Shanti Parva in Mahabharata

The Shanti Parva is the twelfth book of the 18 books of Mahabharata. It is the book of Peace and consists of 3 upa parvas and 366 chapters. It is the longest book of the 18 books of Mahabharata. The book shows the crowning of Yudhishthira as king and the duties that he was supposed to carry out as king. The summaries of each sub-parva is:

Rajdharmanusana Parva

There are 130 chapters in this Parva consisting of almost 4700 verses. The Parva opens with Yudhishthira in deep sorrow after the war. Popular sages including Vyasa and Narada came to meet with Yudhishthira, who was in distress after the death of his own relatives and cousins in the war. The gravest thing that disturbed his mind was the fact that he was responsible in killing his own elder brother Karna. He made Arjuna kill Karna. His heart was wrapped with guilt. Yudhishthira did not want to be the king of Hastinapura anymore. The sages then pacified Yudhishthira. Even Lord Krishna came and told him about his duties as Yudhishthira was willing to denounce everything and leave the humane world filled with evil desires.

Lord Krishna and Sage Vyasa successfully convinced him to change his mind. His mental agony was eased by the great words of Lord Krishna. He was then convicted to serve his duties as King of Hastinapura. Yudhishthira was then officially crowned as King. He appointed various deserving people for many posts and gave them responsibilities. Bhishma, who was injured was still lying in the bed of arrows and meditating to Krishna in his last breaths. He had become incapable of even speaking a word. The Pandavas and Krishna went to see him at Kurukshetra. Lord Krishna gave him a boon that alleviated him from all his pains. Yudhishthira took counsel from him for all his duties and responsibilities as a King. Bhishma explained all the science of morals and the principal duties of the king. A proper King required both excellent administrative skills along with the realization of his Dharmic duties makes the perfect King. He even narrated many tales to Yudhishthira, who was detached from the kingdom as an impact of the war. Bhishma wanted him to develop a strong bond with the people of his kingdom.

Apaddharma Parva

This Parva consists of 43 chapters and about 1600 verses. In this Parva the behavior of a king in times of adversity is narrated by Bhishma. He told Yudhishthira that a king should possess a presence of mind that can make him foresee an impending trouble. He narrated the story of fishes to clarify his idea of possessing the skill of clairvoyance. He further said that a king should remain extremely cautious while speaking to a potential enemy and not give away any secrets of the kingdom. He said that in times of trouble a King should not fall weak and support wicked ideas and people. He said that wicked people try to take advantage during the times of trouble. However, a King should always suppress the wicked people and protect the virtuous people. He also said that a king should protect refugees seeking protection in his kingdom. He narrated many stories to prove that the King who follows his Dharma in weak times is always successful in maintaining peace and prosperity in the lives of the people of his kingdom.

Bhishma further explained the importance of truth, honesty and penance. He even explained the origin of thirteen parvas, namely, lust, anger, grief, pride, desire to do evil, desire to kill, greed, malice, envy, pity and blame, and further he explained the ways to destroy the sources of these evils. He goes on to explain the nature of sinners and how a person could rectify his previous sins.

Mokshadharma Parva

This is the longest sub parva of the Shanti Parva and consists of almost 7000 verses. This Parva narrates the ways of living to achieve moksha, eternal salvation. Bhishma describes dharma as the path to achieve eternal salvation. He narrated many ancient stories which had the correct ways for a person to achieve moksha. He spoke on the importance of sacrifice of all worldly desires to get rid of past sorrows and deeds. He told about the stories of Lord Indra and Lord Vishnu and how they created the principles of sacrifice and Dharma.

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