Mahabharata
Puranas Mahabharata Bhagavad Gita Ramayana
500 BC-300 AD
"The body knows touch; the tongue, taste; the nose, scents; the ears, sounds; the eyes, forms, but men who do not know the deep Self (adhyatman) do not seize that Supreme."
~Mahabharata 12.195.4
The Mahabharata is thought to be the world’s longest literary work – 12 times longer than the Western bible and 7 times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined. It is comprised of 18 books and over 90,000 couplets. Before its compilation by the sage Vyasa, it existed in the form of popular stories that over time were told, retold and improved by Brahmins, ascetics and traveling entertainers. Mahabharata may be translated as "the great tale of the Bharata Dynasty". The Republic of India has 3 official short names – India, Bharat, and Hindustan, though the last is antiquated and used only in historical contexts. Therefore, this great epic is one of the most important cultural writings for the folklore of India.
As the national epic poem of India, the Mahabharata is a highly regarded literary work of spiritual inspiration. Consisting of a richly detailed story about a great war, the epic is big enough to include tales of creation, myths, jokes, natural laws, as well as, moral and ethical instruction. In fact the Mahabharata itself states that everything one needs to know has been included. ‘What is found herein may also be found in other sources, what is not found herein does not matter.”
Vyasa states its aim is to explore the relationship between the individual and society and the world. In this exploration, the four goals of all humans are discussed: artha – wealth, kama – pleasure, dharma – duty/harmony, and moksha – liberation, with the last being the most essential to all humans.
The diversity of elements presented in the Mahabharata unite in their underlying theme to support one central story – the battle for supremacy between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas. Families and noble men are pitted against each other in a tragic war which destroys the world that they knew (the dvapara yuga) and begins the world we live in now (the kali yuga) where values are reduced and evil prevails. Thus the survivors see no victory.
YUGA
Yuga is a division of time described in the ancient Hindu scriptures. Hindus believe that the world is created, destroyed by fire and water, and re-created in an eternally repetitive series of cycles. The entire cycle is the equivalent of one day of Brahma and is also called a Maha Yuga which in Sanskrit translates as “Great Age.” In mortal terms, one can think of a singular Great Age as the equivalent of the universe enduring for about 4,320,000,000 years, being destroyed, and then renewing itself again.
Each of these cycles consists of a series of four shorter yugas, or ages. Each yuga gets progressively worse from a moral standpoint and thus becomes shorter and shorter in duration. The Mahabharata involves the last two yugas in the cycle. The great war described in the famous epic ended the Dvapara Yuga and began the Kali Yuga – the present age.
Dvapara Yuga
In Sanskrit, dvapara means “doubt” and its root word dva means “two.” Thus, in the Dvapara Yuga there is a precarious shifting of balance between good and evil. Virtue and morality still exist but people are becoming more and more passionate and greedy. Religious doctrines are created to help give people moral guidance. In this age, people devote themselves to the virtue of sacrifice. The Dvapara Yuga lasted 864,000 years
Kali Yuga
Kali translates as “quarrel” in Sanskrit. The Kali Yuga is the present and last age of the world, when all values are reduced, laws become fragmented and evil rises. People are given status based on the amount of money and property they own rather than their moral virtue. Through successive lies, one becomes more successful. Sex becomes the only source of enjoyment. People continually live with fear of hunger, disease, and death. During this age, only the poor are honest and the only remaining virtue is charity. The Kali Yuga is the equivalent of 432,000 years.
The Kali Yuga is also called the Iron Age, referring to the fourth and darkest stage of the four yugas that make up one Maha Yuga. The first three are the golden age (Satya Yuga), the silver age (Treta Yuga) and the bronze age (Dvapara Yuga).
THE 4 AIMS OF LIFE
Moksha
The Sanskrit word moksha means “liberation.” In general, it refers to liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth, as well as, transcendence of the ego and any conscious sense of time, space and causation. The four paths of yoga – jnana, karma, bhakti and raja, are seen as the means to achieve moksha.
Study Guide Questions and Personal Reflections
- The great war depicted in the the Mahabharata began one yuga and started another. Which yuga are we in now? How do you relate to the concept that we are living in a “dark age” – do you agree or disagree?
Vocabulary
- yuga
- jnana
- bhakti
- karma
- viveka
- vairagya
- moksha
- dharma
- Hinduism