THE MAHABHARATA A SUMMARY Rani Ramaswamy An introduction Rani Ramaswamy The rivers, they say, ran red with the blood of those who perished in this war that pitted the Pandavas, royal princes of the Kuru dynasty against their evil cousins the Kauravas. The famous battle of Kurukshetra, as it came to be known, is described in detail in the Mahabharata, which along with the Ramayana is part of the larger body of Hindu Scriptures. These two great epics bring to life the philosophy and the complexity of thought contained in the Scriptures to a level easily understood by the common man. The Mahabharata was composed by the Sage Vyasa, himself the stuff of legend; his life and his work are a testament to the genius of a society that conceived of a system where rishis [or teachers] renounced the everyday life for the tranquility of the jungles. Isolated, in total peace, they were able to focus their minds and tap into their inner resources and acquire miraculous powers; they had the ability to do things that are difficult to explain in today’s world of science and logic. But we must keep in mind that the story occurred in more innocent times. With more than 100,000 verses, the Mahabharata, is not one story, but many. Some of the stories have morals to tell, some simply are there to entertain. To those familiar with Indian mythology, Krishna seems so real, yet he exudes a divinity that makes him more than just what appears on the surface. This strange mixture of the human and the superhuman makes for great drama, and there is never a dull moment. Man is shown at his very worst, and at his very best. The battle of Kurukshethra, is symbolic of the fight that rages in all of us, as the forces of all that is good and noble fights the evil that haunts us. It was Bhagawan Vyasa, the great rishi who presented the Mahabharata, the divine epic, to mankind. In a world long before the printing press, was invented, he needed someone to write down his thoughts as they occurred to him. He prayed to Brahma, the creator, who is said to have come to him in person, and recommended God Ganesha, and the two worked in perfect harmony resulting in possibly, the greatest story ever told. 11 Chapter 1 King Santanu The story begins in Hastinapura, with King Santanu, who was the great grandfather of the Pandavas and Kauravas. He was married to the River Goddess Ganga, who had assumed human form because of a curse by a Rishi. King Santanu lived happily with his wife, honoring his promise not to interfere no matter what she did. Shortly after she delivered a beautiful baby boy. The king watched her, horrified, as Ganga took the baby to the river, and as far as the king could tell, seemed to drown the baby. She thus dispatched one beautiful baby boy after another, to the bewilderment of the king. Afraid of losing her, he said nothing. The eighth time he could not stand it anymore and demanded an explanation. Saddened that he had broken his promise to her, Ganga revealed her identity and took leave. She also took with her the eighth child, promising to bring him back once he was old enough. Chapter 2 Bhishma The years went by, and sure enough, Ganga brought back her son whom she called Devavratha. He was already a gifted archer, and well versed in the scriptures. King Santanu was pleased and started making plans for crowning the young Devavratha king someday. But before that could happen, the king, lonely after the departure of Ganga, fell madly in love with another beautiful maiden Satyavati who the daughter of a fisherman was. She often helped her father ferry people back and forth across the river. One day, she was ferrying a rishi by the name of Parashar, who was so struck by her beauty that he was filled with desire for her, made love to her. Soon she would have a baby, who would grow up to be Sage Vyasa, author of the Mahabharata. As a pre-condition to the marriage, Satyavati’s father had stipulated that only Satyavati’s children could lay claim to the throne, not Devavratha, and further demanded that Devavratha remain celibate his entire life. Devavratha only desiring his father’s happiness, took on the vow of celibacy and gave up his title as crown prince- as a result he came to be known as Bhishma- one who takes a difficult vow and keeps it. Chapter 3 The Story of Pandu – father of the Pandavas Fast forwarding through the Mahabharata, the next item of interest is the birth of the Pandavas, whose grandfather was king Santanu. The Pandavas were believed to be of divine origin. Their mother, Kunti Devi was very young, when Sage Durvasa, well known for his temper, visited her father, King Kuntibhoja. [ Kunti Devi who would later marry Pandu, son to King Santanu.} During his stay, Kunti took care of his needs very diligently. Pleased with her, Durvasa gave her a very potent mantra. When uttered, one of the Gods could be invoked, who would then bless her with his son. With the curiosity typical of children, Kunti said the mantra, and asked for the Sun God to appear before her. And so, he did, in all his glory. On his appearance, Kunti panicked and begged him to leave, and write off this invocation as a childish prank. But the mantra had so much power, even the Gods were helpless, and its promise was fulfilled. Kunti, only a slip of a girl, would immediately give birth to a boy, as Gods do not have the nine-month gestation of humans. The baby, born with divine armor and earrings was to be known as Karna, and would grow up to be at once upright, noble and tragic. Kunti, afraid of the consequences, carried this terrible secret within her. In time, she married Pandu, King of Hastinapura. Pandu would also marry Madri, as was the custom in those days. Pandu ruled over Hastinapura for a short period when a vile deed he had done in his youth caught up with him and was cursed by a rishi: that any attempts to have a sexual relationship would result in his death. Too preoccupied with guilt and sorrow at what he had done and its terrible consequences, he abdicated the throne to the blind Dhrithirashtra and went to the forest with his two wives. Here, he led a life of abstinence. But seeing how he longed for children, Kunti told Pandu of the boon given to her by sage Durvasa. With Pandu in agreement, she shared the mantra with Madri and the five Pandavas were born soon after. Chapter 4 Kunti returns to Hastinapura But one day, Pandu was so enamored with the lovely Madri that he succumbed to temptation despite Madri's warnings and fell dead soon after. Madri, unable to bear her sorrow, would die in her husband's funeral pyre, as she felt responsible for Pandu's death. The Pandavas were young, Yudhishtra, the oldest only sixteen and the forest did not seem welcoming to a widow with children, so the grief- stricken Kunti returned to Hastinapura to the court of her blind brother-in-law now King Dhrithirashtra, with the Pandavas. Dhrithirashtra would have 100 sons of his own; they would be called the Kauravas. The Pandavas and the Kauravas were a rowdy bunch. Their Uncle Bhishma, decided to look for a teacher who would bring discipline to the two sets of cousins, teach them the Vedas, the Shastras [the Sciences], and train them in warfare, as appropriate for Kshatriyas. This combination of the humanities and the life sciences was important, so that someday when they were ready to rule, they would have the wisdom and the knowledge to do so. Chapter 5 Dronacharya As it happened Dronacharya, a brilliant scholar, and a famous warrior was looking for pupils, and approached Bhishma. Dronacharya was the son of the sage Bharadwaj a, a famous Rishi. Bhishma was happy to have such an illustrious man as teacher to the royal princes and gave him all the respect due to a man of such splendid lineage. Dronacharya took charge of the boisterous young men. Ruling with an iron hand, he trained them rigorously in warfare. In no time, the willful and rebellious sons of Pandu and Dhrithirashtra were disciplined men of arms. Their education now complete, Dronacharya decided to ask for his ‘gurudakshina’, the payment made by the student when he was done with his education. It so happened that he carried a personal grudge against a childhood companion, Prince Drupada -now King of Panchala: As children, Dronacharya and Prince Drupada were inseparable. The two boys were so devoted to each other that the future king had promised he would give half his kingdom to the Brahmin when they grew up. Their days of learning over, the two young men went their separate ways. Soon after, Dronacharya, now with a young family decided to take up the offer made by his boyhood friend. To his chagrin, he was greeted by King Drupada with icy coldness. Dronacharya was crushed; Stung at the King’s arrogance, Dronacharya swore he would get even some day, So, for their very first assignment, Dronacharya sent the Kauravas to Panchala to capture King Drupada and bring him back, but their mission was a dismal failure. He then sent the Pandavas, with Arjuna as their leader.