• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

C M Y K SUNDAY, 17 MARCH 2019 03 Ramayana too has them, viz., Bali-Sug- somewhat unintelligible. The e-mail of riva, Ravana-Vibhishana. She argues authors is a good idea. A few lines Akbar’s Razmnama names the epic as about each author would be very help- a book of war for the first time. ful. One major problem is that most of A story of tangible and In Ramayana, the rift between broth- the Sanskrit texts quoted are not trans- ers is only among non-humans, a side- lated. Most readers have little or no knowl- issue, whereas in MB that is central to edge of Sanskrit and diacritics. Since they a royal family. The MB is too close to us! cannot follow the meaning of the vers- One notices a problem in the essays. es, much of the arguments of the writer Most of the authors state that Jaya con- are lost on them. Another problem is intangible heritage sisted of 8800 shlokas, Bharata 24000 and use of technical jargon without an MB more than a lakh. The vulgate clear- explanation. These essays become fair- ly mentions that the 8800 verses are the ly obscure to the reader. What is striking about the book at explain why it is called the “Khila” of the ly following the Arthashastra plan. But riddling, knotty verses strewn through The Draupadi Dream Trust and its epic and critically look at the excisions. how can we be sure that these remains the epic to confuse Ganesha. Vyasa cre- untiring chairperson, Misra, deserve con- first glance is its presentation. It They examine eight sections in detail are of the epic cities? The essay does not ated Bharata samhita first with 24000 vers- gratulations for their valuable contri- and claim that these should never have contain any such evidence. It has inter- es and later increased it to 60 lakh of which bution towards establishing the epic’s is tastefully conceived, very been removed. Though too long, the essay esting plates depicting the excavations. one hundred thousand was meant for date and historicity and revising the CE. is rich in information. Yvette Ram Rani Dosser, in an emo- the human world, to be recited later by They have organised three manthans elegant and pleasing. The Abhay Singh holds that history is made tional article, rues the negative and mock- Vaishampayana. and a lot of amrita has already appeared. miniature used on the cover is by incorporating both historical facts ing attitude of occidental Indologists and A rose must have its thorns. Why repeat The volume of information and insights and cultural truths. The methodology occi-centric Indian scholars and his- the Introduction in the second vol- presented in these two beautiful volumes beautiful and relevant... A review CE adopted has risked missing out the torians towards Indian ethos and tra- ume? A table of contents would have is phenomenal. cultural truths of that society. The MB ditions. sufficed. More careful editing and proof- “more than 215 specific astronomy ref- is like a free-flowing river, an oral tra- Alexis Pinchard takes the discussion reading were required. Lack of this has The reviewer retired as major SHEKHAR SEN gen- erences” in the text. This is fortified by dition, gathering stories and facts as it to the rarefied sphere of theology, ontol- rendered some articles non-astronomical evidence in the MB travels, reflecting the social and indi- ogy and philosophy. He declares that raupadi Dream Trust, New such as, hydrology, climatology, oceanog- vidual values of the time. It is therefore MB is a story of tangible and intangi- eral, Delhi, has brought out a two- raphy, anthropology and genetics. futile to try to get to the root. So, the CE ble heritage ~ the intangible world of Addl. volume set of 30 papers, edit- In an excellent article, BR Mani deft- is just another version. “The best way gods and the tangible world of their DG of ed by Neera Misra, founder ly considers most of the evidence final- is to let the streams of diversity flow human avataras, born to fulfil some pur- Army D Postal trustee and chairperson of the Draupadi ly arriving at 3102 BCE as the year of the unabated without diverting.” pose. The intangibles know their Ser- Dream Trust and Air Vice-Marshal war. Mohan Gupta, in another fine essay, BVK Sastry urges identification of avataras but the tangibles do not know vice. Rajesh Lal. These were part of the Inter- fixes 17 October, 1952 BCE for com- monuments related to the epic and pre- their intangible selves. That enables the He is national Conference held in July 2017 mencement of the war and provides other serving them. The problem is that these human tragedy to be played out. an indolo- in New Delhi. The focus is on the his- connected dates. Ashok Bhatnagar’s must be validated by textual refer- Indrajit Bandyopadhyay travels gist toriography and historicity of the epic highly technical essay, using astro- ences. His point about the revision of through the maze of Vedic-Puranic lit- and a critical evaluation of the Critical nomical software, pinpoints Bhishma’s the CE is well-taken. A long essay, full erature to find the similarities between Edition of the MB. Related topics like demise on 20 September, 1793 BCE, the of insights and an engrossing read. Draupadi and the Vedic Vak-Sarasvati. geography, archaeology, astronomical war beginning on 14 October, 1793 Heramb Chaturvedi shows how the He shows how Draupadi, Krishna, Bri- dating, philosophical perspectives, etc BCE, etc. Indian system of writing history is more hati, Pandita, a dynamic, strong, bold have also been covered. The valedictory Thus, there is total confusion. The comprehensive than the European. woman must have been the inspiration address by Dr Bibek Debroy, eminent possible date ranges between 900 BCE The Vasisthas, the Bhrigvangiras (Veda for the Vedic Vak-Sarasvati, another Krish- economist and Sanskrit scholar who has and 5561 BCE! But one thing is clear. Vyasa included) and sutas were respon- na, Brihati, “majestic among the mighty translated the Critical Edition into Eng- The scholars are on the right track. There sible for the development of the historical ones,” protector, a dynamic woman who lish, prefaces the book. The book also are possibly some glitches in the Stel- and the sacred traditions. is also the goddess of war, wealth and has some impressive plates at the end larium and Planetarium softwares Frederick Smith in a fascinating arti- power. The “lost Sarasvati” of the Vedas of Volume 1. Due to paucity of space only which need to be looked at. Archaeo- cle writes about the development of the is indeed the “lost Draupadi” of MB, both some important papers are reviewed. logical evidence must be more conclusive. regional MBs through the ages. The ever- suffering narrative loss. Bandyopadhyay What is striking about the book at The Critical Edition (CE) of the developing local and oral versions are delves into the scriptures, sometimes the first glance is its presentation. It is Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute as important as the CE. The Pandava Lila so deep that it becomes difficult to keep tastefully conceived, very elegant and (BORI) was completed in 47 years performances or Panduan of Garhwal up with him, to establish their real as pleasing. The miniature used on the cover (1919-1966). Five articles deal with it and has roots in Indian religious culture that well as spiritual and metaphorical iden- is beautiful and relevant. The editors and all of them criticise it. Jhanavi Vidhur are “so deep that the Paharis themselves tities. He describes Draupadi beautifully: the publishers must be congratulated holds that the CE “satisfies not Indian are barely aware of its extent.” The Brihati essence in an anushtup body. for such an attractive production. It is readers but European scholars.” It “dele- actors identify with the epic characters, So is Sarasvati. A very erudite and indeed a collector’s item. gitimised the traditional reception of the “acting as magnetic centres through remarkable essay. Six papers examine the date of MB MB as a Dharmashastra and a Mok- whom the local people see and identi- Jana Bandyopadhyay compares two from literary, archaeological, astro- shashastra”. As a combination of kavya fy with their deep history.” Thus, in Raithal Draupadis ~ Bharavi’s (Kiratarjuniyam) nomical and geographical angles, del- and Shastra, it should be studied with village near Bhatwari the actor who per- and Vyasa’s. Quoting copiously she uging us with a plethora of differing dates. the commentaries. formed as Arjuna for 40 years, decided narrates how Bharavi depicts the BB Lal gives a date of 900 BCE depend- Pradip Bhattacharya’s essay approach- to pass on his role to his son. The pro- aggressiveness of Draupa- ing on genealogical tables of the Pau- es the CE through the attempt to strip cedure he followed was almost exact- di’s character and how Vyasa ravas from Puranas and some archae- Draupadi. It is a veritable storehouse ly the one described in Brihadaranya- portrays multiple aspects Spot ological finds of pottery ware. DK and of information. He points out that the ka and Kaushitaki Upanishads. of her character as a learned, Hema Hari give the exact date of Krish- CE did not study several important JN Ravi traces the geographical infor- compassionate, consider- na’s birth as 27 July 3112 BCE, the MB versions e.g., the Nepali palm-leaf mss, mation contained in what he identifies ate and understanding wife. Light war as beginning on 22 November 3067 the Razmnama, the Arabic translation as the Jaya section of MB (from Bhishma- She points out that “Drau- Mahabharata BCE and many other dates.

Load more

  1

Copy Link