Yesterday, I had an interesting discussion with a young teenager. After drifting through topics involving movies and television on which his knowledge was impressive, we arrived on the subject of Mahabharata when the curtain raiser of a new television series based on the epic caught our attention. This is when I was introduced to the new generation Mahabharata, which is no less interesting than the original!
He: So, this Mahabharata is the story of Sri Rama, isn’t it?
I : Not really, story of Sri Rama is in Ramayana. Central characters in Mahabharata are Pandavas and Kauravas.
He: I see, so Krishna was one among the Pandavas, wasn’t he?
I : Not one among them, but their most important ally.
He: Oh yeah, I remember it now. The story of Krishna was in Bhagavad Gita and nott in Mahabharata
I : Well, Bhagavad Gita is part of Mahabharata, and is a spiritual discourse given by Sri Krishna to Arjuna
He: Ok, so who won this war in Mahabharata? Kauravas or Pandavas?
I : Pandavas. Krishna was on their side, after all.
He: I see, so Krishna fought for them.
I : Not exactly. He was the charioteer (sarathy) of Arjuna and on a vow to not pick up a weapon during the war. Krishna is thus also known as Parthasarathy – meaning Arjuna’s charioteer.
He: I think I have heard about this story somewhere. Was that when he married Sita?
I : What?
He: Isn’t there a story of how Krishna broke a bow and won Sita’s hand in marriage?
I : It was Rama who married Sita
He: Yes, yes, I remember. This was something I actually knew. I also vaguely remember that Krishna had 100 wives or so.
I : 16108 is the count
He: Sixteen thousand one hundred and eight wives? That’s way too many!
About that time, the TV program starts showing scenes from the series in which a young man vows to never marry, and leave his father’s Kingdom to the descendants of Satyavati.
He: Who is this guy? And isn’t it a strange vow to take?
I : This is Bhishma…
He: The guy Bhima?
I : No, Bhima is one among Pandavas, Bhishma is different.
He: Isn’t it about Bhima that there’s even a saying “If the one who died is Keechaka, then the one who killed is, without doubt, Bhima”?
I : Yes, there you’ve got it right.
It was a happy and satisfactory note for both of us to steer this conversation in a different direction, and so I took that opportunity to change the channel.
Trust me, there is no exaggeration in the conversation reported here, nor is there stuff that I’ve added. This is exactly how the discussion progressed, and it shows how well the young generation knows about the history (ithihaasam) and epics of our motherland.
Bonus: As a test of your own knowledge of Mahabharata, check if you can identify the story from Mahabharata on which this painting is based?
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| Do you know the story in Mahabharata on which this painting is based? |
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Nice one, Raman…was laughing through the entire read….I couldn't identify the story of the painting though.
S.Prakash
Thanks Prakash, glad you liked it! The picture shows Sarpa-yaga (snake sacrifice) held by Janamejaya, son of Parikshit, to avenge the death of his father by the bite of Takshaka. Mahabharata is written as being narrated by Vaishampayana to Janamejaya on this occasion.