Mahabharata – 75

By

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                            AadivamsavataranaParva

We have already heard the story of the Mahabharata in the outline from the lips of Vaisampayana.But this did not satisfy the king Janamejaya.The king Janamejaya posed serious questions regarding the action of the Mahabharata.Bhsima,Drona & the like of the Kaurava side were great men,pious & virtuous.Why should they be killed in the battle field? Despite that the Pandavas are looked up in great esteem.This is a paradox. The Pandavas were innocent. They could take revenge upon their enemies who were the wrong doers.Despite that why should they suffer for decayeds together in the hands of their enemies.Bhima had the strength of ten thousand Elephants.Why should he keep his anger in restraint for long.Draupadi was a chaste lady & all the sons of Dhritharastra could be burnt to death at her glance. Why did not Draupadi destroy them?When Duryodhana outdid the Pandavas in the game of dice conducted in a fraudelent manner why did not the four brothers of Yudhishthira defy their elder brother & refuse the decree of the game of dice?How could Arjuna fight countless enemies single handedly with bow & arrows.

In reply Vaisampayana said that he would now narrate the Mahabharata in minute details.

Vaisaympana continued that one who retells the story of the Mhabharata will be as high as god.The Mahabharata is like the Vedas brimming with sacred & significant themes.It enshrines in it history, economics,pleasures & the deeper truth of the existence.The learned people can earn lot of wealth by narrating the Mahabharata before an auditorium which consists of generous people truthful & pious.Even cruel people who kill the foetus will also get rid of sin hearing the Mahabharata.Those who listen to the Mahabharata become purged of their sins.Those who are keen on conquering the world must hear the story of the Mahabharatawhich is also known as Jaya or Victory.The joys of reading of the Mahabharata out does the joys that one gets in heaven.The Mhabharata is as magnificent as the mountain or the ocean that has untold wealth.

By the by it should be noted that it took three long years for Vedavyasa to dictate the Mahabharata.It was the lord Ganesha a god who gives fruition to every pious activity who took the dictation.Only a fraction of the text of the Mahabharata consisting of one lakh slokas or verses were catered for the perusal of the mortals on the earth. This work gives us an account of the gods & the sages who look after the existence.