Since there are a lot of characters in Mahabharata, I will add a brief description of the characters for your reference. I will add a short note on characters as and when their name comes, till the point that they seem very familiar. You can also access this page and get a brief description on them. I will be adding about characters as and when they appear in the text.
Kunti is the mother of the eldest three of the Pandava brothers (actually considered mother by all five pandavas) from the Indian epic Mahābhārata. Her story is also told within the Bhagavata Purana, wherein she speaks on the philosophy of devotion of Krishna, known as Bhakti yoga. Kunti is a figure of great importance.
Her father was Śũrasena of the Yadav clan, and she was named Pritha by him. She was the sister of Vasudeva, Lord Krishna's father. She was given in adoption to the childless King Kuntibhoja, after which she was known as Kunti. After her arrival, King Kuntibhoja was blessed with children. He considered her his lucky charm and took care of her until her marriage.
When she was young, the rishi Durvasa told her a mantra with which Kunti could summon any deva and have a child by him. When Kunti asked why he gave her this mantra, he told her that it would be useful to her later in life.
Pandu is the son of Ambalika and Rishi Ved Vyasa. He is the father of the Pandavas.
Dhritarashtra was the son born to Vichitravirya's first wife Ambika. He was the blind king of Hastinapura. He was father to a hundred children by his wife Gandhari. These children are known as the Kauravas. Duryodhana and Dushasana were the prominent among them.
The Pandava are the five sons of Pandu, by his two wives Kunti and Madri. They are Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva.
Together, the brothers fought and won in a great war against their cousins i.e., the Kauravas, which is known as the Battle of Kurukshetra. Their half-brother Karna fought against them and was eventually slain by Arjuna.
Draupadi, also known as draupadī is the daughter of King Drupada of Panchāla and the wife of the five Pandavas. When Yudhisthira becomes the king of Hastinapura at the end of the war, Draupadi becomes his queen. She is sometimes called Krishnaa, which means dark complexioned. She is also known by her demonym Pānchālī, the one from the kingdom of Panchāla.
Vidura was half-brother to Dhritarashtra and Pandu. He was the son of a maid-servant who served Ambika and Ambalika (The queens of Hastinapura)and sage Vyasa. As neither of his parents were of royal blood, Vidura was never considered for, or had any chance of obtaining the throne of the kingdom. He served as a chancellor to his brothers(who were kings).
Bhishma was the grandfather of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He was a prime charecter in the epic. Bhishma was born as the youngest son of the illustrious King Shantanu and Ganga. He was known as 'Bhishma Pitamaha' (Pitamaha meaning the grandfather or grandsire) among the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He was one of the Ashtavasus (The eight prime demigods, who were attendents in court of Indra- The Lord of Devas or demigods).
Drona or Dronacharya is the royal guru to both the Kauravas and the Pandavas. He was a adept master in advanced military arts, including the devastras. Arjuna was his favored student. Drona's love for Arjuna was second only to his love for his son Ashwatthama. He was a partial incarnation of Brihaspathi(The Guru of Devas). Drona implies that he was not gestated in a womb, but outside the human body in a droon (vessel).
Kripa or Kripacharya or Krupacharya, was the chief priest at the royal court of Hastinapura, in the Mahābhārata. He was the son of Sharadvan and Janapadi. His twin sister Kripi married Drona. He fought in the great battle of Kurukshetra for the Kaurava side. He was appointed to be the teacher and preceptor of Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna. He is one of the seven Chiranjivin(Immortals, who will live till the end of time, ofcourse have to die at the end of time!!).
Sanjaya (means "victory") is Dhritarashtra’s (the father of the Kauravas) advisor and also his charioteer. Sanjaya, had the gift of seeing events at a distance granted by the sage Vyasa, narrates to Dhritarashtra the events in the battle of Kurukshetra, including the Bhagavad-Gita. He is brutally frank in his recital of battle events with his own opinions, predicting the destruction of the Kauravas at the hands of Pandavas and Krishna.
Shakuni was the personification of Dvapara Yuga (a period of time), was the brother of Gandhari. He was portrayed as an extremely intelligent but devious old man, who was very fond of his nephew Duryodhana, yet wished the destruction of the entire Kuru family. He won the kingdom of the Pandavas' for his nephew, as a wager in a rigged game of dice. The dice that were used were made with Shakuni's father's thigh bones and would always do his bidding. Saubala here means Shakuni.
Karna is one of the central characters in Mahabharata. He was made the King of Anga by Duryodhana. Karna is considered to be one of the greatest warriors of Mahabharata by authorities including Krishna and Bhishma, as stated in the original text by Rishi Vyasa. He was the son of Surya (the Sun god) and Kunti. He was born to Kunti, before her marriage with Pandu. He is the closest friend of Duryodhana. Karna fought on his behalf against his own brothers the Pandavas at the Kurukshetra war. He was considered as the epitome of generosity.
Jarasandha was a great and powerful king of Magadha, and son of Brihadratha, a Vedic king. He is generally held in negative light owing to his enmity with the Yadav clan in the Mahabharata.
Virata was a king in whose court the Pandavas spent a year in concealment during their exile. He was married to Queen Sudeshna and was the father of Prince Uttara and Princess Uttara.
Since there are a lot of characters that will be introduced from this point, I am going to start an index page for detailing the characters. I need not repeat it again and again. Yet will give you a brief note on the same.
Vyasa hath fully represented the greatness of the house of Kuru, the virtuous principles of Gandhari, the wisdom of Vidura, and the constancy of Kunti. The noble Rishi hath also described the divinity of Vasudeva, the rectitude of the sons of Pandu, and the evil practices of the sons and partisans of Dhritarashtra.
Kunti(Mother of Pandavas)
Kuru(A Kingdome during the Vedic period)- An excerpt from Wikipedia –
Kuru was the name of an Indo-Aryan Kshatriya tribe and their kingdom in the Vedic period of India, and later a republican Mahajanapada state. Their kingdom was located in the area of modern Haryana and Delhi. They formed the first political center of the Indo-Aryans after the Rigvedic period, and after their emergence from the Punjab, and it was there that the codification and redaction of the Vedic texts began.
Pandu is the son of Ambalika and Rishi Ved Vyasa. He is the father of the Pandavas.
Dhritarashtra was the blind king of Hastinapura. He was the father of the Kauravas. Duryodhana and Dushasana were the prominent among them.
A description of the different versions of the Mahabharata is explained in these verses. Also a discription of the availablity of the different verses at different places are discribed.
Vyasa compiled the Bharata, exclusive of the episodes originally in twenty-four thousand verses; and so much only is called by the learned as the Bharata. Afterwards, he composed an epitome in one hundred and fifty verses, consisting of the introduction with the chapter of contents. This he first taught to his son Suka; and afterwards he gave it to others of his disciples who were possessed of the same qualifications.
After that he executed another compilation, consisting of six hundred thousand verses. Of those, thirty hundred thousand are known in the world of the Devas; fifteen hundred thousand in the world of the Pitris: fourteen hundred thousand among the Gandharvas, and one hundred thousand in the regions of mankind. Narada recited them to the Devas, Devala to the Pitris, and Suka published them to the Gandharvas, Yakshas, and Rakshasas: and in this world they were recited by Vaisampayana, one of the disciples of Vyasa, a man of just principles and the first among all those acquainted with the Vedas. Know that I, Sauti, have also repeated one hundred thousand verses.
In the Mahabharata, the Ramayana and other Puranas refer to many tribes, describing them as other than human (superhuman or subhuman). These tribes include the following: Gandharvas, Yakshas, Kinnaras, Kimpurushas, Rakshasas, Nagas, Suparnas, Vanaras, Vidyadharas, Valikilyas, Pisachas, Devas (within them Vasus, Rudras, Maruts, Adityas) and Asuras (within them Danavas, Daityas and Kalakeyas.)
The Pandava brothers are described as a tree. The importance of different people can be inferred from the importance of different part of the tree.
Yudhishthira is a vast tree, formed of religion and virtue; Arjuna is its trunk; Bhimasena, its branches; the two sons of Madri (Nakula and Sahadeva) are its full-grown fruit and flowers; and its roots are Krishna, Brahma (or is it Bishma, I am not sure!), and the Brahmanas.
The beginning of the story of Mahabharata.........(A short description of the entire story.)
Pandu, after having subdued many countries by his wisdom and prowess, took up his abode with the Munis in a certain forest [1] as a sportsman, where he brought upon himself a very severe misfortune (Cursed) for having killed a stag coupling with its mate, which served as a warning for the conduct of the princes of his house as long as they lived. [2]
Their mothers (Mothers of Pandavas - The wives of king pandu), in order that the ordinances of the law (Dharma, vedic law) might be fulfilled, admitted to bear child with the gods Dharma, Vayu (God, air personified), Sakra (Indra, King of Devas), and the divinities the twin Aswins (Devas).
When their offspring grew up, under the care of their two mothers, in the society of ascetics, in the midst of sacred groves and holy recluse-abodes of religious men, they were conducted by Rishis into the presence of Dhritarashtra and his sons (The kauravas), following as students in the habit of Brahmacharis[1], having their hair tied in knots on their heads. 'These our pupils', said they, 'are as your sons, your brothers, and your friends; they are Pandavas.' Saying this, the Munis disappeared.
[1] - A Vanaprastha is a person who is living in the forest as a hermit after partially giving up material desires. This is one of the four stages of life, preceded by the life of a married man and followed by becoming an ascetic. Brahmacharis, the life of a student precede the married man.
[2] – Pandu was cursed for not his misdeed. The curse was that, if he tries to bear a child, he will die the very moment.
When the Kauravas saw them introduced as the sons of Pandu, the distinguished class of citizens shouted exceedingly for joy. Some, however, said, they were not the sons of Pandu; others said, they were; while a few asked how they could be his offspring, seeing he had been so long dead. Still on all sides voices were heard crying, 'They are on all accounts welcome! Through divine Providence we behold the family of Pandu! Let their welcome be proclaimed!' As these acclamations ceased, the plaudits of invisible spirits, causing every point of the heavens to resound, were tremendous. (The enthusiastic mood of the people is illustrated) There were showers of sweet-scented flowers, and the sound of shells and kettle-drums. Such were the wonders that happened on the arrival of the young princes. The joyful noise of all the citizens, in expression of their satisfaction on the occasion, was so great that it reached the very heavens in magnifying plaudits.
Having studied the whole of the Vedas and diverse other shastras, the Pandavas resided there, respected by all and without apprehension from any one.
(The vast knowledge of Pandavas can be inferred from the above line.)
The principal men were pleased with the purity of Yudhishthira, the courage of Arjuna, the submissive attention of Kunti to her superiors, and the humility of the twins, Nakula and Sahadeva; and all the people rejoiced in their heroic virtues.
(The characteristic of the individual Panadava and also that of kunti can be inferred from the above lines.)
After a while, Arjuna obtained the virgin Krishna [*] at the swayamvara[#], in the midst of a concourse of Rajas, by performing a very difficult feat of archery. And from this time he became very much respected in this world among all bowmen; and in fields of battle also, like the sun, he was hard to behold by foe-men. And having vanquished all the neighbouring princes and every considerable tribe, he accomplished all that was necessary for the Raja (his eldest brother) to perform the great sacrifice called Rajasuya[**].
[*]Actually means Draupathi. Not to be mistaken to Lord Krishna. Krishna means one with dark complexion.
[#] Swayamvara was a practice of choosing a life partner, from among a list of suitors, by a girl of marriageable age. This was followed in in ancient India. Swayam in Sanskrit means Self and Vara means choosing or wanting.
[**]Rajasuya was a type of sacrifice ordained for the Kings, was performed by the ancient kings of India who considered themselves powerful enough to be an emperor. Rajasuya would be performed after the return of generals of the king, (in most cases his own kinsmen, like his brother or son) from a successful military campaign. After conquering the kings of other kingdoms and collecting tribute from them (the tribute that will be used for the sacrifice), the general would invite the vanquished kings to attend the sacrifice ceremony. All the vanquished kings, would consider the performer of these sacrifices as an emperor. Rajasuya sacrifices were one of the rarer sacrifices among the kings, since it was more risky and costlier.
The prime even that led to the war of kurushetra is described in the following section.
Yudhishthira, after having, through the wise counsels of Vasudeva and by the valour of Bhimasena and Arjuna, slain Jarasandha (the king of Magadha) and the proud Chaidya, acquired the right to perform the grand sacrifice of Rajasuya abounding in provisions and offering and fraught with transcendent merits. And Duryodhana came to this sacrifice; and when he beheld the vast wealth of the Pandavas scattered all around, the offerings, the precious stones, gold and jewels; the wealth in cows, elephants, and horses; the curious textures, garments, and mantles; the precious shawls and furs and carpets made of the skin of the Ranku (Probably a dear); he was filled with envy and became exceedingly displeased. And when he beheld the hall of assembly elegantly constructed by Maya (the Asura architect) after the fashion of a celestial court, he was inflamed with rage. And having started in confusion at certain architectural deceptions within this building, he was derided by Bhimasena in the presence of Vasudeva, like one of mean descent.
Initially the entire kingdom of Kuru was split between the Pandavas and the Kauravas.
And it was represented to Dhritarashtra that his son, while partaking of various objects of enjoyment and diverse precious things, was becoming meagre, wan, and pale. And Dhritarashtra, some time after, out of affection for his son, gave his consent to their playing (with the Pandavas) at dice. And Vasudeva coming to know of about this became exceedingly wroth. And being dissatisfied, he did nothing to prevent the disputes, but overlooked the gaming and sundry other horrid unjustifiable transactions arising there from: and in spite of Vidura[*], Bhishma[**], Drona[***], and Kripa (the son of Saradwan) [#], he made the Kshatriyas (warriors and kings) kill each other in the terrific war that ensued.'
[*]Vidura was half-brother to Dhritarashtra and Pandu. He was the son of a maid-servant who served Ambika and Ambalika (The queens of Hastinapura)and sage Vyasa. As neither of his parents were of royal blood, Vidura was never considered for, or had any chance of obtaining the throne of the kingdom. He served as a chancellor to his brothers(who were kings).
[**]Bhishma was the grandfather of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He was a prime charecter in the epic. Bhishma was born as the youngest son of the illustrious King Shantanu and Ganga. He was known as 'Bhishma Pitamaha' (Pitamaha meaning the grandfather or grandsire) among the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He was one of the Ashtavasus (The eight prime demigods, who were attendents in court of Indra- The Lord of Devas or demigods).
[***]Drona or Dronacharya is the royal guru to both the Kauravas and the Pandavas. He was a adept master in advanced military arts, including the devastras. Arjuna was his favored student. Drona's love for Arjuna was second only to his love for his son Ashwatthama. He was a partial incarnation of Brihaspathi(The Guru of Devas). Drona implies that he was not gestated in a womb, but outside the human body in a droon (vessel).
[#]Kripa or Kripacharya or Krupacharya, was the chief priest at the royal court of Hastinapura, in the Mahābhārata. He was the son of Sharadvan and Janapadi. His twin sister Kripi married Drona. He fought in the great battle of Kurukshetra for the Kaurava side. He was appointed to be the teacher and preceptor of Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna. He is one of the seven Chiranjivin(Immortals, who will live till the end of time, ofcourse have to die at the end of time!!).
I heard from some of you ppl that this initial stuff is boring.....And some want me to skip it.....well...I am not going to skip them...but...Let me go through them in a faster pace........But its gud to know this detail.....If you go to the story in a haphazard fashion there are a lot of characters in the story that will confuse you.....so its best to go head-on.....But let me make it a bit faster and sweeter for u..............Also note that in these texts...I will embed them with little details that i know about them...So for ppl who wish to know a bit more about Hindu Philosophy you should consider not to overlook and skip paragraphs.....
The plot is that...Bhrama comes and blesses vyasa to write the Mahabharata. Also Vyasa narrates, about the subjects and sciences that can be found in the Mahabharata. Vyasa says that Mahabharata is a explanation of vedas in detail.
The Rishi Vyasa made available this mass of knowledge about the universe in both a detailed and an abridged form. It is the wish to know the text both in the detailed and abridged from. Some read the Bharata beginning with the initial mantra (invocation), others with the story of Astika, others with Uparichara, while some Brahmanas study the whole. Some are skilful in explaining it, while others, in remembering its contents, while others are good at commenting the text.
The son of Satyavati (Rishi Vyasa) having, by penance and meditation, analyzed the eternal Veda afterwards composed this holy history, when that learned Brahmarshi of strict vows, the noble Dwaipayana Vyasa (Rishi Vyasa, This is his name.), offspring of Parasara, had finished this greatest of narrations, he began to consider how he might teach it to his disciples.
And the possessor of the six attributes, Brahma, the world's preceptor, knowing of the anxiety of the Rishi Dwaipayana, came in person to the place where the latter was, for gratifying the saint, and benefiting the people. And when Vyasa, surrounded by all the tribes of Munis, saw him, he was surprised; and, standing with joined palms, he bowed and ordered a seat to be brought. And Vyasa having gone round him who is called Hiranyagarbha seated on that distinguished seat stood near it; and being commanded by Brahma Parameshthi, he sat down near the seat, full of affection and smiling in joy. Then the greatly glorious Vyasa, addressing Brahma Parameshthi, said, "O divine Brahma, a poem has been composed by me which is greatly respected.
The mystery of the Veda, and what other subjects have been explained by me; the various rituals of the Upanishads with the Angas; the compilation of the Puranas and history formed by me and named after the three divisions of time, past, present, and future; the determination of the nature of decay, fear, disease, existence, and non-existence, a description of creeds and of the various modes of life; rule for the four castes, and the import of all the Puranas; An account of asceticism and of the duties of a religious student; the dimensions of the sun and moon, the planets, constellations, and stars, together with the duration of the four ages; the Rik, Sama and Yajur Vedas; also the Adhyatma;
The sciences called Nyaya, Orthœphy and Treatment of diseases; charity and Pasupatadharma; birth celestial and human, for particular purposes; also a description of places of pilgrimage and other holy places of rivers, mountains, forests, the ocean, of heavenly cities and the kalpas (A very long period of time); the art of war; the different kinds of nations and languages: the nature of the manners of the people; and the all-pervading spirit;--all these have been represented. But, after all, no writer of this work is to be found on earth.'
Eternal Veda (What does this thing mean?? eternal Vedas?? people know about Vedas assacred textsbut here something called eternal Vedas are mentioned. Actually Veda is but one name of the Supreme god...I am not going to dwell on detail....Let me try to keep it as simple as I can....)
An explanation of Lord Ganesha becoming the writer for the Mahabharata is explained below.
"Brahma said.’I esteem you for your knowledge of divine mysteries, before the whole body of celebrated Munis distinguished for the sanctity of their lives. I know you have revealed the divine word, even from its first utterance, in the language of truth. You have called your present work a poem, wherefore it shall be a poem. There shall be no poets whose works may equal the descriptions of this poem, even, as the three other modes called Asrama are ever unequal in merit to the domestic Asrama. Let Ganesa be thought of, O Muni, for the purpose of writing the poem.'
"Sauti said, 'Brahma having thus spoken to Vyasa, retired to his own abode. Then Vyasa began to call to mind Ganesa. And Ganesa, obviator of obstacles, ready to fulfill the desires of his votaries, was no sooner thought of, than he repaired to the place where Vyasa was seated. And when he had been saluted, and was seated, Vyasa addressed him thus, 'O guide of the Ganas! be thou the writer of the Bharata which I have formed in my imagination, and which I am about to repeat."
"Ganesa, upon hearing this address, thus answered, 'I will become the writer of your work, provided my pen do not for moment cease writing." And Vyasa said unto that divinity, 'Wherever there is anything that you do not comprehend, cease to continue writing.' Ganesa having signified his assent, by repeating the word Om! Proceeded to write; and Vyasa began; and by way of diversion, he knit the knots of composition exceeding close;
I am (continued Sauti) acquainted with eight thousand and eight hundred verses, and so is Suka (Son of Rishi Vyasa), and perhaps Sanjaya(A character in the Mahabharata that you will later get to know). From the mysteriousness of their meaning, O Muni, no one is able, to this day; penetrate those closely knit difficult slokas. Even the omniscient Ganesa took a moment to consider; while Vyasa, however, continued to compose other verses in great abundance.
This text is very important. The following text explains why one should read Mahabharata.
The wisdom of this work, like unto an instrument of applying collyrium, hath opened the eyes of the inquisitive world blinded by the darkness of ignorance. As the sun dispels the darkness, so do the Bharata by its discourses on religion, profit, pleasure and final release, dispel the ignorance of men. As the full-moon by its mild light expanded the buds of the water-lily, so this Purana, by exposing the light of the Sruti hath expanded the human intellect. By the lamp of history, which destroyed the darkness of ignorance, the whole mansion of nature is properly and completely illuminated.
When we hear these stories we must try to delve on the chain of events that happen and try to understand their meaning. We can try to relate some events with our life or relate a character in this epic with us and try to investigate on, what happened to their life. Also, we must try to investigate on what is happening in our life or what are we doing in our life? Thus we can save ourselves from choosing a meaning less life, which will be a life of misery and a path of ignorance.
The Mahabharata is compared to a tree, with various chapters and characters as its parts. You can get a feel of the importance of different characters in this epic by reading this comparison.
This work is a tree, of which the chapter of contents is the seed; the divisions called Pauloma and Astika are the root; the part called Sambhava is the trunk; the books called Sabha and Aranya are the roosting perches; the books called Arani is the knitting knots; the books called Virata and Udyoga the pith; the book named Bhishma, the main branch; the book called Drona, the leaves; the book called Karna, the fair flowers; the book named Salya, their sweet smell; the books entitled StriAishika, the refreshing shade; the book called Santi, the mighty fruit; the book called Aswamedha, the immortal sap; the denominated Asramavasika, the spot where it grows; and the book called Mausala, is an epitome of the Vedas and held in great respect by the virtuous Brahmanas. The tree of the Bharata, inexhaustible to mankind as the clouds, shall be as a source of livelihood to all distinguished poets." and
The following text is important for you to read. It gives some very important details on the characters of Mahabharata.
"Sauti continued, 'I will now speak of the undying flowery and fruitful productions of this tree, possessed of pure and pleasant taste, and not to be destroyed even by the immortals. Formerly, the spirited and virtuous Krishna-Dwaipayana (Sage Vyasa), by the orders of Bhishma, the wise son of Ganga and of his own mother (Satyavati, Mother of Vyasa), became the father of three boys who were like the three fires by the two wives of Vichitra-virya;and having thus raised up Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura, he returned to his recluse abode to prosecute his religious exercise.
It was not till after these were born, grown up, and departed on the supreme journey (died or attained salvation. I am not clear which one they mean.), that the great Rishi Vyasa published the Bharata in this region of mankind; when being solicited by Janamejaya (Grandson of Pandavas) and thousands of Brahmins, he instructed his disciple Vaisampayana, who was seated near him; and he, sitting together with the Sadasyas, recited the Bharata, during the intervals of the ceremonies of the sacrifice, being repeatedly urged to proceed.
Lot of detail about ancient Indian life is not understood by us or remain unknown to us. We don’t know about some systems that are not explained in detail in the Mahabharata. I will try to find more information on those things and present it to you.
In this connection, It is important for me to post this excerpt from Wikipedia for your reference. It talks about the system by which Rishi Vyasa became the father of Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura.
Niyoga is an ancient Hindu tradition, in which a woman (whose husband is either incapable of fatherhood or has died without having a child) would request and appoint a person for helping her bear a child. According to this Hindu tradition the man who was appointed must be or would most likely be a revered person. There were various clauses associated with this process, as follows:
The woman would agree for this only for the sake of rightfully having a child and not for pleasure.
The appointed man would do this for Dharma, considering it as his duty to help the woman bear a child and not for pleasure.
The child thus born would be considered the child of the husband-wife and not that of the appointed man.
The appointed man would not seek any paternal relationship or attachment to this child in the future.
To avoid misuse, a man was allowed a maximum of three times in his life time to be appointed in such a way.
The act will be seen as that of Dharma and while doing so, the man and the wife will have only Dharma in their mind and not passion nor lust. The man will do it as a help to the woman in the name of the GOD, whereas the woman will accept it only to bear the child for herself and her husband.
In Niyoga, the bodies were to be covered with "ghee" (so that lust may not take root in the minds of participants but actual act may take place for conception).
I received comments that the original translation, was not very much well constructed and hard to understand. So I have decided to narrate this epic in simple language (except at certain portions where such narration is not required) while taking care that I don’t miss much in terms of details during narration. So,
The entire cosmological process was unfolded in the previous blog. This is further continued in the following......
Whatever universe that is perceived through the senses animate or inanimate entities will be obliterated at the end of the yuga (period of time). They will be resurrected and renovated for the commencement of the next yuga. This is a perpetual process. This wheel of time revolves.
[Your queries on this section is welcomed!! Don’t take anything given above in a literal sense. Try to question why this is happening? Why there is no cessation of time? Or is there really a cessation of time that is not spoken here? I am not confusing you. I am only hinting you to view the subject in a logical manner so that you don’t take anything in their face value.]
The lineage of all human beings is recorded. This can be considered as a record maintained by the ancestors. I am not going to rewrite it but just give the original translation. You can skim through this if you are interested. It is worthy to note that Dharma, Artha, and Kama are considered as activities that will lead you to Moksha (Liberation).
In simple terms (Don’t assume that the following is the entire meaning of these words and dont worry if you dont know much about these. Just know them as words with their corresponding English meaning):
The term dharma(Sanskrit: dhárma) is an Indian spiritual and religious term that means one's righteous duty, or any virtuous path. Artha is a Sanskrit term meaning "purpose, cause, motive, meaning, and notion". Kāma is a Sanskrit term meaning pleasure, sensual gratification, and sexual fulfillment, pleasure of the senses, desire, eros and the aesthetic enjoyment of life. In Sanathana Dharma or Hinduism, Moksha or Mukti literally "release" (both from a root muc "to let loose, let go"), is the liberation from samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth or reincarnation and all of the suffering.
The generation of Devas, in brief, was thirty-three thousand, thirty-three hundred and thirty-three. The sons of Div were Brihadbhanu, Chakshus, Atma Vibhavasu, Savita, Richika, Arka, Bhanu, Asavaha, and Ravi. Of these Vivaswans of old, Mahya was the youngest whose son was Deva-vrata. The latter had for his son, Su-vrata who, we learn, had three sons,--Dasa-jyoti, Sata-jyoti, and Sahasra-jyoti, each of them producing numerous offspring. The illustrious Dasa-jyoti had ten thousand, Sata-jyoti ten times that number, and Sahasra-jyoti ten times the number of Sata-jyoti's offspring. From these are descended the family of the Kurus, of the Yadus, and of Bharata; the family of Yayati and of Ikshwaku; also of all the Rajarshis. Numerous also were the generations produced, and very abundant were the creatures and their places of abode. The mystery which is threefold--the Vedas, Yoga, and Vijnana Dharma, Artha, and Kama--also various books upon the subject of Dharma, Artha, and Kama; also rules for the conduct of mankind; also histories and discourses with various srutis; all of which having been seen by the Rishi Vyasa are here in due order mentioned as a specimen of the book.
The Rishi Vyasa made available this mass of knowledge about the universe in both a detailed and an abridged form. It is the wish to know the text both in the detailed and abridged from. Some read the Bharata beginning with the initial mantra (invocation), others with the story of Astika, others with Uparichara, while some Brahmanas study the whole. Some are skilful in explaining it, while others, in remembering its contents, while others are good at commenting the text.
"The Rishi replied, 'The Purana, first promulgated by the great Rishi Dwaipayana, and which after having been heard both by the gods and the Brahmarshis was highly esteemed, being the most eminent narrative that exists, diversified both in diction and division, possessing subtile meanings logically combined, and gleaned from the Vedas, is a sacred work. Composed in elegant language, it includeth the subjects of other books. It is elucidated by other Shastras, and comprehendeth the sense of the four Vedas. We are desirous of hearing that history also called Bharata, the holy composition of the wonderful Vyasa, which dispelleth the fear of evil, just as it was cheerfully recited by the Rishi Vaisampayana, under the direction of Dwaipayana himself, at the snake-sacrifice of Raja Janamejaya?'
The saunakathi munis are expressing their wish to hear the story of Bharata. They are praising the epic and explain its significance. The epic explains in detail of the philosophies prescribed by the Vedas, thus helping us understand the teaching of the indiscernible Vedas.
The other particulars as explained in the previous blog.
"Sauti then said, 'Having bowed down to the primordial being Isana, to whom multitudes make offerings, and who is adored by the multitude; who is the true incorruptible one, Brahma, perceptible, imperceptible, eternal; who is both a non-existing and an existing-non-existing being; who is the universe and also distinct from the existing and non-existing universe; who is the creator of high and low; the ancient, exalted, inexhaustible one; who is Vishnu, beneficent and the beneficence itself, worthy of all preference, pure and immaculate; who is Hari, the ruler of the faculties, the guide of all things moveable and immoveable; I will declare the sacred thoughts of the illustrious sage Vyasa, of marvellous deeds and worshipped here by all. Some bards have already published this history, some are now teaching it, and others, in like manner, will hereafter promulgate it upon the earth. It is a great source of knowledge, established throughout the three regions of the world. It is possessed by the twice-born both in detailed and compendious forms. It is the delight of the learned for being embellished with elegant expressions, conversations human and divine, and a variety of poetical measures.
Sautha Muni after worshiping the god, declares his wish to narrate Bharata.
The words Marked in orange might seem unclear. Brahma must actually be Brahman. This might be a typographic error. The later part describes the Nature of the Brahman (The supreme god). As the text is a crude translation from Sanskrit, it might seem vague and at times it is a wrong translation like, ‘both a non-existing and an existing-non-existing being’. Logically how can something be like that? It should not be so. We need not delve too much into higher philosophies as of now. We can consider it as just a prayer offered by the maharishi to the primordial god.
Sautha muni explains that the epic is taught widely and is a great source of knowledge. Here, we must ask ourselves, ‘How are we going to get knowledge from a story?’ The answer is that, ‘we must analyze the content of the story, if possible try to relate the events with our lives and try to understand the significance of events described. Then we must peruse on the meaning of our life. Then we can gain some knowledge of Life.
In this world, when it was destitute of brightness and light, and enveloped all around in total darkness, there came into being, as the primal cause of creation, a mighty egg, the one inexhaustible seed of all created beings. It is called Mahadivya, and was formed at the beginning of the Yuga, in which we are told, was the true light Brahma,(Should be Brahman) the eternal one, the wonderful and inconceivable being present alike in all places; the invisible and subtile cause, whose nature partaketh of entity and non-entity. From this egg came out the lord Pitamaha Brahma, the one only Prajapati; with Suraguru and Sthanu. Then appeared the twenty-one Prajapatis, viz., Manu, Vasishtha and Parameshthi; ten Prachetas, Daksha, and the seven sons of Daksha. Then appeared the man of inconceivable nature whom all the Rishis know and so the Viswe-devas, the Adityas, the Vasus, and the twin Aswins; the Yakshas, the Sadhyas, the Pisachas, the Guhyakas, and the Pitris. After these were produced the wise and most holy Brahmarshis, and the numerous Rajarshis distinguished by every noble quality. So the water, the heavens, the earth, the air, the sky, the points of the heavens, the years, the seasons, the months, the fortnights, called Pakshas, with day and night in due succession. And thus were produced all things which are known to mankind.
The creation of the world is explained in short form. It is very important that must not take the above text in a very literal sense. In order to keep it very simple and not to peruse the contents in a deep philosophical fashion, we can take a simple stand point here. The stand point is that the world originated from something and there was some evolution process. We need not speculate at this point, if this world came from one god or many gods or from multitude of philosophical perspectives (Advita or Dvita .....). Let us keep things simple. But it is very logical to say something came from something rather than saying something came out of nothing.
Again we need not compel ourselves to accept the text presented in the text that we dont understand. The beauty of sanathana dharma i.e., Hindu philosophy is that it does not force you to take something that you don’t understand as a rule.
An excerpt from Wikipedia:
Swami Vivekananda, the Hindu revivalist of the 19th century interpreted the Advaita Vedantic understanding of evolution to be in harmony with Darwinian theory.[dubious - discuss] In his commentary on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, he writes:[9]
"There seems to be a great difference between modern science and all religions at this point. Every religion has the idea that the universe comes out of intelligence. The theory of God, taking it in its psychological significance, apart from all ideas of personality, is that intelligence is first in the order of creation, and that out of intelligence comes what we call gross matter. Modern philosophers say that intelligence is the last to come. They say that unintelligent things slowly evolve into animals, and from animals into men. They claim that instead of everything coming out of intelligence, intelligence itself is the last to come. Both the religious and the scientific statements, though seeming directly opposed to each other are true. Take an infinite series, A-B-A-B -A-B. etc. The question is - which is first, A or B? If you take the series as A-B. you will say that A is first, but if you take it as B-A, you will say that B is first. It depends upon the way we look at it. Intelligence undergoes modification and becomes the gross matter, this again merges into intelligence, and thus the process goes on. The Sankhyas, and other religionists, put intelligence first, and the series becomes intelligence, then matter. The scientific man puts his finger on matter, and says matter, then intelligence. They both indicate the same chain. Indian philosophy, however, goes beyond both intelligence and matter, and finds a Purusha, or Self, which is beyond intelligence, of which intelligence is but the borrowed light."
Note: This post is preceded by an introduction in the label Mahabharata perused.
THE MAHABHARATA - ADI PARVA [SECTION I]
[What You can expect in this first section is: How the Mahabharata came to be narrated by Sauti (Sutha muni) to the assembled rishis at Naimisharanya (a holy place). The recital of the Mahabharata at thesarpasattra of Janamejaya by Vaishampayana at Takṣaśila. The history of the Bharata race is told in detail and the parva also traces history of the Bhrigu race. The birth and early life of the Kuru princes.]
The translation is a bit pathetic..But understand that the text is from 19th century. I will give my interpretation of some of the text to my best knowledge. If anyone of you know more about something, please comment.
Om! Having bowed down to Narayana and Nara, the most exalted male being, and also to the goddess Saraswati, must the word Jaya be uttered.
Ugrasrava, the son of Lomaharshana, surnamed Sauti, well-versed in the Puranas, bending with humility, one day approached the great sages of rigid vows, sitting at their ease, who had attended the twelve years' sacrifice of Saunaka, surnamed Kulapati, in the forest of Naimisha. Those ascetics, wishing to hear his wonderful narrations, presently began to address him who had thus arrived at that recluse abode of the inhabitants of the forest of Naimisha. Having been entertained with due respect by those holy men, he saluted those Munis (sages) with joined palms, even all of them, and inquired about the progress of their asceticism. Then all the ascetics being again seated, the son of Lomaharshana humbly occupied the seat that was assigned to him. Seeing that he was comfortably seated, and recovered from fatigue, one of the Rishis beginning the conversation, asked him, 'Whence comest thou, O lotus-eyed Sauti, and where hast thou spent the time? Tell me, who ask thee, in detail.'
Accomplished in speech, Sauti, thus questioned, gave in the midst of that big assemblage of contemplative Munis a full and proper answer in words consonant with their mode of life.
"Sauti said, 'Having heard the diverse sacred and wonderful stories which were composed in his Mahabharata by Krishna-Dwaipayana, and which were recited in full by Vaisampayana at the Snake-sacrifice of the high-souled royal sage Janamejaya and in the presence also of that chief of Princes, the son of Parikshit, and having wandered about, visiting many sacred waters and holy shrines, I journeyed to the country venerated by the Dwijas (twice-born) and called Samantapanchaka where formerly was fought the battle between the children of Kuru and Pandu, and all the chiefs of the land ranged on either side. Thence, anxious to see you, I am come into your presence. Ye reverend sages, all of whom are to me as Brahma; ye greatly blessed who shine in this place of sacrifice with the splendour of the solar fire: ye who have concluded the silent meditations and have fed the holy fire; and yet who are sitting--without care, what, O ye Dwijas (twice-born), shall I repeat, shall I recount the sacred stories collected in the Puranas containing precepts of religious duty and of worldly profit, or the acts of illustrious saints and sovereigns of mankind?"
The epic starts as a narration of the story by sutha to saunakathi munis, who reside in a sacred place called naimisaranya.(The map shows the place called saunaka, probably this place is near that. I think it is near Ayodhya.)
I guess Vaisampayana means the Suka acharya and Krishna-Dwaipayana refers to vyasa acharya. Ofcourse Suka acharya was the son of vyasa acharya.
The reference given to sacrifice of janamejaya:
Janamejaya was the son of parikshith who was the son abhimanyu and uttara, again abhimanyu was the son of Arjuna (One among the Pandavas) and Subadhra (The sister of Lord Krishna).
Well a short note on Janamejaya's sacrifice: Parikshith was bit by a snake called Dakshaka and of course he died!!(due to a curse) His son janamejaya enraged by this wanted to exterminate all snakes. So he started performing a sacrifice in which he burnt a lot of snakes. To prevent him and to enlighten him, Suka acharya narrated to him the puranas. I knew that the narration was devi-baghavatham purana, but dint know if others were included. It sounds like so here. The information in these vedic texts will be little fuzzy, the rishis might refer some text with some name, that might be common to other things also. Maybe its something to do with the sanskrit, which delves on the primal meaning....or rather say the inferred meaning of the author rather than the meaning of the text he employed to communicate that meaning.
And the sons of Kuru (The kingdom illustrated in the map) are the Kauravas and sons of pandu were the Pandavas. We shall properly introduce these people later, if you dont know. But there is one interesting thing here. The Kauravas who where the sons of Dhritarashtra, who was the brother of Pandu. Both can be considered as the grandsons of Kuru. The details of the eccentric circumstances of their birth will come later in the text. But we must keep in mind the question, 'why the sons of Dhritarashtra were called the sons of kuru and why not the sons of pandu?' If any of you know an answer for this, please comment.
I guess Dwijas (twice-born) in the text means the Brahmins who are twice born, one their natural birth the other at the initiation into vedas i.e, the Upanayana.
Once again.....I am back.........This time it will be nothing abstract........its Mahabharata....
You won't be seeing a collection of small stories from Mahabharata. We are going to take the original abridged translation of the text and peruse on that. My mother recited with great patience most of the stories from Mahabharata (actually much more than Mahabharata). Hey amma! Thank you!! So I feel like, I know Mahabharata in great detail than many others of my age. We might have a fair idea of the story. But do we know, ‘What happened to Pandavas and others after the kuru war?’ or at least ‘The Mahabharata doesn’t end on Pandava’s victory?’ It’s the biggest epic. All I wish to say is that, there is much more to this epic than what we know.
(To give citations to text is much fussed upon here in America...Maybe we in India are not that egotistic and pardon the writer for that!! But anyway it’s good to cite the person who did the work. That is the least we can do to show our mark of respect. I believe, even when Vedic mantras are invoked the name of the mantras author (the rishi’s name) is uttered.)
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa BOOK 1 ADI PARVA Translated into English Prose from the Original Sanskrit Text by Kisari Mohan Ganguli [1883-1896]NOTICE OF ATTRIBUTION Scanned at sacred-texts.com, 2003. Proofed at Distributed Proofing, Juliet Sutherland, Project Manager. Additional proofing and formatting at sacred-texts.com, by J. B. Hare. This text is in the public domain. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice of attribution is left intact.
Well this is an old English translation, so the language will be a little confusing. But, this is the only available full translation of the text online. So, we will try to get the story as best as we can and use our logic to guide us towards its full meaning and interpretations. Well, doing this has its advantages.
We can find texts in Hinduism or rightly called the Sanathana-dharma, very intangible. Does it mean people who wrote this text dint want us to understand its meaning? Then logically there is no purpose for writing it down. The people who wrote these texts were really intelligent, we can infer this from the logical explanations presented in these works (I mean when they are presented) and the grammatical excellence of these texts (the same texts could give different interpretations from different perspectives and all these interpretations will concur with the authors true objective). So these men purposefully want us to delve in these topics to understand its content. I won’t bother explaining why they wish to do so. It will be too digressing from our objective.
So we will delve on one small section of Mahabharata on every blog (I wish to keep this every day, but let us see what happens). I will add a small section with my interpretations. I wish people to comment on what they think about that section. It will.....kind of.... make it interactive and help us understand the text better.
I am doing this so that I can constantly enquire into this subject. When I write I process that information and when others comment I can ponder on that subject from a different perspective. May be I am very selfish. I believe there is no human who is not selfish or to put it more precisely, there should not be any human who is not selfish (Of course not in the literal sense, but in the philosophical sense!!!). If you think that you will learn something from this great epic, its mutually beneficial. Stories of Mahabharata are more interesting than Ramayana, as later is a reflection of a yuga (period of time, for more about this...Google it pls!!!) that is too ideal for us to understand and relate to. Mahabharata is great for kids as it not only helps their cognition but also imbibes them with great cultural values. This can be very useful for all of those prospective parents who might read this blog. ;)
Considering us being blessed by the Parameshwara to study the greatest epic Mahabharata (Just a sankalapam (assumption)!!! And a reminder of what we are going to do)......Let us begin!!!!
Well I am just an other human being! Hello fellow beings :)
I am a Mechanical Engineer.I like Designing. Though ventured into analysis now. Dont know how best it will turn out for me. I like working with new and interesting things, bored by routine work. Like doing what others cant and wont do, alone! I find rationality even in the irrational. Ya you will find me absurd or stupid at times...That's me :)I wish to expect nothing from others and have no expectaions of others.Take people as they are to be happy, is what I try to add as a motto to my life now.
I like philosophy. I always wanted to know the reason for this our existence. I have progressed a lot. Yet there is lot more to be learned and more importantly lots more needs to be practiced.
I am more like a mirror. I just reflect your perceptions of me...You can view me from any perspective and I will be that. I also try to connect with you with a personality you expect from me. My real personality is behind the silver and is rarely revealed.
Why talk more here? If you want to know more about me, Just ask!
A.H will be Revealed! Mail me at (harananand@gmail.com)
