THE CLASSICAL PERIOD The Classical Literature of India is almost entirely a product of artificial growth, in the sense that its vehicle was not the language of the general body of the people, but of a small and educated class. It would scarcely be possible, even approxi mately, to fix the time when the literary idiom ceased to be under stood by the common people. We only know that in the 3rd century B.C. there existed several dialects in different parts of northern India which differed considerably from the Sanskrit ; and Buddhist tradition states that Gautama Sakyamuni himself, in the 6th century B.C., used the local dialect of Magadha (Behar) in preaching his new doctrine. Not unlikely, indeed, popular dialects, differing perhaps but slightly from one another, may have existed as early as the time of the Vedic hymns, when the Indo-Aryans, divided into clans and tribes, occupied the Land of the Seven Rivers; but such dialects must have sprung up after the extension of the Aryan sway and language over the whole breadth of northern India. But there is no reason why, even with the existence of local dialects, the literary language should not have kept in touch with the people in India, as else where, save for the fact that from a certain time that language remained altogether stationary, allowing the vernacular dialects more and more to diverge from it. Although linguistic research had been successfully carried on in India for centuries, the actual grammatical fixation of Sanskrit seems to have taken place about contemporaneously with the first spread of Buddhism; and indeed that popular religious movement undoubtedly exercised a power ful influence on the linguistic development of India.
At Hastinapura (sixty miles from the modern Delhi) in the Bharata country Dhritarashtra, the elder of the princes, being blind, was passed over for his brother Pandu on the death of their father. On the death of Pandu, however, Dhritarashtra assumed the government, assisted by his uncle Bhishma, the Nestor of the poem. Pandu had five sons, Yudhishthira, Bhima and Arjuna, by his chief wife Kiinti, and the twins Nakula and Sahadeva by his wife Madri. From their great-grandfather Kuru both families are called Kauravas; but for distinction that name is more usually applied to the sons of Dhritarashtra, while their cousins, as the younger line, are named, after their father, Pandavas. The Pandavas were brought up at their uncle's court like his own sons. The rivalry and varying fortunes of these
two houses form the main plot of the great epic. The Pandu princes soon proved themselves greatly superior to their cousins; and Yudhishthira, the eldest of them all, was to be appointed heir-apparent. But they had to leave the country to escape the plots of their jealous cousins. In their exile Draupadi, daughter of King Drupada of Panchala, won by Arjuna in open con test, and became the wife of the five brothers. At the contest they met their cousin, nephew of their mother Kunti, the famous Yadava prince Krishna of Dvaraka, who ever afterwards re mained their faithful friend and confidential adviser. Dhrita rashtra now divided the kingdom between the two houses ; where upon the Pandavas built for themselves the city of Indraprastha (on the site of the modern Delhi). After a time of great pros perity, Yudhishthira, in a game of dice, lost everything to Duryod hana, when it was settled that the Pandavas should retire to the forest for twelve years, but should afterwards be restored to their kingdom if they succeeded in passing an additional year in disguise. During their forest-life they met with many adventures, among which may be mentioned their encounter with King Jayadratha of Chedi, who had carried off Draupadi from their hermitage. After the twelfth year has expired they leave the forest, and, assuming various disguises, take service at the court of King Virata of Matsya. Here all goes well for a time till the queen's brother Kichaka, a great warrior and commander of the royal forces, falls in love with Draupadi, and is slain by Bhima. The -Kauravas, profiting by Kichaka's death, now invade the Matsyan kingdom, when the Pandavas side with King Virata, and there ensues, on the field of Kurukshetra, during eighteen days, a series of fierce battles, ending in the annihilation of the Kaura vas ; only the Pandavas, Arjuna and his charioteer Krishna sur vived on the victorious side. Yudhishthira now at last becomes yuva-raja, and eventually king—Dhritarashtra having resigned and retired with his wife and Kunti to the forest, where they soon after perish in a conflagration. Learning also of the death of Krishna, Yudhishthira himself at last becomes tired of life and resigns his crown; and the five princes, with their faithful wife, and a dog that joins them, set out for Mount Meru, to seek ad mission to Indra's heaven. On the way one by one drops off, till Yudhishthira alone, with the dog, reaches the gate of heaven; but, the dog being refused admittance, the king declines entering without it, when the dog turns out to be no other than the god of Justice himself, having assumed that form to test Yudhishthira's constancy. But, finding neither his wife nor his brothers in heaven, and being told that they are in the nether world to expiate their sins, the king insists on sharing their fate, when this, too, proves a trial, and they are all reunited to enjoy perpetual bliss.