3 - Important Texts - Epics And Puranas Flashcards
What are the two Sanskrit epics?
There are two Sanskrit epics – the Raamaayan-a and the Mahaabhaarata.
What is a related class of literature to the epics?
Puraan-as
Describe the origin of the epics and Puraan-as
They are thought to have originated from ballads and legends that were composed alongside the Vedic rituals.
This source material was part of an oral storytelling tradition.
The epics and Puraan-as, as we know them today, were not compiled into formal literature until later.
The epics and the Puraan-as are also considered to be smrrti texts.
What is the Raamaayan-a?
The Raamaayan-a, the older of the two Sanskrit epics, is the
story of the incarnation of the god Viswn-u in the Silver Age as Prince
Raama.
Outline the story of Raamaayan-a.
The story begins with King Daszaratha lamenting his lack of children and deciding to perform the horse sacrifice to win the favour of the gods.
After the horse sacrifice was completed, the king’s three wives gave birth to four sons – Raama, Bharata, and the twins Lakswman-a and SZatrughna.
In time, Raama, Daszaratha’s heir apparent, married the princess Sitaa.
However, trouble soon began after this.
One of Daszaratha’s wives, Queen Kaikeyi, persuaded Daszaratha that her son, Bharata, should become king instead of Raama and Raama should be banished to the forest.
Raama accepted this and went into exile with his wife Sitaa and brother Lakswman-a.
Shortly after his departure, King Daszaratha died of grief.
In exile, Raama, Sitaa and Lakswman-a carved out a life for themselves, although the forest was full of demons.
Lakswman-a injured the sister of the king of the demons, Raavan-a.
In revenge for injury to his sister, Raavan-a abducted Sitaa and carried her off to his city on the island of Lanmkaa.
At about the same time, Raama met the usurped monkey-king and, restoring him to his throne, he secured the whole monkey race as
allies in his campaign against Raavan-a.
Raama’s chief friend among the monkeys was Hanumaan, a monkey with special powers, who eventually tracked down Sitaa in captivity.
The great war between Raama and the demons is recounted in detail in the epic.
Also notable is Sitaa’s loyalty to the memory of Raama, in spite of Raavan-a’s threats of what would happen if she did not become his wife.
Nevertheless, when Raavan-a was finally destroyed, Sita had to undergo an ordeal by fire, so that the fire god could testify to her purity.
Amid much rejoicing, the exile was ended and Raama and Sitaa
were enthroned.
What is the Mahaabhaarata?
The Mahaabhaarata, compiled by the sage Vyaasa, is the other great Sanskrit epic.
It is a huge work containing many different characters, stories and philosophical teaching, and it is darker in tone than the Raamaayan-a.
Outline the story of Mahaabhaarata.
The main storyline deals with the conflict between the Paan-ddava brothers and their evil cousins, the Kauravas.
The eldest of the five Paan-ddava brothers, Yudhiswtthira, loses his
kingdom through a game of dice to his cousin Duryodhana.
The Paan-ddava brothers then have to go into exile in the forest where they have various adventures.
On their return from exile, Duryodhana refuses to give back the slightest part of the kingdom.
This leads to an enormous battle which the Paan-ddavas win, but which wipes out all the warriors on earth.
This battle also heralds the beginning of the Iron Age and the final
decline of the human race
Name some important characters in the Mahaabhaarata
Yudhiswtthira
Arjuna
Duryodhana
Draupadi
Krrswn-a
Kunti
Tell me about Yudhiswtthira
The eldest Paan-ddava brother.
He is the son of the god Dharma and is very wise.
Yudhiswtthira is responsible for the exile of the Paan-ddavas because of his weakness for gambling.
Tell me about Arjuna
One of the Paan-ddava brothers.
He is the most accomplished warrior in the world and a hero in the Mahaabhaarata.
Tell me about Duryodhana
The leader of the evil Kaurava brothers.
Dissatisfied and angry, Duryodhana has an inauspicious birth which leads to him being jealous of his Paan-ddava cousins.
Tell me about Draupadi
Wife of all five Paan-ddava brothers.
Tell me about Krrswn-a
The Paan-ddavas’ cousin on their mother’s side.
Krrswn-a, who is an incarnation of Viswn-u, takes the Paan-ddavas’ side during the great battle and gives spiritual advice to Arjuna in the part of the Mahaabhaarata known as the Bhagavad Gitaa.
Tell me about Kunti
The mother of the Paan-ddava brothers, Kunti was not able to have children except through a mantra (a special magic word) which summoned a god to father a child on her.
Thus, the Paan-ddavas are all half deities.
Describe the Bhagavad Gitaa
The Bhagavad Gitaa (the Song of the Lord) is one of the world’s best loved Sanskrit texts, both in the East and in the West.
Contained in chapter 6 of the Mahaabhaarata, it records a conversation between Krrswn-a and Arjuna.
This conversation takes place on a chariot between two mighty armies.
Arjuna has sunk into a depression because he does not want to fight a war against his friends and family even though it is his duty as a warrior to fight against evil.
Krrswn-a reasons with Arjuna that he should fight, for the true Self of his loved ones on the opposing side is eternal and cannot be killed.
Krrswn-a also mentions that Arjuna should pursue his duty
as a warrior with no thought of reward and with no attachment.
In the end, Arjuna is convinced by Krrswn-a’s teaching and takes up his arms to fight.
