Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata Read online

  The child was abandoned on the forest floor by both her parents; by her father because she represented his monumental failure and by her mother because she was nothing more than proof of her success.

  A Rishi called Kanva found the abandoned girl under the wings of a flock of Shakun birds who had surrounded her. So he named her Shakuntala, she who was found sheltered by birds. Kanva raised Shakuntala as his own daughter in his hermitage in the forest, and she grew up to be a very beautiful and cultured woman.

  One day, Dushyanta, descendant of Pururava, arrived at Kanva’s hermitage. He was hunting in the forest and wanted to pay his respects to the sage, and maybe rest for a few days in the hermitage. Unfortunately, Kanva was away on a pilgrimage; he found himself being welcomed by Shakuntala. Dushyanta fell in love with Shakuntala instantly.

  ‘Marry me,’ he said, unable to control his desire.

  ‘Ask my father,’ said a coy Shakuntala.

  ‘If you wish, we can marry as the Gandharvas do with the trees as our witness. This is allowed by tradition,’ said Dushyanta. The innocent Shakuntala, smitten by the handsome king, agreed.

  So the two got married with the trees as their witness and spent days in the hermitage making love. Finally, it was time for Dushyanta to return home. Kanva had still not returned and Dushyanta could not wait any longer. ‘It is not right to take you with me while he is away. I will return when he is back,’ he promised.

  Many weeks later Kanva returned. No sooner did he enter his hermitage than he realized his daughter was in love, and that she was carrying her beloved’s child. He was overjoyed. Both celebrated the event and waited for Dushyanta to return. Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. There was no sign of Dushyanta.

  In due course, Shakuntala gave birth to a son who was named Bharata. Bharata grew up in the care of Kanva and Shakuntala. Father and daughter forgot all about Dushyanta’s promise until Bharata one day asked, ‘Who is my father?’

  ‘He needs to know,’ said Kanva.

  Rather than wait for Dushyanta to send an invitation, Kanva felt it was best that Shakuntala go to Dushyanta on her own and introduce the boy to his father. Shakuntala agreed and, with her son by her side, ventured out of the forest for the first time. As she left, the trees gifted her with cloth and flowers and fragrances so that she looked beautiful when she met her beloved again.

  But when Shakuntala stood before Dushyanta and introduced herself and her son, Dushyanta showed no sign of recognizing her. ‘Are there any witnesses of our alleged marriage?’ he asked caustically.

  ‘The trees,’ she said.

  Everyone including Dushyanta laughed. Shakuntala, a simple woman of the forest, uncontaminated by the politics of kings and kingdoms, was indignant. ‘I came here not seeking a husband but to show my son his father. I have done so. I have raised him as a mother should. Now, I request you to raise him as a father should.’ So saying, Shakuntala turned her back to Dushyanta and proceeded for the forest.

  Suddenly, a voice boomed from the sky admonishing Dushyanta for doubting Shakuntala. She was indeed his wife and Bharata was indeed his son. Dushyanta apologized for his behaviour and blamed it all on his fear of social disapproval. He then declared Shakuntala his queen and Bharata his heir.

  Bharata was one of those unique kings who descended from the solar line of kings through his mother, Shakuntala, and from the lunar line of kings through his father, Dushyanta. Since his descendants ruled all of Jambudvipa, the rose-apple continent of India, the land itself was named Bharata-varsha, or simply Bharata, after him.

  Tapa means spiritual fire that is generated through ascetic practices known as tapasya. The conflict between a Tapasvin or fire-churning hermit and an Apsara or water-nymph is a recurring theme in the scriptures. It is the conflict between spirituality and sensuality. Spirituality earns merit and gives one access to the pleasures of the world, but indulgence in sensual pleasures causes loss of merit. Hence, there is constantly a conflict between the hermit and the nymph.

  Shakuntala’s story in the Mahabharata is quite different from Kalidasa’s very popular Sanskrit play written around 500 CE. In Kalidasa’s play, Shakuntala is brought to Dushyanta as soon as her father discovers she is pregnant but due to a Rishi’s curse Dushyanta is unable to recollect her. In Vyasa’s epic, Shakuntala comes to Dushyanta years later when her son enquires who his father is—Dushyanta pretends not to recognize her to protect his reputation. Kalidasa’s Shakuntala seeks her husband while Mahabharata’s Shakuntala seeks her son’s father. Kalidasa’s Shakuntala is very conscious of social stigma while Mahabharata’s Shakuntala is indifferent to it. This perhaps is a reflection of change in social values over time.

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  Bharata’s heir

  Bharata grew up to be a great king. He had three wives. Every time they presented a son to him, he would say, ‘He does not look like me,’ or ‘He does not behave like me,’ perhaps suggesting his wives were unfaithful to him or that the children were unworthy. In fear, Bharata’s wives abandoned these children.

  A time came when Bharata was old and had no heirs. So he performed a yagna. At the end of the yagna, the Devas gave him a son called Vitatha.

  Vitatha was conceived when Brihaspati, in an uncharacteristic moment of lust, had forced himself on his sister-in-law, Mamata, wife of Utathya.

  Both Brihaspati and Mamata rejected this child, Brihaspati because the child reminded him of his moment of weakness and Mamata because this child was forced upon her. Vitatha was thus, like Shakuntala, a child abandoned by his parents. He was accepted by the Devas who passed him on to Bharata.

  Vitatha grew up to be an extremely capable ruler and so despite being adopted, was crowned king by Bharata.

  For Bharata the criteria for kingship rested in worthiness, not bloodline. This made Bharata the noblest of kings in the eyes of the people. This was, perhaps, another reason why the rose-apple continent of Jambudvipa came to be known as Bharata-varsha, or simply Bharat, the land that was once ruled by one such as Bharata.

  Later kings did not follow in Bharata’s footsteps. Dhritarashtra preferred his son, Duryodhana, over his nephew, Yudhishtira, even though the latter was clearly more worthy.

  The epic states that when Brihaspati came to Mamata she turned him away not because she was married to another man, his brother Utathya, but because she was already pregnant. This perhaps reveals an ancient practice of sharing wives between brothers.

  The child in Mamata’s womb is cursed that he will be born blind. So is born a sage called Dirghatamas. Dirghatamas has a wife called Pradweshi who tired of taking care of her blind husband has her sons throw him into the river. Dirghatamas survives by clinging to a tree trunk and is found by a childless king, Vali, who requests Dirghatamas to go to his wife Sudeshna and make her pregnant. So are born the kings who rule the eastern kingdoms of Anga, Vanga and Kalinga.

  The story of Vitatha, which comes from a slip of a verse in the scriptures, draws attention to a question that bothered Vyasa: Who should be king? The son of a king or any worthy man? This theme recurs through the epic.

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  Yayati’s demand

  Sarmishtha was the daughter of Vishaparva, king of the Asuras and Devayani was the daughter of Shukra, guru of the Asuras. They were both the best of friends. But one day they had a fight.

  After a swim in a pond, while dressing up hurriedly, Devayani wore Sarmishtha’s robes by mistake. A livid Sarmishtha called Devayani a thief and her father a beggar. She then pushed Devayani into a well and walked away in a royal huff.

  When Devayani returned home late in the evening, she related the events to her father and raised a storm of tears and wailing until her father promised he would teach the Asura princess a lesson. ‘Until the king apologizes for his daughter’s behaviour, I will not perform any yagna for them,’ said Shukra.

  Vishaparva begged Shukra to change his mind and restart the yagnas; without them he was powerless against his eternal enemies, the Devas. ‘I w