Imagine a land with lush jungles blooming fruit, flowers, and weeds providing a cool shade from the scolding sun and calming breeze flowing from the turbulent Ganges River. The Ganges River you say? Your mind start churning like a rusted bicycle belonging to adult who long ago stop greasing the gears as he transitioned out of a child, trying to remember your countless spoonfuls of geography from K-12 you realize I am talking about northern India and henceforth this is where our epic The Mahabharata unfolds. Dating 400 B.C. to A.D. 400 this epic like many epics evolved over many hundreds of years starting from a oral tradition told over an starry night around a warm communal fire transcribed into being written down in Sanskrit, the native and most popular language in India at that time. It is one of the longest epic ever written narrated from our book stating:
“which is 8 times longer than the Iliad and Odyssey combined.” (Patterson, pg. 954)
Also with abundance of history relating not only to Hinduism but as well as the backdrop of the story which was the beautiful city of Hastinapura, located on Ganges River, gave me a topographical sense where the city was located therefore providing a connection within me and the epic. There are many topics in which I can analyze and respond about the epic but I will discuss the author Vyasa who is said to be credited for the writing and his important role in the epic also I will describe the epic The Mahabharata and how dharma and fate influences its characters throughout the story and elaborating on the dice game which eventually lead to the declaration of war between the Kauravas and Pandavas clans. Another topic is how dharma is still used to influence society today in India.
The author of The Mahabharata is credited to Krsna Dvaipayana Vyasa, who is better known as Vyasa; he also serves as a main character. His accredited title as the author of the epic is not accurate, as I found out from reading the introduction, because as it states:
“Vyasa means “compiler” or “arranger,” indicating that he was probably no more than an esteemed editor of the poems” (Patterson, pg. 954.)
In my research I kept reading that it was technically Lord Ganesha who dictated it to Vyasa using him as a means of messenger who wrote down the story told to him, where over time the text was lost and the epic became a narrative until it was written again and revised over time.
Narayan, R. K., and Kampar. (2006). The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version Of The Indian Epic (suggested by the Tamil version of Kamban). New York: Penguin Books. PDF e-book.
Frequent allusions to the river correspond w/ Siddhartha's infinite thoughts of Unity and his initial plans to strive for it. Siddhartha has a number of specific goals during the course of this novel, but in no way does this detract from the bare nature of his ultimate goal. The accomplishment of specific goals was an important part of the progression approaching his absolute state of Unity.
There are three main characteristics that make The Epic of Gilgamesh an epic. The first be...
The author of the book is Zechariah, he whom the lord remembers. The book was written to the Jews in Jerusalem that had returned from their captivity in Babylon. The book was written in and around 520 B.C.
The Greek poet Hesiod wrote the poem Theogony circa 700 B.C., which depicted a theory to the earth’s conception. It portrays three generations of gods and how the Olympians came out victorious from the war against the Titans with Zeus as their leader. This founded the main belief system for the Ancient Greeks and was publicized through word of mouth. This polytheistic understanding to creation differs from that of the Old Testament. To this day, it is still unknown who authored Genesis, the first book of the Jewish Torah and the Christian Bible, but it was likely written by more than one person, particularly three writers: Jehovist or Yahwist, Elohist, and Priestly, also known as the “Authors of Genesis.” In this interpretation, there was a
“Ramayana.” The Language of Literature Ed. Arthur N. Applebee, et al. Boston: McDougal Littell, 1983. 130-140. Print.
The Ramayana is the most famous and well-known of all Indian epics, originally based on an epic poem it has taken many variations and forms over the centuries. Traditionally the story centers on the hero Prince Rama, who is the embodiment of virtue and perseverance, as he is wrongfully denied his birthright of being crowned king and instead is unjustly exiled into the forest where he encounters his fair share of dilemma. In R. K. Narayan’s condensed, modern version of The Ramayana the classic conflict of duality is a predominant theme, as Rama faces many instances of uncertainty and trivial chaos which are eventually balanced by order and goodness under the laws of karmic causation and dharma alike which he virtuously strives to uphold. Nina
The Mauryan Empire was a very intriguing empire, with rulers of different beliefs and ways of ruling, as well as antithetical ways that the rulers gained and maintained their power. Important events occurred during this period of time that affected future generations. The Empire’s people mainly had a Buddhist religion. The people of the Mauryan Empire contributed greatly to the fields of art, and architecture. The Mauryan Empire was very important to India’s way of life.
Perhaps one of the main reasons the Epic of Gilgamesh is so popular and has lasted such a long time, is because it offers insight into the human concerns of people four thousand years ago, many of which are still relevant today. Some of these human concerns found in the book that are still applicable today include: the fear and concerns people have in relation to death, overwhelming desires to be immortal, and the impact a friendship has on a person’s life. It does not take a great deal of insight into The Epic of Gilgamesh for a person to locate these themes in the story, and even less introspection to relate to them.
No one knows who wrote Beowulf. It was not really written in the way that literature is written now. It is an epic poem, meant to be spoken aloud, very few of them were ever written down, and very few of them survived into modern times.
Narayan, R.K. The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic. New York, NY: Penguin, 1977. Print.
The epic hero’s journeys hold the hopes for future of ordinary people’s lives. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written in approximately 2000 B.C.E which is highly enriched with Ancient Mesopotamian religions, and The Ramayana was written by ancient Indians in around 1800 B.C.E. The stories were written in two different parts of the world. However, these two stories etched great evidence that show people from generation to generation that different cultures and religions are interconnected; they share ideas with each other. Both Gilgamesh and Rama traveled long journeys in these tales. These epic journeys played a role in the creation of different archetypes. We can clearly see that these two tales share similarities between these archetypes. Although
Classical Hindu Mythology. Cornelia Dimmitt and J. A. B. van Buitenen. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1978. 38-40. Print.
Himself? Although God did not put pen to paper to produce the first hard copy, the Bible
The History of the Bible informs us that it was written by approximately 40 different authors- shepherds, farmers, tent-makers, physicians, fishermen, priests, philosophers and kings; and on 3 different continents, over approximately 1600 years ago.