Before taking charge of the sabha made for him by the danava Maya, king Yudhisthira pays homage to ten thousand brahmans with garments, garlands and eatables. We again see how every grand event among the kshatriyas — even one involving an exchange between kshatriyas and a danava — becomes a rent-seeking opportunity for the brahmans. The epic, certainly written by the priest class, does not miss many opportunities to show the kshatriyas as making deep obeisance to the brahmans.
At any rate, the upkeep of the varna system is an attitude central to the Mahabharata, and in as much as evidences of this attitude today rightly attract criticism, the Mahabharata also cannot save itself from the same. The impulse to rewrite the epic, to alter the shlokas where the epic reinforces the caste system, stems from identifying the text as a text of its times, from seeing it as a political tool more than itihaas.
Saying that the original text needs to be criticised in places does not mean that the epic, in and of itself, has no value for our times. There is a lot of wisdom that can be drawn from it. For one, the text alludes to, and promotes, strict principles of governance and proper conduct for kings. Perhaps the best example of this is seen in Narada rishi’s visit to king Yudhisthira’s sabha, in which the sage interrupts the revelries in the court and then poses a flurry of questions to the king. Note, here, that it is Narada’s second visit to the Pandavas. In the first visit, he had advised them to establish a protocol of exclusivity with Draupadi and set up rules for punishment in case that protocol was breached.
Narada asks Yudhisthira many questions, one after the other, never waiting to get an answer to any one question. This method implies that the questions are rhetorical, their purpose not to see if Yudhisthira knows the answer but only to remind him of their relevance and complexity. Narada is giving a lecture.
Narada asks Yudhisthira if he uses “the six royal qualities to judge the seven means?”, or does he “follow the eight duties before concluding an alliance?”, or are his “six chief officers” devoted to him? The usage of numbers in Narada’s speech tells the reader that the details about royal qualities and means and duties, et cetera, have been enumerated in other texts which are available for the king to study.
Particularly interesting are the instances when Narada asks Yudhisthira about his mental health and personal habits. Eg. “Do you find happiness without making your mind suffer?” Or, “In the dead of night, do you think about what should be done and what should not?” Such questions suggest that while the ruler is expected to stay awake with the concerns of good governance, his (it’s always a ‘he’ here) mental health is clearly seen as a crucial element in the overall structure.
Narada’s questions thus provide valuable insights into the persistent issues of governance and jurisprudence.
(The writer is reading the unabridged Mahabharata)