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MAHĀBHĀRATA HISTORICITY




     Prof. B.B. Lal
by
THE PROBLEM
•   There are two extremely divergent views
    about the historicity of the Mahabharata.
•   To the faithful, everything mentioned in
    the text is true to the very letter. To some
    others, it is a mere figment of imagination.
    The reason for such a confusion lies in the
    very nature of the epic itself. Say, for
    example, if Krishna was a historical figure,
    he is unlikely to have been later than
    Buddha who lived in 6th -5th centuries BCE.
THE PROBLEM (Contd.)
•   On the other hand, parts of the text may
    be as late as the 4th Cent. CE, since it
    refers not only to the Greeks and Romans
    but also to the Huns – what an yawning
    gap between the event and the text!
•   Secondly, the Mahabharata, as available
    now, comprises over 100,000 verses, but
    earlier it consisted of 24,000 verses and
    called the Bharata. Still earlier, it had only
    8,000 verses, called the Jaya. Thus, what
    indeed is the original can’t be determined.
THE PROBLEM (Contd,)
•   Thirdly, let it not be forgotten that the
    Mahabharata was not meant to be a
    history book. It is an epic (prabandha-
    kavya) and the poet enjoyed absolute
    liberty to let his imagination fly high. Thus,
    one cannot question his use of
    superlatives while describing the palaces
    or the strength of the armies on the
    battlefield or the supernatural weapons
    used by them.
THE APPROACH
•   As an archaeologist, I thought that a way
    to ascertain the truth might be to explore
    and excavate sites associated with the
    Mahabharata story and find out what
    these have to say in the matter.
•   In this context, a very important point to
    note is that all the Mahabharata sites,
    luckily, continue to bear the same names
    even today as they did in antiquity, e.g.
    Hastinapura, Mathura, Kurukshetra, etc.
HASTINAPURA– THE KEY
             SITE
•   Way back, in 1951-52, I conducted
    excavations at the key site of Hastinapura,
    the capital of the Kauravas, located on the
    right bank of the Ganga, in Meerut Distt,
    Uttar Pradesh, some 60 miles north-east
    of Delhi.
•   The results were very startling, as we shall
    see from the slides that follow.
Claims of the PGW Culture
•   At this point, it needs to be emphasized
    that it is the Painted Grey Ware
    Culture which is the lowest common
    denominator at all the sites
    associated with the Mahabharata
    story referred to earlier and shown
    on the map. In fact, even sites
    associated with the story through
    verbal tradition have yielded remains
    of the Painted Grey Ware Culture.
Archaeology vis-à-vis the Texts
•   In the context of the archaeological evidence of
    a flood having destroyed Hastinapura, the texts
    aver:
•   Gangayapahrite tsmin nagare Nagasahavaye
•   Tyaktva Nichaksur nagaram Kausambyam sa
    nivatsyati
•   i.e. ‘When the city of Nagasahvya (Hastinapura)
    is carried away by the Ganga, Nichakshu (the
    then ruler) will abandon it and dwell in
    Kausambi.’
•   And the archaeological evidence corroborates it.
Chronological Horizon of the
        Mahabharata War
•   We now come to the most crucial issue,
    viz. the probable date of the Mahabharata
    War.
•   As mentioned in the texts, it was during
    the time of Nichkshu that the capital was
    shifted from Hastinapura to Kausambi.
•   The texts further tell us that (a) Nichakshu
    was 5th ruler in succession from Parikshit
    who ascended the throne after the War;
Chronological Horizon (contd.)
•   and (b) amongst the rulers at Kausambi
    Udayana was 19th from Nichakshu.
•   Hence Udayana was the 24th ruler after
    the War. Further, it is well known that
    Udayana was contemporary of Buddha
    who passed away in 487 BCE. Thus, in
    broad figures, Udayana may have ruled
    around 500 BCE.
•   The next question is: What was the total
    duration of the reigns of these 24 rulers?
Chronological Horizon (contd.)
•   If we round off the 13.55 years average
    per ruler to 14 years or even extend it to,
    say, 15, the date of the War would work
    out as follows:
•   24 (rulers) x 15 years (average reign per
    ruler) = 360 years.
•   If we add this number, 360, to 500 BCE,
    when Udayana was ruling, we arrive at
    the date of 860 BCE for the War.
Chronological Horizon (contd.)
•   This is not to say that the War took place
    exactly in 860 BCE. It is a figure arrived at
    from a combined evidence of archaeology
    and literature. We may further round it off
    to circa 900 BCE, but perhaps no more!
•   I would be failing in my duty if I did not
    mention dates (all in BCE) assigned by
    other scholars to the War: 1424(K.P.
    Jayaswal); 1400(A.S.Altekar); 950 (F.E.
    Pargiter); 9th cent. (H.C.Raychaudhury).
Chronological Horizon (contd.)
•   I have commented on these dates in my
    various papers and would not like to
    repeat the same here. But I would
    certainly like to say a few words about
    3102 BCE, based on a lonely inscription at
    Aihole dated to Saka year 556 i.e. 634-35
    CE. This date, however, seems to be
    supported by astronomical data in the
    Mahabharata, as interpreted by Prof.
    Narhar Acharya.
Chronological Horizon (contd.)
•   My difficulty in accepting this date is that
    around 3102 BCE (nor even for another
    1000 years to come) none of the sites
    associated with the Mahabharata story
    was in existence – be it Hastinapura or
    Indraprastha or Mathura, as established
    by the excavations at these sites. How
    can then we enact the Mahabharata story
    without these sites having been there?
    Can we?
Chronological Horizon (contd.)
•   There is yet another way of looking at the
    figure 3102 BCE. As seen earlier, there
    were 24 rulers from Parikshit, who
    ascended the throne after the War, to
    Udayana who ruled around 500 BCE. This
    gives an average of 108 years per ruler:
    3102 - 500 = 2602, divided by 24 = 108.
•   Nowhere in the entire world has there
    been such an average per ruler. Has there
    to be a special case for India ?
•   Let the learned audience think and decide!
•   Thank you very much for your patient
    hearing.
Mahabharata Historicity by Prof. B B Lal
Mahabharata Historicity by Prof. B B Lal
Mahabharata Historicity by Prof. B B Lal

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Mahabharata Historicity by Prof. B B Lal

  • 1. MAHĀBHĀRATA HISTORICITY Prof. B.B. Lal by
  • 2. THE PROBLEM • There are two extremely divergent views about the historicity of the Mahabharata. • To the faithful, everything mentioned in the text is true to the very letter. To some others, it is a mere figment of imagination. The reason for such a confusion lies in the very nature of the epic itself. Say, for example, if Krishna was a historical figure, he is unlikely to have been later than Buddha who lived in 6th -5th centuries BCE.
  • 3. THE PROBLEM (Contd.) • On the other hand, parts of the text may be as late as the 4th Cent. CE, since it refers not only to the Greeks and Romans but also to the Huns – what an yawning gap between the event and the text! • Secondly, the Mahabharata, as available now, comprises over 100,000 verses, but earlier it consisted of 24,000 verses and called the Bharata. Still earlier, it had only 8,000 verses, called the Jaya. Thus, what indeed is the original can’t be determined.
  • 4. THE PROBLEM (Contd,) • Thirdly, let it not be forgotten that the Mahabharata was not meant to be a history book. It is an epic (prabandha- kavya) and the poet enjoyed absolute liberty to let his imagination fly high. Thus, one cannot question his use of superlatives while describing the palaces or the strength of the armies on the battlefield or the supernatural weapons used by them.
  • 5. THE APPROACH • As an archaeologist, I thought that a way to ascertain the truth might be to explore and excavate sites associated with the Mahabharata story and find out what these have to say in the matter. • In this context, a very important point to note is that all the Mahabharata sites, luckily, continue to bear the same names even today as they did in antiquity, e.g. Hastinapura, Mathura, Kurukshetra, etc.
  • 6.
  • 7. HASTINAPURA– THE KEY SITE • Way back, in 1951-52, I conducted excavations at the key site of Hastinapura, the capital of the Kauravas, located on the right bank of the Ganga, in Meerut Distt, Uttar Pradesh, some 60 miles north-east of Delhi. • The results were very startling, as we shall see from the slides that follow.
  • 8.
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  • 11. Claims of the PGW Culture • At this point, it needs to be emphasized that it is the Painted Grey Ware Culture which is the lowest common denominator at all the sites associated with the Mahabharata story referred to earlier and shown on the map. In fact, even sites associated with the story through verbal tradition have yielded remains of the Painted Grey Ware Culture.
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  • 28. Archaeology vis-à-vis the Texts • In the context of the archaeological evidence of a flood having destroyed Hastinapura, the texts aver: • Gangayapahrite tsmin nagare Nagasahavaye • Tyaktva Nichaksur nagaram Kausambyam sa nivatsyati • i.e. ‘When the city of Nagasahvya (Hastinapura) is carried away by the Ganga, Nichakshu (the then ruler) will abandon it and dwell in Kausambi.’ • And the archaeological evidence corroborates it.
  • 29.
  • 30. Chronological Horizon of the Mahabharata War • We now come to the most crucial issue, viz. the probable date of the Mahabharata War. • As mentioned in the texts, it was during the time of Nichkshu that the capital was shifted from Hastinapura to Kausambi. • The texts further tell us that (a) Nichakshu was 5th ruler in succession from Parikshit who ascended the throne after the War;
  • 31. Chronological Horizon (contd.) • and (b) amongst the rulers at Kausambi Udayana was 19th from Nichakshu. • Hence Udayana was the 24th ruler after the War. Further, it is well known that Udayana was contemporary of Buddha who passed away in 487 BCE. Thus, in broad figures, Udayana may have ruled around 500 BCE. • The next question is: What was the total duration of the reigns of these 24 rulers?
  • 32.
  • 33. Chronological Horizon (contd.) • If we round off the 13.55 years average per ruler to 14 years or even extend it to, say, 15, the date of the War would work out as follows: • 24 (rulers) x 15 years (average reign per ruler) = 360 years. • If we add this number, 360, to 500 BCE, when Udayana was ruling, we arrive at the date of 860 BCE for the War.
  • 34. Chronological Horizon (contd.) • This is not to say that the War took place exactly in 860 BCE. It is a figure arrived at from a combined evidence of archaeology and literature. We may further round it off to circa 900 BCE, but perhaps no more! • I would be failing in my duty if I did not mention dates (all in BCE) assigned by other scholars to the War: 1424(K.P. Jayaswal); 1400(A.S.Altekar); 950 (F.E. Pargiter); 9th cent. (H.C.Raychaudhury).
  • 35. Chronological Horizon (contd.) • I have commented on these dates in my various papers and would not like to repeat the same here. But I would certainly like to say a few words about 3102 BCE, based on a lonely inscription at Aihole dated to Saka year 556 i.e. 634-35 CE. This date, however, seems to be supported by astronomical data in the Mahabharata, as interpreted by Prof. Narhar Acharya.
  • 36. Chronological Horizon (contd.) • My difficulty in accepting this date is that around 3102 BCE (nor even for another 1000 years to come) none of the sites associated with the Mahabharata story was in existence – be it Hastinapura or Indraprastha or Mathura, as established by the excavations at these sites. How can then we enact the Mahabharata story without these sites having been there? Can we?
  • 37. Chronological Horizon (contd.) • There is yet another way of looking at the figure 3102 BCE. As seen earlier, there were 24 rulers from Parikshit, who ascended the throne after the War, to Udayana who ruled around 500 BCE. This gives an average of 108 years per ruler: 3102 - 500 = 2602, divided by 24 = 108. • Nowhere in the entire world has there been such an average per ruler. Has there to be a special case for India ? • Let the learned audience think and decide!
  • 38. Thank you very much for your patient hearing.