Reporter: SUZETTE MAE L.

TOLIBAS

BSED II(2nd sched)

MAHABHARATA Summary

Book 1: Beginnings

We begin during the rule of Bharata, when everyone on Earth follows dharma. His lineage is traced to
two sons: Dhrtarastra, who is blind and cannot inherit the throne, and Pandu, who becomes king. Pandu
has one illegitimate son he must give up to be raised as a Suta and five sons to call his own, and all six
are gods incarnate. Dhrtarastra has 100 sons (called Kauravas), all demons. Pandu's five sons Arjuna,
Bhima, Yudhisthira, Nakula, and Sahadeva are all great warriors or great kings, and marry the princess
Draupadi. Dhrtarastra's son Duryodhana leads the other 99 brothers, and has a seething hatred for the
Pandavas, or Pandu's sons. Both Yudhisthira and Duryodhana are granted kingdoms by Dhrtarastra.

Book 2: The Hall

After Yudhisthira is consecrated as king, Duryodhana schemes to take his kingdom. So, Duryodhana
challenges Yudhisthira to a dice game. Duryodhana implores Yudhisthira to participate, and Yudhisthira
determines that it's his dharma to play despite being a terrible gambler. He gradually gambles away his
entire kingdom and the freedom of his wife, but Dhrtarastra commands Duryodhana to give Yudhisthira
one more change. Duryodhana agrees, saying that if Yudhisthira loses he and the other Pandavas must
live in exile for 12 years and spend a 13th year in disguise, and if they're recognized, they must spend
another 12 years in exile. Yudhisthira loses.

Book 3: The Forest

The brothers and Draupadi spend the 12 years of exile in the forest, studying with Brahmins and
training. During this period of time, Arjuna is granted a celestial weapon by the god Indra. Draupadi is
kidnapped and brought back.

Book 4: Virata

During their 13th year, the Pandavas take refuge in the king Virata's palace, posing as former subjects of
Yudhisthira. Draupadi poses as a maidservant to maintain her independence. It's an eventful year, with a
rape attempt on Draupadi that leads to Bhima slaughtering all of the aggressor's supporters and Arjuna
helping Virata's son win back cattle from thieves. The brothers make it through the 13th year
undetected despite these showy adventures.

Book 5: Perseverance

Yudhisthira returns to take his kingdom back, but learns Duryodhana has no intention of turning it over.
Duryodhana clearly wants war, but Krsna advises Yudhisthira to ask for a peaceful transfer of power
first. Duryodhana denies this peaceful transfer, clearly desiring war despite being chided by everyone
close to him. The two sides prepare for war. Duryodhana appoints Bhima his commander. Krsna tells the
Yudhisthira that even though he will equip Duryodhana with soldiers, he will side with the Pandavas.

Book 6: Bhisma

At the beginning of the battle, Arjuna asks Krsna for permission to throw down his arms since he does
not want to slay his kind. Krsna recites the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna, explaining the tenets of dharma and
action, and specifically Arjuna's duty to fight in this war with a preordained outcome. After a sustained
conflict between Arjuna and Krsna, Arjuna finally kills Bhisma on the 10th day of the war, and Bhisma
chooses to lay on a bed of arrows and delay the date of his death.

Book 7: Drona

Drona, Arjuna's former military trainer, is appointed the new commander of Duryodhana's army. He is a
fearsome fighter, so the Pandavas devise a plan to trick Drona into defying his dharma, making himself
ready to die. Yudhisthira tells Drona that Bhima killed Asvatthaman, which is the name of Drona's son. In
reality, Bhima killed an elephant named Asvatthaman. Drona flies into a fit of rage and violates his
dharma by massacring soldiers he shouldn't kill. When he realizes what has happened, he lays down his
arms and accepts his death.

Book 8: Karna

Duryodhana begins to grasp that his campaign is doomed, but at Karna's request, he appoints Karna the
new commander of his army. Karna and Arjuna meet on the battlefield in a bloody exchange, in which
Karna is slowly brutalized and killed.

Book 9: Salya

Salya is appointed the next and, ultimately, final commander of Duryodhana's army. He is quickly killed
by Yudhisthira. Duryodhana flees to hide in a lake, knowing the end of the war is imminent, but the
Pandavas find him. Bhima kills him in a match with clubs, using an unfair strike. Despite the protests of
observers and Duryodhana himself, Krsna ordains the strike, saying it was within Bhima's dharma and
that Duryodhana had acted in adharma by instigating the war.

Book 10: The Night-Raid

Among the handful of Kauravas surviving, Asvatthaman sneaks into the Pandavas' camp and massacres
everyone in it, some of them in such a way that they do not die a proper warrior's death and can't attain
heaven. As he leaves, he places a curse on Pandava wombs, making them barren.

Book 11: The Women

Book 12: Tranquility

Yudhisthira is ambivalent about taking his throne, but agrees to it to honor Dhrtarastra. The Pandavas
travel to visit the dying Bhisma, who asks for a pillow from Arjuna, but means that he wants more
arrows to rest his head on. Bhisma begins a philosophical conversation with Yudhisthira on his duties as
a king and the nature of dharma.

Book 13: Instruction

Bhisma's and Yudhisthira's conversation continues, as they talk about how to live well and abide by
dharma, as well as about women. Bhisma tells Duryodhana that he should consider the Pandavas his
own sons, and forget about his wicked sons that have gone to hell. Bhisma dies and is cremated.

Book 14: The Horse Sacrifice

Yudhisthira hesitates to resume ruling, but Krsna instructs him to undertake a horse sacrifice ritual to
cleanse the world. Arjuna rides the white horse that will be sacrificed around the former sites of battle
and fends off various aggressors. After the journey, the horse and many other animals are sacrificed in a
pyre, and the smoke from the horse's burning intestinal sac does the purifying.

Book 15: The Hermitage

Dhrtarastra and his wife Gandhari, along with the Pandavas' mother Kunti and some others, retreat to a
forest hermitage to live out their days as ascetics. The Pandavas miss their mother sorely and organize a
trip to visit the elders. Shortly after their trip, their elders burn to death in a sacred fire lit by
Dhrtarastra.

Book 16: The Clubs

We read the tale of the Vrsni who descend into sin when they learn of their demise by time. Krsna is
himself killed by a hunter named Jara, which is Sanskrit for "old age." He ascends and rejoins the gods.
Without Krsna, Arjuna is unable to defend the Vrsni women from a kidnapping by a pack of thieves. He
returns to tell his brothers of his defeat.

Book 17: The Great Journey

With Krsna dead, Yudhisthira decides it is his time to die as well. He leaves the throne to Pariksit, and he
and his brothers set out on a journey to travel the world. In the mountains, the brothers and Draupadi
die one by one. When Yudhisthira is met by Indra to be taken in a chariot to heaven, Yudhisthira refuses
to leave his dog behind, since it was loyal to him. The dog transforms into the god of dharma and praises
Yudhisthira for his virtuousness.

Book 18: The Ascent to Heaven

Yudhisthira only finds Duryodhana in heaven and is baffled. He demands to be taken to where his
brothers are, so he is taken to hell. There, Yudhisthira says he will stay with his brothers instead of
choosing to go to heaven. Indra informs him that this was the final test that he passed, and he and all
the Pandavas are sent to heaven, while Duryodhana is condemned to hell.

Essays

English Literature

Analysis Of The Mahabharata English Literature Essay

5531 words (22 pages) Essay in English Literature

5/12/16 English Literature Reference this

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The Mahabharata is an epic of life which depicts the truth that life is a journey and its meaning is in the
practice of dharma. Vice is put down by the universal justice and virtue triumphs in the end. The things
of the world are perishable and human glory is short-lived. The accumulations that one makes do not
last long. Every rise has a fall. All union ends in separation. Life ends in death. As logs of wood meet one
another and get separated in the vast ocean, so do beings meet one another and get separated here.
Desire does not cease by fulfillment; on the other hand, it increases when it is fulfilled, like fire over
which ghee has been poured. All the wealth of the world is not enough to satisfy the cravings of even
one person; knowing this, one should attain tranquility of mind. We had innumerable mothers and
fathers, wives and children in several lives. To whom do we really belong? What is the relation that
obtains among us? Every day, people are seen dying and being cremated; and yet the remaining ones
imagine that their death is not near. What can be a greater wonder in this world? A wise person does
not grieve over the pains or is exhilarated over the joys of life. He is a fool, who gets sunken in them and
forgets his destiny.

These are some of the stock sayings in the Mahabharata which emphasize in different ways throughout
the Epic, indicating the general trend of its teaching that life in the world is transitory and the realization
of God is the goal of life. That virtue has always the support of God at every critical juncture in which it
finds itself is the principal motif of the Mahabharata Epic. The philosophical portions in the
Mahabharata apart from the Bhagavad-Gita and the Anu-Gita are the Sanatsujatiya and moksha-
dharma. The ancient system of political administration under the directing principle of dharma finds
elaborate elucidation in the Raja dharma section of the Santi Parva in the Mahabharata. This book, with
the code of Manu, may be regarded as the standard scripture on ancient Indian polity. The Vidura-Niti is
a renowned book on political ethics. The rest of the contents of these sections are mostly expatiations
on the Vedanta, Sankhya, Yoga and dharma in general, which I will be discussing further in my term
paper.

The Appendix to the Mahabharata is called Harivamsa which deals especially with the early and family
life of Krishna, as well as his personal exploits, to some of which I will refer in my study of this Avatara,
and also certain legendary material pertaining to events prior to the advent of Krishna, since the
creation of the Universe. Though the Harivamsa provides some additional details concerning Krishna’s
multifaceted life, all this cannot equal the force and depth with which the glorious Avatara is presented
in the Bhagavata Purana, which is the great classic on the subject, next only to the Mahabharata.

The creation theory of the Puranas has been stated under the section on the Upanishads. While
describing creation, they also give a scheme of time-calculation applicable in determining the major or
longer events that take place in the Universe. Fifteen days and nights constitute one-half (Paksha) of the
lunar month, thus, a month consisting of two halves – the bright and the dark – according to the phases
of the Moon. Two months make a season (Ritu), and three seasons make one hemispherical motion
(Ayana) of the Sun, there being two such motions – the Northern (Uttara) and the Southern (Dakshina).
Two such consecutive motions of the Sun make one human year (Varsha). Three-hundred-and-sixty
human years make one celestial year. Twelve thousand celestial years make one cycle of the four Ages
(Chaturyuga). The four Ages are Krita, Treta, Dvapara and Kali, in the descending order of truth and
righteousness, the span of life and general prosperity during their periods. The Krita-Yuga consists of
4,800 celestial years, the Treta 3,600 celestial years, the Dvapara 2,400 celestial years and the Kali 1,200
celestial years. The Kali-Yuga is said to have commenced in 3101 B.C., the year in which Krishna
disappeared from the earth. Seventy-one cycles of these four Yugas make one Manvantara or a period
for which a Manu rules the world. There are fourteen Manus, of whom the present one is the seventh.
The period of these fourteen Manus (which, with the addition of twilight ages between periods of
Manu, comes to one thousand four-age cycles) is a single day (Kalp