How old is the Mahabharata? The 5th century astronomer Aryabhatta calculated that it took place in 3100 BCE. But, at that time, there were no horses in India and no cities in the Ganga plains. Aryabhatta had no way of knowing that.
Mahabharata tells stories of Yayati and Shantanu, characters whose names also appear in the Rig Veda, which is dated to 1500 BCE. But the Yayati and Shantanu of Rig Veda lived in the Indus river basin (Punjab-Haryana), while the events in the Mahabharata take place in the Ganga river basin (Haryana, Delhi, Mathura, Lucknow), which was occupied a few centuries later, after 1000 BCE. In fact, Ganga is a character in the epic. So the connection with Rig Veda is artificial, perhaps deliberate to increase the status of the epic.
Cattle economy
There are many towns and villages around Delhi (said to be Indraprastha) with names traceable to the Mahabharata such as Bairat, near Jaipur, which was ruled by Virata, and Ahichchhatra, in Uttar Pradesh, ruled by Ashwatthama. In some of these sites, archeologists found Painted Grey Ware pottery dated to around 1000 BCE. At the spot linked to Hastinapur they found evidence of a flood in 800 BCE. At this time, the Vedic culture was primarily pastoral, and nomadic, as depicted in the epic.
In one episode, after the Pandavas are exiled, the Kauravas go to count and brand their cattle, and also gloat on Pandava misery. Later, the Kauravas attack the king of Virata for cattle. Thus the kings appear to be go-pati (master of cows) more than bhu-pati (master of land), harking back to early Vedic times — around 1000 BCE — in the upper Ganga plains.
From bards to Brahmins
The story of Mahabharata, as it comes to us, is narrated by sutas to sages in the Naimisha forest (near Lucknow). Sutas were charioteers, squires and bards, who were close to kings. They would narrate stories to the kings to inspire them, often during Vedic rituals.
But later, the epic goes into the hands of the Brahmins, who wrote it down with a specific purpose. This happened after the Mauryan era (300 BCE), when Buddhism rose and Brahmins were sidelined. The Brahmins were eager to restore their status. The composition of the epic was a strategic move. That the epic contains references to Scythians and Parthians indicates the composition happened roughly around 2,100- 2,200 years ago.
The epic is clearly Brahmin propaganda. It repeatedly tells kings why they need Brahmins by their side and what happens to kings who upset the Brahmins. The epic also presents the idea of dharma, governance — which involves respecting Brahmins — and ensuring the strong do not eat the weak, as the Kauravas tried to dominate the Pandavas.
Mahabharata-themed pilgrim spots
A major theme of the Mahabharata is pilgrimage. The Pandavas are encouraged to go on pilgrimage. And we learn of other sages who go on pilgrimage such as Pulatsya and Dhaumya. Amba, a princess of Kashi, and Balarama, brother of Krishna, also go on pilgrimage.
In the post-Vedic period, people argued that going on a pilgrimage is as good as performing Vedic yagna. Hindus even refer to Tirthika, those who travel to pilgrim spots — usually on the bank of rivers — as part of their religious practice. Pilgrim spots linked to Mahabharta started becoming famous, and waterfalls, caves and mountains came to be linked to the journey of the Pandavas.
Pilgrim spots were where the Mahabharata narration started taking place. This is how Mahabharata reached every corner of India and turned India into ‘Bharata’. In Kerala, for example, there is a temple standing at the spot visited by Duryodhan. There are similar Duryodhan and Karna temples in Uttarakhand.
When the story reached South India, South Indian kings also wanted to participate in the great war. And in Purannaru , dated to 300 CE, we find a poem where a Tamil king wants to serve food to the warriors of Kurukshetra, “the two fifties who fight the five”. The king was perhaps wanting to feed performers enacting the epic story, possessed by the epic characters and the traditional way in which epic stories were told — and are still told, as seen in Pandav Lila of Uttarakhand and Draupadi cult fests of Tamil Nadu.
Epigraphic evidence from Ganga plains
At the village of Ajgara in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, archeologists have found two epigraphic records in the Prakrit language — written in two types of Brahmi script — which refer to events in the Mahabharata. This makes these perhaps the earliest inscriptions in India suggesting awareness of the epic.
One inscription, dated to 200 BCE with an older form of Brahmi script, refers to “yaksha” worship at “Nahusha” talk. Nahusha was a king cursed to be a python. This python caught Bhima in his coils and released him only after Yudhishtira discussed dharma. It is not a coincidence that the village is called Ajgara, or python.
The other inscription, dated to 200 CE with a later form of Brahmi, clearly refers to Arjuna, Bhima, Nakula and Sahadeva. It was found in a tank locally believed to be the spot where Yudhishtira was asked questions by the heron-shaped yaksha. These inscriptions leave us in no doubt that the Mahabharata epic was known to people in the Gangetic plains 2,000 years ago.
The artwork came later, in the Deccan
Images depicting scenes from the epic, however, appear later, in the Gupta Age in the 5th century. In Deogarh temple, near Jhansi, we have images of the five Pandavas and Draupadi (though some have suggested these are images of Vishnu’s weapons personified)
Undisputed evidence of events of the epic carved on temple walls comes to us from the time of the Kalchuri, Chalukyan, Rashtrakuta kings, who ruled Deccan and Karnataka region. The 8th century Kailasanatha temple in Maharashtra and Karnataka’s Pattadakal temples have these images. Even more elaborate artwork is seen in the Belur temples built by Hoyasala kings in the 10th century.
So while the earliest epigraphy on Mahabharata, from 2nd century BCE or 2nd century CE, comes from the Ganga river basin, the earliest artwork of Mahabharata comes from Deccan from the mid-8th century. They tell a story inspired by events that took place 3,000 years ago, when horses were present in India. But certainly not an older story that occurred before the horses arrived.
Comments