Epics for children: Was the Mahabharata part of a cosmic battle?
The Ramayana and the Mahabharata have been among the most popular books, of any kind, in India for ages. A major part of their appeal is that they work as human stories whose events bring out complex and competing emotions. On another plane, these stories are connected to the super-human or cosmic scale of things.
In the Mahabharata, the most important characters had a divine origin. Sri Krishna is believed to be the eighth avatar of Vishnu, part of the holy trinity of Hinduism. Some Hindu sects like the Gaudiya Vaishnavas go to the extent of calling Sri Krishna the source of Vishnu and all other avatars. Bhishma was said to be the incarnation of a Vasu, who had been cursed to be born on earth. Karna was the son of the Sun God, who gave him the divine armour and earrings that made him invincible. Yudhishthira was the son of Dharma. He modelled his entire life on Dharma and was tested by his divine father on several occasions. Bhima Sena was the son of Vayu, the god of wind. He inherited his divine father’s superhuman strength and temperamental nature. When the Pandavas were roaming in the forests, Bhima often carried his brothers and mother when they were too tired to walk. Arjuna, being the son of Indra, the king of gods, was a special favourite of his. He was allowed to visit Indra Loka and even sit on his throne. He was offered divine weapons, and helped in other ways, like by Indra taking away the divine armour and earrings of his rival Karna. The twins, Nakula and Sahadeva, inherited the handsome looks and gentle disposition of their divine fathers, the Ashvins.
If the Pandavas were incarnations of the devas, the Kauravas were of the asuras. Duryodhana was an incarnation of Kaliyuga—the most degenerate of the four yugas. No wonder, he manifested all the evil qualities associated with Kaliyuga that we see around us today. In his evil endeavours, he was supported, since childhood, by his uncle Shakuni, who was Dvapara—the second to last yuga, personified. Dhritarashtra was the incarnation of a Gandharva called Hansa. Duryodhana’s hundred brothers were incarnations of rakshasas.
By connecting their mortal characters to the immortal super-human ones, and by portraying their disputes over kingdom and riches, as part of a bigger cosmic struggle between the forces of good and evil, the epics have elevated their core struggle from mere trifling conflicts in a bygone era to the constant tug-of-war that is going on today. In the process, they have gained a timeless appeal that has held people in thrall for many generations, and is set to do so for many more.