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Preface-3- Why

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Preface-3-Why Was It Written?

 1. Introduction to Mahaabhaarat
 2. How and When Mahaabhaarat was Written
 3. Why Mahaabhaarat was Written
 4. MBH Contents


Why Was Mahaabhaarat Written?

Before Mahaabhaarat was written, Ved, Upanishad, Smriti etc. were the only Hindu scriptures. Among which many books, specially Ved were not available to general public especially to women, children, Shoodra etc. Since how to live a life was written in these books only, and these books were not available to them, the people were proceeding towards sinful actions. This was making the society disorganized, sinful, and without principles of life.

So Ved Vyaas thought that if he could write all scriptures' gist in a book in simple language, it will be accessible to all, and people will know their Dharm and duties towards each other, in turn this will help make society better organized, religious, follower of good conduct etc.

Although Ved Vyaas Jee took out only gist of those books, still it became a very huge book, which is still inaccessible to common people. Rather it has another taboo that it should not be read in families because it instigated quarrels in families. And since it should not be read in families, people do not even keep a copy of this book in their house. Thus the whole purpose of writing this book was also lost. Besides Vyaas Jee himself was not very happy after writing this book because it ended in Great War and mass killing. He got very sad after writing it.

What Ved Vyaas Jee did after this? To know this read here.

Mahaabhaarat Compared to Foreign Literature

This work is written in Classical Sanskrit and its development dates to a period broadly contemporary with the classical age of ancient Greece and Rome, c. 400 BC - C400 AD. Like the poetry of Homer, however, this epic is attributed to a figure about whom little is known. Vyaas, via his scriber Ganesh and is a record of material that was already in existence as an oral tradition before it was set down in writing. Its ultimate origins may date to the 8th or 9th century BC. Like the Iliad, the Mahaabhaarat concerns an ancient war, the Kurukshetra war; like the Odyssey, where Odysseus recounts his marvelous adventures to King Alcinous, it is a story within a story. It is, however, much longer than both the Iliad and the Odyssey combined.

 

 

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Created by Sushma Gupta On 05/27/04
Contact: sushmajee@yahoo.com
Modified on 09/21/11