Suta Goswami’s Summary, in narration format can be found in the Mahabharata podcast, episode #10, “Narration: The Suta’s Introduction,” which is from the unabridged version of the Mahabharata, by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, and specifically the section is called “Parva Sangraha”, in the Adi Parva.
Covering the 18 parvas or key books, the Suta structures the summary recital covering the following three aspects per parva:
A brief description of the Parva;
Citation of the key events forming “the backbone” of the Parva; and
Citing the number of Adhyayas, or chapters in the Parva
There are a total of 2,131 chapters in his summary. For simplicity and analysis sake, let’s say the book contains around 2,000 chapters. So 18 sub-books or Parvas of the story, containing a total of 2,000 chapters.
The first, and glaring observation in the distribution of the story across the Parvas, is that only 4 of these 18 Parvas, contain over half of chapters or story; that is a big concentration, leading to some very prominent Parvas.
Which, are these 4 prominent Parvas?
The largest Parva, by quite some way, is the Shanti Parva, with 365 of the roughly 2000 chapters, that’s almost a quarter of the whole story. The word “Shanti” has a meaning in Pali (the language classical and lit-urgical language of the oldest Buddhist school the Thera-vāda, and the Indo-Aryan language of north Indian origin), in Sanskrit, and most of the languages and dialects currently spoken in India. Shanti is also one of the twenty-four emanations of Lakṣmī, the feminine energy of the divine, accompanying Nārāyaṇa. It is an irony we will seek to decipher, that in a Book the Mughals called “The Book of Wars”, that the biggest section translates to “Peace, Tranquillity or Calm.” And a second level of irony on the surface, is that it contains within this huge Parva, called “Peace”, details of the science of waging war. The Latin adage from Publius Flavius of the Roman Empire “Si vis pacem, para bellum,” comes to mind; meaning “If you want peace, prepare for war.”
Contrary to the very commonly used metaphoric or didactic teachings using stories that feature throughout the Mahabharata, where characters often represent certain traits and qualities of this world, this Parva is very much a “textbook-style” delivery of teachings.
The Shanti Parva is the Parva that follows the wailings of the widows after the Battle of Kurukshetra in the Stri Parva, and precedes the Anushasna Parva, the Book of Instructions and the Installation of the Emperor, in order that tranquility can finally be restored after decades of turmoil. The Parva begins with the build-up that leads to an extensive Q&A between the Emperor to-be, Yuddhistira, who is feeling very despondent after winning a war at the cost of almost an entire race, and stalwart guardian of the Kuru throne, Bhishma, who was on the opposite side. Yuddhistira tries to hear from a host of personalities including Krishna, and Vyasadeva. He is effectively, at this stage, inconsolable. This situation is unacceptable as there is no leader, no Emperor. There are frustrations building in the Pandava camp, particularly with Draupadi, who is insistent that the leadership position be taken up without any further delay. Krishna advises Yuddhistira that given his very obedient and submissive nature, he hear from an authority figure like Bhishma, that this might be effective in establishing the moral and technical rational and basis for him to take the leadership role. Bhishma was also very dear to Krishna, and Krishna dear to Bhishma. As Bhishma was on a bed of arrows, the host of gods and sages including Narada and Vyasa, would gather to hear the dialogue between the two. The dialogue covers everything from societal responsibilities, to astronomy, to weapons and administration, and is split into three sections i) Raja-dharma (Duties of the Kings), ii) Apaddharma – Duties in Unconventional Circumstances, and iii) Moksha-dharma – Duties for Liberation; the Mahabharata through this Parva fulfils its sometimes called name as the 5th Vedas. The length of this Parva makes clear the role of preparation and qualification for leadership; and the need to make oneself available to learn; the bigger the responsibility, the bigger the emphasis on ensuring one is qualified.
The second largest Parva, is the Vana Parva [with 324 chapters], meaning the Book of the Forest. Almost equally as long as the Shanti, this Parva features the largest number of significant events flagged by Suta Goswami, with 81 of his 304 events, almost a third of total key events. It has 21 sub-parvas! It includes the internal feuds within the Kaurava side between Dhritrashtra and Vidura resulting from the controversial banishment of the Pandavas to the forest; the cursing by Maitreya Muni of Duryodhana to die at the hands of Bhima; the self-exile of Arjuna away from the Pandavas, and then his quest for celestial weapons; the fight between Shiva and Arjuna; Arjunas ventures in the Heavens; recitation of stories by the sages to the Pandavas; their yatras or pilgrimages; and skirmishes in the forests with Yakshas and other beings; the capture of Duryodhana and Karna by the Gandharvas, and embarrassing release by Arjuna and Bhima of the same; Yuddhistiras dream of the deer; Jayadraths kidnapping of Draupadi; the recitation of the Story of Lord Rama to the Pandavas; the taking of Karna’s shield and earrings by Indra, and finally the dialogue between the god Dharma and Yuddhistira in order to bring back to life his brothers. The significance of this Parva is really on the struggle and hardships of the Pandavas; showing how they built themselves up, by externally imposed circumstances; to become a force that could rival a much better resourced foe, and ultimately prevail through the combination of their exertion and destiny.
The 3rd largest Parva is the Adi Parva [236 chapters]: quite simply, a lot of time and effort is expended in providing the background stories of the serpent race, the sages, the heavenly beings, and the backgrounds of the key Kuru figures. This parva being so weighty shows us the Mahabharata stresses the importance of context, characters, back stories, and their inter-relations.
And the 4th largest Parva is the Drona Parva [204 chapters]: Arguably the heaviest of the Parvas covering the Battle of Kurukshetra. It begins with the great preceptor Drona, taking the Commander in Chief position of the Kaurava forces. His first strategy was to seize Yuddhistira, in a move to attempt to end the war with minimal casualties through a forced surrender of the entire Pandava side after a successful capture of their principal figure-head Yuddhistira. The parva also includes the formation of the Chakravyuhuh battle formation, the entry into and exit from, was only known to Arjuna; the tragic and cruel death of Arjuna’s beloved son Abhimanyu at the hands of most of the prominent Kaurava warriors including Duryodhana, Karna, Shakuni, Kripa & Drona; the death of the great allies of the Pandavas; the father of Draupadi, King Draupada, and the father-in-law of Abhimanyu, King Virat; the death also of the son of Bhima, Ghatotkacha, and finally the death of Drona; the controversial circumstances of which also caused a internal feud within the Pandava side over the ethics of the plan to kill Drona through deceit.
So whilst the Mughals, called the Mahabharata “The Book of Wars”; only a quarter of the story, describes the Battle of Kurukshetra. And almost 2/3 of the story, describes subjects other than battles or wars.
Specifically, the Battle of Kurukshetra is spread over 4 Parvas, each named after the presiding Commander in Chief of the Kaurava forces, and moving on in name, as each of them falls; from Bhishma, to Drona, to Karna & finally to Salya.
The place of the all-important battle of Kurukshetra, is almost exactly in the middle of the story.
Who were the most prominent characters, according to the Suta’s summary?
At the top of the list, is Arjuna by himself with 20 of the Suta’s 267 events that cite particular characters; and 49 events have Arjuna featuring with others such as Krishna, Subhadra, or Yuddhistira. Arjuna being at the top of the list isn’t much of a surprise given a major part of the story is about the Pandavas working against multiple odds that demand an answer. And Arjuna is the master of Victory; in fact that is one of his names; Vijaya. It also isn’t a surprise given him and Krishna are the invincible eternal Sages Nara-Narayana in their own backstories.
Secondly, 145 of 267 of the Suta’s events that reference particular characters, include the Pandavas either individually or collectively.
49 events feature the Pandavas collectively as a unit of 5 brothers. This is significant; and illustrates the team and familial aspect of traversing challenges together with personalities who were different in their character types, and often sharing very different outlooks, where in one story an internal point of contention even led to one brother threatening to take the life of another. The Pandavas in this, really illustrate the African Proverb from Martha Goedert “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” It took the Pandavas decades to rise, but in the end, their position and their morality prevailed.
Duryodhana, and his 99 brothers only feature in 17 character references in the Sutas key events —> Draupadi also on her own features almost as many times. This seems relatively little for the lead antagonist; however it shows that once Duryodhana is defined as the personification of the Dark Age, Kali, the focus is on solutions and how things pan out, rather than on the problem itself.
Krishna is mentioned in 18 times of the 304 events, and that too always with another principal character, not in isolation; most of the times with Arjuna alone; and sometimes with the Pandavas.
What types of events are covered in Suta Goswamis summary?
A small but important portion of events (totalling 15%), describe the characters and their situations.
The lion share of the book covers “Interactions”, almost 2/3 of the Suta’s key events; one of the key messages of the Mahabharata, that our actions in situations determine our fate is clearly signalled here; the book is about practicality; not just theory. What do these interactions cover?
Effectively mentoring through the telling of stories is very prominent
Joint second was some form of interactions that tend to have more negative connotations, including Confrontation, and Revenge; also a reality of the world we live in.
We also have an equally large number of interactions that have more Positive connotations including Shows of Friendship, Devotion & Support
Marriage and Wandering through various lands comprise a smaller share
Outcomes: around 20% of the events the Suta cites cover the resultant outcomes of the interactions. The philosophical, and directional implications of actions is made clear with some of these; and the bigger picture element of justice too.
Slaying accounts for around half of the outcomes
Mourning & Redemption for over a quarter; and
Ascension after death is too included
And so the Suta’s Summary, that comes before the story has even begun, is indicative of the direction, as the stories from here begin to unfold.
In the Anukramanika Parva, Sage Vyasa says:
“The mystery of the Veda, and what other subjects have been explained by me; the various rituals of the Upanishads with the Angas; the compilation of the Puranas and history formed by me and named after the three divisions of time; past, present, and future; the determination of the nature of decay, fear, disease, existence, and non-existence, a description of creeds and of the various modes of life; and the import of all the Puranas; an account of asceticism and of the duties of a student; the dimensions of the sun and moon, the planets, constellations, and stars, together with the duration of the four ages; birth celestial and human; a description of places of pilgrimage and other holy places of rivers, mountains, forests, the oceans, of heavenly cities and the kalpas or time cycles; the art of war; the different kinds of nations and languages: the nature of the manners of the people; and the all-pervading spirit;—all these have been represented. But, after all, no writer of this work is to be found on this Earth.”
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