The Mahabharata of Palmira

Preface to The Scales This is the first book in a two-volume retelling of the Indian epic. I first heard of the ancient work from the script of Peter Brook’s play, The Mahabharata, published by Methuen. However, my interest was not really awakened until I came across another condensed version, which in turn led me to read several other abridgements. What struck me from these different versions, each one fine in itself, were the contradicting accounts and omissions; particularly relating to the life and exploits of one character, Karna, who is the focus of the version told here by my narrator, Palmira. My curiosity about Karna was roused, so I read a strict prose translation, in many volumes, of the Sanskrit epic poem. The Sanskrit Mahabharata is thought to have become ‘fixed’ by about 500 CE, though the first written versions may have begun a thousand years earlier at about 500 BCE, towards the end of what is known as the later Vedic period. The first oral versions probably started towards the beginning of the later Vedic period, around 1000 BCE. I very quickly saw that the source was a completely different entity than the abridgements, in content and in texture: the condensed accounts tended to attempt to pick out just a human plot, while the original integrated human drama with conceptual drama and debate; to give a western simile, as if Homer and Plato had joined forces. I also began to see why there was so much inconsistency of plot and characterisation in the reductions I had read. Very rarely in the original is there a definitive chronological account of a key event: in this respect the original is more of an archeological structure than a working story, with layers written by different authors, each with their own slant. A speech or event towards the end of the original epic may relate to an incident covered in much earlier verses; chronologically later events are often anticipated in much earlier passages, sometimes prophetically. This gives inevitable scope for interpretation when attempting to discern a connected plot. But in my own view there is another reason also for the different readings which occur in modern abridgments: I believe the original is much more at ease than modern storytellers with the idea of good and bad occurring in the same person, rather than being represented cleanly and separately by heroes and villains. There is, certainly, a clear overarching story, concerning the evolution of a conflict between two sets of brothers, royal princes: the Pandavas and the Kurus (the latter sometimes referred to as the Kauravas); and concerning the role in this conflict of Karna, a person of low caste. But I don’t think a single coherent version of this story can be extracted; each storyteller, taking this task on, has to forge their vision from the morass of material, and Palmira’s version is no exception. I say Palmira’s version, rather than my own, for the simple reason that the story would have come out quite differently had I told it directly, rather than through her. I am therefore inclined to let her take the blame for everything. In at least two respects Palmira’s version is very different from other reductions. First, it attempts to incorporate as many as possible of the key plot turns and events contained in the original epic; and in this sense to be as faithful as possible to a skeleton which can be pieced together from the bones strewn across the original. Second, it attempts to be profoundly different from the original, with entirely new tissues fleshing out this skeleton. To labour this with a different analogy: having picked out a melody from the original, I have tried to reharmonise and reorchestrate it fundamentally. As a result, I have enjoyed little choice regarding the main plot. And it was, for me, enjoyment, since I’ve always found myself in difficulties if presented with too much choice. One consequent problem has been how to render plot turns in the original which seem to have been inserted deliberately to test the storyteller’s improvisation, like an unexpected chord for which a melody must be found to fit. But I have willingly surrendered to these constraints, trusting that the ancient story lines can be made to work. Another challenge has been to try to absorb and maintain the interest of readers who are familiar with sketches of the ancient legends. I have certainly cheated a little by augmenting and underpinning the traditional skeleton where I felt this suited or was required by my rendition. One augmentation, for example, which will be obvious to any reader familiar with the main story line, is Charvaka, one of Palmira’s central characters, whom I found mentioned in just one verse of the original epic, and who clearly represents a real person, or at least a real school of thought, active during the period in which the epic was created. Other modifications I have made to the plot may be less obvious. In the process of navigating these challenges I have come to appreciate the instinct for drama shown by the old storytellers. Like a great tune which can cross time and place, the original has some powerful cadences which still resonate to the modern ear; and I cannot disguise the fact that these have been shamelessly used by Palmira as a vehicle to express herself, to make her own peace with the world; but my hope is that the very personal and inevitably western perspective of this version does not diminish its celebration of ancient India’s immense and varied contributions to humanity. For the benefit of her rather small audience, Palmira splits the long Sanskrit names rather crudely in two, and generally uses just the first half of a name. Palmira relates her version over twenty days; rather like the storytellers of old, who would also have spent many days on their recitals, travelling from village to village to entertain audiences far larger than Palmira’s. In this first volume, after giving her own introduction, Palmira takes the action from soon after Karna’s birth, on the first day of her story, up to the seventh day, with her account of the great dice game. The description of the dice game in the Sanskrit verses is one of the earliest written accounts of gambling. There are no details there of the precise nature of the game or its rules, and readers who are not of a nerdy and obsessive disposition should feel no compunction in skimming over some of the details of the game that Palmira has contrived and recounted on her seventh day. These details are of little importance in the general scheme of things; in fact, Palmira only labours these workings for the benefit, if it can be called that, of her particular audience. As to who, when and where Palmira and her audience are, this is not the time to tell. I finished the first draft of this book last century, in 1997. Since then it has lain dormant until a year ago, when I painfully revisited it after nearly two decades and made a number of relatively minor revisions. For help with this and with the first draft I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Diana Syrat, whose encouragement over many years helped me to persevere with the book, and whose sensitive editorial advice helped to shape it. I am also extremely grateful to Simon Altmann, whose careful reading, thoughtful comments, understanding and encouragement have greatly sustained me. And I must thank Jane Altmann for letting me read the whole book to her, for patiently playing the dice game with me, and for her encouragement and support. November 2016 http://mahabharataofpalmira.uk Table of Contents Preface to The Scales Day Zero: Vyasa 1 Palmira decides on a story 2 Palmira prepares the ground Day One: The River 3 The parting 4 A prayer is answered 5 Narada comes to town 6 The first bow 7 Charvaka’s advice 8 Karna leaves home Day Two: The Academy 9 The reception 10 Kripa’s history of the Bharatas 11 Drona 12 Bhishma 13 The mantras 14 Preparations 15 The tournament Day Three: The Scales of Destiny 16 The king of Anga 17 The scales released 18 The raid on Kampilya 19 The house of lac 20 Draupadi’s swayamwara 21 The kingdom divides Day Four: The Two Cities 22 Indraprastha 23 Charvaka moves 24 News from Anga Day Five: The Mountain 25 Mahendra 26 The nuts 27 The headcloth and the sash 28 Tiger country 29 The field of the brahmanas 30 The banyan tree 31 The worm in the cave 32 The snake 33 The brahmana’s cow Day Six: The Rajasuya 34 The invitation 35 The mist 36 The rat and the eagle 37 The web Day Seven: The Dice 38 The vine and the strawberry 39 Yudhi accepts 40 The dice table 41 The dice hall 42 Old wounds 43 The Brahma cycle 44 Yudhi comes to the table 45 The lines are set 46 The net tightens 47 The eye of Kali 48 Bhima’s oath 49 The gamble 50 The two cities Main characters Index of first mentions Day Zero: Vyasa