Mahabharata 4

By

Sankar mukherjee

&

Dr . Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya

                    An Open Ended Narrative

The Mahabharata contains one lakh sacred verses . One should hear these excellent Verses. Vedavasya also composed an abridged Mahabharata consisting of twenty four thousands verses with numerous episodes. There after he composed  the Mahabharata in one hundred fifty verses only. That is the shortest gist of the Mahabharata.

Vyasa taught the Mahabharata to his son Sukdev. Thereafter he distributed the same among his suitable disciples.

Vedavyasa originally composed the Mahabharata in sixty lakh slokas. He published thirty lakh slokas in Devalokas, fifteen lakh in Pitrilokas, fourteen lakh in Gandarvalokas & one lakh in Martyalokas or among the humans. Curiously enough while Narada narrated the Mahabharata to the gods, Asitdeval narrated the same to the Pitrigan or the ancestors. Sukdeva narrated the same to the gandharva, yakshas & rakshas.

Vysampayana the best disciple of Vedavyasa narrated the epic Mahabharata to the world of men.

In the narrative Duryodhana could be deemed as the protagonist.Duryodhana is like a tree. Karna is the strongest trunk . Shakuni is it's branches. Dushasana stands for flower &  fruits & Dhritarashtra is the riot. And Judhisthir might be called antagonist of the narrative He is also a tree . Arjun is the strongest trunk . Bhima is it's branches.Nakula & Sahadev are fruits & flowers.Lord Krishna along with the saints are the root.

Pandu conquered many countries, thereafter he retired & lived in a forest. Once upon a time one sage in the form of deer was engaged in sexual coitus. And during that time Pandu killed him. The sage cursed Pandu that during the sexual act he would die. That is why Pandu refrained from sexual act.

Curiously enough the Mahabharata being a metanarrative dwells in its self & acknowledges that it could be told in n ways. It could be told in a few slokas only .The received text chanted by Vysampayana consists of one lakh slokas, but it be amplified & told in thirty lakh slokas as well. Thus the Mahabharata has different versions, each version is determined by the auditorium to which it is addressed.The gods are blessed to hear the Mahabharata in thirty lakh slokas but we are short of intellect in relation of that of the gods. Besides, our life span is short. So the Mahabharata in one lakh slokas are enough for us – humans. Besides there have been a number of narrators, each of the narrators has delineated the story in his own way. This clearly tells us that the narrative of the Mahabharata has texts & different levels of meaning. Its meaning is never exhausted. Numerous stories of the Mahabharata will show up in times to come .And there is no fixed meaning of the Mahabharata. This is how the Mahabharata is postmodern in its meaning & content .It is an open ended narrative.

Mahabharata 5

By

Sankar Mukherjee

& Dr . Ramesh Chandra

Mukhopadhyaya

            Mother Kunti enters into Hashthinapur with her five sons
Pandu was debarred from having sex with his wife.  So Pandu  asked his wives Kunti & Madri to have children by deputies. This was an old custom during the days of the Mahabharata. Kunti could chant mantras & bring Gods to her. So being ordained by her husband King Pandu, she prayed & three gods came to her one after another. The first one was Dharma or Yama --the god of death. The second god was the wind god or Vaayu & third god was Indra the king of gods. With Kunti’s assistance Madri invoked the twin gods  Ashwini Kumar brothers. It was through god grace that Kunti had three sons namely Yudhisthira ,Bhima & Arjuna .The twin god graced Madri with Nakula & Sahadeva.  So these five brothers were born in the forest. In the meantime Pandu co-habited with Madri. The curse fell on him & he at once  died. Madri entered the funeral pier of Pandu & died as well by choice. So Kunti was left with five children. The sages who lived in the woods along with Kunti looked after the five children till they grew up. Then the sages accompanied Kunti & the five children to  Hasthinapur( in the present day Hasthinapura is a town in the Doab region of U.P.in India around 37 km from Meerut & 90 km north- east of Delhi on National Highway 119).And they testified that these very  five children's were born to late Pandu & belonged to the Kuru royal family. True that some people doubted whether they were really Pandu's son or not .But people of Hasthinapura burst in joy & clamour filled the air. There was rain of flowers.Conchs were sounded.Drum beats were heard. Henceforth these five children lived in the royal palace as princes. They were given proper education befitting that of the princes.They learnt the Veda. Their personalities impressed the people of Hasthinapura .Yudhisthira's calmness  Bhima's patience  & Arjuna's valour drew appreciation from every corner.
Four things in the above narrative are significant , firstly to beget a child by appointing a substitute of the husband was customary in the society of the Mahabharata .Secondly the five children born to Kunti & Madri were demi-gods. Thirdly with the death of the husband, the wives could die on their own to accompany the husband to the other world. But the practice was not compulsory. Madri became a Sati, but Kunti did not go for voluntary death. Fourthly the children lived for a time in the forest only with Kunti & the holy sages around them may,be, left a permanent impression on the personalities of the five children. And this make up of their mind no doubt played a significant role in their adulthood.

Mahabharata -6

By

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr.Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya

The battle lost & won

The people of Hastinapur perceived the devotion of mother Kunti, the modesty of Nakula & Sahadeva, valour of Yudhisthira ,& his brothers Bhima & Arjuna.The people were very happy with them. Afterwards Arjuna went to Swayamvara of Draupadi or Krishnaa. During the days of the Mahabharata a princess was at liberty to choose her life partner among a whole range of suitors at a get together called Swayamvara Sabhaa.At the Swayamvara of Krishnaa there was a fish rotating in a wheel above. Below there was water in a container.The fish rotating in the wheel was mirrored  in the water.The suitors could look  into the water & seeing the image of the fish rotating  in the waters must pierce the eye of the fish that rotated above. And lo! Arjuna's arrow pierced the eye of the fish to utter surprise & joy of the common people.Krishnaa consequently united with Arjuna. In course of time Arjuna  became a fine archer. His prowess could be compared  only to that of the Sun.Yudhisthira arranged Rajasuyayajna.To that end Arjuna conquered all the great kings of the time. Consequently the yajna invoked by Yudhisthira the eldest son of the five brothers was crowned with success.Counselled by crafty Krishna & aided by the valour of Bhima & Arjuna, Yudhisthira saw that the mighty king Jarasandha & Sishupal were killed.Plenty of food was distributed among masses.Lot of gift was rained upon priests during the yajna.Dhritarashtra was the the elder brother of Pandu. Pandu’s children were Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula & Sahadeva.Since they were the children of Pandu they were known as Pandavas. On the other hand Dhritarashtra had hundred sons. They were known as Kauravas. Duryodhana was the eldest among them. It was Duryodhana who was the in charge of the store during the Rajsuyajna. It was he who received the precious gifts from the kings all over the world on behalf of Yudhisthira. Duryodhana was awestruck at the site of the untold treasure of Yudhisthira & his four brothers gathered from the kings from all over the world as fuedal dues.The site where the great yajna conducted by Yudhisthira was Indraprastha ( it is often thought to have been located in the region of the present-day New Delhi. But there is no historical evidence to back this claim). The five Brothers or the Pandavas settled at Indraprastha with the permission from Dhritarashtra their uncle & the king of Hastinapur. There at Indraprastha Moydanava a great architect & demon set up a township for the Pandavas to rule. It was a wonder of architecture in the then world. There what looked like a piece of land was in fact a lake & what looked like waters was in fact land. Duryodhana was duped by such illusion.  Seeing Duryodhana fooled by such marvels of architecture Bhima laughed at him & insulted him.These insults sank deep into Duryodhana's heart. Back from the yajna which was held at Indraprastha, Duryodhana was full of anger & envy, Duryodhana wanted to dispossess the Pandavas of their wealth & prowess.He could not outdo Pandavas in the battle field. So he invited the Pandavas to play dices with him.He took permission from his father king Dhritarashtra to that end. Consequently a great war between the cousins - the five Brothers or Pandavas & hundred Brothers or the Kauravas took place. There the warrior class or Kshatriyas from all over the globe participated.The war took place at Kurushkhetra (modern day Haryana, India). There a mass massacre took place. The Kauravas as well as countless members of the warrior class had to bite the dust.The Pandavas survived to rule the world.Victory fell on them.

King Dhritarashtra the father of hundred sons or Kauravas was deeply grieved at heart seeing his sons killed in the hand of their cousins & lamented.

Mahabharata 7

By

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr.Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya

Dhritarashtra

Dhritarashtra was born blind. True that he could not see.But he was well versed in every department of the then education. He knew contemporary philosophy,political thought,& management so on. He was the eldest son of the Kuru family that ruled Hastinapur. But as because he was blind,he was deprived of the throne, Pandu his younger brother became the king.Dhritashtra was consequently jealous of Pandu.With Pandu's death Dhritarashtra became the king of the Hastinapur.The battle of Kurushkhetra lost & won,Dhritarashtra expressed his feelings before Sanjaya.He praised Sanjaya because Sanjaya had conquered his desires & controlled his senses. He remembered all the evil deeds of his sons. Also praised the valour  of Bhima & specially he praised Arjuna. He admitted that he had lost the hope of victory over the Pandavas when the house of lac where the Pandavas had taken shelter was put to fire, he knew that his children would not be able to survive in a battle against the Pandavas when his sons had tried to unrobe Draupadi. During the great war that was between the Pandavas & Kauravas, Bhisma was with the Kauravas. But it is a pity thay he  had never attempted to kill the greatest warrior amongst the Pandavas.The way the sons of Dhritarashtra killed Abhimanyu made it clear to Dhritarashtra that they would not win the war. When Karna had disagreed to fight under the leadership of Bhisma he knew that his sons were destinct to be defeated.He remembered the amazing feat of Arjuna at the swayamvara sabha of Draupadi. The burning of the forest named Khandava ( it was supposed to lie on the west of Yamuna in modern day Delhi) against the will  of the Indra. The death of Kichaka the demon, Arjuna's duel with Lord Shiva, the award of weapon named  Pasupata given to Arjuna by Lord Shiva himself - all these events had given the King a kind of premonition that his sons would not be able to put up a fight against the Pandavas, if there were a battle between them.He knew that Arjuna & Krishna were the incarnation of Nara & Naryana. Hence conflict if any, no one could hold out against Krishna & Arjuna.Dhritharastra  was also aware  of the wisdom of Yudhisthira.He was also aware how Yudhisthira had responded to the conundrums posed by Death itself.

It is a pity that Dhritarashtra despite his hunch of the shape of things to come as consequence of Kurushkhetra war could not stand in the way of war.  The laments of Dhritarashtra show how knowledgeable persons are misguided by envy & jealousy & by the affection for the children. The laments of Dhritarashtra show that he was never impartial.He always favoured  his sons against his nephews despite the fact that his sons were in the wrong.

The laments of Dhritarashtra recounts the most significant motif of the Mahabharata.That excites the curiosity of the readers or listeners.They are keen to read or hear the narrative in details.

Mahabharata 8

By

Sankar Mukherjee

 &

Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya

Laments of Dhritarashtra

While recounting the past & lamenting the death of his hundred sons Dhritarashtra fainted over & over again.Sauti said that he breathed & hissed like a snake & wanted to breathe his last.Sanjaya told Dhritarashtra that  death is inevitable.Pious kings who observed the rituals, great & famous kings everyone has embraceed death.This he had already learnt from Narada & Vedevyasa.Sauti further added that they could not carry with them their immense wealth  during their passing away.Sanjaya observed Oh King Dhritarashtra ! your cruel, jealous, notorious children welcomed death by their deeds. So you should have patience & accept what is lotted.No one can overcome his or her destiny.

It is time that creates leaving organisms & it is time that kills them. Time alone resists time.Time creates the good or bad.  Time destroys them during Pralaya or utter annihilation.Time remains asleep or in waking state. No one can go beyond Time. No one can control Time .Time moves everywhere with equal force .So knowing that everything is affected by Time Oh King ! you should not be overwhelmed with grief.

Sauti observed that the Mahabharata has expounded the essence of Vedanta - the wisdom enshrined in it outweighs all the wisdom of the Vedas & the Upanishada. Perusal of only one verse of the Mahabharata brings boundless blessings. Because here the gods,sages, religious yakshas,& the great snakes have been portrayed.More to that, the Mahabharata dwells on the greatness of Vaasudeva the God of gods .He is truth & piousness personified.He is the omnipresent  'Parabrahma' in human form.He is the primordial & eternal soul of consciousness.His activity baffles human understanding.This world & the gods have emanated from him  The mundane world & the living beings have showed up at his will.

Mahabharata 9

By

 Sankar Mukherjee

&

Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya –

Samantapanchaka

Sauti had told the holy sages at Naimisharanya that he was coming from the sacred Samantapanchaka. Sauti added that Samantapanchaka was a very sacred place .It was there that the great war between Pandavas & Kauravas in which the Kings from  all over the world participated had taken place. The holy sages wanted to know how come Samantapanchaka was a sacred place. They were very curious to learn the legends if any around Samantapanchaka.
In reply Sauti observed that during the point of juncture of the two aeons Treta & Dwpara, the great warrior Parashuram killed the Kshatriya kings over & over again.The blood of slain kings forged five lakes. And Parashuram offered the blood of those kings to his ancestors observing rituals.This is a narative which reminds us of the revenge drama of the Elizabethan age & the drama of Seneca & that of Aeschylus. But Indian imagination seems to go beyond. Hence during the worship of ancestors Parashuram prayed for being redeemed from the great sin that he had commited by killing the Kshatriya or warrior clan. The forefathers granted him redemption. Since then the lakes of blood have been deemed as sacred. The locality in the neighbourhood became famous as Samantapanchaka.But at the same time they asked Parashuram to never ever get involved in any bloody war whatever.This is interesting because when the great war of Kurukshetra  had taken place Parashuram could not take part in the war. Just as Parashuram took arms against the Kshatriyas during the hour when Treta & Dwapara met ,similarly the great war of Kurushetra took place during the hour when Dwapara & Kali met.
Sauti told them that during the great war of Kurukshetra which took place at Samantapanchaka some eighteen akshauhini soldiers were killed.
The sages were surprised at the name akshauhini & asked Sauti to explain what akshuhini meant .Well, Sauti observed that an akshauhini is a vast segment of an army that includes elephants, charriots, horses, bare footed soldiers & so on .There are 21,8700chariots 21870 elephants 65610 horses & 109350 infantry in total.Sauti added that the great war of Kurukshetra war lasted for eighteen days. Bhisma commanded the army of Kauravas for first  ten days .Drona led the Kauravas next five days, Karna led them for two days & Shalya  for half a day. Finally there was a duel with clubs. At the end, Ashwatthaamaa, Kripaacharya & Kritavarmaa killed all the soldiers left  of Yudhisthira & the sons of Pandavas. Sauti said that the story of Mahabharata was narrated by Vaishampaayana at the auspicious place where
the snake sacrifice was being observed by king Janamejaya.
The Mahabharata dwells on countless subjects. They speak of valour & fame of many a king ,they also contain stories of Paushya,Paulamaa & Aastika.
The people who hear the Mahabharata  get at salvation, the Mahabharata enshrines in it an insight of life & death,the knowledge of the soul.It explains & elucidates the Immortal soul.The connoisseurs are bewitched by the choice of the words of the narative.The numerous episodes that are subtitled in the narative fill their heart with wonders. The Mahabharata also spesks of different customs. Thus it is a work imbued with various cultures.Thus it is a treatise on multiculturalism .

Mahabharata 10

By

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr.Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya

Contents of The Mahabharata

Sauti  dwells on the contents of the Mhabharata on another level.At the outset there are three episodes dwelling  respectively on Paushya, Paulamaa & Aastika.

Thereafter it has been narrated how gods descended upon the earth. Thereafter episodes follow one another. There is the burning of the palace made of Lac. A demon known as Vaka is killed. The friendship with Chitraratha is struck, Draupadi shows up before the kings at the Swayamvarasabha, there is the marriage of the five brothers or the Pandavas with Draupadi, Arjuna the third brother of Pandavas goes in exile from the family. During the time he weds  Subhadra with her consent. The forest Khandava is put to fire. The Pandavas meet the great architect ----Maya the demon.

 The Sabhaparva describes the killing of Jaraasandha  & the conquest of the world by the Pandava brothers.
A great sacrifice called Raajasuya yajna is held. Sree Krishna is felicitated   in front of the Kings of the world ,Sishupala dissents.He is killed. Then there is play of dice. Then the Vanaparva sets in. The Pandavas go for a life in the forest. There the demon Kirmir is killed, Arjuna goes to the Himalaya for penance .He fights with Lord Shiva in the Kirata parva. Then Arjuna visits Heaven which is ruled by Indra the god.

In the meantime four of five brothers or Pandavas go on pilgrimage.The demon Jataa is killed, Bhima’s fight with  Yaksha.By the by the story of Nahusa is retold, finally Pandavas meet the great sage called Maarkendaya .
Next there is the conversation of Draupadi the common wife of  Pandavas & Satyabhama wife of Sree Krishna .Duryodhana the eldest son of Kauravas in the meantime comes to the forest along with his army to show off his strength & wealth to the Pandavas.At that time Yudhishthira dreams of a deer. Thereafter the episodes of Brihidraunika .& Indradyumna ,& abduction of Draupadi by Jayadratha are narrated.

Then the episode of Savitri & that of Lord Rama.
Thereafter Viratparva takes place. At that time the Pandavas live in disguise. Kichaka is killed, the cows of King Viraata  stolen, there is the marriage of Uttara & Abhimanyu
Udyogparva follows Viraataparva, Sanjaya visits the Pandavas as the emissary of King Dhritharashtra .
Thereafter Sree Krishna goes for establishing peace between Pandavas & Kauravas. Then there are the stories of Maatali & Gaalava.Then there is the story of Vaamadeva & the episode of sixteen Kings & Parashuraam.

Mahabharata – 11

By

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr.Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhya

Sauti continued ---

Lord Krishna went to the court of Kauravas & placed a proposal for peace between Pandavas & Kauravas.But the Kauravas instantly rejected the peace proposal.The Kauravas tried to bind Lord Krishna with chains.But it is a pity that they were ahort of chains, because Krishna became taller & taller & chains could not bind him. Krishna thus displayed that he was a superman & no earthly chain could bind him.This Viswarupa of Krishna in whom the whole world exists enthralled the Kaurava court.

On the advice of mother Bidula, her sons met Lord Krishna.

Since the peace proposal of Lord Krishna fell to the ground, both the sides --- Kauravas & Pandavas marched to the battle field, then the episode of Sveta takes place. Later the story of Ambaa is recounted.  Then comes the most thrilling story of choosing Bhisma as the Commander - in - chief of Kauravas.Then the description of Jambudvipa or the then India & the then political situation of the globe. Thereafter the holy Bhagwat Gita was recited. Bhisma died. Dronaachaary replaced him The samsaptaka were killed.The sad death of Abhimanyu took place.Arjuna vowed to slay Jayadratha.  Ghatatotkach was killed finally Drona died in a strange manner.  Aswathaamaa released the weapon Naarayana to avenge himself of the death of his father.Then follows Karnaparva & Salyaparva. After that Duryodhana entered the lake called Dwaipaayana.Then the great duel between Bhima & Duryodhan with club took place.The course of river the Saraswati was delineated. Then there is the disgraceful Sauptikaparva. There is the Aisika parva. Deceased persons in the war were paid homage.

This is the unique feature of the epics composed in India. Here the conquerer prays for the well being of the soul of the conqured.In the Sraaddhaparva the funeral rites are performed in honour of the slain Kauravas.Then the coronation of wise Yudhishthira takes place . Finally comes Shantiparva. It dwels on political science, disaster management & the principales of the soul.Then Bhisma ascends to the heaven.Then the Anugitaparva dwels on the deeper truths of life & philosophy,it is followed by Ashramavaasika parva.Then Mousalaparva takes place. Thereafter the Mahaaprasthaana.Pandavas ascend  the heaven. Then comes Khilabamsha that retells the story of Shrimadbhagavat  Purana.There are other parvas as well. Thus the high souled Vyasa composed these hundred parvas .Sauti recites them in the forest of Naimisharany.