Himalayan Times (1953)

October!, 1953

resort to a destructive
war wherein, too, neither
truth nor right may win,
but only superior force
nutst triumph In the
days of the Mahabharata,
anyway, a. game of 'dice
was an accepted mode of
solving royal fivalrjeu, and
it was considered improper
for a prince to refuse an
invitation to play.

The game ended in
Yudhishtira’s defeat.
According to the .-tains
laid, the Pandavas had
to be in exile for tbriteen
years.

After this long.period
of exile the last year of
which had to be done incog-
nito. the Pandavas retur-
ned and demanded their
heritage. Duryodhana re-
fused to return it. and war
followed as a consequence.
The Pandavas won a great
battle at Kniiilishe ta and
regained their patrimony.
Yudhishtira ruled tin- land
thereafter for thirty-six
years. Then he and his
brothers and • Draupadi
retired to the forest lea-
ving his grandson Parik-hit
to wear the crown.

This is the story, 'flip
characters in. the epic,
move with the vitality of
real life. It is difileq.'.i
to find anywhere such,
vivid portrait tiro on so
ample a canvas. lihishma;
the perfect knight, the
venerable Drone the vairi
but chivalrous Kama !)ur-
yadltana whose perverse

t'iimr.lamin Itimcs

pride is redeemed by great
courage in adversity, the
high souied Pandavas with
Godlike strength as well,
as the power of suffering,
Draupadi most unfortunate
of queens, Kunti the wor-
thy mother of the heroes,
Gandhari the devoted wife
/and sad mother of
the wicked sons of Dhri-
t.arnshtra —these are some
of the immortal figures
on that crowded but never
confused canvas Then
there is great Krishna
himself, most energetic of
men whose divinity scin-
tillates through a cloud of
very human characteris-
tics. His high purpose-
fulness pervades the whole
epic. Even in a transla-
tion one can feel the over-
whelming power of the
incomparable vastness and
sublimity of the poem.

I he Mahabharnta dis-
closes tv rich civilisation
and a highly evolved
society which strangely
resembles the India of our
own time with the same
valties'and the same ideals, .
India was divided into, a
number of independent,,
kingdoms Occasionally
.one king, more distingui-
shed or ambitious than
thp rest . would assume
the title of Emperor se-
curing the acquiescence of
other royalties and signa-
lised it bv a great sacri-
ficial feast.- The adherence
was generally voluntary.
Thekissumpfioji of imperial

; Seven

title conferred do no over-
l'ordship. Thp.'tmperor was
only first ', -
Military prowess;and skill
were held-in great.esteem.
We read in the Mahabha-
rata of standardised pha-
lanxes and of various
tactical movements, lhere
was, an accepted code of
honourable warfare, devi-
ations from which met
with reproof among Ksha-.
triyas. 'The advent of the
Kali age is marked by
many breaches of these
convertions in the Ktaru-
kshetra battle on account
of the bitterness of con-
flict, frustration' and be-'
reavements". Some of the
mbst impressive passages
in the epic ceqtre round
these, breaches of dharma.

The population, then'
as now lived in cities and
villages. There were beau-
tiful palaces and gardens,
and the lives led 'in the
cities were cultured and
luxurious. There was trade
in the cities but the mass
’of the people ..were agri-
culturists.

lies,ides this urban and
.rural life, there was a very
highly cultured .life in the
seclusion of forest recesses
centred, round ascetic
teachers. These Ashrams
kept alivo the bright fires
of learning and spiritual
thought. Young men of
noble birth eagerly sought
education at these Ashrams
World -w-.'ary age went
• {Continued on page 10)

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