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Krishna and ChariotMahabharata

The Mahabharata is an amazing epic work.  It contains the heritage of the Indian civilisation, and there is no work in the western world which comes close.   Homer's Illiad is a fraction of the size and importance.  Unfortunately it's size has probably restricted its appeal to a wide audience!  I read it many years ago, and at the time compiled a chapter summary - a one line summary of each chapter.   It took me a year to read, and I loved it.  The chapter summary is provided below, in a zipped Microsoft Word document.  This makes it somewhat easier to locate information.

History says that the Mahabharata was compiled by the great sage Vyasa.   The famous Bhagavad-Gita, which is widely read in the western world, comres from Chapters XXV through XLII of Bhishma Parva (the sixth volume), a short diversion prior to the great battle.  Vyasa also wrote the Srimad Bhagavatam, which contains much of the life of Krishna - the Hare Krishna's are a good source for a copy of this work.  The other great Indian epic is the Ramayana, which was compiled by Valmiki at an earlier date than the Mahabharata.

In brief, it tells the story of the birth of 5 Pandava brothers - Yudhishthira, Arjuna (the main characters of the Bhagavad Gita), Bhima, Nakula and Sahadeva.  Krishna also plays an important part.  During a game of dice, Yudhishthira loses his kingdom and the 5 Pandavas are exiled for 12 years, and they must return in the 13th year but remain undiscovered in society or face a further 12 years exile.  They complete the sentence, and ask Duryodhana for half their kingdom back.   He refuses.  There is a huge battle and the story concludes with the lineage of the descendants of Arjuna.  Lineage, wisdom and moral counselling is imparted throughout the story.  Historians are agreed that a battle took place, but the date is not agreed - it may have been around 800 - 1100 BC, or maybe much older, say 3000 BC.   The Mahabharata was not written down until around 800 BC (about the same time as Homers Illiad?), but may have been passed down by oral tradition before then.  The work describes terrible weapons used during the battle, and flying machines.  Some people believe that nuclear weapons were used.  I recommend reading "Vimana Aircraft of Ancient India and Atlantis" by David Hatcher Childress to gain more information on this subject.

© In the Light, 17 September, 2009 , Disclaimer, Son of Suckerfish drop-downs from HTML dog