The Mahabharata epic is one of the longest epic poems in world literature. The Kurukshetra War it describes occurred sometime between 6000 BCE and 500 BCE, based on the astronomical and literary information contained within it. Professor K. Srinivasaraghavan is a foremost authority on the subject and fixed November 22, 3067 BC as the day on which the Mahabharata War began. Krishna, one of the major characters in the epic, was supposed to have died 35 years after the end of the war. European students of Indian astronomy arrived at February 18, 3102 BC as the day on which Krishna died, so the dating is close. During this period of history, we know that drainage and sewage systems were built in the Indus valley and polo was played, ziggurats were constructed in Mesopotamia, temples built in Malta, adobe structures built in Peru, and upper and lower Egypt were united under a single ruler.
When I visited India in 1986, I drove across the location of the battlefield with an Indian man for whom this was "current events". The plain of Kurukshetra is in the modern state of Haryana in northern India near New Delhi. The war lasted eighteen days during which vast armies from all over the Indian Subcontinent fought alongside the two rival factions. The war narrative forms more than a quarter of the Mahabharata, suggesting its relative importance within the epic, which overall spans decades of the warring families.
The narrative describes individual battles of various heroes of both sides, battle-field deaths of some of the prominent heroes, military formations employed on each day by both armies, war diplomacy, meetings and discussions among the heroes and commanders before the commencement of battle on each day and the weapons used. The chapters (parvas) dealing with the war (from chapter six to ten) are considered amongst the oldest in the entire Mahabharata epic.
The Mahabharata is an epic mythological work which spans many volumes. It can be likened to the Iliad and the Odyssey, except that it contains many more stories and fables within the larger story. Like all of the yogic stories, it has multi-leveled layers of meaning. To simply hear the story will engage the different conscious levels of your mind.
The Participants
Matsyagandha, whose name means fishy-smell, was the adopted daughter of a fisherman. The rishi Parashara, who founded Vedic astrology, asked her to ferry him across the river in her boat. While crossing the river, Parashara suggested that in exchange for sex with him, he would take away her fishy smell and give her a fragrant smell. He hid the boat with a magic spell so that no one would see them, and caused her to instantly give birth to a son. Parashara named the baby Vyasa, restored her virginity, and took the baby with him when he disembarked on the other side. From that time, her fishy smell was replaced by the wonderful fragrance of jasmine flowers and she is then called Satyavati.
At this time Shantanu is the king of Hastinapura. One day he meets a beautiful and mysterious woman on the banks of the river near his palace and falls in love with her. She agrees to marry him on the condition that he never question anything she does. When she gives birth to their first child, she takes the baby to the river and drowns him. Shantanu is shocked but is unable to say anything due to his promise. Six more sons are born and she drowns each one. Before she can drown the 8th child, Shantanu can be silent no longer. He asks why and she explains that she is the goddess Ganga, and the eight sons are the eight Vasus who are personifications of the five Mahabhutas: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Space, and also the main celestial bodies Sun, Moon and Polestar. They are celestial beings who stole rishi Vasishtha’s divine cow, the Kamadhenu. As punishment they are to be born on earth as mere mortals. They asked Ganga to be their mother and to free them from their curse by drowning them in her waters as soon as they are born. The eighth son is the one who masterminded the theft of the cow. Ganga disappears with the eighth child. Later when he comes of age she returns him to his father. His name is Devavrata (divine vow).
Meanwhile Shantanu returns to the river and meets Satyavati and falls in love with her. Her fisherman father is no fool and he refuses the King’s offer of marriage unless Shantanu agrees to make Satyavati’s child heir to the kingdom. This would mean disinheriting his own son Devavrata. Shantanu refuses, returns to his palace and mopes around for days and days. Devavrata questions his father's charioteer about where his father had been on the day in question. Retracing his father’s steps, Devavrata finds the hut of the fisherman and his daughter Satyavati, and all becomes clear. Devavrata only wants his father to be happy, and he renounces his claim to the throne.
Not good enough. The fisherman points out that Devavrata can renounce the throne for himself, but what about his descendants, his sons. His sons will contest his renunciation. So Devavrata calls upon all of the deities to witness his vow - that he will remain celibate for his entire life. All the deities whisper “Bhishma, Bhishma, Awesome, Awesome.” From then on, Devavrata is called "Bhishma". This awesome vow grants Bhishma the power that he cannot be killed against his will and also that he can choose the moment of his death.
Shantanu and Satyavati marry and they have two sons before Shantanu dies. Satyavati’s first son is killed in a duel before he marries. The second son is named Vichitravirya. Bhishma is sent out to find wives for his brother, so he goes to a svayamvara, a ceremony in which a woman can choose her husband. There is a svayamvara of three princesses in a neighboring kingdom. There are many suitors there engaging in ceremonial combats to impress the princesses. Bhishma interrupts it by kidnapping all three princesses: Amba, Ambika and Ambalika. Amba tells Bhishma that she has already selected her future husband, so he lets her go. But when she returns, her fiancé rejects her because she had been in the company of another man, Bhishma.
Meanwhile, back in Hastinapura, Vichitravirya falls down some steps and dies before ever having relations with his wives. But all is not lost, Satyavati knows that her sons have an older brother, Vyasa, the son of Parashara. She summons Vyasa and orders him to impregnate his brother’s widows, which is an accepted custom to maintain a royal dynasty. Vyasa is a yogi who has been living in the wilderness and he looks like a wild man. He suggests that he be allowed to clean up and trim his hair and beard, but his mother is in a terrible rush. Vyasa goes to Ambika and she closes her eyes during sex and then gives birth to Dhritarashtra who is born blind. Next he goes to Ambalika and she turns pale when she sees him and gives birth to Pandu, a sickly albino child. Satyavati orders Ambika to see Vyasa again, but she sends her enslaved serving maid in her place, who is delighted to be with an enlightened yogi like Vyasa. She couples with him gladly. Vyasa gives her her freedom and she gives birth to Vidura, who later becomes the wisest prime minister of Hastinapura.
Pandu becomes king because his older brother Dhritarashta was disqualified from rule because he was blind. Pandu becomes king and takes two wives: Kunti and Madri. Before they have any children, however, Pandu falls under a curse. Out hunting one day, he shoots a stag with an arrow just as the stag is coupling with a doe. With his last breath, the stag curses Pandu to die the next time he couples with his wife. Since Pandu is unable to produce an heir, he abdicates his throne to his older brother Dhritarashta and goes into exile with his wives Kunti and Madri.
When Kunti was a girl in her father's palace, she happened to serve the most irascible of sages, Durvasa. She pleased him so much with her kindness and patience that he gave her a mantra by which she could invoke any deity to bless her with a child. To test it, Kunti invoked Surya the sun god and she immediately gave birth to a beautiful boy with golden armor and earrings. Panicked, she placed the baby in a basket and floated him down the river. This has grave implications later.
Now in exile with Pandu, Kunti decides to use the mantra to give herself children who will be accepted as sons of Pandu. She uses the mantra to invoke Dharma who fathers Yudhisthira, Indra who fathers Arjuna, and Vayu who fathers Bhima. Then she gives the mantra to Madri who uses it to invoke the twin gods the Asvins who father Nakula and Sahadeva.
Hypocrisy, arrogance, pride, anger, insolence, and ignorance are the endowment of those born to a demoniacal destiny. --Chap. 16, v.4
Vigor, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, freedom from malice, freedom from pride, these are the endowments of those born to a divine destiny, Arjuna. --Chap. 16, v. 3,
The Pandava brothers, though, are unlucky. They lose their throne when the eldest brother, Yudhisthira, loses a game of dice and forfeits all of their possessions, including the right to rule the kingdom to their cousins. Their cousins are not lucky - they have cheated. Shakuni, the Kauravas’ maternal uncle, provided loaded dice for the game. In ancient times, luck was a very important quality for a king to have. Gambling games were a popular way to demonstrate one’s luck. Think about it. Does James Bond ever lose at the casino? He has luck, skill and cleverness.
So the Pandavas lose their throne to Duryodhana through a deception. In order to avoid war, the Pandavas agree to go into exile for twelve years and to live the thirteenth year in an impenetrable disguise. If Duryodhana is unable to find them or penetrate their disguise, he agrees to return their throne to them and he and his brothers will live in exile for twelve years. For twelve years the brothers go through many hardships in exile, but they learn many valuable lessons and skills along the way, always following dharma. In this way they become lucky. They succeed in living the thirteenth year in disguise. However, Duryodhana refuses to return their throne and war ensues between the two factions.
As war becomes unavoidable, the Pandavas and the Kauravas amass great armies and face one another on the plain of Kurukshetra. Through previous vows of loyalty, Drona and Bhsihma fight on the side of the Kauravas. The Pandava brothers must fight Karna, their mother Kunti's oldest son born when she was a girl. Karna joins the side of their rivals.
Before the first battle begins, Krishna had agreed to give his undefeated Yadava army to one side and his friendship and advice to the other but vows he will not bear arms in the conflict. Duryodhana wants his army and the Pandavas want Krishna's friendship. Krishna becomes Arjuna's charioteer. Arjuna asks Krishna to drive his chariot to the center of the battlefield so that he can survey the two opposing armies. Arjuna becomes depressed by the sight of so many people he knows and loves in both armies, and whom he knows are going to have to be killed in order for him to win. The struggle seems pointless, so he casts his weapons aside and sinks to the ground in despair. He asks Krishna what he should do and Krishna answers with the wisdom known as the Bhagavad-Gita, teachings on the yoga of action - the yoga of life in this world.
