“What is here, is found elsewhere; what is not here, is nowhere”, such is the sweep of one of the greatest cultural leagcies of humanity, the Mahabharta, that Bharat cherishes and values covetly. The conference made a laudable attempt to revisit it
Ajay Bhardwaj
When did the Mahabharata war take place? Where is the kingdom of Panchala, as mentioned in the epic, located? Which cities of that era still exist?
The prodigious epic, Mahabharata, came in for an intensive churning at the three-day International conference on “Mahabharata Manthan: A Critical Revisit to the Tangible & Intangible Heritage” organised by The Draupadi Dream Trust at the IGNCA in New Delhi.
No other work in the Bharatiya civilisation has breathed life, and has sustained it for more than two millennia as the Mahabharata has done.
After a formal inauguration by Union Minister of State for Culture Mahesh Sharma, the conference kicked off with an exhibition, “A Journey to Dwapar Era”, which set the theme displaying inscriptions, art work, books and maps that showcased the heritage associated with the epic. The exhibition talked about cities like Panchala, Kashi, Koshambi, Kuru and Sursena which find frequent mention in the epic. Accordingly, Sursena would cover the entire expanse between the present day Mathura and Dwarka, whereas Panchala is said to be comprising modern-day Kampilya and Ahichhetra. On display was also a work by noted artist Raja Ravi Varma, showcasing Krishna as a master strategist.
Noted archaeologist Prof BB Lal, in his keynote address, said there was adequate archaeological evidence to establish the historical testimony of Mahabharata. He said most of the sites like Panchala, Hastinapura, Ahichhatra, Kampilya , located in the upper Ganga valley, provide evidence of the material culture of the Mahabharta times.
Former Additional Director General of ASI BR Mani built his argument by establishing Mahabharata chronology on the basis of Ceramic cultures. Accordingly, he tried to date Mahabharata on the basis of PGW dates 1100-900 BC. Also, corroborated with the Aihole inscription of Pulkesin II to date the Mahabharata.He said there seemed to be no doubt among scholars and scientists about the historicity of Mahabharata. But as was already apprehended still there is no consensus amongst scholars on the date of Mahabharata related events. The date of PGW culture which is supposed to be connected with Mahabharata times has been pushed back to the third millennium BC on the basis of new C 14 dates from a number of archaeological sites and puts a gap of about two thousand years.
Same as archaeology there is still no consensus amongst the astronomical scientists whose astronomical datings normally range between 3200 through 2450 and 17th-18th century BC to about 1400 BC. The scientific calculations should have a firm basis.
Genealogical lists as given in different Puranas also require comparison and consideration of omissions of names and thus fixing tentative chronological framework. The internal pieces of evidence could also be taken into consideration for suggesting a possible period of Mahabharata events.
More than a dozen scholars, in their respective presentations, touched on various other aspects of the epical times of Mahabharata.
D K Hari and Dr Hema Hari, in their paper, showed Krishna, not as a mythical character but a historical one. To establish that both the scholars dwelt upon literature, geography/ecology, Archaeology and Archaeo-astronomical pieces of evidence.
Dr Mohan Gupta, Based on historical, Puranic and astronomical data, tried to fix the date of Mahabharata war. He based his argument on the basis of Varahamihiri’s Brihat Samhita, drying up of river Saraswati and the position of various Nakshatras as mentioned in various hymns of Mahabharata; as well as on the basis of the date of death of Bhishma.
Dr Nalini Rao tried to show the
historicity of Mahabharata with special reference to Dwarka. She also highlighted the problem of interpretation due to the nature of the site which is submerged and very difficult on the part of an
archaeologist to work upon. She argues that collaborative investigation should be made to arrive at a logical conclusion.
Dr BVK Shastri laid emphasis on the morality and Dharma aspect of the epic and opined that Mahabharata is a Dharamasashtra.
In the Session on Astronomical Dating, the scholars emphasised on the use of astronomical references to
determine the date of Mahabharata and highlighted the use of astronomical software to arrive at a conclusion by fast calculation of the position of planets and stars. They discussed the astronomical events in terms of phenomena, cycle and average period. He also discussed the nakshatra circle in great detail with beautiful flowchart and illustrations.
Dr Keonaard Elst’s paper on foreigners in Indian chronology vis-a-vis Mahabharata traces that before Alexander the Great’s invasion of India, there were foreigners in India. He also traced two Akkadian words in Rig Veda- Pana or Unity of Money and Bekanata (Money lender) and later foreigners were maded as Yavanas or Yonas or Greeks and Circas means Chinese. He also discussed Orientalists perception of Mahabharata and how they were extremely sceptical about past events. He ended up his discussion with a compassion between Ramayana and Ilias.
Praful Garodia and Jaganniwas Iyer have discussed the genesis of Krishna Rajya Means a state run by strategic genius like Krishna. While Rama Rajya is considered as an ideal state, Krishna Rajya concept can politically the
different stated of India. They advocate that India required an indigenous political system as Europe and America’s history have different roots.
The participants noted with regret that the NCERT text books continue to incorporate many incorrect facts about ancient Indian history and culture. They were strongly of the view that a Committee of competent historians and archaeologists be appointed by Government of India to review these books and recommend suitable amendments. The participants wanted younger generation to be exposed to the Mahabharata heritage through curricular reforms and co-curricular activities. A Mahabharata Parikrama on identified sites mentioned in the epic, via tourist circuit for students and
general public, like An Arjuna vanavasa circuit, a Pandava vanavasa circuit and a Balarama Tirthayatra circuit etc.
It is recommended that a great memorial monument dedicated to the deties and heroes of the Mahabharata, be built at a central location in India’s Indraprastha the ancient capital and be called JAYA. It should be envisioned as a national cultural shrine at the capital of India, as per the lines of the monumental statues erected in great cities of South-East Asia which are inspired by and celebrate the Indic epics.
The conference also recommended setting up a Corpus for Establishing Mahabharata Shodh Sansthan, at Purana Qila, Indraprastha, and Mapping and Digitisation of all Manuscripts of Mahabharata under one roof. n
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