Thursday 23 March 2017

Shanti Parva in the Bengali version

The Shanti Parva in this version of the Mahabharata differs from the version of Vyasa.

Vyasa talks about politics and philosophy.

This version talks about devotion.

One reason that I can think of, is the period in which this Bengali version of the epic was penned.

This was the time when there was an attack by the Moghuls. Bengal was under their  rule. The devout brahmins were trying to teach the common person to have faith in their religion. This text falls in the Middle Bengali Literature period when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was alive and active in Bengal.

As seen here earlier, and later too - Krishna becomes synonymous with Vishnu. The name Narayana and Krishna are used for each other. Krishna is referred to as the Purna Brahma.

After the core Bengali version finishes, I will try to fill in the gap that is there between the versions.

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