The Mahabharata

A synopsis of the Great Epic of India Introduction The Mahabharata (composed between 300 BC and 300 AD) has the honor of being the longest epic in world literature, 100,000 2-line stanzas, making it eight times as long as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey together, and over 3 times as long as the Bible (Chaitanya vii). According to the Narasimhan version, only about 4000 lines relate to the main story; the rest contain additional myths and teachings. In other words, the Mahabharata resembles a long journey with many side roads and detours. It is said that Whatever is here is found elsewhere. But whatever is not here is nowhere else. The name means great [story of the] Bharatas. Bharata was an early ancestor of both the Pandavas and Kauravas who fight each other in a great war, but the word is also used generically for the Indian race, so the Mahabharata sometimes is referred to as the great story of India. The work is divided into 18 books (concerning an 18-day war among 18 armies). The main narrative concerning the war is contained in the first ten books. In the first two books of the Mahabharata, we learn the background of the Bharatas (also called the Kurus) leading up to the conflict between the five sons of Pandu and their cousins the Kauravas. This story is told by the sage Vyasa, whose name came to mean the compiler. (Actually, the author of the epic is unknown, probably many authors over centuries.) Vyasa's mother is Satyavati, whose name means truth, so he is the son of truth. In telling his story to a descendant of the Pandavas, Vyasa says, If you listen carefully, at the end youll be someone else. In the play, Vyasa appears infrequently throughout the story, giving advice and also fathering Pandu and Dhritarashtra. Pronunciation guide of the main characters: Vyasa [Vee-YA-sha]: narrator of the story and father of Pandu and Dhritarashtra BHISH-ma: half-uncle by marriage of Pandu and Dhritarashtra Dhri-ta-RASH-tra: blind king, father of Duryodhana and the Kauravas GAN-dhari: wife of Dhritarashtra KUN-ti: wife of Pandu and mother to the five Pandavas and Karna Yu-DHISH-thira: leader of the Pandavas, rightful heir to the throne BHI-ma: strongest of the Pandava brothers AR-juna: mightiest of warriors NA-kula and Saha-DE-va: Pandava twins DRAU-pa-di: wife to the five Pandavas Du-ry-ODH-ana: leader of the Kauravas Duh-SA-sa-na: brother to Duryodhana KRISH-na: supporter of the Pandavas and avatar of Vishnu DRO-na: teacher of the Pandavas and Kauravas KAR-na: warrior, secret son of Kunti, ally of the Kauravas

A Summary of The Mahabharata'

BY ANEETA SUNDARARAJ The Mahabharata is a great epic that comprises one hundred thousand stanzas of verse divided into eighteen books, or parvas. It is the largest single literary work in existence. Originally composed in the ancient language of Sanskrit sometime between 400 BC and 400 AD, it is set in a legendary era thought to correspond to the period of Indian culture and history in approximately the tenth century BC. The original author was Vyasa who tried to tell about the Great War between the Pandavas and the Kauravas - cousins who claimed to be the rightful rulers of a kingdom. This bloody feud between the two branches of the ruling family of the northern Indian kingdom of Kurujangala culminates in an epic eighteen-day battle and the annihilation of nearly all those involved in the Great War, except the victors, the five Pandava brothersYudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadev. The eldest among the Pandavas was called Yudhistira. He was an embodiment of goodness and commanded the loyalty of his four brothers. The eldest among the Kauravas was called Duryodhana. He was crafty and malicious. His brothers shared in these evil qualities. The evil brothers were envious of their cousin Yudhistira and started scheming to dethrone him. Their first attempt to kill the Pandavas was by burning them inside a palace. The Pandavas managed to escape, but then the evil brothers once again attempted to gain control. One challenged the eldest brother Yudhisthira to a game of dice which led Yudhisthira to lose everything, including his and his brothers' wife, Draupadi. He, along with his brothers and their wife Draupadi, were exiled from the kingdom. For twelve years they had to live in the forest and upon the thirteenth year they were to hide in a city in disguise. It was during those thirteen years that the brothers grew to learn what it was like to live with the bare minimum and became more knowledgeable. After the thirteenth year Duryodhana decided that he would fight against them which led to a huge war and the deaths of many. Many died from both sides and after the war, they realized that nothing was really gained. The most dramatic figure of the entire Mahabharata, however, was Krishna who was the supreme personality of Godhead himself, descended to earth in human form to re-establish his devotees as care takers of the earth, and who practiced Dharma. Krishna was the cousin of both parties, but he was a friend and advisor to the Pandavas, became the brother-in-law of Arjuna, and served as Arjuna's mentor and charioteer in the Great War. Krishna is portrayed several times as eager to see the war occur, and in many ways the Pandavas were his human instruments for fulfilling that end. Throughout their lives and the terrible Great War that ensued at Kurukshetra there were examples of the ethical gaps amongst men which were never resolved. In the aftermath of the war, Yudhishthira alone was terribly troubled, but his sense of the war's wrongfulness persisted to the end of the text. This was in spite of the fact that everyone else, from his wife to Krishna, told him the war was right; even the dying patriarch, Bhishma, lectured him at length on all aspects of the Good Law (the Duties and Responsibilities of Kings). In the years that followed the Great War, the only survivors on the part of the Kauravas, Duryodhana's parents, King Dhritarashtra and his queen, Gandhari lived a life of asceticism in a forest retreat and died with yogic calm in a forest fire. Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas was with them too. Krishna departed from this earth thirty-six years after the Great War. When they learned of this, the Pandavas believed it was time for them to leave this world too and they embarked upon the 'Great

Journey,' which involved walking north toward the polar mountain that is toward the heavenly worlds, until one's body dropped dead. One by one, beginning with Draupadi, the Pandavas died along the way until Yudhishthira was left alone with a dog that had accompanied him from the start. Yudhishthira made it to the gates of heaven and there refused the order to drive the dog back, at which point the dog was revealed to be an incarnate form of the God Dharma (the God who was Yudhishthira's actual, physical father), who was there to test Yudhishthira's virtue. Once in heaven Yudhishthira faced one final test of his virtue: He saw only the Dhartarashtra Clan in heaven, and he was told that his brothers were in hell. He insisted on joining his brothers in hell, if that were the case! It was then revealed that they were really in heaven, that this illusion had been one final test for him. In essence, the epic story represents an extended exploration of the responsibilities set forth by the code of dharma. In addition to recounting a heroic tale, the Mahabharata contains a collection of writings on a broad spectrum of human learning, including ethics, law, philosophy, history, geography, genealogy, and religion. It also features a number of legends, moral stories, and local tales all woven into an elaborate narrative.

Complete these questions in your books

1. What does the name mean? 2. What time period was the Mahabharata composed in? 3. What language was it written in? 4. In the introduction on page 1, what is the quote that sums up the immensity of the Mahabharata? What does it mean? Paraphrase the quote. 5. How many lines are in the Mahabharata and what is the structure of the text? 6. Who were the opposing sides in the war? 7. Draw a diagram to show how the characters mentioned in the summary are related to one another. It could be a family tree, network or other visual representation. 8. What does the story about the dog at the gates of heaven tell you about Yudhishthira? 9. Why do you think the Mahabharata was written? 10. The Mahabharata is sometimes referred to as The Great Story of India. What is the value of an epic story like the Mahabharata to a society? Does it serve a purpose? 11. Name any other literature you know of which describes epic tales related to religion, philosophy and morality.

The Recognition of Shakuntala

By Kalidasa
Kalidasa was a brilliant Indian poet and playwright known for his sharp wit, rich humor and brilliant writing style. While little is known about where he was from, scholars believe that the exquisite detail he uses in describing the region of Ujjayini suggests that he was either born there or had spent much of his life there. Once again the details of when he lived are not known for sure either, which adds to the mystery surrounding this great figure, but his work is consonant with the geographic, historical and linguistic factors that support the Indian tradition that puts Kalidasas life sometime before, after or during the reign of Candragupta the 2nd, who ruled North India from about 375 C.E. to 415 C.E. His name, which translated means Kalis Slave shows that he was a devout follower of Kali, who is a consort of Siva. His devotion to Siva is quite evident in his plays and poetry as he often brings in the natural world as an integral part and Siva is known through the 8 elements. Although little is known for certain about his life, a popular legend about how he came to possess his talents is still popular to this day. Briefly, the legend goes as follows: Kalidasa was a very good looking man and as such caught the eye of a princess who married him. After marrying him she realized he was ignorant and uneducated and was ashamed by that. Kalidasa was distraught by this and while contemplating committing suicide called upon his patron goddess Kali, who gave him the gift of extraordinary wit. Today 6 major works are attributed to Kalidasa because The coherent language, poetic technique, style and sentiment the works express seem to suggest they are from a single mind but many more short prose works exist that are likely to havebeen written by him. The 6 attributed to him are 3 plays; Malavikagnimitra lavik and gnimitra , Abhijnanasakuntalam (The Recognition of Shakuntala) and Vikramorvasiya (Pertaining to Vikrama and Urvashi), 2 epic poems Raghuvamsa (The Lineage of Raghu) and Kumarasambhava (Birth of Kumara), as well as one shorter poem Meghaduta (The Cloud Messenger), which is not an epic but a description of the seasons through narration of the experience of two lovers (Smith, 15). Ornge While some have suggested that Kalidasas works, like most Sanskrit drama, find their origins in the Vedas, it is also probable that the epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata had their influences on the style and content of his works. In all of his dramas, and for that matter all Indian drama from the period, plot is not the central focus of the play but emphasis is put on flavor and emotion. He conveys sentiment not only through clever dialogue, of which there is an abundance, but also through stylized enactment involving dancing, body, hand and facial gestures, make-up and the introduction of natural props such as flowers. Throughout Kalidasas work, love and sensuality play a central role, and following suit all three of his plays involve a love story as its central theme. This being said, he also brings to the forefront other traits and ideas, espoused through his characters, such as honor, dharma and the virtuous ruler. Out of all of Kalidasas works his most popular and arguably greatest play was Abhijnanasakuntalam (The Recognition of Shakuntala), one that continues to be performed across India and the world to this day. The story centers on the young woman Shakuntala who is the daughter of a sage but is abandoned at birth and raised in the fashion of a humble life in a secluded hermitage. While the virtuous king, Dushyanta, who shows himself to be so many times throughout the play, is on a hunting trip he comes across the hermitage after following a deer injured by his arrow. There he sees Shakuntala attending to the injured deer, is amazed by her beauty and poise and falls in love. He then courts her in a way that is becoming of a virtuous king and they are married. Soon after, the king is called away to the capital and gives her his signet ring as a sign of his love. He tells her that when it is shown in the court she will be able to take her place as queen. Shakuntala was also in love with Dushyanta and spent much of her time daydreaming about her new husband. Just as she was in one of these daydreams a powerful sage Durvasa came to the hermitage, and because she did not notice him and greet him properly he was enraged. He then cursed her so that whomever she was dreaming about would never recognize her, but at the begging of Shakuntalas friends he lessened 4

the curse so that when she showed a present given to her by the person they would remember. After a while Shakuntala began to wonder why Dushyanta had not come for her and so she and a couple others headed out for the capital city. long the way Shakuntalas signet ring, given to her by the king, fell off while running her hands through the water. When she arrived at the court she was saddened and hurt that the king did not recognize her and went out into the forest with her son Bharat, who was also Dushyantas son. She spent many years there as Bharat grew very strong and bold. Sometime later a fisherman found a ring inside the belly of a fish and realizing the royal seal took it to king Dushyanta. Immediately the kings memories of his lovely wife Shakuntala came flooding back and he went out searching for her. During his search he came across a young boy who had forced open the mouth of a lion and was amazed by the childs strength. Feeling somehow drawn to him Dushyanta asked the boy his name. He replied Bharata, son of king Dushyanta. The boy then took him to his mother and immediately Dushyanta recognized Shakuntala and the family was reunited. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Although this is only a brief overview of Abhijnanasakuntalam, it should give the reader an idea of how Kalidasas works tend to play out. s important as the plot is to the story, just as important is the sentiment and underlying themes that are ever present. Throughout Kalidasas plays these themes tend to be parting and reconciliation, young love and maternal love, the king as a patron, the heroine and the king and the duties and pleasures of the warrior, among other things. In Abhijnanasakuntalam specifically, the tone of the play is set by the virtue and piety of Dushyanta while the underlying message is seen through Shakuntala, a woman who is purified by patience and fidelity and is ultimately rewarded with virtue and love. Kalidasas works echo the sentiments of Indian society during his life, which were in all aspects religious. Never divorced from his plays are Hindu values, and they are readily apparent in everything he writes. Through his wit and humor as well as his genius he has been able to captivate the minds of readers and viewers for the past 1500 years, and his works, being some of the first to be translated from Sanskrit, have played an important part in western understanding of ancient Indian literature.

Complete these questions in your books 1. This story was told in the Mahabharata as a side story and dramatized by the poet/playwright Kalidasa about 1500 years ago. What are some of the themes in the story? 2. Estimate the time span (how many years) the story of Shakuntala covers. 3. Name the main characters and describe their character. 4. Select 10 words from the text that you find challenging to spell or that you cannot easily define. Try to find the definitions. 5. Does this story remind you of any other stories or folk tales from other cultures? If not, ask your learning team members if they can recognise any connections to other stories. Compare them. What are the common elements? What are the common themes and motifs? 6. Re-tell the story of Shakuntala in your own words. 5