Mahabharat is one great epic, that was probably written 5000 years ago. Ever since, it's birth, it has undergone several modifications and transitions. Many things have been interpolated into it, many things have been altered. Today, after 5000 years, it stands as a long, modified, poem, hiding within its bosom, thousands of ancient secrets and puzzles, most of which will never be solved.
Yet, this enigmatic nature has also given way to various arguments, debates, controversies, which have been going on, for some centuries or more now, without arriving at any conclusion.
Who was the greater warrior? Karna or Arjun.
Who was Arjun's most favourite wife?
Did the Pandavas, Draupadi, Kauravas really exist, or are they simply creations of Ved Vyas?
Was Lord Krishna a strategist or God Incarnate?
Was Duryodhan really that bad?
Were the Panadavs, Draupadi and Karna really children of Gods?
Did the war really take place?
Was Abhimanyu really 16 years old?
There are many, many more questions, which are yet to be answered.
Well, the first question is probably the most explosive topic, about Mahabharat, and many , many debates have been fought on this issue. Yet this remains unresolved.
Or, may be that's what Ved Vyas wanted too.
Ved Vyas, being the genius, that he was, had cleverly balanced the victories and defeats of these two heroes...So, that no one can ever find out for sure, who was the greater one, or so is my understanding.
We, may argue, with as much force, as we want, trying to prove that our favourite is the better one, yet we will never get clarity. This debate will go on for an eternity, yet we will never know the truth.
So, I guess, it is easier as well as politically correct, to accept that both were great in their own ways. Equally.
For the last couple of decades, or centuries for that matter, many scholars have evolved, trying to solve some of these puzzles. Yet, all of these questions remain unanswered...
We take birth, grow up, learn about Mahabharat, debate on our favourite characters, and gradually perish...
And yet, these questions remain unanswered...We go on arguing, and arguing, and yet, the truth remains hidden.
And gradually with the passage of time, some more false facts, start clinging to the existing facts of the epic, and gradually become part of people's common perception of the epic...
E.g. Andha Ka Putra Andha comment...
This cycle has been going on for thousands of years now, thus covering in the process, the actual truth, under layers and layers of distortions...
Yes, it is the story of 2 sets of cousins fighting over land...
It is the story of a woman, who faced immense pain and insult, for being bold and beautiful...
It is the story of an abandoned child, fighting his way through the harshness of the society...
It is also a story of God, coming down on earth to teach humans, the greatest lessons of our life
Today, Mahabharat is at a certain stage, that it is difficult to identify, what is true, and what is not. And the distortions have blurred the story to such an extent, that all this boils down to one question:
Did Mahabhrat really happen?
We may see this whole story, in whichever way we want to...We may see the whole scenario through the eyes of whichever character we feel like...
But the secrets remain hidden, and they remain so, somewhere, between the lines...
Then what are the answers to those questions? And what is the truth?
The truth is, "We don't know the truth."
Veer Hanuman
Kumkum Bhagya
