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| Manuscript illustration of the Battle of Kurukshetra©Wikipedia.org |
Last year I convinced my parents to buy a copy of Valmiki
Ramayana for a detailed Perusal on the life of Shri Ramchandra and his amazing
journey which ended with an unforgettable battle between good and evil.
After few days I asked my grandmother
“Ma, can I buy a copy of Mahabharata in future?”
She replied “Son, keeping Mahabharata at home will invite
bad Omen which is not good for the family”.
As you can see my Grandmother objected my decision to buy a
copy of Mahabharata in future. The same reaction was also displayed by my
mother and my aunt. These series of similar reactions intrigued me because
Mahabharata is an epic that shares essential knowledge regarding the
fundamental flaws a human possess, the teachings of God and most importantly
the sheer courage of multiple warriors present in the epic. How can a beautiful
epic like Mahabharat is predominantly perceived as a book that invites Bad
omen? Such allegations against the epic can’t be an easy thing to digest.
“Bharatam Bhavana Yasya tasya
Hasta gato Jayah”
TRANSLATION: In whichever home the Mahabharata
Grantha (Book) is present victory is in the hands of the house owner.
The above-mentioned verse is present in the last (6th
volume) of Mahabharata. This is present in page 6595 and shloka number 89.
One can clearly conclude by reading the above-mentioned
verse that the Hindu society is badly affected by superstitious statements and
rituals which have no sense. In previous articles I had mentioned about how
superstition differs from the core Sanatan Values and we have to recognize the
difference between them.
The allegation against Mahabharata is a primitive mythical
statement that passed on generations to generations and still act as an
existing legend in the Hindu Society of India.
Allow me to share varying opinions of different persons
regarding this “mythical” statement associated with Mahabharata which I
acquired from multiple social platforms.
NOTE: Most of the opinions are procured from multiple
Quora users. I will be compiling varying answers in more than one paragraphs.
Let’s talk about the pragmatic reason put forth regarding
the “prohibition” to keep Mahabharata at home.
Mahabharata as an epic contains a detailed description associated
with multiple characters, their personal conflicts and suitable reasons behind
their decisions in the entire epic. Due to this reason most of the characters
in Mahabharata are under a grey shadow (not so good not so bad) which has the
possibility to attract unnecessary discourse among family members. Karna vs
Arjun debate is one of the few and dominant topics for a decent discourse among
the group of intellectuals. So, there is a possibility that Hindus cease to
keep Mahabharata at their home for the sake of avoiding any sort of verbal
arguments or discourse among family members. Though its just an assumption and
can’t be confirmed because the origin of this hearsay is still unknown.
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| Mahabharata book translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguly |
However, there are many Hindus who still possess a copy of
Mahabharata at home and consider this prohibitory statement as a primitive scuttlebutt
which was passed on generation to generations. Those who actually read
Mahabharata hails it as one of the finest works of Indian as well as Hindu
Literature. For them it’s a sacred book that gives you the utmost freedom to
differentiate between the right and wrong which will help us to survive in
practical life.
It inspires you to take proper decisions while dealing with
multiple problems. It allows you to give a pristine differentiation between
Dharma and Adharma.
Some of the Hindus also assume that the ancient sages might
have advised us to read as well as properly understand Mahabharata. One can
recognize the core philosophy of this epic if he/she reads it under a spiritual
teacher (Guru).
You might be wondering why the sages gave an advice for
those who wants to read the story of the kurus? It’s because there is a
possibility that a section of people may get influenced by the unconscionable
and vile events mentioned in the epic. With the flow of time this instruction
by the sages may have transformed into a complete ‘prohibition’ on keeping this
epic at home.
NOTE: The reasons I mentioned above are couple of
speculations that are given with respect to the common allegation against the
sacred book of Mahabharata.
I would like to conclude by saying that the works of
literature are meant to be read by the masses. Believing in such type of rumors
will drive you away from learning incorruptible lessons. It will make you feel
unknown to a particular idea that the book portrays. The same happened in the
case of Mahabharata as the rumor circulated around it turned into a fact and a
large proportion of people became unfamiliar with the concept of Dharma and
Adharma immaculately portrayed in the ancient epic of Mahabharata.
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