The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Ramayana.
Mahabharata today has 100,000 slokas and is believed to
be written by Sage Veda Vyasa, but in reality it was narrated by him and
written by Lord Ganesha. When first narrated, it had only 8,800 slokas and
Mahabharata original name was Jaya (Jayam) as written by Ganesha.
Then Vyasa’s
disciple Vaisampayana narrated this story to King Janamejaya (Pariskshit’s son
and Abhimanyu’s grandson) along with additional and elaborated stories. This
made it expand to 24,000 slokas and was named Vijaya (Vijayam) and then renamed
it as Bharata. In next generation, Ugrasravas, belonged to the Suta caste, who
were typically the bards of Puranic literature, narrated this story to sage
Saunaka and other sages in Naimisa forest.
The full 100,000 verses of the Mahabharata was completed
several centuries later by addition of many stories and was finally named as
Mahabharata. Jaya was about spiritual victory, Vijaya was about material
victory, Bharata was the story of a clan and Mahabharata included also the
wisdom of the land called Bharat-varsha. What began as an auspicious idea,
ended up becoming a massive documentation of realities that frightened the
common man.
Bhagavad Gita is one such addition into Mahabharata, which was done
during later generations and written according to the conditions of the society
that prevailed during those times. It is placed in Mahabharata’s Bhishma Parva
with 700 slokas divided between 18 chapters. In the epic Mahabharata, Sanjaya,
counsellor of the king Dhritarashtra, after returning from the battlefield to
announce the death of Bhisma begins recounting the details of the Mahabharata
war.
Bhagavad Gita forms the content of this recollection.
Gita begins before the start of the climactic Kurukshetra war, where the
Pandava prince Arjuna is filled with doubt on the battlefield. Realizing that
his enemies are his own relatives, beloved friends, and revered teachers, he
turns to his charioteer and guide, Krishna, for advice. Responding to Arjuna’s
confusion and moral dilemma, Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior
and prince, elaborating on a variety of philosophical concepts. Why would
Krishna leisurely narrate 700 slokas in 18 chapters to Arjuna, when war was
just about to begin.
It would take him entire day to recite that much of
concept and also showing his Viswaroopam (Infinitude) in the end. Would Kaurava
army wait for all these preachings to be completed and then start the war? What
would both armies be doing when these two were immersed in their own
discussions?
Krishna must have simply asked Arjuna to do his duty and
leave the result to him and to convince him, he must have shown his Viswaroopam
for a minute. This will make Arjuna believe that Krishna is god and has already
decided the outcome of this war, for which he is a mere pawn.
It is clearly evident that Gita was written by multiple
persons as few intial slokas appear in first person narrative and suddenly it
jumps into third person narrtive. Gajanan Shripat Khair, who researched for 43
years on Bhagavad Gita, concluded in his book Quest for the original Gita that
infact it was written by 3 persons over 400 years and that is why narrative
lacks continuity. Also few inclusions like description/creation of caste
system, women, sinners and lower castes being treated similarly etc were
according to the society in those years. In later generations, spiritual gurus
have included it in PRASTHANA TRAYAM along with Upanishadas and Bramsutras,
though it is a brief essence of all Upanishads. Similarly, Vishnu Sahasranāma
is narrated through Bhishma’s character before his death.
This Vishnu Sahasranāma is found in the Santi Parva of
the Mahabharata is the most popular version of the 1,000 names of Vishnu.
Another version exists in the Padma Purana and Matsya Purana. Each name
eulogizes one of His countless great attributes. This also must have been
included into Mahabharata from those puranas. Infact, both Bhagavad Gita and
Vishnu Sahasranamam became popular after Adi Sankaracharya wrote commentaries on
them in 8th century AD.
The Mahabharata probably reached its final form by the
early Gupta period (c. 4th century) when kings ordered complete rewriting of
all puranas to preserve them for future generations. Unlike the Vedas, which
have to be preserved letter-perfect, the epic was a popular work whose reciters
would inevitably conform to changes in language and style. So, many additions
were made to it by writers of that generation.
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