Harivamsha, by Bibek Debroy - Review

T
he Harivamsha is the final, final part of the Mahabharata. Not quite a part of itihaasa - which the Mahabharata and Ramayana are - nor quite a Purana, the Harivamsha nonetheless gets by by being called a "kheel" (appendix) to the Mahabharata. The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune, over several decades, compiled a Critical Edition of the Mahabharata. The Harivamsha also forms part of this Critical Edition. The critical edition of the Harivamsha contains a shade less than 6000 shlokas - thus bringing the total length of the Critical Edition of the epic to just under 79,000 shlokas. An English translation of this version is what Dr. Bibek Debroy has come out with (he came out with translations of the Critical Edition between 2010 and 2015). He informs us that "Non-Critical versions will often have double this number, reflective of the slashing."

Tales from the Mahabharata - 15 - When Bhima Was At a Loss of Words

Bhima throws an elephant at Karna
(credit: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

That Bhima was a man of action is not in dispute. One could write an epic in itself on Bhima's love for letting his actions do the talking. But do not think his words lacked a punch either! Far from it. Bhima was never short of strong words either. Let us examine a few instances.

Yudhishthira's weakness for gambling combined with his ineptness at the game to hand over his kingdom, liberty, his brothers and wife to the Kauravas. Bhima had watched quietly as Yudhishthira had gambled away - losing round after round - everything, but Droupadi's insult in the assembly hall was too much for him to bear. He turned to his elder brother and spoke - "O Yudhishthira! Gamblers have many courtesans in their country. But they are kind even towards those, and do not stake them in gambling. ... I think you committed a most improper act in staking Droupadi. She did not deserve this. ... It is because of her that my anger descends on you. I will burn your hands. O Sahadeva! Bring the fire." [Dyuta Parva]

Mahabharata Vol 10 - Swarajya Review

My review of Dr. Bibek Debroy's Mahabharata, Volume 10, was published in Swarajya on March 27, 2015, titled, "3 Years with Vyasa" (the title was not my idea; credit to the Swarajya team for that!)

The Mahabharata, Volume 10

Translated by Bibek Debroy

Or Three Years with Vyasa
In the Ramayana, most of us think of the epic as ending after the reunion of Rama with his sons and Sita's descent into Mother Earth. We don't often ask or care to know how did Rama and Laxman die - both were after all human. Similarly, for most of us, the Mahabharata had for all practical purposes ended with the defeat of the Kauravas on the plains of Kurukshetra, and with Yudhishthira crowned the rightful king. What after that? Sure, Parikshit was crowned king when Yudhishthira ascended heaven in his human form. We also know of the faithful dog who accompanied him along the way. But there are several details that are often glossed over in most retellings. A reading of the unabdridged Mahabharata is therefore revealing on many fronts.

Mahabharata Vol 10 - Review

The Mahabharata, Volume 10

Translated by Bibek Debroy

This review first appeared in DNA India on April 12, 2015.

Where does the Ramayana end? When Sita returns to Ayodhya with Rama? Or is it when she is banished to the forest? Or when Rama is captured by his own sons and Sita returns to Mother Earth? Or when Rama's life on earth finally comes to an end? What about Hanuman? Oh, but he is one of the few immortals.

With the Mahabharata one can ask similar questions - where does it end? For most of us the answer may be - after the eighteenth day of battle. That would be true in many ways, but it is not the complete truth. What about Gandhari's curse? When did that take effect? What happens to the Pandavas after that? What about Dhritarashtra and Gandhari - the now defeated king and queen? With the Mahabharata, one is even tempted to ask - where does the epic begin?

Mahabharata Vol. 9 (First review)

Mahabharata: Volume 9
Translated by Bibek Debroy

Amazon Kindle, Amazon India, Flipkart, Flipkart ebook

The Beginning of the End

After the seventeen day war was over, the battlefield at Kurukshetra littered with the bodies of the millions who had died, Hastinapura under the control of the Pandavas, the survivors no more than what could be counted on one's fingertips, what else was left? When all had been said and done, or so one thought, it turns out that there was still a lot left to be said.  If you believe that the Mahabharata at one point consisted only of a small and relatively short core of approximately twenty-thousand verses, then its current size of a hundred thousand shlokas is sure to baffle (though it must be pointed out that the Critical Edition, including Hari Vamsha, is a shade less than eighty thousand shlokas). Among the many questions that may arise, the principal one is likely to be - "where?!" "Where" as in where did the epic become an epic, in a literal manner of speakingiterally speaking? When did "Jaya" become "Bharata" and then "Mahabharata"? The short answer, and I use the word "short" deliberately, is in the Shanti and Anushasan Parvas - the twelfth and thirteenth parvas respectively. The long answer is nineteen and a half thousand verses. If you take the seventy three thousand shlokas that constitute the Critical Edition of the Mahabharata - as compiled over nearly half a century by the scholars at Pune's Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, and not counting the approximately six and a half thousand shlokas of Hari Vamsha, which is considered a "kheel" (appendix) to the epic -  then twenty six per cent - a full quarter and then some - of the epic is contained in these two parvas.

Mahabharata Vol. 9 (Second review)

Mahabharata: Volume 9
Translated by Bibek Debroy

"A wife must always be honoured and cherished. When women are not honoured, all the rites become unsuccessful. When daughters-in-law grieve, the family is destroyed." Very strong words spoken in defence of women - and pointedly addressed to both the husband and the parents-in-law. The sanctity of marriage not only results from the vows, but also from the "injunction of dharma that a husband must regard his wife as having been given to him by the gods." What about parents who sell their sons - basically yoke a son to the family who will give the maximum dowry? Such a person has to "progressively pass through seven terrible hells known as "Kalasahvya". After death, he feeds on sweat, urine and excrement." An unpalatable fate that still does not seem to deter many.
Forget dowry, even the act of giving to the undeserving can invite such a fate - "the giver remains in hell for ten years - surviving on excrement."

Mahabharata, Vol 8

Mahabharata - Volume 8, Translated by Bibek Debroy

I wrote a short review of Dr. Bibek Debroy's volume 8 of the translation of the Unabridged Mahabharata. It was published in the DNA newspaper's website, at Book Review: 'The Mahabharata' Volume 8 translated by Bibek Debroy | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis (DNA tweet). My thanks to Harini Calamur.


The full text of the review:

Interview with Bibek Debroy on the Mahabharata

Icing on a Delicious Cake

People following my blog will know that I started reading and writing about Dr. Bibek Debroy's unabridged translation of the Mahabharata in 2012. Some time ago I asked Dr. Bibek Debroy if he would be willing to answer some questions I had on the Mahabharata and its unabridged translation he has been doing. He graciously consented, and soon enough I typed out a list of fifteen questions. Within a couple of days I got his detailed response to my questionnaire.

Krishna on Svayamvara

(edited Aug 4, 2014)
Svayamvaras resulted in much confusion and carnage in the Mahabharata. There is the svayamvara of the daughters of the King of Kashi - Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika. The story of a spurned Amba is an epic in itself.Then there is the most famous of all - Droupadi's svayamvara, where none of the princes and kings could win the competition. It was then that Arjuna, in disguise as a brahmana, won. Krishna attended Droupadi's svayamvar, but did not participate in it. Why we are not told. The svaymvara of Damayanti that Nala attended, but with four other gods also desiring Damayanti is another interesting episode. Krishna was involved in yet another svayamvara, this time not as a spectator but as an active participant - that of Rukmini. Rukmini wanted to marry Krishna, and not Shishupala. Krishna swooped down and carried off a willing Rukmini.

The Mahabharata and The Godfather

With this one post I may end up offending both the Mahabharata and The Godfather fans.

Let us start with The Godfather, one of the best Hollywood movies and loved by many with the same passion as Sholay is by Indians. In The Godfather there is a scene when Sollozzo, a mafia boss, wants Don Vito Corleone's political and police connections to extend to his proposed drugs business. The Don refuses, saying it is "a little dangerous." Sollozzo offers to have the Tattaglias guarantee the Don's security, at which point Sonny Coreleone, the Don's hot-headed son interjects. The Don shuts him with a cold stare. The meeting ends and Sollozzo leaves, after which the Don addresses his son [emphasis mine]:

Mahabharata Quotes - Shalya Parva

Quotes from the Shalya Parva

Shalya, the maternal uncle (Madri's brother) to the Pandavas, took over command of the eviscerated Kaurava army after the death of Karna. He remained commander for not even a full day, and was "slain by Dharmaraja at midday." [9.1] and while the war was over for all practical purposes on the eighteenth day, Shalya Parva continues beyond the eighteenth day and into the nineteenth, and ends only with the duel between Duryodhana and Bhima.

Mahabharata Quotes - Karna Parva

Quotes from the Karna Parva

By the time Karna takes over the reigns of the Kaurava army, the fighting has gone on for fifteen days, and the worst is almost over. Cousin will still kill cousin, and brother will still kill brother, but both armies have been decimated, more so the larger Kaurava army, and Karna is commander for only two days. The seventeenth day also sees Shalya appointed Karna's charioteer - a masterstroke of psychological warfare. Shalya ends up completely distracting Karna, leading to his death at his younger brother Arjuna's hands. Bhima tears apart his cousin Duhshasana, and Sahadeva kills his uncle Shakuni.

Mahabharata Quotes - Drona Parva

After Bhishma falls in battle on the tenth day, there are two important decisions taken. The first is Karna's entry into the war, and the second is the appointment of Drona as the commander of the Kaurava army. The fiercest, bloodiest battle takes place in this parva. It is perhaps most famous for the killing of Abhimanyu, the sixteen year old son of Arjuna, but there are several other incidents that are noteworthy, especially for the way in which they bring out the utter despair of war.

"Learned ones say that in this world, association with the virtuous is more important that a relationship resulting from birth. Do not make your association with the Kurus false."
[Bhishma to Karna, Dronabhisheka Parva, Drona Parva, Ch 4]

"Someone whose objective is at stake, sees things in a different way that another person never can."
[Karna to Duryodhana, Dronabhisheka Parva, Drona Parva, Ch 5]

Mahabharata Vol.7 - Translated by Bibek Debroy

Mahabharata, Vol. 7. Translated by Bibek Debroy

Weapons kill, but words will hurt much, much before that
(Flipkart, Amazon US, Kindle US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA)
One-line review: The war ends, but the carnage will take a night more to stop.

Short review: This seventh volume sees the war come to an end, with the fulfillment of vows, the killing of family, the drinking of blood, and the breaking of thighs. The Pandavas have won this terrible war, but the final price they would have paid for this victory will be known only in the eighth volume.

Mahabharata Quotes - Virata Parva

The Virata Parva is the fourth parva in the Mahabharata, and the shortest of the first four, clocking in at under two thousand shlokas, and covers the thirteenth year of exile in incognito the Pandavas have to spend, which they do in the King Virata's kingdom.

Covers of Vols 1 - 6

These quotes are from the unabridged translation of the Mahabharata by Dr Bibek Debroy (my reviews: Vol.1, Vol.2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol.5 (1, 2), Vol. 6 (1, 2, 3)). The Virata Parva begins with the fourth volume of the translation, and ends someway around the half-way mark. Then starts the Udyoga Parva, which also features the story of Amba.

The start of the parva, where the Pandava's consiglieri, Sage Dhoumya, advises them on how to conduct themselves while in exile, could well have been taken from an HR manual for executives at a Fortune 500 company.
On to the quotes.

Mahabharata Quotes - Aranyaka Parva

The Aranyaka Parva is the third parva in the Mahabharata, and in my reckoning one of the riches in terms of content. While the Adi Parva is literally the book of the beginning, and contains stories few may have heard of of the origins of few know of, and even fewer associate as belonging in the Mahabharata (like that of Uddalaka Aruni), and the Sabha Parva is perhaps the most pivotal of all parvas, as it lays the foundations of the destruction to be wrought thirteen and some years hence, the Aranyaka Parva is literally a goldmine of stories - a veritable forest of tales and philosophical discourses. Stories that are told, most of them by Sage Markandeya - and who himself has a story behind his everlasting life, as the Pandavas spend the twelve years of their exile in the forest, waiting, preparing, pondering. The thirteenth year, to be spent incognito while living among people, forms the fourth parva, the Virata Parva.

Covers of Vols 1 - 6

This post then collates quotable quotes from the third parva, the Aranyaka Parva, which at more than 10,000 shlokas, also happens to be the second longest parva in the epic, right behind Shanti Parva. This Parva starts in Vol. 2 of the unabridged translation of the Mahabharata by Dr Bibek Debroy (my reviews: Vol.1, Vol.2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol.5 (1, 2), Vol. 6 (1, 2, 3)), and continues into Vol. 3.

The second chapter in the parva is itself an exposition of Samkhya Yoga, and in the words of Dr Debroy, "This entire section is reminiscent of the Bhagvad Gita."
On to the quotes then.

• "There are four kinds of reasons behind physical sorrow - disease, the touch of something painful, labour, and distance from loved things."
  [Shounaka recounting King Janaka's shlokas  to Yudhishtra, Aranyaka Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 2] (the first sub-parva in the Aranyaka Parva is also named Aranyaka Parva)

Mahabharata Quotes - Sabha Parva

Covers of Vols 1 - 6

My earlier post, collected some of the more interesting quotes from the first Parva of the Mahabharata, the Adi Parva. This post continues with a collection collated from the second Parva, the Sabha Parva. This Parva is contained entirely in Vol. 2 of the unabridged translation of the Mahabharata by Dr Bibek Debroy (My reviews: Vol.1, Vol.2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol.5 (1, 2), Vol. 6 (1, 2, 3)).

Narad muni's discourse to Yudhishtra, after the latter had settled down in the grand palace at Indraprastha, architected by the asura architect Maya, is quite notable as a piece of mini niti-shastra. I have taken the liberty of including many quotes from it, though I would recommend that people read it in its entirety.

"Do you hurt dharma by artha or artha by dharma or both for the sake of pleasures that kama brings?"
[Sage Narada to Yudhishtra, Sabha Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 5] (the first sub-Parva in the Sabha Parva is also named "Sabha Parva")

"Surely you do not seek the advice from only one, or from too many."
[Sage Narada to Yudhishtra, Sabha Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 5]

"Do you purchase a single learned man for one thousand foolish ones?"
[Sage Narada to Yudhishtra, Sabha Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 5]

"Have you appointed superior men in superior positions and medium ones in medium positions?"
[Sage Narada to Yudhishtra, Sabha Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 5]

The Spines of the Mahabharata Books

I had lent the first volume of the Mahabharata translation by Dr. Bibek Debroy to someone I know. I got it back last evening. This completed my collection - I had, for the first time in almost a year, all six volumes published so far. Of course, this is not strictly accurate, because a year ago there were only four volumes that had been published, but you get the picture. And if not, I have a picture below.

After I got Vol.1 the first thing I did was to line them up, slightly askew, and take a couple of photos with my trusty, four-year old camera. Why did I do that? Mention the camera? I don't know. Why did I say I placed the books slightly askew? Ah, that! That is for a reason. These volumes have an almost identical layout and cover. All six volumes so far have followed the same template - the cover has no text on it, only a series of symbols associated with the epic and war - a sign of the sun, a flag ("ध्वज "), a fish, arrows, a lotus, swords, an elephant, and so on. Each volume has a different color - the first volume is a dark shade of red, while the sixth volume is a pale bluish-green.

The spine is the most interesting part of the cover, in my opinion. Apart from the fact that it has the book's title and author, which is not the interesting or exciting part, each volume has a single symbol on its spine. The first volume (my review) has an illustration  of snakes tumbling into a fire. This is the imagery of the "sarpa-satra", or snake sacrifice in the Adi Parva that King Janmajeya organized to avenge his father's death at the hands of Takshaka, the serpent king. The second volume (my review) has the "chausar", the board for the game of dice, laid out, and a few dice ("paasa") strewn about. This - the game of dice - occurs in the "Sabha Parva", where the Kauravas, led by their wily uncle Shakuni, invite the Pandavas for a game of dice. The game of dice resulted in the Pandavas losing everything, including their wife Draupadi, to the Kauravas, and set in motion a chain of events that would culminate more than thirteen years later, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Volume 3 (my review) looks somewhat difficult to decipher, but is quite straightforward if you look at it closely. This volume has a couple of earrings and an armour plate on its spine. These two, of course, are the "kavacha" and "kundala" of Karna, that he was born wearing, and which made him invincible in battle. And which Indra, the divine father of Arjuna, wanted to take away from Karna so as to ensure his son's victory. Knowing that Karna would never refuse anything if asked after his morning prayers, Indra approached Karna in the guise of a brahmana. The rest is history, so to say.

Volumes 1-6 of The Mahabharata, translated by Bibek Debroy

Volume 4 (my review) is a genuinely tough one for the casual Mahabharata reader. The spine feature a bunch of cows. This imagery is of the stealing of King Virata's cows by the Kauravas. The Pandavas had spent the thirteenth year of their exile living incognito in the palace of King Virata. After Bheema, living as Ballabha the cook, had bludgeoned Keechaka, the powerhouse commander of King Virata's army, to death for trying to molest Draupadi, Duryodhana suspected that this deed could have been performed by none other than Bheema. He used the pretext of stealing King Virata's cows to try and smoke out the Pandavas from hiding - which would ensure they would have to go to exile for a further thirteen years. The spine of volume five (my review -1, 2) needs no introduction. It is Arjuna's chariot, with Krishna as the charioteer. Arjuna is standing with the bow in his right hand, meant to emphasize Arjuna's ambidexterity ("savyasachi"). It is also the only volume so far with a person, and two at that, on the spine. The sixth volume, (my review - 1, 2, 3) has a spiral - the chakra vyuha formation - on its spine. The chakra vyuha was the formation that Drona, the Kaurava commander, put in place on the fateful thirteenth day of the war. With Arjuna away fighting the Samshaptakas, it was left to his son, the sixteen year old Abhimanyu, to penetrate the formation. With Jayadratha, at the vyuha's entrance, holding off the four Pandavas, the lone Abhimanyu was done to death by six brave Kaurava warriors who followed Drona and Shakuni's advice on how to disarm the young prince.

The seventh volume will feature the death of Karna - the third commander of the Kaurava army, the battle between Duryodhana and Bheema, and the midnight destruction of the Pandava army by Ashwatthama. If a stuck chariot wheel makes it to the spine, then Karna, in an indirect way, would have made it to the spine of this series twice.

     

 © 2013, Abhinav Agarwal (अभिनव अग्रवाल). All rights reserved.

Mahabharata, Vol. 6 - The Battle at Night

The Battle at Night

Mahabharata, Vol. 6. Translated by Bibek Debroy
(Part 1 of the review, also see A Note on the Footnotes)

(Amazon US, Kindle US Flipkart, Flipkart e-book, Kindle UK, Amazon UK)

I used to think that the 18-day war of Kurukshetra was a very sanitized affair, an impression only made stronger after watching B.R. Chopra's television epic on the epic. And I must admit here that I am a big, big fan of BR Chopra's TV series. However, I watched silk-clothed warriors aim arrows that killed soldiers from afar and who returned to their camps with nary a drop of blood or gore or signs of grievous injury on them. Several retellings of the epic also did little to dispel the myth that the 18-day war was an antiseptic carnage.

Mahabharata Vol.6 - A Note on the Footnotes

A Note on the Footnotes

Mahabharata, Vol. 6. Translated by Bibek Debroy
(see my review here)
(Amazon US, Kindle US Flipkart, Flipkart e-book, Kindle UK, Amazon UK)

To say that I like **this** particular series among the translations of the Mahabharata would not be wholly accurate, since this is only the first complete translation of the Mahabharata that I am reading, though I have read excerpts from Kisari Mohan Ganguly and am also reading Ashok Banker's Forest of Stories, part one in a dramatized retelling of the Mahabharata. One of the distinguishing characteristics of Bibek Debroy's series are the footnotes that appear on almost every page. In some cases they serve to identify characters in the narration that may not be apparent because of the use of pronouns in the shlokas. For instance, where the translation states, "He was severely wounded...", the footnote clarifies this to be "Dhrishtadyumna". To refer to the person by name may not be accurate, since the Critical Edition's text may itself be using the pronoun, and therefore to substitute it for the proper name would not be, err, proper.

In other cases, when a word in the translation appears as "rakshasas", a footnote clarifies that the "The text uses the word kshanadachara, which means a walker of the night."