Samkhya thoughts in the Mahabharata
by Shini M.V. | 2017 | 51,373 words
This page relates ‘Introduction to the Shantiparva� of the study of Samkhya thought and philosophy as reflected in the Shanti-Parva of the Mahabharata. Samkhya represents one of the six orthodox schools of Indian Philosophy and primarily deals with metaphysical knowledge and explains the Universe without the need to introduce God. The Mahabharata is an ancient Sanskrit epic which includes many Sankhya theories while expounding twenty-five principles.
Introduction to the ŚԳپparva
The best history since the ancient period is known as Ѳٲ The longest and perhaps the greatest epic poem in any language is admitted as the Ѳٲ, as it gives a whole picture of the contemporary society, Literature and the Culture of India. It is clearly said this Epic is like an ocean which carries out all types of compositions which belong as part of all types of knowledge. In fact Ѳٲ is a beautiful poetic work. The epic is divided in to eighteen major cantos, namely Parvas, each with a title approximately relating to its content. Each Parva is sub divided into chapters made up of verses composed in various metres; usually in the Śloka form. The Ѳٲ is a huge monument of Hindu literature. The ŚԳپparva is the twelfth and longest Parva of the Epic Ѳٲ It comprises of numerous didactic treatises covering a range of religious and philosophical views. The Ѳٲ is set in consequence of ܰܰṣeٰ war.
ŚԳپ-parva consists of three sub parvans.
It consists of 365 chapters and contains about 14,732 ślokas. It opens with the victorious ۳ܻṣṭ weeping over suffering. He has caused and wished to give up the kingdom, he has won to take up the life of an ascetic. On the proper duty of a king there follows a lengthy controversy, where the fallen īṣm gives more detailed instructions on this subject, everybody returns to battlefield. This section is known as the Ჹ. īṣm then presents the Ѵǰṣadharma, teachings on the subject of salvation in the form of various loosely connected treatises based mainly on the ideas of ṃkⲹ and Yoga. The Parvan concludes with an exposition on devotion to the Deity ⲹṇa known as the ⲹṇīy Parvan. The ŚԳپparva apart from the final instructions about code of conduct, dharma and good control given by īṣm to his victorious nephew and future king, ۳ܻṣṭ from his deathbed.
The first sub parvan of the ŚԳپparva is Rājadharmānuśāsana parva. It contains of 130 chapters i.e 4716 Slokas. The Ჹ is Dharma of the kings. Such a comprehensive coverage of Dharma is achieved through a long dialogue between īṣm and ۳ܻṣṭ. The sages such as ղ, 岹, Devala, Kanva and others went to meet ۳ܻṣṭ, who was extremely painful due to the loss of his brothers and relatives in the war of ܰܰṣeٰ. All those sages appeased the depressed king.
Ā貹貹 comprises of forty-three chapters that start from 131st chapter to 173rd chapter and it has 1649 number of slokas. The word Āpaddharma takes the meaning of dharma which rises at the time of calamity. The Ѳٲ states that dharma may sometimes be adharma. Dharma is the protection of life. This does not mean blind belief and attachment to the oaths. Lies must be depended for saving human lives at times. The complex human life cannot be tied and directed to a straight line or enclosed in a compartment. Some parts of human life may have grey areas which are very difficult to cope with. The values are just like human life which is also complicated, that is sometimes it is difficult to understand what is right or wrong. The values or Dharma is the one which is the guide of human life. An apt word or synonym in English for the Sanskrit word Dharma, Still the term Dharma can be explained as a set of values which is a determiner of human values. A strict code of Dharma cannot be set, as human minds differ according to the situations and people. The ŚԳپ-parva of Ѳٲ discusses at large on dharma and adharma. This is so for the great rulers and warriors who were confused about the action they had to perform, that is, whether what they did was right or wrong. A detailed nature of dharma is explained in the ŚԳپparva when useful at the need of the hour.
Ѵǰṣadharma parva almost uniquely, the theism of the narratives, centred on Krishna and his concern with dharma are set beside the Śāṃkya and Yoga teachings characteristic of the Ѵǰṣa dharma. This sub-parva consists 192 chapters i.e. from 174th chapter to 365th chapter and has 7351 number of slokas in it.
Narratives in ŚԳپparva
The ŚԳپparva is a huge interpolation in the Ѳٲ in the literary species known as 'wisdom literature.' The narrative progression is placed on hold almost from the first page. Instead one gets a long and winding recapitulation of brāhmaṇik lore, including weighty treatises on topics such as kingcraft, metaphysics, cosmology, geography, and mythology. There are discussions of the ṃkⲹ and Yoga philosophical schools, and mention of Buddhism. It is apparent that the ŚԳپparva was added to the Ѳٲ at a later time than the main body of the epic.