By divine grace and blessings of my gurus (spiritual masters), I am endeavoring to start a series on this great epic. I am offering my pranams at the lotus feet of lord Ganesh, the remover of obstacles, goddess Saraswathi, the goddess of learning and to Nara and Narayana, the 2 exalted male beings. I would like to proceed announcing victory to dharma (righteousness) which this epic exemplifies.
Courtesy: commons.wikimedia.org
The narration of this epic starts with Ugrasrava (aka Sauti), the son of Lomaharshana, visiting an assemblage of Rishis (ascetics) who participated in a 12 year sacrifice conducted by Saunaka (aka Kulapati) in Naimisharanya (a forest called Naimisha). Sauti was wellworsed in Puranas and Itihaasas. He humbly bowed down to the assembled rishis and enquired about their wellness and their progress with ascetism. Sauti was welcomed with due respect, and was assigned a seat to address them. Seeing that Sauti was comfortably seated and well rested, one the rishis, knowing about the knowledge and oratory skills of Sauti asked him "O Sauti, where do you come from and where did you spend time? Please tell us in detail."
Sauti said, "I was at the Snake-Sacrifice conducted by the royal sage Janamejaya, son of the just king Parikshit along with his kinsmen. There I heard the diverse sacred and wonderful stories of Mahabharatha, the epic composed by Krishna-Dwaipayana maharishi (great sage). It was fully recited by the sage Vaishampayana at the snake sacrifice to all the gathered kinsmen and others alike. I visited many sacred waters and holy shrines. I also visited the sacred place Samanthapanchaka (Kuru skhetra), venerated by dwijas (literally translates to twice borns. Generally referred to address brahmins). Kuruskhetra is the land where a great and horrifying battle was fought between the children of Kuru and Pandu and all the chiefs of the land during that time had taken either sides. From there, anxious to see you all, I have come to your presence. O reverend sages, you all are like Brahma (the god of creation) unto me. You all shine in this place of sacrifice (Naimisha forest) with solar effulgence. I see you have concluded your silent meditations and fed the holy fire with libations. Command me O dwijas, what shall I recite to you? Shall I recount the sacred stories collected in the Puranas which contain precepts of religious duty and of worldly profit? or the acts of illustrious saints and sovereigns of mankind?".
The Rishi replied, "We are desirous of hearing Mahabharatha, the purana which was first promulgated by the great rishi Krishna Dwaipayana. It is highly esteemed by the gods and brahmarishis after listening to it. It is the most eminent narrative that exists which exhorts the Vedas; it is has diverse divisions, possessing subtle meanings, all written beautifully with elegant language. It contains subjects from other puranas & holy writs and is elucidated by other shastras as well. We are eager to listen to this history which dispels fear of evil, just the way it was cheerfully recited by the Rishi Vaishampayana, under the direction of Dwaipayana himself, at the snake-sacrifice of Raja Janamejaya."
To be continued…!
