Lesser Known Facts Of The Mahabharata

Some basic information and lesser known facts of The Mahabharata.

1.The Mahabharata was written by Sri Krishna Dwaipayaana, popularly know as Veda Vyasa.

Vyasa is the name given to Krishna Dwaipayayana after he compiled The Vedas.

The term means one who compose excellently.

Vyasa is considered to be an Avatar of Vishnu.

Vyasa is the Great Grand son on of sage Vasista, who fixed the auspicious date for Lord Rama‘s Coronation and who was instrumental in making Kausika as Viswamitra who gave the world the Gayathri mantra.

* Ramayana is reported to have happened in the Treta Yuga while the Mahabharata was in Dwapara Yuga.

Please read my posts on Time, a Non Linear Theory filed under Astrophysics to know more about Indian view of Time

Vyasa is the Grandson of Sakti and son of Parasara.

Vyaya is the father of Suka Mahrishi and the father of Dhrutarastra, Pandu and Vidura.

‘Vyasam Vasishta Napthaaram Sakthe Pouthre kalmasham.

Parasarthmajam Vande Sukadhaaatham Thaponidhim-Vishnu Sahasranama.

2.Vyasa did not write or imagine it,.

He dictated it to Lord Ganesh as it is being revealed to him by the Grace of Lord Brahma.

There is an interesting anecdote on this(Adi Parva, Anugramani Parva)

Vyasa , on being revealed the Mahabharata was aghast at the sheer numbers and incidents he had to narrate.

He prayed Lord Ganesh and requested Him to write as  he dictates.

Lord Ganesh agreed on the condition that Vyasa should never pause while dictating.

Vyasa made a counter condition that Ganapahy must not write any thing without understanding the full import of what Vyasa dictates.

Ganesh agreed.

Such was the erudition of Vysa and the content of the Mahabharata ,Ganapati had to pause at places to understand the meaning and in the interregnum Vyasa had time to compose further mentally!

If the Mahabharata is a lie or imagination, it is not humanly possible to lie consistently in 100, 000 slokas.

That too you have at least five instances of the narration of the entire Mahabharata in the first Parva,Adi Parva  itself when the story of Mahabharata has not begun.

Ask any writer, he will tell you how tough it is .

And the Mahabharata  has innumerable  sub-stories, which are individually authenticated elsewhere, other than the Mahabharata.

Time is considered Cyclic by the Hindus.

Put it simply the Mahabharata has happened before, in happening, and shall happen in future.

Hence one will find the references in the Mahabharata  sub-stories , which were reported to have happened before the reference to the Mahabharata itself.

A separate post on this follows.

3. Vyasa wrote two versions, one is the Bharata Charitra and another is The Mahabharata which is popular.

4.Vyasa wrote The Mahabharata with sub-stoiries in 100, 000 slokas for Mankind,

He also wrote it in 24, 000 slokas without the substories.

He wrote again  in a compact form containing 150  slokas,

This is called the Anugramanigathya and is in the First Parva.

4.Vyasa released further editions of the Mahabharata.

One for the Deva Loka with 300000 slokas.

Another for Pithr Loka with 150000.

With 1400000  for the Rakshasas and Yakshas and 100,00 for humanity,.

5.The term Bharata means the narration of the Dynasty of Bharata.

Maha means huge, big, heavy.

The Mahabharata was weighed on a scale against the Vedas.

The scale containing the Bharata was down and heavy.

Therefore the Bharata is called the Mahabharata.

It is also called the fifth Veda as it contains the practical application of the Truth of the Vedas and expands the concepts of the Vedas.

6. Mahabharta  contains 18 Parvas or mega Chapters.

These chapters contain many chapters as well.

For more read the original.

More posts to follow.

Related Articles

• Mahabharata My Prologue. (ramanan50.wordpress.com)
• Mahabharata, The Gita and Blog Posts (ramanan50.wordpress.com)