flow of the water. At this the preceptor is happy beyond measures. He asks Aaruni to get up from the waters & return to him. When Aaruni returns to his preceptor, the preceptor blesses him. By the grace of the preceptor Aaruni becomes a master of all the Vedas & of everything a man might aspire to learn. The teacher says that henceforth Aaruni will be known as by the name
Uddalak.
This story is highly educative. During the days of the Mahabharata mere learning by rote does not deliver goods. One must having insight into the text, that is possible only when the preceptor is happy with his student, that is why service to preceptor with body, mind & spirit on the part of disciple is a must. Aaruni dared to lie down to resist the flood waters with his own body, in the night when snakes & other things could kill him. This made the preceptor happy.
Indian teachers recount the story of Aapoda Dhaumyu & Aaruni, they learnt that the like of Aaruni are not found today. But the teachers better asks themselves whether they are as competent as Aapoda Dhaumyu. Can they kindle the inner light of wisdom in the hearts of
the disciples by simply saying -- you are now omniscient & you will
remain omniscient ever moving due to my blessings, Do the teachers of
today have such powerful words?
Aapoda Dhaumya &Aaruni
During the reign of Janamejaya there is a great teacher named Apada
Dhaumya. He has three disciples namely Aaruni,Upamanyu,& Veda. The
teacher Dhaumyu has agricultural land. Since there has been a lot of
rains & a flood, the land is inundated under water. The earthen ridges
that divide the land into different sections are perhaps down razed due to the flood. Consequently Dhaumyu asked Aaruni to look after the ridges that might check that flooding waters. So Aaruni goes out from the preceptors house to obey the commands of his teacher, perhaps early in the morning. He does not return to the preceptor during the live long day.Evening descends upon the scene. Finally night shows up. The preceptor is anxious. What makes Aaruni come late? May be he is carried away by the current of the fierce water.So the preceptor goes out to find out Aaruni. It is dark all about & nothing can be espied.So the preceptor reaching the plot cries out calling the name of Aaruni. In the darkness a voice responds to the cry --- O Sir I am lying in the waters functioning as a ridge of raised earth to check the flow of the water. At this the preceptor is happy beyond measures. He asks Aaruni to get up from the waters & return to him. When Aaruni returns to his preceptor, the preceptor blesses him. By the grace of the preceptor Aaruni becomes a master of all the Vedas & of everything a man might aspire to learn. The teacher says that henceforth Aaruni will be known as by the name
Uddalak.
This story is highly educative. During the days of the Mahabharata mere learning by rote does not deliver goods. One must having insight into the text, that is possible only when the preceptor is happy with his student, that is why service to preceptor with body, mind & spirit on the part of disciple is a must. Aaruni dared to lie down to resist the flood waters with his own body, in the night when snakes & other things could kill him. This made the preceptor happy.
Indian teachers recount the story of Aapoda Dhaumyu & Aaruni, they learnt that the like of Aaruni are not found today. But the teachers better asks themselves whether they are as competent as Aapoda Dhaumyu. Can they kindle the inner light of wisdom in the hearts of
the disciples by simply saying -- you are now omniscient & you will
remain omniscient ever moving due to my blessings, Do the teachers of
today have such powerful words?
Mahabharata 26
By
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
AdiParva
AdiParva
CHAPTER III
Aapada Dhaumya & Upamanyu
We have learnt
how playing the role of a labourer in firm obeying the arbitrary commands of
the preceptor Dhaumya, Aaruni attained omniscience.
Now the story
of Upamanyu.Dhaumya asks Upamanyu
to look after his cows. Upamanyu goes out to look after the cows. After
few days Dhaumya finds Upamanyu in good health. He is surprised & asks
Upamnyu-- How do you maintain yourself?
Upamanyu
answers --Sir,I beg once a day & feed myself with the alms that I
receive. Dhaumya -- But alms that you receive should belong to me. How
dare you partake of the alms that are due to me?
From next day on, Upamanyu gives away all that he gets as alms to his preceptor. Despite that after a few days Dhaumya finds that Upamanyu is hale & hearty as ever.
So he asks -- Although you give me away the alms that you get, how come that you maintain yourself?
Upamanyu-- I beg twice. I maintain myself with the alms that I get during the begging second time a day. Dhaumya -- But this is not proper. Thereby you are depriving other beggars from getting alms.
Consequently Upamanyu stopped begging. But Upamanyu continued tending the cows. The preceptor finds that Upamanyu is as hale & hearty as ever,despite the fact his begging is stopped.
Dhaumya asks -- Now that you beg no longer how is it that you maintain yourself?
Upamanyu . The cows bestow milk on me on their own.
Dhaumya -- You must not take the milk of the cows.
Commanded thus, Upamanyu stops taking milk. But he continues tending the cows. After a few days the preceptor finding that Upamanyu is hale & hearty as ever is astonished.
Dhaumya -- Now that you do not take cow milk any more, how do you maintain yourself?
Upamanyu-- the cows give me the froth of their mouth for me to feed on.
Dhaumya –that you must not take.
Consequently, Upamanyu continues tending the cows, without eating anything whatever. Dhaumya finds that Upamanyu does not turn up at his place. He is deeply anxious as to what has happened to Upamanyu, Dhaumya rushes to the pasture & cries out calling the name of Upamanyu. Upamanyu answers his preceptor -- Sir,driven by hunger I have taken a poisonous
leaf of a tree unknowingly. At once I became blind & fell into a well.
Dhaumya is visibly happy perceiving the fortunes of Upamanyu. He asks Upamanyu to worship the physicians -- the twin gods Aswani kumaras.
From next day on, Upamanyu gives away all that he gets as alms to his preceptor. Despite that after a few days Dhaumya finds that Upamanyu is hale & hearty as ever.
So he asks -- Although you give me away the alms that you get, how come that you maintain yourself?
Upamanyu-- I beg twice. I maintain myself with the alms that I get during the begging second time a day. Dhaumya -- But this is not proper. Thereby you are depriving other beggars from getting alms.
Consequently Upamanyu stopped begging. But Upamanyu continued tending the cows. The preceptor finds that Upamanyu is as hale & hearty as ever,despite the fact his begging is stopped.
Dhaumya asks -- Now that you beg no longer how is it that you maintain yourself?
Upamanyu . The cows bestow milk on me on their own.
Dhaumya -- You must not take the milk of the cows.
Commanded thus, Upamanyu stops taking milk. But he continues tending the cows. After a few days the preceptor finding that Upamanyu is hale & hearty as ever is astonished.
Dhaumya -- Now that you do not take cow milk any more, how do you maintain yourself?
Upamanyu-- the cows give me the froth of their mouth for me to feed on.
Dhaumya –that you must not take.
Consequently, Upamanyu continues tending the cows, without eating anything whatever. Dhaumya finds that Upamanyu does not turn up at his place. He is deeply anxious as to what has happened to Upamanyu, Dhaumya rushes to the pasture & cries out calling the name of Upamanyu. Upamanyu answers his preceptor -- Sir,driven by hunger I have taken a poisonous
leaf of a tree unknowingly. At once I became blind & fell into a well.
Dhaumya is visibly happy perceiving the fortunes of Upamanyu. He asks Upamanyu to worship the physicians -- the twin gods Aswani kumaras.
Mahabharata 27
By
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr. Ramesh Chansdra Mukhopadhyaya
Adi Parva
CHAPTER III
Aapoda Dhaumya & Upamanyu
As commanded by the preceptor Upamanyu who has lost his eye sight &
fallen into a well chants a prayer addressing the twin gods Aswini kumaras. Let
us look at the outline of the prayer. Upamanyu says Oh twin Lords Aswini Kumaras ,you are the
elder of the gods. It is you at the front of when a sacrificial rite is
observed, you are free from pride & your beauty is world winning, you are
clad in gold; you are as fast as a bird. You save people from danger. But this
is not all. You cure the ailing. Hence I seek your help recounting words of the
Vedas. Just as a weaver replaces black threads with white threads, so do you
replace the incurable black diseases called Leprosy with bright health. Those
who suffer for long from the deficiency of eye sight are cured by you.
When a zygote forms in the womb, there
is no life in it.
It is through your grace after some time the zygote vibrates. When the child is born, it is through your grace that child sucks its mother's breast. And I pray to both of you. Both of you together cure my eye sight. This is the relevant part of the prayer which could cure one of the many diseases that are perhaps out to overwhelm the human body. And may be an ailing person could pray to the twin deities Aswini Kumaras in the selfsame way to get cured.
But there is another part of the prayer which is deeply philosophical. There are three hundred sixty days in a year. The three hundred sixty days liken three hundred sixty cows. And we call a year is but a calf or the child of three hundred sixty cows. This is a curious imagery.
Upamanyu says that the twin gods Aswini Kumaras are responsible for the creation of the cow called the year.
On another level, each day, consists of a day & a night.Thus there are three hundred sixty days & three hundred sixty nights & those seven hundred twenty days & nights serve as the spoke of the wheel called time. There is a wheel inside the wheel, the twelve months constitute that. This wheel does not have any rim. It is indestructible. It revolves ceaselessly. Upamanyu says that twin gods Aswini have introduced the wheel of time.
In another context the prayer observes that everything in the existence is made of color. It travels along with sun rays. It wanders among sun rays. Sauti comments that the prayer in its language is a medley of the Vedic usage as well as Upamanyu's own parole. This is a very significant. It speaks aesthetics of the Mahabharata.The Mahabharata mingles the sublime & the trifle, the hyacinth & biscuit in its style of narration.This reminds us of the modernist poetry.Have we not read T.S.Eliot exclaiming -- I shall measure life with coffee spoon?
The twin gods are pleased with Upamanyu. They offer him a sweet to take as medicine. But Upamanyu will not take the sweets without offering the same to the preceptor at the outset. The gods are visibly happy, at this Upamanyu is cured of his blindness. Upamanyu narrates everything to his teacher. The teacher blesses him with all his heart & says that by the grace of the twin gods Upamanyu will be wise & omniscient. Thus the Mahabharata seems to assert that true knowledge, wisdom & omniscience comes from within by god’s grace.
It is through your grace after some time the zygote vibrates. When the child is born, it is through your grace that child sucks its mother's breast. And I pray to both of you. Both of you together cure my eye sight. This is the relevant part of the prayer which could cure one of the many diseases that are perhaps out to overwhelm the human body. And may be an ailing person could pray to the twin deities Aswini Kumaras in the selfsame way to get cured.
But there is another part of the prayer which is deeply philosophical. There are three hundred sixty days in a year. The three hundred sixty days liken three hundred sixty cows. And we call a year is but a calf or the child of three hundred sixty cows. This is a curious imagery.
Upamanyu says that the twin gods Aswini Kumaras are responsible for the creation of the cow called the year.
On another level, each day, consists of a day & a night.Thus there are three hundred sixty days & three hundred sixty nights & those seven hundred twenty days & nights serve as the spoke of the wheel called time. There is a wheel inside the wheel, the twelve months constitute that. This wheel does not have any rim. It is indestructible. It revolves ceaselessly. Upamanyu says that twin gods Aswini have introduced the wheel of time.
In another context the prayer observes that everything in the existence is made of color. It travels along with sun rays. It wanders among sun rays. Sauti comments that the prayer in its language is a medley of the Vedic usage as well as Upamanyu's own parole. This is a very significant. It speaks aesthetics of the Mahabharata.The Mahabharata mingles the sublime & the trifle, the hyacinth & biscuit in its style of narration.This reminds us of the modernist poetry.Have we not read T.S.Eliot exclaiming -- I shall measure life with coffee spoon?
The twin gods are pleased with Upamanyu. They offer him a sweet to take as medicine. But Upamanyu will not take the sweets without offering the same to the preceptor at the outset. The gods are visibly happy, at this Upamanyu is cured of his blindness. Upamanyu narrates everything to his teacher. The teacher blesses him with all his heart & says that by the grace of the twin gods Upamanyu will be wise & omniscient. Thus the Mahabharata seems to assert that true knowledge, wisdom & omniscience comes from within by god’s grace.
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