The Mahābhārata consists of more than a hundred thousand couplets: the longest epic poem in any language. It is an epic with a hundred side stories, often suggestive of an insight or a moral principle, but always interesting.
Indian culture and civilization owe much of their richness, ideals, and values to great epics: the Rāmāyana, the Mahābhārata), and the Kandapuranam, all magnificent and incredibly long poetic compositions.
In some fundamental ways the epic is set the pattern of all history. The work is described as one in which “Devas, Devarishis, and immaculate Brahmarishis of good deeds, have been spoken of; and likewise Yakshas and great Uragas.” It is the narration of the deeds of the good and the great, as well as of the evil and the ignoble in so far as they have had impacts on the course of human events. Is this not what history is all about?
The Mahābhārata) narrates the conflicts between two families. All of history may also be looked upon as records of conflicts. There have been conflicts between kingdoms and nations, each trying to expand its own borders by encroaching into the territories of others, or to establish dominion over other people. Philosophers have propounded mutually opposing interpretations of the world and of scriptures, generating controversies among scholars and godmen. Every sect with a doctrine, ancient or modern, whether religious or secular, which has claimed to know the ultimate truth, has found itself in belligerent opposition with others. Then again, there have been (and there continue to be) conflicts between secularism and theology, between political ideologies, between national self-interests, etc. The Mahābhārata) was prescient in its central theme.
The Mahābhārata) informs us that it was authored by Rishi (sage) Vyasa. The traditional belief is that it narrates actual events in a very distant epoch. Scholars suspect that though the central episode may have a factual bearing, the majestic epic grew over the centuries, enriched by the talents of more than just one poetic genius and fertilized by many imaginative minds. The name Vyasa means the arranger. Scholars are divided as to when the Mahābhārata) was composed.
In this series of essays I plan to reflect on snippets from this grand epic. I have high regard for its spiritual and religious dimensions, but here I will consider its contents as of an extraordinary literary masterpiece replete with cultural anecdotes, mythological tales, as well as deep insights and commentaries on the human condition.
Spurts of Thought 