Marvellous Mahābhārata Morals - I

Introduction

The Mahābhārata is the finest gem from the treasure trove of Hindu Scriptures. Lord Ganeśa wrote the Mahābhārata at the request of Riśī Kṛṣṇa-Dwaipāyaṇa Vyāsa. Lord Ganeśa agreed to this request on the condition that Riśī Vyāsa would not halt in his dictation, and Riśī Vyāsa agreed provided Lord Ganeśa, before writing it down, took the time to understand it.

Originally, the Mahābhārata was of 8,800 verses and Riśī Vyāsa titled it as Jaya (Victory). Later Vaisampāyana (disciple of Riśī Vyāsa) recited it to King Janamejaya (great-grandson of Arjuna) and made it to 24,000 verses titling the work as Bhārata (India). Many years later Ugrasravas added many hymns to make it a huge book of over 90,000 verses, organized it in 18 parvans (books) with many sub-sections in each book, and titled it as Mahābhārata (Great India).

The Mahābhārata is a sacred text and one of the two great Hindu epics, the other being Rāmāyana. In the Ādi Parvan (first book) of the Mahābhārata, it is claimed that what is found here may be found elsewhere, but what is not found here will not be found anywhere. No other book of the world excepting the Mahābhārata can make such a bold claim, as it contains: the song celestial- Bhagavat Gita, an abridged version of the Rāmāyana, and the essence of all the Vedas, Itihasas, Puranas, Brahmanas, Agamas, Upanishads, Aranyakas, and the Shastras. It is rightly justified in making such a bold claim.

The Mahābhārata offers many stories, themes, motifs, and morals. Innumerable morals can be obtained from this text and one life even would be insufficient to describe them all. Yet, a sincere attempt is made to present few marvellous morals in this series.