also of the audience in their transmission, while also setting them within the
largest possible context. For the Maha ̄bha ̄rata, this means that the first 50 or so
sections of its first book are concerned with the origins of the world and then
the ancestry of the epic’s heroes. However, at some point around the middle of
their main period of growth (possibly the first century ce), each epic was com-
mitted to writing and their transmission passed into the hands of the bra ̄hmans,
the main custodians by then of traditional values. These two developments may
well be linked and have occurred simultaneously.
The basic plot of the Maha ̄bha ̄rata, which is traditionally ascribed to the sage
Vya ̄sa, “the arranger,” concerns the struggle for control of the Kuru kingdom
between two sets of cousins: the hundred sons of Dhr.tara ̄s.t.ra, usually called the
Kauravas, and the five sons of Pa ̄n.d.u, the Pa ̄n.d.avas. Both fathers have ruled in
turn, so the line of succession to the throne is by no means clear and the rights
of the situation are debatable. This leads eventually to open warfare between the
cousins, although this is preceded by various events of which the most signifi-
cant is the dicing match in which the oldest Pa ̄n.d.ava, Yudhis.t.hira, first loses
everything to the Kaurava champion and then the five brothers, along with their
wife Draupadı ̄, are exiled to the forest for 12 years, plus a further year to be spent
undetected within society. After their return and the continued refusal by
the Kauravas to reach an agreement, war becomes inevitable and, as the
actual battle is about to begin, the third Pa ̄n.d.ava brother, Arjuna, confides to his
friend Kr.s.n.a, chief of the Ya ̄davas, his qualms about fighting the opposing side
because they are his relatives. This is the setting for Kr.s.n.a’s sermon to him, the
Bhagavadgı ̄ta ̄, which has become the best known part of the whole epic. The
battle itself, over 18 days, occupies the middle part of the epic (itself comprising
18 books) and is followed by the lamentations of the women, two lengthy books
of advice to Yudhis.t.hira by the dying Bhı ̄s.ma (the senior member of the family),
and several shorter books narrating various events up to the end of the
Pa ̄n.d.avas’ lives.
Whereas the Maha ̄bha ̄rata has been regarded by several modern scholars as
an exploration of the problems involved in establishing the nature ofdharma and
in applying it in particular situations, the Ra ̄ma ̄yan.ais an affirmation of the cen-
trality ofdharma to all right endeavour. The Ra ̄ma ̄yan.aascribed to Va ̄lmı ̄ki con-
tains the story of prince Ra ̄ma and his adventures when exiled to the forest by
the machinations of his step-mother; when Kaikeyı ̄ abruptly demands his ban-
ishment, Ra ̄ma accepts his father Das ́aratha’s reluctant decree with absolute
submission and with the calm self-control which regularly characterizes him.
The narrative thus ranges from accounts of intrigue at Das ́aratha’s court in
Ayodhya ̄ to wanderings among hermits in the forest, and culminates in the great
battle for Lan.ka ̄, when Ra ̄vana, the king of the Ra ̄ks.asas, is punished for his
abduction of Ra ̄ma’s wife, Sı ̄ta ̄. In his search for Sı ̄ta ̄, Ra ̄ma is helped by the
monkey counselor, Hanuma ̄n, who becomes a much-loved figure as the story
develops, because of his devotion to Ra ̄ma. The Ra ̄ma ̄yan.athus deals with some
of the most basic themes of human existence and constitutes a powerful explo-
ration of the concept ofdharma.
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