Astravakra Gita

Why am I diverting from the sole purpose of my blog is beyond me? So leaving that behind I am blogging my latest entry to understand my interpretation of the Astravakra gita the divine conversation between Astravakra and King Janaka which started as conversation between a guru and a shishya but ultimately became a conversation between to eternally learned souls who discuss the universe and our existence.

A discussion abstract in nature provides a philosophy to leading ones life I happiness and in essence is similar to the Bhagavad gita or the Vashistha Gita and astavakra gita provides a direct and poetic explanation of life. Astavakra GIta is not a part of the Mahabharata.

For me Gita are the basis of the modern Hindu religion and the Mahabharata as a plot is a medium of carrier of message of the divine.
The paragraphs I have quoted are really direct to comprehend but I will nonetheless interpret.
Try to finish the article.

The thought: “I am the doer”

is the bite of a poisonous snake.

To know: “I do nothing”

is the wisdom of faith.

Be happy.

A single understanding:

“I am the One Awareness,”

consumes all suffering

in the fire of an instant.

Be happy.

You are unbounded Awareness—

Bliss, Supreme Bliss--

in which the universe appears

like the mirage of a snake in a rope.

Be happy.

Be happy. The sole purpose of life and individual is to be happy and the only way to complete your pursuit of Happyness is to leave or desires. Be transparent, devote yourself to the truth and be free from desires. Be happy.....

In Reality,

knowledge, the knower, and the knowable

do not exist. 

I am the transparent Self

in which through ignorance

they appear.

Everything around us is illusion the only thing of significance to us is our soul.  As a child I had this strange belief I am fighting the world that only my thoughts and actions are tangible and all others are following a coded program but at the same time convinced myself that I am nothing special.

Having realized yourself as One,
being serene and indestructible,
why do you desire wealth?

Now King Janaka has realised his true self so Astravakra is asking him renounce all his wealth as all in the world is moh maya. Anything done for I goes in vain and rather than providing happiness causes much sadness and pain.

Just as imagining silver in mother-of-pearl,

causes greed to arise,

so does ignorance of Self

cause desire for illusion.

Realizing the universe is illusion,

having lost all curiosity,

how can one of steady mind fear death?

Ignorance of ones souls or true self causes desire of illusion which in itself causes anxiety to be happy one should give less importance what is around him or rewards but only what he does.

You are immaculate,

touched by nothing.

What is there to renounce?

The mind is complex—let it go.

Know the peace of dissolution.

The Self is not in objects,

nor are objects in the pure and infinite Self.

The Self is tranquil,

free of attachment and desire.

In this alone I abide

Where there is peace of mind, peace of dissolution the lack of involvement, true happiness is achieved. Free does not mean someone is a sage but is free from prejudice, free from desire and free from judgement. He neither feels too sad nor feels happy. So is in a constant state of eternal bliss. 

When there is no “I”

there is only liberation.

When “I” appears

bondage appears with it.

Knowing this,

it is effortless to refrain

from accepting and rejecting.

Where there is desire, there is the world.

Be firm in non-attachment.

Be free of desire.

Be happy

For how many lifetimes

have you done hard and painful labor

with body, mind and speech?

It is time to stop.

Non attachment is not lack of action but is a state that bhagavad gita refers as state of action but without attachment of the consequence. Only then do we fully realise the full benefits of our actions and in many ways is better and easier the lack of any action

One who knows for certain

that birth and death, happiness and misery,

come and go in obedience to destiny

sees nothing to accomplish.

He engages in non-action,

and in action remains unattached.

Thinking of the unthinkable One

unavoidably conjures thought.

I choose no-thought

and remain here.

Thoughts and dilemma's of the mind do not exist they are productions of our own mind, the only thing that exist is our consciousness. 

I have nothing to gain or lose

by standing, walking or sitting down.

So whether I stand, walk or sit

I am happy.

Your ignorance alone

creates the universe.

In reality One alone exists.

There is no person or god

other than You.

One who knows for certain

that the universe is illusion,

a no-thing,

becomes desireless,

pure Awareness,

and finds peace in the existence of nothing.

God is nothing but our own consciousness as it is the only way to experience eternal bliss.
"Sab moh maya hai". Find solace with the truth and existence of nothing.

The knower of Truth

is never miserable in the world,

for the whole universe

is filled with Himself alone.

The sage sees no difference

between happiness and misery,

man and woman,

adversity and success.

Everything is seen to be the same.

The knower of truth is never unhappy he is happy in his existence with himself. He has no prejudices and sees all with the same eyes. Loss or victory is all the same

The wise one

is not troubled by action or inactivity.

He lives happily, 

doing whatever gets done

Beyond stillness,

beyond distraction,

the great soul thinks nothing

of liberation or bondage.

Having seen the universe is void--

even though it seems to exist--

he is God.

Even in practical life

the wise one remains happy.

Happy to sit,

happy to sleep,

happy to move about,

happy to speak,

happy to eat…

All activities are equal. A beggars work is equivalent to Albert Einstein if done with same amount of detachment and passion for perfection without desire for the rewards. Only the work is important, the compensation for it isn't.

He who is without desire excels,

be he beggar or king.

He no longer sees good or bad.

Nothing is good or bad and only lies in the eyes of the beholder as the sensei is says We'll see.

Where are the elements, the body,

the organs, the mind?

Where is the void?

Where is despair?

My nature is transparent clearness.

Nothing in life is permanent only everything is transient and only thing that exists the transparent truth if existence of our consciousness.

In my life I do not follow the gita but I do say the truth at all times, have no secrets and be transparent in all forms of life. 

Why is that necessary in my experience our brain is chemically programmed to become anxious in hopes of expectations and lack of expectations and desires is the only way to be happy. Be happy with what you get cause in the end Nothing else matters.

Don't Worry be happy

Jai Mahabharata

This title is my reference to my childhood memories of the Mahabharata television show.

Diplomacy
Fearful of the impending battle both side try to resolve their difference with diplomacy. Vidura and Krsna both realise their differences can't be solved unless Dhrstharashtra suppreses Duryodhan's greed or somehow Pandavas leave path of Dharma.

Pandavas and their allies agree to send a envoy who will gently approach Dhrstharashtra to stop the impending war led by KIng Dhrupad's household priest.

When Duryodhan learnt that Krsna has left for Dvaraka he immediately departs from Hastinapura for Dvaraka and on the same day Arjuna also set out at speed for Dvaraka.
Both reach Krsna house on the same morning with Duryodhan entering Krsna's room first and Arjuna following him while Krsna was sleeping. When Krsna the Vrsni woke up he saw the warer of the diadem first and then he saw Duryodhan. Duryodhan then asked for his help in the impending war as he had equal relations with both Pandavas and kauravas as he had entered first his wish should be fulfilled.

Krsna answered even though he entered first, he saw Arjuna first so he will aid them both in the Mahabharata but as Arjuna was younger then Duryodhana, he would get choice. He offered them his own counsel but he would not personally fight any battle or his army which consisted hundred millions cowherds , known as Narayans, battle hardened warriors all.
Arjuna chose Krsna Vasudeva to be his charioteer and Duryodhana was overjoyed to have won the world's greatest army and Krsna who had promised his unwillingness to fight.

Dhrstharashtra send his own envoy Samjaya to prevent the impending war who tries to convince them it is not in their Dharma to fight Kaurava but Yudhisthira who had been counseled by Krsna, the designer of Dharma explained his view to Samjaya who gracefully agrees and decides to leave them without any treaty in place. Yudhisthira then asks Samjaya to personally greet Bhisma, Dhrstharashtra and Drona on his behalf.

Then Pandavas ask Krsna to perform last act of diplomacy by asking him to personally go to Hastinapura. Bhima out of his usual self even asks Krsna to proceed with patience and expresses his aversion to war.

Dhrstharashtra learning of Krsna impending arrival constructs a Palace of his guest and prepares rich gift for divine guest. Vidura counsels him that he is acting out of dishonest motives which will honor Krsna , instead he should offer a just peace.

Drona and Bhisma try to reason with Duryodhana and ask him to agree to a compromise with Krsna and accept the leadership of Pandavas. He warns that under protection of Krsna Vasudeva, the divine doer Pandavas are unbeatable and Duryodhana greed for power will not yield fruit even though he may avail services of great warriors.
Bhisma warns that when a man abandons Dharma and proper making of wealth in favour if fury, his enemies soon laugh at his downfall.

Dhrstharashtra fearful of the consequences of the war, he asks Gandhari to convince Duryodhana to give up his hatred of Pandavas. gandhari tried to reason with while explaining him the consequences of his actions but Duryodhana was confident if his victory and hence seeks counsel of his Uncle Shakuni, leader of Subala.

Krsna slayer of enemy host, furious with anger on Duryodhana assumed his terrible divine form and was only visible to brahmin seers, Bhisma and Drona who had been granted divine vision. Krsna now content with his attempts to prevent war decided that The Mahabharata was inevitable.

Krsna tells Karna that as he is the eldest Pandava, Krsna will offer him the kingship if Pandavas are successful in defeating the Kauravas. Karna gracefully declines the offer as he says he is the son of Adhiratha and Radha and his loyalty and Dharma lies with the Kauravas but he promises Kunti he would not kill any of her sons except Arjuna so at the end of the war Kunti would still have five sons.

Duryodhana and Dhrstharashtra select Bhisma to lead the Kaurava force in their war efforts. So Bhisma  now proceeds to rate the the major and minor warriors on each sides in the battle. He rates Karna very poorly which greatly hurts him and Karna decides to not fight in the battle until and unless Bhisma dies in the battle. Karna would not accept the leadership of Bhisma the unconquerable warrior and who could never be beaten in the midst of a battlefield by a man. Dhrstadyumna assumes the leadership of all Pandava forces.

Both sides ready for battle assemble in the huge battlefield of Kurukshetra. They agree to certain rules of engagement:

• Verbal attack will be countered by a verbal attack
• After withdrawing from the battlefield, no attacks would be made.
• Charioteer would be matched by charioteers, foot soldiers by foot soldiers and so on.
• Fighting would only be started at dawn and end by dusk.

First Report

The battle begins and Samjaya returns to Dhrstharashtra to describe to him the first phase of war. He reports that Bhisma has died.

Interpretation

War in any form is to be avoided. One may thinks that the Mahabharata may justify war as a way to justify violence but it does so by describing as the last way of resolving. Many attempts of diplomacy were made all avenues of peace are explored before finally resorting to war bring justice to Pandavas.

Pandavas even though justified by Dharma in their search of glory and kingdom resist initial acts of aggression and explore all forms of diplomacy. As we will learn in further post Arjuna and Yudhisthira were deeply hurt by meaningless waste of life.

Dharma justifies the loss of life in Mahabharata. Life in itself is meaningless cycle of rebirth and the real joy does not lie in the destination but in the journey. Krsna asks Arjuna to ignore the consequence of his action and strive for completion of his own responsibilities while performing his own Dharma.
Dharma is the source of order in a man's life and the world dives into period of chaos and desolation if the concept of Dharma is forgotten.

All further post describing the proceeding of war would be short as war has been described in tremendous detail but may only hold importance in the mind of a army general.

Don't worry ,be happy

Calm before the storm

Pandavas have passed five years in exile and starting for pilgrimage of India's holy sites with Draupadi whereas Arjuna is has to spend five years in heaven in the company of Indra to learn the skills of his celestial weapons.

Pandavas excluding Arjuna performed all the great pilgrimages and gain powers such as Yudhisthira  has to observe all events in the world as they happen. Yudhisthira also gains eternal knowledge through his interactions with great sages. Arjuna learns the arts of heaven with the time he spends with Indra. After travelling for 5 years Pandavas decide to look for Arjuna in Himalayas and so avail the the services of Ghatotkatch and other demons to carry them in the cold weather of the the Himalayas. They ultimately reach Mount Kailash of Shivji where Draupadi asks Bhima to look for a particular type of flower. In his search for that flower Bhima meets Hanuman who is annoyed by the noise made by Bhima.

Bhima demands that the great monkey lets him past but refuses to jump over him because of the divinity that resides inside the great monkey. Hanuman then asks him go under him but Bhima is unable to lift up his tail and impressed by Hanuman's power he asks him to show him his true form.
Hanuman refuses: this is the wrong age to show his true form. At Bhima's request he  describes the four ages: Krta age (Stya yug) in which Dharma is perfect, and the Treta, Dvapara and Kali yug in which it successively reduces by a quarter.

Meanwhile in heaven indra asks for Indra to destroy Nivatakavaca demons who have gained invincibility from attacks of God after fierce austerities they performed and requested Narayan for this boon in return for the Celestial weapons God have given to them. After gaining victory over demons, Indra rewards him with a impregnable armour, the conch Devdatta and a diadem.

One day while Bhima was roaming in the forest he was caught in unbreakable hold of a snake and is let off after Yudhisthira correctly answers question put up by the snake.

The snake asks him "What is Brahmin?"
Yudhisthira replies that a Brahmin is one who lives a virtuous life, rather than someone born in a particular line.

Duryodhan's attack

One day a brahmin who had visited Pandavas in the forest goes on to see Dhrtarastra and informs him about the plights faced by the Pandavs. Dhrtarastra is deeply grieved and troubled, for he feared that Pandavas will seek their revenge and overwhelm the Kauravas.

Karna and Sakuni convince Duryodhan to make good of the event and surprise the Pandavas during their weak state. While on his way to Pandavas dwelling they are met with Gandharva who attack is travelling army. No one except Karna are able to hold ground against the fierce Gandharvas and Duryodhana is captured by their leader Citrasena. Ultimately Arjuna uses his celestial weapons and his friendship with Citrasena to free Duryodhan who they ask to return to Hastinapura.

Duryodhana travels to Hastinapura in shame and decides to sacrifice all his powers as prince regent to his younger brothers. Nobody including Karna and Shakuni were able to reverse his decisions and ultimately it was demons who appeared to him to change his mind. They informed him he is the gift from the gods to demons and ensure him that they will assist him in his battle against the Pandavas.

Karna's Earrings

Surya, sun god appeared to Karna and warned him  that one day Indra will appear to him as a brahmin ask him for his natural armour and his earring, the very things that make him invincible and he shall refuse him by making excuses. Karna denies Surya's request even after repeated arguments that he shall die a truthful warrior then live as a coward who did not fulfill his Dharma and denied a brahmin a humble request. Finally, he agrees to ask for Indra's spear in return for his earring.

After some time Indra appears to Karna as a brahmin and asks him for his earrings. Karna agrees to Indra's request only if he gives him his spear to which Indra agree but warns Karna that he would only be able to use the weapon once and not used in dire circumstance but weapon would be rendered useless.

Residence in Virata

After spending spending 13 years in exile, as agreed Pandavas now have to spend a year in a city of their choice anonymously. Yudhisthira chooses the city of Virata for his next adventure.They decide to disguise themselves as workers of King Virata to blend into the society.

Yudhisthira entered Virata as a Brahmin who is the master of dice who once rolled once for King Yudhisthira but now seeks the companionship of King Virata.

Bhima agrees to enter the city as master cook named Ballava who would work in royal kitchen.

Arjuna wanted to work as a eunuch called Brhannada where he shall please all males with his immense collection of entertaining tales and also teach the king's daughter the art of song and dance.

Nakula and Sahdev entered the city as overseers of the royal horses and cattle respectively who had previously worked for King Yudhisthira.

Draupadi disguised herself as a maidservant for Queen Sudesna who was amazed that a woman possessing such beauty would work as a maidservant. She described her as a lady whose ankles were unobtrusive, your thighs firm, you are deep in three ways, high in six, and pink in five places, your voice falters like a goose, she has good hair and breasts, and a lovely complexion, her eyelashes are curved, her lips as red as bimba fruit, her waist slender, her veins can't be seen and her face is like a full moon to which she replied that she is humble hairdresser and this is the way she earns a very fine living.

Overcome by his lust for Draupadi, General Kicaka tries to molest her even though she had earlier warned him that she was married to five gandharv men. Draupadi infuriated with such treatment ran to Bhima to request him to kill the man who brought her such shame. Bhima calms her down asks her to follow her Dharma towards Yudhisthira and that he will kill Kicaka at the earliest.

Sutas infuriated with Kicaka's death at the hands Bhima blame Draupadi for their leaders demise so decide to force her to perform Sati but all Sutas are killed by Bhima to protect Draupadi.

The cattle raid

Susurman of Trgartha attacks Virata's cowherd in the northern part of his empire. Four Pandavas excluding Arjuna fought valiantly for King Virata and were responsible for his victory.

Meanwhile Duryodhana, unaware that Pandavas reside in Virata decides to attack Virata after sensimg vulnerability in Virata's defenses after death of their infamous general Kicaka. He stole thousands of cattle from the great city of Virata accompanied with Duhasasan, Drona, Bhisma and Karna. Arjuna as Brhannada offers his services as a charioteer to Uttara, son of Virata to help him perform his Dharma as Kshatriya.

They depart the town in search of the kauravas but when they finally find them Uttara is overcome by his fear of death and tries to flee the scene on foot when Arjuna refused to turn back in fear of the huge army. To settle Uttara's anxiety, Arjuna finally reveals his true identity and agrees to fight the Kaurava army on his behalf only if he becomes his charioteer.

Arjuna initially faces Karna and defeats him easily and then one by one proceeds to defeat all the Kaurava warriors in the field of battle. He attacks Drona only after Drona attacks him first. King Virata coming to hear of his sons lone battle arranges a forward party to help his son at once but even before they could reach Kaurava decide to let go off cattle they captured in fear of Arjuna and his celestial weapons.

Virata unaware of the true identities of the Pandavas hits Yudhisthira when he repeatedly praises Brhannada (Arjuna) a eunuch in his presence. But when his son Uttara tells him about his employees true identities he apologizes to all of them and agrees to give them anything they want.

Even though this Battle was convincingly won by Arjuna single handedly it was not a sign of weakness of Kauravas who have now started preparing for the impending war, the MAHABHARATA.

Interpretation
My lack of devotion or understanding of Dharma may irritate some readers but I humbly apologize for any misinterpretation as I am just a curious little kid who is trying to understand the very basis of his existence and trying to answer simple questions of life.

One thing I did learn was that all work in life is equal. This has been repeated over the centuries by men ranging from King Pedro II to Mahatma Gandhi. A MP's day at work equal in significance to the work of hand laborers in the schemes of the universe. Unless one realize the significance of all things around he may not be to appreciate all that is around him and obtain true happiness.

This somehow reminds me of a scene from the movie Gandhi in which Kasturba Gandhi refuses to clean the gutters in the ashram and Gandhiji explains to her the importance of self dependence.
That now brings me to the  topic Individualism or Randian Objectivism but which I will discuss later in when we come to the Bhagavad Gita.

Pandavas perform their Dharma without any regrets even when they have to menial work such as tending to a horses' shit or preparing the queens lunch. They illustrate one can find contentment in all work he does find and happiness is obtained by wealth or fame but by fulfilling one Dharma whatever it may be. A ragpicker who does his ragpicking is a happier than a industrialist who is trying to squeeze every penny out of his employees.

Finally we realize that Duryodhana is trying to fulfill his Dharma in defeating Pandavas for demons but nonetheless he is on the wrong side of the fence.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Dharma

I do not edit the posts so please pardon the grammatical mistakes.
Khandavaprastha
Narada the great seer advised Yushisthira to undertake the great sacrifice and undergo the royal consecration and reserve his place in the hall of the divine like King Harishchandra.

After hearing the words of Narada, Yudhisthira proceeded to consults his peers about the ceremony. He was a fair King who paid respect to all his subjects and ruled with Dharma as his guiding light. As no one hated him he was known as Ajatshatru, one with no enemies. All his ministers and brothers willingly agreed that he was ready for his consecration.

Yudhisthira willing to hear Krsna Vasudevas views sends a messenger to Dvaraka and summons Krsna to Khandavprastha. Krsna answers that even though he has all the qualities to perform the royal consecration but till King Jarasamdha stays alive he is not unparalled in his powers as a king.

Jarasamdha a uncle of Kamsa(who Krsna Vasudeva slayed) is the king of Magadha who is the masters of huge tracts of lands. He has imprisoned 84 kings of different provinces and is only 16 short of obtaining great powers. He holds these kings captive like a lion who captures majestic elephants.

Krsna insists that Jarasamdha's wickedness must be stopped and so Yudhisthira agrees to send Arjuna and Bhima with Krnsa to mountain capital of Magadha dressed as Brahmins to minimise suspicion.

Jarasamdha realizing the power of the group enquires them about their identity and purpose of their visit. They challenge him to a duel with any one of them and he challenges Bhima to a fight to death. Bhima accepts his challenge and they fight continuously for 13 days without anyone emerging on top. On 14th day Jarasamdha appears to be tired and finally Bhima grabs him in bear holds and kills him and his tyranny in a swift attack.

The brothers with Krsna returns to Khandavprastha victorious and here Yudhisthira his brothers to conquers all kingdoms in all four directions and spread his glory throughout the world. All brothers return victorious with tons of gold and subjects. Arjuna even reaches the gates of Mount Kailash in his search for new lands but has return back as he is only a mortal man.

Now Yudhisthira kingdom the richest in all of  worlds living and divine is decorated for the royal consecration. Hundreds of kings and princes including the Kauravas arrive from all parts of the world. And thus commenced the royal consecration of King Yudhisthira. Bhisma who responsible for all decisions during the sacrifice chooses Krsna Vasudeva to be the first dignitary to receive the largest gift.
Raja Sisipala objects to his decisions and hurls multiple insults at both Bhisma for choosing Krsna and Krsna for accepting the honour as he believes as Krsna is neither a king nor a Brahmin or a seer he does not deserve such a honour. Krsna tired from Sisipala foolishness kills him with his divine disc and from them on the ceremony proceeds normally and finishes with all hundreds of thousands of attendees satisfied.

Duryodhana's Jealousy

After returning from Indraprastha Duryodhana complains to his maternal uncle(Mama) King Shakuni of his lack of wealth whereas his first cousins, the Pandavas enjoys all the wealth in the world. Shakuni tells him to convince his father King Dhrtarashtra to invite the Pandavas to a game of dice as he knows that Yudhisthira has weakness of gambling whereas he himself is a master of dice.

Duryodhana as part of his plan acts ill and starts losing weight and when his father asks about his ill health. He replies that unless his agrees to bend to his will of organizing a game of dice with Pandavas or else he will die of his illness. Dhrtarashtra obliges his sons wishes, against his brother Viduras advice and instructs Vidura to go to Indraprastha and invite Yudhisthira for a game of dice.

Yudhisthira realizing that the game was a trap accepted the invitation as part of his Dharma but resolved himself to not play unless provoked by Shakuni.

As soon as he entered the great hall constructed for game of dice he is provoked by Shakuni for a game of dice. He loses all of his material possessions, then his brothers, his soul and finally his wife Draupadi, daughter of Dhrupad.

Dushasan in his greed and shortsightedness dragged Draupadi attired in a single loincloth which were her menstrual garments into the great hall to accept her loyalty to the Kauravas which led to the discussion of whether Yudhisthira was the rightful owner of her wife when he waged her over a bet to Shakuni. Karna reasoned that she was Yudhisthira property as his wife so was now rightfully owned by Duryodhana. Whereas Bhisma argued that Draupadi was not Yudhisthira's to bet as she was owned by Duryodhana when he waged the bet so as a slave he could not hold property. Ultimately the discussion was laid to rest by Dhrtarashtra when he came to hear about the incidents and ordered Duryodhana to stop the molestation of Draupadi.
 He gave her three boons to which in two of them she asked him to return Pandavas freedom and she rejected to use the third boon as a Kshatriya woman she is only allowed to boon according Dharma.

Pandavas agreed to leave Hastinapura with all their honour and property intact against his sons wishes. Dhrtarashtra apologized to Yudhisthira for his sons mistakes and asked him maintain peaceful relations with his kingdom.

After some days Dhrtarashtra again succombed to his sons wishes and invited Pandavas for game of dice only on the condition that they would ask Pandavas to spend 13 years in Vanvas (forest) if they lose the bet. Vidura warning Dhrtarashtra about his decision said to him that if he would allow such behaviour his line would end in 14th year after the bet.

Again the gambling started and Shakuni with all his skill with the dice defeated Yudhisthira and Pandavas with Draupadi returned to a life of hermitage. After this all Pandavas determined to wipe all Kauravas of the face of earth after completing their time in exile.

Yudhisthira asked Krsna who came to meet them in the forest to resist from fighting with Kauravas before they returned from exile. Krsna apologized for his absence during the games and told them he would have surely have come to Hastinapura if he was residing in Dvaraka.

Arjuna firm in his resolve to defeat Kauravas started a period of fasting and sacrifices in the Himalayas to gain celestial weapons. He was obliged by the gods and was rewarded with Brahmas Head which had the capability to destroy all of earth and many other weapons by all devatas.

Meanwhile Yudhisthira was rewarded with the power of playing dice by a travelling seer and decided to start a pilgrimage of all holy banks of the nation.


Interpretation

This week's post discusses the events leading to the the great war.  Here what we come to realize that all things big or small are initiated by small disputes and jealousy rather than any valid reason. Duryodhan's greed led to the great war even though as King he held all material possessions that life could offer. His desire for more was the root of all evil as written in all texts. World war I was similarly sparked by the actions of a simple bosnian student regardless of the fact that tensions were brewing in europe for hundreds of years.

Dharma has finally come to the forefront of the whole epic. Yudhisthira unquestioned following of his Dharma led to his downfall regardless of the fact that he knew that he would lose against Shakuni. Draupadi's followed her Dharma even when her husband had bet her freedom in a simple game of dice which is unimaginable in modern life. Dharma as followed in the book is are unwritten rules which are followed by the characters in their love of god.

Such unquestioned following of the divine would lead to a world which is free from all suffering if one imagined it. But is it possible? One could argue that a communist government could create such a society but can our mind be free from such desires. I myself could not persuade my conscious to believe such rules could be enforced or could make the world a better place. But Dharma does induce law and order into the society but remains open to interpretations just like lawyers interpet the constitution in a court of law.

Dharma is the centre of all decisions in the book, I can not stop myself from imagining what would have happened if Yudhisthira declined Dhrtarashtra invitation for a game of dice. Would they have been happier. How did his devotion of Dharma restored ordered to the world? This would be discussed later when we come to discuss the Bhagavad Gita.

Now coming to the lack of posts in the last week. I was reading the book to understand which parts significantly affect the message of the epic and provide a better interpretation of my understanding of the Mahabharata. Secondly I started reading a new book called Virtual History edited by Niall Ferguson which answers the question What would happen if? and that to in a scientific way.

Thank you for reading the blog and please do leave a comment.

The Kuru's

For all casual readers of the blog I may suggest you directly skip to Sons of Satyawati where the direct story of Pandavas and Kauravas starts and don't leave the blog without reading the analysis.



When we left the book before Demon's were taking birth on Earth as humans.

Before I move further I may clarify something by brief knowledge of the Vedas. Demons are not enemies of the gods but they are of Devtas. Devtas like Indra or Surya are not permanent but are like posts in a cabinet where Indra is prime Minister. Through time 14 Indras are elected and do not hold eternal knowledge and are occasionally corrupted by materialistic object. One such story that I have picked up from Wikipedia helps illustrate this

In this story from the Brahmavaivarta Purana, Indra defeats Vṛtrá and releases the waters. Elevated to the rank of King of the gods, Indra orders the heavenly craftsman, Vishvakarma, to build him a grand palace. Full of pride, Indra continues to demand more and more improvements for the palace. At last, exhausted, Vishvakarma asks Brahma the Creator for help. Brahma in turn appeals to Vishnu, the Supreme Being.

Vishnu visits Indra's palace in the form of a Brahmin boy; Indra welcomes him in. Vishnu praises Indra's palace, casually adding that no former Indra had succeeded in building such a palace. At first, Indra is amused by the Brahmin boy's claim to know of former Indras. But the amusement turns to horror as the boy tells about Indra's ancestors, about the great cycles of creation and destruction, and even about the infinite number of worlds scattered through the void, each with its own Indra. The boy claims to have seen them all. During the boy's speech, a procession of ants had entered the hall. The boy saw the ants and laughed. Finally humbled, Indra asks the boy why he laughed. The boy reveals that the ants are all former Indras.

Another visitor enters the hall. He is Shiva, in the form of a hermit. On his chest lies a circular cluster of hairs, intact at the circumference but with a gap in the middle. Shiva reveals that each of these chest hairs corresponds to the life of one Indra. Each time a hair falls, one Indra dies and another replaces him.

No longer interested in wealth and honor, Indra rewards Vishvakarma and releases him from any further work on the palace. Indra himself decides to leave his life of luxury to become a hermit and seek wisdom. Horrified, Indra's wife Shuchi asks the priest Brihaspati to change her husband's mind. He teaches Indra to see the virtues of both the spiritual life and the worldly life. Thus, at the end of the story, Indra learns how to pursue wisdom while still fulfilling his kingly duties.

Indra hold precedence over the Visnu who only appears briefly in Rig Veda. But in the later Vedas Brahma Visnu Mahesh come out as the supreme god. I do not realize when but present knowledge Brahma Visnu Mahesh as side of the supreme energy thereby satisfying the theory that all religions are same form of different energy.

Now returning to The Mahabharata

All Kaurava's except Duryodhan were born with a portion of demons in them. Duryodhan was born with a portion of Goddess Kali in him. he brought disgrace to the Kuru dynasty and the base man who sparked the terrible enmity which led to deaths of millions of men

Apsara's born on earth became Narayans(Krsna vasudeva) harem of 16000 queens. Draupadi was born with a portion of Sri.

Story of King Pratipa

King Pratipa had settled himself on the river ganga for the welfare of all. One day Ganga in all her splendor rises from the river and sat upon his right thigh and asked him to make love to her. In accordance to his Dharma the king declines and offers the hand of his future son to which Ganga agrees.

After years if austerities performed by Pratipa and his wife were awarded with a son whom they named Samtanu. When Samtanu came of age the king informed him that a women once approached him for his sake and he should not ask her for her identity and accept as she is.
Soon enough King Pratipa retired to a life as a ascetic naming Santanu as his successor.

One day while he was out for hunting, a supremely beautiful woman appeared before him and he asked for her hand in marriage. She in return asked him to never question or stop him whatever she does or undertake. If she is chided or stopped once she shall leave the king. The king accepts the proposal and took all care to never displease her.
So rapt was he in love that he had no notion of how many seasons or years had passed. He had fathered  8 sons and all  8 sons were killed by Ganga by drowning. The king puzzled by her activities finally accumulating courage enough to question her about it. She answered " Best of fathers, longing for a son, I shall not kill your son! But now my time with you has run out , in accordance with agreement I mad with you. These eight sons were the Vasus, blessed gods of mighty power who, through the fault of Vasistha's curse, took on Human form".

One day a boy appeared to the king in front of the Ganga. As he had only seen his son as a new born could not recognize him from memory so asked Ganga to appears to him and confirmed to him he was the eighth son he had fathered. He is my gift to you whom he name Devratara.

One day the King Santanu goes out the forest and meets a girl who ferries travelers across the river enchanted by her beauty he asks the fisherman king her hand in marriage. Fishermen king agrees only on the condition that their son should become prince regent. Disappointed from this demand King Samtanu  returns to his kingdom.

One Devavrata approaches his father and asks him " Father you are safe on all sides, the kingdom is prospering even why are you always grieving?". He replies that he is worried by his lack of son. If something happened to to you and great line of Bharata would end.

When he learned of the full reason of his fathers grief, set forth, thinking of matter once over. Then Devavrata together with a few Kshatriya went over to the fisher king ask for her daughter's marriage to the king. He promised with all his honor that his daughter's son will be his king. The king replied that that he is not fearful that Devavrata might break his promise as he is bound by Dharma but he fears one day he may have a child who may endanger his daughters sons authority. In response Devavrata promised he will perform holy Celibacy or Brahmacharya and though he shall be sonless, he will gain imperishable realms in heaven.

When the fisherman heard Devavrata words come out he felt his hairs rise on his body and shouted 'I give her' and proclaims Devavrat to be Bhisma. So Satyawati was wedded to King Samtanu.

Satyawati bears two Chitragada who dies in battles as king and Vichitravirya who marries ambavati and Ambika but soon dies of consumption leaving no heirs. Satyawati asks Devavrata to wed Ambika and Ambavati to continues Bharata's lineage but he declines due to his divine pledge. He suggests her that they should call a brahmin like Krsna Dvaipayana Vyas to consumate with Ambika and Ambavati to give them heirs who agrees to their pleas. Ambika gives birth to Dhristrashtra who is blind so unable to be a king. Ambavati gives birth to Pandu who is pale but fit to be king. Growing uncomfortable with Vyasa for the third time instead of going herself she sends her maid servant who impresses the Vyasa to such degree that he rewards her with a son who is a brother to Dhristrashtra and Pandu and wisest among men, free from all desire and anger.

Sons of Satyawati 

Dhristrashtra could not take kingship due to his blindness, Vidura because of his mixed parentage, so Pandu became king.

Bhisma looking for suitable brides for his sons came to know of Subala's daughter Gandhari who had worshipped Shiva and was bound to give birth to a 100 sons. When Gandhari learned that her parents wanted to marry her to a blind man she herself wore a piece of cloth on her eyes and was determined to take no form of precedence over her husband. She married Dhristrashtra and pleased all the Kurus with her behaviour.

The ruler of Yadus, Vasudeva's father (so grandfather to Krsna Vasudeva) had promised her firstborn to be given away to Kuntibhoja. In her new father's home she served to both man and gods alike. One day she served a learned seer with such fierce resolve that he awarded her with a mantra which allowed her to call upon any god to bestow upon her a son.

Excited to experiment with her new found mantra she called upon surya who made love to her and restored her virginity after the act. Out of this act was born a child clad in armour who became famous in the world as Krna.

Then wishing to conceal the wrong she had done she decided to cast her son away at the river where he was picked up a charioteer of great renown and his wife Radha.

At Kunti's swayamvara she chose Pandu as her husband impressed by his tiger like chest and calm demeanor.

Bhisma now travelled to Madras and there purchased at great cost the daughter of Madra king Madri famed throughout the world for her unrivaled beauty. Bhisma marries Vidura to an illegitimate daughter  of King Devaka who bears him many sons.

Pandu after leading many victorious campaigns retires to a life in the forest with his two wives. Here he is cursed to die if he ever makes love to any woman. So to console her husband who constantly demands from her to give birth t o his heirs through a Brahmin she tells him of her mantra. Overjoyed with this informations he ask her to fulfill her Dharma.

• Kunti call upons Dharma to give birth to an righteous son and Yudhisthir is born.
• Pandu asks her as Kshatriyas excel in strength they call upon Vayu and so was Bhima born. On the day of birth of Bhima Duryodhan was also born.
• In his desire for the perfect son he asks Kunti to invoke Indra which results in birth of Arjuna.

When Pandu asked for another son Kunti declined answering that having more than 3 sons the woman striving for more is driven by lust and having more than four is a whore. He tells her that is the dharma of a woman.

Madri asked Kunti if she could help her bear child to which Kunti replied that think of any god and he would oblige you with bestowing you with sons. So were born Nakula and Sahdev from the two Ashwins devtas. There beauty was uncomparable in the two worlds. All sons were born one year after one another.

After having two sons Madri again asked Kunti for sons but Kunti having felt betrayed from Madri having two sons declined her request. In this way were born the five mighty sons of Pandu, as gifts of gods.

Gandhari gave birth to 100 sons after through a iron embryo which was in 100 earthen pots. Dhristrashtra also had a son out of wedlock with a Vaishya woman.

Finally Pandu was overcome by his lust for Madri and made love to her. He died a peaceful death and Madri performed Sati and jumped into his funeral pyre. Kunti returned to Hastinapur with all her sons.

Hastinapura

In Hastinapura all children are loved by Dhristrashtra equally and treated Yudhisthira as the rightful heir of the throne even though Duryodhan and Karna were immensely jealous of them and grabbed every opportunity to hurt or harm them. Pandavas did not report these activities to Dhristrashtra on the advice of Vidura.

Drona a very learned man becomes the teacher of the young kuru princes. He is really fond of all the princes but his favourite is Arjuna to whom he gives the weapons of Brahma's head.

Duryodhan convinces Dhristrashtra to send Pandavas to Varanavatra (out of Hastinapura) where he had built a highly inflammable house where the Pandavas were to stay. Having learned of Duryodhan plan through Vidura the Pandavas escape the house untouched leaving others in the impression that they had died.

They lived as Brahmins in the forest where Bhima was wedded to Hidimba and was blessed with a son called Ghatotkach. Here Pandavas decide to visit Draupadi's swayamvara who was born to Gandharva king Dhrupad after years of performing Yagya.

Draupadis Swayamwara

Draupadi's swayamwara was attended by hundreds of famed Kshatriya's including Duryodhan and Karna. The Swayamwara was won by Arjuna after he performed the task that was required of him with relative ease.

After realizing that Swayamwara was won by a Brahmin and Kshatriyas lead by Karna angrily revolt and try to attack the Pandava's.

Now faced by a dilemma of marrying a younger brother before his elder brother the Pandava agree to invoke Dharma to solve their problem. Dharma ask Yudhisthira to marry first to which he replies that they should Marry her all to which Draupadi agrees.

Krsna Vasudeva (krishan) and Balaram also congratulate Arjuna for his victory.

Coming to hear of Draupadis Swayamwara Dhristrashtra request the counsel of Bhisma, Drona and Vidura to decide the future course of events. He decides to give half of the kingdom to Pandavas rather than agreeing with Duryodhan and Karna who wanted attack Pandavas at this time when they are weak. Dhristrashtra sends Vidura to act as his ambassadors to Pandavas and invite them back to the great town of elephants Hastinapura.

Pandavas agree to return to Hastinapura and set off from their humble settlement with Krsna, King Dhrupad, Draupadi and Kunti. In Hastinapura, Dhristrashtra asks them to settle in Khandavaprastha and rule independently half of the kingdom to which the Pandavas Happily agree.

Arjuna asks Krishna's permission in attending her sisters Subhadra Swayamwara. Krsna rather than asking him to attend the Swayamwara asks him to kidnap her and then marry her. Arjuna finally succumbs to Krsna wishes and kidnaps Subhadra before marrying her

Interpretation

One of the things I did not expect in  the Mahabharata is birth control. Here Kunti declines her husbands wish to have more than three offsprings. One could not have realized importance of such restraint could so useful in this time of society. Here in India where our religious texts ask us not to have more than three offsprings, the country to implement the first birth control laws to have a major problem of birth control and no one of significant resolve to take any concrete steps to solve.

One here also realizes the difficulty and the importance of children have on any human's mind. All characters the Mahabharata strive for suitable heirs to their lineage and having immense difficulty in their endeavor.


Dharma is the sole driver of human activity in the Mahabharata. Dharma takes preference over all at this point in the epic. How does one realize his Dharma at any point of time is however ambiguous.

Sex and Dharma are the only reasons that have forced man to take decisions. Pandu had followed his dharma throughout his life but one lustful evening changed all. Here I would like to say that according to me it is Duryodhan's Dharma to pursue power as a Kshatriyas.

By this time the paragraphs have abrupt ending as I have been skipping paragraph which bear no importance to the main plot.

Finally Krsna Vasudeva of Dwarka came into the plot but still had no major role to play. Krsna somehow has a knack of bending Dharma to his will where he asks Arjuna to kidnaps to his sister rather than rightfully gaining her hand in marriage which is a sign of things to come.


I have now covered about 80 pages which corresponds to around 10% of the book. I would like to course through a little faster but amount information that is in the book cannot be parsed quickly without skipping the essence of the plot. I had initially decided to blog this entry with All knowledge derives from the Mahabharata but the shear size of the thwarted my attempt and I ultimately decided to publish them divided. This entry rather than having to many spiritual interpretations mainly deal with the plot of epic.


Ironically I have realized that the last time I visited a bookstore with Harshit I bought three books, "The Mahabharata", "Sufism: The heart of Islam" and "God is not great". I have never bought so many books related to god and the first time I do I buy a book so terrifyingly atheistic that it has been banned in Vatican.

All knowledge derives from the Mahabharata

If you get bored by the complicated story skip to the end and read my interpretation.

All Indian mythology has context and prologue that is no different for the Mahabharata. It was recited for the first time to humans by Ugrasvas which he heard  at the snake sacrifice of King Janamejaya by Krsna Dvapayana Vyasa.

He recited the tale to an audience of Brahmins who request this knowledge as a reward for their austerities.

He states “Mahabharata is equivalent to the four vedas”.

The great Mahabharata is holy, study of it one from sin.

Ugravas starts by reciting the story of events leading to the Mahabharata.

Janamejaya was cursed by the divine bitch Sarama to fall victim to an unseen danger as his brothers had kicked puppy’s of the divine bitch. Uttanka seeking revenge on taksaka, serpent king complains to Janamejaya that Taksaka was responsible for the death of his father Parikshit who had died in a freak accident.

Janamejaya so plans to wipe out all snakes off the planet at his snake sacrifice.

The story now diverts to questions asked by the Brahmins to Rahu a demon who tried to swallow amrt but his head was cut off by surya and moon, so even still sun and moon are swallowed by Rahu during a eclipse.

At snake Astika son of Janatkaru impresses impresses Jayamejaya and rescues Taksaka’s sacrifice and promises whoever recites this tale is now invulnerable to

Snake bites.

Krsna Dvaipayana vyasa Grandfather of Kauravas and Pandavas who is present at the sacrifice agrees to recite the great story of the Mahabharata. It should be heard by whom who desires victory; it is the supreme instruction on Dharma.

By now you may have realized that the Mahabharata rather than being  a linear narrative is a complex compilation of  events containing hundreds of interesting characters. I have only included events that bear consequence in the immediate consequence of the story and are interesting to read. Characters having a small passing tale in the tale may become titular characters further forward in the story.

 So now we begin with the Mahabharata. Mahabharata is called Mahabharata as it is the story of descendants of Bharata

The story starts with Vasu upicara once conquered all of land but was content in living a life of hermitage. But one night Indra appeared to him and asks him to follow his dharma of a king and celebrate the festival of Indra.

He had a daughter born to a apsara born named Satyawati who used to ferry people across the river. One day a Sage, Parasara comes to her asks to lay with her. She refused as she wanted to remain a virgin and remain true to her father. The sage promised he would restore her virginity and give her the best fragrance in the world. She gave birth to Krsna Dvapayana Vyasa was born that day.

Dharma during that time was prevalent in all forms of life. King casts aside all anger and rule judiciously. Demons defeated by gods in heavens decided to take birth on earth in royal lineages and wrecked all kinds of havoc on earth.
Mother earth asked Brahma who convened a conference of Devtas where Narayan (visnu) agreed to descend to earth time and time again to rid it off demons.


Dushyant a direct descendent of kuru was looking for the great sage Kanva but finds there a beautiful girl who introduces herself as daughter of kanva which surprises Dushyant as who expected the great sage to be celibate. She tells him the story of his birth...
Indra wa sgetting jealous of austerities of great sage Viswamitra feared his sovereignty so sent the apsarasas Menaka who seduced and him and from their love was born Sakuntla who was raised by Kanva.

Dushyant proposes to Sakuntla who agrees only on the condition that their child should Prince regent of his empire. So was born Bharata who becomes a great monarch and from whom the lineage of Bharata is descended.

This part of the book leads us to the main characters of the Mahabharata. This part of the story somehow to me bears no importance in the understanding of the epic. This reads more like a poor fantasy novel.

One it does teach that no man is untouchable and all men can be corrupted by trivialest of things in life. Even the greatest of all seers one whom even the gods feared was corrupted by sexual seduction.
The biggest weakness in a man's mind is through is genitals but what may seem in the contemporary world to be money. I may not realize which weakness is better ,the emotional attachment of a sexual act or the material love of money.  If the human mind has remained since the times that the Mahabharata was written how would we compare to the great minds of Mahabharata. Are we as easily corruptible or are we so corrupted that such approaches which bear no spot in our personality.

I here in no way mean that sexual act will corrupt a minds innocence but an act doing an act that we may regret in retrospect.

What we may also observe that the Mahabharata is filled with references to Casteism but rather than treating something as downtrodden they treat each society as having its own importance in the society and in no way are the castes fixed which will realize later on in the narrative.

Sorry for the delay in this post but I was possessed by the 'Writers Block' and did not realize  the energy that it takes to write a blog. Even Tim Roughgarden seemed easy after trying to read this part of the book.

Introduction

I am starting this blog to essay my reading of the Mahabharata. I am reading a Penguin classics abridged translation of the book written by John D. Smith. I would try to present a rational interpretation of the events and characters in the book without having any prejudices or having any judgements and some humour thrown in.

Rather than being my review of the book this is a blog for discovery of inner self and understand how the society has shaped me. This book may be a inaccurate translation of the Mahabharata but I am in the belief that this book is a unbiased translation of the epic and I do not have the energy or the skill to read and interpret the unabridged text in Hindi or Sanskrit.

Why read Mahabharata?

I have been raised at a Hindu home and have always believed the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita to be the answers to all dilemma materialistic or spiritual. Whether I agree or not I do not the have free will but I am bounded by the limitations of my thought that have been propagated by our society. I have  always regarded Mahabharata to be a entertaining story but now its time to realize the spiritual context if it in there.

Why blog about it?

Firstly I decided to only read the book and discuss it with my parents and interpret how it really affect me. But now after I realized that sometimes just reading a book does not ingrain you with the message of the book. Blogging would not only encourage me to read the book with constant dedication but also analyze my ingrain thoughts. I was enlightened to this after my incomplete interpretation of the book Life of pi by Yann Martel. I understand that the Mahabharata is much more complex book than the life of pi but one has to start somewhere.

The book starts with a basic introduction of the style of writing of the Mahabharata and introduction to the titular characters of the book. The Mahabharata is a collection of stories and chapters compiled over 800 years (400bc to 400ad) so does not have a single writing style. It has no standard version and can be published in versions having 24000 shlokas to 100000 shlokas. It has been divided into 18 books and can be naturally be divided into three sections the pre-war events (books 1-6), the war and night-time massacre that follows it(books 6-10) and the wars aftermath.

I may not be able to provide a clear narrative to the story due to lack or understanding or language but bear with me through the book.

And please feel free to comment.