Adi Parva

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Adi Parva (or the Book of the Beginning) is the first of eighteen books of theMahabharata.[1] Adi
( ) is a Sanskrit word that means first.[2]
Adi Parva has 19 sub-books and 236 adhyayas (chapters).[3] The critical edition of Adi Parva has 19 subbooks and 225 chapters.[4]
Adi Parva describes how the epic came to be recited by Ugrasrava Sauti to the assembled rishis at
the Naimisha Forest after first having been narrated at thesarpasatra of Janamejaya by Vaishampayana
at Taxila. It includes an outline of contents from the eighteen books, along with the book's significance. The
history of the Bhratas and the Bhrigus are described. The main part of the work covers the birth and early
life of the princes of the Kuru Kingdom and the persecution of thePandavas by Dhritarashtra.
Contents [hide]
1 Structure and chapters
2 English translations
3 Controversies
4 Quotations and teachings
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Structure and chapters

[edit]

The Adi Parva consists of 19 upa-parvas or sub-books (also

referred to as little books[5]). Each sub-book is also called a parva,
and is further subdivided into chapters, for a total of 236 chapters
in Adi Parva. The names of 19 sub-books of Adi Parva, along with a
brief of each sub-book:[1][3][6]
1. Anukramanika Parva
Sauti meets Rishis in a forest. They express a desire to
hearMahabharata. The parva describes the significance
of Mahabharata, claims comprehensive synthesis of all
human knowledge, and why it must be studied.
2. Sangraha Parva
Outline of contents of 18 books ofMahabharata.
3. Paushya Parva
Stories about Janamejaya, Aruni, Upamanyu, Utanka,
Paushya and sage Dhaumya.

Bharata, the son of Sakuntala, after

her love marriage with
Dushmanta.[3]Their courtship and love

4. Pauloma Parva
History of Bhargava race of men and Ruru. Story of Pauloma
and Chyavana.

affair is described in Adi Parva's

chapters in Sambhava Upa-Parva; as
is the story of birth and childhood of
Bharata. Above painting by Raja Ravi
Varma.

5. Astika Parva
Mahabharata'
s version of churning of ocean to create the
world. Theories on dharma, bondage and release. Story about snakes, Janamejya's vow to kill all
snakes, step to annihilate them with a sacrificial fire, decision to apply Ahimsa(non-violence) to
snakes and all life forms. Story of birth of Astika.
6. Adivansavatarana Parva
History of Pandava and Kuru princes. Story of Satyavati, Karna, Vasudeva and Animandavya.
Appeal to Brahma that gods should reincarnate to save the chaos that earth has become.
7. Sambhava Parva
Theory of life on earth and gods. Story of Drona, Krona and other sages. The romance of
Dushyanta and Sakuntala, their love marriage, birth of Bharata. Sakuntala goes to Dushyanta with
the boy, he first refuses to remember her and their marriage, later apologizes and accepts. Bharata
becomes prince. Stories of Devyani, Puru, Yadu and the Paurava race of men. The Pandava
brothers retreat into the forest, their persecution by Dhritarastra. The story about
the Swayamvara of Kunti. Marriage of Madri, Vidura. Attempts to reconcile the conflict between
Kauravas and Pandavas.
8. Jatugriha-daha Parva[1]
Kanika's counsel to Dhritarastra on how to rule a kingdom, how deception is an effective tool for
governance and war, against enemies and potential competition; Kanika's symbolic tale about jackal,
tiger, mouse, mongoose and deer; his advice that a weak ruler should ignore his own weaknesses
and focus on other people's weakness, pretend to be friends while being cruel and destructive to
others, particularly when the competition is good and stronger. Dhritarastra schemes to build a
home for Pandavas in the forest, from lac and other inflammable materials, as a friendly gesture, but
with plans to burn them alive on the darkest night. Kanika's theory is called wicked and evil by
Vidura, a sage of true knowledge and the good, who is also the advisor and friend to Pandavas.
Vidura and Pandavas plan escape by building a tunnel inside the inflammable house. The fire, then
escape of Pandavas. Dhritarastra falsely believes Pandavas are dead.
9. Hidimva-vadha Parva[3]
After escape from fire, the wanderings of Pandava brothers. Story of Bhima and the she-Rakshasha
Hidimba. She falls in love with Bhima, and refuses to help her brother. The battle between Bhima
and Hidimba's demon brother, showing the enormous strength of the giant brother Bhima. Bhima
and Hidimba have a son named Ghatotkacha.
10. Vaka-vadha Parva
The life of Pandavas brothers in Ekachakra. Story about Bhima slaying another demon Vaka, who
has been terrorizing people of Ekachakra. Heroine of Mahabharata, Draupadi, is born in holy fire.

Words spread that Pandavas may be alive.

11. Chaitraratha Parva
Pandavas set out for Panchala. Story of Tapati, Vashistha
and Vishwamitra. Dehumanization and persecution of Bhrigu
race of men.
12. Swayamvara Parva[7]
Pandavas arrive in Panchala. Draupadi's swayamvara,
Pandavas arrive in disguise, Arjuna and Bhima excel, win
Draupadi's heart and hand, her marriage to Pandava
brothers. Krishna introduced, recognizes the individuals in
disguise are Pandava brothers.
13. Vaivahika Parva
Drupada delights at discovering Pandavas are alive.
Nuptials and marriage.
14. Viduragamana Parva
Vidura's attempt to reconcile the evil Kaurava brothers and
the good Pandava brothers. Various speeches by Karna,

Adi Parva describes the escape of

virtuous Pandavas from the flammable
home built by and set ablaze by evil
king Dhritarastra. Bhima, the giant
brother, carries his youngest brothers
through smoke.

Bhisma, Drona and Vidura.

15. Rajya-labha Parva
Return of Pandavas to Hastinapur, with blessings of Krishna. Reconstruction of the city. Story about
Sanda, Upasanda and Narada.
16. Arjuna-vanavasa Parva[6]
Arjuna violates dharma. He accepts voluntary exile. Arjuna marries Ulupi, rescues Apsaras. Story
highlights his special powers and competence. Arjuna and Krishna become close friends. Arjuna
goes to Dwarka, lives with Krishna.
17. Subhadra-harana Parva[3]
Arjuna falls for and takes away Subhadra, Krishna's sister. Upset Vrishnis prepare war with Arjuna,
but finally desist.
18. Harana-harika Parva
Arjuna returns from exile, with Shubhadra. They marry. Their son Abhimanyu is born. Story about
five sons of Draupadi.
19. Khandava-daha Parva
The rule of Yudhisthira - theory and role of effective kings. Story of Varuna, Agni and Indra. The
fight of Krishna (called Achyuta) and Arjuna with celestials, show of their combined abilities and
victory.

English translations

[edit]

Adi Parva and other books of Mahabharata are written in Sanskrit. Several translations of the Adi Parva are
available in English. Two translations whose copyrights have expired, and which are in public domain,
include those by Kisari Mohan Ganguli[6] and Manmatha Nath Dutt.[3]
The translations are not consistent in parts, and vary with each
translator's interpretations. For example:

||||

||||

||||

||||

Adi Parva describes Mahbhrata

as being recited before sages because
its scope includes all knowledge
known.

||||

||||

||||

||||
Anukramanika Parva, Adi Parva,Mahabharata Book
i.1[8][9]

Translation by Manmatha Nath Dutt:

The wisdom of this work, like the stick used for applying collyrium,
has opened the eyes of the world which were covered by the darkness of ignorance.
As the sun drives away the darkness, so does this Bharata,
by its discourses on Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, drive the ignorance of men.
As the full moon with its mild light opens the buds of the water-lily,
so does this with the light of Sruti expand the human intellect.
The whole house of the womb of nature is properly and completely lighted by the
lamp of history which destroys the darkness of ignorance.
This work is a tree, the chapter of contents is its seed, the divisions Paulama and Astika are its
roots, the Sambhava is its trunk,
the books (Parva) Sava and Aranya are the roosting perches, Arani is the knitting knot.
Virata and Udyoga the pith, Bhisma the main branch, Drona the leaves, Karna its beautiful
flowers,
Sailya their fragrance, Stri and Aishika are its cooling shades, Shanti its great fruit.
Ashwamadha is its immortal sap, Asramavasika the place where it grows, and Mausula is the

epitome of the Vedas.

This tree will be highly respected by all virtuous Brahmans. This tree of Bharata will be as
inexhaustible as the clouds and be the means of livelihood of many illustrious poets.
Sauti continued: I shall speak to you about the ever lasting, fruitful and flowery productions of
this tree. They are of pleasant and pure taste, and they are to be tasted even by
immortals.
Anukramanika Parva, Translated by Manmatha Nath Dutt, Adi Parva, Mahabharata Book
i.1[3]
Translation by Kisari Mohan Ganguli:
The wisdom of this work, like unto an instrument of applying collyrium, hath opened the eyes of
the inquisitive world blinded by the darkness of ignorance. As the sun dispelleth the darkness,
so doth the Bharata by its discourses on religion, profit, pleasure and final release, dispel
the ignorance of men. As the full-moon by its mild light expandeth the buds of the water-lily, so
this Purana, by exposing the light of the Sruti hath expanded the human intellect. By the lamp
of history, which destroyeth the darkness of ignorance, the whole mansion of nature
is properly and completely illuminated.
This work is a tree, of which the chapter of contents is the seed; the divisions called Pauloma
and Astika are the root; the part called Sambhava is the trunk; the books called Sabha and
Aranya are the roosting perches; the books called Arani is the knitting knots; the books called
Virata and Udyoga the pith; the book named Bhishma, the main branch; the book called Drona,
the leaves; the book called Karna, the fair flowers; the book named Salya, their sweet smell;
the books entitled Stri and Aishika, the refreshing shade; the book called Santi, the mighty
fruit; the book called Aswamedha, the immortal sap; the denominated Asramavasika, the spot
where it groweth; and the book called Mausala, is an epitome of the Vedas and held in great
respect by the virtuous Brahmanas. The tree of the Bharata, inexhaustible to mankind as the
clouds, shall be as a source of livelihood to all distinguished poets."
Sauti continued, 'I will now speak of the undying flowery and fruitful productions of this tree,
possessed of pure and pleasant taste, and not to be destroyed even by the immortals."
Anukramanika Parva, Translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, Adi
Parva, Mahabharata Book i.1[6]
The total number of original verses depend on which Sanskrit source is used, and these do not equal the
total number of translated verses in each chapter, in both Ganguli and Dutt translations. Mahabharata, like
many ancient Sanskrit texts, was transmitted across generations verbally, a practice that was a source of
corruption of its text, deletion of verses, as well as the addition of extraneous verses over time.[10]Some of
these suspect verses have been identified by change in style and integrity of meter in the verses.[1][11] The
structure, prose, meter and style of translations vary within chapters between the translating authors.[3][6]
Debroy, in his 2011 overview of Mahabharata, notes that updated critical edition of Adi Parva, with spurious
and corrupted text removed, has 19 sub-books, 225 adhyayas (chapters) and 7,205 shlokas (verses).[4]

Controversies

[edit]

Adi Parva, and Mahabharata in general, has been studied for evidence of caste-based social stratification
in ancient India, as well as evidence for a host of theories about Vedic times in India.[5][12] Such studies
have become controversial.
First, the date and authenticity of the verses in Adi Parva, as well as the entireMahabharata, has been
questioned.[13][14][15] Klaus Klostermaier, in his review[16] of scholarly studies of Mahabharata, notes the
widely held view that originalMahabharata was different from currently circulating versions. For centuries,
theMahabharata'
s 100,000 versesfour times the entire Bible, and nine times the Iliadand
the Odyssey combinedwere transmitted verbally across generations, without being written down.[5] This
memorization and verbal method of transfer is believed to be a source of text corruption, addition and
deletion of verses. Klostermaier notes that the original version of Mahabharata was called Jaya and had
about 7000 shlokas, or about 7% of current length. Adi Parva, and rest of Mahabharata, underwent at least
two major changes - the first change tripled the size of Jaya epic and renamed it as Bharata, while the
second change quadrupled the already expanded version. Significant changes to older editions have been
traced to the first millennium AD.[1][16] There are significant differences in Sanskrit manuscripts of
theMahabharata found in different parts of India, and manuscripts of the Mahabharatafound in other Indian
languages such as Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and others. Numerous spurious additions, interpolations and
conflicting verses have been identified, many relating to history and social structure.[15] Thus, it is unclear if
the history or social structure of Vedic period or ancient India can be reliably traced from Adi Parva
or Mahabharata.
Second, Adi Parva is part of an Epic fiction. Writers, including those such as Shakespeare or Homer, take
liberty in developing their characters and plots, they typically represent extremes, and they do not truthfully
record extant history.[5][17] Adi Parva has verses with a story of a river fish swallowing a man's semen and
giving birth to a human baby after 9 months, and many other myths and fictional tales. Adi Parva, like the
works of Homer and Shakespeare, is not a record of history.[5][18]
Third, Adi Parva and other parvas of Mahabharata have been argued, suggests Klaus Klostermaier,[19] as
a treatise of symbolism, where each chapter has three different layers of meaning in its verses. The reader
is painted a series of pictures through words, presented opposing views to various socio-ethical and moral
questions, then left to interpret it on astikadi, manvadi and auparicara levels; in other words, as mundane
interesting fiction, or as ethical treatise, or thirdly as transcendental work that draws out the war between
the higher and the lower self within each reader.[19] To deduce history of ancient India is one of many
discursive choices for the interpreter.

Quotations and teachings

Anukramanika Parva, Chapter 1:

[edit]

The creation of universe by the

churning of the ocean - this story is told
in many ancient Indian scripts,
including the initial chapters of Adi
Parva.[3] Above picture is from
theMahab harata wall of Angkor Wat,
Cambodia depicting the Samudra
manthan story.

Time creates all things,

and time destroys them all.
Time burns all creatures,
and time again extinguishes that fire.
Anukramanika Parva, Adi Parva,Mahabharata Book i.1[20]
Tapa is not a sin,
Study is not a sin,
Ordinances of Vedas are not sins,
Acquisition of wealth by exertion is not a sin,
When they are abused, then do they become the sources of evil.
Anukramanika Parva, Adi Parva,Mahabharata Book i.1[21]
Sangraha Parva, Chapter 2:
As all the senses are dependent on the wonderful workings of the mind,
so all the acts and moral qualities depend on this treatise (Mahabharata).
Sangraha Parva, Adi Parva, Mahabharata Book i.2[22]
Paushya Parva, Chapter 3:
You are the infinite, you are the course of Nature and intelligent soul that pervades all,
I desire to obtain you through knowledge, derived from hearing and meditation.
Paushya Parva, Adi Parva, Mahabharata Book i.3[23]
Adivansabatarana Parva, Chapter 62:

This (Mahabharata) is equal to the Vedas, it is holy and excellent,

it is the worthiest of all that should be listened to. It is a Purana, adored by the Rishis,
It contains many useful instructions on Artha and Kama. This sacred history makes the heart
desire to attain salvation.
Adivansabatarana Parva, Adi Parva, Mahabharata Book i.62[24]
Sambhava Parva, Chapter 73:
Dushmanta said to Sakuntala: Marry me according to
the Gandharva form, for this form of marriage is said to be
the best.
Sakuntala: O king, my father has gone from the hermitage to
collect fruits. Kindly wait for a moment. He will bestow me
upon you.
Dushmanta: O beautiful lady, O faultless beauty, I desire you
yourself should accept me,
Know that I exist for you. Know also, my heart is completely in
you,
One is certainly one's own friend, one can certainly depend
on one's own self,
Therefore, according to the ordinance (scriptures), you
yourself should bestow your own self on others.
Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva,Mahabharata Book i.73[25]
Sambhava Parva, Chapter 74:
No man, even in anger, should ever do anything that is

The life of Sakuntala with friends are

described in chapters of Sambhava
Parva in Adi Parva.[3]

disagreeable to his wife;

for happiness, joy, virtue and everything depend on the wife.
Wife is the sacred soil in which the husband is born again,
even the Rishis cannot create men without women.
What is a greater happiness to a father than what the father
feels when his son,
running to him, clasps him with his tiny little arms, though his
body is full of dust and dirt.
Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, Mahabharata Book i.74[26]
Sambhava Parva, Chapter 79:
He who subdues his anger, he who does not regard the bad word of others,
he who is not angry even when there is a cause, certainly acquires the four objects for which
we live (namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha).

Between the two men, one performing sacrifices continually every month for one hundred
years and one who does not feel any anger,
the man who does not feel any anger is the greater man.
Boys and girls, who are incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong,
quarrel among one another; the wise never imitate them.
Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, Mahabharata Book i.79[27]
Sambhava Parva, Chapter 133:
Drupada said to Drona: Friendship never remains in the world in anyone's heart without being
worn out,
Time wears it out, anger destroys it.
The poor cannot be the friend of the rich, the unlearned cannot be the friend of the learned,
the coward cannot be the friend of the brave, how then do you desire the continuance of our
old friendship?
Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, Mahabharata Book i.133[28]
Viduragamana Parva, Chapter 206:
Drona said to Dhritarastra: Friends summoned for consultation should always speak what is
right, true.
Viduragamana Parva, Adi Parva, Mahabharata Book i.206[29]

See also

[edit]

Next book of Mahabharata: Sabha Parva

References
1. ^ a

bc de

[edit]

J. A. B. van Buitenen (Editor), The Mahbhrata, Volume 1, BOOK 1: THE BOOK OF THE

BEGINNING, ISBN 978-0226846637

2. ^ Adi
3. ^ a
4.

Sanskrit English Dictionary, Koeln, Germany (2009)

bc de fghi j

^a b

Adi Parva Mahabharata, Translated by Manmatha Nath Dutt (1894)

Bibek Debroy, The Mahabharata : Volume 3, ISBN 978-0143100157, Penguin Books, page xxiii - xxiv of

Introduction
5. ^ a

bc de

Alf Hiltebeitel, (2001) Rethinking the Mahabharata: A Reader's Guide to the Education of the

Dharma King, ISBN 0-226-34054-6, University of Chicago Press, see Chapter 1, Introduction
6. ^ a

bc de

Adi Parva Mahabharata, Translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, Published by P.C. Roy (1884)

7. ^ Monier Williams (1868), Indian Epic Poetry

, University of Oxford, Williams & Norgate - London, page 22-

23
8. ^ Mahabharata in Sanskrit

Sacred Texts website

9. ^ Mahabharat in Unicode and Various Languages

Archive of E-Texts, Universittsbibliothek Gttingen,

Germany
10. ^ Bharadvaja Sarma (2008), Vyasa's Mahabharatam, ISBN 978-81-89781-68-2, Academic Publishers, page
10-12

10-12
11. ^ Paul Deussen (1906), Vier philosophische Texte des Mahabharatam, Leipzig, F. A. Brockhaus
12. ^ Oldham, C. F. (1891), Serpent-Worship in India, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and
Ireland, pp 361-392
13. ^ E. Washburn Hopkins, Epic Chronology, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 24 (1903), pages 756
14. ^ V.V. Iyer (1922), Notes on a study of the preliminary chapters of The Mahabharata - An attempt to separate
genuine from spurious matter , Ramaswami Sastrulu & Sons, Madras
15. ^ a

VISHNU S. SUKTHANKAR (1933), The Mahabharata, Critically Edited Version

A history of the debate

of various conflicting versions of the Mahabharata, University of Goettingen Archives, Germany, Prologue
section
16. ^ a

Klaus Klostermaier (1994), A Survey of Hinduism, State University of New York Press, ISBN 0-7914-

2109-0, 2nd Edition, pages 82-89

17. ^ Wendy D. O'Flaherty, Other People's Myths - The Cave of Echoes, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0226-61857-9, Chapter 3 (Retelling the Mahabharata)
18. ^ S. P. Gupta and K. S. Ramachandran (1976), Mahabharata: myth and reality, Differing views, Agam
Prakashan, New Delhi; For summary of the book: Gupta and Ramachandran, in Delhi - Ancient History,
Editor: U. Singh, ISBN 81-873-58297, pages 77-118
19. ^ a

Klaus Klostermaier, A Survey of Hinduism, 3rd Edition, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0-

7914-7082-4, pages 60-62

20. ^ Adi Parva Mahabharata, Translated by Manmatha Nath Dutt (1894), page 9
21. ^ Adi Parva Mahabharata, Translated by Manmatha Nath Dutt (1894), page 10
22. ^ Adi Parva Mahabharata, Translated by Manmatha Nath Dutt (1894), page 21
23. ^ Adi Parva Mahabharata, Translated by Manmatha Nath Dutt (1894), page 24
24. ^ Adi Parva Mahabharata, Translated by Manmatha Nath Dutt (1894), page 82
25. ^ Adi Parva Mahabharata, Translated by Manmatha Nath Dutt (1894), page 105
26. ^ Adi Parva Mahabharata, Translated by Manmatha Nath Dutt (1894), page 108
27. ^ Adi Parva Mahabharata, Translated by Manmatha Nath Dutt (1894), page 119
28. ^ Adi Parva Mahabharata, Translated by Manmatha Nath Dutt (1894), page 190
29. ^ Adi Parva Mahabharata, Translated by Manmatha Nath Dutt (1894), page 277

External links

[edit]

Sanskrit classics including Mahabharata

Brown University Archives, with original, translations and

commentaries by scholars
Adi Parva Mahabharata, Translated by Manmatha Nath Dutt (1894)
English Translation

by Kisari Mohan Ganguli

English Translation

Readable, with various research tools, Translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli,

another archive
Adi Parva in Sanskrit

by Vyasadeva and commentary by Nilakantha (Editor: Kinjawadekar, 1929)

French translation of Le Mahabharata, Adi Parva, by H. Fauche (Paris, 1868)

A review of critical, less corrupted edition of Adi Parva

by Vishnu S. Sukthankar; Reviewed by Franklin

Edgerton, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 48, (1928), pages 186-190