Interesting Mahabharata Dates and Times

This article is largely based on an excellent 2-hour talk on the Mahabharata, in Kannada. It is by Bannanje Govindacharya, an important contemporary scholar in the Dvaita tradition, and I learned a lot of new things.

Krishna's Birthday

Krishna's birthday is contentious - is Krishna Ashtami in the Shravana month or the Bhadrapada month? We know he was born on an ashtami night, and it was rohini nakshatra. The Mahabharata itself does not pick one of the two months. Krishna Ashtami is either of the months, depending on which happens to be the "Simha maasa (month)". Further, if the Rohini nakshtra coincides with the Ashtami, there is said to be a "Jayanthi yoga" (which may not occur every year) which makes that Krishna Ashtami a Krishna Jayanthi.

Ages of Some Important Characters in the Mahabharata

When analyzing the late dwapara yuga period (mahabharata), we tend to gloss over all evil characters and focus on Duryodhana. Before Duryodhana became prominent (and contemporary with him), there were Narakasura (eastern India), Jarasandha (Magadha/Bihar), and Kamsa (northern India).

• Jarasandha was much older than Krishna, but had amassed 23 akshaouhinis to fight Krishna (an akshaouhini was a large unit of army). In comparison, the Mahabharata war itself involved only 18 akshaouhinis (7 on the Pandava side, 11 on the Kaurava side). Jarasandha had amassed his much larger army (from vassals across the country) to fight a Krishna who was no more than 10-11 years old at the time, enraged by Krishna's killing of Kamsa. Krishna routs Jarasandha's army 17 times, but the 18th time Krishna moves the Yadavas from Mathura to Dwaraka. This is because the commander of the Jarasandha army then is Kalayavana, who is destined to destroy Mathura. 

Jarasandha had imprisoned 80,000+ princes from across the country, and was moving closer to a count of 100,000 for beheading them in a sacrifice. They are eventually freed by Krishna when he takes Bhima and Arjuna to fight Jarasandha for Yudhishtira's rajasuya yagna.

When Krishna, Bhima, and Arjuna present themselves before Jarasandha, Krishna lets Jarasandha pick any one of them for an opponent, and any weapon of his choice. Jarasandha throws Krishna an insult saying he was afterall a cowherd Yadava. He also insults Arjuna by saying he was a young boy, and hence he would not pick him.

It is interesting to note that Bhima was a few months elder to Krishna (55 at the time), and Arjuna himself was only a year younger than Bhima. Hence, if Arjuna was too young, Bhima must be too.

The reasoning behind Jarasandha picking Bhima must have been this:

1. Krishna would be impossible to beat, his prowess having already been known to him, whether he considered him the Lord incarnate or not. Throwing an insult was his way of escaping sure and humiliating death at the hands of someone who routed his army 17 times (although Jarasandha basked in Krishna's shift to Dwaraka the 18th time).
2. The only reason could have been Jarasandha's comparative strengths. 
1. Arjuna's strength was widely considered to be nearly equal to Jarasandha, and hence there would be a 50-50 chance of him winning. A loss would be humiliating.
2. Bhima, on the other hand was widely known to be the strongest man at the time. Strong in physical power, undefeatable in any form of war (and the most faithful among Krishna's devotees). A defeat at his hands would not be humiliating, but the off chance that he wins, he would earn great glory. There of course is no chance he could win; Krishna still grants him glory by letting Bhima wait 15 days before finishing him off. Lasting 15 days against Bhima was probably much more glory than any other Kshatriya had earned at that time. 

In the Mahabharata text, there is no ambiguity from Vedavyasa in describing Bhimasena as the best man that walked the earth at that time, unparalleled in all good qualities physical and mental; note that this was a time when all devatas and rishis incarnated in Bharatavarsha. This, of course, does not include Krishna, who no other being divine or otherwise is ever compared to.

"..bhimasena samo naasti senayor ubhayor api panditye cha patutve cha.. tatvajnane..paanditye.."

To be safe, Jarasandha (~70 at the time) crowns his son the king of Magadha before he starts the fight against Bhima.

After his death, the freed princes all, without bloodshed or further violence, assure support to Yudhishtira for the Rajasuya. If nothing else, this was great diplomacy and tact by Krishna.

• Narakasura had imprisoned thousands of  princesses, and Krishna frees them after killing Narakasura. It is this event that we celebrate even today as Deepavali.

Since the princesses had all been humiliated by imprisonment, Krishna marries them all and grants them self-respect.

The Rajasuya Agrapooja

On the day of the Rajasuya yagna of Yudhishtira, all the important Kshatriyas and others were gathered in the palace. These included Vedavyasa, Parashurama, Krishna, Krishna's father Vasudeva, and of course the Pandavas, Bhishma, etc.

The Pandavas request Bhishma, their family's eldest, to pick their chief guest of honour for the yagna ("agrapooja"). Bhishma picks Krishna. The choice is interesting, given that Vedavyasa and Parashurama would have been controversy-less choices. Krishan afterall was younger than most others among the guests, and was not even a Kshatriya. 

• Parashurama would have been a great choice, for He was also an incarnation of Vishnu. No Kshatriya or other would dare oppose Parashurama for obvious reasons.
• Vedavyasa, also an incarnation of Vishnu, was the progenitor of the Pandavas and Kauravas, and another great choice.

The Rajasuya yagna is the only occasion in which there are 3 human incarnations of vishnu, all participating. Given 3 equally good choices, I'm unsure why Bhishma picks Krishna, but when Shishupala protests and insults Krishna (as a eunuch) and Bhishma (as old and senile), Bhishma challenges any kshatriya assembled to face the old man (him) in battle if they disagreed with his choice. None dared disagree. Finally, when Shishupala continues his insult of Krishna, Krishna finishes him off with his chakra.

The 'Eternal' Parashurama

Parashurama is considered an avatara of Vishnu who does not leave the earth. The puranas say that Parashurama will teach Kalki (at the end of the Kali yuga) the art of war and help Him finish off the world.       

It is, of course, fascinating how more than one avatara of Vishnu appears concurrently, the most interesting of which is during the Mahabharata. Parashurama, in fact, is the teacher of Bhishma and Karna. Parashurama being unable to defeat Bhishma (fighting for Amba) must only be an enactment, similar to other enactments of the Lord in the Mahabharata. For, why else would an omnipotent God do anything through other entities?

Into the Kali Yuga

Many consider the start of Kali Yuga to be when Krishna left the earth. However, this is incorrect, and Kali Yuga starts exactly at the end of the war (death of Duryodhana). Krishna, 70 at the time of the war, stays on for 36 years into the Kali Yuga while Yudhishtira rules. It is after this that Parikshit is crowned king. 

I was initially under the impression that Parikshit was the first king during the Kali Yuga. It  in fact was Yudhishtira. Once Krishna leaves the earth, the devatas do not find the earth inhabitable in Kali Yuga...