Story of Bhārata

(MAHĀBHĀRATA). An epic written by Vyāsa.

General information.

The Mahābhārata is an epic. Bharata is acclaimed as the first emperor of Bhārata. 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 Mahābhārata. The great size of the volume and the greatness of the wisdom contained therein have contributed much to its getting the name, Mahābhārata. Once the devas put the Mahābhārata in one pan of a balance and the Vedas in the other pan. Then the devas were convinced that the Mahābhārata weighed more than all the Vedas put together. (Ślokas 269-271, Chapter 1, Ādi Parva, Mahābhārata).* This book contains over a lakh of verses. There is no subject on earth which is not dealt with in the Mahābhārata. None of the world’s epics is so big as Mahābhārata. In size the Mahābhārata is double that of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey put together. The following poem about it is worth mentioning now:

"yathā samudro bhagavan yathā ca himavān giriḥ / khyātāvubhau ratnanidhī tathā bhāratamucyate //" Mahābhārata 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 Gītā which is perhaps the noblest of scriptures.

The Mahābhārata 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 Harivaṃśa which deals with the life and history of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Contents.

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

Ādi Parva.

(Ādi = beginning). Pāṇḍu and Dhṛtarāṣṭra, king of the Candra dynasty, are brothers. Bhīṣma brought them up. Dhṛtarāṣṭra was born blind and he got a hundred children of his wife Gāndhārī. They were called the Kauravas. Pāṇḍu had two wives Kuntī and Mādrī and got of them five sons called the Pāṇḍavas headed by the eldest Yudhiṣṭhira.

Sabhā Parva

(Sabhā = court). The Pāṇḍavas and Kauravas lived together in the court at Hastināpura. There, the Kauravas entered into a game of dice with Yudhiṣṭhira and through the deceitful tactics engineered by the keen-witted Śakuni, Yudhiṣṭhira was defeated and he lost everything he possessed. The Pāṇḍavas 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 Pāṇḍavas accompanied by Pāñcālī left for the forests.

Vana Parva

(Vana = forest). This is one of the longest of Parvas and describes the life of the Pāṇḍavas in the forest Kāmyaka. The well known stories 'Nala Carita' and 'Kirātārjunīya' are told in this Parva'.

Virāṭa Purva.

(Virāṭa = name of a King). The Pāṇḍavas after completing their term of exile in the forests spent the year of their life in incognito at the court of King Virāṭa. Many wonderful events took place during their stay there and this Parva deals in detail about them.

Bhīṣma Parva

(Bhīṣma = The first Generalissimo of the Kauravas). The great Mahābhārata war was fought in the vast expanse of Kurukṣetra lying to the northwest of Delhi. Bhīṣma was the first generalissimo of the Kauravas and Dhṛṣṭadyumna of the Pāṇḍavas. Vyāsa describes the events of the battle classifying it according to the generalissimos of the Kaurava army giving the four generalissimos a Parva each. Bhīṣma fought for ten days and was struck down on the tenth day by an arrow from Arjuna.

Droṇa Parva

(Droṇa = The second Generalissimo). When Bhīṣma fell Droṇa took charge as the supreme commander. This Parva deals with the fight under his command. Droṇa was killed in the end by Dhṛṣṭadyumna.

Karṇa Parva.

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

Śalya Parva.

(Śalya = The fourth and last of the Generalissimos). When Karṇa fell Śalya 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 Bhīma 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 Kṛpācārya, Kṛtavarmā and Aśvatthāmā who were the only three left with Duryodhana after the great battle went into the camp of the Pāṇḍavas at night and killed all the brave warriors of the Pāṇḍava army, excepting the Pāṇḍavas, who were sleeping in their camp unaware of the foul play lying ahead.

Strī Parva.

(Strī = woman). This Parva deals with the great lamentation in the battlefield, after the war, of Gāndhārī and other women.

Śānti Parva.

Yudhiṣṭhira was crowned king and even at that time Bhīṣma was lying on his bed of arrows awaiting death. Before taking up his duties of the state Yudhiṣṭhira went to where the grandsire lay dying and took his blessing and instruction in dharma. This instruction of Bhīṣmācārya to King Yudhiṣṭhira of the three dharmas, Rājadharma, Āpaddharma and Mokṣadharma is the famous Śanti Parva.

Anuśāsana Parva.

(Anuśāsana = Instruction). Bhīṣma 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.

Āśvamedhika Parva.

(Aśvamedha = yāga conducted by emperors). This Parva deals with the yāga conducted by Yudhiṣṭhira when he became the emperor of Bhārata.

Āśramavāsika Parva.

(Āśramavāsa = life in a hermitage). Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the blind and his wife Gāndhārī accompanied by Kuntī 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 Yādavas fought against each other with maces and were destroyed and how Dvārakā sank down into the ocean. It describes the death of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma also.

Mahāprasthānika Parva.

(Mahāprasthāna = Death). Dharmaputra entrusts his kingdom to his successor and alongwith his four brothers and wife Pāñcālī sets out on a long journey to Mahāmeru never to return. This journey to death is detailed in this Parva.

Svargārohaṇa Parva.

(Svarga = Heaven). This Parva describes the entry of the Pāṇḍavas and their relatives into Svarga, heaven.

Mode of Narration.

Most of the verses in the Mahābhārata are in the Anuṣṭup metre. At certain places other metres also have been used. There are prose pieces also in it. There are twenty notable pieces, three in Ādi Parva, seven in Vana Parva, seven in Śānti Parva and three in Anuśāsana 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.

Bhagavān Vyāsa is believed to be the author of Mahābhārata. He was a contemporary of the Pāṇḍavas and the Kauravas. Many of the events of the Mahābhārata were personally witnessed by Vyāsa. He took three years to write this book. The following ślokas will support the above:

"kururāja kulasthānāṃ dṛṣṭaṃ vṛttaṃ ca yatsthitam / tatsarvaṃ bhagavān vyāso varṇayāmāsa bhārate. // (padma purāṇa) tribhirvarṣaiḥ sadotthāyi kṛṣṇadvaipāyano muniḥ / mahābhāratamākhyānaṃ kṛtavānidamuttamam. //" (Śloka 55, Chapter 62, Ādi Parva). The Varāha Purāṇa states that Vyāsa composed the Mahābhārata at a period when the end of Dvāpara yuga merged with the dawn of the Kaliyuga. The Bhāgavata states that Śrī Kṛṣṇa passed away on the first day of Kaliyuga. The Bhāgavata is devoted to admire and praise the life of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This book also is written by Vyāsa. This śloka found in the first Chapter of Ādi Parva clears the doubt:

"vāsudevasya māhātmyaṃ pāṇḍavānāṃ ca satyatām / durvṛttaṃ dhārttarāṣṭrāṇāṃ uktavān bhagavānṛṣiḥ. //" The original name of the Bhārata which Vyāsa composed was 'Jaya'. In the first Chapter of Ādi Parva is this śloka to support this statement:

"nārāyaṇaṃ namaskṛtya naraṃ caiva narottamaṃ/ devīṃ sarasvatīṃ caiva tato jayamudīrayet//" After the death of the Pāṇḍavas and the Kauravas the disciples of Vyāsa, Sumantu, Jaimini, Paila, Śuka and Vaiśampāyana gave this book great publicity. They wrote books based on this story of Bhārata of which only the 'Bhārata' of Vaiśampāyana and the Aśvamedha Parva of Jaimini are now available.

Vyāsa’s Bhārata was first expounded by Vaiśampāyana at the Sarpa-satra of Janamejaya. At the request of Janamejaya, Vaiśampāyana added some more facts to the original work known then as 'Jaya'. Jaya with the accretions came to be known as Bhāratasaṃhitā. Sūta who narrated this story to Śaunaka and others at the forest of Naimiśa added some more matter to the Bhāratasaṃhitā and made it larger. The present Mahābhārata is this expanded edition.

The following facts prove that the Mahābhārata has thus passed through three stages of evolution:

1) This book is known by three names: Jaya, Bhāratasaṃhitā and Mahābhārata.

1) "(a) jayo nāmetihāso'yaṃ śrotavyo vijigīṣuṇā (śloka 22, chapter 62, ādi parva). (b) caturviṃśati sāhasrīṃ cakre bhāratasaṃhitām upākhyānairvinā tāvad bhāratam procyate budhaiḥ (śloka 78, chapter 1, ādi parva). (c) refer to the śloka given in para 1."

2) There is a reference to the three parts of the book in Śloka 66, Chapter 1 of Ādi Parva.

2) "manvādi bhārataṃ kecid āstikādi tathāpare tathopari carādanye viprāḥ samyagadhīyire."

3) There are three different opinions regarding the total number of ślokas in the Mahābhārata. According to Ugraśravas there are 8800 verses, according to Vyāsa 24000 verses and according to another statement a lakh of verses.

3) "idaṃ śatasahasraṃ tu lokānām puṇyakarmaṇām upākhyānaiḥ saha jñeyamādyaṃ bhāratamuttamam caturvimśati sāhasrīṃ cakre bhāratasaṃhitām upākhyānairvinā tāvad bhārataṃ procyate budhaiḥ aṣṭau ślokasahasrāṇi aṣṭau ślokaśatāni ca ahaṃ vedmi śuko vetti sañjayo vetti vā na vā." (Ādi Parva, Chapter 1).

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

5) Sūta and Vaiśampāyana have made accretions to the original work 'Jaya' of Vyāsa.

Viewed with these facts we are led to believe that Vyāsa has composed only the very essence of Mahābhārata comprising 8800 ślokas and that work was known as 'Jaya' as referred to in the first invocatory verse of the epic. Vaiśampāyana added a few verses of his own and brought the number to 24,000 and gave the book the name of 'Bhāratasaṃhitā'. It was Sūta who made many more additions and made the book so big as to fetch it the name of 'Mahābhārata'. 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 'Mahābhārata'.

Period of publication.

The Kali Varṣa starts from 3102 B.C. The great Mahābhārata war was fought at a period when the end of Dvāpara yuga merged into the dawn of Kali yuga as could be gathered from the following verse from the epic:

"antare caiva samprāpte kalidvāparayorabhūt / samantapañcake yuddhaṃ kurupāṇḍavasenayoḥ. //" (Śloka 13, Chapter 2, Ādi Parva). So it can be deduced that the great war was fought round about 3102 B.C. Dhṛtarāṣṭra lived for eighteen years after the great battle and the Pāṇḍavas ruled the country for 36 years. (Strī Parva, Mahābhārata). It was when Śrī Kṛṣṇa died that the Pāṇḍavas ended their rule and commenced the Mahāprasthāna. So it can be surmised that Śrī Kṛṣṇa lived for 36 years after the war. Śrī Kṛṣṇa died on the first day of Kali yuga, 3102 B.C. Therefore it is clear the Mahābhārata battle was fought in 3138 B.C. There are indications in other purāṇas to support this theory. There was that rare phenomenon of a Saptagraha yoga (Combination in astronomical position of seven planets) while King Parīkṣit, son of Arjuna, was ruling the country.** This happened in a month of Māgha (January) and a probe into the dates of such previous occurrences revealed that a similar one had happened in the month of Māgha 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 Parīkṣit. It is therefore confirmatory to the statement that the great war occurred in 3138 B.C.

The Pāṇḍavas ruled the country for 36 years after the war and Vyāsa wrote this divine epic after the death of the Pāṇḍavas. Vyāsa took three years to complete his work. Therefore it can be well concluded that Vyāsa wrote the epic in 3100 B.C. The Pāṇḍavas commenced their Mahāprasthāna after entrusting the administration of the state into the hands of Parīkṣit. This must have happened in 3102 B.C. Parīkṣit ruled the country for 60 years and so his son Janamejaya became King in 3042 B.C. It was after two years of his becoṃing King that he conducted the Sarpasatra and it was at this Sarpasatra that Vaiśampāyana first expounded 'Jaya' (Mahābhārata) to the sages assembled there.

This fixing of the date of Mahābhārata is based on the conclusions arrived at by the pandits of Bhārata, but foreign chronologists differ from us. They argue that it was in the 10th century B.C. that the Mahābhārata battle took place on the strength of the following:

The theme of the Mahābhārata is a fight between Kurus and Pāñcālas. 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 Pāṇḍavas were sung and handed over from one generation to the other and gradually those songs took shape in the form of the Mahābhārata.

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

Towards the second stage of Mahābhārata the epic grew in size bringing into its fold about 24,000 ślokas. It was at this stage that the Mahābhārata got a vaiṣṇavite colour and Śrī Kṛṣṇa was adored as an incarnation of Viṣṇu. Megasthenes who visited India in 300 B.C. records that the majority of Hindus were vaiṣṇavites at that period. There are references in certain parts of the Mahābhārata to Greeks and Buddhists. Therefore a set of foreign chronologists conclude that those portions of the Mahābhārata could have been written only after Buddha and after the attack on Bhārata by the Greeks i.e. by 300 B.C.

The third stage of the Mahābhārata is its present form and it was at this stage that it included new philosophy in it. The Dharmasaṃhitā of Manusmṛti became popular in the fifth century A.D. and therefore the third stage of the Mahābhārata must have started before that, in the 3rd century A.D.

*) "purā kila suraiḥ sarvaiḥ sametya tulayā dhṛtam caturbhyaḥ sara{??}asyebhyo vedebhyo hyadhikaṃ yadā tadā prabhrti loke'smin mahābhāratamucyate mahatve ca gurutve ca dhriyamāṇaṃ yaśo'dhikam mahatvād bhāravatvāc ca mahābhāratamucyate."

**) (a) Saptarṣayo maghāyuktāḥ kāle pārikṣite śatam (Matsya purāṇa 271. 46). (b) Te tu pārīkṣite kāle maghāsvāsan dvijottama (Visnu purāna 4, 24, 106).