Mahābhārata
The Mahābhārata is often referred to as the "great epic of India" and is recognized as one of the longest literary works in existence, composed in the ancient Sanskrit language. This epic encompasses over 74,000 stanzas, detailing a complex narrative centered on a dynastic conflict between two branches of the Bhārata dynasty, culminating in an extensive eighteen-day war. The story not only captures the battles between various ruling families but also incorporates mythological elements, genealogies, and moral teachings, reflecting the cultural and social realities of ancient India.
The text is characterized by its rich oral tradition, with sections that include philosophical discourses, religious narratives, and a wide array of characters, including the significant figure of Krishna. The Mahābhārata also features the celebrated Bhagavad Gītā, a dialogue that addresses profound spiritual and ethical dilemmas. Its diverse themes suggest a composite authorship and a long period of evolution, highlighting its importance as a cultural artifact. The epic serves as a vital resource for understanding Indian history, religion, and philosophy, making it a significant subject for further exploration.
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Mahābhārata
Related civilization: India.
Date: 400 b.c.e.-200 c.e., present form by c. 400 c.e.
Locale: India
Authorship: Composite; attributed to the legendary Vyāsa
Mahābhārata
Called the “great epic of India,” the Mahābhārata (mah-HAW-BAW-rah-tah) is composed in Sanskrit, the chief classical and sacred language of ancient India, and is probably the longest single literary work extant in any language. In its shortest version, the poem consists of more than 74,000 stanzas, divided into sections of varying length. Certain features—most prominent the use of formulaic repetitions with slight variations—suggest an origin in ancient oral tradition. Extant, however, are two main manuscript traditions, associated with north and south India. The title Mahābhārata is taken to mean “the narrative of the great war of the Bhāratas,” the latter a dynasty of northern India that gives India its official name, Bharat. The epic’s central narrative records in great detail a succession dispute between two branches of this dynasty and the resultant war, said to involve most of the ruling families of known India. A large part of the poem describes in copious detail a violent eighteen-day battle that ends with the tragic deaths of most participants. The historicity of this war and the poem’s political details have proved difficult to confirm.
The Mahābhārata displays features known from national epics elsewhere: genealogies and tales of ancestors; descriptions of the youth and adventures of important heroes; embassies, debates, and parleys before the decisive battle; the involvement of deities and related mythological digressions; descriptions of weapons and battle tactics; and taunts and the issuing of challenges. Religious episodes, such as legends of saints and the description of pilgrimage sites, occur frequently.
In some of its sections, such as one narrating a great cattle raid, the Mahābhārata describes a culture like that of other archaic Indo-Europeans—nomadic cattle herders. However, the text also refers to city-dwellers and slash-and-burn agriculturalists. The poem’s complex overlay of diverse features has led historical scholars to posit a composite authorship, stretching over centuries and carried out in different locales. Such a theory would account for the many long sections that interrupt the story with religious and philosophical teachings, most notably the Śānti Parvan (first or second century c.e.), more than 15,000 stanzas in length. These didactic sections, however, are filled with narratives, anecdotes, and parables meant to illustrate the teachings. This is a traditional mode of religious instruction in India—a mixture of storytelling and sermon.
Krishna (Kṛṣṇa) figures both as a human player in the epic, the friend of the great hero Arjuna, and as an important deity. It is Krishna who relates the most famous episode of the Mahābhārata, the Bhagavadgītā (c. 200 b.c.e. -200 c.e.; The Bhagavad Gita, 1785).
Bibliography
Brockington, John. The Sanskrit Epics. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1998.
Buitenen, J. A. B. van, trans. The Mahābhārata. 3 vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973-1978.
Hiltebeitel, Alf. Rethinking India’s Oral and Classical Epics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999.
Sharma, Arvind, ed. Essays on the Mahābhārata. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1991.