The Mahabharata is the oldest epic in world history, except the Ramayana which was composed a few centuries earlier. More ingeniously conceived than the Iliad and the Odyssey, the Mahabharata stands out as a marvel of creative imagination. Composed by sage Vedavyasa, about 2000 bc, it depicts almost every conceivable human emotion – love and hate, forgiveness and revenge, truthfulness and falsehood, celibacy and promiscuity, commitment and betrayal, magnanimity and greed…. But what is most remarkable about Vyasa’s genius is his uncompromising integrity in presenting the baffling complexities of human existence – its contradictions and incoherences. Thus, while Yudhishthira is portrayed as Dharmaputra, the Prince of Righteousness, he lapses into uttering a lie to have Drona slain. Similarly, Bheeshma, who towers high above everybody else as the custodian of culture and justice, remains a mute spectator at Draupadi’s disrobing in an open assembly. Nor is Krishna, the divine charioteer of Arjuna, entirely blemishless, for he often resorts to devious strategies to achieve his objectives. Vyasa seems to suggest that there is no such thing as absolute truth since a stainless human being is a mirage.
Although the Mahabharata is implanted in the Indian psyche, it has also fascinated readers all over the world. No wonder this epic has been translated into every major language of the world.
But one wonders why most versions could not visualize its potential as a story rich in poetic beauty and aroma. Perhaps it is because these writers have chosen to adhere too closely to a bare narration of the story. I have, therefore, endeavoured to lend some colour and fragrance to this epic.
Since the Mahabharata is a unique work of art, it transcends the limits of time and space. Although it speaks to every epoch in its own language, it carries significant relevance to our age in view of our concerns with such issues as social justice, partitioning of a state as political expediency, women empowerment, and the games our politicians play.
If the Mahabharata is like a royal crown, Krishna’s divine discourse to Arjuna is the Kohinoor embedded in it; its light leads us towards self-realization. Also elevating is the scene in which the Yaksha asks Yudhishthira some questions before he is allowed to drink water from his lake. The Pandava prince’s answers strike the reader as the quintessence of human wisdom.
One need not engage oneself in any scholarly discourse as to whether or not this epic is historically authentic. What is important to note is its impact on all those who visit, even today, Kurukshetra, a small town in north India, and imagine the ground there still stained with the blood of the warriors who were killed in the eighteen-day war, thousands of years ago.
Here is an epic to read and ponder over – a story that may help us unravel the mystery that surrounds human existence.
SHIV K. KUMAR