Dating Rāmāyaṇa And Māhābhārata English Translation of the Original Work ‘Kāla Mīmāṃsā’

Authored By His Holiness Dharma-Samrāṭ Śrī Svāmī Karapātrī Jī Mahārāja

(Translated By: Ankur Nagpal, Delhi)

Some Western scholars and a few Indian scholars (influenced by the Western view) suppose that

Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, Arjuna along with the other characters of the Mahābhārata are fictitious rather than they are

legendary ones and they still consider that the war of Mahābhārata is a clash of optimistic and pessimistic

thoughts of the mind or a combat of justice and injustice. They make an effort to conclude that the Mahābhārata is

not a historical account, but they don’t have any facts to support their suppositions. Hereby, we are presenting

some facts, which prove the historicity of Mahābhārata.

THE EVIDENCES TO PROVE THE HISTORICITY OF MAHĀBHĀRATA

Remembering those characters in the Prātaḥ Smaraṇa (i.e. the prayers conducted in dawn) everyday itself

proves their historicity.

dharmo vivardhati yudhiṣṭhirakīrtanena pāpaṃ praṇaśyati vṛkodarakīrtanena

śatrurvinaśyati dhanañjayakīrtanena mādrīsutau kathayatāṃ na bhavanti rogāḥ

(Vide Pāṇḍava Gītā 02)

If these characters were fictitious, then why the later authors and writers remembered them in their

respective works? Following are those authors, who considered these characters in their respective works:

Māgha (A Sanskrit Poet) wrote his book ‘Śiśupāla Vadha’ on the basis of the accounts of Rājasūya Yajña

of King Yudhiṣṭhira.

Vallabhadeva, the commentator of the above-said work (977 Saṃvat), concludes in his commentary that

the Mahābhārata has 1,25,000 verses - ‘sapādalakṣaṃ śrīmahābhāratam’ (Vide Commentary of Śiśupāla

Vadha 02/38). An edition of the Mahābhārata having 1,25,000 verses was also published from Vāvali Press,

Madras-1. Rājaśekhara (957 Saṃvat) also called the Mahābhārata as ‘Śatasāhasrī Saṃhitā’ in his work ‘Kāvya

Mīmāṃsā’ (vide Chapter 3).

Ācārya Ānandavardhana (in the 8th century by King Vikramāditya) had discussed the conversation of

Gṛdhra and Gomāyu (found in 152nd

chapter of Śānti Parva, Mahābhārata) in his work ‘Dhvanyāloka’. He also

claimed that the very first chapter of the Ādiparva (i.e. the Anukrāmaṇikā Parva) and the ‘Harivaṃśa Purāṇa’ to

be a part of the Mahābhārata -

nanu mahābhārate yāvānapi vivakṣāviṣayaḥ so'nukramaṇyāṃ sarva evānukrāntaḥ ... mahābhāratāvasāne

harivaṃśavarṇane samāptiṃ vidadhatā tenaiva kavivedhasā kṛṣṇadvaipāyanena samyak sphuṭikṛtaḥ

(Vide Dhvanyāloka 04, Udyota Kārikā 05)

Ācārya Skandasvāmī (687 Saṃvat) - a native of Vallabhi (Andhra Pradesh) and commentator of the

ṛgveda - had cited several accounts of Mahābhārata in his commentary. For an illustration,

bhārate tu ṛṣayaḥ śāpāt sarasvatīṃ mocayāmāsurityākhyānam

(Vide Skandasvāmī‘s commentary of ṛgveda 01/112/09)

This account is found in the 44th chapter of Śalya Parva of Mahābhārata. Ācārya Danḍī, a Sanskrit poet of

the 7th century, memorized the epic Mahābhārata and his author Sage Veda-Vyāsa in his text ‘Avantisundarī’ -

martyayatneṣu caitanyaṃ mahābhāratavidyayā

arpayāmāsa tatpūrvaṃ yastasmai munaye namaḥ

(vide Avantisundarī 03)

In his renowned texts - ‘Kādambarī’ and ‘Harṣacarita’, Bāṇa (a Sanskrit poet preceding to Danḍī) had

also conferred the accounts of Mahābhārata by various means.