The origin of narrative poetry in Sanskrit can be traced to the anecdotal stories in the vedic scriptures, which are mainly intended to illustrate some idea or to emphasize a moral precept by example.
The first full-fledged complete story in the poetic form is of course the Raamaayanam, which is considered as the first metrical work in the language. Here the story is told chronologically in a straight- forward manner, with one continuous story, the story of Raama, composed by Vaalmeeki and narrated by his disciples in front of Raama.
In Mahaabharatam, the next great epic, the main story based on the rivalry of two cousins contesting the claim to the kingdom, is like a huge tree, its trunk overgrown by branches with luxurious foliage.
There are endless anecdotes and discussions about material and spiritual truths as well as individual and social duties of man.
The epic is reputed to have been first composed by the legendary philosopher-poet Vyaasa, who taught it to his disciple Vaishampaayana, who tells it to King Janamejaya, the great grandson of Arjuna, in the course of a sacrifice.
This was heard by Soota who is sort of a wandering story-teller, who entertains and instructs the various holy men living in out-of-the-way places, and engaged in studies and religious observances for the betterment of humankind.
Soota tells the story as he heard, to an assembly in a forest settlement called Naimishaaranyam. The narration is in a rambling manner, very often in answer to specific questions posed by one in the audience. It covers the whole universe, starting with its origin from an inchoate mind matter substance, through various stages of its transformation.
First came the subtle elements like ego-consciousness, then intellect, etc., and then the coarser ones culminating in the earth element. The elements combined into the multifarious manifestations of inanimate and animate world.
Later Puraanas each of them dealing with the greatness of a particular divinity copied the structure of Mahaabhaarata in the telling of the story. They all start with the Soota coming to the Naimishaaranyam and narrating the story, beginning with the creation and gradually coming to the main story.
The epic, though composed by Sage Vyaasa cannot be taken as given in his own words; since Vyaasa himself is a main character in the story, it is reasonable to assume that the gist of the story as originally told has been internalized by his disciples, by whom the text as received by us is narrated.
The first few chapters of the epic would appear irrelevant to the main story at first glance, but they sort of build up the background of the serpent-sacrifice of Janamejaya, the story of how the serpents were doomed to be burnt alive in fire and how they were saved by the intervention of a saintly serpent, called Aasteeka.
The theme is one of anger and vengeance, curses inflicted on innocent creatures, and brings into focus the conflict of right and wrong, as perceived by different people at different times, the complexity of Duty, Dharma.
In a way, one can say that the central theme of this great epic is this, namely, the eternal conflict between the reality of human nature with its essential selfishness and the need to maintain a stable cohesive society.
First, the serpents are cursed by their own mother for not telling a lie for her to win a wager. Then the king Pareekshit, Arjuna’s grandson, for the crime of throwing a carcase of a snake round the neck of his father, who being in deep meditation did not answer the queries of the king, is cursed by a Brahmin to be killed by the serpent, Takshaka and then by the force of the curse, Takshaka was compelled to sting and kill the king. This gave occasion to the king’s son to perform a sacrifice in which many many serpents were dragged to the fire by the power of a great mantra, until Aasteeka’s pleas made him stop.
Also, a brahmin’s young bride was stung by a snake on which she trod by mistake, and her untimely death made him kill all the serpents he met, until an old non-poisonous snake made him see the iniquity of this slaughter.
Another Brahmin student, who was carrying an ornament he requested and received from a queen for giving as fees to his teacher, was robbed by Takshaka. This enraged him so much that he went to the king’s son Janamejaya and telling him of the part Thakshaka played in the death of his father, urged him to take revenge by killing the serpent.
There is another story of a dog straying into the premises of a (probably, earlier) sacrifice of the king, where it, whipped by his people for polluting the sacred ground, complained to the divine mother of all dogs, Sarama, who was enraged at this outrage against her innocent child, and cursed that the sacrifice would not be consummated.
All this leads to the performance of the sacrifice, attended by many priests and holy men, among them Vyaasa, who on the request of the king, asked his disciple Vaishampaayana to tell the king the story of his ancestors, as it had been taught him.
It starts with the formation of the universe, creation of matter, the gods, and all creatures, the failure of the Creator, Brahma, to delegate the job of populating the earth to his sons, some dedicating their lives to celibacy or some, like Rudra, producing some bizarre specimens, until he decided to divide himself into two principles, male and female, represented by Manu and Sataroopa(of hundreds of forms?), who, married to each other, gave birth to all mankind.
Generations and generations. later, was born Sun-God, from whom is supposed the main dynasty of rulers Soorya-vamsha, to have descended.
The other great dynasty, vamsha, is that of the Moon-God. This dynasty came into being by a curious freak of fate. One of the kings of the sun-dynasty during hunting happened to stray into a hallowed and private spot where Lord Shiva was alone with Shree Parvati, and was immediately transformed into a woman.
When he pleaded for forgiveness, he was told that God’s word could not be nullified, but could be changed in such a way that he would be a woman for six months every year, and remain man during the other half.
Ashamed to go to the kingdom, he sent word to his ministers to tell his subjects that he would be away for six months every year, because of some important work, and stayed in the forest during the period he was woman.
Budha, the Moon-God’s son happened to see the king in the feminine form, and fell in love with her. His children through her established a dynasty, come to be known as Chandra-Vamsha.
There were many illustrious rulers in this line, Kuru from whom the descendents were called Kouravas, and Bharata, from whom India got the name Bhaarata-Varsha.. (to check reg. this!!)
Dushyanta, whose love story for the aashram-girl Shakuntala, immortalized in the play Shaakuntalam, was one of the members of this line, and his son was also Bharata.
Then there was Yayaati, who first married a Brahmin girl Devayaani, who fell in love with him when she was rescued by him from a deep well, into which she had been pushed in a quarrel by the angry princess Sharmishtha, and who later had a clandestine affair with Sharmishtha, who as compensation was serving Devayaani as a handmaid.
In his old age, he wanted to get back his youth and requested his sons to exchange their youth with his old age. All except the youngest, Pooru, refused, and so he was made the heir, others including the eldest, Yadu, were disinherited.
Krishna, who can be considered as the hero of the epic because of his towering personality and all-pervasive influence over the outcome of the developments, was a descendent of Yadu, and, in spite of his power and acceptability, did not accept the position of the king.
Yayaati, it is said, after enjoying the sensuous pleasures for years, at last realized their transitory nature, and retired to the forest to devote himself to spiritual life and thus prepare for ultimate liberation from the bond of life and death.
The other notable king was Shantanu, who again fell in love with a girl he met in the woods, who actually was Goddess Ganga, (the river Ganges), and begot a son, Bheeshma. Later he met a fisherman’s daughter, and infatuated, asked for her hand. The father insisted that he marry her, and make her son his heir, and the king was pulled by his desire for the girl on one hand and unwillingness to deny his son Bheeshma his lawful rights.
When Bheeshma came to know of this, he went to the fisherman and on behalf of his father promised the throne to the progeny of his daughter, and when the fisherman was sceptical and raised doubts, made a terrible vow that he would never accept the kingship, nor would he marry, so that there would not be any son of his to claim the right at a future date. That is how he got this name, Bheeshma(meaning terrible).
Into this family of grand passions and grand self-denials were born the Paandavas and Dhaartharaashtras, sons of the step-brothers Paandu and Dhritharaashtra respectively.
The brothers were the product of a custom of those days, called Niyoga, by which wives were allowed to be fertilized by any other suitable person, approved by the husband or in his absence by any proper authority. (in the absence of ivf?)
When the two sons of the fisherwoman queen, Satyavati, died without any issue, Vyaasa, who happened to be her son through an earlier love-affair with a saintly Brahmin Paraashara, fertilized their wives, in compliance with her importunities. Paandu’s five sons were born in the same way, because he was barred by a curse from having any contact with his wives, Kunti and Maadri.
Dhritaraashtra had a hundred sons through his wife Gaandhari, the daughter of the king of Gaandhaara, (modern Afghanistan). Paandu’s sons were Yudhishthira(Dharmaputra,son of God of Duty), Bheemasena(son of Wind-God), Arjuna(son of Indra), Nakula and Sahadeva(sons of Ashwins, the twin Gods.).
Dhritaraashtra, born blind, was barred from kingship, and so Paandu was crowned king. He, during hunting happened to shoot down one of a pair of deer which were in the act of mating, and was cursed by the other that he would die if he made love to any woman. (This mishap in hunting is a constant theme in the early literature)
Paandu thereupon left for the forests in order to do penance, leaving the kingdom in the hands of his great uncle Bheeshma, who, not accepting the throne in accordance with his vow, handled the affairs of the country until the arrival of a heir.
Paandu’s son Yudhishthira was born before the eldest son of his elder brother, Suyodhana(good fighter, though he is often mentioned as Duryodhana, bad fighter!).
Paandu’s sons were brought up in the forests and educated by the learned saints of the hermitage, and in their teens were brought to the court by them.
Bheeshma accepted them and received them into the family, making arrangements for their continued education and training in warfare. During all this time, the sons of Dhritaraashtra, who came to be known as Kouravas, though Kuru was the common ancestor for all of them, had grown up without any rivals.
They did not like the addition to the family of the new cousins, especially because Duryodhana who had considered himself as the eldest and rightful heir till then, was relegated to the second place with the arrival of Yudhishthira, who was elder to him.
This resentment continued to grow into animosity with time, ultimately ending in having two rival camps.
The sons of Kunti were bonded in love and close attachment, and so were the sons of Dhritaraashtra.
The story of the epic revolves round this contest for the throne between the two groups of cousins which ends after several vicissitudes in the victory of the Paandavas after a devastating war in which both sides suffered extreme losses and miseries, such as to make the victory taste bitter indeed.
