The Epic That Is...
A compendium
of ancient Indian mythology, history, political theory and philosophy; an
ancient encyclopedia of Indian knowledge. One of the two great Indian epics. Know
what we are talking about right? I’m talking about India’s biggest bestseller, The Mahabharat. It is the world’s longest epic poem at 1,00,000
shlokas or 1.8 million words. The Mahabharat is ten times the combined length
of the Iliad and Odyssey and three times the length of the Bible.
The Mahabharat was written 2,500 years
ago, by Sage Vyas. Legend has it that Sage Vyas dictated the Mahabharat to Lord
Ganesh, who agreed to write it all out. It is said that the task was so
circuitous that no mortal could have ever accomplished it.
What we actually know today as the
Mahabharat actually started off as a much shorter story called Jaya; which
contained the core story and the Gita. It was first narrated by Sage
Vaishampayana (a disciple of Sage Vyas) to King Janamejaya, the great-grandson
of Arjun. Years later with several additions, Jaya was narrated by a
bard Ugrashrav Sauti to a group of sages. This version is what we know today as the Mahabharat.
Here’s the last bit of trivia, many
historians believe that the Mahabharat is not just a story Sage Vyas made up
entirely. It is believed to be a story set against actual
historical events that occurred in the 8th century BCE.
So, what exactly is the Mahabharat about?
The Mahabharat is the story of a great war between two sets of cousins- the 5 Pandavas (the good guys) and the 100 Kauravas (the not-so-good guys) over the throne of Hastinapur (believed to be located in present day Uttar Pradesh). Of the 1,00,000 shlokas that make up the Mahabharat, 700 make up the Bhagvad Gita (or the Gita for short) which is the holy book of the Hindus.
The Mahabharat is the story of a great war between two sets of cousins- the 5 Pandavas (the good guys) and the 100 Kauravas (the not-so-good guys) over the throne of Hastinapur (believed to be located in present day Uttar Pradesh). Of the 1,00,000 shlokas that make up the Mahabharat, 700 make up the Bhagvad Gita (or the Gita for short) which is the holy book of the Hindus.
Now the question is: ‘Is the Mahabharat relevant
in the modern era where our questions have become so direct that we are even
questioning the very existence god?’ The answer is yes.
Ancient stories are often allegories-
stories that work on many levels. While one is the most obvious: The Mahabharat
is the story of a war. The other one is: the
Mahabharat symbolises the war that rages on the battlegrounds of our minds, everyday. As
humans, we have an advantage over other creatures because we have the ability to make choices. Not just simple choices like jeans vs. shorts but
moral choices like being nice vs. being downright awful.
The Mahabharat is against the concept of ‘non-violence’ that most people think India is known for, it says, exhaustively that war is sometimes justified. It contains the advice similar to the ideas of Sun Tzu- political strategies that serve the ultimate goal of political and military triumph. Many political and military strategies that are used in today’s world actually come from the Mahabharat.
The Mahabharat is against the concept of ‘non-violence’ that most people think India is known for, it says, exhaustively that war is sometimes justified. It contains the advice similar to the ideas of Sun Tzu- political strategies that serve the ultimate goal of political and military triumph. Many political and military strategies that are used in today’s world actually come from the Mahabharat.
The Mahabharat’s timeless lessons
continue to guide Indian thinking- always steering it away from the extremes-
the extreme of idealism and the extreme of immorality. It argues that it is
sometimes better to resort to what seems unjust in order to achieve a greater
justice.
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