The following is a work-in-progress in which I'm slowly reading through the Hindu epic poem The Mahabharata, and writing a book report on what I read.
Introduction
A few years ago, I embarked on a kind of religious quest. I decided to read the entire Bible and write a report on each book. It took me about six months, and you can read the whole thing HERE. Immediately after, I began reading the Qur’an, surah by surah, and wrote a book report on that, which you can read HERE. Having finished that, I have decided to read The Mahabharata, one of the central texts of Hinduism, and write a book report on what I find. I purchased the abridged Penguin edition of The Mahabharata. Even in abridged form, this book is a daunting 791 pages!
The Mahabharata is often described as the longest poem ever written—over 100,000 lines! The translator of my version, John D. Smith, writes: “a complete version would require at least another four volumes the size of this one.” By my math, that would be nearly 4,000 pages! This abridged translation is an amalgam of summary and direct translation—meant to give the overall arc of this ancient epic of India.
Hinduism is different from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in that it does not have one central text. The main/classic scriptures of Hinduism include the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas, The Mahabharata (which includes the famous Bhagvad-Gita), and the Ramayana. Thus, someone could literally spend their whole life reading Hindu scriptures. The Mahabharata, the subject of this project, came after the Vedas, which are some of the oldest religious writings in the world—some of them pre-dating the Bible and the Qur’an by centuries. The Mahabharata came later. Scholars today generally agree that The Mahabharata was composed over several centuries, stretching roughly from 400 B.C.E. to 400 C.E. Interestingly, this overlaps the composition and compilation of some of the Bible, particularly the New Testament.
So, what is The Mahabharata? It is an epic poem which tells the story of a great war between two groups of relatives: the Kauravas and the Pandavas. Unlike the Vedas, which were composed by the priestly class of Indians (the Brahmins), the Mahabharata is a product of the social class below the Brahmins: the kings and warriors (the Ksatriyas). Over the centuries, the Brahmins added some elements to the text. But, at its heart, The Mahabharata is a story about the conflict between kings and warriors.
But it is also about the gods. Translator John D. Smith explains the central conflict. It is about “the eternal battle between gods and demons played out as a human conflict between two sets of cousins, the hundred sons of Dhrtarastra (the Kauravas) led by the wicked Duryodhana, and the five sons of Pandu (the Pandavas).” Put more simply: the “bad guy” Kauravas are incarnations of demons and the “good guy” Pandavas are incarnations of gods. And they go to war.
The Mahabharata consists of 18 books (or parvans), which may roughly be divided into three main sections: “The first five books recount the events that led up to the great war at Kuruksetra; Books 6-10 describe the course of that war and the night-time massacre that followed it; Books 11-18 tell of the war’s long aftermath.”
This is the overall plot of the Mahabharata but, at a deeper level, it is about the Hindu concept of dharma. Put simply, dharma “is what it is right for that person to do.” Dharma is one’s purpose in life. Smith explains it in this way: “Only by performing ones own dharma can one hope to improve one’s station in life at the next rebirth.” Characters, in seeking to perform their dharma, encounter various crises which hi-light fundamental questions about the purpose of human existence.
You can read my summary of Book 1 HERE.
Book 2: The Hall
The demon Maya, a great craftsman, offers to make something for the prince/warrior Arjuna, as a kind of “thank you” for saving him during the burning of the Khandava Forest.
Although Maya is called a demon, he isn’t necessarily an evil being. As best I can tell, he’s more like a mid-level god.
At first, Arjuna declines the gift, but Maya insists, and so Arjuna asks Krishna (his friend, a god incarnated as a man) to name the gift. Krishna asks Maya to build a great hall for the Pandavas, and Maya eagerly accepts.
Maya travels to the holy mountain of Hiranyasrnga to gather treasures he will use to build the hall. He also takes from the holy mountain two powerful weapons–a club/mace and a conch/horn called Devadatta.
Upon his return to the Pandavas’ kingdom of Indraprastha, Maya builds “a matchless hall, studded with jewels, famed throughout the three worlds for its heavenly beauty.” He gives the club to Bhima and the conch to Arjuna.
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| The Hall of Intraprastha. |
When the great hall is completed, king Yudhisthira gives a great 7-day feast to which he invites 10,000 Brahmins.
The feast includes gifts, songs, wrestling and boxing matches, plays, and other celebrations.
Seers and princes from around the world visit the great hall of the Pandavas.
The great seer Naruda visits and questions King Yudhisthira about how he will rule his kingdom, and the king says he will rule according to the instructions implied in the seer’s questions.
The King asks Naruda if he has ever seen a hall as great as his, and Naruda says no human hall compares, but the halls of the gods Indra, Yama, Varuna, Kubeca, and Brahma are better.
Naruda also tells the tale of the great king Hariscandra, the only human king who dwells in a hall of the god Indra. This king, in his day, conquered much of the Earth.
Naruda says that King Yudhisthira may also conquer the Earth if he follows the example of Hariscandra and performs the proper sacrifice rituals to the gods.
Consultations
King Yudhisthira consults his advisors about whether he should perform the sacrifice of royal consecration that Naruda mentioned, which would enable him to become the most powerful king in the world, basically an emperor.
Yudhisthira then summons Krishna to hear his views on the matter. Krishna explains to the King the political situation of the land.
There is a powerful king named Jarasamdha, who has defeated several kings and is currently holding them in captivity and plans to sacrifice them all.
Krishna says that, before he can perform the sacrifice and become emperor, Yudhisthira must rescue the captive kings and kill Jarasamdha.
The Killing of Jarasamdha
So Krishna, Bhima, and Arjuna set out to kill King Jarasamdha. The three heroes travel to the city of Magadha, disguised as Brahmins.
They reach the peak of Mount Caitya and break off its peak with just the strength of their arms, as a sort of “fuck you” to King Jarasamdha.
Then the three heroes boldly enter the palace of the King.
Jarasamdha welcomes them, but also asks why they broke his mountain. He suspects they are not what they seem: “You display the power of Ksatriyas while laying claim to that of Brahmins.”
Here it is important to remember that the highest Hindu caste is Brahmins (priests and academics). Just below them are Ksatriyas (kings and warriors). The Pandavas (including Arjuna and Bhima) are Ksatriyas. The Mahabharata is largely about the dharma, or purpose, of the Ksatriya caste.
Krishna and Jarasamdha discuss the duties and dharma of Ksatriyas. Krishna (again, who is a god incarnate) condemns the king for having gathered up many other kings and enslaved them.
Krishna says, “You have gathered up many of the world’s Ksatriyas, O king: how can you consider yourself to have done no wrong after such a cruel and wicked act? Truest of rulers, how could a king harm other virtuous kings? Yet you have seized them to offer them to Shiva. The wrong you have done, son of Brhadrastha, should come before us, for we practice dharma and are strong in dharma’s defense.”
Krishna throws down a challenge: “We are here to rescue your captives. I am Krishna Vasudeva lord of the senses, and these two heroic men are Pandu’s sons. We challenge you, King of Magadha: stand firm and fight or else release all the kings!”
Jarasamdha accepts the challenge and claims that he too follows the Ksatriya dharma: “to act at will, showing valor and mastery over others.”
Krishna asks the king which of the three heroes he wishes fight. He chooses Bhima.
And so begins mortal combat between king Jarasamdha and prince Bhima: “Armed only with their arms, the two tiger-like heroes met in battle, full of the greatest exultation and longing to defeat each other. The sound of their smashes, arm-locks, and neck-locks was most terrible, like thunderbolts striking a mountain.”
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| Bhima fights with Jarasamdha. |
The two Ksatriyas fight for a full two weeks straight. Ultimately, Bhima prevails by breaking the king’s back.
After the victory, Bhima, Arjuna, and Krishna free the captive kings. The kings ask what they can do to thank their saviors.
Krishna explains that king Yudhisthira wants to perform a sacrificial rite to become an emperor. The freed kings are supportive of this endeavor.
The Conquest of the World
Then King Yudhisthira sends his four brothers to the north, south, east, and west to conquer the known world. However, instead of capturing and sacrificing defeated kings (like the evil king Jarasamdha), the Pandavas only require tribute from defeated kingdoms.
Arjuna heads north and conquers many kingdoms there, all of whom agree to pay tribute.
Bhima heads east and defeats many kings there, gaining much tribute and treasure.
Sahadeva head south and also conquers many kingdoms. He encounters one hiccup while fighting king Nila of Mahismati–the god Fire causes Sahudeva’s army to burst into flames–as a favor to Nila. But despite this, eventually Sahudeva still prevails and gets his tribute.
Nakula heads west and, like his brothers, conquers many kingdoms, including many “barbarian lands in the far west” and returns home to Indraprastha with 10,000 camels carrying much treasure and tribute.
The Royal Consecration
Having conquered the world, king Yudhisthira is described as a “lord of dharma” who “offered protection, maintained truth, and destroyed his enemies; thus his subjects engaged happily in their daily tasks. Taxes were properly collected, and his government was just, and so with generous monsoons the people prospered.”
Having attained the highest level of power and wealth, everyone agreed it was time for king Yudhisthira to host a massive sacrifice to consecrate his royal position.
The king sent envoys to the four corners of the known world, the world he had just conquered.
“Invite Brahmins and Ksatriya rulers in every land, and all Vaisyas (the third caste) and worthy Sudras (the fourth caste) and bring them here!” the king commanded.
All of the castes were invited except the lowest, the Dalits.
The King invite his cousins the Kauravas and their families.
As people arrived by the thousands, the king provided them with lavish accommodations and food. Everyone was happy.
After everyone had arrived, basically the whole world, the king and his priests performed “the sacrifice of the six fires.” This was a complicated ritual involving specific instructions from the Vedas, an older Hindu text.
The sacrifice was a success: “The very gods were satisfied with the many oblations of milk and butter, accompanied by well-pronounced mantras, at that sacrifice performed by great seers. The priests were as satisfied with the rich gifts and food that they received; indeed, people of all classes were filled with joy at that sacrifice.”
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| King Yudhisthira with queen Draupadi and the Pandavas. |
The Presentation of the Guest-Offerings
During the sacrifice, Vedic scholars (Brahmins) engaged in scholarly/religious debates: “They conversed in the intervals between rituals: ‘This is so!’ – ‘Indeed it is not so!’ – ‘It is so, it cannot be otherwise!’ … Some in their wisdom tore apart the arguments established by others like hawks, tearing apart a piece of meat in the sky.”
But it was all in good faith. The sacrifice brings gods and humans together: “Thronged with gods, Brahmins and great seers learned in the Veda, the sacrificial ground seemed like a clear sky thronged with stars.”
After the sacrifice, Bhisma (Not to be confused with prince Bhima. Bhisma was the grandfather of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas) suggested that Krishna be given the honor of giving the first guest-offering.
But King Sisupala, Krishna’s cousin and an incarnation of the god Vishnu’s gatekeeper Jaya (who had been cursed long ago to be killed by several avatars of Krishna), objected to Krishna being given this honor.
Sisupala laid a verbal smackdown on Krishna, Bhisma, and king Yudhisthira, insulting them all: “Today Yudisthira’s adherence to dharma has been stripped away, and instead he is filled with meanness of spirit, for he presented the guest offering to Krishna.”
Bhisma, thoroughly offended, defenced the choice to honor Krishna: “Generosity, skill, Vedic learning, heroism, modesty, renown, the highest intelligence, humility, glory, steadfastness, happiness and well-being: all these are contained in invincible Krishna,” Bhisma said.
Bhisma also acknowledges that Krishna is actually a god incarnate: “Krishna alone is the origin and dissolution of the three worlds; for Krishna’s sake this whole universe was put into place; sun and moon, stars and planets, the cardinal and minor points of the compass, all is founded upon Krishna!”
Here I should point out that Krishna is actually an incarnation of the god Vishnu.
Bhisma calls Sisupala “a mere child.” He demands that he make right the wrong he has done.
Sisupala and his allies plan to destroy Yudhisthira’s sacrifice.
The Killing of Sisupala
Sensing trouble, king Yudhisthira asks Bhisma for advice. Bhisma says that Sisupala plotting against Krishna is “like a pack of dogs barking at a sleeping lion.”
Sisupala replies by insulting Bhisma and Krishna.
Then prince Bhima gets pissed and wants to fight Sisupala. Bhisma, his grandfather, restrains him.
Then Bhisma gives some backstory on Sisupala. He was born with three eyes and four arms. Basically, a mutant. His parents wanted to abandon him, but were told by a mysterious voice that his deformities would be healed when he sat on the lap of the man who was destined to kill him.
Many kings arrived and put the deformed child on their laps, to no effect, until Krishna arrived. When he put the boy on his lap, this deformities went away.
Sisupala’s mother, not wanting her son to die, asked for a “boon” and Krishna said he would forgive him 100 times.
Back in the present, Sisupala challenges Krisha to a fight.
“I challenge you!” Sisupala says. “Do battle with me, you stirrer of men, so that I may today slay you together with the Pandavas.”
Krishna says to the Pandavas that Sisupala is their greatest enemy, that he has slain many kings and taken them captive, and abducted the wife of King Babhra.
Sisupala responds by mocking Krishna. Enraged, Krishna severs the head of Sisupala with his discus, killing him.
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| Krishna kills Sisupala. |
After this, the assembled kings return to their homelands.
The Gambling Match
While prince Duroydhana, leader of the Kauravas, was visiting the glorious hall of his cousin King Yudhisthira, he embarrasses himself a few times by falling into pools of water that he thinks are glass. People who see this laugh at him.
As he returns to his kingdom of Hastinapura, Duryodhana “began to think wicked thoughts as he traveled, burning with jealousy of the Pandavas’ fortune, and wearied with his brooding.”
His brother Sakuni asks why he is so downcast.
Duryodhana replies, “I have seen Pandu’s sons enjoying such dazzling fortune, and I burn with resentment, for I am unused to such sights. I shall enter fire, or swallow poison, or drown myself, for I cannot live so! What man of mettle in this world could bear to see his rivals prosper and himself fail?”
Duryodhana is suicidal with jealousy and despair.
Sakuni says that Duryodhana is not without friends and allies. The downcast prince then resolves to defeat his cousins the Pandavas.
Sakuni says that Duryodhana cannot defeat the Pandavas by force of arms. Instead, he suggests a gambling match. Sakuni is a skilled gambler and Yudisthira is not. Duryodhana thinks this is a good idea.
However, the wise seer Vidura cautions against this course of action. He tells Duryodhana’s father, King Dhrtarastra: “My lord, act to prevent gambling from causing discord among your sons.”
But the advice is not heeded. The Pandavas are invited to the kingdom of the Kauravas for a gambling match.
King Yudhisthira reluctantly agrees, and the Pandavas travel to their cousins’ kingdom. They do this, compelled by fate, even though they know “gambling is deceit, it is evil, and there is no Ksatriya valor or moral firmness in it…this deceitful gaming with cheats is evil; honest victory in war is the finest game!”
“If I am challenged, I shall not refuse,” Yudhisthira says. “For such is the vow that I have sworn. Fate is mighty, and I am under the control of its ordinance.”
Gathered in the great hall of the Kauravas, the gambling match begins. It is a game of dice.
In every round, Yudhisthira loses to Sakuni.
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| The gambling match. |
He gambles his great wealth, and loses his jewels, his elephants, his slaves, his chariots, his horses, his warriors, etc.
At this point, the wise Vidura again protests, saying that this gambling will lead to total destruction for everyone: “From this contest for excessive stakes there will arise a war bringing destruction to all men.”
Everyone ignores this advice, and the gambling continues.
Yudhisthira continues wagering more and more–cows, sheep, goats, etc. Having just conquered the known world, he has a lot to lose.
After his loses all his possessions, Yudhisthira gambles, and loses, his city, his country, and all his land.
Then he starts wagering his brothers Nakula, Arjuna, Bhima, and even himself. He loses.
Finally, having lost everything else, including himself, he wagers his wife Draupadi. He loses.
Duryodhana is overjoyed. He orders Draupadi to be brought to the hall before joining the other slave-girls.
But the wise Vidura again interjects, saying that Yudhisthira had no right to wager his wife, since he wagered himself first. Vidura says, again, that all of this will lead to destruction.
Again, Duryodhana ignores his elder’s advice. He orders that his page bring Draupadi to the hall.
When the page arrives at Draupadi’s quarters, she speaks up for herself and echoes Vidura’s argument: “Go ask that gambler in the hall: did you first lose yourself or me?”
Yudhisthira gives no answer, and summons his wife to the hall.
She arrives, weeping and wearing a single garment, for she is on her period.
Draupadi seeks support from the other women in the hall, but Duryodhana’s younger brother Duhasana grabs her roughly by her hair and drags her before the kings and princes.
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| Draupadi is mistreated. |
“You have been won at gambling and you have been made our slave!” Duhasana says. “Enjoy your pleasures now amongst our other slave-girls!”
In his manhandling of her, Draupadi’s hair becomes disheveled and her garment falls half-off.
In her anger and grief at this humiliation, Draupadi curses all the men assembled: “For you to drag me into the midst of the Kuru heroes in the midst of my period is ignoble; and nobody here shows me any respect!”
The kings and princes watch silently, not speaking up for her, as she is thus mistreated. She gazes angrily at her husbands and demands that they answer her question: Did King Yudhisthira first lose himself or her?
But her husbands do not answer the question. They are silenced by pride and fear.
Then there is a terrible omen–the howling of a jackal and the screeching of birds.
King Dhrtarastra then intercedes and offers Draupadi a boon (a special gift).
She asks that her husband Yudhisthira be freed from slavery.
The king offers another boon and she asks for the freedom of her other husbands–Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva. It is granted.
Thus queen Draupadi became the savior of the Pandavas.
After this, King Dhrtarastra orders that everything Yudhisthira lost in the gambling match be returned to him. He says that he orchestrated the gambling match as a test of character for his sons and nephews.
“I wished to see my friends, and also my sons’ strengths and weaknesses,” the King says. “May there be brotherhood with your brothers and may your heart reflect on dharma.”
Thus the Pandavas returned to their kingdom of Indraprastha.
The Second Gambling Match
After the Pandavas leave, the Kaurava brothers are pissed that their father’s compassion had cost them all the gains they’d won in the gambling match.
Duhasana says, “That old man is throwing away everything that we took such trouble to acquire; he has handed our wealth over to our enemy!”
Thus Duryodhana, Karna, and Sakuni pot together against the Pandavas.
They approach king Dhrtarastra and convince him that the Pandavas, whom he had sent away in peace, were actually enemies and a threat.
Learning nothing from the first traumatic and divisive gambling match, the Kauravas propose a SECOND gambling match with the Pandavas.
This time, the losers would have to live in exile in the forest for twelve years, forsaking their wealth, wearing only deer skins.
Amazingly, King Dhrtarastra agrees to this proposal.
“By all means bring them back here,” replies the King. “Let the Pandavas return and let them gamble again!”
Queen Gandhari tells her husband that their son Duryodhana will bring their ancestral line to an end through his actions: “Wealth that is acquired through cruelty is easily lost, but when it grows gently it passes to sons and grandsons.”
But the king does not heed his wife’s warning.
“By all means let the lineage end!” he says. “I cannot prevent it. Let is be exactly as they desire; let the Pandavas return, and let my sons gamble again with the sons of Pandu!”
So the king sends envoys to Yudhisthira with the challenge.
Yudhisthira, unable to refuse such a challenge, agrees even though he knows he will likely lose. So the Pandavas return to face their cousins again.
“They say at their ease to resume the gambling, to destroy the world, for they were under fate’s oppression.”
Upon arrival, Sakuni explains the stakes. The losers must go into exile in the forest, wearing only deer skins, forsaking their kingdom and wealth.
The gambling match begins and, as expected, the Pandavas lose.
They prepare to go into exile in the forest.
Duhasana gloats at their loss.
Accepting their loss, the Pandavas swear vengeance upon their cousins and enter their exile.
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| The Pandavas' exile in the forest. |
End of Book 2
