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The Mahabharata (Devanagari: महाभारत, phonetically Mahābhārata - see note), sometimes just called Bharata, is the great religious, philosophical and mythological epic of India. It is a keystone text of Hinduism. It is the second longest literary work in the world (after the Tibetan tale of Gesar). Although it is hailed as one of the greatest literary accomplishments of humanity, it is also still in the hearts and minds of Indians today. The title may be translated as "Great India" (bhārata means the son/progeny of Bharata, the king believed to have founded the kingdom of Bhāratavarsha, in present day India; "Bharat" has equal status as the official name of India in all Indian governments today and is still commonly used). The work is part of the Hindu itihaas, literally 'that which happened,' along with the Puranas and Ramayana. The full version contains more than 100,000 verses, making it around four times longer than the Bible and seven times longer than the Iliad and Odyssey.
Primary purportWith its vast philosophical depth and sheer magnitude, a consummate embodiment of the ethos of not only grand India but of Hinduism and Vedic tradition, the Mahabharata's scope and grandeur is best summarized by one quotation from the beginning of its first parva (section): "What is found here, may be found elsewhere. What is not found here, will not be found elsewhere." In its scope, the Mahabharata is more than simply a story of kings and princes, sages and wisemen, demons and gods; its author, Vyasa, says that one of its aims is elucidating the four goals of life: kama (pleasure), artha (wealth), dharma (duty) and moksha (salvation). The story culminates in moksha, believed by Hindus to be the ultimate goal of human beings. Karma and dharma play an integral role in the Mahabharata. Background and historyThe epic is said to have been told by Vyasa, who places himself as one of the major dynastic characters within the epic. The first section of the Mahabharata states that it was Lord Ganesh (the elephant-headed god of the Hindus) who, at the behest of Vyasa, wrote the epic down on manuscript. Lord Ganesh is said to have agreed, but only on condition that Vyasa never pause in his recitation. Vyasa then put a counter-condition that Ganesh understand whatever he recited, before writing it down. In this way Vyasa could get some respite from continuously speaking by saying a verse which was difficult to understand. This situation also serves as a popular variation on the stories of how Ganesh's left tusk was broken (a traditional part of Ganesh imagery). This version attributes it to the fact that, in the rush of writing, the great elephant-headed divinity's pen failed, and he snapped off his tusk as a replacement in order that the transcription not be interrupted. The Mahabharata is thought to have been derived from what was originally a much shorter work, called Jaya (Victory). While the dating of these is unclear, the events of the story may be reliably placed in Vedic India around 1400 BCE. Scholars have studied the astronomical activities described in the Mahabharata (like eclipses) and have claimed to have dated it to around 3100 BCE. Shalya who fought on the side of Kauravas against Pandavas was the 50th Generation descending from Luv and Kush of Ramayana. As such some scholars approximate Mahabharatha to have occurred some 1000 years after Ramayana. From this early beginning, the story was developed in its present form during the establishment of Classical Hinduism, from which modern Hinduism was developed. Like much of other early Indian literature, it was often transmitted by oral means through the generations. This made it easier for additional episodes and stories to be interpolated within it. It also resulted in regional variations developing. However, the variation has in most cases been in the new additions, and not in the original story. The Mahabharata, the epic storyThe core story of the work is that of a dynastic struggle for the throne of Hastinapura, the kingdom of the Kuru clan. Hastinapura and the immediately surrounding kingdoms are based in the Doab, the region of the upper Ganga (Ganges when anglicized) and Yamuna rivers, to the north of present-day New Delhi. The two cousin branches of the family that participate in the struggle are the Kauravas, the elder branch of the family, and the Pandavas, the younger branch. The struggle culminates in the great battle at Kurukshetra, and the Pandavas are victorious in the end. The Mahabharata itself ends with the death of Krishna, and the subsequent end of his dynasty, and ascent of the Pandava brothers to Heaven, one with God, the achievement of the primary goal of Hindu life. It also marks the beginning of the Hindu age of Kali (Kali Yuga), through the steady breakdown of truths of which the eighteen-day war of Kurukshetra, the clash of hundreds of thousands of men, elephants and horses, consisted. This is the fourth and final age of mankind, where the great values and noble ideas that humanity represented have crumbled, and man is speedily heading toward the complete dissolution of right action, morality and virtue in general. Some of the history's most noble and revered figures end up fighting on the side of the Kauravas, due to allegiances formed prior to the conflict. StoriesA list of short descriptions of some of the characters and stories: Karna, the noble warrior whose immense powers failed him during the battle because of the two curses laiden upon him by his Guru and a Sage.
StructureThe Mahabharata is written in eighteen parvas (chapters or books) which are:
There also exists an appendix of 16,375 verses, the Harivamsaparva, which focuses specifically on the life of Lord Krishna. Among the principal works and stories that are a part of the Mahabharata are the following. They are often isolated and presented as works complete in and of themselves.
During the 20th century, scholars have used the earliest existing copies of the work in their regional variations, to develop a composite reference work known as the Critical Edition of the Mahabharata. This project was completed in 1966 at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune. Modern MahabharataThe Mahabharata claims to contain the essence and sum of all the Vedas and other Hindu scriptures. It does include large amounts of interpolated Hindu mythology, cosmological stories of the gods and goddesses, and philosophical parables aimed at students of Hindu philosophy. The stories are commonly told to children, at religious functions, or around the house. The Mahabharata claims that those who do not read it shall find their spiritual and yogic quests remain unfulfilled. In the late 1980s, the Mahabharata was televised and shown on India's national TV (Doordarshan). It was immensely popular, so much so that streets were deserted when it was telecast and even Cabinet meetings were re-scheduled so that Ministers could watch it. The Mahabarata is arguably familiar to the vast majority of Hindus living in the Indian subcontinent, if not abroad. The epic was also the basis for the 1989 film, The Mahabharata, directed by Peter Brook. See also: Ramayana External links
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