The Mahabharata is one of the two great epics of India that has had a great impact on Indian civilisation. C P Ramaswami Aiyar Institute of Indological Research organised a three-day conference (March 14-16,2019), in Chennai, on ‘The Mahabharata in Indian Art and Culture’. Over 60 papers were presented by several eminent scholars from India and abroad on various subjects such as the archaeology and dating of the epic, and philosophical discussions on dharma in it.
There were several papers on the Mahabharata in the various arts of India. The conference was inaugurated by Professor Arvind Jamkhedkar, chairman, The Indian Council of Historical Research. Sudha Seshayyan, vice-chancellor, The Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University, delivered the keynote address. Professor Koenraad Elst from Belgium summed up the issues discussed in the conference in his valedictory address.
The Mahabharata was originally known as Jaya with 8,800 verses. Later, it was known as Bharata with 24,000 verses, as recited by Vaishampayana. Finally, the Mahabharata, as we know it today, was narrated by Ugrashrava Srauti with over 100,000 verses.
Panini refers to the epic in the 4th century BCE, while the oldest surviving Sanskrit text dates back to the Kushana period or 200 CE.
The Mahabharata clearly mentions the use of a variety of weapons and extensive use of chariots as war vehicles. Archaeologist K K Muhammed and Neera Misra discussed the archaeological excavations at the sites including Kampilya. Interestingly, they pointed out how all the sites continue to have the same names even today. A paper was presented on the excavations at Dwaraka, since Krishna created his capital city at the time of the Kurukshetra war. In the ruins of Dwaraka, antiquities like stones, sculptures, walls, pillars, bastions, seals, inscriptions, potteries, terracotta beads, bronze, copper and iron objects dating back to about 1,500 BCE, were discovered.
The archaeological artefacts establish the historicity of Krishna. The archaeo-astronomical opinion on the date of the Kurukshetra war centres on the date arrived at — through computer applications, by Hema and D K Hari — as February 18, 3,102 BCE; citing of this date has become widespread in the Indic tradition.
Professor Godabarisha Mishra spoke on transcending moral dilemmas with the help of wisdom in the epic, through reconciliation and compromises. V S Karunakaran explained the concept of dharma in the story, while Prashanth Krishna posed a question: Was Bhishma a hero or villain? Though Bhishma is celebrated as a pitamah, his actions, particularly towards women were misogynic. The Mahabharata is an epic with strong women characters and the many manifestations of women characters were presented by V Mohan.
The epic has provided rich iconography for Indian sculptors and artists who use the Mahabharata as their main source of inspiration. Understanding legends and executing themes — both from local and historical point of view — is essential. The Pallavas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Cholas, the Vijayanagar and Nayaka rulers used the epic for embellishing their wonderful architectural creations. The Hoysalas perfected the representations by carving the episodes in a sequence along the moulded plinth. “Almost all the important episodes were represented but the war scenes were the most preferred. The Vijayanagar and Nayaka dynasties depicted the episodes as murals at Lepakshi, Sibi, and Adiyamankottai,” T Satyamurthy pointed out. Finally, as the epic travelled to southeast Asia, they were represented on walls of the temples in Cambodia.
It is a little known fact that while Draupadi was the princess of Kampilya and queen of Hastinapura, there are no temples dedicated to her in north India. On the other hand, Draupadi is revered as a goddess in the south. Sandhiyalakshmi discussed the tradition of Draupadi Amman temples in Tamil Nadu, and S Madurambika discussed the many temples dedicated to Arjuna in Tamil Nadu. V V Subramanian spoke about how the Mahabharata influenced Tamil literature from the Sangam period: there are references to several events that took place in the epic.
Sumathi Krishnan spoke about the epic’s influence on music, particularly the compositions by the Gandharvas who practised music, because of which musicology was known as Gandharva Shastra.
Subramania Bharati created an epic, Panchaali Sabadam in Tamil, which is based on the game of dice and Draupadi’s vow. Draupadi is the ultimate symbol of womanhood — wronged, yet determined to fight back.
Although the Mahabharata is difficult to understand, since it is full of interpolations and references spread across epochs, scholars at the conference brought some clarity to help one understand it better.