Mahabharata - Discuss the Mahabharata in the light of the Epic Tradition

The Mahabharata

Krishna-Dwaipayan Vyasa

Discuss the Mahabharata in the light of the Epic Tradition.

Answer: The Western literary tradition recognizes the Homeric compositions –the Iliad and the Odyssey as examples of epic poetry. These long narrative poems of elevated style are centered on warlike heroes questing for eternal reputation or yearning for a lost homestead. The epics were orally transmitted works that embody the struggle of frail humanity against the anxieties of morality. Although the Sanskrit works the Ramayana and the Mahabharata may be broadly classified as epics along the lines of the Western tradition, their considerable differences from the Western epics require closer examination.

The Ramayana and the Mahabharata were classified in the Hindu literary tradition as ‘adikavya’ meaning the ‘first poetic work’ and ‘itihasa’ i.e. ‘chronicle’ respectively according to J.L. Brockington in The Sanskrit Epics. The chronological nature of the Mahabharata implies that it was recited or ‘spoken’ by a sage instead of ‘sung’ as was the case for the Homeric epics. Textual evidence reveals that the extant Mahabharata is a final product of a long bardic (Celtic Tradition) tradition that had merged with religious and didactic musings with a clear Vedic heritage.

The epic, Mahabharata consists of long rhythmical prose passages and over 100,000 ‘slokas’ or couplets composed mainly in the modified ‘Anustubh’ verse form while in certain sections the ‘Tristubh’ meter is also employed as in the Bhagavat Gita. The literary style of the Mahabharata is an amalgamation of a diverse range of influences – from the prose styles of the Brahmanas, Upanishads and Puranas to the later ‘kavya’ style of poets like Kalidasa. The text employs such poetic expressions as the metaphor and the antithesis, while the more ornate and elaborate ‘alamkaras’ of the ‘kavya’ style are absent. Moreover the epic similes drawn from the Vedic corpus of gods, nature and human society follow a simple and elegant style. Critics opine that the poetic style of the Mahabharata is reflective of the three oral poetic genres of the heroic, theological and legal forms and hence its variable tones.

The elliptical style of the Mahabharata is however, belied by a sophisticated narrative style. The text employs at least three narrators – Sanjaya the ‘suta’ who narrates the Kurukshetra War to the blind Dhritarastra, the sage Vaisampayana who narrates the history of the Bharata lineage to janamejaya and finally Ugrasrava Sauti who narrates the Mahabharata as we know it to Saunaka. The ‘story-within-story’ structure of the poem reveals the importance of the roles of the author (Vyasa appears as a character in the text) and the audience in terms of the recitation of the oral text as the latter often interjects with requests, questions etc. Unlike the Western epics, the Mahabharata does not begin in medias res as the narrative moves backwards and forwards in time with digression, didactic materials, ‘akhyanas’ and the like. The layered narration and plot seem to be modeled on recursive Vedic rituals of sacrifice. The Book of the Beginning provides concise synopsis of the latter events of the epic while also providing as original history of the Bharata dynasty.

The characters of the Bharata lineage like the ones of Homeric epics are of divine stock and their marital exploits at least partially hinge on velour and avarice. However, the narrative of the Mahabharata seems primarily concerned not with the arc of self-glorification but self-actualization through dharma. The Kurukshetra war provides the heroic tone of the epic yet the pervasive mood is more melancholic than celebratory. The consequences of war result in a devastated family despite the ‘Pandavas’ victory, the death and revelations on the battlefield sour their remaining days; even their friend Lord Krisna meets an anticlimactic end with no marital fanfare. The main object of the epic therefore is to chronicle not heroic prowess but the heroic and spiritual struggle with the vagaries of dharma or proper conduct.

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