MAHABHARATA. The name of this, the great national epic of tbe Hindus, etymo logically considered, consists of the word ((maha,* meaning °great," and Thharata,* one of the several names of a power ful Indian tribe, but has reference more to the story itself, about gthe tale of the Bharatas.* In the shape in which the Mali bhirata has come down to us it is enormous in bulk, comprising some 100,000 cloka (couplets), and as its author is cited one Vyasa. But the word "vyasa" stands for ((reviser," ((collector,' "editor," and this alone, irrespective of the fact that no description, no biographical detail of this Vyasa has existed, seems clearly to prove that the Mahabharata represents a gradual growth and gathering of poetic material finally given a collective name and figuring as an en tity. In the poem itself the number of elokas (distichs) is given at 24,000, while there is rather strong literary proof that the original core was even much smaller than that, namely, counting but 7,000 clokas. The total of the colossal remainder represents accretions and superimpositions that were at last included in the whole — many episodes, much legendary lore, lengthy and detailed ethical precepts, such as those addressed to the Kshatrias, the warrior caste, to guide their behavior to the other castes, and other material. Already in the 4th cen tury A.D. the 'Mahabharata' was popularly held in the light of a code of laws as well; it was not alone the 'Iliad) and 'Odyssey' of the Hindu people combined, which youth studied and recited and learned by heart, but also a com pendium of morals read aloud by the priests in the temples and shrines, at least fragments and selections from it. Thus we do know that the (Mahabharata) is a work of *rest antiquity; but the exact period of its birth, the whole story of its genesis, we cannot even guess. It is certain, however, that the kernel of the epic, describing the war between the Kurfis (or Bhiratas) and the Pandavas, must have ante dated the time of Kalidasa by many centuries, The archaic language shows that. This simply tale gives us as heroes Duryodhana, son of blind King Dhirtarishtra, Dr6na, Kama, calya among the Kurfis, and among the Pandavas the five sons of Pandu, Ardjuna, Judishthira, Bhima, and the Vishnuic incarnation, their wise counselor, Krishna, the ruler of Yadava, the of all ruses and deceptions) The circumstance that the five Pandava brothers have jointly but one wife, Draupadi, and the fact that the caste, marriage and inheritance customs, as exempli fied in the poem, are in strong contrast with later practices, of itself bespeaks great antiquity of this, the core of the epic. Brahmanism had not yet crystallized when it originated. At very different periods extraneous matter has been interpolated and amalgamated with this primary portion of the Mahabharata. In fact,
all that ran riot in the earlier Hindi' mind in the shape of folklore, legend and myth was, one after the other, added to the first text and gradually coalesced with it. lience, too, the enormous size of this lay as we have it now. But even as it is, the Mahabhirata is by no means a unit accepted by all. We see it sub divided in the north of India into 18 books (Parvans), sometimes including the 19th, the Harivamea; in the south it exists in 24 books, and the various chapters differ materially in sun dry versions, both in text and size. The most com prehensive and enlightening critical work in this line has been done by the Danish philologist, Sore Sorensen, in his compendium on Hindu literature (Copenhagen 1843). A careful ex amination of the whole text unavoidably betrays the mixed origin of the Mahiblarata, shows plainly the earmarks of having been worked over, revamped, added to, and that numberless scribes have probably been busy at this task for a period exceeding 10 or 12 centuries. The composite character of the poem is also shown by the different metres, contents and spirit. By some scholars, such as Hopkins and Dahl mann, the conclusion has been reached that there were earlier portions of the epic than now re main; perhaps, as Grierson holds, describing an initial struggle for the possession of northern India between the Aryan settlers and their foes. As it stands at present the poem — meaning its oldest core — is somewhat puerile, since it starts with an account of a gambling match, at which the Kurfis cheated the Pandas, robbed them of the kingdom, and exiled them for 12 years. While spending this exile in the forests and groves, tales are told to while away the dreary hours. When the exile draws to a close the Kuria are utterly routed during an 18 days' battle. This story furnishes the backbone; it is crude and in a literary sense sadly deficient, but it doubtless derives from the hoary past. The 20,000 stanzas of rules and instructions to the warrior caste are jumbled, often contradic tory. From an artistic point of view the best parts of the whole are episodes like that of Damayanti and Nila, of Savitri, etc , which have been successfully dramatized. Like all of Hindu literature, even the best, there is a palpable lack of proportion. But there are eminently strong passages, scattered here and there in the whole and showing pathos, tender ness, descriptive powers. The student may be referred to a good summary of the poem, 'Mahabharata, the Epic of Ancient India,' con densed into English verse by Romesh Dutt (London 1898) , to 'Geschichte der indischen Literatur' (Leipzig 1908), by M. Winternitz ; to 'Das Mahabharata) (Kiel 1892-95), by Adolf Holtzmann; or to the English transla tion of the original work by a Hindu scholar, Protap Chandra Roy (Calcutta 1883).