Mahabharata – An Introduction

The Mahabharata is undoubtedly one of the greatest works of the world, unique in many ways – unique for the deepest philosophic truths, for the wide range of human life covered by the ethics and for the high spiritual stimulus provided in this epic.

Mahabharata is an “itihas” which exclusively means, “Thus occurred”. The Mahabharata is not merely a historic work but it reflects the dynamic culture of India. The first verse is:

“nārāyaṇaṁ namaskṛtya naraṁ caiva narottamam

devīṁ sarasvatīṁ vyāsaṁ tato jayam udīrayet”

Meaning – I bow down to Lord Krishna who is Narayana himself, his friend Arjuna, the goddess Sarasvati, the Goddess of Knowledge and learning and Bhagavan Vyasa who is the author of Mahabharata. By destroying all the negativities, one should start the chanting of the epic of Mahabharata.

It is a whole literature in itself, containing a code of life; a philosophy of social and ethical relations, a speculative thought on human problems that is hard to rival; but above all – it has for its core the Bhagavad Gita, a perennial source of spiritual strength. It is a story of love, courage, truth, lies, deceit, selfishness, foolishness and every other human emotion. It displays human emotions so totally that you need not study anything other than Mahabharata to understand human nature. The Mahabharata dwells on the aspect of the important goals of a human being in his mortal life. The epic aims at making people realize the relationship between the individual and the society and how they are interdependent. This is a treasure house for those interested in building and developing inter-personal relationships. You can learn how to treat and interact with your wife, husband, brother, sister, father, mother, son, daughter, boss, subordinate, rich person, poor person, generals, soldiers, kings and common man, owners, servants, drivers, neighbours and more in this book. The great epic is besides a storehouse of ancient knowledge. Philosophy, religion, customs and rituals, polity, science, social life, geography, history, economics, code of conduct, etc., find place in it.

The Mahabharata is undoubtedly one of the greatest works of the world, unique in many ways – unique for the deepest philosophic truths, for the wide range of human life covered by the ethics and for the high spiritual stimulus provided in this epic. It is also called the fifth Veda. The Mahabharata is the longest epic poem known and has been described as “the longest poem ever written”. Its longest version consists close to 100,000 shloka or 200,000 individual verse lines (each shloka is a couplet), and long prose passages. The Mahabharata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, or about four times the length of the Ramayana. The ‘maha’ in the title indicates the text’s size and importance,1 and the Bharata indicates that these two sets of cousins, descendants of King Kuru, are also descendants of King Bharata, whose name is now interchangeable with that of India itself

Hindus consider Mahabharata as the greatest epic in India. It is a story of love, courage, truth, lies, deceit, selfishness, foolishness, and every other human emotion. Today when we see people of selfish interests all around us, that reminds us of Mahabharata. When we find nations states fighting with each other for frivolous reasons that also reminds us of Mahabharata. Everything that is bad and everything that is good reminds us of something in Mahabharata.

The Mahabharata, the most renowned epic of India, is the only book of its kind in the whole world. It contains countless stories besides the main episode—the Mahabharata—, which teach moral lessons or illustrate distinguishing characteristics of the ancients of India. It contains the history of ancient India and all the details of its political, social and religious life. The stories, songs, nursery tales, anecdotes, parables, the discourses and sayings contained in this epic are marvellous and highly instructive. It contains the brilliant records of mighty heroes, warriors of great prowess, deep thinkers, profound philosophers, sages and ascetics and devoted wives of chastity. The beauty and charm of the language is extremely striking and attractive.

The great epic is besides a storehouse of ancient knowledge. Philosophy, religion, customs and rituals, polity, science, social life, geography, history, economics, code of conduct, etc., find place in it. That is why some consider Mahabharata as a common man’s veda (knowledge). Economics, sociology, politics, accountancy, the art of war, chemistry, astronomy – all this is included in here along with philosophy and spirituality.

Vyasa discusses the four objects of human pursuit as: dharma (duty), artha (wealth),   Kama (pleasure), and moksha (salvation). Dharma is supreme in this world. Dharma brings material prosperity (artha), fulfilment of wishes (Kama) and final liberation (moksha). The story culminates in moksha, believed by Hindus to be the ultimate goal of human beings.  It is surprising that people do not pay attention to the need for practice of dharma, when everything can be achieved through it. The essence of dharma is that no one should do to others what one would not like others to do to oneself. Selfishness is death. Unselfishness is immortality. Both death and deathlessness are in one’s own person and not in some distant place.  The ancient system of political administration under the directing principle of dharma finds elaborate elucidation in the Raja dharma section of the Santi Parva   in the Mahabharata.

Mahabharata – Chronology

By popular tradition, the Kali Age started with the death of Krishna, 36 years after the War. The Kali calendar has a beginning of 3102 BC; therefore, it is thought that the Mahabharata War took place in 3138 BC. Incidentally, the dating of the Mahabharata War has been a matter of challenge and controversy for a century or two. European scholars have maintained that the events described in the ancient Sanskrit texts are imaginary and subsequently, the Mahabharata derived to be a fictitious tale of war fought between two rivalries. On the contrary, many Bharatiya scholars have vehemently maintained that Mahabharata was is an actual occurrence. Astronomical and literary evidences or clues from the Puranic and Vedic texts have been deciphered to provide a conclusive date for the Mahabharata War. There are many conflicting theories on the actual date of the war. Prominent theories among them are:

1. The date of around 1000 BC. This is the date popularized by Western Indologists as being most “reasonable” based on archaeological data. This date was first proposed within the framework of the Aryan invasion theory. Although that theory has been discredited, this date has taken independent life of its own.

2. The date of 1924 BC based on Puranic genealogies.

3. The date of 2449 BC. This is based on a statement by Varahamihira in 505 AD.

4. The date of 3138 BC. The traditional value, mentioned by Aryabhata and in the Aihole inscription of 634 AD.

For the purpose of our study, we will accept the date of 3138 as the actual date of Mahabharata war and 3102, the year when Krishna died as the beginning of Kaliyuga.

Mahabharata – Evolution

The epic originally written by Sage Vyasa, classified as an ‘Itihasa’ and called ‘Jaya’ had just 8,800 verses. Jaya means victory and the story essentially deals with victory of “Dharma” or righteousness. Vyasa taught ‘Jaya’ to his four disciples Vaisampayana, Sumantu, Jaimini and Paila and his son Suka. Later, Vaisampayana recited the epic to King Janamejaya while he performed Sarpasatra and it became ‘Bharata’ with 24,000 verses. Finally, Ugrasravas son of Lomaharshana surnamed Sauti, who heard the story at the sarpasatra, recited this epic to the great sages attending the twelve year sacrifice of Saunaka, called Kulapati, in the forest of Naimisha and became the current version with close to 100,000 verses. The questions asked by Janamejaya and answers given by Vaisampayana became additions to the original epic written by Vyasa. Similarly, the questions asked by the sages to Ugrasravas and his answers also becomes part of the final version. It is also possible that writing as a method developed in India much later and most scriptures were passed down to generations through memory and recitation. Each generation would also have added their own thoughts, learnings, experiences and practices prevalent, which further contributed to the massive volume of Mahabharata that we have today.

Mahabharata – Structure

The Mahabharata comprises eighteen books (parvas) of varying proportions. It has dialogical structure of text, presented as a series of conversations. In every case, the narratives are formally presented
as dynamic interactions between the teller and the told; and the told may intervene repeatedly to direct the teller or to ask for details or commentary.  The great epic is a big storehouse of stories with many stories inside a story. Each story in itself is a source of knowledge and new learning in various fields of human life. There are essentially four main dialogues that frame the entire structure of Mahabharata.

1. Ugrasravas recites the Mahabharata to Saunaka at a twelve-year yagna in the Naimisa Forest. This is only one of the four frame dialogues that does not include a king but the Brahmanas and yogis.

2. Vaisampayana recites the Mahabharata to King Janamejaya during the sarpasatra-taking place to take revenge on Taksaka, the leader of the snakes, who killed Janamejaya’ s father Parikshit.

3. Sanjaya reports the battlefield events to King Dhritarashtra.

4. Bhishma recounts many stories and teachings to King Yudhishthira after the war to guide him to be a better king and individual.

Mahabharata has eighteen Parva (sections) with hundreds of chapters in each Parva and has more than 96000 shlokas. Finally, there is Harivamsa as a khila(appendix) with more than 16000 shlokas.

Mahabharata – Summary of the Story

Its main story follows the Pandavas from their birth, childhood, and polyandrous marriage to   Draupadı through their deepening breach with their cousins, to the eighteen-day Kurukshetra war (in which only 10 survived) and its aftermath, to their deaths and even to their afterlives. This narrative is elaborated by many sub-stories and diverse teachings, which the characters within the narrative tell to each other. These sub-stories are a vital aspect of the Mahabharata and are called upakhyanas. There are stories about the ancestors of Kuru dynasty, philosophical discourses, kings, Brahmins, animals and more.

When Pandu and Madri dies in the Himalaya, Kunti, his living wife brings all five sons to Hastinapura to grow up with their cousin. Duryodhana, who otherwise is considered as the successor of the Kuru dynasty is extremely uncomfortable and jealous of his powerful cousins who become threat to his dream of becoming the next king. He, along with the gang of four plans to eliminate the Pandavas and sent them to Varanavat. However, with the timely intervention of Vidura, they survive and live in disguise as Brahmins. They had a polyandrous marriage to Draupadi, the daughter of King Drupad, during this period and returns to Hastinapura on the invitation of the king Dhritarashtra. On the advice of Bhishma the kingdom was divided and one-half given to the Pandavas for ruling who established a beautiful capital at Indrprastha. Yudhishthira, with the help of Krishna and his brothers conducts Rajasuya and establishes himself as Chakravarthi of Bharatvarsha. Duryodhana becomes extremely jealous of the success and prosperity of the Pandavas and invites Yudhishthira for a match of dice. Having lost to a deceitful match played by Sakuni, the Pandavas with their wife was sent to 12 years of exile in the forest and one more to live incognito, failing which this cycle will be repeated. On completion, when asked to return their Kingdom, Duryodhana refused which ended up in the most disastrous war. The war started with 18 akshauhini of army lasted 18 days and only 10 survived. 7 from the Pandava side and 3 from the Kauravas. How Yudhishthira rules for the next 36 years, their death and travel to heaven covers the balance of the story.

Mahabharata – What it contains

Mahabharata is not simply a story of a war or feud between cousins for wealth and woman. It is a source of wisdom, philosophy, human relationships, politics, Management, religion, morals and code of conduct, pain and sufferings, achievement and excitement, scheming and manipulation, courage and cowardice, concentration and perseverance, truth and righteousness and much more.

It explains the secrets of leadership and success. Mahabharata can be considered equivalent to other management bibles. Whether it is man management, human/organisational behaviour, game theory, management by objectives, all aspects of modern management can be discovered in various characters and episodes of this great epic. In today’s modern management when ethical judgment and importance of recognizing the ethical dimensions are talked about, Mahabharata gives excellent analogies to identify the ethical boundaries. Perhaps the most important theme in the Mahabharata is that of Dharma. In fact, the author Vyasa himself states that the purpose of the Mahabharata is “to engrave dharma in the minds of men.” Dharma is essentially the principle of righteousness, following the correct moral way. Dharma has a prominent place in the epic, as Yudhishthira is the son of dharma. However, the way the characters interact with dharma is very complex. Despite being the “good guys,” the Pandavas often resort to trickery to defeat the Kauravas. For instance, Arjuna kills Karna when Karna is unarmed, and Bhima crushes Duryodhana’s thigh, a hit below the belt. While this may seem very wrong, it is always with the blessing of Krishna, the God companion of the Pandavas. Lord Krishna himself advised the Pandavas that no action can be perfect in an ever-changing dynamic world and hence he casually advocated them to keep the overall ethical standards in view and then act according to the contingency, which may require provisional deviation from strict ethics. Yet, why are ones who should be upholding the truth using trickery? Krishna tells Yudhishthira a telling response. In dealing with such evil, “Sometimes one protects dharma by forgetting it.” Therefore, the greatest challenge for the modern corporate leader is the modification of these responses keeping in mind the ethical and legal issues but without compromising corporate interests.

The sufferings of the Pandavas and Draupadi, Nala and Damayanti, Savitri and Satyavan, clearly explain to us the fact or hard truth that the goal of life or perfection can only be attained through pain and suffering. Pain is the means through which man is moulded, disciplined and strengthened. Just as impure gold is turned into pure gold by melting it in the crucible, so also the impure and imperfect weak man is rendered pure, perfect and strong, by being melted in the crucible of pain and suffering. Therefore, one should not be afraid of pain and sufferings. They are blessings in disguise. They are eye-openers. They are silent teachers. They turn the mind towards God and instil mercy in the heart, strengthen the will and develop patience and power of endurance, which are the pre-requisites for God-Realisation.

The message of the Mahabharata is the message of Truth and Righteousness. The great epic produces a moral awakening in the readers and exhorts them to tread the path of Satya and Dharma. It urges them strongly to do good deeds, practise Dharma, cultivate dispassion by realising the illusory nature of this universe and its vainglories and sensual pleasures, and attain Eternal Bliss and Immortality. It induces people to do what Yudhishthira did and abandon what Duryodhana did. Stick to Dharma tenaciously. You will attain everlasting happiness and Moksha, the summum bonum of life. This is the final purport or central teachings of the Mahabharata.

If there is a single lesson from the war, it is that competitors must try to find areas of alliance wherever is possible, group their resources for research and development and offer innovative solutions for customer’s money. 

The great Indian epic is a big storehouse of stories. There are stories inside a story. Each story in itself is the source of knowledge and new learning in various fields of human life esp. management. Every character of Mahabharata teaches us something. It is for us to understand the lesson and follow a path in life that brings joy and peace in life. The story also tells the consequences of giving too much indulgence to children and how things get ruined therefore. The story tells of the bond of friendship through the Duryodhana and Karna relationship. It also tells how a wicked and scheming person (as Shakuni) can poison not only grownups (as Dhritarashtra), but children as well (Duryodhana and Dushasana and all Kauravas). It tells of the ills of gambling, the protective nature in a sibling relationship, the woes of the mother, the pain of children in broken families(as of Karna), the disastrous consequences of excess sexuality, tells of inferiority complex, devotion, truthfulness and honesty, Valour, pride and how events and situations may humble the mightiest. It tells of treating the cunning with equal cunning, of peace, of war and strategies, of human patience and how it wears thin leading to breaking of rules (as in the war …. as it grows longer, more and more rules get broken and baser and baser methods get used).

It teaches us of God, of universe, of science, of philosophy, of social relationship, of morals and codes of conducts in different situations. It talks of perseverance and concentration in acquiring skills, it tells of women and their problems. Mahabharata tells about politics, about teachers, about common men and their behaviour, of courage, of cowardice, of jealousy, of generosity, of lies, murder, of truth and how God works through men.

It contains the history of ancient India and all the details of its political, social and religious life. The stories, songs, nursery tales, anecdotes, parables, the discourses and sayings contained in this epic are marvellous and highly instructive. It contains the brilliant records of mighty heroes, warriors of great prowess, deep thinkers, profound philosophers, sages and ascetics and devoted wives of chastity. The ancient system of political administration under the directing principle of dharma finds elaborate elucidation in the Raja dharma section of the Santi Parva in the Mahabharata. The Vidura-Niti is a renowned book on political ethics.

If you want to gain extensive knowledge on many topics by reading just one book, then it is Mahabharata for you. As Sage Vyasa himself has told in this book, “Whatever is there in this world to be known concerning the various ways and goals of life is there in this book; and whatever is not here is nowhere to be found. This book is for humanity, not just for Indians or Hindus as anyone who reads it gains wealth of practical knowledge that leads him to success, happiness and prosperity.