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@ Satosha
2024-11-27 17:12:15Sanskrit word Aavahan translates to 'Invocation', albeit a wider abstraction. Aavahan is a marathon ritual of introspection. To an observer, it appears you are broadcasting an intense call to action - seeking every corner for possible help. Internally, you converge on self - the focal point of conscious experience. You are prepared - with or without material support. You instantiate a divine force within! In Hindu tradition, one of the three primal forces -
Bramh, Vishnu or Siva- are invoked to sustain unwavering commitment - a laser like focus. For example Rama, before calling for a bridge to Lanka, invoked Siva.Scribing Mahabharata was one such venture. It is the root of written narratives. Sage writer and teacher of all1, Krishna Dwaipayana invoked Bramh - the information continuum. In order to conceive the epic, he needed his thoughts in equilibrium with Bramh. But more importantly, he must seek permission from the eternal flow, to open us mortals' access to the past - and to the future. He must align himself to continuum before introducing text to a verbose but amnesic world.
Text was the new way - to store manifolds of lore. An alternative to old spoken stories - Puranas. As Mahabharata scaled, it attracted lot more readers than expected - a natural pull prevailed without fading. Challenges are invitations to seekers - Mount Everest always attracts climbers!
With around 1.8 million words, Mahabharata remains the last frontier for the readers and poets. It is the longest poem ever scribed, in any language, old or new. To put it in perspective, it is about ten times the size of Iliad and Odyssey combined.
The proof of work is in the craft. Even today, it is not uncommon to learn Sanskrit (as intended) - just to enjoy original text. For those less keen, there are translations in almost every language . And then there are all sorts of media artifacts - from comic strips to television series.
Back then, when stories were only told, it took a series of eighteen books to conclude the epic. On its wings, it took the 'text' to far ends of human reach. Bhagvad Gita, a part of sixth book, is in the founding ideologies of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism and countless more - and is the first written source of Karmyoga.