THE MAHABHARATA
A CRITICISM.
BY
C. V. VAIDYA, M.A., LL.B,
Honorary Fellow of the University of Bombay.
A. J. COM BRIDGE & CO.
BOMBAY.
1905
CONTENTS.
BOOK ITHE MAHABHARATA AS A POEM.
PAGE
CHAPTER I THE THREE EDITIONS OF THE BOOK . i
,, II VYASA, VAISHAMPAYANA AND SAUTI . 9
,, III WHEN AND WHY THE BHARATA WAS
RECAST 13
,, IV How THE MAHABHARATA ATTAINED TO
ITS PRESENT BULK . . . .22
,, _J/ THE VAISHNAVITE ELEMENT IN THE
MAHABHARATA ..... 37
,, VI MAHABHARATA AS AN EPIC POEM . . 47
BOOK II THE MAHABHARATA AS A HISTORY.
CHAPTER I -Tni5 DATE OF THE MAHABHARATA WAR 65
,, II -WKRK THE PANDAVAS REAL BEINGS? . 93
HI TIIK ANCESTORS OF THK PANDAVAS . 105
M IV THEIR BIRTH, EARLY LIFE AND MARRIAGE
WITH DRAUPADI. . . . .in
,, V THE FOUNDING OF INDRAPRASTIIA OR
DEHLI ANO ITS FIRST IMPERIAL ASSEM-
BLAGE* 124
,, -VI THE DISGRACEFUL GAME AT DICE AND
ITS CONSEQUENCES . . . . 133
M VII THE TWELVE YEARS OF EXILE AND ONE
YEAR OF DISAPPEARANCE . . .139
,, VI II- PREPARATIONS FOR WAR . . 147
IXTHK FIGHT 155
X -THE TRIUMPH TURNED INTO A DISASTER. 169
XI -THE SEQUEL , 177
CONTENTS.
APPENDIX.
NOTE No. I THE EXTENT OF THE MAHABHARATA.
,, ,, II THE SUB-PARVAS ....
,, III KUTA SHLOKAS ....
?j ?j IV ADDITIONS SUBSEQUENTLY MADE TO
THE BHARATA . . . * .
V EXPLANATION OF THE DOUBLE POSI-
TIONS OF THE PLANETS MENTIONED
IN THE MAHABHARATA
,, ,, VI JANMEJAYA'S BRAHMA-HATYA ,
PREFACE.
A CRITICAL study of the Mahabharata and the
Rajnayana, in conjunction with other works
bearing on the subject, has suggested to me
several new ideas about them which I propose to
place before the public in three instalments. The
present volume contains my views on the Maha-
bharata, considered from the literary and historical
stand-points. If the views published in this
volume impress the public favourably, I may be
encouraged to publish a second volume giving my
views on the Ramayana from the same stand-
points. In a third volume I intend to take a
survey of the social, religious and intellectual con-
ditions of the Aryans of India between 3000 *and
300 B.C, as evidenced by these venerable epics.
"Sankshipta Mahabharata" or " Mahabharata;
abridged/' a book recently published by me. if read
along with this book, will be found to contain most
of the original Shlokas of the Mahabharata on
which this criticism is based.
Owing to the haste with which this JDook
was carried through the press, some errors of
vi PREFACE.
spelling have crept in, especially with regard to
Sanskrit words, the spelling of which does not often
conform to the now generally adopted rules of
writing Sanskrit words in English characters. I
hope the indulgent reader will overlook such
inaccuracies.
It is just possible that some of my readers may
have facts or arguments to advance againsMhe
views propounded in this book views which at
present seem to be unshakeable. If therefore any
of my readers wish to communicate with me in
addition to, or instead of, criticising the work
in the press, such communications should be
addressed to me, to the care of Mr. Yande,
Manager of the Induprakash Press, to whom my
thanks are due for the interest he took in the
publication of this volume.
C. V. VAIDYA.
BOMBAY, December 1904.
THE MAHABHARATA
AS A POEM.
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THE IAHABHARATA AS A POEHL
CHAPTER I.
THE THREE EDITIONS OF THE WORK.
THAT the Mahabharata in Its present form is the second
amplification of an orginally much smaller work, nobody
can consistently deny. We have the authority of the
Mahabharata itself for the statement that Vyasa, the
author of the original work, taught it to five pupils, one
of whom was Vaishampayana. Vaishampayana recited
the poem before king Janmejaya at the time of theSarpa-
satra (serpent sacrifice), performed by him. Now in the
Mahabharata, as we have it, there are several questions
asked by Janmejaya, and Vaishampayana: gives suitable
answers. How can these questions and answers have
formed part of the original epic composed by Vyasa ?
I We must hold that Vaishampayana, or some one who
I heard the recitation and the dialogue, amplified the
I original work. Then, again, this amplified Bharata was
I recited by Sauti before Shaunaka at his twelve years'
sacrifice, and certain questions are asked by Shaunaka
and answered by Sauti, These cannot have formed part
either of the original work or the amplified edition of
Vaishampayana. We are, therefore, compelled to admit
that Sauti, or some one else who heard his recitation,
amplified the original work a second time.
The Mahdbharata : A Criticism.
2
These three editions, if we may so call them, can
further be proved by various other statements still pre-
served in the Mahabharata itself, either by oversight or
owing to absence of motive to expunge them. We
have thus the statement that the work is supposed to
have three beginnings. Some believe, it is said, that
the Mahabharata begins with Uparichara, others with
Astika, and others still with the word Manu. 1 Different
lengths are also assigned to the work, and different
divisions are also mentioned, and even different names
can be easily discovered. We shall see how these
different names, divisions and lengths can well be ex-
plained on the theory that there were two amplifications
of the original work.
7 he Original Work.Tnv original epic was probably
in its nature a history and not a didactic work. It is
specially called an Itihasa or history, and the name
which Vyasa g^ve to this history was Jaya or " Tri-
umph'*. 2 The very first invocation verse contains a
mention of this name "Tato jayamudirayet." We have
the same name again given to the work in the last Parva
alss. The length of this historical poem of Vyasa
canjiot be ascertained with any exactness, though it is
probable that it must have been a long one even then,
considering the ambitious scheme of the author, the
importance and the grandeur of the events described,
and the facility with which Anushtub shlokas can
be composed by a gifted author. MacDonell remarks
1 Manvadi Bharatam kechidastikadi tathaparc.
Tathoparicharadyanye viprah samyn#adhiy:ite~Adi, n-^a*
2 Jayo nametihasoyam. Swargarohana Parva*
The Three Editions of the Work. 3
that the length of the original poem of Vyasa is men-
tioned as 8,800 shlokas. This is in our opinion not
true, and for this remark, perhaps, a foot-note in Weber 1
is responsible. This figure 2 is given in the Mahabharata,
as the number of Kuta shlokas or riddles, of which we
shall have to speak hereafter, and not as the number of
shlokas in the original Mahabharara itself. It is men-
tioned in the Mahabharata that the industrious Krishna-
dwaigayana or Vyasa composed his poem in three years,
working day and night. It would be natural to expect
that Vyasa would begin his work with an account of
himself, and the idea that Bharata really begins with
Uparichara seems very justifiable indeed. In the
chapter preceding the 63rd Chapter which begins with
u Rajoparicharo nama," a praise of the Mahabharata
and some facts about its composition are given by Vai-
shampayana which clearly shows that these 62 chapters in
the Adi Parva are later additions made by either Vai-
shampayana or Sauti. This does not mean that the work
subsequent to Chapter 62 is in the words of Vyasa
himself.. For, it seems probable that the whole has
been so overhauled that it is impossible now to point
to any portion of the succeeding work as the composition
of the original author himself.
The Second Edition. We now come to the second
edition, w#., the edition of Vaishampayana, who^shas
been stated before, was Vyasa's own pupil and was
1 Foot-note 206, Weber, page 187. The same statement is
given by Mr, Dutt.
a Ashtau shloka sahasrani ashtau shloka sbatanicha
Aham vedmi shuko vetti Sanjayo vetti va na va. Adi. 81-3.
I 4 TheMahabharata:A Criticism.
taught the Bharata along with four others, viz., Sumantu,
Jaimini, Pailaand Shuka, the son of Vyasa. There is
a statement in the Bharata itself that each one of these
five pupils published a different edition of the Bharata.
This is an express authority for us to hold that Vai~
shampayana almost recast the whole, and brought out his
own version. That version is the only one now preserved
to us, though we have one doubtful Ashwamedha Parva
under the name of Jaimini. It seems, however, probable
, I that five different versions were really extant in the clays
n of Ashwalayana who has enumerated all these five
,'i Rishis as Bharatacharyas or the editors of Bharata.
j This also shows that Vaishampayana and his co-pupils'
i; works first came to be called Bharata. The extent of
L Vaishampayana's Bharata appears to have been 24,000
' j verses ; for, there is a shloka in the Mahabharata that*
;| Vyasa composed Bharata Samhita (this word is im-
j portant) of that extent, and that work without its Upa~
I khyanas is called Bharata. In this Bharata there was
; a summary chapter at the beginning, covering 150
|j shlokas, in which the number of chapters and the Parvas
;\ w r ere r also mentioned. Vaishampayana would naturally
M begin his version with an account of Janmcjaya, and his
Jt Sarpasatra, where he recited his poem, and thus we have
'fj , r " tne second beginning assigned to the Mahabharata, wk,
i with the Astikopakhyana.
{ ! The Third Edition. We lastly come to the third
edition of Sauti. That Sauti did recast or elaborate
the work of Vaishampayana can be proved from his
own lips. "Know ye, Rishis/ 1 says he, " I have
recited the Bharata in one hundred thousand shlokas;
The Three Editions of the Work. 5
Vaishampayana being the first reciter in this human
world." T This is a clear admission by Sauti of having
recited the work of Vaishampayana in one lac of shlokas.
The chapters which precede the Astika story cannot
have formed part of Vaisham pay ana's book, and thus we
have the third beginning- assigned to the Mahabharata,
mz., with the word Manu, B as properly applicable to Sauti's
edition. This edition has come down to us nearly in
the fom which Sauti gave to it. For anticipating* the
modern idea of an edition, Sauti has added to his work
a preface, an introduction and a table of contents. It
thus assumed almost a fixed form. The present Maha-
bharata, in fact, contains about a thousand less shlokas
than the number given by Sauti (96,836, see Appendix
No. i), though additional shlokas and chapters are found
here and there. The commentator generally notkes the
excess, if any, at the end of a Parva, and strangely
enough, ascribes it to the mistake of writers. Such
shlokas and chapters in excess are chiefly to be found
in the Adi and the Drona Parvas.s
In addition to the preface in which Sauti gives the
occasion when, and the place where this recast l^fafya-
bharata was recited, Sauti gives us an introduction,
giving a summary, as it were, of the long story by the
mouth of Dhritarashtra. The 69 shlokas, all beginning
1 Asminslu manushc lokc Vaishampayana uktavan *
Ekam shatasahasramtu mayoktam vai nibodhata. Adi. 1-107.
y There is no shloka beginning- with Manu in the Adi Parva, but
the commentator takes it as identical with Vaivaswat.- Adi. i.
a For instance, at the end of Adi Parva the commentator says
that there are 237 chapters in the Parva instead of 5527, mentioned
by Vyasa.
* I
' I
6 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
with " Yadashrausham, " to be found in the first chapter,
cannot have formed part of the original introduction,
and being- in long metre, are evidently an addition
made by Sauti. This is, however, a very ingenious
way of summarising a story from the mouth of one of
the actors themselves. There was a short summary of
the Bharata given by Vaishampayana, as has already
been remarked, but that chapter was only in 150 shlokas,
while the present chapter exceeds by many sUlokas,,
and this is a further proof of the whole chapter having
nearly been recast by Sauti.
Sauti probably gave the work the name of Maha-
bharata first. Bharata and Mahabharata arc names
separately mentioned by Ashwalayana, and we arc not
stretching our guess too far when we assign the name of
Bharata to the work of Vaishampayana, and appropriate
the latter name to Sauti's voluminous edition. For,
Sauti himself has said that the name Mahabharafa was
given to the work owing to its greatness and its weight*
Weber again has pointed out that the name Maha-
bharata occurs in Panini, but with an entirely different
signification (viz., a great Bharata warrior). As Panini
mentions Yudhishthira and other names familiar to the
Bharata story, we have another proof in support of the
idea that the name Mahabharata, as applied to the poem,
had r^o existence in the days of Panini.
Sauti adopted a new division for this now bulky poem,
and divided it into 18 Parvas. Another division is
mentioned in the Mahabharata itself, which has the
same name of Parva, though the number is greater.
1 Mahatvatbharatatvachcha Mahabhamtamuchyate,
The Three Editions of the Work. 7
It is impossible that these two divisions could have
been made at one and the same time, and by one and
the same author ; for, in that case, the greater and
smaller divisions would certainly have been called by
different names. For example, if a work is divided into
books, the sub-divisions of the latter cannot be called by
the same name of books, but will have to be styled
chapters or sections. We should, at least, expect that
the w.ord " smaller" would be attached to the sub-
divisions. This clearly shows that Vaishampayana's
work was not divided into 18 Parvas, but into a large
number of smaller divisions, which were called Parvas
by him. Sauti adopted a larger and more suitable
division, but retained the same name of Parva. We
have thus sometimes the absurdity of a sub-Parva having
the same name as the big Parva, e.g., there is a Sauptika
Parva under the big Sauptika Parva, a Sabha Parva
under the bigger Sabha Parva. These Parvas are again
subdivided into Adhyayas or chapters. Vyasa's origi-
nal work was presumably divided into Parvas and
Adhyayas also, but the number of Parvas was most
likely less than 100, the number assigned to Vaisham-
payana's edition. As usual, we have strong confirmation
of this view in the Mahabharata itself. In Chapter II,
Adi Parva, where the hundred Parvas are given, we are
told that the Harivamsha 1 is a Khila Parva, i.e., a Parva
bdtrowed from another place. The HarivamsTba, it
follows, did not form part of Vyasa's work, and was
brought in by Vaishampayana. No doubt, the story of
1 Hanvanishastatah parva puranam khila samjnitam
Etatparva shatam purnam Vyasenoktam mabatmana.
8 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
the Mahabharata war does not look complete without a
Parva giving the life and exploits of Shri Krishna, in
the same way as. the story of the Ramayana would not
have been complete without an account of Ravana's life
and exploits; and the Harivamsha stands to the
Bharata in the same relation as the Uttarkanda stands
to the Ramayana. Harivamsha, contrary to the Uttar-
kanda, however, is usually left out of the Mahabharata,
which stands by itself and ends as if nothing is tojfollow
it. The hundred Parvas of Vaishampayana, still retained
n the Mahabharata, are given in the appendix. The
number of Parvas, as they are enumerated in the Adi
Parva, Chapter I, certainly exceeds one hundred, and
this is itself sufficient to show that the Bharata of
Vaishampayana was amplified by Sauti. These hundred
Parvas Sauti put together in 18, as he himself admits.
For, he says, " these hundred Parvas " were composed
by Vysa, but thereafter Lomaharshani, the son of Suta,
recited 18 Parvas only in the Naimisharanya.
To summarise the above, the present Mahabharata is,
as it were, a redaction of Vyasa's historical poem called
" Triumph" edited by Vaishampayana as Bharata, and
reprinted or reissued by Sauti, with notes and additions,
and with an introduction and a table of contents prefixed
to it. . We shall now pass on to discuss whether these
reputed authors were real beings.
CHAPTER II.
VYASA, VAISHAMPA.YANA AND SAUTI.
THE author of the original epic is generally believed
to be.Vyas, whose personality is doubted by many.
Now we have already seen that the final redaction was
made by Sauti, and not by Vyasa. There is, more-
over, no reason why a general tradition should not be
believed if it is not absurd or impossible in itself, or is
not disproved by contradictory cogent arguments.
Vyasa is believed to have arranged the Vedas, 1 and not
the Mahabharata. That there was really a Rishi by
name Vyasa Parasharya we find from the Black Yajuh
Kathaka. What part he took in the events of the Maha-
bharata, and when he lived, we shall discuss later 'on.
But there is no reason to doubt that he wrote a history of
the war between the Kurus and the Panchalas from per-
sonal knowledge. The work evidently bears the impress
of a narration by one who had an intimate acquaintance
with the events it describes. Characters and people are
described with a vivacity and truthfulness which can
only belong to the evidence of an eye-witness. Names,
such as Srinjayas, are often mentioned without any in-
troduction or description, much in the way of a contem-
porary narrator who is never struck with the necessity
of such an introduction or description. It is generally
1 Vedam vivyasa yasxnattu Vyasa ityabhidheeyate.
10
The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
,,( admitted that the actors in the Mahabharata strike us
I' as real living beings. This is so, it will be admitted,
\ because there is a nucleus in the poem which is the
I composition of one who knows, and not of one who
\ imagines. Nay you sometimes come across state-
I ments of facts and sentiments which, like fossils not
yet obliterated, give a clue to a real by-gone age.
In short, we think, that there is ample ground to be-
lieve that there was an original author, who wrote from
personal knowledge, and that there is no harm in be-
lieving that that author was Vyasa Parasharya.
Vaishampayana is represented as a pupil of Vyasa.
Looking to the tradition that he recited his poern before
Janmejaya, the great-grandson of Arjuna, Vyasa's con-
temporary, this relation does not seem impossible.
That he was a real person may also be granted from
the fact that his name is mentioned as an Acharya of
Bharata by Ashwalayana. The evidence of language
also is very important in this connection. Although
the language of the whole Mahabharata strikes us as
old, and differs distinctly from classical Sanskrit, within
thp Mahabharata itself there are certain portions the
language of which looks more ancient than that of
others. It is deep, sonorous and weighty in its very
simplicity. Its grammar and construction are archaic.
It strikes us as the language of an adept using a spoken
tongue. We may instance the Bhagwat Gita, which,
if not the composition of Vyasa, must, at least, be that
of Vaishampayana, whose date, from the evidence of
language, must not have been very distant from the
date of the Upanishadas.
Vyasa, Vaishampayana and Sauti. n
We now come to Sauti, the last reciter of Mahabharata,
His personality is not so clear as that of Vishampayana
or Vyasa. He is sometimes styled in the Mahabharata
itself as Suta only, and not the son of Suta. His name
is given as Ugrashrava, the son of Lomaharshana.
He is sometimes styled a Puranik, i.e., a reciter of
Puranas. Strangely enough, in the Mahabharata there
are two places where he is said to have come to Shaunak.
In the very beginning of the poem we are told (the
first sentence of the Mahabharata in prose) that Sauti
Ugrashrava, son of Lomaharshana, came to Shaunak
Kulapati while he was engaged in a twelve years'
sacrifice. Being asked whence he came, he said he
came from the Sarpa-satra (serpent sacrifice) of Janme-
jaya where he heard various stories from the Maha-
bharata, composed by Vyasa and related by Vaisham-
payana, and then he first went to see Kurukshetra or
Syamanta Panchaka where the great battle was fought.
At the beginning of Chapter IV, Adi Parva, we have
the same sentence in prose again, and the story begins
as if the previous 3 Adhyayas were not there. Shaunak
here does not ask Sauti whence he came, but w s^ys
"Your father learned the whole Purana formerly.
Have you learned the same? If so, tell us the legend
of the family of Bhrigus." Hereafter come the words
" Suta uwacha, and not Sauti uwacha." This dj> es nbt
make Suta a contemporary of Vaishampayana, but re-
presents him merely as one who has studied the
Puranas.
The commentator has seen the absurdity of these
two beginnings, mz.> of Chapter I and of Chapter *IV,
, I2 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
and gives the usual explanation based on the supposi-
tion of two Sutas belonging to different Kalpas. Per-
haps, there were actually two persons who laboured
at the recasting of the Mahabharata into its present
voluminous form, and they may have been related to
each other as father and son. They were Puraniks
or persons whose occupation it is to recite the Puranas.
The commentator represents them as Brahmins, though
the word Suta means a person born of a Brakmana
woman from a Kshatriya. Probably the Sutas by caste
followed the occupation of learning the Puranas or old
stories by heart, and like the Bhatas of the present day
rose in the estimation of the people. Sauti and his
father were generally helped by their Puranik lore when
recasting the Bharata into its present shape. When
this recasting took place and with what purpose, we
shall presently see.
CHAPTER III.
WHEN AND WHY THE BHARATA WAS RECAST.
WEBER observes: "The first evidence of the existence
of an epic with the contents of the Mahabharata comes
to us from Rhetor Dion Chrysostom who flourished in
the second half of the first century A.D. Since Megas-
thenes says nothing of this epic, it is not an improbable
hypothesis that its origin is to be placed between
Megasthenes and Chrysostom." Weber, the only ble-
mish of whose deep and really wonderful research is a
kind of bias, has here forgotten that we have not the
work of Megasthenes before us. That most valuable
book has been lost. It is only from fragments of it
quoted by others that we get some information about
India as it was in 300 B.C. But even these fragments
mention, as observed .by Weber himself, a Herackles
and a Pandia, who can be identified as Krishna anci His
sister. It thus appears clear that the Pandava legend
was well known even in the days of Megasthenes (we
shall return to this topic in the second book). It cannot,
therefore, be believed with Weber that the origin 1>f the
Mahabharata is to be placed between 300 B.C. and 50
A.D. This is a very short period indeed for its birth
as well as for its growth to such an enormous volume. It
seems, however, probable that the last recasting
14 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
Mahabharata by Sauti into its present shape took place
between these dates. We have, on the one hand, the
direct evidence of Dion Chrysostom that the Maha-
bharata, with its one lac of verses, was well known
even in the south of India in 50 A.D. Various argu-
ments, on the other hand, can be adduced to prove that
the Mahabharata in its present shape cannot be placed
earlier than 300 B.C. The first and the foremost among
them is the fact that the Yavanas are frequently men-
tioned in the Mahabharata as a very powerful people.
The Indians came into contact with the Yavanas or the
Greeks, for the first time, in the days of Alexander, and
their connection lasted from that time to about the
beginning of the Christian Era. They often defeated the
Indians in battle, though they were eventually driven
out of India. The following shloka (one amongst
many) shows how the Mahabharata looked upon the
Yavanas admiringly :
Na shahsaka vashi kartum yam Pandurapi viryavan
Sorjunena vasham nito rajasidyavanadhipah.
"The king of the Yavanas, whom even the powerful
Pandu could not subdue, was- reduced to subjection
by Arjuna."
Again we have the mention of a Nagna Kshapanaka
(naked Jain) in the Paushya Akhyana in the Adi Parva.
The origin of Jainism is usually believed to have been
laid Sy MaKabira about 500 B.C., i.e., about the same
time as Buddhism. The Mahabharata does not directly
refer to Buddhism or to any of its votaries. But this
is not an argument to put it before Buddhism. Dis-
cussions and discourses in the nature of Buddhistic
When and why the Bharata was recast. 15
controversies are hinted at in the Mokshadharma section
of the Shanti Parva. Buddhism and Jainism had assumed
an offensive appearance, and were threatening to be
powerful rivals of the orthodox Aryan religion, and it
may be assumed that, while no direct mention is made
of Buddha or his tenets, the recasting of the Bharata
was due to this very growing evil. At that time Brah-
min teachers probably thought it necessary to bring
together, en masse all the floating materials, for the
preaching of their religion, into one focus, and hence we
have the spectacle of a vast didactic work raised on the
foundation of the legend of the Bharata war. Here we
find the clue to the fact that the Mahabharata is constant-
ly preaching Dharma and the sanctity of its exponents.
Dharma and its preachers, the Brahmanas, appear to
have been in danger, and adherence to Dharrna and
obedience to Brahmanas is constantly insisted upon
throughout the Mahabharata. This is, in our opinion,
the most probable reason why we find an epic, the
Baharata of Vaishampayana or Vyasa, turned into a
Dharma Grantha, a Smriti as it is believed to be, a vast
didactic work embracing all the departments of the
Aryan religion and morals as they were in the dayS of"
Megasthenes.
It may, perhaps, be urged that the shlokas contain-
ing a reference to the Yavanas and the Shakas may have
been introduced after 300 B.C. while the rest of the pt>em
may have been reconstructed at an earlier date. If any
confirmation, however, of what has been urged above,
is needed, the state of society, religion and knowledge,
depicted generally in the Mahabharata, corresponds
1 6 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
very closely with what has been described about India
by Megasthenes. We find the castes almost exclusive ;
flesh-eating, though still practised, going out of fashion ;
Shiva and Vishnu-worship fully established. The
geographical knowledge of the whole country had been
acquired, and the Mahabharata locates the people of
India much in the same way in which Greek geogra-
phers have located them. Curiously enough, a people
who cover themselves with their ears, are mentioned
in the Mahabharata, and this absurdity of nature is
spoken of and believed in by Megasthenes. Grammar,
Logic and Vedanta were already formulated and
studied. We shall discuss this subject in detail in
a separate book, but it is sufficient here to remark
that the present Mahabharata discloses a state of things
which cannot have been earlier than the days of Megas-
thenes.
Astronomy furnishes us with still more definite data
in this connection. In fact, the progress in the develop-
ment of astronomical knowledge, disclosed by the
Mahabharata, shows us the different stages through
which the work must have passed. We have thus in
ttie * Mahabharata the Nakshatras or constellations
beginning with Krittikas, a system which must have
been introduced thousands of years ago (as we shall
show later on) and which reminds us of the time when
VyaSk must have composed the original epic. We
have again a reference to the time when the winter
solstice took place in Dhanishtha, as mentioned in the
Vedanga Jyotisha, whose date Dixit calculates on this
b^sis at about 1400 B.C. We have further still a
When and ivhy the Bharata *was recast. 17
reference to the time .when the winter solstice fell in
Shravana, and the Nakshatras were counted as begin-
ning with that constellation. This new arrangement is
mentioned as having been introduced by Vishwamitra,
" who created another world of his own, and made the
Nakshatras begin with Shravana," Adi Parva, Chapter
71. The same beginning is referred to in the Ashwa-
medha Parva, Chapter 44. This must have been the
case according to Dixit's calculation about 450 B.C.
The receding of the winter solstice is due, as those
who are conversant with astronomy are well aware, to
the precession of the equinoxes, and furnishes with very
reliable data in fixing the limits, if not an actual date.
The present Mahabharata thus, which contains a refer-
ence to the Shravana beginning of the Nakshatras,
cannot be earlier than 450 B.C. (see Dixit's History of
Indian Astronomy, p. 14).
Dixit's very valuable work called "The History of
Indian Astronomy," referred to herein, has unfortu-
nately not yet been translated into English. Dixit's
deep researches in this subject, and his conclusions, are
generally unbiased and worthy of respectful considera^
tion. In one point, however, he seems to have*bdfen
misled, and we have to refer to it because it is relevant to
the inquiry now before us. It is admitted by all, and by
Dixit also, that the Mahabharata, as it is at present,
makes no mention whatever of the Rashis (the division
of the ecliptic into twelve houses) and of the Varas (week
days). Dixit believes that the Rashis were invented
by Indian astronomers about 425 B.C. (p. 139, Dixit's
work). It seems, however, very probable that Dixit Jhas
iS The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
wrongly assigned this date to this event in order that it
may not be possible to contend that the Rashis were
borrowed from the Greeks, with whom India came into
contact in 323 B.C., for the first time, and whose con-
nection with this country lasted for about three centuries.
How far Indian astronomy is indebted to the Greeks, is
a subject on which much has been written on both sides.
This much cannot, however, be denied that Indian
astronomy derived a fresh impetus and received a new
direction from its contact with Greek astronomy. All
the Siddhantas, which give methods for calculating the
exact positions of the planets, date subsequent to 300
B.C., as Dixit himself has admitted. Now these
methods are based on the division of the ecliptic into
Rashis and degrees, and not on the division of the
ecliptic into Nakshatras hitherto prevalent in India. The
conclusion is thus very strong that the Rashis must have
been borrowed from the Greeks. Dixit in denying this
conclusion relies on two arguments chiefly. (P. 515-16.)
He says that the Rashis have Sanskrit names, and
secondly, that as Aries or Mesha is made to begin with
the constellation Ashwini, this connection must have been
established, according to his calculation, about 471 B.C.
Now Dixit has forgotten to notice the fact that the
Sanskrit names of the Rashis are the exact equivalents
of their Greek names. The figures (the Ram, the Bull,
&c.) which are supposed to be formed by the constella-
tions (Ashwini, Sec.) are all imaginary ones, a fact also
admitted by Dixit himself. How can it be possible,
then, that two nations independently imagined the same
figures ? The names of the Rashis, though in Sanskrit,
When and 'why the Blwrata 'was recast. 19*
to our mind are an argument in favour of their Greek
origin rather than against it. Nay, Greek names of the
Rashis were known to the Indian astronomers and are
often used by them as equivalent of the Sanskrit names.
The other argument also is not of any avail. The only
thing that it proves, is that the Rashis cannot have
been introduced in India earlier than 475 B.C. But
they may have been and were actually introduced later.
For, no Indian astronomer has taken the first point of
Aries as coincident with Batarius, the first star in the
Ashwini constellation. On the contrary, the Surya
Siddhanta gives the first point of Aries at eight degrees
behind this star. Taking 72 years as the period taken
by the equinoxes to recede one degree, this shows that
the Surya Siddhanta speaks of a time about 576 years
later, i.e., 100 A.D. There is even now a difference of
opinion among the Indian astronomers of about four
degrees with regard to the exact position of this first
point. We can only say that the Rashis were introduced
into India when the Vernal equinox was somewhere
between the Ashwini and the Rewati stars, a very wide
period extending frorn 475 B.C. to about 100 A.D. It
seems, however, very probable that the Rashis *\vd!*e
introduced in India about 200 B.C., the date Dixit
assigns to the oldest Indian Siddhanta (now lost of
course) which uses them.
We have some further evidence to show tfrat the
Rashis were introduced about this time and not about
450 B.C. The old method of referring to time by the
position of the moon among the constellations which
we see in use even in the Mahabharata as it is, is also
20 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
used by the Buddhistic scriptures, the Tripitakas. So
far as we have gone through them there is no mention
of the Rashis in any of them. The same time-honoured
Nakshatras are used for calculating time, and the conclu-
sion forces itself upon our mind that the Rashis were not
in vogue in India in the days of Ashoka or at the latest
in the first council of Buddhism where these Tripitakas
were formulated. It seems therefore certain that the
Rashis were borrowed by us about 200 B.C. frpm the
Greeks who had invaded India long ago and whose
connection was already threatening to be permanent.
As the present Mahabharata mentions the Yavanas
admiringly, but does not anywhere mention the Rashis,
one is justified in holding that it was recast into its
present shape some time between 300 and 200 B.C.
We cannot leave this subject without discussing one
more reference in the Mahabharata of an astronomical
character. In the Saraswati Akhyana in the Gada
Parva a Vriddha or old Garga is mentioned, who, having
purified his soul by austerities on the banks of the
Saraswati, obtained knowledge of time and also its
march of the cross motions of planets and of good and evil
orfieri^. Now an astronomer by name Garga Parashara
is spoken of by Panini whose date is generally fixed at
about 500 B.C. But since this Garga is called Vriddha
or old, it might be supposed that a younger Garga had
come Into fame at the time when the Mahabharata was
recast. The date of this Garga some fix at 145 B.C.
from a reference in this work to the investment of Saketa
by the Greeks under Menander. If this is so, then the
recasting of the Mahabharata would appear to have
When and why the Bharata ivas recast. 21
taken place at about 140 B.C., or at the latest before roo
B.C. Garga's work, it seems, makes no mention of
the Rashis, and the introduction of the Rashis must also
be brought down to about after this date. If we take all
the evidence heretofore detailed into consideration we
may conclude generally that the Mahabharata assumed
its present form between three to one hundred B.C.
CHAPTER IV.
How THE MAHABHARATA ATTAINED TO ITS
PRESENT BULK.
f
I HAVING so far discussed when and why the Maha-
\ bharata was extended, we shall now proceed to discuss
how it attained to its present bulk. An inquiry of this
, kind must necessarily be a task both difficult and delicate.
Strong proof cannot be expected on a subject like this, and
the suggestion that a particular chapter or story in the
Mahabharata is a subsequent addition would always
be distasteful and exasperating to the ear of a Hindu.
But I think a criticism on the great epic cannot well
be complete without an inquiry of this kind, and certain
1 well-defined inferences naturally suggest themselves to
one who studies the epic carefully inferences which
I tfrHh not ca P a ble of being substantiated by irrefutable
( proof have still the probabilities in their favour. We
1, shall therefore proceed to state such inferences in this
i chapter.
I Legendary Store. The first and the foremost reason
., by which the Mahabharata appears to have been
extended is the ambition of Sauti, the last editor, to
'I make it an all-embracing repository of legendary lore.
'! In fact, he begins the Mahabharata with the assertion
""Whatever is to be found here will be found elsewhere
How the Mahabharata Attained to its Present Bulk. 23
and what is not here will not be found elsewhere too. "
It thus seems probable that all the floating smaller
legends (or Akhyanas) and historical stories (or Itihasas)
which existed independently of the Bharata were brought
in by Sauti so that they might not be lost or that they
might be found together. It was as if a collection of
old Aryan legends in a slightly modified form made
for the purpose of invigorating the current cries of
Aryanism, confronted as it was by Buddhism which
was not slow in developing a legendary store of its own
by fashioning older legends to suit its doctrines. It
does not appear, however, nor is it contended that the
Akhyanas and Upakhyanas, thus brought in, were all
new inventions of the imagination. On the contrary it
is very probable that they were older national legends
which had independent existence in the form of Gathas,
Itihasas and Puranas. They were nevertheless inter-
polations in the Mahabharata, that is to say, they did
not form part of the original Bharata of Vaishampayana
or Vyasa, and their interpolated nature can well be dis-
cerned as one reads the epic. In fact, the Mahabharata
itself states that the Bharata was in 24,000 verses jgrigi-
nally and that Bharata meant the Mahabharata without
the accessory legends (Upakhyanas). Nobody has
found, nor has it been anywhere stated, which these
Upakhyanas are, and which are the original 24,000
Shlokas. Such a statement can only be explained on
the admission that there was a Bharata of 24,000 Shlokas
before the Upakhyanas were added by some person later
on. We shall now give some glaring examples of these
subsequently [added Upakhyanas.
24 The Mahcibharata : A Criticism.
A very typical instance of this kind of interpolation
in the Saraswati Upakhyana is the Gadaparva. Herein
is given an account of the Saraswati river, its rise, the
o
tracts it flows through, the Tirthas or holy places on its
banks, and their glory. It is undoubted that this is not an
imaginary account and that it is an old legend perhaps
as old as when the Saraswati was an actual river and
not an imaginary bed as it now is. But all the Same it
is an interpolation here which does not fit in^ The
story of the war has reached its highest interest, the
fates of the contending parties, after all the terrible
loss of life, is still trembling in the balance and is
about to be decided by the uncertain result of a duel
between Duryodhana and Bhima, two great athletes*
Balrama arrives from his pilgrimage and is hailed by
both parties and asked to be a spectator. Janmejaya
interrupts the story at this point and asks what were
the Tirthas which Balrama visited and what was their
greatness, and there is thus a digression of many
chapters and many hundreds of Shlokas. One is almost
. exasperated at this inopportune digression, and it is cer-
tainly a very unpoetic one, of wbich neither Vyasa nor
Vaishampayana would have been capable. The Saras-
wati Upakhyana has on the face of it been clumsily
interpolated by Sauti, who took advantage of the mere
mention of the name of the Yatra from which Balrama
had returned to introduce it. Nay, there is even an inde-
pendent proof of its being an interpolation. It is in this
Adhyaya that many personages, whose date must be
supposed to be later than that of Vyasa or Vaisham-
payana, such as Vriddha Garga or Shakalya and j others
How the Mahabharata Attained to its Present Bulk. 25
are mentioned. Another instance of the same sort, though
less glaring, is that of the Ramopakhyana in the Vana
Parva. DraupadPs being carried away by Jayadratha,
and being subsequently rescued and brought back, affords
Sauti an occasion to introduce the story of Rama. The
Upakhyana is an extensive one, perhaps the longest in
the whole Mahabharata. It strikes the reader, however,
as an abstract of another work which must have existed
prior to it. The story is no doubt given in the words of
Sauti himself whose language has a charm of its own.
But that it is an interpolation is very probable from its
very length. For no sensible author would give in his
own work an extensive abstract of the work of another
extending over 750 Shlokas.
Of Knowledge. Sauti not only intended to make the
Mahabharata a depository of learning, but also of know-
ledge. An instance of this is afforded by the Jambukhanda
and the Bhukhanda sections in the Bheeshmaparva.
The author is about to begin an account of the actual
fighting in the great war, and Dhritarashtra most unpoeti-
cally asks Sanjaya the question what is the earth for
which so many people are about to fight and whatsis its
extent, and we have a geographical treatise, as it were,
interpolated giving the geography of the whole world
and of the Jambudwipa particularly. The description
given of the universe is the usual orthodox one, perhaps
prevalent in India from many centuries. But that it is
an interpolation here may easily be gathered from the
break in the context. At the end of Chapter 12 of the
Bheeshmaparva where the Bhumikhanda ends, we have
Dhritarashtra and Sanjaya talking to each other. The
js6 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
next chapter begins as follows : " Thereafter Sanjaya,
having returned from the battlefield after seeing every-
thing with his own eyes, told Dhritarashtra that
Bheeshma was dead/' This chapter should properly
have been the beginning of the Bheeshmaparva and if
not the first, it should at least have been the second.
For it is nowhere stated when Sanjaya went to the battle-
field and when this dialogue betweenSan jay a and Dhrita-
rashtra about the extentof the world took place. Another
.similar instance, though not so clear, is where Narada
an the beginning of the Sabhaparva asks Yudhishthira
how he governs his kingdom. Here we have the whole
.science of political government, as it was then under-
stood, given in the form of questions. Here we have a
picture of a well-governed kingdom as it was conceived
about the time of Alexander's conquest. For this science
cannot have attained to such a perfection as is depicted in
this chapter in days so old as the Mahabharata war.
Of Moral and Religious Teaching. That the Maha-
bharata was made a vehicle of moral and religious
o
instruction is so apparent that it hardly requires any
proo In fact the work has almost lost its character
as an epic poem and has become, and has always been
acknowledged, as a Smriti and a Dharma Shastra.
Native writers and authors of treatises, so old as the
Brahma Sutra, quote passages from the Bharata with
the feeling of reverence due to a Dharma Shastra.
The leaven which has thus been introduced is so
general and so extensive that it is difficult to point out
to any particular section as an interpolation. The
Shintiparva and the Anushasanaparva have probably
How the Mahabharata Attained to its Present Bnlk* 27
been added to, to a very great extent with this object,
though it is not possible to say that these Parvas are
entirely new additions made about the time of the last
recasting of the Bharata about 200 B.C. For certain
portions of these Parvas are indeed very old as we shall
have occasion to show hereafter, and it is probable that
these did form part of the original Bharata. The
additions made can, however, never be regretted, for
here we have a vast collection of old stories, doctrines
and rituals, which enables us to determine the social,
moral and religious condition of the Ary as 2,000 years
ago and earlier ; we shall make an attempt of this kind
in a subsequent book which will contain one of the most
interesting inquiries undertaken in this book.
Repetition. The second fruitful source of extension
is repetition. Repetition may sometimes be useful for
the purpose of impressing a subject on the reader's
mind ; but it must be acknowledged as a repetition. In
the Mahabharata, however, we find the same story
repeated twice and even thrice without any reason or
acknowledgment. The repetition grates on the ear
and the reader is puzzled to know why the storv^ has
been repeated and whether the author was himself
aware of it. This repetition can be seen over the whole
length of the work and sometimes without long intervals.
Innumerable instances can be cited, but we content
ourselves here with a few of them which are most
striking. In the Adi Parva we have the story of Astika
twice given, the second only after a few chapters after
the first. The second is more detailed than the first
It seems as if Sauti was not satisfied with the mea*gre
28 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
relation of Vaishampayana and gave the story over again
with many additions, but often using the same Shlokas.
The story of Kashyapa and Takshaka is also repeated,
as also that of Yayati and of Pandu killing a Rishi
in the guise of a deer. In the Vana Parva the Tirthas
are twice enumerated, the second time with greater detail
than the first Unfortunately India was not as ex-
tensively known in the days of Vaishampayana as in the
days of Sauti, and the latter probably found it necessary
to make a second enumeration of the holy places in
India. These and other instances of repetition made,
often with very little intervals, are sometimes explained
away by Janmejaya asking for greater details of the
same subject or story. The 16 kings' legend is, on the
other hand, an instance of repetition made at places
widely separated from each other. The legend is first
told, as far as we can remember, in the Drona Parva after
the death of Abhimanyu, by Vyasa to Yudhishthira
to console him for the sad loss he had suffered. And
the same legend is told over again in the Shanti Parva
by Krishna to Yudhisthira for the purpose of inducing
him to lessen his grief and to enjoy the fruit of his
success in war. And it is strange to see that Yudhish-
thira has forgotten (it is likely he may have) the story.
For he asks Krishna who was Srinjaya's son and how
he had died. Narada, who first told the legend to
Srinjaya to console him for the death of his son and
whose narration both Vyasa and Krishna had given
second-hand, now comes forward and tells Yudhishthira
who Srinjaya was, and how he lost and regained his
son! In short, the repetition made is extremely awkward
How the MahabJiarata Attained to its Present Bulk. 29
and can only take place in a vast work like the Maha-
bharata. The legend all the same is a very fine one,
and probably very old. It is perhaps copied after the
Shata-patha Brahman, Kanda 13, where a list is given
of the famous kings of old who performed the Ashwa-
medha sacrifices. Two or three of these kings are the
same, and the Shlokas in their eulogy are also almost
identical.
Imitation. The third head under which additions
may be put is imitation. This is, in fact, another phase
of repetition. An episode is imagined and added re-
sembling one already existing. It is, in fact, the same
feeling as has led to the composition of the many
" Messengers" in imitation of the beautiful little poem
of Kalidas, called the " Cloud Messenger". Very
many additions can be recognised as made under this
impulse. The most striking example of this is the
Yaksha-prashna episode at the end of the Vana Parva.
Nakul goes to drink of a pond in the jungle which is
under the enchantment of a Yaksha, and drinking the
water against his caution dies. Each of the remaining
brothers goes in search of him, and with the exception
of Yudhishthira dies similarly. Yudhishthira alone
does not drink the water, and after satisfactorily answer-
ing one hundred questions put by the Yaksha succeeds
in propitiating him, and the Yaksha is pleased to
restore life to his brothers. The episode, one suspects,
resembles the Nahusha episode already given in Chap-
ter 195 in which Yudhishthira sirnilary rescues his
brothers from difficulty. The, Yaksha-prashna episode
can be proved to be an addition subsequently made, fey
30 The Mahdbharata: A Criticism.
independent considerations. For it is strange that
Sahadeo, Arjuna and Bhima should each drink the water
without caring to see what had happened to his prede-
cessor, and in spite of the warning given each time by
the Yaksha. It looks absurd that even the predecessor's
death should not have sufficed to prove the truth of the
Yaksha's warning. The questions put are, moreover,
like riddles, and do not look as belonging to a great
author. Further than this, there is a break in thepontext
at this Akhyana. In this episode, which is the last
in the Vana Parva, the Yaksha directs Yudhishthira
to pass his days of concealment in Virata's city. And
yet we find in the beginning of the next Parva that
Dharma is at a loss to see where to go and live incognito.
Again, at the end of the Yaksha-prashna episode
Dharma dismisses all the Brahmans, and only the five
brothers with Draupadi and Dhaumya remain ready to
dive into obscurity. And yet in the beginning of the
Virata Parva the Brahmans are still there and they have
yet to be dismissed. These considerations would lead
us to think that the story would properly run on if the
Yaksha-prashna episode had not been there, in other
words it has been added subsequently.
Another instance of this kind, though not quite so
clear, is that of the Anu Gita. This is an episode in
the Ashwamedha Parva and is fashioned after the Gita
as is implied in the very name of it. Arjuna, after all
the toils of the war are over, asks Shrikrishna to give
him the same instructions as he had given him at the
beginning of the war. Shrikrishna says that he could
n<3t rise to the same inspiration again, but would tell
How the Mahabharata Attai?ied to its Present
him what some one else had told another, and thus
comes in the Ann Gita. It is naturally and admittedly
not what the Gita is and preaches no new doctrine. It is
probably a second-rate imitation of the Gita, and has
perhaps been subsequently added.
Poetical Embellishment. The desire for poetical em-
bellishment has also led in a potent manner to the
extension of the Mahabharata. It is natural that Sauti
should have taken the advantage of every opportunity
that offered itself to exhibit his poetical powers. Battles
natural sceneries and lamentations are the chief objects
of a poet's delineation. The descriptions of battles in.
the Mahabharata are generally florid and so extended
that they are often tedious. Natural sceneries have also-
been described with fullness, especially in the Vana
Parva. The Stri Parva appears to have almost been
recast. The scene, where Ghandhari having been
given supernatural vision in the manner which is sa
usual in the Mahabharata, describes the battle-field, and
the widows of fallen heroes lamenting over their dead
bodies, is probably an entirely new addition. That
Ghandhari should have been chosen as the person
through whose mouth these lamentations are uttered, is
itself quite undramatic, and Vyasa or Vaishampayana
would not have committed such an error. Moreover,
the description and lamentations are somewhat sensual
in taste, much in the fashion of later Sanskrit poets, the
well-known Shloka " Ayam sa rasanotkarshi," &c.,
being found here. Further, it is improbable that these
bereaved women would have been allowed to roam over
the battle-field, covered as it must have been by indiS-
32 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
tinguishable masses of bones of men and animals, and
it is also improbable that dead bodies could have been
-capable of identification as they were allowed to lie on
the battle-field for many days, exposed to hungry beasts
and birds of prey. How, for instance, can Abhimanyu's
face be still fresh and shining as it is being kissed by
his young wife? The whole scene is improbable, un-
dramatic and unbecoming. A similar attempt may be
discerned in the Virata Parva where scenes an$ female
beauties are described with much more elaboration than
elsewhere. But the scenes are here also undramatic as
they do not bear out and develop the characters as they
are conceived. For example, Uttara who a little while
ago was a timid boy, as soon as Arjuna discloses him-
self, becomes a brave man and a poet too. His de-
scription of the bows of the five brothers as they are
taken down from the tree where they are concealed, is
very beautiful indeed, and two of the Shlokas are very
fine riddles also.
Here we may conveniently treat of the Kuta or riddle
Shlokas. They appear to have been introduced by
Sauti under the same impulse, vis., the desire to exhibit
poetical powers. It is affirmed in the beginning of the
Mahabharata that there are 8,800 Kuta Shlokas in all
throughout the whole work, which gives one Shloka for
every 12. It appears therefore probable that this num-
ber lias been exaggerated. In the appendix are given
as many Kuta Shlokas as we 'could find out while
reading the work. Some of these Shlokas are really
very ingenious and the two Shlokas in which Uttara
describes two bows may be taken as the best examples
How the Mahabharata Attained to its Present Bulk. 33
of them. The riddle lies generally in the use of a word
which has two meanings ; the most obvious of them
occurring to tire reader first and thus throwing him off
the scent. The worst example of such Kuta Shlokas,
perhaps an interpolation of even a later date than Sauti,
is to be found in the Kama Parva, Chapter 90. The
Shloka No. 40 is a long metred (Shardul-vikridita)
Shloka and uses the word " Gau " with its many mean-
ings many times.
Anticipation. Anticipation or suggestion of events
Is a poetical art which authors are fond of using, and
the Mahabharata is not without examples of it. The
last editor Sauti has made several additions with this
object. We have an instance of this in the Stri Parva
where Gandhari is made to curse Shrikrishna for not
having prevented the terrible slaughter shown by the
state of the battle-field, that he too and his race would
fight among themselves and slaughter one another.
This scene in the Stri Parva, as we have already seen,
is wholly an interpolation. Similarly before the be-
ginning of the fight Dharma Raja goes to each one of
the commanders on the-opposite side and asks himjtiow
he could kill him, whereon each one anticipates the
manner in which he was subsequently killed. Now
this is very probably an interpolation ; it is derogatory
to the character of not only Yudhishthira but also to
that of these great commanders ; for it represents them
as traitors. Moreover it is ludicrous to represent
Yudhishthira asking openly so imbecile a question.
To Shalya Yudhishthira is made to say that he should
make the Tejobhanga of Kama (dis-spirit him) when
3
^ Tlie Mahabharata: A Criticism.
he would be asked to act as a charioteer to him. This is
carrying the Bija sowing or poetical anticipation to an
absurd length. Could anybody have then predicted
that Shalya would be asked by Kama to drive his
chariot on the battle-field, and even if it were so pro-
bable, would anybody have thought that mere dis-
couragement of Kama would have assisted the cause
of Yudhishthira ? Even as the Mahabharata is, Shalya
Is not represented as acting so meanly. On the contrary
he does his self-imposed duty most faithfully and pro-
tects and assists Kama whenever necessary.
Explanation. The last category under which addi-
tions appear to have been made is explanation of
extraordinary conduct. Lapse of thousands of years
between the events and the last recasting of the Maha-
bharata made it necessary that certain actions should be
explained away and Sauti appears to have added chap-
ters here and there for this purpose. The most
palpable addition under this head is the chapter wherein
Vyasa seeks to explain to Drupada how it is that the
five Pandavas may marry a single woman. The
Bandavas are alleged to be all fndras (which is itself
inconsistent with the idea stated elsewhere in the Maha-
bharata that Arjuna alone was Indra) and when Dru-
pada is not satisfied even then, the usual device, vis.,
the gjft of supernatural vision is adopted and Drupada
sees that they are all Indras. Bhima's drinking warm
blood from the throat of Dusshasana is also sought to-
be explained away in the Stri Parva, Chapter 15, where it
is suggested that he only made a feint of drinking the
blood but did not actually do it in fulfilment of his vow.
How the Mahnbharata Attained to its Present Bulk. 35
Vyasds Appearance now and then. Vyasa's frequent
appearance on the scene, of course by his supernatural
powers, appears to have been arranged for the purpose of
such explanation. He also often comes to warn, to advise
and to console actors without apparent necessity or result.
For instance, at the time of Duryodhana's birth Vyasa
appears on the scene and warns Dhritarashtra of the evils
of which he would be the cause and advises him without
success fro thro whim into the Ganges. So again when the
war is about to begin Vyasa appears before Dhritarashtra
and tells him what evil omens are happening and how the
war would be a dreadful one. Here are introduced a fresh
(many having been already mentioned in the Udyoga
Parva) number of evil omens and inauspicious conjunc-
tions of planets which are probably imaginary and
which have created a confusion of which we shall have
to speak later on. The appearance of Vyasa is generally
of no avail and the march of events is in no way hindered
without it.
Such are the principal heads under which additions
appear to have been made by Sauti in recasting the
Mahabharata. It is by no means suggested that the^lisfc
is exhaustive or that the examples cited are the only
examples of them. Two examples only have been given
under each head so that the subject may not be tedious
to the reader who is not supposed to have read the Maha-
bharata. It would be tiresome to the general reader, to
give here an exhaustive list of such chapters and epi-
sodes as appear to have been added at the time of the last
recasting of the Bharata, and we give in the Appendix a
note in which this subject has been discussed in detail.
^6 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
Notwithstanding the additions thus made it must be
said to the credit of Sauti that he has succeeded in
moulding a work of such an enormous extent into a har-
monious and consistent whole. It is only rarely that we
come across discrepancies, contradictions or breaks in the
context. In fact they are rarer in the Mahabharata than
in the Ramayana. In two places, however, Sauti has
betrayed himself hopelessly. In the Bhishma Parva,
where Yudhishthira asks Shalya to discourage Kama,
an episode which we have already shown to be an
addition, he is made to say " Carry out your promise
made in Udyoga," by which is presumably meant the
Udyogaparva. Now it is absurd to represent an actor
giving a reference to a division of the drama or epic
itself. Similarly Kunti in the Ashwamedha Parva,
Chapter 66, requests Shrikrishna to carry out his
promise made in " Aishika " (a previous Parva), mz., to
resuscitate the child of Uttara if born dead. Flow Sauti
could have put these references to the Parvas of the epic
in the mouth of the actors it is difficult to explain, except
on the supposition that the enormous length of the epic
'made it pardonable even for the* actors to give references
to its divisions.
CHAPTER V.
THE VAISHNAVITE ELEMENT IN THE MAHABHARATA.
ALLIED with the subject of the preceding chapter is the
question whether the Mahabharata was originally
Vaishnavite, how the Vaishnavite element grew in it
and what is its present attitude towards the Vaishnavite
creed. It is an extremely interesting inquiry and,
however distasteful or delicate it may be from the
religious point of view, we cannot shirk it.
That Vyasa was an admirer of_Shrikrishna and a wor-
shipper of Vishnu appears clear from the very first verse
of invocation which we cannot attribute to any one
but Vyasa. Therein the God Narayana is invoked and
is also identified with Shrikrishna. It may perhaps be
necessary to state here that at the time of Vyasa, which
is the same as the time of the Brahmanas, the Vedic
Rishis had come to give predominance to Vishnu and
to ignore the precedence of Indra so conspicuous in the
Mantra portion of the Vedas, and we may believe it
readily that Vyasa but reflected the general sentimefTt of
the Rishis of the Brahmana period. There was another
school which was trying to give predominance among
gods to Shiva as we can see from the Atharva Man-
dukya Upanishad, where instead of the words Tad
Vishnoh Paramam Pandam we have the Supreme
Being as typified in " One " called Shiva. This school
appears to have been, however, in the minority, and the
Rishis of the Brahmanic period laid down the diction
?8 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
j
(see the beginning of the Aitareya Brahmana of the Rig
Veda) that among gods Agni or Fire was the last and
Vishnu was the first. CShrikrishna, about whose per-
sonality and preaching we shall speak in a separate
book, was a contemporary of Vyasa and was believed to
be an Avatara or incarnation of Vishnu. Vyasa was
probably^one of those who believed so, and it is not at all
impossible that the Itihasa or history called " Triumph n
which he wrote was pervaded with the feeling of ^ad mi ra-
tion which he entertained for him. We are therefore
not stretching our guess too far when we hold that the
original poem of Vyasa was written in glorification of
Krishna or Narayana as of Arjuna or Nara.
It must, however, be granted that Krishna worship
was, as may naturally be expected, in its infancy when
Vyasa wrote his poem ; and we find one or two places in
the Mahabharata where Krishna is treated as an ordinary
mortal. The statements which we are now g'oing to
refer strike us- as invaluable fossils which are preserved
in this vast work by mistake or accident and which give
evidence of the fact that the original work of Vyasa was
considerably different from its r present form. In the
$[ausala Parva, where, after the Yaclavas had been
destroyed in a terrible internecine feud, Arjuna is said
to have led away the many wives of Krishna, it is stated
that barbarians attacked Arjuna and carried away
many from among his fair charge. "Some," it is
added, " went away of their own choice/' Now had
the author been thoroughly Vaishnavite he would not
have represented some of Krishna's wives or rather
women as eloping with the barbarians, although it is but
"*
The VaisJmamte Element in the Mahabharata. 39.
natural to expect, where a man keeps an unwieldy
harem, some of the women to be dissatisfied and in a
mood to elope. But this fact is detrimental to the
greatness of Shrikrishna as an incarnation of- Vishnu.
Probably Vyasa here pointed out the only foible in his
character great as it was and was not hindered by any
particular sentiments from expressing his opinions
freely. Similarly in the Gada-Parva where Duryo-
dhana was, as he lay wounded on the battle-field,
upbraided by Shrikrishna for his evil deeds, the former
exculpated himself in a vigorous speech and exclaimed
that he had lived a brilliant life and died a brilliant death,
levelled down when fighting honourably by a dis-
honourable blow dealt by one of those who wished to
pose as honourable men. The poet adds : " The gods
showered flowers on the dying man in approbation and
all those present felt abashed." It is strange that we
should find in the Mahabharata a work which glorifies
Shrikrishna in every possible manner, a remark of this
kind, strange that the gods of Heaven expressed their
approval of the conduct of Duryodhana, conduct so
vehemently denounced by Shrikrishna himself. It
seems clear that Vyasa did not always side with Krfahntt
but expressed his sentiments without bias.
Vaishampayana was probably a more pronounced
follower of the Vaishnavite creed than Vyasa. For
his Bharata is recognised by the Vaishnavas to*have
along with the Pancharatras, a special work belonging
to that sect, the same sanctity as the Vedas themselves.
The inclusion of the Bhagwat Gita and the Vishnu
Sahasra Nama in the Bharata is probably the chief
1 40 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
reason why it is held in so much reverence by the
Vaishnavas, The Bhagwat Gita, undoubtedly the
most precious book in non-Vedic Sanskrit literature,
contains, in our opinion, the preaching of Shrikrishna,
though not in his own words, but in the words of Vyasa.
It may have been re-arranged and altered here and
: there by Vaishampayana and made more Vaishnavite
in appearance. But it is pre-eminently the thought of
j Shrikrishna clothed in the language of Vyasa. The
Vishnu Sahasra Nama may be attributed to Vaisham-
payana being more antique than the rest of the poem as.
I we can judge from the language.
; What other additions and alterations Vaishampayana
made in order to strengthen the cause of Krishna wor-
ship it is not easy to detect at this distance of time ; but
the critical reader of the Mahabharata cannot but be
convinced that the Vaishnavite element is constantly
accumulating. Krishna is glorified and praised when-
1 ever opportunity offers, and the usual story of Avataras
! given in the Puranas, namely, that the earth, oppressed,
] goes to Vishnu in the form of a cow to implore for redress,
and he comes, to life together with all the deities of
1 ifeav^n for the purpose of destroying her oppressors,
is found, though not in so many words, in the Bharata in
a nucleus form. In Chapters 65 and 66 of the Bhishma
; + Parva we have the theory of incarnation as believed
in by the Vaishnavas given by the mouth of Bhishma,
who wishes to impress on Duryodhana's mind, perhaps
unsuccessfully, the greatness of Shrikrishna. "Brahma, 1
, surrounded by Rishis and gods, suddenly saw burning
light before him and praised Vishnu, the Supreme
The Vaishnavite Element in the Mahabharata. 41
Being, and implored him to be born for the deliverance
of the earth. Vishnu thereon was pleased and promised
to grant his request." Here are mentioned the four
names of Vishnu which are invested with special mean-
ings among the Vaishnavas, vis., Vasudeva, Sankar-
shana, Pradyumna and Anirudhha, from the last of
whom is said to have been born Brahma, the creator
himself. The Devarishis and the Gandharvas were
astonished and did not know, it is said, with whom
Brahma held converse, and Brahma explained to them
what had happened.
But a different and somewhat quaint account of
Vishnu's incarnation is to be found in Chapter 197 of
the Adi Parva. It is probably the earlier version and
preserved in the Mahabharata by accident or by a feeling
of reverence for old texts in the same manner as other old;.
texts already referred to have been saved. The story
is well worth giving in full. Vyasa explains to king
Drupada how the five Pandavas can marry one single
woman. The gods once performed a sacrifice at
which the god of death officiated as the Sharnitra (killer).
Mortals consequently did not die and multiplied im-
mensely. Indra and others being afraid weifc t<5
Prajapati and said "We are afraid of men for, there
is now no difference between mortals, and immortals. "'
Prajapati replied "When the god of death will finish
his work he will destroy men." Indra went t<5 see
the sacrifice and on the way saw a golden lotus coming
down the Ganges. Wishing to know whence it came,,
he went to the source and saw a beautiful woman
weeping and standing in the stream to take water. Her
42 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
tear fell in the stream and became a golden lotus Imme-
diately. Indra asked her why she wept and she requested
him to follow her. He saw Shiva with his wife playing
at dice and being disregarded exclaimed ct I am the Lord
of the Universe. " Shiva looked at him and only
laughed. Indra raised his hand but it was made mo-
tionless. Shiva then said " You are proud. Look into
that cave. There are four previous Indras confined
there. Go you all to the earth and be born as mortals.
This damsel who is the prosperity of heaven will be
your wife. " Indra trembled and consented. They
then went to Narayana, the Lord of the Universe, and
told him what had happened. He too snatched two
hairs, one white and the other black, from his body and
they were laid in the womb of Devaki and Rhohini, the
two queens of Vasudeva. Thus were born Balrama,
the white, from ihe white hair and Krishna from the
black one. The five Indras became the five Pandavas
and the Laxmi of heaven is Draupadi. The commen-
tator explains that the word hair meant semin and that
Krishna was born directly of Hari or Narayana. He
tries in this way to explain the apparent discrepancy
ftom*the modern belief, wfc., that Krishna was a full and
not a partial Avatara. But other discrepancies still
remain. Balrama is not now believed to be an Avatara of
Vishnu, though in the above he is shown to be as full an
Avatara as Krishna himself. Moreover there is not that
subordination of Prajapati and of Shiva to Vishnu in
the above account which is to be found in the usual ver-
sion. The Pandavas too are all looked upon as Indras
anji Draupadi is merely the prosperity of heaven.
The Vaishnamte Element in the Mahabharata. 43
All these defects have been corrected in the account
given in the Amshavatara, Chapter 167 of the Adi Parva,
where every actor in the Mahabharata is shown to be
the partial incarnation of some god or demon. It is the
third version most probably adjusted by Sauti. Therein
the oppressed earth goes to Brahma who directs all
gods to go down to the earth and be born as mortals.
They then all go to Narayana, and Indra implores him
to be bprn on the earth by Amsha, and they make a
compact and the gods are born by Amsha or portion
only in the families of Kings and Brahmanas. In the
list given hereafter Balrama is said to be born of Shesha
and Draupadi is said to be born of Shachi, the wife of
Indra. The sixteen thousand wives of Krishna are
here said to be born of the Apsaras by the order of Indra.
In Chapter 5 of the Swargarohana Parva the actors are
said to have returned after death to the respective deities
from whom they sprang. These women are said after
death to have been united with the Apsaras, a thing*
which we can scarcely reconcile with the statement
about some of them referred to above.
The Vaishnava sect or creed, which is based on
Krishna worship, began with Krishna and gatTieretl
strength as time rolled on. In the days of Magestheaes
it was a fully established creed, and it is recorded by
that historian that the god Heracles was worshipped by
the Shoursene people who had two important Cities,
vis., Methora and Chimbothro. It is difficult to identify
the last, but the Shoursene people were those who were
descended from Shurasena, the father of Krishna, and
they lived in or 'about Mathura, which is even now' She
44 The Mahabharata: A Criticism..
centre of Krishna worship. It is but natural to expect
that the Bharata of Vaishampayana, which is pre-emi-
nently concerned with the doings of Krishna as well as
with the exploits of Arjuna, gathered accumulations as
time went on in support of that creed. It will suffice if
we quote two more examples, mz. y the Bhishmastavaraja,
which is perhaps one of the best praises of the supreme
deity, and the Narayanastramoksha Parva.
But the worship of Shiva was as firmly established in
the days of Magesthenes as the worship of Vishnu, and
Sauti, who was concerned with the defence of the whole
of the orthodox religion, , as it then existed, against
Buddhism, had to introduce episodes and anecdotes
in glorification of Shiva also. If the Bharata of
Vaishampayana was distinctly Vaishnavite it appears to
us that the Mahabharata of Sauti is distinctly non-
sectarian. It is this aspect of the work as it exists
to-day that has made it dear to all Hindus, and all
creeds alike claim it as their sacred book. It is this
unifying spirit which is the charm of this vast work
from a philosophic point of view. In the Anushasana
Parva is to be found the Akhy&na of Upamanyu in
p"rais of Shiva, and .the beauty of it is that the story is
related by Krishna himself. In Chapters 14 18 we
find that Krishna went and performed austerities in the
Himalayas and pleased Shankar and obtained a son for
his Wife Jambuvati. The 1,000 names of Shiva are
here- given, as recited originally by Tundi and told to
Krishna by Upamanyu. Rishis are also mentioned as
praising Shiva and obtaining boons. The unification
of Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma, as it is believed in by
The Vaishnamte Element in the Mahabharata. 43
orthodox Hinduism, is also clearly apparent in this
Akhyana, for it is stated that the Supreme Being sent
forth Brahma from his right side to create the world
and Vishnu from his left to protect it and Rudra at the
time of its end. That Sauti introduced this Akhyana is,
however, certain from its evident isolation in context,
the language of these chapters and the frequent change
in the metre. Krishna again is said by Bhishma to
have performed austerities for a thousand years. This
is extremely improbable, for no actor in the Maha-
bharata is represented as of fabulous age. Their ages
are the ordinary ages of human beings as they are now.
Krishna even according to popular belief was only 84
years and according to another theory 123 years
old when the Mahabharata fight took place. All these
circumstances lead us to think that this Upamanyu
Akhyana is an addition made by Sauti.
In many other places, chapters and incidents are intro-
duced in praise of Shiva. In the Dronaparva, when
Arjuna had vowed to kill Jayadratha and Drona had
vowed to save him, Krishna thought that it was neces-
sary to fortify Arjuna by a boon from Shiva, and Arjuna
is said to have gone in'Samadhi to Shiva and obtained
from him the Pashupatastra, Chapters 90 and 91, (This
is rather strange as Arjuna had already got the Astra in
Vanaparva where his fight with Shiva is so beautifully
described.) In this incident also the beauty is that it
is with the advice of Krishna that Arjuna contemplates
Shiva, and in the contemplation both go to Shiva and
praise him. Similarly when Ashwatthama is about to
begin his night massacre of the sleeping survivors of
46 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
the war he propitiates Shiva by offering himself as an
oblation and obtains from him a deadly sword (Chapter
7, Saupticparva). Here too Shankar says that Krishna
is dear to him for many reasons and his devotion to
Shankar among them. At the end of this Parva we
have a reference to, and explanation of, the Linga
worship, and there again the greatness of Shiva is
described by the mouth of Krishna himself. It seems
clear that all these references to Shiva worship are made
in a spirit of unifying the diverse sects that existed when
Sauti finally recast this poem. We find the Vaishnava
and Pashupata sects, with their peculiar tenets in parti-
cular point, discussed and refuted in the Brahma Sutras
also, which cannot be supposed to be later than the
beginning of the Christian Era. It is probably in the
same spirit that Sauti made these additions and others in
praise of Devi (Bhishmaparva) and Surya (Vanaparva)
and Kartikeya (Vanaparva), who are' all looked upon as
different manifestations of the Supreme Being. The
Mahabharata as it is, consequently, Hnnof be looked
upon as Vaishnavite, though it was perhaps so in the
beginning and though the Vaishnavite element had
b&en ^accumulating 1 before its final redaction. The
Vaishanvas who look upon Bharata as one of their
Scriptures are now driven to explain these praises of
other gods as introduced to delude the world !
.
^hagvat-Gita, the 1,000 Names of Vishnu, the Prayer of Bhishma,
the Rescue of the Elephant, and Anusmriti are said to be the five
jewels to be found in the Bharata, The Rescue of the Elephant is
to be found in a clearly interpolated manner in one of the Bombay
edftions, while the last is to be found nowhere.
CHAPTER VI.
MAHABHARATA AS AN EPIC POEM.
DIVESTED of these additions and accumulations the
Mahabharata indeed deserves to rank among the finest
epic poems of the world. The epic poem which has
ever been regarded as in its nature the most noble of all
poetic performances must conform, in the words of
Arnold, to the following conditions: "The subject of
the epic poem must be some one, great, complex action.
The principal personages must belong to ihe high
places of society and must be grand and elevated in
their ideas. The measure must be of a sonorous dignity
befitting the subject. The epic is developed by a -mixture
of dialogue, soliloquy and narration." We shall try to
see how far these requisites which have been laid down
since the days of Aristotle are fulfilled by the Mgha-
bharata.
The subject of this poem is the great war fought on
the plain of Kurukshetra by the Pandavas and the
Kauravas, two sections of the same race, assisted by the
various nations of the whole of India as it was then
known. This subject is introduced by the poet in the
very first verse of invocation. u Having saluted the
god Narayana and Nara, the best of men, and the goddess
of speech, let us recite the ' Triumph. *" Here Vyaa
48 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
.at once introduces us to the chief actors of his poem
and his subject, mz^ the victory gained by them,
just like Homer, who begins his Illiad with the name
of Achilles, the hero of his poem, and his wrath
the subject of it. Sauti does not fail in developing; this
art of the original author in his introduction and takes
us at once to the subject of the poem. " I have visit-
ed/' says he to Shaunak, " the far-famecl battle-field,
my curiosity having been excited by the stories I had
heard about the great war from the mouth of Vaisham-
payana at the great Sarpa-satra (Serpent-sacrifice) of
Janmejaya." The subject of our poem then is the great
Bharata war.
It may perhaps be objected that the subject of the
Mahabharata is not one great action but is rather in the
nature of the life of a hero. The Mahabharata no doubt
gives the life of the Pandavas from beginning to end
.and should thus be classed a heroic rather than an epic
poem. It seems, however, clear that the poet's princi-
pal object is not to give a life of the Pandavas- The
primary theme which the poet has set before himself is
the great war. The events which lead up to the great
warfare a necessary part of the subject and have there-
fore been described in detail. The events which happen-
ed after the war, such as the performance of the horse-
sacrifice, and the Pandavas* final departure on their
grea! journey, have undoubtedly no connection with
the real theme. But the poet has given them merely
for the purpose of satisfying the curiosity of the reader,
for it is remarkable that these scenes have been de-
scribed with a brevity and meagreness of detail which is
Mahdbharata as an Epic Poem. 49
in evident contrast with the rest of the poem. It is
therefore, not improper if we take it that the subject of
the Mahabharata, which has been classed by all writers
as an epic poem, is the great war and not the life of the
Pandavas.
That this subject is complex, nobody will ever be
disposed to deny. In fact, the word Mahabharata raises
up in our mind the idea of a something which is vast
and extremely diversified. But very few have realised
the vastness and the complexity of the subject from a
poetic point of view. The scenes and incidents in the
Mahabharata suitable for poetic treatment are so numer-
ous and diverse, that scarcely any interesting scene
has ever been conceived by modern Sanskrit poets which
has not its parent in the Mahabharata. " Like the big
Banian tree," Sauti himself boasts in the beginning of
the poem, "the Mahabharata is the resting place for
all modern poets/* It is the perennial stream from which
any poet may drink and derive inspiration.
The incidents in the Mahabharata, very numerous
and deversified as they are, have been so well knit to-
gether in one story that; it is not possible to conceive of
a ' plot more splendid and well laid. It has *?>fterl
occurred to me that if the story of the Mahabharata is
not a historical one it must indeed be the production of
an imagination which is higher than that of Shakespeare.
Diversity of characters and their truthfulness to nature
which characterise Shakespeare's plays are to be found
in the Mahabharata also ; but the wonder is that so
many characters have been brought together in one
plot. What Shakespeare exhibits in many dramas
-o The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
j
Vyasa has brought together in one vast plot, the parts
of which in spite of their vastness are like the limbs
of an elephant set together in one harmonious and
graceful whole.
It is well known that particular instances in the Maha-
bharata have furnished subjects to later Sanskrit poets
for their epics and dramas which are poetically complete
in themselves. It is well known that modern Kathe-
karies or Rhapsodists base their declamations lasting
for hours together on single incidents in this vast fabric.
But it is not well known that the story of the epic is not
only vast and well knitted but is capable of still further
development. In fact, the poet has constantly kept
the chief subject, wb., the great war, before him and
has not allowed himself to be drawn away by the
allurements for extension which the plot afforded*
Only one illustration would suffice to show what I mean.
Duryodhana's wife appears nowhere on the scene
in the Mahabharata. Nay her name even, which later
poets have given as Bhanumati, so far as I can re-
member, is not found there. There is no scene in the
JMat^bharata like that in the IHiad between Hector and
Andromache, a scene often copied by later poets, in
which a brave warrior, who is about to engage in
battle and is not very sanguine about the result, is
takipg leave of his noble and loving wife. It may be
observed that the author of the Mahabharata exhibits
better art in avoiding such a scene, for the implacable
and proud character of the hero's adversary is thus
better sustained. We shall return to this subject
again.
Mahabharata as an Epic Poem. 51
The greatness of the subject of the Mahabharata, like
its complexity, is also beyond dispute. The great war,
as it is usually called, ended in the total destruction of
two vast armies, such was the dogged determination
and the uncompromising hatred of the opposite parties.
The war was further a memorable event. It marked
the beginning of a decrepit age, at least so far as India
is concerned, as history has but too truly proved. Al-
though'then, the subject cannot compare with the subject
of the Paradise Lost, the interest of which transcends
the limits of a nation, it may well compare with the
theme of Homer's Illiad. The Mahabharata was, and
still is, the national poem of India as the Illiad was of
Greece. It is the store-house of Indian genealogy,
mythology and antiquity.
Having thus far spoken about the subject of our epic
poem we shall now speak of the characters. One cannot
sufficiently admire the personages whose noble actions
and high ideas the Mahabharata most effectively de-
scribes. Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Kama, Drau-
padi, Drona and, above all, Bhishma, to leave out of
question Shrikrishna, have been and shall be foe all
time to come models of greatness and virtue, ever
inspiring the Aryan mind in India to deeds of self-
sacrifice in the performance of duty. Even Duryodhana
has a charm and splendour of his own. His unswerving
determination, his ambition which knows no medium
between death and the Imperial crown, are brought out
most vividly by the poet and teach a lesson of their
own. And here we may notice the -superiority of the
poet's delineation of character over Homer or even
52 The Mahabhanita ; A Criticism.
Milton. The adversary of the hero in th
the Paradise Lost has been so depicted
creating disgust he enlists our sympathy,
his will/' observes Arnold about Milton, "f^
well aware and is continually reminding ^
Satan ought to be represented as purely ^.
continually places language in his niout^
which is inconsistent with such a concept^
larly with Homer's Hector the reader i^,
pleased but is very often sympathising. -
half feels for the brave warrior, who is trying-
.save his country and his kingdom, though j
a wrong cause. As already observed, th<
picture which Homer has portrayed of the n c
Hector and the fervid love with which he snat
of his innocent child, though in itself a gt-
scene, has marred the general purpose of
The readers of Paradise Lost or of the Illiaj
tempted to think that Satan or Hector is the t
poem and not Adam or Achilles.
The female characters of the Malmbhar
|trik us as superior to those (if the I Iliad,
even Andromache cannot rival Druupavli. 1
sufficiently admire the stately character which :
of the Mahabharata has built up in the
Draypadi. She is a noble woman, ever co
her dignity, never losing her temper in the wo
trials, chaste and pure beyond all thought,
human still. She often discusses the situation
the vehemence of a female's susceptible temper >
Insists upon things which her husbands are '
Mahabharata as an hpzc Poem. 53
compelled to accept. She is not, however, lowly and fit to
be discussed to the distaff as Hector does his wife. She is
a Rajput woman with the Rajput's bravery and deter-
mination illuminating her face. Nay when Kichaka
or Jayadratha try to seize and take undue liberty with
her, with the impulse of a Rajput woman she gives
them a push, which throws them down. She has a
presence of mind which even men may be proud of.
For instance, she loses not a moment in telling Kama
when he rises to string the bow at the Swayamvara,
that she does not wish to marry a charioteer. And
when she is alleged to have been won at the disgraceful
game at dice she asks a question which confounds the
courtiers of Duryodhana. Above all, her noble willing-
ness to share the fortunes of Arjuna disguised as a poor
Brahmin when he won her at the Swayamvara, or when
she followed the Pandavas in the forest in their long exile,
has always inspired Hindu women with courage and
contentment in sharing the lot of their husbands.
Kunti is another strong female character in the Maha-
bharata. Although she remains in Vidura's house when
the Pandavas with their wife go into 12 years' exile^the^
message which she sends with Krishna to her sons is in
true Rajput fashion and is one of the most stirring calls
to fight. She wishes her sons either to die or conquer.
She, however, does not incite her sons to fight for^her
sake. When the Pandavas are successful and estab-
lished on the throne she leaves them and accompanies
Dhritarashtra to the forest and dies in the performance
of her duties, viz., attendance on the blind old man. As
she starts Bhima implores her to stay arid enjoy the fruft
54 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
of her advice, but she firmly replies : " I have had enjoy-
ment enough during my husband's time. I incited you
to fight because I did not wish you to beg/' Her last
parting advice to her sons may be written in golden
letters : u Believe in righteousness. Have minds ever
great" It is the purport of the whole Mahabharata
condensed into one single line.
The female characters of the Mahabharata, elevated
as they are, have a touch of humanity which makes the
whole world kin. When Arjuna brings his second wife
Subhadrato Indraprastha, Draupadi expresses her feeling
of jealousy in a happy metaphor: "The first tie how-
ever firm and strong relaxes when followed by another."
Kunti when Kama appears in the lists of the tourna-
ment faints. Uttara asking Arjuna to accompany her
brother on his expedition against the Kauravas requests
him to bring good pieces of cloth for the use of her dolls,
never doubting that her brother would conquer their
mighty hosts. These and other touches of the poet,
illustrative of feminine weakness, make the female cha-
racters of the Mahabharata all the more lovable.
,- Thirdly, the divine charactersfin the Mahabharata are,
unlike those in the Illtad, really divine and not comic*
It has generally been remarked that if there are any
comic scenes in the Illiad, for there is little room for
comjc scenes in the grave march of an epic poem, they
are those on the top of the Olympus. The gods in heaven
squabble over affairs on the earth; they assist rnorrals in
the most whimsical manner for very low motives.
Even Jove, the Almighty God, is often distracted by the
'importunities of his wife Juno, who has peculiar par-
Mahabharata as an Epic Poem. 55
tialities of her own, and has sometimes to threaten her
with corporal chastisement. The gods in the Maha-
bharata are much like the gods of the Greeks, but the
poet never dethrones them from their high position.
He introduces them with great effect into the poem and
adds to the diversity of its characters. The gods of
Vyasa rarely interfere with human affairs. If ever they
do, they act as gods and not as selfish human beings.
We may cite one instance. Indra is represented as going
to Kama to deprive him of his natural armour, said to have
been born with him, in order that his son, Arjuna, might
not find him invulnerable in battle. Kama is well known
as a donor who refuses nothing to Brahmanas, and Indra
in the disguise of a Brahmana asks Kama to part with his
armour. The generous man gives it to him knowing
who he is. The Mahabharata does not represent Indra
as walking off quietly with it, but as acting like a god.
He is pleased and like a god grants a boon. Kama
asks for a weapon from him which is infallible against
one mortal, and Indra grants one to him not caring that
it might be used against Arjuna himself. Again Arjuna's
visit to the heavens or Indra's court and his encounter
with and propitiation of Shiva an incident which
Bharavi has developed into his Mahakavya, the Kirata-
Arjuniya are described by the Mahabharata in a few
brilliant touches and the divine characters act like jjods
and not men.
We will now pass to the question how Vyasa develops
his Characters and his story. We may repeat the part of
the definition of an epic poem given by Arnold. The epic
is developed by a mixture of dialogue, soliloquy and
36 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
rative. The author of the Mahabharata is equally strong
in this as in the other characteristics of the epic poem.
The Mahabharata is peculiarly powerful in its dialogues.
In fact, we look upon the dialogue as the strong point
of "the poern. As in the Illiad or the Paradise Lost the
speeches here are well conceived, eloquent and forcible
and are suited to the character of the speakers. It is not
possible to give here any particular dialogues in extenso % .
and we can only refer to some of the most brilliant speeches;
such as the dialogue in the Adiparva between Duryo-
dhana, Kama, Arjuna and Bhirna on the occasion of
the exhibition of their skill in archery ; or the dialogue
in the Sabha Parva between Shisupal and Bhishma,
at the end of which Krishna killed Shisupala by the
throw of his discus ; or the dialogue in the Vana Parva
between Yudhishthira, Bhirna and Draupadi, the latter
advising the use of stratagem to oppose stratagem ;
or the dialogue in the Drona Parva between Dhrisht-
dyumna, Satyaki, Arjuna and Yudhishthira when the
former had killed Drona in a defenceless condition.
Krishna's address to the Kauravas on the occasion of his
jrned^tion for peace is a master-piece and may alone
suffice to give the casual reader an idea of Vyasa's power
of conceiving a powerful speech. Another example of
Krishna's masterly speeches is the one in the Kama
Parva wherein he tries to rouse the spirits of Arjuna as
he advances to battle with Kama. These and other
speeches, too numerous to mention, are a peculiar charm
of the poem and almost convert it into a drama*
J3ne peculiar trait of the speeches in the Mahabharata
is their fearlessness. They are utterances of outspoken
Mahabharata as an Epic Poem. 57'
truthful persons who are not afraid to tell their hearers
what they think of them. Vidura, for instance, is never
afraid to upbraid Duryodhana in the strongest terms
possible whenever he is doing a wrong act. But perhaps
Vidura's position and relation were a shield, to him.
Shakuntala had no such shield. The Shakuntala of
Vyasa is a far different being from the Shakuntala of
Kalidas. She is a country girl outspoken and fearless
and conscious of the dignity of virtue. When the king
denied in open court having ever seen, much less married
her, she said : " I disclaim to keep company with you who
have no respect for truth. Truth is more precious than
husband or son." She does not swoon like the gentle
heroine of Kalidasa's famous drama but leaves the court .
in disgust.
The conversation between Shalya and Kama in the
Kama Parva is another instance of the out-spoken charac-
ter of the speeches which Vyasa puts in the mouths
of his characters. The story of a swan and crow is a
splendid animal story told for the purpose of -illustrating
a moral and is well worth a perusal. In fact Vyasa con-*
trives to teach the highest morals through the mouth
of his characters, his poem furnishing illimitable sayings
and examples on the value of truthfulness, simplicity,
honour, devotion to duty, generosity and self-restraint
There is one feeling or virtue, which is, however, not
touched, vis., patriotism, which forms a peculiar charm of
some of the speeches in the Illiad. Probably the
Aryans of India did not develop political virtues like
their brethren of the West, or perhaps the theme of the
Mahabharata did not afford opportunities for patriotic
-8 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
o
utterances, being a war between two sections of the
same race.
We now come to soliloquy. The Sanskrit poets
have not much used this form of speech except in the
drama wjiere also the 'Swagatas' are short and not
very eloquent. The Mahabharata does not contain any
soliloquy unless we can call the lamentations of Duryo-
dhana as he lay wounded on the battle-field a soliloquy.
We think soliloquy is not a natural form of utterance.
One may sometimes think loudly, but very few, perhaps
none give utterance to a sustained and impassioned
speech when thinking to themselves. We are not,
however, going to launch upon a controversy. It is
enough to note that there are no soliloquies in the
Mahabharata.
In narrative the author of the Mahabharata displays
as great a power as Homer or Milton. The story is
always told with force and perspicuity and the descrip-
tions are often picturesque and grand. In relating the
details of fighting especially Vyasa discovers a power
which is almost unique. The descriptions of the in-
dividual duels in the Mahabharata, one may be dis-
posed to observe, are full of repetition ; one warrior
throwing so many arrows at another who returns the so
many, being the usual way of describing a duel and
when the same scenes are repeated the reader is apt to
get tired. Something of the same kind happens even
in the Illiad. But we must transport ourselves to those
ancient days when the chief offensive weapon was the
arrow or the javelin, and when battles usually took the
forin of duels between opposite chiefs. Even as it is, the
Mahabharata as an Epic Poem. 59
variety of the scenes which the poet conceives and the
vigour with which they are described are really wonder-
ful. The recitation of the Mahabharata, especially the
war portion of it, like that of the Illiad, always roused
the martial spirits of the hearers, and it is well-known
that Shivaji drew his heroic inspiration from a hearing
of this poern.
In the description of natural scenes, the Mahabharata
is not as successful as the Raniayana. There are very
few descriptions of this kind in the whole poem. In the
Vanaparva, however, we have a description of the Hima-
layas which strikes us as coming from the pen of one
who has seen or lived on the snow-clad northern barrier
of India. The description of an avalanche in which the
Pandavas and Draupadi were caught is so graphic and
real, that we feel as if we are reading the newspaper
report of snow-storms which even in these days occa-
sionally overtake a Mail Tonga, sometimes with fatal
results. In the description of the Gandha Madana hill,
however, though very picturesque and full, we discover
some touches added by Sauti as we find the Tal or
the Palm trees mentioned among the trees adorning
thehiIl T which seems to be drawn more from imagination
than reality.
In describing persons the Mahabharata is chaste and
powerful. Female beauty is nowhere described in a
sensual manner as is so habitual with later Sanskrit
poets. The description of Draupadi which Yudhishthira
gives when he stakes her at the game of dice is in the
best fashion of Vyasa. " Draupadi, " says he, " neither
tall nor short, neither lean nor stout, with eyes* as
60 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
large and with breath as fragrant as an autumnal lotus y
in temper, in beauty even as a man could ever wish
his wife to be, she who goes to bed after and rises
before me, her I stake Shakuni, come, play." Even the
praise of Draupadi's charms which the poet puts in the
mouth of Kichaka are not as turbid as one could have
expected them from his mouth. Arjuna, disguised as
Brihannada or a eunuch, is most charmingly and correct-
ly described ; so also Bhishma and Drona as they go to
battle and Kama as he enters the lists in the Adiparva,
These instances would suffice as illustrations.
The last point for consideration is the measure and
the language of the poem. The Mahabharata is mostly
told in the Anushtub metre and the Upajati metre is
also frequently used. These are the recognised metres
of an epic poem in the Sanskrit language. The well-
known Mahakavyas are composed in these metres with
a sprinkling of other metres. The Anushtub metre lias
lost in dignity owing to the use of it in the PuranaSy
the Upa-puranas, in works on sciences and on art It is
apparently an hackneyed and easy metre. But we must
remember that in the hands of capable authors Anushtub
Snlokas are still dignified and powerful and we need
only instance KalidasaVRaghuvamsha, Cantos i and
4. Like the Iambic in English the Anushtub, though
the recognised metre for all heroic or epic works, gains
or loses in dignity according as the author is a real
poet or a mere versifier.
The language of the Mahabharata is also dignified and
fit for an epic poem. It is distinguished by three cha-
racteristics : simplicity, depth and correctness. Simpln
Mahabharata as an Epic Poem. 6r
city and depth are indeed two things which can rarely be
combined. Later Mahakavyas are distinguished by
dignity of expression but they have attained to it at the
expense of perspicuity. The reader is charmed and
pleased by the sound, but he has to stop and ponder
over the letters before he gets at the meaning. It is not so
In the Mahabharata. Later Puranas may compare well
with the Mahabharata in simplicity, but they use ex-
tremely* incorrect language, and commentators are fre-
quently driven to explain bad forms as 'Arsh.' Nor is
their language sublime and dignified. The language of
the Mahabharata bears the impress of a writer who is the
.master of a spoken language. It has been observed by
Arnold that Milton, whose language, in spite of its
ruggedness, corresponds in dignity with the dignity of
the subject, does not use chaste and pure English. He
uses Latin and Greek words and even Latin and Greek
constructions in English garb. I think the language
of the Mahabharata, though not ponderous like the
language of the Paradise Lost, compares favourably
with it in point of purity.
Whoever wishes to realise the beauty of the language
of the Mahabharata should read the Bhagwat Gita, which
is indeed what the author has said about it, the nectar
and essence of the whole poem. It not only contains
the highest philosophy which the Mahabharata h^s to
teach, but it exhibits the author's command over the
Sanskrit language in the highest degree. In the whole
range of non-vedic Sanskrit literature there is not a
single work which can equal the Bhagwat Gita in simpli-
city of language, in correctness of expression and the deep
62 The Mahdbharata: A Criticism.
sonorousness of its period. The words and sentences in
this best of songs are indeed cast in pure gold, for they
are small in compass, weighty and brilliant.
The epic poem need have no moral. But the Maha*
bharata has one distinctly. It is the binding cord
which runs through the whole of this vast fabric holding
fast its several parts. We are not left to guess what
this moral is. The author has told it himself in his
own words. The observance of Dharma, uitder any
condition or in any adversity, is the duty which the
Mahabharata tries constantly to inculcate throughout
its length. One may render the word Dharma as our
whole duty to God and man. There are four shlokas
at the end of the Mahabharata which contain this moral
and which are collectively called Bharata-Savitri. It was
stated by a Shastri that Bharata-Savitri used to be recited
every morning by pious Brahmins as a part of what is
called the Pratahsmarana or morning prayer. We shall
conclude this piece of criticism with quoting and trans*
lating one of these shlokas :
Rendered into English verse this stands as follows
With arms uplifted, loud I cry ;
But no one deigns to hear.
* Pleasure and wealth from duty flow,
Duty why not revere ?
MAHABHARATA AS A
HISTORY.
THE MAHABHARATA AS A HISTORY.
j CHAPTER I.
I
i THE DATE OF THE MAHABHARATA WAR.
I THE Mahabharata war or rather battle is the first authen-
| tic event in the ancient history of India. The authenti-
city of the fight of Rama with the Rakshasa, king of
Lanka, has been questioned by many ; but nobody has
I doubted the truth of the event of the terrible battle on
1 the plains of Kurukshetra which ended in the total
destruction of two vast armies. When did the fight
take place? That is a question on which diverse
opinions have been recorded. The earliest date as-
2 signed to the Mahabharata war is that fixed by Mr.
? Modak on the basis of some astronomical data found
in the Mahabharata. He thinks , that the vernal '
equinox at the time of the war was in Punarvasu
*' , and hence about 7,000 years must have elapsed since
then. Some thinkers, following the opinion of Varaha
i Mihira, believe that the battle was fought in 2604 BT.C.
European scholars on the other hand believe on the
authority of a Shloka in the Vishnu Purana that the \var
; took place about 1500 B.C. Mr. Dutta gives 1250 B.C.
as the date of the Kuru-Panchal war on the basis o
the Magadha annals which show that thirty-five kings
1 5
66 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
reigned in Magadha between the Kuru-Panchal war and
the & timeof Buddha, Mr. Velandi Ayyar, in a pamphlet
only recently published, calculates the exact date of the
war or battle as the I4th of October 1194 B.C. The
orthodox opinion, however, is that the war took
place in 3101 B.C. calculating on the basis of the
generally accepted belief in India that in 1899 A.D. five
thousand years had elapsed since the beginning of the
Kali-age. We agree with this orthodox opinion and
will in this chapter discuss the evidence both internal
.and external (the latter to be divided again into Indian
and Foreign) on which we rely.
The Mahabharata war is held among the Aryans of
India as synchronous with the beginning of the Kali-age
,and naturally enough. The Aryans of India had
.arrived, as we will show in a separate place, at a very
high state of both moral and material progress at the time
of the war and the war was the beginning of its down-
fall. Departures from fixed moral rules begun by one
party were multiplied by the other in retaliation ; so
much so that the last unpardonable action of Bhima in
ireakrng the thigh of Duryodhana with his mace 1 was
retaliated by Ashwatthama slaughtering innocent men
.and children at night in sleep. This moral downfall
was followed by the annihilation of the material power
of both parties and the Aryans in consequence gradually
fell, never to recover thereafter their former position, as
'history has painfully proved. In short, Kali-yuga has
i Krishna apologising to his enraged brother Balarama for this moat
^lawful conduct of Bhima can only say Hit ^fHfJpf ftft
The Date of the Mahabharata War. 67
properly been believed to begin with the great war between
the Pandavas and the Kauravas.
It is suggested by Talboys Wheeler that Shrikrishna
was not in existence at the time of this great war. But the
great Krishna cannot be separated from the Pandavas.
In fact, the Mahabharata would not have been what it
is but for his wonderful personality. We have strong
external evidence also in support of this connection.
HeracleS, who is none other than Krishna, and Pandia
have been talked of -together by Greek historians,
though by similarity of sound the Pandias of the south
have undoubtedly been mistaken for the Pandavas. 1
The curious story is related by Greek authors that
Heracles had a daughter by name Pandia on whom he
raised progeny by incest and assigned to it a country
which lies to the south and extends to the sea.
( McCrindle's ancient India). Here is a jumble of names
and facts. The Pandavas were no doubt the sons of
Krishna's father's sister, and his own sister was the
mother of the next heir. But the Pandias were a dif-
ferent race of Indians altogether who settled in the south
of India and among whom peculiar marriage institutions*
obtained (probably copied from the native inhabitants),
such as the marriage between sisters and brothers.
The same story as stated by the Greeks has, I be-
lieve, been copied by Feristah in the introduction to*his
great work wherein he gives a summary of the ancient
legendary history of India. To return to our point, even
1 Weber refers to this fact and the natural inference, but makes
light of it. He similarly disposes the Sutra of Panini wherein
and 3T|pr are talked of together, page 137.
58 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
this mistaken account given by Greek authors shows that
so far back as 300 B.C. Shrikrishna and the Panclavas
were inseparably connected in the public mind in India.
We may therefore grant that the fixing of the date of
the Mahabharata war is the same as the fixing of the
date of the beginning of the Kali-age and the date of
Shrikrishna. We shall now collect and discuss the
evidence bearing on these three points.
In discussing internal evidence we have to 'bear in
mind that the original Mahabharata, as has already
been shown in Book I, was at least twice recast, the last
time about 300 B.C. It is often difficult to decide
whether a particular sentiment, idea or statement of fact
in the Mahabharata belongs to the last mentioned
period, or to the time of the original nucleus of the Kpic.
But we shall have to do so and we have already given
some general principles on which this can be clone with
tolerable accuracy. Bearing this in mind we shall first
proceed to see what inference as to time can be drawn
from the state of society and knowledge described in the
original Mahabharata.
r ThtT Vedic period is usually divided into two parts, the
Mantra period and the Brahmana period. It appears
pretty certain that the Mahabharata war took place
in the middle of the Brahmana period, Holding, as
we tito, that the author Vyasa was a contemporary
of the event and wrote his poem some time after
the war, we may derive some argument from the
language of the original poem. The language of
\yasa is simple and forcible, and bears the mark of a
spoken language. It is also archaic in appearance and
The Date of the Mahabharata War. 69
stands on the same level with the language of the
Upnishadas. The poet has often a fancy to indulge in
the composition of metres after the Vedic fashion though
Anushtub has been established on a firm basis as the
metre of epic or Puranik poetry. The state of society
described is very nearly the same as in the Upnishadas.
The Aryans had arrived at a very high state of civiliza-
tion. Kings, armies, palaces and gardens are spoken of
in both. Caste had not become quite exclusive though it
was gradually being stratified. Brahmanas had establish-
ed a character for sanctity and were beginning to be
revered as saintly beings who had attained to divine
powers. Animal food, even beef, was freely eaten by
Kshatriyas and Brahmanas. Sacrifices were the order of
the day, though faith in these rituals had begun to be
shaken by new principles preached as Sankhya, Yoga
and Vedanta. We shall have to discuss this subject at
greater length in a separate place ; but these salient
features are enough to indicate that the Mahabharata
war took place about the time when the Brahmanas were
being and had partly been composed.
This conclusion is not shaken by what we find from a
consideration of external Indian evidence. The" Brah-
manas contain no direct reference to the great war no
doubt, but this is only a negative argument. For there
are other indications which show that the war must have
taken place about the middle of the Brahmana period.
The older portions of the Shatapatha Brahmana speak
of the Kurus and Panchalas as two flourishing com-
munities. The later portions have a direct reference to
Janmejaya Parikshita and his brothers Shrutasewa,
7 o The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
Ugrasena and Bhimasena, the great-grand-sons of
Arjuna. These facts would lead us to think that the
great war must have taken place in the interval. We
have again the direct mention of 'Krishna Devaki Putra'
as a teacher of Vedanta in the Chhandoyoga Upnishad.
Vyasa lastly is mentioned as a Rishi in one of the Pan-
shishtas of the Kathaka Brahmana of the Black Yajus
(Weber, p. 93), tho'ugh we have no mention of him earlier.
Weber in commenting on the mention of Janmejaya
Parikshitain the later portions of the Shatapatha Brah-
mana observes, u Flow is this contradiction to be ex-
plained. That something great and marvellous had
happened in the family of the Parikshitas and that their
end still excited astonishment at the time of the Brahmana
has already been stated* But what it was we know not,
After what has been said above, it Ccin hardly have been
the overthrow of the Kurus by the Panchalas ; but at
any rate it must have been deeds of guilt ; and indeed I
am inclined to regard this as the yet unknown ' some-
thing' which is the basis of the legend of the
Mahabharata." (Weber, p. 136)- Mr. Dutta, follow-
ing the train of thought started by Weber, says,
^Th^ literature of the times which makes frequent
mention of Janmejaya Parikshita has not a word
to say about the Pandavas who are entirely unknown
to Vedic Sanskrit Literature. Arjuna was still the
nam of Indra and Indra's Vedic combats with the
rain cloud have thus been mixed up with the facts of a
historical war ! To take one more instance, Janmejaya
Parikshita was, according to contemporaneous testimony,
himself stained with the guilt of the war. In the
The Date of the Mahabharata War. 71
modern Epic Janmejaya is the great-grandson of Arjuna
who was engaged in war/' (Dutta's ist Edition.) 1
Here is another instance of a jumble of ideas. What
contemporaneous testimony' states that Janmejaya was
stained with the guilt of the war ? In fact, the war has
not been mentioned at all in the Shatapatha Brahmana.
Janmejaya is stated to have incurred the sin of Bramha-
hatya and not the sin of waging a war. And whence
does Weber derive his idea of the astonishing end of the
PariksKitas ? The Brihadaranya only refers to a
question put to Yadnyavalkya by a Gandharva as to
where the Parikshitas were. It is a question which may
be asked about any person whose end is not marvellous.
This is a digression but one necessitated by the mistake
which Mr. Dutta has committed of confounding the sin of
Bramhahatya with the Mahabharata war. 1 The omission
of the mention of the war in the Shatapatha Brahmana
is not of great importance as we will show in the next
chapter where the whole question is discussed in detail.
Since we have the direct mention of Janmejaya Parikshita
and of Amba, Ambika and Ambalaya and Subhadra and
Arjuna and Falguna and other names familiar in the
Bharata therein, we cannot doubt that the wa** must
have taken place in the interval.
It thus seems very probable from internal and external
evidence that the Mahabharata war took place after the
Shatapatha Brahman had been commenced, and certainly
before the later portions of it, and some of the oldest
Upnishadas, such as Chhandoyoga and Brihadaranya,
i In the Second Edition of Dutta's Ancient Civilization of India
these ideas and inferences have been dropped.
] 72 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
\
j were composed. This by itself does not lead us to any
definite conclusions as to its date. But the time may
still be approximately determined. Although European
j scholars have generally assigned to the Vedas a very
! late date, later researches, especially those of Mr. Tilak
j and Shankar Dixit, have shown that the Mantra portion
1 of the Vedas was composed at least about 4,000 years
| before the Christian Era and that the Brahmanas were
probably composed about 3,000 B.C. We do not wish
I! here to capitulate the arguments of Dixit which relate to
the date of the Mantra portion of the Vedas. We are
only concerned with his arguments relating to the date
of the composition of the Brahmanas. These arguments
of Dixit are, in our opinion, very strong and do not admit
of any controversy. Dixit's work "The History of
Bharatiya Jyotish Shastra " has not, we believe, been
jj translated into English, and we take the liberty of giving
!J below his chief arguments. In the Shatapatha Brahmana,
I K.2, it is said 'Etaha vai prachyaidishonachyavantc, Sar-
I vani ha va anyani nakshatrani prachyai dishashchyavanti.'
|! " These (the Krittika) do not swerve from the east, while
|r all other Nakshatras do." This clearly proves that in the
| 3ays of the Shatapatha Brahmana, Kand II, the Krit-
tji tikas rose exactly in the east and must, therefore, have
I- been on the celestial equator. This must have been ac-
f * cording to Dixit's calculation about 3,000 years or more
H before the Christian Era. And if we remember the
\ r roughness of Vedic observations we shall have to allow a
jj margin of two or even three centuries to the time above
|, calculated. So far as we have been able to ascertain there
;i ; seems no reason why the date fixed by Dixit within a
The Date of the Mahabharata War. 73
variation of one or two centuries should not be taken to
be the date of the composition of the older portions of the
Shatapatha Brahmana. The Bharata war happened
some time after this and before the later portions of the
Brahmana were composed. These later portions must
have been composed long before theVedanga Jyotisha,the
date of which from the astronomical Observations record-
ed therein appears to be about 1500 B.C. (see Dixit) and
they may safely be assigned to about 2000 B.C. at
the latest. The Mahabharata war must thus have been
fought between 3100 B.C. and 2000 B.C.
The rising of the Krittikas exactly in the east referred
to in the Shatapatha Brahmana, Kanda II, has furnished
us with a reliable basis for fixing the date of that portion
of the Brahmana. That the Mahabharata war took
place soon after this, can be inferred from the almost
unanimous testimony of Indian astronomers. As has
already been stated, the Mahabharata war has always
been looked upon as the beginning of the Kali-age and
Indian astronomers have generally accepted and ex-
pressed the same view. The Mahabharata itself preaches
and maintains this idea, as will appear from the various
quotations given below :
Antare chaiva samprapte Kalklvaparayorabhut, Syamantapanchake
yuddham Kurupandavasenayoh ; Adi Parva.
Praptam Kaliyugam Viddhi pratijna Pandavasya cha, Gada Parva.
Etatkaliyugam nama achiradyat pravartate ; Vana Parva.
The same idea has been expressed by the astronomical
Siddhantas, which probably date from the first century of
the Christian Era, by the first Arya-bhatta who preceded
Varaha Mihira and flourished about 450 A.D. and lastly
by the Indian astronomers who lived after him down t&
74 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
the present day. Taking 300 B.C. as the date of the
recasting of the Mahabharata as we have it, we find
1 that from 300 B.C. down to the present day, the belief in
!' ' India has been that the Mahabharata war took place
j about the beginning of the Kali-age.' Now all the
Indian astronomers agree in stating that the Kali-age
began in 3101 B.C. It follows naturally that; in the
| opinion of the Indian astronomers, who range from
I 100 A.D., the Mahabharata war took place about
\ 3101 B.C.
Whence did the Indian astronomers derive that date
for the beginning of the Kali-age? That is a question
which has puzzled many thinkers and Dixit: himself is
one of them. It is suggested by him that the astrono-
mers perhaps obtained that date by calculation. They
supposed that the beginning of the Kali-age was marked
by the coming of the planets near Ashwini and found
the year 3101 B.C. as the one which most nearly ful-
filled that condition. But there is no authority to hold
that the Indian astronomers thought that the beginning
of the Kali-age was marked by the coming together of
I j the planets near Ashwini, Nor does it appear that the
L J "real 'positions of the planets were near Ashwini in the
V year 3101 B.C. Dixit takes Madhyama Grahas or their
ij mean positions and bases his theory upon them. But
II * Madhyama Grahas are of no use in this connection,
i! as the Spashta or real positions of the planets often
|,J differ by very large amounts from their Madhyama or
l \\\
,| i The Surya-siddhanta speaks of Bharata as interchangeable-
jlj with the beginning of the Kali-age when it speaks of Bharata Guru,.
,,J " w Dixit, p. 193.
The Date of the Mahabharata War, 75,
mean positions. In fine, this theory of a fictitious
beginning being obtained by calculation fails because
the two premises on which it rests are themselves
untrue.
It appears very probable that the date of the begin-
ning of the Kali-age, assigned by the Indian astrono-
mers, was obtained by tradition in the same manner as
the Mahabharata war has been by tradition identified with
that beginning. We have come across a very strong
piece of external evidence in support of this view. The
Greek historians of India, who derived their information
about this country at the time of Alexander and also
from the now unfortunately lost work of Megasthenes,
have recorded the following about the chronological
beliefs which prevailed in those days in India, " From
the time of Dionysos to Sandrakottos, the Indians
counted 153 kings, and a period of 6,042 years. But
among these a republic was thrice established. The
Indians also tell us that Dionysos was earlier than
Heracles by 15 generations " (McCrindle's Ancient India,
p. 204). Now although there may be a doubt as to who
this Dionysos was, it is admitted on all hands that
Heracles was no other than Hari or Shrikrishna. *
"This Heracles is held in special honour by the Shour-
seni Indian tribe who possess two large cities, Mathora
and Cleisobora. It is further said that he had a very
numerous progeny (for, like his Theban namesake
he married many wives)." (Ditto, p. 201.) This
description of Heracles should, we think, be enough
to identify him with Shrikrishna, the contemporary
of the Pandavas. Since there were 153 generations from
76 The MaJuMuirata : A Criticism*
Dionysos to Chandragupta and Dionysos was 15
generations earlier than Heracles it follows that Heracles
preceded Chandragupta by 138 generations of kings,
Taking 20 years as the average for each reign, we have
an approximate period of 2,760 years separating the two,
Chandragupta's date is 312 B.C which gives us 3072
B.C. as the approximate date of Shrikrishna, It very
nearly tallies with the date of the Mahafoharata war
.given by Indian astronomers-
Such was the tradition prevalent in India in 312 B. C,
i.e., at a time when European scholars arc agreed that
the Indians had not learnt or discovered the methods
of calculating the positions of planets. That the inqui-
sitive Greek ambassador at the court of Chandnigupta
has left carefully sifted information about India without
exaggeration or fabrication has also been admitted. 1
The only possible way in which the above tradition may
be impeached is by supposing that the Indians them-
selves had exaggerated notions about their antiquity,
This agrument, however, is not of much value as we
have arrived at our figure by taking the generally
^ -accented average of 20 years for each reign. It cannot
be argued that even the number of generations has been
exaggerated. The charge has often been brought
-against the Indians that they had no idea of history, I
think that the charge has been lightly made. Works
known as histories or Itihasas were known even in
Vedic times. The Mahabharata itself was originally a
history. Historical facts, especially genealogies, were
most carefully recorded at all times in ancient India.
1 See Hunter's Indian Empire,
The Date of the Mahabharata War. 77
The detailed figures given by Megasthenes himself
clearly prove that this was done in his time. Houen
Tsang has recorded it as a fact that annals were care-
fully recorded in each State. The Rajatarangini speaks
of ancient histories of Kashmere. In the presence of
such evidence extending over such a long period we
cannot believe that history had no existence in India.
Even now Rajput genealogies and even the genealogies
of Banias and Mewatis are recorded very carefully by
Bhatas who gain their living by this profession alone.
It was, we believe only once, ms^ between 700 and 1000
A.D. when Buddhism was overthrown and modern
Hinduism established, that historical darkness came
upon the land and most of the ancient annals were,
either destroyed or tampered with. The evidence which
we have adduced from Greek sources does not belong
to this period but is as old as 312 B.C. and cannot be
looked upon as exaggerated or tampered with. Even
granting all that can be urged against us, this much at
least cannot be gainsaid, viz., that the idea that the
Mahabharata war took place about 3100 B.C. is as old
as Megasthenes. ^
We are now in a position to consider the contra-
dictory evidence adduced from the Vishnu Purana and
the Bhagavata which presumably follows the former in
this respect. We will use Mr. Dutta's translation of .the
Vishnu Purana here. In the last section of Part IV
Parashara says, " From the birth of king Parikshita
up to the installation of king Nanda, it is to be known
that 1065 years have passed." This, no doubt, would
give to the Mahabharata war a date much later than
-y8 The Mahdbharata: A Criticism.
we have assigned, TO?., somewhere about 1400 B.C.
But this statement in the Vishnu Purana is opposed
to what has been stated in it a little before. The Vishnu
Purana purports to have been recited when Parikshita
was ruling the earth (see the last sentence of Section
.20). At the end of Section 23 it is stated that kings of the
Brihadratha race will rule in Magadha for 1,000 years. 1
Then follows the Pradyota dynasty, of which it is
predicted, " these five kings of the Pradyota race
shall govern the earth for 138 years" (Section 24).
Then follow kings of the Shishunaga race "who will
lord over the earth for 362 years." Hereafter comes
the Shudra king, Mahapadmananda, with his 8 sons,
who will rule the earth for 100 years. Now adding up
the periods of kings before Nanda we find
Brihadratha dynasty 1,000 years,
Pradyota dynasty X38 ,,
Shishunaga dynasty ... 362
1,500 years.
The Brihadratha dynasty is counted from Sahadeva,
c son of Jarasandha, killed by Bhima, and contemporary
of the Mahabharata war, " How can the statement
of 1,065 years, then, be reconciled with this ? Then
again we have the following statement immediately
after the former : " At the birth of the king Parikshita
they (the Saptarishis) were in Magha and then the Kali-
age began which consists of 1,200 divine years." It is
thus admitted by the Vishnu Purana also that the
1 A round figure like this is generally suspicious.
The Date of the Mahabharata War. 79
Kali-age began at the end of the Mahabharata war. It
is therefore making a statement opposed to all the
astronomers of India when it gives the interval between
the war and the reign of Nanda as 1,065 years only.
We further find that this length of 1,200 divine years is
said to equal 360 800 human years, which is evidently a
mistake. In our opinion the statements in the Vishnu
Purana are not of much worth. The Purana must
have beeh recast during the revival of Hinduism at the
hands of illiterate men ; we know what value is usually
attached to Puranika geography and astronomy ; and
we do not think a better value can be attached to
Puranik chronology. 1 Especially when we find that
it is opposed not only to the evidence of Indian as-
tronomers but also to the evidence of Greek his-
torians who have recorded the traditions prevalent
in India in 300 B.C., we cannot but regard this
conflicting statement in the Vishnu Purana as of little
value.
The apparently contradictory statement of Varaha
Mihira has next to be considered. The following shloka
appears in his Brihatsamhita and is said by hi^n to
have been quoted from Garga :
* * Asanmaghasu munayah shasati Prithivim Yudhisthire Nripatau.
Shad dwika panchadwiyutah shakakalah tasya rajnasheha."
1 Weber observes, " Those works that have come down to us under
the name of Puranas are all later productions and belong- all of them
to the last thousand years or so. They likewise advert m a prophetic
tone to the historic line of kings. Here, however, they come into the
most violent conflict not only with each other but with chronology, in
general, so that their historical value in this respect is extremely
small. " (pp. 190, 191.)
So The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
This is generally translated as follows: The J
(the Saptarishis) were in Magha when king Yudh.Is? tl:113 a
ruled the earth. And 2526 when added to Shakakala is tlie
date of that king." This would mean, therefore, that: the
great king peceded the Shaka Era by 2526 years a-nd not
by 3, 179 years as is generally believed. Varaha Mihir^ is
thus supposed to assign to the Bharata war a date la-tor* by
653 years. It is impossible to believe that Varaha IVlil** ra
could have differed from Arya-bhatta who prec^d^d txim
in this one respect alone; for he agrees with all the
other astronomers of India in giving 3101 B.C. as
the date of the beginning of the Kali-age. That he
should have believed the Bharata war to havo "been
fought 653 years after that beginning, is evidently very
strange; and we are naturally led to suspect that the
verse quoted above means something else than -wliat
it apparently does. A little reflection will show us tliat
this must be so. The verse is quoted from Garg"^-, who
is generally believed to have lived before the Christian
Era. The word Shakakala used by Garga cannot tti o r e f ore
refer to Shaliwahan Shakabda which was not even
r born jp the days of Garga ; some other Shaka is TJL n ques-
tionably referred to by Garga. Mr. Ayyar In his
recently published pamphlet has pointed out tlals fact
and believes-that the Nirvana Era which was tho only
one current in Garga's days is referred to in the S 111 oka.
The ingenious interpretation which he puts on * SIia,d~
dwika panchadwi' to suit his own theory cannot, however,
be accepted. We think the compound means? ^566
and not 2526, the component word 'dwika * meaning
' twice' and not two, the whole word being- interpreted
The Date of the Mahabharata War. 8r
according to grammatical rules, as six twice five
two. This, when added to the Nirvana Era 543, gives
us 3109 B.C., a difference of only 8 years on the gene-
rally accepted date of the Yudhishthira Era. What Garga
intended by Shaks, Kala cannot be definitely deter-
mined, but nobody can dispute the fact that the
word in Garga's mouth cannot mean the Shalivahana
Shaka. Although, therefore, we have not been able
to reduce the verse to the exact figure, this much
is certain that the discrepancy on which so much
stress is laid does not exist and that Varaha Mihira
did not assign to Yudhishthira so late a date as
2526+78 = 2604 B.C.
It is only a few years back that the date of Garga was
determined and we now know that he lived about 154
B.C. Kalhana, the author of the Rajatarangini, who
lived in the nth Century A.D., did not probably know
it and he naturally interpreted the above oft-quoted
verse of Garga in the same manner as has hitherto been
done. Kalhana was further confronted by the difficulty
of reconciling the generally accepted chronology of the
ancient kings of Kashmere with the belief that Gonand,
the first king, was a contemporary of the Pandavas, for *
the total of the years for all the kings did not run up
to the traditionally accepted date of the war, in other
words the date of the beginning of the Kali-age. Kalhana
was, therefore, glad to take his stand on this verse
of Garga and to maintain that the tradition which
made the Mahabharata war coincide with the begin-
ning of the Kali-age was mistaken. He thought, on
the authority of this verse, that the war took place
6
The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
61*2 years after the Kali-age had begun and explained
the chronology of Kashmere kings accordingly.
Kalhana says, (Rajatarangini, Chapter I) " Misled
by the tradition that the Bharata war took place at
the end of Dwapara, some have doubted the truth
of this number of years (given for Kashmere kings).
But the Kauravas and Pandavas in reality flourished
when six hundred and fifty-three years of the Kali-age
had gone/' Kalhana then quotes as authority for
his statement the well-known Shloka of Garga ex-
plained above.
Now that the verse of Garga has been differently inter-
preted, the difficulty or discrepancy which confronted
Kalhana again confronts us. The true solution seems
to us to be that Gonand I was not a contemporary of the
Pandavas at all as was doubted even in Kalhana's
time. The ambition of ancient dynasties in India has
generally been to connect themselves by hook or crook
with the heroes of the Mahabharata or of the Rama-
yana, the national epics of India. When Rajput
Princes trace their descent from Rama's sons or from
Shrikrishna we have a tinge of suspicion that they are
f draWfhg more upon their imagination than on solid
facts. A similar feeling must have influenced Kash-
mere historians, and Kalhana among them, when
they made Gonand I a contemporary of the Pandavas.
We find some support for this argument in the fact that
no king of Kashmere is mentioned or noticed in the
Mahabharata Itself. We have gone over the various
TIrtha Yatras and the conquest of the four quarters and
the list of the kings engaged in the war ; but we have
The Date of the Mahabharata War. 83
not found any mention of Kashmere kings. 1 If, there-
fore, we treat Gonanda's being a contemporary of the
Pandavas, as itself a mistake, the difficulty which confron-
ted Kalhana disappears and Rajatarangini or the history
of Kashmere does not in reality conflict with the view
above propounded. Kalhana himself admits that in his
days too the tradition was that the Kaliyuga began with
the end of the Mahabharata war. The same tradition
prevailed in the days of the well-known astronomer
Arya-bhatta; the same belief was held in 153 B.C. by
Garga himself on whose verse Kalhana raises this
controversy ; and we have shown that the same tradition
prevailed at the time when the Mahabharata was last
recast, about 300 B.C. We think the evidence is so
strong on this point that we cannot disconnect the two
events. One may assign to the beginning of the Kali-
age and the war a date later than 3101 B.C, but
it cannot be held that the latter happened 653 years
after the former.
We now turn to the argument based upon the astro-
nomical references in the Mahabharata of which much
has been made by some thinkers. We, on our part,
believe that most of these references are of doubtful
authenticity, in other words that they do not belong to
the original Mahabharata of Vyasa but to its latest
edition. It will be admitted by all that some of them
are fanciful and absurd. The last editor probably wished
to accumulate the number of the evil omens which
1 Kalhana himself states further on that Gonand being- killed in a
fight with Krishna, his son being an infant was not asked to take
share in the fight between the Kauravas and Pandavas,
g 4 The Mahabharata ; A Criticism.
preceded the war and tried to put In such impossible
combinations as he could bring together. For instance
we may safely put aside as absurdities the statement
that the sun and the moon were eclipsed at the same
time [Chandradityawubhau grastau ekanha hi trayoda-
shim (Bhishma parva)] or the statement that Arundhati
went before Vasishtha among the Saptarishis. These
may be classed with absurdities in the animal world men-
tioned further on such as the birth of a cow frorr^ a mare
or a jackal from a dog (Govatsam vadava sute shwa shri-
galam Mahipate, &c.). Rejecting these we come to the
mention of the planets occupying or oppressing two sets
of constellations or Nakshatras on which principally
this theory is based. In the days of the original Bharata
the planets were probably not known, and even if they
were, their progress along the several constellations
could not have been marked. The progress of the
moon and the sun was no doubt known and chalked
out. It was in fact the basis of the measurement of
time. We usually find in old works, even down to
the Buddhistic Tripitikas, events marked by a re-
ference^to the position of the moon among the constel-
lations. Such observations as the following made by
Balaram are typical of these days. ' Pushyena sampra
yatosmi shravane punaragatah (Gadaparva.) J We will,
however, try to explain to the reader how Modaka
and his followers argue their date from the double
positions of the planets, doubtful as they are,
mentioned in the Mahabharata as we have it at the
present day and we will show how far their theory is
sound.
The Date of the Maha"bharata War. 85
The following diagram which gives the 27 con-
stellations will be useful for the better understanding .of
this subject :
ASHWllMl Y *\**" CHIfRA
VERNAL EQUINOX 1 ^ a ^/r e/? ;>>AUTUMNAL, EQUINOX
The double positions of the Moon, Mars and Jupiter
mentioned in the Mahabharata are as follows :
In ' Maghavishayagah somah taddinam pratyapadya-
ta.' T The Moon is said to be in Magha while she ^jppear^
to be in Mriga at the beginning of the war from Bala ram's
statement (' Pushyena samprayatosmi shravane punara-
gatah,' Gada P.). Mars again is said to be in Magha
(Maghaswangarako vakrah, Bhishma P.) as well as
in Jyeshtha (Kritwa changarako vakram Jyeshthayam
Madhusudana, Udyoclga P). 2 Jupiter is said to be in
Shravana (Shravanecha Brihaspatih, Bhishma P.) as well
86 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
as in Vishakha (Vishakhayah samipasthau Brihaspati
shanaishcharau).' These double or supposed double
positions are sought to be explained by what are called
the Sayana and the Nirayana Nakshatras. It is alleged
that two sets of Nakshatras were prevalent in those days
and ought always to be accepted. As the vernal equinox
recedes back among the constellations owing to the
precession of the equinoxes we cannot stick to these
fixed stars alone. The vernal equinox may be supposed
to be the beginning of a set of conventional Nakshatras
called Sayana, the first Nakshatra in this conventional
set being called Ashwini. For example when the
vernal equinox was in the real Nakshatra Mriga, it was
the Ashwini Nakshatra in the conventional set and each
succeeding Nakshatra changed its name accordingly.
When both sets of Nakshatras are mentioned together
which Nakshatra is to be taken as the conventional and
which the real one, will depend upon the skill of the
interpreter. The double positions of the planets men-
tioned in the Mahabharata are explained by taking the
vernal equinox in Punarvasu which in the conventional
$set wiH be Ashwini. It is thus explained that the Mriga,
Magha and Jyeshtha positions of the Moon, Mars and
Jupiter are conventional or Sayana while the Magha,
Jyeshtha and Shravana positions are real. These double
positions thus indicate, it is said, only approximately,
that the vernal equinox was situate near Punarvasu
at the time of the Bharata war ; and this fact can show
us how many years have passed since then j the vernal
equinox receding nearly one degree in 72 years. Cal-
The Date of the Mahabharata War. 87
on this basis, vts., that the vernal equinox
Jrae time of the war near Punarvasu, ?'.<?.,
degrees behind where it is now, Modaka
about 7> years must have elapsed since
ink that the absurdity of these positions (or
-these interpretations of shlokas) is only equal-
ie absurdity of their explanation. Not only
theory not suffice to explain accurately all the
mentioned in the Mahabharata but it is also
y unsound. It takes for granted that the pre-
the equinoxes was a thing known in the days
auhabharata though as a matter of fact we know
5- reeks discovered this precession only a little
e Christian Era and in India even Varaha
ho lived about 500 A.D., did not know it. 1 It
for granted that the Nakshatras always began
vini though we have evidence in the Brahma-
"Vedang Jyotisha and the Mahabharata itself
. to too A.D. they always began with Krittikas.
jision which would necessarily be caused by
"O sets of Nakshatras, one conventional and the
., possessing the same names without any
* as to their nature, has been admitted by these
tiemselves. It would require an ingenious eye
e to detect the nature of the constellation men-*
d ancient sages were probably not fond of
.g such confusion in names, well aware that
men are always few and far between and they
well-known shloka about the position of the ^TTRf in his
38 The Mahdbharata : A Criticism.
would certainly have added some epithet to mark the
conventional Nakshatras.
The different positions mentioned in the Mahabharata
are no doubt difficult to explain. Perhaps Sauti, the
last editor of the Mahabharata who inserted hundreds of
Kuta shlokas in it, intended some of his shlokas to be
astronomical riddles and the commentator of the Maha-
bharata does treat the shloka ' Maghavishayagah sonia-
staddinam pratyapadyata ' as a kind of riddle. , He has
.solved it by showing that 'Maghavishayagah' meant
that the moon was in the Pitriloka, i.e., it was really in
Mriga. The word i Vishaya ' lends great support to
this interpretation. If the shlokas are carefully inter-
preted many of these apparent discrepancies disappear,
especially if we interpret the word i pidayan r (oppress-
ing) as meaning only oppressing by ' Vcdha ' or
'Drishti' as it is called, either direct, i.e. 9 in opposi-
tion or traingular as the commentator has done. It
would be uninteresting to the general reader to enter
into the examination of each passage here and we leave
the subject to be dealt with in the Appendix (see
note V).
T *
It now remains to consider the opinion of Mr. Dutta and
Mr. Ayyar. Tjie Magadha annals on which the former
bases his date are, I believe, the same as the Puranik
accounts of which we have spoken before and he him-
self has admitted the untrustworthiness of the Puranika
annals (p. 30, Vol. II). These, therefore, require no
separate notice and we proceed to notice the ingenious
theory which Mr. Ayyar has propounded in his recently
published book. From what has already been stated It
The Date of the Mahdbharata War. 89
will appear that Mr. Ayyar has only partially used the
materials available in the Greek accounts of India. He
has tried with great difficulty to identify Dionysos with
Ikshwaku and has entirely ignored Heracles whose
identification with Hari or Shrikrishna is so apparent.
He has also tried to make profit out of Garga's statement
" that after the destruction of the Greeks at the end of
the Yuga seven powerful kings will reign in Oudh,"
and maki tains that the Kali-age, which even Garga
admits, began with the Mahabharata war, was to last
for only a thousand years and ended with the expulsion
of the Greeks from India in about 150 B.C. It cannot
be believed that Indian astronomers, who have always
taken 1,200 divine years as the duration of the Kali-
age (a divine day being equal to an ordinary year),
ever believed that the Kali-age was only to last for 1,000
human years. The ingenious meaning which Mr. Ayyar
has assigned to the famous shloka of Varaha Mihira
* Shacldwika Pachadwiyutah ' cannot be accepted and
was not known to Kalhana. We have indicated above
the chief points where Mr. Ayyar's theory seems to be
pregnable and the limits of this work do not al]>w us^
to enter into a detailed discussion of his arguments.
To take a resume ; the Mahabharata war has always
been taken in India at least from 300 B.C. as the begin-
ing of the Kali-age and Shrikrishna is a central
figure of the war. The fixing of the elate of the Maha-
bharata war, therefore, is the same as fixing the date of
Shrikrishna and the beginning of the Kali-age. The
Mahabharata war appears to have been fought when the
Shatapatha Brahmana was being composed. From
go The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
Shatapatha Brahmana, Kand II, it appears that when
these earlier portions of the Brahmana were composed
the constellation of the Krittikas always rose in the east,
a thing which according to Dixit's calculation used to
happen about 3000 B.C. We may thus assign to the
composition of the Shatapatha Brahmana, Kand II,
a date between 3600 to 3200 B-C- taking into con-
sideration the roughness of Vedic observations. The
war was the beginning of the Kali-age to which the
Indian astronomers have assigned 3101 B.C. by tradi-
tion. For the evidence of the Greek historians of India
who have given the chronology of kings, as was then
believed in, in India, shows that Heracles who is none
else than Shrikrishna was removed from Sanclrakottos
or Chandragupta by 137 generations, and taking 20
years for each generation as an average, must thus
be supposed to have lived 2,740 years before Chandra-
gupta, i.e., about 3052 B.C. The Puranik annals which
contradict this chronology are of very little historical
value. These Puranas were recast about 800 A,D.
by illiterate persons who probably did not know when
* Nand^ lived and whose testimony, opposed as it is to
Greek historians and all the Indian astronomers,
is of no value. The date currently assigned to the
Mahabharata war appears, therefore, to be the proper
one and is one which has been assigned at least from 300
B.C. downwards. The contradictory theory of Modaka
is not based on strong grounds while that of Mr. Ayyar
omits to take into account Heracles whose identification
with Krishna is so palpable. It may perhaps be
said that in accepting the orthodox date assigned
The Dale i\f the Mttlwbharata THm 01
to the Mahabharata war we are going too far hack
into the hoary vista of antiquity. But if we look at
the dates which modern researches have, established in
connection with events in the histories of Egypt, Baby-
lonia and China, it will appear that the date assigned
to the first authentic event in the history of ancient India
is not incredible. It: is believed that the highest
pyramid of Egypt, which still survives and is one of the
7 wondcra of the world, was built about 2500 B.C. and
this presages a high, state of civilization and a settled
form of government existing from several centuries
earlier. 1 Babylonian history goes so far back as 2458
B.C. and when it is admitted that civilization In
Babylonia came from districts lower clown, " the
beginnings of civilization in these districts may be
placed not below than ^cxx> R,C n In China native
historians go far still further back, but it is admitted
that the historical king Ilangiwi came to the throne
in 2332 B.C. His predecessor, it is said, taught
agriculture to his people, established public markets
and discovered the medical properties of herbs* Genea-
logies of kings again with accurate information ^bout
the duration of reigns, with the exception of exaggerated
figures for a few kings in the beginning, were preserved
in Egyptian temples when Herodotus visited them.
Again Hebrew genealogies of Patriarchs of quite a
similar character arc still preserved in the scriptures of
these people and Chinese genealogies similarly are still
"* ' If, thc*rofors we iwwmui that tin* pyramid?* were built about the
year 3500 B.C. th b#tnnin# of higher civilization in the valley of
the Niltf tjnnnot ht* placed litter than 3000 B.C. "-(History of Antiquity
by Prof* Max* Hunker, Vol. i, p, 34.)
2 The Mahdbharata : A Criticism.
given in the histories written by Chinamen. It need
not be wondered, therefore, that genealogies of kings
with accurate figures for the several reigns, except
perhaps for the kings In the beginning, were extant in
the days of Megasthenes. In fine, it is not at all strange
that the historical memories of the Indian Aryans, like
those of the other great nations of antiquity, ,go so far
back as 3101 B.C. 1
1 In this connection we may bear in mind the fact that the products
of the Indus and the Ganges (including the well-known silks of India)
were brought by the ships of the Indians to Arabia about 2000 B. C."
See Ditto p. 322.)
CHAPTER II.
WERE THE PANDA VAS REAL BEINGS ?
HAVING In the previous chapter disposed of the contro-
versy as to the date of the great war between the two
kindred Aryan tribes, the Kurus and the Panchalas, we
will now proceed to discuss the controversy as to the
actors in the great struggle. It has generally been con-
ceded that the Mahabharata has " as a historical back-
ground an ancient conflict between two neighbouring
tribes who finally coalesced into a single people." The
most diverse opinions have, however, been held not
only as to when this conflict took place but also as to
who were the parties to it. Mr, Dutta following the argu-
ments advanced by Weber and others believes that
" the Panda vas must be set down as mythical heroes, "
because there is no mention of them in contemporary
Veclic literature, while other personages who figure in
the Mahabharata war are frequently met with.* For
example Janmcjaya, the son of Parikshita, is often
mentioned, though Arjuna his great-grandfather and
chief hero of the Bharata war is conspicuous by
his absence, Arjuna is still the name of Indra in
the Brahmanas- Before, therefore, we go on to give a
historical sketch of the events which form the subject of
narration in the great epic we must discuss the question
whether the Pandavas were real or imaginary beings.
.p4 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
Generally speaking, the mention of a person or an
event in a work which professes to be a history is .suffi-
cient evidence of the fact that such a person existed or
that such an event happened. To prove the existence of
Moses or Romulus no other evidence is required or can he
forthcoming, except histories or the traditions on which
such histories as cannot always have been written by
contemporary persons, rest. Of course the evidence of
tradition and of history may be rejected if rebutted by
other evidence or if they are shown to be untrusworthy
for cogent reasons. Prima facie we may take it there-
fore, that the Pandavas and their opponents lived and
acted as described in the Mahabharata which professes
to be a history and not a novel, unless we are given
strong arguments to the contrary.
The negative argument which is often used to dis-
parage these presumptions is sometimes used without
much consideration* The absence of the mention of the
Pandavas in contemporaneous or later Vedic literature,
if we devote a little thought to the subject, would be of no
import whatever, unless it was further shown that their
mention therein was necessary. To take an extreme illus-
traticfn hundreds of books were written at the time of the
battle of Par-de-burgh and have been written since*
But most of them contain no mention whatever of Lord
Roberts or Lord Kitchener, undoubtedly the greatest
heroes of the present day; nor even of the battle,
It will be quite illogical to argue that because these
books make no mention of Lord Roberts or Lord Kitche-
ner these men never existed. Since the great battle of
Panipat which was fought between the Marahtas and
Were the Pandavas Real Beings ? 95
the Afgans many books and poems, both in Marathi and
English, have been written. It is absurd to expect in
every one of them a reference to that battle or to the lea-
ders in it Nobody would be justified in holding, that
because one does not lincl any mention of Sadashiva Rao
Bhau or of Jankoji Scindia in a particular book written
after the battle of Panipat, no such beings therefore ever
existed. These concrete illustrations though extreme, are
enough to show the absurdity of the negative argument.
It would Tbe different if the books referred to above were
histories of the Boers or the Marahtas written at the
time of these events or subsequently. For such his-
tories must in the ordinary course contain a mention of
these events and the persons who took part in them.
Now it is well-known that Vedic Literature is generally
concerned with the explanations of ceremonies and some
times of philosophical and theological dogmas. Histori-
cal references come in very rarely and that too by way
of illustration. It would be impossible to suppose that
Vedic works would mention by way of illustration every
event that had happened or every person who had lived.
In our opinion their silence about the great war or about
the Pandavas cannot logically be construed into^a dis- *
proof of them ; for the historical evidence we have in the
Mahabharata has not been impeached on valid grounds.
There arc, however further strong grounds why the
theory that the Pandavas were imaginary beings can-
not be accepted. In the original edition of his book Mr-
Dutta expressed his belief that while the war was really
fought the Pandavas were poetical additions subse-
quently made, being the ideal personifications of certain
96 The Mahabharata : A Criticism,
moral excellencies. Several incidents in the life of the
Pandavas related in the Mahabharata, however, do not
fit in with this theory. For instance, the five brothers
are related to have married one and the same woman,
Now polygamy was not practised or rather countenanced
by the Aryans of India at any time. The Vedic Rishts
said "as one sacrificial cord cannot go round many
sacrificial posts one woman cannot marry many men,"
though one man, in their opinion, could marry more
than one woman as many sacrificial cords could be tied
round one post. How then were these later personifica-
tions of virtue represented to have done an act entirely
opposed to Aryan notions of good behaviour? Even the
Mahabharata itself admits the unusual character of this
proceeding and we plainly see in the Epic different at-
tempts made at different times to explain this seemingly
inconsistent conduct of its s heroes. Again Bhima is said
to have drunk the blood of Duhshasana when he killed
him in battle in order to mark the revenge he had taken
on him for his dastardly action in ill-treating DraupadL
This '-barbarous act too is offensive to the sense of right-
conduct in every man and cannot be supposed to have
' been predicated of ideal heroes conceived in later times.
In fact the Mahabharata here also makes an attempt in a
subsequent chapter, evidently an interpolation of later
days, to exculpate Bhima by stating that Bhima only
made a show of drinking the blood and did not actually
drink it These and other minor actions to our mind
show that the Pandavas were real beings and not ima-
ginary heroes. It may perhaps be urged that these
conceptions belong to a time when polygamy may have
Were the Pandcmas Real Beings? 97
been practised by the Aryans of India or the drinking of
human blood was not repugnant to their ideas. If we
grant that this was the case, of which there is great doubt,,
it will be conceded that this must have been so at a very
ancient date indeed. This supposition, therefore, if not
tantamount to the admission that the Pandavas were real
beings, is at least not better.
One may still be tempted to urge that the absence of the
mention in later Vedic Literature of the heroes of such a
vast and all-engrossing Epic astheMahabharata is at least
very suspicious if not positively harmful. To them our
answer is that theMahabharata, as shownin the first book,
was not then what it now is. It was then only one of the
many floating Itihasas or episodes mentioned in the Brah-
mana Literature as a subject of study. It was not that
comprehensive work which Sauti has made it nor had the
incidents of the war been invested with that religious or
mythological halo which is their engrossing charm in the
present Epic. For Krishna worship was still an infant
creed when the Brahmanas were composed and had not
reached those dimensions which we find it had assumed in
the days of Megasthenes. It is therefore quite compatible m
with the possibilities of nature that the historical incidents,
of the great war, not yet exaggerated nor associated with
religious ideas, were not referred to by way of illustration
by the Brahmanic Rishis. Lastly, the great war itself is
nowhere referred to in the Brahmanas. If then in spite of
the absence of its mention in the Brahmanas the truth of
the great war has been conceded on all hands, one fails to
see why the absence of the mention of its heroes should be
taken to prove that they alone were not real but mythicaL
7
^3 Mahabharata: A Criticism.
We now pass on to the second issue, war., whether
Janmejaya was the person who was really engaged in
the Mahabharata fight. This has been a little anticipated
in a previous chapter, but it would not be much amiss
if the whole subject is here brought together as in a
focus. Weber thinks that there is a great confusion in
the Mahabharata as to who this Janmejaya was. He
is sometimes represented as an ancestor. He is again
said to be a son of Parikshita, the grandson of Arjuna.
A Janmejaya Parikshita is mentioned in the I3th Kanda
of the Shatapatha Brahmana, where it is related that he
performed a horse-sacrifice with the help of the sage
Indrota Devapi Shaunaka and was thereby absolved
wholly from the sin of Brahmahatya. It is therefore infer-
red that there was only one Janmejaya, the great-grand-
son of Arjuna, and that the sin or guilt of which he was
absolved was the sin of the great war.
It is no doubt true that there is some confusion in the
Mahabharata as to whether Parikshita Janmejaya was
an ancestor or a descendant of the great heroes of the
.Mahabharata war. The confusion, or rather contradic-
tion, is due to the attempt of the last editor of the Maha-
Y <T
bharata, as has been shown in the first book, to increase
the bulk of the Bharata of Vaishampayana by repetition
.as well as by the bringing in of all the floating minor
"historical episodes which were current in his days. In the
Adi-Parva, Chapter 94, we have a genealogy of the
Pandavas given in metre, while in the very next chapter,
which is in prose, the same has been given again. It
.seems probable that the metrical Chapter 94 is a subse-
quent addition by Sauti as has already been remarked.
Were the Pandavas Real Beings? 99
For the two genealogies, differing from each other, give
the descendants from Kuru to Shantanu as follows :
CHAPTER 94.
Kuru.
Avikshita Janmejaya.
1 1
Parikshita. 7 other-sons.
Janmejaya. Kukshasena. Ugrasena. Chandrasena.
Indrasena. Sushena. Bhimasena.
Dhritarashtra. Pandu. Balhika. 5 others.
Pratipa. and others.
, J [ T
Devapi. Shantanava. Balhika.
CHAPTER 95.
Kuru.
i
Vidura.
i
Anashwa.
i
i
Parikshita,
Bhimasena.
i
Pratishrava.
i
Pratipa.
Devapi. Shantanu. Balhika.
ioo Mahabharata: A Criticism,
It is plain from Chapter 95 that there was a Janmejaya
but not a Parikshita Janmejaya among the ancestors
of the Pandavas. It is possible to reply that Parikshita
may have had, besides Bhimasena, other sons, one of
whom may have been Janmejaya. This supposition, it
may further be urged, is strengthened by the fact that in
Chapter 150 of the Shantiparva Bhishma relates to
Yudhishthira how Janmejaya Parikshita was purified
from the sin of Brahmahatya by the help ot Indrota
Devapi Shaunaka. The Janmejaya Parikshita therein
mentioned must necessarily have been an ancestor of
both Bhishma and Yudhishthira. It seems, however,
that this chapter has also been added subsequently by
Sauti in order to collate the Vedic legend given in the
Shatapatha Brahmana and in consequence of this addi-
tion he had to make some alterations in the genealogy
aS given in Chapter 94. For Janmejaya is pre-
sumably the eldest of all the brothers in this chapter
as well as in Vedic legend, while in Chapter 95, if
Bhimasena had any brother by name Janmejaya, he
must be supposed to have been a younger brother, as
JBhimasena would not otherwise have been the repre-
sentative of the family of Parikshita. Recurrence of
names is met with in all genealogies, whether ancient or
modern, Eastern -or European. The device adopted in
modern histories to distinguish kings bearing the same
name is to add their number. We distinguish kings of
England as Edward I or Edward II or the Emperors
of Dehli as Akabar I or Akabar II. The device
adopted in the Vedic Literature appears to have been
to add the name of the father or the mother. The
Were the Pandavas Real Beings? 101
Rishis are always spoken of as Baka Dalbhya, Ushasti
Chakrayana and kings as Harlshchandra Aikshwaka
or Janmejaya Parikshita. The genealogy given in
the prose Chapter 95, gives a Janmejaya and also a
Parikshita among the ancestors of the Pandavas, but
that Janmejaya was not the son of Parikshita. It seems
more probable that there was only one Janmejaya
Parikshita than that there were two, one an ancestor and
the other a descendant of the Pandavas. All these
arguments go to support the idea that Sauti has inter-
polated the genealogical Chapter 94 in verse in the
Adiparva as also the legend of Janmejaya Parikshita
and Devapi Shaunaka from the Shatapatha Brahrnana
in Chapter 150 of the Shantiparva. There is another
mention of Janmejaya Parikshita in the Mahabharata in
Adiparva, Chapter 2, from which can be derived addi-
tional support to the above idea. There we have, as in
the Shatapatha Brahmana, the four brothers, Janmejaya,
Shrutasena, Ugrasena and Bhimasena, mentioned to-
gether, and the word Papakritya is also used there.
This probably shows that here too we have the same
Shatapatha legend and the chapter being- in prose
strikes us as the remnant of an old Itihasa. In that 9 *
chapter Janmejaya is admittedly the great-grandson
of Arjuna and not an ancestor. It seems therefore
certain that there was only one Janmejaya Parikshita
and he was a descendant of the great heroes of the
Mahabharata war. Granting, however, that there is a
confusion about Janmejaya in the Mahabharata, how
does it follow from this that the sin of Brahmahatya
of which Janmejaya was absolved was the sin of the
I0 2 Mahabharata : A Criticism.
great war? It is indeed a long step to take from the
mere mention of a Brahmahatya to the sin of waging- a
great war. The Shatapatha Brahmana gives no hint
whatever as to what that Hatya was which Janmejaya
had committed. In the chapter in the Shanti Parva,
where this Vedic legend has been repeated, we find it
stated that Janmejaya had killed a Brahmin by acci-
dent. Chapter II of the Adiparva, where the same Jan-
mejaya Parikshita is mentioned, gives no clue \vhatever
to the nature of his sin. In-the great war, so far as it is
described in the Mahabharata, only one Brahmin was
killed, mk, Drona. He was more a warrior than a Brah-
min, and as he had come as a leader on the opposite
side in order to kill others there was no sin whatever in
killing him. The Dharma Shastra is clear on the point
and has frequently been stated to be so in the Maha-
bharata itself. We fail to see-how the simple mention
of a Brahmahatya in the Shatapatha Brahmana can
be expanded into and identified with the guilt of the
Mahabharata war.
There is another passage in the Vedic Literature
which has been made the basis of mistaken inferences.
r *
In the Brihadaranya Upanishad of the Shatapathn Brah-
mana Yajnavalkya is asked by his opponent in disputa-
tion, " Where were the Parikshitas " (sons of Parikshit)?
Yajnavalkya answers, " Thither where all the Ashvame-
dha sacrificers go." This has led Weber to observe,
"Consequently the Parikshitas must at that time have
been altogether extinct. Yet their life and end must have
been still fresh in the memory of the people and a sub-
ject of general curiosity " and again in another place,
Were the Pandavas Real Beings ? 103,
"Janmejaya Parikshita appears in the last part of the
Shatapatha Brahmana to be still fresh in the memory of
the people with the rise and downfall of himself and his
house." Now, so far as one can see, there is nothing in
the passage of the Brihadaranya Upanishad above
referred to which can suggest the idea that the sons of
Parikshita fell or that their fall was terrible. Granting
that the question and answer may be construed to con-*
vey the idea that there was a doubt in the questioner's
mind ab'out the sons of Parikshita having gone there, as
perhaps he had their sin of Brahmahatya in his mind,
how does it warrant the inference that the Parikshitas
had any worldly fall ? Is it believed that the Parikshitas
were defeated in battle? On the contrary the inference
subsequently made by Weber is that they were the lead-
ers in the Mahabharata war and had secured a victory
and not a fall by means of treachery and sin. To our
mind the former inference of Weber is not only baseless
but opposed to what he himself has propounded in the
latter place. Moreover, the whole passage was not
considered, for the answer went on to say " there
where the performers of the horse-sacrifice go, viz.,
beyond the world where there is a space as small as the
wing of a fly or the edge of a razor, Sec." The ^passage?
in question is only really meant to show, as can be seen
from the commentary, that the performance of a horse-
sacrifice led to the same goal where a sage could go by
Adhyatma Viclya. Probably the questioner had not the
sins of the Parikshitas at all in his mind even if they
had committed any.
To take a resume, the absence of the mention of the
Pandavas and the Mahabharata war in the Vedic Liter-
104 Mahabharata : A Criticism.
ature which does not purport to be a history of events
cannot be taken to .prove that the Pandavas t never
existed or that the war was never fought, nor can they,
from the actions ascribed to them, be looked upon as
imaginary heroes. Again, although Janmejaya Parik-
shita and his Brahmahatya are mentioned in the Sha-
tapatha Brahmana there is nothing to show that that
Brahmahatya was the guilt of the Mahabharata fight.
Had it been so the Shatapatha Brahmana wo^uld very
probably have said a word indicating the nature of the
Brahmahatya. Nor does it seem that the Parikshitas
had any worldly fall. On the contrary they were re-
membered for their great horse-sacrifices, the perform-
ance of which shows that they were in the height of
their glory.
Having so far shown that the Pandavas were real
beings and that they and not Janmejaya were the parties
to the great war, we will proceed to give a sketch of the
events described in the Mahabharata omitting mytho-
logical stories or simplifying them where possible.
CHAPTER III.
THE ANCESTORS OF THE PANDAVAS.
OF the lunar race of Kshatriyas, supposed to have been
born of the moon from Ila, the daughter of Manu, Puru-
rava was the first king of note. The loves of Pururava
and Urvashi, a celestial nymph, are mentioned in the
Rig Veda and have been immortalised by Kalidasa in his
well-known drama Vikramorvashiyam. The next king
of importance in the line was Yayati. The story of
Yayati and his two queens, Devayani and Sharmishtha,
is one of the most interesting episodes given in the
Mahabharata and deserves to be given here in detail.
The Kshatriyas of the lunar race appear to have beenstill
beyond the Indus, for Yayati's kingdom is said to have
been contiguous with the kingdom of Vrishaparva, the
king of Asuras, who have been most properly identified
with the Aryans of Iran. Sharmishtha was the daughter
of the king of Iran, and Devayani was the daughter of his
preceptor Shukra. The two girls once went out on a
forest excursion and while bathing in a well fell out in
consequence of an accidental interchange of ctothes-
The imperious Brahmin girl abused the daughter of her
master as if she were a slave, whereon Sharmishtha
in the heat of anger pushed her into the well. Yayati
came there by chance and being attracted by the cries
of Devayani saved her life by helping her out of the well.
She offered herself in reward for his gallant act and
Yayati married Devayani with the consent of her father-
She had yet to take revenge on her friend and insisted
I0 5 The Mdhabharata: A Criticism.
that Sharmishtha should be bestowed upon her as a
slave. Vrishaparva had no recourse but to accept this
humiliating demand of Devayani and handed over his
guilty daughter to the married couple as their slave.
Devayani confined her rival for years in the palace of
Yayati, but little did she dream that the vengeance she
had taken was in reality a boon conferred on Shar-
mishtha. One day she was rudely awakened from her
dream by the sight of two handsome yoking boys
curiously resembling her husband in appearance and
she learnt on inquiry that they were the sons of Yayati
himself by her rival. In her rage she flew to her father
for vengeance upon her own husband and Shukru cursed
him by declaring that he would be prematurely old. The
senseless Devayani thus harmed herself in seeking to
harm her rival and in the end had to implore her father
to assuage his curse. Shukra added that the old age was
transferable. Yayati now asked his sons one by one to
take his infirmity, but every one of them declined to do so
with the exception of Puru. For years Yayati enjoyed
the pleasures of this world with the youth borrowed
from Puru. At last he exclaimed, so the poet says :
** Desire stops not by gain of things desired,
But fiercer burns like fire by oblations fed.
All the gold, grain and women of this world,
Would not suffice one man ; be content.
Yayati called his son Puru and transferring to him his
youth took upon himself the age he had lent him and
taking his two queens with him retired to the forest like
all the great kings of ancient India. He blessed Puru
for his filial act and told him that sovereignty would
continue in his line.
The Ancestors of the Pandavas. 107
The story of Yayati is not only beautiful for its moral
but is also historically important. We have already
seen that the lunar Aryans were still beyond the Indus.
Again the intermixture of the two castes, Brahmins and
Kshatriyas, was then a common thing. Thirdly, Yayati
had five sons by name Yadu, Turvasu, Druhyu, Pura*
and Anu, the last two by Sharmishtha. From Yadu
sprang the Yadavas, from Turvasu the Yavanas, from
Druhyu ijie Bhojas, from Puru the Paurvas, latterly
known as the Bharatas, and from Anu the Mlenchha.
peoples. Yayati is thus represented as the progenitor
of many clans, three of which, the Yadavas, the Bhojas
and the Pauravas, entered India, while the fourth, the
Yavanas, went towards the west. It is possible that
there is an interchange of names in this enumeration and
the Yavanas should perhaps have been represented as the
descendants of Anu which corresponds most in sound
with Ion while the Mlenchha people should have been
spoken of as the descendants of Turvasu, a name which
sounds like the Turan of the Persians and the Turks
of modern history. The mythological story of the
transference of old age may be thus simplified
historically. Yayati probably, though advanced iTi age,
did not share the royal power with his grown up sons by
Devayani, who may be believed to have inherited her
rashness. They wanted him to resign that power and
finding the old man still in vigour and still obstinate
rebelled against. him. They were thus expelled by Yayati,
who was supported in this action by his son Puru.
Eventually Puru succeeded to the chiefship of the
clan by his filial conduct.
I0 8 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
The first king of note among the descendants of Puru
is Dushyanta. The story of Dushyanta and Shakuntala
the Apsara is known to every reader of Sanskrit poetry,
"for the beautiful drama of Kalidas 'the lost ring,' about
which Goethe is so enthusiastic in his admiration,
is based on that history. But the Shakuntala of the
Mahabharata is vastly different from the Shakuntala of
Kalidas. She is not a refined timorous lady as Kalidas
'has made her, but an honest country girl full of the
dignity of moral greatness. She had married the king
by choice when he had come accidently to her father's
hermitage during her father's absence in the jungles, and
there was no witness to their marriage. And when,
after some years, she went with her son from her parents'
hut to the capital of her husband, and the king in open
court denied having ever married her, she exclaimed,
"Truth is more precious than kings and even children,"
and she disclaimed to seek the company any longer
of a man who had no respect for truth, even though he
was her husband. At last the king, who had only
-sought this device to convince his people, took her -into
his household on hearing a voice from heaven that she
was ifTdeed his wife. Bharata was the offspring of this
union of choice and moral strength, and became the most
illustrious king of the family of Puru. He appears
to have conquered and sacrificed in India as far down
as the confluence of the Jamna and the Ganges, and the
Shatapatha Brahman quotes a historical verse in Kanda
XIX eulogising him for the horse sacrifices he per-,
formed on the banks of the Ganges and the Jamna. He
..gave his name not only to his descendants but also to
The Ancestors of the Pandavas. 109.
the whole country, for India down to the present day is
known in the Sanskrit Literature as the land of Bharata.
The descendants of Bharata were a powerful people,,
who inhabited the Punjab and gradually extended their
settlements southwards towards the Ganges and the
Jamna. The Bharatas are spoken of even in the Vedic
Literature as a brave people (Dutt's India). One of the
descendants of Bharata, by name Hasti, founded Hasti-
napura on.the western bank of the Ganges, and it became
the capital of a new country, for it appears that the
Bharatas now permanently moved from the Punjab
towards the Ganges and Hasti's great-grandson Kuru
gave his name to the fertile tract between the upper cour-
ses of the Ganges and the Jamna and also to the west of
the latter river, northwards of Dehli. The Kurus now
became a flourishing people and they are frequently
spoken of along with the Panchalas (who had settled to
the east of the Ganges and a little southward) in the
Brahmanas as a highly civilized and gifted people.
The kings of th,e Kurus, who subsequently reigned in
this fertile and happy land, have been mentioned in the
previous chapter. Here we may take up the line from
Shantanu. Shantanu had a son Bhishma (by the" 5 river
Ganges *), who is one of the most beautiful characters
in the Mahabharata war. After Ganga had deserted
Shantanu he fell in love with a fisher girl, by name
Satyavati, but she refused to marry him unless the king
promised her that her son would be his heir. Shantanu
would not disinherit Bhishrna who, however, of his
own accord relieved his father from difficulty, and not
1 See note IV.
no The Mahabharata : A Criticism,
only renounced his right to the heirship but resolved
not to marry at all so that there might be no progeny
from him to quarrel with Satyavati and the sons that
might be born to her. This resolve he carried to his
grave, and his great self-denial and his pious character
have hallowed his name, which is always mentioned
with high reverence by the Aryans of India.
sShantanu had two sons by Satyavati, one of whom
died in infancy. Vichitravirya succeeded his. father in
the kingship of the Kurus, but he died childless, though
Bhishma had married him to two wives, Ambika and
Ambalaya, whom he had brought by force from the king
of Kashi. Satyawati had, before her marriage with
Shantanu, a son born to her by the sage Parashara.
That son was none other than Vyasa, the author of the
Mahabharata and the compiler of the Vedas. Vyasa
was now called to 'raise progeny on the widows of his
half-brother by Satyawati with the consent of Bhishma,
the guardian of the family, and two sons, Dhritarashtra
and Pandu, were thus born to Vichitravirya by Niyoga
or levirate as it was called among the Jews. A third
son Vidura was born to Vyasa by a " Dasi." Dhrita-
rashtra was blind, and Pandu ruled the kingdom for
some time, when he retired to and died in a forest
Dhritarashtra, it is said, had by his wife Gandhari
(daughter of the king of Gandhara) a hundred sons, the
chief of whom were Duryodhana and Duhshasana.
It is these that fought the great battle, called the Maha-
bharata war, with the Pandavas or the sons of Pandu.
How these sons were born to Pandu we shall describe in
the next chapter.
CHAPTER IV.
THEIR BIRTH, EARLY LIFE AND MARRIAGE
WITH DRAUPADI.
THE Ma^abharata relates that Pandu took to hunting,
leaving the kingdom to be governed by Dhritarashtra
under the guidance of Bhishma. He loved to live in the
forest with his two wives, and roamed about killing deer
and other beasts of the jungle. One day he killed a deer
in the act of copulating with his mate, and was stunned to
see that he had in fact killed a Rishi, who had in his
fancy assumed that animal form. The Rishi cursed him
that he too would diein the same condition. Pandu, touch-
ed by remorse thereafter, gave up associating with his
wives and went to the Himalayas with the object of per-
forming austerities. For years he lived a life of penance,
but remembering that no man could have absolution
unless he had sons asked his wives Kunti and Madri
to resort to Niyoga for that purpose. Kunli had
obtained from a Rishi in her maidenhood five Mantras
by which she could call up five deities. These she now
called and had by Dharma (Righteousness), Vayu
(Wind), Indra (God of War), three sons born to her, who
were named Dharma, Bhima and Arjuna, respectively.
She gave the remaining two Mantras to Madri, her
co-wife, and she too had two sons by the Ashwini Kumar
(Twin Gods of Beauty), who were named Nakul and
U2 The MahaWiarata : A Criticism.
Sahadeo. Pandu was now satisfied, but forgetting his
curse one day fell a victim to his amorous inclination.
Madri burned herself upon his pyre, while Kunti with
her five sons was reached by the Brahmans of the
forest to Hastinapura. The sons of Dhritarashtra, jealous
of these new members, raised some objections, but
Dhritarashtra and Bhishma hailed them as the sons of
Pandu and admitted them to the family.
Such is the mythological account of the r birth of
the Pandavas, the heroes of the Mahabharata war.
All nations and all religions have invested the origin
of their heroes and their prophets with mysterious and
supernatural surroundings. And we need not wonder
howthe Hindus attribute divine origin to their heroes sup-
posed to have been born five thousand years ago. There
are, however, some who look to noble and divine deeds
only and care little for divine or supernatural birth.
Such men like to simplify mythological stories into
their natural aspects, and one would not find it difficult
to rationalise the above account if one omits the curse
and the divine Mantras mentioned therein.
We^ may here state who Kunti and Madri were.
Kunti, the Mahabharata relates, was the daughter of
Shura, the father of Vasudeva, and grandfather of
Krishna. She was called Pritha, or the big, and was
given in adoption to the king of Kunti Bhoja, who
was his (Shura's) paternal uncle's son, and was hence
called Kunti. She married Pandu at a Swayamvara.
The Bhoja kingdom was towards the south of Hastina-
pura and extended probably over the western limits
of Central India. The Bhojas and the Yadavas,
Their Birth, Early Life and Marriage 'with Draupadi. 113
as we have already seen, were kindred races. Madri
was the daughter of the king of the Madras whose country
lay towards the frontier. The Madras were presumably
a very fair people, coming, as they didj from a colder cli-
mate. It seems it was a fashion for Aryan kings of
India to rnarry a daughter of that country. Bhishma
got Madri for Pandu by giving presents to the Madra
king. Madri's brother, Shalya, was a leader in the
Mahabhayata war and fought against the Pandavas.
It appears probable that Pandu, after he had establish-
ed himself firmly on the throne of the Kurus, gave
himself up to the pleasures of hunting and to the com-
pany of his wives, and lived mostly in the cool regions
of the Himalayas. It is not difficult also to believe
that he soon fell a prey to the pursuit of pleaure.
Either during his life-time or after his death his wives
raised by Niyoga five sons, ,for progeny was valued
beyond everything among the ancient Aryans of
India, especially among kings, a fact we see even in
these days. As might have been expected the sons of
Pritha were strong, while those of Madri were hand-
some. All of them were fine warriors and lived a noble
life ; and noble and divine deeds, such was the belief
of the ancient Aryans, betokened noble parentage. A
story in the Chhando-yoga Upanishad clearly brings this
firm belief of the ancient Aryans. When Satyakama
Jabala went to a sage for Upadesha or teaching and
was asked his name and his father's name, he said
"I am Satyakama Jabala and my mother said to me she
did not know who my father was/' " Thou art the
son of a Brahman, " said the sage, "for thou speakest
8
H4 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
the truth/' We not therefore wonder that the Panda vas
were attributed a divine origin by their contemporaries
and their successors.
Sceptics and questioners are, however, found in every
age and the Mahabharata itself furnishes the evidence
that the legitimacy of the Pandavas was doubted even
then. Some said in Hastinapura that they were the
sons of Pandu, and others said, how could they be, for
Pandu was dead long since. But after all .they said
" welcome are they; happy are we to hail the sons
of Pandu." * It was this doubt probably about their
origin which was at the root of the ever-increasing
jealousy which sprung between them and the sons of
Dhritarashtra and which at last ended in the great
conflict on the plains of Kuru Kshetra.
Yudhishthira or Dharma was older than Duryodhana
by one year, while Bhima and Duryodhana are said in
the Mahabharata to have been born on the same day.
The other brothers appear therefore to have been
younger each at least by one year. It is not mentioned
how old the Pandavas were when they were brought to
Ha$4papura, but their early training was imparted to
them in the ancestral home under the eye of Drona, a
Brahmin teacher 'versed in the Vedas as well as in
archery. He was specially engaged for the purpose and
taught the hundred and six boys given to him as pupils
with the same care. But Arjuna, the middle Pandava,
was his favourite pupil and outshone all the others in
the apt of throwing the arrow. The bow and the arrow
1 Ahuh kechinnatasyaite tasyaite iti chapare, &c. 17 and 18,
Adhyayas Adiparva.
Their Birth^ Early Life and Marriage with Draupadi. 115
was the highest weapon in those days a-s^he gun and
the bullet is in these, and we shall have to speak of this
weapon at greater length in a subsequent chapter.
Bhimaand Duryodhanawere athletes and became equally
versed in wrestling and the use of the mace, but Bhima
was the stronger of the two. The superior strength
and skill of the Panda vas added fuel to the fire of hatred
already burning fiercely in the heart of Duryodhana and
his brothars, and they one day threw Bhima while asleep
into the Ganges on the banks of which they had all
gone to play. When Bhima did not return with the
rest of his brothers, his mother Kunti was in great waiL
Bhima is said to have been taken to the Nagaloka by
serpents and there to have drunk the nectar of life. He
returned safe next day to the surprise of his enemies and
the joy of the Pandavas and their mother. Probably
Bhima did not die in the cold water in consequence of a
snake-bite and came up alive the better and stronger for
the venom which he had digested.
The education of the princes was finished in a few
years and the result was exhibited in a tournament
which has been beautifully described in the Mahab^arata
and which shows the manner of education imparted in
Aryan India to the sons of kings. A large arena or amphi-
theatre was erected outside the city by orders of Dhrita-
rashtra at the instance and under the auspices of Drona.
On an appointed day the inhabitants of the city flocked
to the theatre to witness the grand tournament. Blind
Dhritarashtra with his wife Gandhari, Kunti and other
members of the royal family went and had their seats
in the appointed places. Now sounded the trumpets
n6 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
announcing the coming of the exhibitors when the
crowd became quiet, and Drona, who looked grave with
his white beard and white dress, led the princes one by
one into the arena. There they exhibited their skill in
bending the bow and throwing the javelin, riding the
horse and driving the elephant, fighting with the scimitar
or wielding the mace. The audience shouted cries of
acclamation when Duryodhana and Bhima, of splendid
physique, entered the lists with maces in th^ir hands,
and as they moved about the field and struck each other
at every opportunity with force, there was a division
among the spectators, some betting for Duryoclhana
and others for Bhima. Drona finding the division
and fight assuming an unpleasant aspect asked his
son Ashwatthama to stop the fighting and announced
that he would now bring forth his best and most
favourite pupil, dearer to him, as he said, than his
own son. Then entered Arjuna, clothed in a golden
armour with protection covers for his hands and his
head, with the bow in his left hand and the arrow in his
right. Trumpets blew, conches were filled and Dhrita-
rashtra inquired what the matter was, when Vidura told
him that Arjuna, the best of archers, had entered the
field. Arjuna now showed his skill at the bow, sending
five arrows in quick succession, as if they were one,
through the mouth of a swinging boar made of iron, and
performing similar other feats, and then showed his
mastery over Astras or supernatural missiles (of which
we shall speak in a subsequent chapter). He then
moved about in a chariot ascending and descending
from it with ease and agility and practised with the
Their Birth, Early Life and Marriage with DraupadL 117
mace and the sword. Acclamations after acclamations
greeted him at every act and trumpets blew again when
he had finished. Scarcely had their sound ceased when an
uproar rose at the entrance, and a warrior, tall and strong,
striking his arms, making a sound, deep and sonorous
with a slap, bearing the bow and arrow, entered the
lists. Drona and his pupils and every man and woman
in the amphitheatre looked towards the entrance, and
Kama bpwing to Drona and Kripa almost slightingly
said to Arjuna, " Whatever feat thou hast performed I
wilL Think not high of thyself." The spectators sprung
to their feet in amazement and curiosity, and while Duryo-
dhana's face brightened with delight, Arjuna felt a little
abashed and enraged. Drona, however, permitted Kama
to proceed, and he exhibited his skill at the bow, perform-
ing one by one all the feats shown by Arjuna, " Wel-
come thee, Oh warrior/' said Duryodhana embracing
him, " Be my friend and enjoy the kingdom of the
Kurus." " I value nothing more than thy friendship,'*
said Kama, " I earnestly long for a duel with Arjuna."
"Well, spoken," said Duryodhana, "thou art indeed
well-fitted to place thy foot on. the neck of my enemies."
Arjuna naturally thought he had been insulted, and
cried " Oh Kama, I will instantly send thee to that fate
which awaits those who come in uncalled and speak
unasked." "But," retorted Kama, "the arena is a
public place and prowess is the passport for every act.
I can punish thee even in the presence of thy
Acharya." Drona now permitted Arjuna to fight a
duel with Kama, and Arjuna embracing his brothers
and bowing to his preceptor stood ready for the
nS The Mdhabharata : A Criticism.
fight. Kama also embraced his new friend and
O
prepared to receive him ; the audience was now divided
between the two warriors, but Kunti swooned, for she
knew not what to do. At this point to her relief step-
ped forth Kripa well versed in the laws of duels, and
cried "Here is Arjuna, son of Kunti and of Pandu, of
the race of the Kurus ; proclaim thou thy name, for
kings' sons fight not a duel with men of unknown
family." At these words down went Karna's head
like a wet lotus hanging down under a drizzling rain.
"Acharya/' interposed Duryodhana, "there are three
classes of kingsthose who are so by birth, those who
are brave, and those who command armies. But if
Arjuna has an objection to fight with one who is not an
actual king, I bestow on Kama the kingdom of the
Angas." Immediately a white umbrella was held over
his head and they saluted him with the words " success
tothee." "What shall I give thee in return," said
the grateful Kama, "Nothing but thy friendship"
replied Duryodhana. Here entered an old man, a chario-
teer by caste, supporting himself on a stick and shed-
ding tears of joy at the fortune and fame to which his
son had suddenly attained. Kama in respect bowed
down his head which the old man wetted with tears in
bestowing on him the kiss of blessing. At this Bhima
laughed loudly and cried " Oh Kama, thou clost not
deserve to be killed by Arjuna. Throw away the bow
and take up a whip. Thou dost not deserve even the
kingdom of the Angas." Kama throbbing with rage
only looked at the sun in the heaven, but Duryodhana
shot forth from among his brothers and said "Bhimasena,
Their Birth, Early Life and Marriage with Draupadi. 119
you speak unfairly. Strength is the highest merit
of a Kshatriya and the lowest Kshatriya if strong may
fight. Even 'Brahrnans are born of Kshatriyas, for
Vishwamitra and others became Brahmins by their
worth. Everybody knows how you were born. This
warrior deserves to be the king of the whole world,
what then of the Angas alone? He who does not ap-
prove of my action let him step forward and bend the
bow." Consternation reigned in the whole arena at
these words, but the sun at that time set, and Duryodhana
taking Kama by the hand walked out of the arena fol-
lowed by his brothers by the light of torches.
We have thought fit to give the above passage in
extenso not only as an instance of the many splendid
spirited dialogues which are the peculiar charm of the
Mahabharata but because it so finely brings out the
manners of the times and the characters of the actors.
We feel as if we are transplanted into the midst of those
Western Aryans of old whose chivalry has been beauti-
fully described by Scot We feel we are in the com-
pany of stern warriors, bold, fearless and truthful, of
men who fought duels under strict rules of honour,
of men who honoured merit as high as parentage, of
women who lived an exemplary life though they had
by a regrettable chance once gone astray in early life.
The characters strike us as real but not prosaic, and
are brought out in bold relief : the proud Duryodhana,
the vain yet faithful Kama, the impetuous Bhima, and
the strong but steady Arjuna, and we cannot but admit
that each in his own way is an exemplary yet inimitable
man.
I2o The Mdhabharata : A Criticism.
The tournament over and it may almost be called the
embryo of the future conflict, Dhritarashtra went home
ruminating over the split which had evidently sprung
between the cousins. He fell an easy prey to the advice
of a minister (Kanikaby name) the principles of whose
machiavelian policy are well set forth in the Mahabharata
and are known as Kanika Niti. He lent a willing ear to a
plot which his sons now concocted to destroy the Pan-
davas by underhand means. A palace with walls filled
with lac and other combustible materials was erected
in Varanavata, a distant town, and the five brothers with
their mother were asked to go thereto reside foratime in
order to prevent a quarrel between the brothers. Vidura,
however, came to know the danger and warned Yudhish-
thira of it, speaking to him at the time of departure in
a Mlenchha or un-Aryan tongue. Diggers sent by him
had already prepared a subterranean passage from within
the house to a distance from the town ; and the live
brothers and their mother escaped by it when the palace
was burnt as if by accident on the next clay of their ar-
rival, though people believed that they were all burnt
within.
Wetieed not pursue the warriors in their wanderings In
the forest It may be that Bhima married Hidimba, the
daughter of a Rakshasa or cannibal, but the story of
Baka is evidently a childish interpolation of later times.
The brothers dressed as Brahmins emerged out of their
obscurity at the Swayamvara of Draupadi which was
shortly held at the capital of the Panchalas,
ThePanchala kingdomas described in the Mahabharata
may be supposed to have extended from Rohilkhand
Their Birth, Early Life and Marriage with Draupadi. 121
In the north to the Chambal in the south. The portion
of it to the north of the Ganges of which Ahichhatra
was the capital had been wrested from Drupada, the
king of the Panchalas, by the Kurus led by Drona and
his 1 06 pupils. Drupada now ruled to the south in Kam-
pilya and was burning to have his vengeance on Drona.
He is said to have performed a sacrifice from which sprang
Krishna or Draupadi, the future queen of the Pandavas,
and a son, named Dhrishtadyumna, who was destined to
kill Drona. Drupada wished to secure Arjuna for his son-
in-law, but not knowing his whereabouts proclaimed a
Swayamvara of his beautiful daughter at which the victor
was to bend a bow specially constructed for the occasion
and shoot arrows specially made at a moving target hang-
ing in the sky. Kings ancl princes assembled at the capi-
tal of the southern Panchalas and were received and en-
camped to the north of the town in a great camp, having
streets laid with sandal-scented water and beautified with
arches at the gate. On the appointed day the competitors
assembled in the Swayamvara hall and seated themselves
on golden seats spread over with costly coverings,anxious
to have a look at the beauteous bride. Krishna having
bathed and put on a superb dress and precious ornaments
now entered the hall bearing in the hand a gold-laced
garland. The preceptor of the family of the Panchalas
sacrificed at the family altar and taking the blessing of the
Brahmanas stopped all music. Dhrishtadyumna now
took his sister by the hand and addressed the assembly
of princes and Brahmanas in a clear and sonorous voice :
"Here is this bow, "said he, "and here the arrows. Wlio-
ever will send them in the hole of the target hanging
122 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
above, him shall my sister marry." The kings and
princes assembled, smitten with love and jealous of each
other, one by one tried their hand at the bow but could
not even string it. Abashed and enraged they returned
to their seats. Kama then stepped forth, took up the bow,
strung it and was about to take up the arrows when
Draupadi exclaimed "I am not prepared to marry a
charioteer." His face fell and the bow fell from his hands
and looking up at the sun he too returned to his seat
There was now a pause and Arjuna rose from among the
Brahmans. There was a murmur both of approbation
and disapprobation among them as he went towards the
bow. But heeding not either, he took up the bow and
having strung it sent the arrows in quick succession
through the hole of the target. A cry of applause from
the Brahmins hailed him. They said, " A Brahmin has
risen superior on the field. A Brahmin has won Drau-
padi." Yudhishthira with his brothers now stood up and
without waiting any further started back for his home.
Arjuna taking hold of the hand of Draupadi, whose face
was radiant with the smile of love and whose heart was
filled with delight at having secured a husband valiant
as the Son, followed her.
Such is the description of the Swayamvara of Draupadi
and it speaks volumes of the manners of the times. It
shows how Kshatriyas and Brahmins vied with each
other even in the field of arms, how Brahmins often won
and married Kshatriya daughters, how brides were grown
up and fearless at the time of marriage, how princesses
followed their husbands gladly into obscurity and priva-
tion. When the brothers reached home, they said to
Their Birth, Early Life and Marriage with Draupadi. 123
their mother that they had brought alms and she asked
them to share them among themselves. This is the fan-
tastic explanation given in the Mahabharata of the mar-
riage of the five brothers with a single woman. Nobody
would believe that a casual command given by mistake
would be obeyed so literally, nor is it likely that
Kunti would have said what she is made to say. Alms,
ordinarily, would be grain, and grain had to be cooked
before it ^ could be partaken by the brothers. Other
explanations have also been given in the Mahabharata,
but are equally unsatisfying. A sentence, however, has
been preserved in the epic, a fossil as we have said
elsewhere, which gives a clue to the right solution of the
question. "This is our family custom," said Yudhish-
thira to the wavering king of the Panchalas, "and we do
not feel we are transgressing Dharma in following it."'
We shall have to return to this subject in another place.
CHAPTER V.
THE FOUNDING OF INDRAPRASTHA OR DEHLI AND ITS
FIRST IMPERIAL ASSEMBLAGE.
"SHRIKRISHNA first appears on the scene in the Maha-
bharata here and he is introduced without any reference
to his previous history (nor has his history been sepa-
rately given in any place in the Epic). He was one of
those princes who had come to witness the grand
Swayamvara and was glad to find that his cousins
were not only alive but had also won the beauteous
bride. He paid his respects to Kunti, his paternal
aunt, congratulated the Pandavas on their success
and made valuable presents to them on the occasion
of their marriage. Dhritarashtra trembled in his
shoes when he heard that the sons of Kunti were
alive and were married to the daughter of the
powerful Panchala king. The crafty old monarch now
protested his great love for the sons of Pandu as dear
to him, he said, as his own sons and sent Vidura with
many presents to call them back to Hastinapura. The
Pandavas were quite happy to return home and went
there accompanied by Krishna. They were received
by Bhishma and others with great affection and honour.
Dhritarashtra now divided the kingdom between his
sons and the Pandavas in order to avoid future dissen-
sions between them, assigning the latter as their portion
The Founding of Indraprastha or Dehli, &c. 1 25
Khandavaprastha and the territory to the west of the
Jamna, a very large part of which was covered with
thick jungle of which the brave warriors, so the old
monarch said, would not be afraid.
The brothers founded a new capital in their kingdom
which they called Indraprastha, of which the remnants
are even now pointed out by the side of the modern Dehli*
The capital was soon filled with Brahmanas from all
quarters,, traders who spoke different languages, arti-
ficers of every description. Slowly the capital was
also surrounded by gardens filled with mango trees
and pleasure houses. The country had to be cleared of
its forests and the Nagas, who are unquestionably a
mythological transformation of the aboriginal people
who molested the Aryans in their peaceful settlements.
An atrocious device was adopted which has also been
transformed into the legend of the burning of the Khan-
dava forest, Agni or fire, it is stated, once appeared
before Arjuna and Krishna and requested the two war-
riors to assist him in devouring the forest which was
under the special protection of Indra or the God of rain*
Agni gave a divine bow called Gandiva to Arjuna and
he and Krishna watched while Agni devoured th forest.
Not a single animal was allowed to escape and the
fierce fire raged for fifteen days reducing the vast jungle
to ashes and destroying thousands of beasts and birds
and probably human beings. Only six are represented
to have escaped, zrasr., Takshaka Ashvascna (of whom
we shall speak again towards the end), Maya and four
sparrows whose miraculous preservation it would be
out of place to give here. This device of burning a
!26 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
large forest and of destroying the beasts, and probably
-the jungly aborigines transformed latterly into Nagas
and Asuras, who interfered with the cultivation of land,
does indeed seem atrocious and would not be tolerated
in these days. It was, however, in those days of first
settlement believed to be a sacrifice to Agni and was not
looked upon as heinous, and the country thus cleared
of forest and the molesters of peaceful agriculture soon
attained to a prosperous condition under the strong 1 but
just rule of the five brothers.
The union of the Pandavas and the Yadavas was now
further cemented by the marriage of Arjuna to Subhadra,
sister of Shrikrishna. It was not a marriage of reci-
procal love as is represented by modern poets. Accord-
ing to the Mahabharata it was a marriage by seizure, for
it is stated that Arjuna while on a pilgrimage to Dwarka
saw the beautiful girl in a festival wherein men and
women had gone out from Dwarka to the Raivataka
hill. By the advice of Krishna, who said he did not
know whether Subhadra liked him or not, Arjuna forcibly
seized and carried her away in his chariot Krishna's
brother Balarama was about to pursue and chastise the
abductor, but was prevailed upon by Krishna to ac-
quiesce in the marriage. Of this union was born Abhi-
manyu, the favourite son of Arjuna and nephew of
Krishna. Draupadi too had five sons born to her from
the five Pandavas.
Conscious of their increased strength and emboldened
by their alliance with the Yadavas and the Panchalas,
the Pandavas now began to revolve schemes for the
assumption of universal sovereignty, and Yudhishthira
The Founding of Indraprastha or Dehli, &>c. 127
called and consulted Krishna as to how far the scheme
was practicable. The Idea of a Chakravarti or Emperor
of India originated, according to Krishna's explanation,
in the humiliation of the Kshatriya race by the Brahman
Parashurama. The Kshatriyas who escaped death in
the war of extermination waged by that relentless
Brahman warrior against them, formed themselves into a
coalition of which one was appointed the Chakravarti or
the Emperor. What was, however, intended originally
to oppose the Brahmins became in the end the cause
of their own destruction, for every ambitious king
aspired to be the Chakravarti and tried to subject others
to his rule. Jarasandha, Krishna said, was the Emperor
then and had kept hundreds of princes in confinement
at his capital Rajagriha, subsequently known as Patali
Putra or modern Patna. Even -Krishna had fled from
Mathura and gone to Dwarka in fear of him. But as
Hansa and Dhimbhaka, two warriors whom he had in
his service, were dead, it was easy for Bhima supported
by Krishna and Arjuna to slay him in single combat.
Permitted by Yudhishthira forth started the three war-
riors in the garb of Brahmin mendicants. Reaching the
city of Rajagriha by forced marches they entered it by
a side way and struck and broke the great drum that
was kept on the gate. Walking through the streets
they took garlands from a flowerman by force and be-
decking themselves with them defiantly entered the palace
of Jarasandha, no one stopping them either through fear
or in respect for their dress. Jarasandha received them
in due form offering them water and honey, but as none
of them accepted the presents his suspicions were roused
128 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
and he asked them the reason of their strange actions
and false garb. Krishna replied " know thou that we are
thy enemies and therefore have entered the city by a side
way. We are decked in flowers because victory greets
those who put on flowers. We are Kshatriyas ready to
fight with thee. Come, fight with any of us if thou ,art
not prepared to release the princes whom thou hast un-
justly confined." Jarasandha now knew the truth and
accepted the challenge and prepared to fight wjth Bhima
without arms. It was a fight for victory or death, and
having taken the blessings of the Brahmans and taking
off his crown he stepped into the list. There the two
gladiators with their arms only as their weapons fought
untired, unceasing, taking no food nor rest till at last on
the I4th day Jarasandha retired seeking rest for a time.
Krishna beckoned to Bhima not to lose the opportunity,
and Bhima springing upon his tired foe whirled him
round, broke his back-bone by the pressure of his knee,
and taking hold of his legs tore the body into two halves.
It was a terrible scene, and the roar of the dying man
and triumphant warrior sent a thrill of terror through
the whole palace. The three then threw the dead body
at the gate of the palace and left the place in Jarasandha's
chariot.
Such is the awful description of the mortal fight
between Jarasandha and Bhima. There may be a great
deal of exaggeration in it, but we cannot doubt the vein
of reality which runs through the whole narration.
That the art of building up a strong 1 body had reached
great success in ancient India, we may fairly accept
from what we see of athletes even now in this country and I
The Founding of Indraprastha or Dehli, &c. 129
prize jSghts ending in the death of one of the combatants
were formerly witnessed even in western countries. The
fight between Jarasandha and Bhima, as described in the
Mahabharata, is not so absurd as it has subsequently
been made by later poets, who state that the two
halves of Jarasandha's body joined together as often
as they were severed, and Krishna at last asked Bhima
to change sides in throwing the halves which then could
not join to, form a body.
Jarasandha destroyed, there remained nobody who
could oppose tha Pandavas in their ambitious designs.
To assume, however, universal sovereignty a formal con-
quest of the four quarters of the known world was
necessary, and Arjuna, Bhima, Nakula and Sahadeva,
taking divisions of armies with them, went north, east,
west and south, receiving submission from and fighting
with, where necessary, the various peoples who lived in
those regions. An enumeration of these people is made
in the Mahabharata and is very important as it shows
the geographical knowledge at the time of Chandra
Gupta if not of the Pandavas themselves. Having thus
conquered the whole world the Pandavas with the
advice of Krishna decided to declare themselves the
master of the Aryan world. Among the ancient Aryans
of India every event was celebrated by the performance
of a sacrifice as in modern Europe by the delivery of a
speech. The assumption of universal sovereignty was
in ancient India signalised by the performance of what
was called the Rajasuyayajnya. A great hall like the
amphi-theatre which was just erected in Dehli had been
built by the Asura Maya in gratitude for his deliverance
9
!3o The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
from the Khandava conflagration. It was built of
costly materials, brought from the Himalayas, and the
architect had employed his skill so successfully that in
some places hard ground looked like a watery surface and
water looked like hard ground. Hundreds of princes
assembled from the four quarters to pay homage to the
Emperor and were put up in beautiful palaces specially
built outside the town. Brahrnans were feasted from
day to day and the sacrificial fire burned with the
oblations of the flesh of various animals. Bhishma and
Drona, Duryodhana and his brothers were also present
and were assigned honorary duties in connection with
the Imperial sacrifice. Duryodhana was especially
charged with the duty of receiving presents from the
.assembled kings.
On the last day of the sacrifice on which every one
present had the opportunity of bathing with holy waters
(Avabhritasnana) with the Emperor, Brahrnans and
princes assembled in the inner sacrificial grounds,
Bhishma according to custom called upon Yudhishthira
to make Argha or presents to the assembled kings.
The^ Emperor asked Bhishma who deserved the first
honour. Whereon Bhishma declared that Krishna
was the proper person to begin with. Sahadeva then
at the command of the Emperor presented Krishna
with Argha, which he accepted according to the
rules of the ceremony. The first place of honour
is always a cause of contention and Shishupala,
the king of the Chedis, rose up in protest. He
upbraided Bhishma for his wrong advice and attri-
buted it to his old age. He then reviled Krishna
The Founding of Indraprastha or Dehli, &c. 131
himself for his acquiescence in accepting the first
place when there were present older men than
himself like' his father Vasudeva and Drupada, wiser
men like Vyasa and Drona, and mightier kings like
Duryodhana and Shalya. Bhishma calmly explained
that Krishna rightly deserved the first place as he
was the mightiest, the wisest and the most honoured
of all. He was in fact the incarnation of Vishnu,
This gave^ a fresh subject for reviling to Shishupala
who was not one of those who believed so. He came
down upon Krishna for deluding the world by false
pretentions to divinity and upbraided Bhishma as a
supporter of false claims who deserved to be stoned to
death or burned like the old bird in the well-known
fable by his brother princes. This was too much even
for the old philosophic Bhishma and he exclaimed in
the heat of passion " My death is at my will, I count the
kings present, not so much as a straw. It is useless to
argue without end. Here is Krishna who deserves to be
honoured first and has been so honoured by us. Let him
who disapproves of this come forward and fight with
him." Shishupala stepped forth at once and challenged
Shrikrishna to fight. Krishna said : " I have pardlbned
thee one hundred times according to my promise but
cannot pardon thee any longer." With these words he
cut his head off by throwing his discus. It was a
ghastly end to a joyous beginning. The princes assem-
bled were cowed down and raised no protest. But there
were many who burned within with a desire to wreak
vengeance on the party guilty of open assassination.
The sacrifice, however, was quietly finished and
i^2 The Mahabkarata : A Criticism.
Yudhishthira dismissed the princes to their homes with
costly and suitable presents.
The assembling of princes for the purpose of pro-
claiming the assumption of the Imperial Power cannot
always be a successful proceeding. Moreover the display
of wealth and power rouses jealousy in the heart of the
evil-disposed, while the coming together of many persons
whose high position makes them sensitive on points of
honour, unavoidably furnishes occasion tp many for
being displeased and discontented. Thus in spite of his
efforts in the right direction, Yudhishthira soon found
that he had by his actions given a point to the height of
glory to which he had risen and that there must be a
descent for some time at least, however much he might
fondly hope that there were pinnacles after pinnacles of
glory rising one above the other like the peaks of the
Himalayas. He had created an unconquerable feeling of
hatred and envy in the heart of his cousin which soon
bore its evil fruit as we shall see in the next chapter.
CHAPTER VI.
THE DISGRACEFUL GAME AT DICE AND ITS
CONSEQUENCES.
DURYODHANA returned home burning with the desire
to humble the Pandavas and to possess himself of their
wealth and called to counsel his friends Kama and
Shakuni. Open attack was impossible, and Shakuni
suggested that they should take advantage of Yudhish-
thira J s failing, &., his love for the dice. The ancient
Aryans of India were as fond of gambling as their
brethren of Germany, and the rules of honour did not
allow a challenge given to be declined. The trio de-
cided upon making false dice and inviting Yudhishthira
to a game with Shakuni, who was an expert, and to cheat
him out of his kingdom and wealth. Old Dhritarashtra
was prevailed upon to consent to the plot by his ambiti-
ous son who gave most glorious descriptions of Yudhish-
thira 's wealth, swelled as it had been by the presents
he had received from the kings of India. He directed
the erection of an assembly-room in imitation of the
wonderful hall built for Yudhishthira by Maya and sent
Vidura, in spite of his warnings, to invite Yudhishthira
on pretext of seeing the great hall built by Duryodhana,
Vidura went to Indraprastha and delivered the message
to king Yudhishthira, and added of his own accord :
" You may do what you think best, for gambling is a
134 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
dangerous thing." With a heavy heart, and saying that
the inevitable must happen, the king started with his
brothers and his beautiful queen and reached Hastina-
pura in due time. There they were joyously received
by their friends and relations, and the next day the five
brothers went to the new hall where many princes and
respectable men had assembled to greet them. "Let
us have a game at dice," said Shakuni. " Gambling,"
replied Yudhishthira, " is a sin and a kind of fraud. Do
not conquer me in this disreputable fashion. Aryas do
not speak un-Aryan language nor walk in the paths of
fraud." " A strong man," rejoined Shakuni, " conquers
a weak one, a learned man a fool, but nobody looks
upon that as a fraud. Why should a man clever at dice
not conquer one who is less so? But if you think it is
fraud you are at liberty to decline." It was too much
for Yudhishthira, and saying that it was not his wont to
refuse when called upon to play, he started the game
without more ado. Stake after stake he lost, and mad-
dened by his continuous failure he staked successively
his wealth, his kingdom, his sons, his brothers and at
last r himself. u There still remains your wife," said
Shakuni, with the sting of a gambler. " Have one more
stake and you may win back everything." " I stake my
wife," said the senseless king, "the beautiful Draupadi,
neither short nor tall, neither thin nor bulky, with eyes
as large and white and with breath as fragrant as an
autumnal lotus flower ; she who is as beautiful as kind
and as well-behaved as a man may ever wish his wife to
be. Her I stake. Shakuni, play." "Shame, shame/' cried
the spectators, who could not bear to see the disgraceful
The Disgraceful Game at Dice and its Consequences. 135
game; but nothing abashed Shakuni played and cried,
"I have won, I have won." The joy of the trio knew
no bounds, and Duryodhana called upon Vidura to
go and bring Draupadi to the hall that she may
be sent as a slave and made to work in the household
and sweep the ground. "Fool," cried the outspoken
Vidura, u thou art doomed; speak not unspeakable
things ; do not exasperate the lions ; seest not thou that
thou art overhanging a precipice?" The infatuated
monarch however heeded him not and said to his servant
Pratikami, " Go thou to Draupadi, tell her that she has
been vanquished at game, and bring her here." The man
went to Draupadi and spoke to her as desired, and return-
ing, asked in the name of the clever queen of the Panda-
vas whether a man who had already staked himself away
had a right to stake his wife. "Fool, thou art afraid of
the Pandavas," said Duryodhana who was not to be balked
by such nice subtleties, and he asked his brother Duhsha-
sana to go and bring Draupadi to the assembly-hall. Off
started Duhshasana, and entering the apartment of the
queen of the Pandavas said : " Come, Draupadi, you have
been won at game, give up bashfulness and see Duryo-
dhana in the hall." Draupadi saw that it was usefess to
argue with the ruffian and in her anguish, ran towards the
apartments of Dhritarashtra's wife. But Duhshasana
sprang forward like a wolf, caught her by the hair gnd
dragged her along by force. She pleaded her uncleanli-
ness and her wearing one garment only, but Duhshasana
heeded not her waitings and brought her by force to the
assembly-hall. "Speak, sirs," said the tortured Drau-
padi, "am I rightly won? Had Yudhishthira, who had
!^6 The Mahdbharata ; A Criticism.
sold himself, the right to stake me ? It is sin if those who
sit in the council do not give right judgment" Nobody
answered hen Bhishma only said it was a difficult and
delicate question, considering the position of a wife.
There she stood in vain pleading for release, with her
hair caught firmly by Duhshasana, her upper half of the
body uncovered. It was a sighfc enough to exasperate
anybody, but even her husbands only hung down their
heads. Bhima alone could not control Jiis rage.
"Gamblers," said he, " have female slaves, but they do
not stake them even. Oh, Yudhishthira, thou hast
gambled thy wife away. Sahadeva, bring fire, I will bum
the hands of this shameless gambler.-" "How," exclaimed
Arjuna, " you never saicl such words before ; do you forget
he is our elder brother? A Kshatriya cannot refuse
to play when called upon by others. Do not allow your
enemies to conquer you by making you go astray from the
path of duty." Vikarna, the illegitimate son of Dhrita-
rashtra, tried to save Draupadi by giving it as his opi-
nion that she had not been properly won, but Kama told
him to keep quiet where far wiser heads hesitated to
decide, and he called upon Duhshasana to deprive the
Pandavas and Draupadi of their clothes. The Pan-
davas laid aside their valuable dress and sat almost
naked. -But what could Draupadi do? It was a plight
miserable enough to be dragged by the hair before
elders and strangers, but to be deprived of clothes it was
rifbre than enough even for the courageous queen, and
as Duhshasana seized her garment she could do nothing*
but cry and implore the Almighty. Covering Jier face
with her hands, and stooping down she sent her fervent
The Disgraceful Game at Dice and its Consequences. 137
prayers to -Han, the protector of the weak, the Lord of
the Universe, Krishna, the chief of Yogins. There was
a miracle. Every garment that was taken off gave place
to another. Garment after garment was taken off, but
s>
Draupadi was still covered. He who clothes the naked
Tiad come to her assistance. The princes and the people
present were wonderstruck and praised Draupadi, up-
braiding Duhshasana for his shameless persecution. It
was a noble and awful sight, the tormentor in vain
trying to expose the virtuous queen of the Pandavas.
He sat down at last tired and abashed.
Such is the story of Draupadi's clothing by Krishna,
- and it is sung in countless Hindu homes these thou-
sands of years, ever encouraging Hindu women to pre-
serve in the path of virtue. It would be ruthless to
dethrone this beautiful episode from its high pedestal
and to subject it to the process of simplification. Those
who believe in miracles will not doubt its truth. Those,
however, who do not, and there were men even in that
assembly who explained the event as a trick of witch-
craft, may ignore it altogether. Dhritarashtra now
thought that the game had gone too far and said to
Draupadi: "My dear daughter, I am pleased* by thy
noble conduct; ask a boon of 'me." " Release my
husbands," said she "from their bonds." " Granted/'
said he, " go, Yudhishthira, with thy brothers and
with thy wealth, go rule thy kingdom in peace with thy
cousins. For I know you are all noble and will Islr-
give the foolishness of rny sons for my sake." It seemed
to be a most joyous termination to the disastrous pro-
. ceeding of the day, and the brothers with their faithful
I ^S The MahaWiarata: A Criticism.
wife left Hastinapura without much ceremony. But
that was not to be. The old king was terrified again
when his sons told him that he had let off roused
serpents. If he wanted his sons to live he must call the
Pandavas back and send them to live in the forest for 12
years and to live one year more incognito to go into
exile again if discovered. They were ready to go into
exile themselves if they lost the game. As fate would
have it Dhritarashtra sent for the Pandavas again and
unable to refuse as true Kshatriyas they played once
more and lost the game and their kingdom.
CHAPTER VII.
THE TWELVE YEARS OF EXILE AND ONE YEAR OF
DISAPPEARANCE.
IT was a bloodless triumph. The Pandavas had been
humbled and their kingdom and their empire wrested
from them without a blow. < ' To-day begins the im-
perial rule of the son of Dhritarashtra," cried Kama, at
which the avaricious blind monarch was perhaps not a
little tickled. The poor victims of Duryodhana's fraud
left the city in the guise of anchorites followed by their
now illustrious queen and a few servants. Hundreds
went to see them off, blaming the sons of Dhritarashtra
for their cruel spoliation. Vidura asked Yudhishthira to
allow Kunti, the aged mother of the Pandavas, to remain
with him, and as she stayed behind she gave a touching
parting blessing to Draupadi. * ' Daughter , " said she, "do
not grieve in the terrible trial in thy life, Thou knowest
0,
well the duties of a wife and art gifted with a sweet
temper. It is not necessary for me to tell thee how to
behave towards thy husbands, for thy chastity has
adorned and purified both families. Fortunate indeed
are the Kurus whom thou hast not burned to ashes by
thy enraged sight. Go without hesitation. A good
woman never loses her temper in the hour of difficulty
and tfcou wilt soon be blessed and happy." Draupadi
with tears flowing from her eyes and with a single
I4 o The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
blood-stained garment covering her body and with her
hair untied and flowing down her shoulders said "Amen,"
and unhesitatingly followed her husbands,
It is not necessary to follow the Pandavas in their
rambles in forests, which probably adjoined the territory
they had lost. They generally lived by hunting and
passed their vacant time in hearing mythological stories
related by the Brahmans to Yudhishthira. Two of these
episodes deserve to be related here. The story *of Nala
and Damayanti is well-known and has been translated
into many languages, both Indian and Foreign. It was
related to king Yudhishthira by Brihadashwa in answer
to the query whether any king before him had been
deprived of his kingdom by gambling. Brihadashwa at
the end of the story taught the king the art of throwing"
the dice in which he himself was expert. The second
story, ^2 that of Satyavan and Savitri was related by a
Rishi in answer to the question whether there was any
other lady who had so saved her husband by her
chastity. Both the stories, if imaginary, are lovely pro-
ductions of the poetical brain, and Damayanti and Savitri
are two of the most noble conceptions of female charac-
ters. T&e latter is particularly revered in Hindu homes,
where every woman observes a fast on the I5th of
Jyeshtha in her blessed memory.
During their exile the Pandavas made a pilgrimage
.., throughout India as it was then known, visiting holy
j places in the company of Brahmans. They visited
r | ^ various places in Bengal, the Northern Sircars, on the
!, West Coast of India as far down as Dwarsamudra, in
i Kathiawar, Sindh, the Punjab and the Himalayas. The
The Twelve Years of Exile and One Year of Disappearance. 141
geographical indentification of these places is a subject
of importance which we will notice in our geographical
section. Having visited the holy places and having com-
pleted the 12 years of exile they returned to Dwaitavana
and resolved to pass their one year of incognito at the
capital of Virata, the king of the Matsyas.
Directing Dhaumya, their Guru, to take their sacrificial
fires to the house of Drupada and sending Indrasena and
other servants with their chariots to Dwaraka, the Panda-
vas with their queen marched for some days on foot along
the banks of the Jam na, representing themselves as the
huntsmen of king Virata. As they approached the capi-
tal, which was somewhere to the south of the Jamna, they
saw a big Shami tree standing near the burial ground of
the town. Qn that tree Sahadeva deposited, at the instance
of Yudhishthira, their arms. They then changed their
dresses and severally went into the city. Yudhishthira,
who was now expert in the art of gambling, entered the
service of Virata as a Brahman courtier who played with
the king at dice. Bhima, versed in the art of cooking, be-
came master-cook and also a gladiator. Arjuna elected to
be a eunuch proficient in the art of dancing, which he is
said to have learnt at the court of Indra in heaven, where '
he had gone during the exile to learn Astraviclya. He
concealed the rough spots on the arm caused by constant
use of the bow by wearing brass armlets and put on white
bangles and let loose his hair. Thus dressed as a
eunuch he entered Virata's service and taught dancing
to his daughter and other girls- Nakula and Sahadeva
became respectively horseman and cow-herd and passed
their *time accordingly. The queen of the Pandavas
1^2 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
was the most difficult to be disguised. Strong in her
virtue and possessed of courage, she dressed herself as a
Sairandhri, or a servant girl, a class of which we have
no idea now, and being seen wandering without em-
ployment by Sudeshna, the wife of Virata, was taken up
by her. The entry of five new men and a woman into
Virata's service ought to have raised suspicion, but
probably they took up their duties at different times
and Arjuna's disguise as a eunuch was the Jeast ex-
pected and the least likely to be detected, for eunuchs
are usually tall and bony. Thus they passed almost the
whole of their period of incognito ^ when an event raised
suspicion about their character. Virata had a commander-
in-chief by name Kichaka, who was a Suta by caste and
who had many of his eastern en in his service also called
Kichakas, probably that being their family name. They
were all athletes and the head of them wielded very real
power in Virata's kingdom. He treated himself as
the brother of Virata's queen Sudheshna, though in
reality she was the daughter of the King of the Kaikcyas.
Seeing Draupadi one day in attendance on the queen
his lust was excited, and as she rejected his amorous
offers ffe succeeded in inducing Sudeshna to send her
to his house on some pretext. Sudeshna asked Sai-
randhri to bring a cup of wine for her from Kichaka's
house, and suspicious though she was she had to go,
It is needless to say that Draupadi resisted personal
violence and giving a strong back push to the villain
ran to Virata's court for redress. Kichaka enraged
and abashed at being thrown down pursued her, and
as she stood in the royal presence seized her by the
The Twelve Years of Exile and One Year of Disappearance. 143
hair and kicked hen It was an indignity worse than
death itself, but as Virata said nothing she cried : " Oh,
the five Gandharvas who are my husbands and who see
me thus treated, will they too keep silent ? Heavens !
this is a life which I cannot bear." Yudhishthira,
Kanka by his assumed name, replied : <c Go, Sairandhri,
back to Sudeshna's apartment. Your husbands perhaps
do not see time yet to rescue you." Draupadi went as
desired, but she was not satisfied. Burningwith the insult
she had received, she went clandestinely to Bhima and
apprised him of what had happened. She swore she
would not live if Kichaka was not dead the next day.
Bhima then conceived a plan to catch Kichaka in a
trap. He asked her to make an appointment with him
to meet at dead of night in the dancing hall which
remained unoccupied by night. He would lie there in
wait and would kill him when he came. The plot was
well conceived and was duly carried out. The infatuat-
ed villain fell an easy prey to the representation of
Draupadi, and going to the dancing hall at night was
in single combat killed by the enraged Bhima. In the
morning people saw the dreadful spectacle of a heap
of flesh and bones literally kneaded together* in the
dancing hall of Kichaka who was to be found nowhere.
It was clear that Draupadi's Gandharva husbands had
killed him at night. The enraged followers of Kichaka
seeking to have vengeance on her caught hold of her
as she stood looking from a distance and tied her to the
pier of Kichaka saying they would burn the woman with
her unsuccessful lover. Poor Di^upadi, trials after trials
were taking away her patience. Bhima was, however,
!44 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
there to rescue her. Hearing her cries he ran to
the burial ground and attacked the Upa-Kichakas, killed
some of them, while others fled away believing him to
be the Gandharva husband of Draupadi. Draupadi
was set free and reached home followed by Bhima. As
she entered Sudeshna's apartment, she said looking at
Bhima, "I bow to thee, Gandharva prince, who had
rescued me from death."
The slaying of Kichakaby a Gandharva was a great
event and Duryodhana's spies, who were located in every
town to discover the hidden Pandavas, informed him of
it. The clue was worth following. Duryodhana asked
the king of the Trigartas, who had been before defeated
by Kichaka, to attack king Virata on the southern side
and seize his cattle, while he himself with his army would
attack him on the north. The Mahabharata is precise in
stating that it was on the 8th that the Trigartas attacked
Virata, while Duryodhana attacked on the gth, but
strangely enough it is not stated what month it was.
Virata, accompanied by the four Pandavas, went out to
meet the Trigartas on the south, leaving the town in
charge of his young son Uttara. When the Kaurava
army s.eized the cattle on the north, cow-herds ran to
Uttara for help. The inexperienced boy boasted that
he would gladly go out to meet the Kauravas, but
unfortunately he had not a good charioteer. Sairandhri
suggested that Brihannada (that was the name Arjuna
had assumed) could do the duty for him if his sister
Uttara would ask her teacher in dancing to do so,
It was soon arranged* and Arjuna took out TJttara in
a chariot. The boy as soon as he saw the vast army
Twelve Years of Exile and One Year of Disappearance. 145
of the Kauravas lost courage, and jumping down the
chariot ran towards the town. Arjuna, however, know-
ing that it was time for the Pandavas to declare them-
selves, pursued him and catching him by the hair
brought him back to the chariot. He told him he would
fight for him and asked him to drive the chariot. The
chariot was then taken to the Shami-tree and the
bows which had been concealed by Sahadeva therein
were taken down. Uncovering his own bow Arjuna
said, "Ttiis is the famous Gandiva bow which I have
used these 32 years and a half, and I am Arjuna." This
gives us an idea of Arjuna's age at this time. The
bow was given him by Agni when the Khandava
forest was burned, a little after the founding of Indra-
prastha and the Pandava's marriage with Draupadi.
If we suppose that Arjuna was at the time of his
marriage about 20 years of age, it follows that they
enjoyed peace and reigned in Indraprastha for 20 years.
They were then deprived of their kingdom and lived
in jungles about 12 years and a half. Arjuna was thus at
this time about 52. If we take the ages of the five
brothers as differing by one we find that the eldest
Yudhishthira was 55 years old when this fight* took
place.
Armed with his powerful bow and driven by Uttara,
Arjuna went to fight with the Kaurava army and
defeated them. The generals in the Kaurava army,
Bhishma and Drona, did not probably fight in earnest,
nor did Duryodhana insist on this, as his object had
been gained. " We have discovered Arjuna," he said
to BhisMna, "before the stipulated time and the Panda-
146 The Mahdbharata: A Criticism.
vas must go into exile again. "Well," said Bhishma,
"the question is a difficult one. In every five years
two months are found in excess. In these thirteen
years 5 months and 12 nights are in excess. The
Pandavas are versed in science and might claim these
to be deducted. The Pandavas have observed their
faith so far and would not have come forward unless
they felt justified. They do not wish to take anything
unjustly, but they would not give up what they can
justly claim." The evil-minded Duryodhana said no-
thing and the army of the Kauravas returned to
Hastinapura.
It was the first lesson in war Uttara had learnt and it
was under a great master. On returning home he
found that his father also had returned successful, assist-
ed as he had been by the four Pandavas- He at once
informed his father who Brihannada was, and the grate-
ful king offered to give his youthful daughter in mar-
riage to Arjuna, Arjuna said he had taught her as a
pupil and stood to her in the relation of a father. He
however accepted her for his son and the marriage was
celebrated with becoming festivities when Abhimanyu,
Arjufta's son, came from Dwaraka accompanied by
Krishna and his sister Subhadra. The aged king Dru-
pada also ' came to congratulate his sons-in-law on the
end of their trouble, and he and Virata now asked them
to try with their assistance to regain their kingdom.
CHAPTER VIII.
PREPARATIONS FOR WAR.
YUDHISHTHIRA now encamped himself at Upaplavya, a
town on the frontier of the Matsya kingdom, and began
to collect^ an army in view of the impending struggle.
Kings Drupada and Virata were already there with
their available forces, and many others joined Yudhish-
thira in response to invitations sent by them conjointly.
Duryodhana in the meanwhile was not inactive, for he
was watching the movements of Yudhishthira carefully,
and he too sent invitations to the princes of India to
join him in opposing Yudhishthira. Krishna's aid
was sought by both and he gave the first choice to
Arjuna either to take him unattended and unarmed
-or his army of Gopas or cow-herds. Arjuna preferred
the former and Duryodhana was glad to have the latter.
Balarama, Krishna's brother, stood aloof in order to
avoid participation in the war and decided to go on
a pilgrimage. The kings mentioned by namfe, who
elected to join the Pandavas, were ; first, Yuyudhana
or Satyaki, king of the Satyavatas, who were a clan
of the Yadava family ; second, Dhrishtaketu, king
of the Chedis (he was the son of Shisupala and it seems
strange that he joined the Pandavas) ; third, Jayatsena,
son of Jarasandha (according to the strange manners
of the Kshatriyas a daughter of Jarasandha married
Bhima after he had slain him in combat) ; fourth, the king
148 The Mahabharata ; A Criticism.
of the Pandias ; fifth, Drupada, and sixth, Virata, already
mentioned. All these kings brought an Akshauhini
or what may be called an army corps, and each
minor addition, headed by kings not named, formed
one more corps, making thus 7 Akshauhinis in all
on the side of the Pandavas.
On the side of Duryodhana were ranged first, Bhaga-
datta, king of the Northern barbarians of yellow colour ;
second, Bhurishrava ,* third, Shalya, king of the Madras
(he joined the Kauravas though Nakula and Sahedeva
were his sister's sons) ; fourth, Kritvarma, king* of the
Bhojas, a section of the Yadava race ; fifth, Jayadratha
with his brothers , king of Sindhusauviras ; sixth,
Sudakshina, king of the Kambojas and Yavanas ;
seventh, Nila, king of Mahishmati, capital of the Dcccan;
eighth, the two kings of Avanti ; ninth, the king of the
Kaikeyas with his brothers. These brought an Akshau-
hini each, and together with the army consisting of three
Akshauhinis brought by minor kings, the total strength
on the side of Duryodhana was n Akshauhinis.
There is some mistake apparently in this calculation^
for there would be thus 12 Akshauhinis.
The strength of an Akshauhini is stated in the
Mahabharata as 21,870 elephants, 21,870 chariots,
65,610 horses, and 1,09,350 foot. The lowest unit is
called a Patti and consists of o.ne elephant, one chariot,
three horses and five foot. Rising from the Patti
the scale ends in Akshauhini* which consists of
*3 Pattis = r Senamukha. t agSenamukhas =n Gulma,
3 Gulmas=:i Gana. 3 Ganas = i Vahini.
3 Vahimsssx Pritana. 3 Pritanas = x Chswnu.
3 Chamus=i Anikani. xo Anikanissai Akshaubmi,.
Preparations for War. 149
21,870 of this lowest unit. Calculating on this
basis we find that on the Pandava side there were
I j53>90 elephants, 1,53,090 chariots, 4,59,270 horses,
and 7,65,450 foot, while oft the side of Duryodhana
were 2,40,570 elephants, 2,40,570 chariots, 7,21,610
horses, and 12,02,850 foot. These figures do not seem to
be inordinately exaggerated if we remember that in the
last battle of Panipat fought on the same plain the
total strength on the side of the Marhatas was 3 lacs,
while opposed to them was one lac on the side of the
Mahomedans. Ashoka is said to have led armies vaster
than these. The number of elephants seems however
incredible. It cannot stand to reason that the propor-
tion between foot and elephants was as 5 to i. A vast
army of elephants numbering about 5 lacs would re-
quire an amount of food which almost seems unobtain-
able, nor does it appear probable that the jungles
of India could ever have supplied such a large number,
supposing of course that much of the fertile country
then as now, was inhabited by men. In the Udyoga
Parva, where a different definition of Akshauhini
is given, the proportion between elephants and
horses is i to 100. The commentator has ngl been
able to explain the discrepancy, except on the
supposition that the total physical strength, not
the number on both the sides, was proportionate
as ii to 7.
According to rules of war both ancient and modern
messages began to be exchanged counselling peace
and anjicable settlement. Dhritarashtra sent Sanjaya
first with a message, which was more an insult than a
j^o The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
message of peace. The crafty son-loving monarch
affected deep concern for the welfare of the world and
appealed to Yudhishthira's righteousness and love for
humanity, saying that it was expected of his goodness
that he would rather live by begging (not in his king-
dom but in the country of Drupada and the Yaclavas)
than go to war and be the cause of a terrible destruc-
tion of human life. The reply of Yudhishthira has
been finely conceived and was eloquent and full of
his sentiment of love for mankind. He threw himself
entirely at the mercy of Dhritarashtra, who had brought
the Pandavas up from their childhood and who had
himself given them a kingdom to rule. He ended by
saying that he would be content with five villages
even, one for each brother, but firmly added that
he was prepared for both peace and war. When San-
jaya delivered the reply in council Duryodhana
thought that the Pandavas were afraid of his vast
army and treated the reply with contempt
The Pandavas now on their side decided to send
Shrikrishna as a messenger of peace. They expected
that his high position and his power of persuasion would
enable Jiim to effect a reconciliation between the con-
tending parties. Each of the five brothers charged Shri-
krishna with a separate message, but all were for peace,
though not peace at any price. Their queen however
was not satisfied. With tears flowing copiously down
her cheeks she showed Shrikrishna her still unbraided
hair by which she had been dragged almost naked to
the council hall and wondered how her husbands, how
Bhima particularly, Bhima her ever ready champion*
Preparations for War, 151
now advocated peace ! Krishna comforted her by saying :
" Thus shall weep the wives of thy tormentors if they do
not listen to my counsel," and started in his far-
resounding chariot. He passed through a prosperous
country covered with cultivated fields, for it was the
month of October and the country had known no war
for years together under the rule of the Kauravas.
Hundreds of men flocked to see the great man on the
way. Bhfehma and Drona and princes and people came
out of Hastinapura to receive him. He drove through
decorated streets full of men and women anxious to have
a look at him who was believed to be an Avatara or in-
carnation of Vishnu. He reached the palace of Dhri-
tarashtra, but decided to stay for the night at the house
of Vidura. The two friends passed the whole night in
conversation, talking on things past and present. Hav-
ing bathed in the morning and performed the proper
religious duties, Krishna went to the council hall where
the blind monarch surrounded by his sons and council-
lors like Bhishma and Drona and princes assembled
from all parts of India were already present dnxious to
hear him. The speech which the poet makes him
deliver is a masterpiece and was applauded by al^ but it
fell flat on the ears of the infatuated Duryodhana. Dhri-
tarashtra admitted the force of all that he said and asked
him to bring his obdurate son to a sense of his duty on
this momentous occasion. Krishna now addressed
Duryodhana and described the iniquities of which he had
been guilty, and told him that the fate of thousands of
human Beings trembled in the balance and would be dis-
posed of by his word. The proud prince was incensed
JJ2 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
rather than pleased at the words of disparagement
addressed to him, and rising up walked away. It was
an insult which Shrikrishna could scarcely bear. l < Con-
fine, oh, Dhritarashtra, ''he said, " confine thy unruly
son and conclude peace with the Pandavas, thus saving
the Kaurava family from destruction. One man should
be abandoned to save a whole family, one family to save
a whole village, one village to save a whole country."
While he was thus counselling the restraint of Duryo-
dhana, he and his councillors were proposing the arrest
of Krishna himself ; for the Pandavas, they said, with-
out Krishna would be like serpents deprived of their
teeth. Their purpose was suspected by Satyaki, who was
waiting outside the hall, and he informed Krishna of it
Vidura at the same time said to Dhritarashtra : * 'Thy ill-
fated son wishes to arrest Krishna, the Lord of the Uni-
verse." But Krishna interposed and said : " Oh, king,
allow me to seize Duryodhana andlet him, if he can, seize
me. If you give me permission I will nip the war in the
bud." Dhritarashtra only had his son brought to him
and chid him severely for his sinful and absurd design,
Krishna rose up in disgust, and as he walked away
Dhritsrashtra said : " Oh Janardana, you have seen how
my son is beyond my control. I wish the Pandavas
no ill as everybody here has seen. 1 ' Krishna turned
towards all present and said : " You too have seen
what happened to-day in the council, how the foolish
Duryodhana walked away unceremoniously and how
Dhritarashtra says he is powerless. Farewell, sirs,
I go to Yudhishthira." With these words he w$nt out,
followed by all present, ascended the chariot which
Preparations for War. 153
was ready under Satyaki's escort and left for Vidura's
house.
Before leaving Hastinapura Krishna paid his re-
spects to his aunt Kunti, who was at Vidura's house, and
asked if she had any word to send to her sons. The
message with which she charged Krishna is one of the
most powerful incitements to fight. "Tell my sons,"
said she, " what Vidula said to her young boy who had
run away Jfrom the battlefield and was lying in bed in
fear. ' Arise, thou coward : thou only pleasest thy
enemy and none else. He who has no courage is
doomed for life. Get up and try for thy welfare. Do
not think low of thyself, nor content thyself with little.
It is better to put thy hand in the mouth of a serpent than
die like a dog. It is better to burn fiercely for a time
than merely smoke for years. Get up then and show thy
prowess or die according to thy duty, for what else is
thy life for?' ' Do you wish me dead/ said the boy,
* what will you do without me? J i Foolish man,' said
Vidula, * when thou wilt see thy mother and thy wife
begging thou wilt thyself think thy life a burden.'
Vidula's exhortation was effective and the boy went to
fight again and succeeded. Tell Yudhishthira /then,
nothing is more galling to me than that with sons like
the Pandavas I am dependent on others for my food.
Help, Krishna, my sons to the utmost of thy power."
Krishna bade her farewell and started on his return
journey. Kunti, consistent with feminine wisdom, in
order to weaken the strength of the Kauravas went to
Kama tjiat day and told him who he was and asked
him as his mother to give up the cause of Duryodhana*
154
The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
But the honourable man was firm. He upbraided her
for not having disclosed her relation earlier when he
might have been spared many a dishonour. Having
been assisted by Duryodhana all his life, and having
stood to him as a friend all along, it would be most
ungrateful on his part to give him up at that critical
time. " Depart, mother, as you have come," said the
proud man, " I will do one thing for you, I will kill
none of my brothers except Arjuna."
CHAPTER IX.
THE FIGHT.
I
THE armies of the contending parties marched by
common consent to Kurukshetra, a vast plain to the
north-west of Dehli. Duryodhana's camp, according
to the Mahabharata, extended over a length of 20 miles,
and it was as beautiful and commodious as Hastina-
pura itself. Naturally his line of front must have
extended for miles together. The front of the Pandava
army was not so extended, for Yudhishthira said to
Arjuna. " Brihaspati has laid it down that a small force
should fight in a compact body. It should take the
formation of a cone." Duryodhana placed his eleven
divisions under eleven generals and Bhishma was
appointed the generalissimo of the Kaurava army.
Arjuna too placed his seven divisions under seven
generals and appointed Dhrishtadyumna as their com-
mander-in-chief. *
Having bathed and said their prayers in the early
morning the fighters moved to their positions by sun-
rise. It was an ominous day as the sun rose dark and
dim. The human mind usually believes that portents
precede and accompany terrible events. Perhaps the
commotion in a vast mass of human brains is communi-
cated to the material world by that unseen link which
connects the spiritual with the mental and is therefore
!^6 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
attended by similar commotions in the sky, the heavens
and the terrestrial globe. The sky was thus at that
time full of dust, the sun was lightless and pale, and
the ground shook under a quake of the earth. Un-
daunted, however, by these omens the forces took their
positions, the Kauravas facing the west and the
Pandavas facing the east At the head of the Kaurava
force stood Bhishma clothed in white, with a white turban
on his head, a white banner waving over hischariot, to
which were yoked four white horses strong and bony.
Opposed to him stood Arjuna in a golden chariot, the
horses of which were also white and which was driven
by Shrikrishna himself.
It was an awful moment and an awful scene, well-fitted
to arouse emotions of the highest order. That lacs of
men, friends, brothers and relations stood face to face,
ready to take one another's life, for the sordid purpose of
deciding a dispute about a small kingdom, was enough to
arouse a kind and sympathetic heart like that of Arjuna,
,and in disgust he threw down his bow refusing to kill his
revered grandfather for the sake of a paltry living. He
would rather beg than do the atrocious deed. Krishna
is saSJ to have then preached his famous Gita, a book
of philosophy, which has always been and will always
be the solace and the wonder of the thinking world.
We are not concerned here with the philosophy of that
-book ; it is enough for us to state that he succeeded
in enabling Arjuna to tide over his weak moment and
making him ready to fight again.
Swayed by an emotion of another kind, king yudhish-
thira took off his armour and jumping down the chariot
Tfa Fight. , S7
ran on foot towards the Kaurava army. His brothers
not knowing what he was going to do followed him.
Princes and people laughed at him, believing he was
afraid to enter on the tough contest and wished to sue
for peace. Yudhishthira went straight and falling at
Bhishma's feet said : 4 * We crave thy permission to fight
with thee. Bless us, oh grandfather, in this contest
forced upon us." The old man was pleased with his
filial conduct and blessed him* Yudhishthira similarly
asked for and obtained the blessing of Drona and Kripa
and his uncle Shalya, and then before returning- cried
loudly, u Whoever wishes to join us let him come to us
and fight on our side.* 1 Yuyutsu, the illegitimate son of
Dhritarashtra, alone responded to his call and was hailed
by the Pandavas as a representative of Dhritarashtra,
who might at least survive. Yudhishthira and the four
brothers having returned, the forces arranged themselves
as before and then met in a terrible onset which can
better be imagined than described.
The battle soon took the form of duels between oppo-
site chiefs and between Rathis or warriors fighting
from chariots. Many of these were killed and others
made senseless and in that condition taken away^From
the battle-field. Others still had their drivers killecl and
their chariots strayed unguided. Some again had their
horses killed and they had to dismount and fight on
foot. Bhima often grappled single-handed, mace in
hand, with an army of elephants and killed many of
them. Arjuna and Bhishma, Drona and Dhrishta-
dyumna, Duryodhana and Bhima, and many others
fought duels, which it would not be interesting to the
Mahabharata : A Criticism*
reader to describe at length and which no pen but that
ofVyasa can invest with interest and variety. Thus
the armies fought on till it was sunset, when the leaders
on both sides sounded retreat and the armies returned
to their camp. It was thus from day to day. The fight
in fact resembled much what the Peshawa and the
Afagan armies did when they were encamped facing
each other on the same plain for about a month, fighting
duels from day to day wherein noted chiefs^ were killed
or disabled. Bhishma is said to have fought on for
nine days and killed 10,000 car-warriors every day.
On the tenth day the Pandavas instead of allowing
Arjuna to fight a duel with Bhishma selected Shikhandi,
a son of Drupada, for that purpose. As Bhishma had
made a vow not to fight with him, he as expected,
laid down his bow, when Shikhandi assailed him in
this condition. Arjuna and others from all sides shot
arrows at him, which stuck into his body in numbers
till at last they looked like the feathers of a por-
cupine, and the old man fell from his chariot. The
battle was instantly stopped. Chiefs on either side as-
sembled round the revered warrior anxious to make
theiplast obeisance to him. The stern warrior lying on
a beef of arrows exhorted Duryodhana to stay the war
for his sake and give the Pandavas half the kingdom.
"Let the hostility cease," said he, " with the fall of
Bhishma, for Arjuna is the foremost of all the archers as
a Brahmin is amongst -men." The expostulation of
Bhishma was, however, of no avail, and the princes dis-
persed to their camps after having dug a ditch round
Bhishma to prevent *ild beasts approaching hfm, for the
The Fight 159
sage warrior was not to die till the auspicious beginning
of the Uttarayana ( sun's turning towards the north).
By the advice of Kama, Duryodhana now appointed
Drona thecommander-in-chiefof the Kaurava army, and
he, an old man of 85, yet as vigorous as a boy, led the
Kauravas to the battle-field. For two days he fought as
effectively as Bhishma. On the third he posted his
army in what is called the Chakravyuha or the form of a
circle within a circle. Arjuna was engaged by the
Sarnsapta&as or 7 clans who came probably from the
Afagan borders and were composed of strong and power-
ful warriors and whom Drona had specially deputed
for the purpose of drawing Arjuna away. The Pandava
army, thus deprived of Arjuna, was unable to make any
impression on their enemy's array. Arjuna's young son,
born of Subhadra, Krishna's sister, a boy only 16 years
old, proposed to enter the Kaurava army and to shatter
its formation, and king Yudhishthira through mistake or
chagrin allowed him to do so. He entered the Kaurava
army followed byBhima and other leaders who were, how-
ever, stopped and defeated by Jayadratha at the entrance.
Abhimanyu was now alone in the midst of a vast army,
but fought with courage and determination till <tt last
he was overpowered by six warriors throwing arfows at
him at the same time, contrary to the rules of war. De-
prived of his bow and arrows, his horses and charioteer
killed, he sprang down, mace in hand, and was engaged
by Duhshasana's son. At last he dropped down and his
head was instantly smashed by his opponent's mace.
Arjuna, having defeated the Samsaptakas, returned
to the Fandava force which he found shattered and
X 6o The Mdfidbharata : A Criticism*
cheerless. His heart sank within him as he proceeded
further and found his brothers steeped in grief. " Where
is my son, the darling child of Subhadra ?" cried he. " I
do not see him. Did he die like a brave warrior ?"
Yudhishthira told him what had happened and Arjuna
fell down insensible. When brought round he vowed :
" To-morrow will I kill Jayadratha. If I do not, may I
not go to the place where my forefathers have gone. I
will burn myself on a pyre if I do not kill him before
sunset to-morrow." Krishna in exultation filled his conch
and so too Arjuna. There was a terrible acclamation
which rose to the skies and which startled the Kauravas
in their sleep.
The next day the fight was stubborn. The Kauravas,
having placed Jayadratha in their rear, fought stoutly
and sternly and tried their utmost to prevent Arjuna
from approaching him. Bhima and Arjuna performed
wonders that day and Duryodhana every moment saw
how he was mistaken in refusing to listen to Krishna's
proposal for peace. When Jayadratha was at last killed 1
he upbraided Drona for his pusillanimity, his evident
regard for Arjuna coming in the way of his fighting
honestly. The old man was stung to the quick and
declared that he would not terminate the fight till either
he had conquered or was dead, and that to please Dur-
yodhana he would now kill with his Astras or divine
missiles all indiscriminately. (It was a rule of war that
these Astras should only be used against those who knew
1 There is no mention in the Mahabharata as 'is described by later
poets that Jayadratha hacl kicked Arjuna's son and hence had in-
creased his wrath, nor is it stated that Arjuna finding the sun setting
kindled fire to die.
The FighL 161
their use. ) It was dark and the foot on both the sides
lighted and held up torches, in the glare of which the
arms of the combatants flashed as they closed in des-
perate duels. Bhima's son Ghatotkacha, a Rakshasa,
wrought terrible destruction till at last he was killed by
Kama by the use of a supernatural missile which he
had kept for Arjuna. After some fight the armies rested
by common consent for a few hours. Horses, elephants
and men tired by incessant work slept on the battle-
field, which presented for a time a curious aspect. The
moon rose and acting upon the sea of human beings
set in motion the tide of fight which surged again
into tempest. In a few hours the sun rose above the
horizon and the forces fought on, the old leader of the
Kaurava army being the most unsparing. Thousands
of men, horses and car-warriors were slain by him
by the use of ordinary and supernatural missiles. The
Pandavas were now advised by Krishna to use a
stratagem. It was given out by Bhima, who killed
an elephant by name Ashwatthama for the purpose, that
Ashwatthama was dead and when Drona heard the cry
his bow fell from his hand. While in this defence-
less condition, Dhrishtadyumna suddenly ranup to
him and cut off his head with his sword. The Kaurava
army tired and harassed was ready to give way at the
slightest disaster, and the death of their commander-in-
chief, as in many Indian battles, was the signal for a
general rout. The most undaunted warriors set their
face against the field till Ashwatthama coming to know
what had happened, in rage and grief made a deter-
mined stand. His efforts were, however, of no avail,
1 62 The Mahdbharata : A Criticism.
and he too gave up the fight in despair and returned to
the Kaurava camp.
The next day the forces of Duryodhana came out again
to fight under the leadership of Kama, in whose prowess
and vain promises he had lain his greatest hopes.
That day the armies fought without much result, but
Kama saw that Arjuna had the advantage of having
a skilful charioteer. In his vanity he asked Shalya to
do a similar turn to him and Shalya consented at the
importunity of Duryodhana. The second day Kama
started, bragging in the vainest terms, though often
put down by Shalya. He sought a duel with Arjuna,
and for a time the two champion archers fought an
equal fight. Unfortunately one wheel of Kama's
chariot sank in a ditch, and while he was extricating it
Arjuna shot him with arrows in spite of his protests
that it was not a fair fight. " Was it a fair proceed-
ing," retorted Krishna, " when you asked Duhshasana
to divest Draupadi of her garments ? " The vain, yet
honourable man submitted to his fate and laid down
his life on the battle-field. The same day Bhima had
his vengeance on Duhshasana. In a duel which they
foughfrfrom chariots, Duhshasana was worsted and be-
came insensible. Like an eagle suddenly stoopino"
down from the sky and pouncing upon a serpent on
the ground, Bhima sprang from his chariot and running
up to Duhshasana planted his foot on his chest. Calling
aloud to Kama, Duryodhana and others, he drew his
scimitar, broke open Duhshasana's chest and drank his
warm blood, saying, " To those who then said, she is a
cow, she is a cow, I now say, you are cows, "you are
The Fight. 163
cows." It was a terrible and ghastly sight, an Arya
drinking human blood. . Nobody dared to interfere
with him and many ran away in fright, believing he was
a veritable Rakshasa. Such was the vengeance which
Bhima and Arjuna took upon those who had tormented
and insulted the noble queen of the Pandavas on the
day when the disgraceful game at dice was played in
Hastinapura 13 years before.
Plunged in grief Duryodhana returned to his camp.
-His army had nearly been destroyed and his best
generals had fallen. His cause seemed almost hopeless
to every man and Kripacharya thought it was his duty
to address him a few words of advice. He requested
him to propose peace to Yudhishthira who would, even
in his ascendancy, relinquish his rights of success and
give him half the kingdom as before. Every man's
life was dear to him, and there was nothing dishonour-
able if Duryodhana now saved his life and the lives of
thousands of his soldiers who were still left to him.
The reply of Duryodhana was typical of a proud and
honourable Aryan : < How shall I, having stood at the
head of all the princes, live to enjoy a kingdom by the
sufferance of Yudhishthira? I have offended the IJanda-
vas most grievoftsly. Shall I now go to them and ask
to be pardoned ? Happiness is not everlasting in this
world, and the kingdom, if gained by me, will not for ever
last. Everlasting is fame and for that I will even die.
Moreover a Kshatriya ought not to die on a bed in his
house. His death-bed is the battle-field. My grand-
father Blyshma is dead and so is JDrona, Karna, Jaya-
dratha and others. How shall I live now and what
!64 The Mahabharata ; A Criticism,
pleasure shall I derive even if I get a kingdom from
Yudhishthira's grace ? The world will spit at me if I
save my life now, having destroyed so many noble lives
for me. In fine, I will fight and die on the battle-field
and follow those who have already gone to Heaven."
These noble and inciting words from his mouth were
received with acclamations by all who were present,
and the Kshatriyas resolved to fight in spite of their
reverses. Shalya was appointed commandeMn-chief by
Duryodhana and he promised to do all he could. He
strictly advised his generals not to fight duels but
engage their opponent's forces generally, a caution
which was not eventually heeded owing to the habits of
the warriors.
Next day the forces again assembled on the battle-
field in the morning, A tough battle began, the de-
scription of which in the Mahabharata strikes us as very
real and may be compared with the description of
modern battles. The fight in the centre, the wings, the
flanks and the rear, is described with minuteness, and the
general fight did not for a time resolve into duels. It
was a fight which resembled much the fight between
the Peshwa Sadashiva Rao and Ahamad Shaha AbdalL
Shalya, like Vishwas Rao, was killed bout noon. But
the fight continued in spite of his death. Shakuni, who
made repeated attacks with his horse on the rear of
the Pandavas, was turned away by Sahadeva who was
sent by Yudhishthira specially to attack him. In the
afternoon the Kaurava army gave way and the .men
began to run away in an irrepressible tide, noi towards
their camp but wherever they could find safety. There
The Fight. 165
was consternation in the camp itself. Most of the guards-
men fled, leaving valuable things behind, and the
keepers of the women of Duryodhana' s zenana could,
with difficulty, find conveyance for them. They were,
however, safely reached to Hastinapura, where their
sudden return was the signal for general bewailing.
Duryodhana, finding that nobody heeded his attempts tp
stay the tide of flight, left the battlefield and concealed
himself in a lake. Only three warriors inquired
about him, mz^ Ashwatthama, Kripa and Kritavarma,
and Sanjaya who had seen Duryodhana, told them
that he lay concealed in the lake and had sent with
him word to his father Dhritarashtra. They went
to the lake and Ashwatthama deeply touched bewailed
his sad condition. He asked him to corne out, and aided
by them to fight again with the Pandavas, victorious as
they were. Duryodhana however said he was tired and
would wait till the next morning. He asked the three
loyal men to run away and pass the night somewhere
in safety. The conversation -was overheard by- some
huntsmen of the Pandavas who were about on their
work. They informed the Pandavas who, after having
vainly searched for Duryodhana, had returned tt> their
camp. Overjoyed to get the news of their life-long
enemy the Pandavas set out for the lake and standing
on its bank Yudhishthira called upon Duryodhana to
come out and not to conceal himself like a coward. 1
1 The Mahabharata does not explain what Duryodhana did when he
entered into water after staying it by the force of Miyi, nor does
it tell us when and where he learnt this M&y&. Perhaps he con-
cealed himself in a house surrounded by water and the access to the
house was difficult and hidden.
!66 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
Duryodhana replied that he was tired and would fight
the next day, adding at the same time that he, alone as
he was, had now no desire to rule the earth and would
resign it to him. "Fool," cried Yudhishthira, " you
were not ready to give even a needle-point of earth ;
how do you now resign the whole earth ? We do not
wish to take a gift from you, but will conquer it from
you. Come, get out, and fighting with us either con-
quer us or die."
Goaded by reproaches Duryodhana came out and, single
as he was, offered to fight a duel with any single person.
Yudhishthira was elated with success and said, iC Well,
fight with any one of us and with any weapon and rule
the earth if you conquer." The witless king had again
begun to gamble and Krishna cried : " What have you
said, Oh Yudhishthira. Do you mean to stake the whole
gain of 18 days' fight on the result of a duel, or is it that
Pandu's children are fated to live for ever in the forest?"
Duryodhana, however, elected to fight with Bhima, his
equal in mace-fight, and Bhima assured Krishna that he
would conquer his adversary. The combatants, mace
in hand, now prepared themselves to fight, and princes
and people sat in a circle to look on. As the fight was
about to begin, Balarama arrived and was hailed by both
the combatants as he was their master in that art. On
the combatants went, taking rounds and rounds and
striking at each other with their maces, making a terrible
sound of thud. Duryodhana was the lighter and the
more agile of the two and often avoided the heavy blows
dealt at him by Bhima. It even appeared ap if the
stronger of the two might fail, and Arjuna inquired
The Fight. 167
anxiously of Krishna what the result would be. There
was a momentary pause, the combatants resting for a
while to take breath. They soon began afresh and
Bhima dealt a blow which the other evaded and had a:
heavy blow on his chest in return. His prodigious
strength alone could sustain him under it. Burning
with rage and the desire for vengeance repressed for 13
years, he sprung upon his adversary and dealt a tremen-
dous blow. Though Duryodhana jumped up to avoid
it, Bhima did not stop and the blow fell full on his thighs,
the bones of which were crushed to pieces. Duryodhana
fell down a dying man, and Bhima going up to him
kicked his head with his foot saying, "This is the reward
for your insulting Draupadi." It was a terrible moment :
the -spectators were taken aghast. Balarama rose up
exasperated at the clear disregard of the rules of fight
which did not allow a blow with the mace to be dealt
below the waist. Yudhishthira too was displeased at the
conduct of Bhima who had dishonoured the crowned
head of a king for nothing. Krishna however assuaged
all and said: "Remember, Oh brother, the Kali-yuga has
begun. Moreover, Bhima had vowed to break Duryo-
dhana's thighs when he asked Draupadi to sit % m his
lap." He then Upbraided Duryodhana for all the evil
deeds he had been guilty of and for the terrible loss of
life for which his obstinacy alone was responsible, and
told him that he would go to hell. The proud Duryo-
dhana was unbending even in death. He defended
himself arduously. He had performed many sacrifices
and had.ruled the people righteously. He was sure he
would go to Heaven as he had fallen on the battle-field.
1 68 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
He counter-accused the Pandavas for the evil practices
with which they had gained their victory, the last of
which, by which they had broken his thighs contrary to
rules, was not the least. The Mahabharata goes on to
state that at the end of this speech flowers fell on Duryo-
dhana from Heaven and Shrikrishna and others felt
abashed and confused. Perhaps upon this statement is
based the idea that the original Mahabharata represent-
ed the Kauravas as having the right on their side and
as having been successful in the war. Whatever may
be said about its ethics there is nothing in the statement
which would support the idea that the Bharata at any
time represented the result of the war as anything but
favourable to the Pandavas.
CHAPTER X.
THE TRIUMPH TURNED INTO A DISASTER.
THE victorious Pandavas left the wounded Duryo-
dhana to .die on the battlefield and went for rest at
night to his camp. An immense spoil consisting
of gold and jewels, tents and animals fell into their
hands, and the survivors of 18 days' struggle eagerly
possessed themselves of whatever they could lay their
hands on and joyously laid themselves for rest in
their new tents. They little dreamt how dearly they
were soon to pay for this. The Pandavas with Drau-
padi and Krishna alone stayed out of the camp for
the purpose of performing some religious ceremonies.
It was a strange custom with the ancient Aryans of
India that they left the dead and the dying in battle
unheeded on the field of battle to be devoured by birds
and beasts of prey. Probably like the Aryans of
Persia they believed that this was the most fitting* burial
to those who had the merit of dying in battle. AshwaU
thama, Kripaand Kritavarma, hearing of Duryodhana's
duel, came now to the battle-field and saw the great
man still alive bewailing his misfortune. Aswatthama
was grieved to see the master of i i army corps in that
pitiable condition and bitterly upbraided the Pandavas
for their iniquities and cried for vengeance. Duryodhana,
relentless even in death, was highly gratified at his
jyo The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
loyalty and ordered Kripa to bring water and anoint him
as his commander-in-chief to carry on war even after his
death. Having done this and satisfied that he would be
revenged, Duryodhana, as the poet says, entered into
that obscurity which is the terror of all created beings.
The three left the battle-field at nightfall and rested
themselves under a large banian tree for the night.
Though his companions were soon asleep Ashwatthama
was awake and restless, revolving diverse schemes
of vengeance. He suddenly got up on seeing an owl
enter into the foliage of the tree and devour crows who,
blind at night, were resting there in fancied security.
He took a hint from the owl and awakening his com-
panions asked them to assist him in destroying the
Pandavas in sleep. He heeded not their argument that
the act was treacherous and dishonourable. Had not
the Pandavas done more treacherous deeds? Had they
not deceived his father and killed him when unarmed?
He would go alone if they did not like to assist him.
Carried away by his enthusiasm they too followed him
as he went towards the Pandavas ' new camp.
The two warriors stood at the entrances of the new
camp Oith bows and arrows, while Ashwatthama, fear-
less and fearful, entered it clandestinely. *He first entered
the tent occupied by Dhrishtadyumna and as he lay
asleep throttled him to death. He scarcely gave him
time to cry. He next killed Shikhandi, next the five
sons of the Pandavas. An uproar was raised, but
guards and warriors could not understand what was
going on. Ashwatthama killed men, elephants and
horses, and people began to run bewildered and unarmed.
The Triumph turned into a Disaster. 171
The archers at the entrance plied their bows most
unerringly and unceasingly, and thousands were put to
death in their defenceless condition.
When the news reached the Pandavas they ran to the
camp only to find their sons, their relations, their friends
murdered in cold blood. It was a terrible sight and too
much even for Yudhishthira, who cried, " Thus have we,
the conquerors of all, been conquered at last through
our carelessness, carelessness than which nothing is
more fatal." When Nakula brought Draupadi to the
camp the poor woman fell down insensible at the sight
of her murdered sons and brothers. Coming to her
senses she cried vehemently for vengeance on Ashwat-
thama. 1 "Unless he isJkilled," said she, " I will take
no food. Bhima, you are matchless in strength ; kill
the destroyer of my innocent sons." Bhima, her ever
ready champion, responded to her call, and with Nakula
for his charioteer immediately went in pursuit of Ashwat-
thama. Krishna taking with him Yudhishthira and
Arjuna followed him in another car. The brothers saw
, the Brahman bathing on the banks of the Ganges and a
fight was about to begin, for he too was ready with his
bow, when Krishna and Arjuna stopped it. Th^y did
not wish to kill* the only son of the preceptor of the
Pandavas. They called upon him to deliver over the
priceless jewel on his head in token of subjugation and
to depart, abated being who had murdered innocent men
and children in sleep, to be tormented by the reproaches
of his own conscience. Ashwatthama did as he was
desired and the five brothers went back to Draupadi and
told her that Ashwatthama had been vanquished though
ijz The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
not killed. It was enough to satisfy the noble and ever
obedient queen of the Pandavas. The lucky survivors
of this terrible fight could, however, ill-conceal their
grief as they marched towards Hastinapura to assume
the supreme sovereignty of India. It was more a
funeral procession than a triumphant march.
Dhritarashtra overladen with grief and followed by
Gandhari and other bereaved women of the royal family
came out of Hastinapura to bathe in the Ganges and
do the obsequies of the departed. Yudhishthira went
to him and made his obeisance. The old monarch,
a powerful man, in his rage wished to crush Bhima in
his embrace, but Krishna suspected his purpose and
foiled it When Yudhishthira, s went towards Gandhari
he saw she was about to curse him and said: " Do
curse me, oh queen, the destroyer of thousands of
human beings. Bereft of elders, friends and sons, there
is nothing left for me to live for." Her rage was
assuaged and she consoled Draupadi with the words,
" Grieve not, Draupadi, look at me who have lost a
hundred sons." Kunti was no doubt happy to see
her tj sons conquer, but Draupadi asked her, " Where are
thy grandsons and where is Abhimanyu? They do
not run up to thee and play in thy lap as before/' In
fine it was a scene of lamentation and mutual condolence.
The last duties performed in the Ganges, the five
brothers came up preceded by their blind uncle.
Yudhishthira sat down unable to enter the city. He
was entirely undone and shook to see the terrible loss
caused not only in his own but in every Kshatriya
family. He called his brothers, wife and friends and
The Triumph turned into a Disaster. 173
asked their permission to retire from the world. The
episode of 16 ancient kings who had preceded him and
signalised their reigns by the performance of Ashwa-
medha sacrifices and who in spite of their greatness
had after all left this world was then related to him by
Krishna. Arjuna, Bhima and Draupadi asked him to
remember how he had promised them in their wanderings
in the forest that the period of trial would be succeeded
by happiness. He was at last induced to get up and he
entered the city in a triumphant procession. There
were some, however, who were the friends of Duryo-
dhana and hostile to him, and Charvaka spoke aloud as he
passed : " Fie upon thee, destroyer of thy own race. It
is better to die than to live like this." King Yudhishthira
however by the suavity of his reply disarmed all opposi-
tion : "I bow to all. I deserve, steeped in distress
as I arn, I deserve to be pitied but not hissed at."
There were many however who disclaimed all such
sentiments and they blessed king Yudhishthira. Passing
on, Yudhishthira occupied Duryodhana's palace and
was there with Draupadi crowned Emperor, Krishna
himself sprinkling the holy water on their head.
Brahmins chanted Vedic blessings in sonorou^ tones
and at the end praised his merits to the skies. Yudhish-
thira then addressed those assembled thus : " Blessed
indeed are the sons of Pandu who are extolled by the
Brahmanas. Know ye all that Dhritarashtra, my uncle,
is adored by me. Those who wish to please me should
always obey his orders/* Then began in Hastinapura
the benign rule of Yudhishthira, who, like Rama, made
the happiness ofthe people his highest aim.
!74 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
After a few days Yudhishthira went to the Kurukshetra
again where his grand-uncle Bhishma was lying on a
bed of arrows waiting for the auspicious beginning of
the Uttarayana. Hundreds of Brahmin sages and
princes, including Krishna, accompanied him. Having
bowed to him in due form and inquired after his health,
Yudhishthira asked Bhishma to teach him the duties of
kings, of persons placed in difficulties and of those who
had given up the world. The Shanti-parva and the
Anushasana-parva, wherein are given the answers given
by Bhishma to the questions put by Yudhishthira, are
a mine of information regarding the state of society and
of religion and philosophy as it then existed. Bhishma
having answered all his questions and satisfied all
his doubts dismissed him advising him to forget his
grief for the past and to enjoy the fruit of the hard
fought contest. The ancient sage warrior called
Yudhishthira again when the favourable moment arrived
and gave up his soul in peace in the contemplation of
S God, and his obsequies were duly performed by the
survivors.
Yudhishthira now thought of performing an Ashwa-
medha* or horse-sacrifice for his purification from sin.
But where was the money to come frCm ? He could
not lay the princes of India under contribution, for they
had already suffered much. He was advised by Vyasa
to go to the Himalayas where untold wealth was lying
from the time of the sacrifice performed by Marutta.
Accordingly the brothers went on an expedition to the
Himalayas where having sacrificed to God Shiya they
found what they had come for.
The Triumph turned into a Disaster. 175
During their absence Uttara, Abhimanyu's wife, gave
birth to a dead child. He was probably born 7 months
old and had suffered in the womb owing to the shock
which his mother must have received on hearing Abhi-
manyu's death. The last ray of hope of future progeny
was thus gone and a cry of wailing came from the female
apartments of the Pandavas' palace. Shrikrishna who
had come there for the Ashwamedha was moved by the
lamentations of Subhadra, his sister, Kunti, his father's
sister, Draupadi and Uttara. He took the still-born child
in his lap and swore : " As I have not spoken an untruth
even in joke let this child come to life. As I have never
run away from battle, as I have always held Dharma and
Brahmanas dearest to me, as I have never gone to fight
for the sake of quarrel alone, let this child come to life/'
And slowly the child began to breathe and the joy of the
Bharata women knew no bounds. The child thus saved
by the Yogic power of Krishna was named Parikshit.
When Parikshit was a month old the Panda vas re-
turned from the Himalayas bearing with them immense
loads of gold and jewels ; they were overjoyed to hear
Krishna's last act of kindness towards them and they
worshipped him as their life-long benefactor. Pr^para-
tions were immediately begun for the performance of
the sacrifice. A horse was let loose and it roamed about
the world followed by Arjuna. There were very few
who could oppose the hero of the Bharata war, and the
few that could, gladly tendered their submission to him.
Later poets have, however, related another Mahabharata
over this world-conquering tour of Arjuna and the
Ashwamadha of Jaimini is an illustration of it. When
iy6 The MaJiaWiarata : A Criticism.
the horse returned to Hastinapura, Yudhishthira gave
valuable presents to commemorate his joy, and he
with his queen was at once ordained for the sacrifice.
The horse was slain by the Brahmanas and his
entrails were according to the Shastras thrown as
oblation into the sacrificial fire. The sacred smell
issuing therefrom was taken by Yudhishthira and his
brothers and the Brahmanas present. At the end of
the sacrifice Yudhishthira said: "The Dakshina for
Ashwamedha is the earth itself. Arjuna conquered it
for me and I give it to Vyasa. Let Vyasa and the
Brahmanas divide it among themselves. I with my
brothers and wife will retire into the forest." " Amen,"
said Draupadi and the Pandavas ; and a thrill of amaze-
ment and admiration went over those who were present,
Vyasa praised them for their generosity and goodness,
but said, "You have given me the earth and I give it
back to you and give me its equivalent in coin." A
crore into crore gold coins were then given by Yudhish-
thira, and these, together with all the golden utensils
made for the sacrifice were divided by the Brahmanas,
who loaded with riches, left Hastinapura blessing the
Pandnvas for their liberality. Vyasa gave his share to
Kunti, who again gave it away in charity. Thus ended
the horse-sacrifice of Yudhishthira, the only bright spot
in the after-life of the Pandavas, a sacrifice in which
thousands were daily feasted with rich food and drink
and which in the words of the poet " gleamed with
heaps of gold and jewels and was a veritable sea of wine
and liquor." " It was the universal talk of praise among
the inhabitants of different countries."
CHAPTER XL
THE SEQUEL.
IT is stated* in the Mahabharata that the Pandavas ruled
in Hastinapura for 36 years after the war, but it does
not seem probable that they could have pulled on so
long in the enjoyment of their fortune, saddened as it was
by the death of their nearest and dearest. Dhritarashtra,
who was apparently treated with respect, had in reality
to suffer from the insults of the never-forgiving Bhima,
and sometimes had to pass his days without food. Like
a true Kshatriya he therefore resolved to retire into a
forest and apprised Yudhishthira of his intention. It
was a shock to the already disgusted mind of Yudhish-
thira. He could not persuade Dhritarashtra to give up-
his intention, and led by Gandhari and Kunti walking on
either side and followed by Vidura and Sanjaya the
blind monarch left Hastinapura amid the lamenl^itions
of the Pandavas &nd the people. The former implored
Kunti to stay behind and enjoy the fruit of the war to
which she herself had incited them. But the strong-
minded lady replied, u I wanted you not to beg and
therefore advised you to fight. It was not for my enjoy-
ment, for I had enough of it in my husband's time. 1 '"
Thus sajyng she went on, not heeding their importu-
nities or the lamentations of Draupadi. Her parting
ijS The Mahabharata: A Criticism*
advice to her sons was most laconic and pithy : "Put
faith in righteousness ; have minds ever great." The
departure of Dhritarashtra must have taken place a
few years after the horse-sacrifice ; for he could not
have borne his ill-treatment for 18 years as the pre-
sent Mahabharata represents. Two years after their
departure came the news of their death in a jungle
fire in the Himalayas, and the brothers were greatly
grieved to learn the news and performed -their obse-
quies according to due form.
Some years after this ( the present Mahabharata gives
the period as 15 years ) came the news of the destruction
of the Yadavas and the death of Shrikrishna. The
Yadavas were a turbulent people addicted to drink. In
revelry Satyaki once taunted Kritavarmawith the atrocity
of his action in the night surprise on the Pandava camp.
The latter retorted and rebuked him for his dishonour-
able conduct in killing Bhurishrava and the two at once
drew their swords. Hundreds joined the combatants
and fell by each other's hand. Krishna himself took part
in the fight on seeing his sons killed and slew many,
At last he retired from the scene and while lying in
mediation under a tree was shot by a hunter in the sole
of his foot. Balarama too died a similar death, being
attacked by the local tribes, who must have been em-
boldened by the slaughter of the Yadavas among them-
selves.
The news of the Yadavas fighting among themselves
a war as destructive as the Mahabharata war, leaving
only children and females alive in the city, caused great
concern to the Pandavas, and Arjuna hastened to
The Sequel. 179
Dwaraka to take care of the defenceless survivors. He
was hailed by them as their deliverer, and taking them
with him he started on his return journey to Hastinapura*
Reaching the country of the five rivers ( he probably
took a circuitous route ) he was attacked by barbarians
armed with sticks only, their cupidity being aroused by
the beauty and wealth of the women he escorted. The
Mahabharata relates that Arjuna's never-failing arrows
failed and*he at that time even forgot the divine missiles.
Although he fought bravely with his bow used as a stick,
the barbarians succeeded in carrying away many women
and some indeed went of their free will. Such is the testi-
mony of the truth-loving Vyasa, who does not conceal
the fact and it is a fitting commentary on the custom of
keeping many women in the harem.
The death of Shrikrishn.a cut off the last tie which
bound the Pandavas to this world and Dharma observed
to Arjuna that Destiny bound all persons high or low.
"Destiny! Destiny! Destiny!" cried Arjuna and the
word was echoed by Bhima, Nakula and Sahadeva. The
five Pandavas now resolved to leave the world and
start on Mahaprasthana. The ancient Aryans of India,
usually ascetic in spirit, disdained to die a wrStched
death at home. When the business of life was over and
life was thought to be a burden, many courage-
ous Aryans made Mahaprasthana or the great journey.
It was a regular ceremony recognised by the Dharma-
shastras. The Pandavas placed Parikshit on the
throne in Hastinapura and Vajra, Krishna's nephew, "in
Indrapr^stha. They asked Subhadra to remain behind
to take care of the two young princes thus installed,
i8o The Mahabharata : A Criticism
they being, respectively, her grandson and nephew.
Kripa was appointed Parikshit's guardian and Yuyutsu
was appointed minister. Yudhishthira's parting advice
to Subhadra was to "preserve in the path of Dharma
or righteousness/' a watchword of the great Epic. The
Pandavas having sacrificed to the fire for the last time
threw it into the Ganges and, followed by their wife
Draupadl, started towards the north-east. They crossed
the Himalayas, proceeded beyond the great -desert and
went onwards till at last one by one they fell down dead.
Parikshit, it has already appeared, was born about
two or three months after the Mahabharata war was over
and was, by the dispositions made by the Pandavas,
evidently a minor at this time, probably not more than
16 years of age. How many years Parikshit ruled it
does not appear ; probably the supreme sovereignty of
India was enjoyed by him, though his rule was un-
doubtedly weak. For the people called the Nagas re-
belled against him. The story of Parikshit's death as
related in the Mahabharata may be thus simplified.
Takshaka, who was a leader of the Nagas, was the here-
ditary enemy of Parikshit The Nagas had been
destroyed in the Khandava forest by Arjuna and Tak-
shaka was one of those who escaped r> from the confla-
gration. Takshaka probably founded a small kingdom
in Takshashila, which was named after the Takshaka
people. He appears to have fought against the Pan-
davas in the great war and aided Kama, for Kama is
said in the Mahabharata to have used Takshaka as an
arrow against Arjuna unsuccessfully. Having 1 missed
his aim Kama refused to use Takshaka again. Failing
The Sequel. iSi
in his desire to take vengeance while Arjuna was alive
Takshaka appears to have waited for his opportunity
against his grandson. Parikshit having been cursed by
a Rishi to be bitten by a serpent confined himself in a
water palace to which no access was allowed to anybody.
A Brahmin once presented fruit to Parikshit and from
one of these a small worm came out which Parikshit
took up in jest and said, " Let this worm bite me in
order that the sage's curse may be fulfilled 1 ," and verily
the worm grew into Takshaka himself who bit him and
then flew away in the sky. This story in the Maha-
bharata probably means nothing more than that
Parikshit was invested in his own city Hastinapura,
and was eventually assassinated by Takshaka in his
own palace, to which he gained access in the dress of a
Brahmin.
The minister of Parikshit made a firm stand and re-
pulsed the attack of Takshaka, who retired to his place.
"Janmejaya, the young son of Parikshit, was placed on
the throne of Hastinapura and grew up into a daring
and resolute monarch. When he heard how his father
had been murdered by Takshaka he resolved to take
a signal vengeance on him. The story of Sarp*isatra
given in the MaUabharata Adi-parva is only a mytholo-
gical transformation of the deadly war of extermination
which he waged against Takshaka and his people. He
attacked Takshashila and reduced it to submission.
Every Naga or serpent was hunted out and sacrificed in
the Sarpasatra, which was not an ordinary sacrifice pre-
1 This agcount somewhat differs from the story given in the Bhaga-
wata, where Parikshit is not represented to have jested.
i$2 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
scribed in the Vedic ritual but specially ordained for
Janmejaya. Serpent after serpent was sacrificed or put
to death and in terror Takshaka ran to Indra for shelter.
A Brahmin now saved Takshaka in the person of
Astika, who was born of a serpent mother and who pro-
mised to use his influence with Janmejaya to save his
mother's kindred. He appeared before the king and
having pleased him by his praises and his learning ask-
ed a boon of him which he granted. " Spare he lives of
those serpents/* said he t "who are yet alive," and the
king said " Amen/ 1 Astika was ever since revered by the
serpents as their saviour, and to this day whenever a
Hindu sees a serpent, he cries "Astika," " Astika," and
the serpent, it is believed, does no harm.
It was at the Sarpasatra that the poem composed by
Vyasa is said to have been recited to Janmejaya by
Vaishampayana. And this does not seem unnatural.
Janmejaya would undoubtedly be anxious to know the
details of the great war fought by his illustrious
ancestors in which Takshaka, the enemy he now
pursued, fought against them. Having heard the great
poem and having finished the serpent-sacrifice or the
campaign against the serpents by granting an amnesty
to thfi survivors, Janmejaya return ecj, (so the Maha-
bharata relates ) from Takshashila to Hastinapura, It
thus appears probable that the Bharata was first recited
in Takshashila.
Janmejaya, son of Parikshit, was no doubt a powerful
king known not only for his Sarpasatra or campaign
against the Nagas but also for the horse-sacrifice he
performed. His horse-sacrifice was, according to the
The Sequel* 183
Harivamsha, where its story is given, the last that was
performed in India, for horse-sacrifices thenceforth were
interdicted. The descendants cf Janmejaya are also
given in the Harivamsha. They appear to have retain-
ed kingly power in the family for a long time till at last
the Pandavas disappeared from among the ruling princes
of India and were known in the days of Buddha only as a
mountain tribe. The Tuars, the only Rajput tribe, who
claim to be descended from the Pandavas, re-established
an empire at Delhi in the 8th century A.D. under
Anangapal and continued to be the foremost race of India
till the beginning of the I3th century, when Prithvi Raj
( who was not a Tuar but a Chavan ), a relative of the
last Tuar king, lost the empire of India in the famous
battle of Panipat fought on the same Kurukshetra
against the Mohamedan Shahabudin Ghory. The Tuars
then sought refuge across the Chambal and are now to be
found there under the Gwalior Raj in bare fulfilment of
the prophetic blessing given by Yayati to his filial
son Puru :
The sun may perish and the silvery moon,
But not the line of Puru on this Earth.
APPENDIX.
NOTE I.
THE EXTENT OF THE MAHABHARATA.
The following table will show the number of chap-
ters and shlokas in the 18 Parvas as Sauti has given
the figures in Chapter I of the Adiparva and also the
number of chapters and shlokas as they are actually
found in the Bombay edition of the Mahabharata.
No.
Parva.
No. as recited in
the Mahabharata.
No. actually found
Chapters
Shlokas.
Chapters
Shlokas.
i
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
ii
12
*3
*4
*5
16
17
18
^9
Adi *..
227
7 8
269
67
186
117
170
69
59
18
27
3 2 9
146
103
1
3
5
8884
2511
11664
2067
6698
5884
8909
4964
3220
870
775
J 4732
8000
3320
1506
320
320
209
12000
234
81
315
196
122
202
f
65
18
27
366
169
92
3 8 9
3
6
8466
2709
11854
2327
6618
58i7
9593
49 g 7
3608
810
826
13732
7839
2852
1085
287
109
307
12580
Sabha
Vana ...
Virata
LJdyoga
Bhishma .-
Drona ..
Kama
Shalya
Sauptic
Stri ...
Shanti **
Anushasana
Ashwamedha
Ashramvasi
Mausal
Mahaprasthanik ...
Swarga
Khil and Harivamsha ...
Total ...
1923
96836
2III
95826
iS6 The Mahdbharata : A Criticism.
From the above table it will appear, first, that the
reputed extent of the Mahabharata, msr., 100,000 shlokas.
is ah approximate figure, the actual extent being, even
as enumerated by Sauti, 96,826, and, secondly, that the
Mahabharata, as we have it in the Bombay edition,
contains 95,826 shlokas, that is to say, contains i,oiO'
shlokas less than the number declared by Sauti.
NOTE II.
THE SUBPARVAS.
The minor parvas as given by Sauti are as follows :
i ADIPARVA, 18.
i Paushya legend. 2 Paulomi legend. 3 Astika.
legend. 4 The genealogy. 5 The birth of the Pandavas.
6 The burning of the lac house. 7 Hidirnba. 8 The
killing of Bakasura. 9 Meeting with Chitraratha.
10 Swayamvara of Draupadi. 1 1 The Marriage, 12 The
coming of Vidura. 13 The attainment of a separate
kingdom. 14 Arjuna's pilgrimage. 15 The abduction
of Subhadra. 16 Marriage presents given by Krishna.
17 The<pburning of the Khandava forest. 18 The appear-
ance of Mayasura.
2 SABHAPARVA, 9.
i Erection of an assembly hall. 2 Counsel for the
assumption of imperial dignity. 3 The destruction of
Jarasandha. 4 The conquest of the four quarters*
5 The Rajasuya sacrifice. 6 The presentation of
Appendix. 187
honours. 7 The killing of Shishupala. 8 The game
at dice. 9 The second Dyuta.
3 VANAPARVA, 22.
i The killing of Kirmira. 2 The departure of Arjuna.
3 His combat with Kirata. 4 His arrival at the Indra-
loka. 5 The episode of Nala. 6 The pilgrimage of the
Tirthas. 7 The killing of Jatasura. 8 Battle with
Yaksha, 9 Battle with Nivatakavacha. 10 Meeting
with the great serpent. n Markandeya Samasya.
12 Conversation of Draupadi and Satyabhama. 13 Cattle-"
lifting. 14 Deer appearing in dream before Yudhish-
thira. 15 Vrihidraunika. 16 The abduction of Drau-
padi. 17 The releasing of Jayadratha. 18 The episode
of Rama. 19 Praise of the chastity ofSavitri. 20 The
depriving of Kundalas. 21 Araneya. 22 Aindra-
dyurnna,
4 VlRATAPARVA, 5.
i The entry of the Pandavas into the capital of
Virata, 2 The keeping up of the agreement, 3 The
killing of Kichaka. 4 The capture of the cows.
5 The marriage of Uttara.
?
e 5 UDYOGAPARVA, n.
i Mustering the forces. 2 The departure of Sanjaya.
3 The waking of Dhirtarashtra. 4 Sanatsujata. 5 The
point of departure. 6 The departure of Shrikrishna
for mediation. 7 The departure of the armies. 8 Uluka-
dutagamana. 9 Ratha tirtha. 10 The episode of Amba*
1 1 Quarrel between Bhishma and Kama.
igS The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
6 BHISHMAPARVA, 5,
i The installation of Bhishma, 2 The geography
of Jambukhanda. 3 The description of its extent
4 The Bhagawatgita. 5 The death of Bhishma.
7 DRONAPARVA, 8.
, i The installation of Drona. 2 The killing of Sam-
saptakas. 3 The killing of Abhimanyu. 4 Arjuna's vow.
5 The killing of Jayadratha. 6 The killing of
Ghatotkacha. 7 The death of Drona. b The discharg-
ing of Narayanastra.
8 KARNAPARVA, i.
9 SHALYAPARVA, 4.
i Shalya's death. 2 Duryodhana hiding in a lake.
,3 The duel. 4 Saraswata.
10! SAUPTIKAPARVA, 2.
i Sauptika. 2 Aishika.
ii STRIPARVA, 3.
i Giving water to the dead. 2 The lamentation of the
women,, 3 Shraddhaparva.
*
12 SHANTIPARVA, 6.
i The duties of a king. 2 Duties in adversity.
3 Mokshaparva. 4 The checking of Charvaka. 5 Coro-
nation of Dharmaraja. 6 The division of houses.
13 ANUSHASANAPARVA, 2.
i Dana Dharma, 2 Bhishma's ascending to heaven.
Appendix. 189
14 ASHWAMEDHAPARVA, 2.
i The horse- sacrifice. 2 The Anugita.
15 ASHRAM AVASIPARV A, 3.
i Dhritarashtra's resort to the forest. 2 The sight of
a son. 3 The coming of Narada.
1 6 MAUSALPARVA, i.
, 17 MAHAPRASTHANIKAPARVA, r.
lS S WARGAROHANAPARVA, I .
SEQUEL, 3.
1 Hari Vamsha.
2 Vishnu Parva.
3 Bhavishya Parva.
The above will eminently serve as a table of contents.
The total number of Parvas is thus 107, but by omitting
some of them, attempts are made to reduce the number
to 100. For instance the commentator takes 16 Sub-
parvas under Vanaparva whereas we have taken them
to be 22. The shlokas, we think, in the Mahabharata
Chapter II, Adiparva, beginning from 42 to 84, wherein
these Parvas are enumerated, cannot give less thui 107
Subparvas. TShus Saraswataparva is enumerated as
such in shloka 73 and yet the commentator does not
count it as a Parva. It is probable that the number
100 assigned by Sauti for the Subparvas is like the
round number assigned by him for the Shlokas, only an
approximate one. As a matter of fact the number of
Parvas in Vaishampayana's work must have been much
less than 100.
i go The Mahdbharata: A Criticism.
NOTE III.
KUTA SHLOKAS.
Kuta or riddle shlokas are to be found throughout the
Mahabharata, but principally in the first Parvas and
rarely in the later Parvas. The following are some of
the glaring examples :
ADIPARVA. *
1. "NagairivaSaraswati." The last word is explained
-as a landscape containing a lake.
2. "Bhaganetraharam haram." Bhaga is explained
-as Kama or cupid ; Netra as Sharira or body, Haram
as Nashanam or destroyer.
3. " Kamayanamiva Striyah tyajanti." Kamayanam
is explained as Kamatah yanam yasya, 2.0., he who
wanders about at pleasure.
SABHAPARVA.
T. " Mansatalam bherim." Mansa is twelve and
>taja a short span, z.<?., a drum with 12 spans as diameter.
2. <** Sangrame tarakamaye."
VANAPARVA.
1. c< Tridashanabhyavarshanta danadagdha ivadra-
yah/'
2. " Parthiva-putra-pautrah."
3. " Attashulah janapadah shiva^shulah chatush-
pathah: kesha-shulah striyo rajan bhavishyanti
Ichshaye." "
Appendix. !Q X
The commentator quotes the following explanatory
shloka :
Attamannam shivo vedah Brahmanashcha chatushpa-
thah ; Kesho bhagam samakhyatam shulam tadwikryam
viduh.
VlRATAPARVA,
1. Sarvashweteva maheyi vane jata tri-hayani."
" Upatishthata Panchali vasiteva nararshabham."
2. "The well-known shloka " Nadijalamkeshva-
nari-ketun Nagavhayo nama Nagari-sunu ; Eshon-
ganaveshdharah Kiriti, Jitwa vayam neshyati chadya
gavah."
3. "Bindavo jatarupasya shatam yasminnipatitah,
sahasrakotisanvarnah kasyaitaddhanuruttamam."
4. u Shalabhayatra sauvarnah tapaniyavibhushitah".
Sahasrakoti is explained by the commentator as sahasra
strong and koti the ends of a bow and sauvarna in the
next shloka meaning sandal or chandana.
UDYOGAPARVA.
1. " Ekayadwe vinishchitya trichaturbhirvasham
kuru, Pancha jitwa shadwiditwa sapta hitwa, sukhi
bhava." ,
2. a Sa kritwa Pandavan satram lokam sammohaya-
nniva, Adharmanaratan mudham dagdhumichhati te
sutah," Satra is explained as Misha.
3. " Kinasha iva varnah."
BHISHMAPARVA.
i. "Tudanti mama gatrani maghama segawa iva. 1 '
ZQ2 The Mahabharata : A Criticism.
DRONAPARVA.
1. u Natanartakaganclharvaih purnakaih vardha-
manakaih/'
2. "Tato Bhagirathi Ganga Urvashi chabhavatpura
duhitritwam gata rajnah puttratvvamagamattada."
3. " Yenayatau makhamukhau dishashavihapadapah
Tenashasthatumichhanti tamgatarajanishwaram."
4. " Kalasya grasato yodhan Dhrishtadyumnena
mohitan."
5. Eka chakramivarkasya ratham saptarshayo
hayah."
KARNAPARVA.
1. " Hamsamshugauraste sena hamsah shara ivavi-
shan/'
2. " Govarclhano nama varah subhadram nama
chatwaram."
3. The following is the worst example of its kind :
" Gokarna sumukhi kritcn ishuna goputrasampre-
shita, goshabdatmaja bhushanam suvihitam suvya-
ktagosuprabham, drishtwa gogatakam jahara muku-
tam goshabda~go-puri vai, gokarnasanamardana-
shcjia nayaya na prapya mrityorvashairu"
The word " Go " is in its different senses used here.
SHANTIPARVA.
1. ' c Chaturbhischa chaturbhischa dwabhyam
panchabhirevacha ; huyatecha punar dwabhyam sa me
Vishnuh prasidatu."
2. " Kokilasya varahasya meroh shunyasya veshma-
nah, Natasya bhakti-mitrasya yatshreyah tatsamacharet."
Appendix. jo^
. 3. "Tirthanam rhidayam tirtham shuchinam rhida-
yarn shuchih."
ASHWAMEDHAPARVA.
i. " Varanasyamupatishthat Maitreyam swairini
kule."
The commentator explains Swairini as swan irayatiti,
dharmaya prerayati munishrenih.
NOTE IV.
The additions subsequently made to the Bharata.
In this note we intend to give all the chapters or
Adhyayas which appear to us to have been subsequently
added to the Bharata of Vaishampayana by Sauti.
ADIPARVA.
1. The Paushya legend is evidently a subsequent
addition as it is entirely irrelevant. It has no connec-
tion with the Mahabharata story and is only linked to
it at the end. But the connection breaks off again.
(Chapl 3.)
*
2. The Paulbmi Akhyana is also irrelevant. This
is introduced by the coming of Suta to Shaunaka and
begins as if nothing had been written before this. The
story is an Arabian Night story and is intended to glorify
the obedience of Kshatriyas to Rishis. (Chap. 4 12.)
3. The Astika story is repeated. All these Akhysnas
are infefior in composition. The shlokas -beginning
13
194 The Mahabharata: A Criticism*
with " Tadagata jvalitam " describing the battle of f
gods and the demons are irrelevant and not very poeti-
cal. Similarly, the description of the sea when Vinata
and Kadru came to it and crossed it is out of place.
The Stutisof Indra and Surya are of the hackneyed kind
identifying everything with the God praised. The way
in which these stories are knit together is in the fashion
of the Arabian Nights being usually introduced by a
casual mention or haphazard question. (Chap. 13 58.)
4. The story of Kashyapa and Takshaka and of
Parikshita's death Is repeated.
5. The Amshavatara is a subsequent addition * each
.actor in the great scene is described as the incarnation
of some god or demon. The details here given some-
limes contradict what is stated in other places.
(Chap. 5966,)
6. The story of Yayati is repeated. (Chap. 75 85.)
7. The "Uttara Yayati Akhyana " is a subsequent
addition and is unconnected with the principal story. It
is also given in long metred shlokas. It gives the
tenets of Hinduism, however, in short pithy language
and iS well worth studying. (Chap. 86 93.)
8. The chapter in prose giving the genealogy of the
Pandavas is followed by another in verse. The latter
is an interpolation as has been shown in the book.
(Chap. 95,)
9. The story of " Ani Mandavya " is repeated.
(Chap. H>7~ 108.)
Appendix. 195
10. Vyasa's appearance on the scene and advice to
Dhritarashtra to throw away his son is a subsequent
addition for reasons mentioned in the body of the book.
(Chap. 158.)
11. The names of Dhritarashtra's sons are twice
repeated. (Chap. 115 116.)
12. The story of Pandu killing a deer is twice re-
peated, the shloka u Sarvabhutahite kale" being also
repeated. (Chap. 118.)
13. The appearance of gods in the heavens and the
Akashavani vouchsafed every time is probably a sub-
sequent addition. The poet finds an opportunity to dis-
play his power of enumerating the gods and other
divine beings,
14. The birth of Kripa and Drona is wonderful.
Rishis emitting semen at the sight of beautiful Apsaras
and the semen germinating in some way into men is the
usual Pauranic account of great men's birth.
(Chap. 130.)
15. The stories of Hidimba and Baka are like chil-
dren's stories and very probably interpolations.
t (Chap. 154166.)
16. The story of Drona and Drupada is repeated
again.
17. The story of the king of Gandharvas playing in
the Ganges water is an interpolation. Here we have
the usual artifice adopted, *>&., the gift of divine sight to
Arjuna.*
rg6 The Mahdbharata : A Criticism.
18. The Gandharva and Arjuna sitting together aftec*
a fight and telling stories of Tapati and Vishwamitra is
almost comical and the Akhyanas are added here un-
congenially, (Chap. 172175.)
19. The stories of Vasishtha and Kalmashapada and
Bhargava and Aurva are quite out of place. They are
tedious and almost trying in the march of the proper
story. (Chap. 177184.)
A
20. The story which Vyasa relates to Drupada ex-
plaining why Draupadi can have many husbands is a
subsequent addition as has already been shown.
(Chap. 198199.)
21. The story of Sundopsaunda is a typical Pauranic
story. Asuras inflated by the obtainment of a boon
from Shiva destroy themselves. (Chap. 211214.)
SABHAPARVA.
1. The Rishis mentioned in the Yudhishthira Sabha.
are repeated. in the Brahma Sabha. (Chap, n 12.)
2. The story of the game at dice is repeated* The
repetition is explained by Janemejaya asking for greater
details of the event. The same shlokas are often used.
(Chap. 7380.)
VANAPARVA.
1. The Tirthas are repeated as already shown.
(Chap. 8284.)
2. The story of Agastya and his drinking up the sea
is perhaps out of place here. (Chap. 103 104.)
Appendix. 197
3. The conversation in Chapters 132 134 is philoso-
phical and tough for the commentator even. The
whole conversation consists of shlokas which may be
looked upon as riddles and the commentator has himself
composed Stragdhara shlokas to explain the meaning
of each.
4. The story of Yavakrita is not charming and the
language also not good. (Chap. 135 138.)
*
5. The story of Varaha incarnation is entirely
unconnected as no Tirtha suggests it. The language
also is not good. (Chap. 142.)
6. The story of Bhima meeting Hanuman is not
probable as Bhima already knows who Maruti is. It is
perhaps a later addition. (Chap. 147 150.)
7. Maruti's description of the four Yugas and again
of the Ashramas is entirely irrelevant.
8. The story of Bhima trespassing into Gandha-
madana and killing Mani at Draupadi's request is a
repetition. Kubera chides Bhima in a manner which
should lead him again to fight rather than submit.
Bhima is represented as acting foolishly and herf, too
submissively. *
(Chap. 146,160, 161, 162.)
9. Markandeya's coming and telling different stories
is probably a later addition. The object is the extolling
of Brahmanas and the glorification of Krishna as an
incarnation of the supreme deity. We find here
verse mixed with prose which seems to have been
198 The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
introduced here as a variety. The story of Shyena*
and Kapota is repeated, (Chap. 182 231.)
10. The story of Kumara's birth is different from
that given in the Puranas a,nd in Kaliclasa's well-known
poem called Kumarsambhava. He is represented here
as the son of Agni. (Chap. 222 225.)
11. The conversation between Satyabhama and Drau-
padi is puerile. The picture which the latter draws of a.
good wife is that of a humble woman who washes the
household pots and clothes, and not that of a queen.
(Chap. 231234.)
12. The story of Duryodhana being bound and
carried away by Chitraratha is a later addition. It seems
absurd for Indra to wish for Duryodhana's being taken
to him bodily. (Chap. 241.)
13. The subsequent story of Duryodhana sitting
for Prayopaveshana, t.e., fasting<until death, and his
being carried by a Kritya to Patala is an absurdity.
(Chap, 250.)
14. Durvasa's going to the Pandavas to tease is
again*i,an absurd story subsequently added. Durvasa
cannot be supposed to have descended so low.
(Chap. 261.)
15. The story of Kama's Kundalas being taken away
by Indra is repeated here. The story has already been
told in the Adiparva, and Janmejaya ought to have
known it, yet Janmejaya asks questions here as if he
knew nothing. Again, if Kama Is deprived of his
Appendix.
'Kundalas at this time and from thence called Kama, he
should not have been called Kama up to this time which
we do not find to be the case. (Chap. 299309.)
1 6. The Yakshaparashna episode, as has already
been stated in the body, is an interpolation.
(Chap. 312.)
VlRATAPARVA.
i. Uttara's running away from the chariot and then
becoming an exceptional charioteer and a poet, has
already been commentated upon. The Virataparva is
the most poetical of all the parvas and the story is well
diversified, but there are very few separate Akhyanas
in it. (Chap. 424345,)
UDYOGA-PARVA.
1. Shalya's promise has been commentated on in the
body of the book as absurd and unpoetical. (Chap. 7.)
2. The story of Shakrajaya is a repetition of Vrittra-
vadha related in the Vanaparva. Nahusha's story is
also related in short (Chap.8 9.)
3. Vidura Niti is a goo.d teaching for all times. But
it is somewhat out of place. (Chap. 3* 39.)
4. The dialogue between Sanatsujata and Dhrita-
rashtra is too philosophical to suit a character like that
of Dhritarashtra. (Chap. 4045.)
5. The Chapter 48 of 109 shlokas is a tiresome addi-
tion. Arjuna did not say anything of the kind to San T
jaya, who yet gives a lengthy message as from him in
long metre.
2oo The Mahdbharata : A Criticism.
6. The whole dialogue is unskilfully extended. The*
question by Yudhishthira is out of place.
7. Chapter 59 is clearly a later addition. Sanjaya
is not before represented as speaking to Krishna and
Arjuna in private. Moreover Krishna was not young
then but old as stated in the Sabhaparva.
8. The Rishis Kanva and Narada coming to exhort
Duryodhana and relating several stories is an improbable
interruption of the natural march of the story.
9. Krishna's taking Kama with him and offering
him empire after disclosing to him who he is, is unnatu-
ral as it lowers Krishna's character, and how could
Sanjaya have known it when both Krishna and Kama
kept it a secret ?
10. Unfavourable astronomical conjunctions and
other bad omens are here added as has already been
stated.
n. The message sent with Uluka is unnecessarily
lengthy. The message actually delivered by him is,
however, good and pointed. The replies given by the
several Pandavas are again twice repeated.
(Chap. 1591630
BmSHMAPARVA.
i. The appearance of Vyasa and his proposal to give
eyes to Dhritarashtra is a subsequent interpolation,
"The Bhumi-Jkhanda " is also an interpolation as al-
ready observed. (Chap, ri 12.)
Appendix. 201 !
\
i
2, The praise of Devi appears also to be a later (
addition. |
3. Chapters 65 and 66 are probably subsequent addi- !
tions in praise of Krishna and the support of the Vaish-
nava sect, for after all this it is strange that Duryodhana
remains firm.
4. In the beginning of Chapter 69 we have " Duryo-
dhana Uvacha " which is probably a mistake for
" Bhishma Uvacha."
5. Krishna's giving up the reins of Arjuna's chariot
horses and running to kill Bhishma a fine scene is
twice repeated. (Chap. 107 108.) The proposal to go
and ask Bhishma how he should be killed, is also an
absurdity already commented upon.
DRONAPARVA.
1. This Parva seems to be more elaborate than the
preceding ones and seems to have been entirely recast.
The similes follow one upon another as in the modern
Purana. There is a long metred shloka (Shardula-
vikridita) *at the end of Chapter 7 which is strange.
Again Dhritarashtra says that Drona had studied the 9
four Vedas and the fifth Akhyana, by which is^neant
usually the Bharata. How could he when Bharata had
no existence in his days ? Dronaparva is also more
imaginary and mythical.
2. The long-metred shlokas in this Parva are diversi-
fied. The consolation of Subhadra and her lamenta- m
tions are probably interpolations, the same shlokas as
those uttered by Arjuna being used. (Chap. 77.)
202 The Mahdbharata: A Criticism.
3. So also is the chapter where Arjuna in a dream is**
taken to Shiva. (Chap. 80.)
4. Similarly the next chapter where the splendour
of Dharma's royal functions of bathing, etc., are de-
scribed. This is clearly shown by the fact that the next
chapter begins with Dhritarashtra's question "what
happened the next day." The next day had already
dawned and Sanjaya had already told Dhritarashtra
what Arjuna and Krishna had done. (Chap. 84.)
5. Dhritarashtra says "I do not hear to-day the
same noise as usual in the houses of Saindhava." This
shows that he was in camp or even if he was in Gajapura
it is not every day that Sanjaya told him of the battle.
It was only after Drona's death that he came to him and
told him what had happened. (Chap. 85.)
6. The story of the fight between Satyaki and Bhuri-
shrava is a later addition. Probably Bhima was in
Satyaki's chariot. When did he leave it ? The spectacle
of two men discharioting each other is strange. So
also their fighting like gladiators with naked arms In the
midst of a raging battle ; and what was Arjuna doing all
thewljile? (Chap. 142 143.)
r
7. There is much of pure hyperbole in the account
of Bhima's throwing away the chariot of Drona bodily
7 times with his Hands.
8. The chapters relating the second fight between
Drona and Ghototkacha is a later addition probably.
They revile each other and yet Drona does not refer
to his previous defeat by him. Secondly, Ghatotkacha
Appendix. 203;
*brought with him one Akshaunhini but he is not said
in the beginning to have brought one with him. Third-
ly, he is said to have destroyed 8 and subsequently 7
Akshauhinis, which is impossible.
9. The appearence of Vyasa at the end of Chapter
184 is unnecessary and useless.
10. The commentator admits at the end that the:
number of-shlokas in this Parva is more than the one
given by Sauti and attributes the fact to the mistake
of writers. How can the number increase by the fault
of writers?" Interpolation is clearly admitted here.
KARNAPARVA.
1. The story of Shankar killing Tripura is repeated
and very closely to the previous story which appears at
the end of the Drona Parva. (Chap. 34.)*
2. The absurdity of Duryodhana telling the story,
for stories should properly be told by elders, is explained
in the poem " I heard this story when a Brahman
related it to my father."
3. Repetition and lengthening of scenes is , bad
feature of Sauti'i composition. * -
4. In the midst of bragging, Kama remembers two-
curses pronounced upon him by a Brahmin which is-
absurd. These are probably later additions.
5. The mixed fight described in Chapters 55 to 63 is
a tiresome extension of the same story. The speech of "
YudhisSthira is also very long.
204 ^ ie M&hobharata: A Criticism.
6. The scene between Yudhishthira and Arjuna, the<^
former upbraiding the latter for nothing, and saying
" accursed be thy bow" and the latter drawing his
sword to kill him, is inconsistent with the character of
both and not at all appropriate and pleasing. The
solution given by Krishna is also not worthy of his
teaching. (Chap, 68.)
SHALYAPARVA.
1. Shalya's fighting with Bhima is impossible as he
'had already been removed from battle senseless.
(Chap. 1 6.)
2. Sanjaya's telling Dhritarashtra about Yuyutsu
coming to Vidura and staying with him for the night, is
absurd. How could Sanjaya know it? Vidura was
with Dhritarashtra. In one place Sanjaya says " Dhri-
.shtadyumna seized Sanjaya." which ought to have been
'" me" if Sanjaya himself is the relator. (Chap. 29.)
GADAPARVA.
1. Janmejaya interrupting Vaishampayana at the
-very time when the centre of interest is reached and
the fight between Bhima and Duryodhana about to
begin, for a description of the Saraswsfd river and the
pilgrimage of Balarama has already been commented
upon. (Chap. 35.)
2. Krishna's coming to comfort Dhritarashtra and
Gandhari is rather strange. It does not fit in with the
story which is still told by Sanjaya. The last sentence
of Sanjaya is "He went to Gandhari whose so*hs were
Appendix. 205;
killed." But Gandhari was not there, she having been
sent away. Sanjaya could not also have seen this as
his extraordinary vision had gone. Moreover, when
Krishna appears he sees Dhritarashtra and Gandhari
together. (Chap. 63.).
3, The story of the chariot of Arjuna burning to
ashes as soon as Krishna got down is absurd. For
Krishna got down from the chariot every evening, and
where is the beauty of describing Arjuna as destroying
the Brahmastra of Drona and Kama by counter Astras? 1
SAUPTIKAPARVA.
1. The propitiation of Shiva by Ashwatthama is a.
later addition meant to add to the horror and success of
his crime. (Chap. 7.)
2, Ashwattharna's going back to Duryodhana to
inform him of the slaughter of the innocent is also in-
consistent, for the latter had already died at the end of
the previous Parva. (Chap. 9.)
3. The greatness of-Mahadeva and Linga worship*
come in at the end of this Parva unnecessarily.
STRIPARVA. *
1. Repetition* of scenes and even of the same shlokas
is exemplified in the comforting speeches of Vidura and
Sanjaya. (Chap. 24.)
2. Vyasa giving sight to Gandhari is a repetition of
the same idea. Her description of the battlefield is
unpoetical and has already been commented upon.
(Chap. 1617,)
The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
3. The curse of Gandhari to Krishna Is an unneces-^
sary foretelling of future events as has already been
shown. (Chap. 25.)
SHANTIPARVA.
1. Subhadra appears here to have been in Dwaraka
while before she was in the camp and was comforted
for Abhimanyu's death.
2. There Is a deal of repetition in Vyasa's and
Arjuna's speeches. The story of the 16 kings is here
repeated. (Chap. 22, 27, 28, 29.)
3. The story of Syamantapanchaka and Parasha-
rama destroying Kshatriyas is repeated here. It has
-already appeared in the Adiparva.
4. Yudhishthira asking his brothers about Dharma,
Artha and Kama, and Bhirna urging him to have
beautiful women, etc., is thoroughly out of point and out
of place.
5. The stories of Bodhya and Kashyapa and Indra
are probably later additions. (Chap. 178.)
6. Chapters 190 and 192 are in prose and in the
fashion of modem Shastras. They appear to be later
additions. ,
7. The praise of Vishnu, the creation of the world and
the working of the three Gunas are constantly touched.
8. The conversation of Bali and Indra is repeated.
Repetition in this Mokshaparva is almost irksome. In
Chapter 248, Gunas and the elements are repeated, a
Appendix. 207
thing which has been done perhaps for the sth time.
Shi okas from the Gita frequently recur. (Chap. 223,
224, 227.)
9. The story of Death or Mrityu is repeated.
(Chap. 255, 257.) ;
10. The story of Jajali and Tuladhara is a subse- ^
quent addition probably in support of Ahimsa. \
(Chap. 260, 263.) \
ANUSHASANAPARVA. , \
1. The story of Vishwamitra becoming a Brahmin is " |
unnecessarily repeated here. (Chap. 3 4.)
2. The Upamanyu Akhyana and the thousand names I
of Shiva is a subsequent addition as has already been
noted. (Chap. 17.)
3. The next chapter is an abrupt breaking off on the
evil disposition of women.
4. The power and sanctity of Brahmins is reiterated.
The story of Shibi is told once more. That these stories
should come under Dana-dharma is strange. Probably
in the original Anushasanaparva the only subject *
touched was gifts. (Chap. 3* 33.)
5. The story of Vishwamitra becoming a Brahmin
is told once more in a fanciful form.
6. The origin of gold is told and the story of Karti-
teya'sbirth'is repeated. Popularly mercury is believed
to have been born of Shiva's semen and not gold.
(Chap. 84, 85, .86.)
208 The Mahabharata; A Criticism.
7. " I wish to know this Oh Brahman in detail.'^
(Chapter 95.) Here the word Brahman as addressed to
Bhishma is strange.
8. The Uma-Maheshwar Samvada is an interpolation
and an absurdity. The hackneyed questions are asked
again. A Brahman here is said to have been born and
good conduct can only make one a Brahmana in the
next life. (Chap. 140148.)
/
9. Krishna and Durvasa is the same story as Chya-
vana and Kaushika related before. (Chap. 159 160.)
10. In the morning prayer, Chapter 166, the rivers
are repeated again.
ASHWAMEDHAPARVA.
1. There is a repetition of Dharmaraja's grief and
his consolation by Vyasa and Krishna. (Chap. I 15,)
2. It seems that the story of Uttanka and the Mani
has already been told in the Adiparva in another form*
(Chap. 53580
3. How could the Earth console Subhadra at the
death pf Abhimanyu. ?
4. The chapter in which a nakula despises the horse
sacrifice of Yudhishthira is a later addition in defence
of Ahimsa. , (Chap. 90.)
5. The story that the nakula was under a curse is
still a later addition and inconsistent with the previous
chapter. (Qlap. 92.)
Appendix. 209
ASHRAMAVASIPARVA.
1. Dhritarashtra's advice to Yudhishthira how to
govern the kingdom is quite inconsistent ' with the
character of both. (Chap. 6 7.)
2. Narada said confidently that the gods were talk-
ing among themselves that he (Dhritarashtra) would go
to Kuber Loka. This is rather strange and probably an
interpolation. (Chap. 38 39.)
3. The description given of the Pandavas and their
wives is quite out of place as Dhritarashtra could not
have realised it, for he is not only blind but is now a
hermit.
4. The appearance of the dead is an old idea as
old as the Bharata. Janmejaya being shown his father
is, however, a clear later addition.
MAHAPRASTHANIKAPARVA.
i. The story of the Pandavas going west, south and
east and seeing Dwaraka submerged is absurd. They
could not have walked so long, and the Mahaprastjiana,
according to the JDharmashastra, is only towards the
north-east. (See Boudhayana's Dharrtiashastra.)
(Chap, i, 2j 3.)
SWARGAROHANAPARVA.
i. The soul of each actor in this Epic is said to
have returned after death to the deity from which it
sprang. This is probably a later idea.
*4
2IO
The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
2. The last chapter giving the description of
Parvas is clearly an interpolation. Vaishampayana has
gone away and Janmejaya has returned to Gajapuraand
Suta has told Shaunka the merit of reading Bharata.
It is strange that Janmejaya should come again to ask
Vaishampayana to give a detail of the Parvas. More-
over, we have here a mention of the Ramayana, the
18 Parvas and the worship of Hari and Krishna.
NOTE V.
Explanation of the double positions of planets
mentioned in the Mahabharata.
The actual positions of the planets on or about the
several dates assigned to the Mahabharata war are
as follows. I am indebted for these calculations to
Professor Apte of the Lashkar College :
KARTIKA VADYA AMAVASYA.
(Friday) Shake -3180,
Degrees,
... 234 5# *"
... 225 32' 52"
... 218 26' 34"
- 258 39' 43"
Planets.
Sun
Mercuf y .
Venus" .
Mars
Jupiter .
Saturn .
Rahu .
350
314 55' 8"
235 1 8' 29"
Nakshairas.
Jyeshtha.
Anuradha or Jyeshtha
Anuradha.
Purvashadha
tarashada,
Revati.
Shatataraka.
Jyeshtha,
or Ut-
Solar eclipse must have occurred. Lunar eclipse can-
not have happened on the preceding full-moon day.
Appendix.
211
Rahu
2. KARTIKA VADYA AMAVASYA.
(Saturday) Shake 2567.
Nakshatras.
Jyeshtha
Mula.
Uttara or Shravana or
Dhanishtha.
Jyeshtha or Mula.
Jyeshtha or Mula.
Purvashadha or Ut-
tarashadha
21 9 5 6/ 3 1 " Anuradha.
Planets.
Degrees.
Sun
233 4 l' 20"
Mercury...
241 22' 58"
Venus ...
278 43' 30"
Mars ...
238 22' 4"
Jupiter (retro) ...
237 28' 22"
Saturn (retro) ...
254 3'' Si"
Solar eclipse highly probable. Lunar eclipse did
occur on the preceding full-moon day.
3. KARTIKA VADYA AMAVASYA.
(Friday) Shake
Planets.
Degrees.
Sun
... 212 4 ' 5 8"
Mercury...
- 214 27' 57"
Venus ...
... 255 58' 26"
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Rahu
298 26' 9"
13 42' 10"
24 i5 7 3"
162 43' 58"
-2527.
Nakshatras.
Vishakha or Anuradha*
Anuradha.
Purva or U.tfarasha-
dha.
, Dhanishtha or Shata-
. taraka.
. Bharani.
, Bharani or Krittika*
Hasta.
No solar eclipse nor lunar possible.
212
The Mahabhamta : A Criticism.
4. KARTIKA VADYA 10,
(Sunday) Shake -1271.
(Corresponding to 3ist October 1194 B.C.)
(Date assigned by Mr. Ayyar.)
Planets. Degrees. Nakshatras.
Sun 231 13' 37" Jyeshtha or Mula.
Mercury 246 41' 49" ... Mula or Purva.
Venus 233 i8 ; 57" ... Jyeshtha or Mula.
Mars .. ... 251 35' 24" ... Mula.
Jupiter 322 52' 12" ... PurvabhadraTpada.
Saturn 253 54' 27" ... Purvashadha.
Rahu 88 5' 25" ... Punarvasu.
No solar eclipse nor lunar possible.
The happening of a solar eclipse immediately before
the war is a fact which is probably true and cannot be
supposed to have been invented later. From the above
we gather further corroboration of the generally accept-
ed date. The date given by Garga's dictum, according
to my interpretation, fczi?., 2,566 years before the Shaka
era, seems also a probable date. The other dates appear
from the above to be improbable.
This is, however, a diagression. Comparing these
positions with the positions mentioned in the Maha-
bharata we cannot but doubt that the latter are fictitious.
Moreover, the chapter in the Udyoga Parva, wherein
Krishim is represented as trying to we^n Kama from
the cause of Duryodhana, we have already shown to be
an interpolation. So is the chapter in the beginning of
the Bhishma Parva, wherein Vyasa tries to induce Dhrita-
rashtra to intervene and stop the impending fight, and
offers to give him supernatural vision if he wishes to see
it. In these two chapters, these astronomical references
are chiefly to be found, and we have no doubt that they
were introduced by Sauti to swell the list of evil omens
i
Appendix.
213
"that were then happening. They, however, deserve to be
carefully considered even supposing that they are later
additions ; for, they must be supposed to have been
cleverly introduced and not recklessly. We will, there-
fore, try in this note to see how far these apparently con-
tradictory statements can be reconciled and what the
commentator has to say in this connection.
Before going on to the subject, it will be necessary to
place before the reader the Sarvatobhadra Chakra which
the commentator sometimes refers to in explanation.
The Chakra is quoted from the astronomical work of
Narapati called Narapativijaya and frequently referred
to on questions relating to war. We give below the
barest outline of it as it will suffice our purpose.
KRL Ron. j MKI. I ARD.
KAHU
214 The Mahabharata : A CHiicism.
The Chakra places seven Nakshatras in each side*
of a square, beginning with the Krittikas, and puts 4
letters in the corners simply for convenience. The
planet from any of these Nakshatras have Veclhas in
different directions and chiefly in three. When the
planet is retrograde it has a Vedha backwards, when
forward in motion, it looks ahead and all have a Vedha
in the cross line. There are other supplementary
Vedhas which we need not refer to here.
Now it is admitted by all that Krishna started on his
mission of peace in the month of Kartika when the
moon was in the Revati Nakshatra. *' Kaumude mast
Revatyam sharadante himagame " Udyoga Parva,
Chapter 82, He must have taken two or three days to
reach Hastinapura and two days to finish his work.
When he left, he said to Kama u Seven days hence
there will be Amavasya and let fight begin on that day
as it is presided over by Shakra." Now the com-
mentator thinks that on the Amavasya day the moon
was expected to be in Jyeshtha, and Mr. Ayyar, Author
of the "Date of the Mahabharata" lately published,
also thinks the same. The Jyeshtha Nakshatra is pre-
sided over by Indra. Duryodhana ifioved his army
on the Pushya Nakshatra, i.e., the next day or im-
jmediately after Krishna left. From Pushya to Jyeshtha
the moon could not apparently have passed in 7 days,
and Mr. Ayyar surmises that 7 days is a mistake for
10. But he forgets that that fortnight is said to have
consisted of 13 days only, and the moon's motiypn must
have been very rapid.
Appendix. 215
Kama, in his conversation with Krishna, makes the
following observations (Chapter 142, Udyoga-Parva) :
" The Nakshatra of Prajapati (Rohini) is oppressed by
the evil planet Saturn. Mars turning back from
Jyeshtha seeks Anuradha. Particularly the planet
oppresses Chitra. The condition of the moon is re-
versed and Rahu is approaching the sun." As the
evil dark half is usually believed to begin from Vadya 5th,
this was dspoken by Kama, presumably on or after the
5th of the dark half of Kartika. Pushya or Punarvasu
might easily fall on that day.
Hereafter the armies of the contending parties move
to, and encamp in, Kurukshetra. Convenient camps are
pitched for different divisions, camps said to be more
commodious and full of comforts than Hastinapura
itself. This must have taken several days. Meanwhile
Vyasa visits Dhritarashtra and makes an attempt at
inducing the old man to stop the coming fight, but in
vain. Vyasa mentions the following evil omens :
" There is a comet standing over Pushya. Among the
Maghas Mars is retrograde and Jupiter is in Shravana.
Saturn is standing over the Bhaga Nakshatra (Purva)
and Venus shines over the Purvabhadrapad^. The
white planet stands over Jyeshtha. Both the un and
the moon oppress Rohini. The evil planet stands between
Chitra and Swati. The red planet, making counter-
retrograde from retrograde, stands over Shravana, the
Rashi of Bramha. Jupiter and Saturn stand near
Vishakha. The sun and the moon were eclipsed together
on the I3th. I have seen Amavasya on the I4th day,
but never on the isth." (Chapter 2, Bhishma-Parva.)
216 The Mahabharala : A Criticism.
From this It appears clear that the actual fighting,
commenced after the Amavasya or new moon and
not before, as Mr. Ayyar thinks on the basis of
Bhishma's remark on the day of his death, that he had
been lying on his bed of spikes for 58 days. It also
appears certain that the sun, the moon, and Rahti were
together near Jyeshtha, as there could not have been
an eclipse of the sun otherwise. We can thus under*
stand Karna, speaking before Amavasya, jvhen he-
remarks that Rahu is approaching the sun. Again,
Vyasa's statement that both the sun and the moon
oppress Rohini, is explicable as from Jyeshtha by cross
Vedha the sun and the moon have an evil influence
on Rohini. (See red line No. i.) Venus may be sup-
posed to be in Uttara, from there shining over Purva
Bhadrapada. (See cross red line No. 2.) Kama's
statement " particularly the planet oppresses Chitra,"
and Vyasa's statement "the evil planet stands between
Chitra and Swati," must both be taken to refer to a
comet or some evil fictitious star.
Having fixed the sun and the moon and Rahu, we
will go on to locate Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Different
statements regarding these have given rise to different
interpretations. Mars is said to be retrograde in Magha,
and counter-retrograde in Shravana, while from Kama's
speech it appears that it was going back from Jyeshtha
towards Anuradha. Modaka takes only two of these,
mz.) Magha and Anuradha, and thinks that Magha is
only a Sayana name for Anuradha, but he entirely
ignores the third position mentioned, mz^ in Shravana.
The commentator believes that Mars was really In
Appendix.
217
*Magha and stood over Shravana by Vedha according
to Sarvato-bhadra Chakra. But here the commentator
forgets that Kama has located Mars between Jyeshtha
and Anuradha. We think the proper explanation is
that Mars being retrograde was going from Anuradha
towards Vishakha when Vyasa spoke. Being retro-
grade his Vedha from Anuradha goes to Magha, being
the first Nakshatra in each side. Thereafter he turns
counter-retrograde and from near Vishakha his Vedha
goes forward to Shravana in the same way. In this
manner can the three statements be best reconciled.
Jupiter is said to be in Shravana and also near Visha-
kha. The commentator thinks that Jupiter was in
reality in Shravana and his Vedha went from there to
Vishakha, being the last Nakshatra in each side. Simi-
larly Saturn, he thinks, was in reality in Purva (or Bhaga
Nakshatra) and his Vedha went from there to Vishakha
also ; for this he refers to a second Chakra called the
Shatapada Chakra. It is unnecessary to enter into
what he propounds. We think that the word " Sami-
pastha " is very clear and that both Jupiter and Saturn
are represented by Souti as near Vishakha. Modak has
not tried to explain the positions of Saturn at all. There
is a third statement about wSaturn in Kama's speech,
where he is said to oppress RohinL These statements
may thus be explained. From Vishakha the Vedha of
Jupiter goes to Shravana in the forward line. The
Vedha of Saturn from near Swati (and whence he
advanced towards Vishakha at the time of Vyasa's
speech)^goes towards Rohini as shown by red line
No. 3. "AS for the Purva or Bhaga Nakshatra which
2 i8 The Mahabhamta: A Criticism.
is said to be oppressed by Saturn, we can take the Vedhc?
from between Swati and Vishakha to Ashwini by the
transverse line and from thence direct to Purva. See
red line No. 4*)
It will appear that these different Vedhas or oppres-
sions are nearly the same as astrological drishtis,
as these are understood in modern astrology which
recognises 4 kinds of drishtis, viz : (i) full or semi-
circular, i.e., at a distance of 14 Nakshatras f (2) three-
fourths or triangular, i.e., at a distance of 9 or 18
Nakashatras; (3) one-half, i.e., quadrilateral, i.e., at a
distance of 7 or 21 Nakshatras ; and (4) one-fourth or
hexagonal, i.e., at a distance of 4 or 16 or 24 Naksha-
tras taking figures approximately. Saturn's Vedha of
Rohini and Purva is at distances of 16 and 24 Naksha-
tras respectively.
It may be added that the intention of Sauti in giving
these Vedhas was to show that the Nakshatras apper-
taining to life or creation, TOST., Rohini and Shravana,
presided over by Brahma or the Creator, and Purva
presided over by Bhaga and Magha presided over by
the Pitris, were oppressed by the evil sights of planets.
We rfxay also take it that Mars going retrograde and
approaching Saturn, was then, as now, believed to be the
sign of an impending destructive war. The Boer war
was immediately preceded by a similar conjunction.
We may here incidentally discuss the question when
the actual fighting took place and here comes the famous
shloka " That day the moon was in the * region '
of Magha and the seven planets appeared injthe sky
shining." Mr. Ayyar relies on this, coupled with the
Appendix. 219
'declaration of Bhishma at the time of his death, mz.^
that be had been lying on his bed of spikes for 58 days,
and believes that the moon was in the beginning of the
fight in Magha, i.e., the fight began five days before the
Kartika Amavasya. But this gives us only two days
after the armies were moved on Pushya for the pitching
of camps, etc., which seems quite insufficient and
is inconsistent with all other statements in the Maha-
bharata, especially that of Balarama who arrived on the
last day of the fight and said "It is forty-two days since
I started. I left in Pushya and have returned in
Shravana." The commentator interprets Magha-
vishaya as the region of the deity of Magha, 2.0., of
the Pitris (souls of ancestors) which are believed to
reside in the moon, which is again the deity of Mriga,
and hence thinks that the moon was in Mriga and thus
reconciles this fact with Balarama's arrival in Shravana
(which is 1 8 Nakshatras from Mriga) on the i8th day
of the fight. The Bharata Sawitri, a work which the
commentator quotes, believes that the moon was in
Bharani which is presided over by the God of Death
and is thus allied with Maghavishaya. But the
commentator objects that from Bharani to Skravana
there are 21 Nakshatras which the moon could not
go over in 1 8 days. But it is admitted by him that the
fight began on the I3th of Mrigashirsha bright half, that
Bhishma fell on the 8th of the dark half, that the terrible
fight at night when Drona was commander-in-chief
happened on the i2th, and thus the description in the
'Mahaljharata that the moon rose about 3 a.m. on that
night is consistent and that Duryodhana was killed on
22O The Mahubhuntlti : A
the Amavasya of Mrigashirsha. Now we have shown*
before that on the Amavasya of Kartika when there
was an eclipse of the sun the moon was in Jyeshtha.
From Jyeshtha to Mriga there are 15 Nakshatras which
the moon would ordinarily require 14 days to go over.
The statement of Bhishma that he lay on his bed for 58
days is reconciled by the commentator by a pun upon the
word Ashtapanchashat which ordinarily means 58 but is
made to mean 42 by deducting the same from one
hundred. From Mrigashirsha 8th of the dark half when
Bhishma fell wounded to Magha 5th bright half when he
is supposed to have died we count 42 days only but not
58 and the commentator has succeeded in transforming
58 into 42. But he has forgotten to notice another
remark in the Anushasanaparvd: where Yudhishthira is
said to have stayed 50 nights in Hastinapura after the
end of the war and then gone to see Bhishma, as he was
to die when Uttarayana would commence. On our part
we think it is impossible to reconcile these statements
unless we change the reading of some of them as Ayyar
has done or reject some as interpolations. It is safest
and involves the least change to reject the last two state-
ments *in the Anushasanaparva so that all the rest are
reconciled and to hold that the moon was^either in Mriga
or Bharani on the first day of the fight. Mr. Modak,
who takes that the moon was in real Magha and Sayana
Mriga, is not troubled by the discrepancy in the number
of days intervening between Bhishma's Fall and death.
The second half of the shloka is equally a riddle like
the first. All the seven planets can never shine in the
sky at the same time, for when the sun shines tlie rest
Appendix,
221
must be invisible. But granting that this was then ob-
served as an abnormal event it must at least be shown
that the 7 planets were then above the horizon. If we
believe along with the commentator that Jupiter was in
Shravana he coulcl not then have been above the hori-
zon but was below it and similarly with Venus. This
clearly shows that the positions we have assigned to the
planets are those which Sauti assigned them. From
Amavasya to the I4th the sun might be supposed to
have travelled from Jyestha to Mula and the moon from
thence to Mriga. When the sun rose, therefore, on that
day he rose along with Mercury, Mars and Jupiter, and
Saturn near him, Venus a little above and the nearly
full-moon near the west. It is possible that they might
all have been visible and shining if the sun was cut by
clouds as we are told in the next shloka.
NOTE VI.
JANMEJAYA'S BRAHMAHATYA.
WHAT Janrnejaya's Brahmahatya was is a mystery and
it is feared must remain so for ever. We have consulted
many men versed in the Vedic and Puranic IcJfe but
none has been able to find out any legend or any story
in any Purana in this connection. The story given in
Adiparva, Chapter II, seems to have been abruptly cut
off. It would bejnteresting to give its substance here.
Janmejaya Parikshita was performing a sacrifice when
some dogs entered the sacrificial ground and were
beaten $nd turned out 'Sarama, their mother, cursed
Janmejaya and his brothers for ill-treating the dogs
222 The Mahdbharata : A Criticism.
for no fault of theirs, and said that an unforeseen eviU
would befall them. The king in fright went to a Rishi y
named Shrutashrava, who gave his son Somashrava
as Upadhyaya to the king and told him that he would
be able to purify him from all his Papakrityas except
Mahadevakritya. The son, however, had one fault,,
viz., that he would give to any one any boon asked
of him. The king took him on that condition and
having told his brothers to do whatever he orclered went
to Takshashila which he conquered. Here the story
ends and unfortunately (this is the only place in the
Mahabharata where the context is so hopelessly cut off)
no mention is further made as to what unforeseen evil
befell the brothers and what help Somashrava gave to
the king and what boon was asked of him and by whom.
This Somashrava has not even been mentioned among
the Rishis who were present at the Sarpa Satra per-
formed by Janmejaya. Possibly Sauti purposely left out
the remaining story and changed it into the subsequent
story of an Ashwamedha performed by Janmejaya,
given later on in Harivamsha where Indra is said
to have ravished the queen of Janmejaya when she
was ttVeide to lie down with the slaughtered sacrificial
horse ^s is laid down by the ritual o| Ashwamedha*
Janmejaya thereon in anger banished the Brah-
manas engaged in the sacrifice and turned out the
queen from his house. He was, however, induced to
accept her back on intercession by* the Rishis but
declared that none should thenceforth perform an Ashwa-
medha. Thi prohibition is still observed by most
Kshatriyas. *
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