Table of Contents
Vyasa comes to meet Janamejaya
Recap:
Janamejaya wanted to destroy the brahmins. Vyasa came and admonished him. He then wanted to perform the Ashvamedha yagna, which too Vyasa asked him not to. Undeterred, the king went ahead with disastrous results.
The great rishi Vyasa, son of Satyavati, heard about Janamejaya. The rishi had a soft corner for the king. Janamejaya was not an evil person. He needed to calm down. He needed to understand Dharma. He needed to hear about his ancestors and the mistakes they had made, and not repeat them. He decided to leave his ashrama and visit Janamejaya. He asked his disciples to follow him and along with them, he left for Hastinapur.
Janamejaya was sitting at the ritual site, hiding his face in his hands in shame. What had he done? He had killed a child. He was not afraid of curses, that was inevitable. How could he do this? He heard a voice call out to him. He lifted his face. In front of him stood Vyasa, dressed in the skin of a black antelope. His golden-brown matted hair rested on the top of his head. The rishi had come with many of his disciples.
Janamejaya tried to hide his face again. The rishi said, ‘My child. I had warned you. You should have listened to me. Throw your pride away. I have come to help you. Get up.’
Janamejaya looked at the rishi. There was something in Vyasa’s eyes that seemed to calm the king’s mind. He felt hopeful. Maybe the great rishi could help him. He got up and fell at Vyasa’s feet and said, ‘There is no one more unfortunate than me. You came to me, told me what I was not to do, yet I did exactly the opposite. The results? I have brought slander in the house of Kuru. Please help me. Please tell me how I can find peace. Save me. My friend, my ministers and even my brothers have left me. The Brahmins and the priests who were here, called me a sinner and left. No one is willing to come near me. Out of compassion, you have come to me. I beg of you, please do something. If there is something that I need to do, please let me know. ‘
Vyasa could see that Janamejaya was truly repentant. He lifted the king, helped him stand and then said, ‘My child, I have heard about your predicament. I have come to help you. If you listen to me, you will become sinless. Sins like killing a Brahmin will disappear. You desire to perform an Ashvamedha Yagna. What I will tell you will give you the merits of performing many such yagnas. I have composed something that consists of one hundred thousand verses. Listen to it with a pure mind and a singular focus. All your sins will vanish.’
Janamejaya felt relieved. He asked the rishi, ‘Great One. What do I have to do?’
Vyasa said, ‘Erect a massive canopy in this ground. That canopy needs to be made of black fabric. Sit below that, with your family and others. Listen to my work, Mahabharata. As you listen, your sins will get washed off. The black colour of the canopy will also fade. When you have heard the complete composition, you will be free of sins and the canopy will have turned white. This work of mine is about your ancestors. Learn about them and learn from them.’
Janamejaya said, ‘O compassionate One, I am really lucky. Please tell me about your work. Please tell me about my ancestors and the war that they fought. I have been wanting to hear this for long, but never had the opportunity. Do tell me. I am eager to hear this. I will have the canopy erected now, so you can start.’
Vyasa looked at Janamejaya and said, ‘My dear, this is a very long composition. It will take a long time from start to finish. I do not have the time for that. Do not be disheartened. You will still hear that. Amongst my disciples, Vaishampayan is great rishi. He has studied my work and knows it very well. I will request him to recite this work to you. I will take leave of you now.’
Janamejaya bid farewell to Vyasa after worshipping him. He then spoke to Rishi Vaishampayan. As advised, the site was identified. It was first cleaned and then consecrated. Janamejaya then had a huge canopy constructed. The colour of the cloth was pitch black. The canopy was so large that people from the entire kingdom could sit under that. The king sat in front with his family. The people who had left the king, slowly began returning. All came and took their place at the site. A special seat had been erected for Vaishampayan and the rishi came and took that. Janamejaya, as per the rites, worshipped the rishi. Once the rishi was seated, Janamejaya requested the rishi to tell everyone assembled, about Vyasa’s composition, Mahabharata.
Analysis
Listening can help. Vyasa tells Janamejaya that the sins committed can be cleansed by listening to the story. Not just listen, listen with a pure clean and focussed mind. One need to listen and not criticise. One need to be focussed, pay attention and understand it. They then need to learn from it and then apply that learning in life.
- The colour of the canopy is significant. Vyasa asks Janamejaya to erect a black canopy which over a period of time, will turn white. The colour black is representing the sins. Through the learning that will be gained from the composition, a transformation will take place. It is not magical and the inner psyche needs to slow turn from black, to grey to white. The canopy could be said to be our perspective. When are filled with negativity, our world looks "black." As we gain insight, our perspective "whitens" up.
Meanings of Names
- Vaishampayana: Derived from Vishampayana (one who guides the people/settlers). He is the narrator who guides the "people" (the subjects sitting under the canopy) and the king back to the path of righteousness.
Differences from Vyasa’s Original Work
In the Mahabharata of Vyasa (Sanskrit), the frame story is slightly more technical:
- The canopy turning from black to white is not present in Vyasa’s work. This is put here to add to the merit of listening to Mahabharata.
- With the entry of Vyasa and Vaishampayan, the Adivansavatarana Parva (sub-parva) starts. The word can be broken up as Adi: meaning "First" or "Beginning.”; Vansa : meaning "Lineage," ; Avatarana: meaning "Descent” and Parva: meaning “Section," or "Chapter." Literally this means The Section of the Descent of the First Lineage. This section talks about genealogy.
Correlations
- Valmiki Ramayana: Similar to how Lava and Kusha sang the Ramayana to Rama, Vaishampayan recites the Mahabharata to Janamejaya. Both epics start with characters telling the story.
- Jaimini Bharata: This text is similar to the Bengali version of the Mahabharata in many ways. Janamejaya is suffering mentally and physically. He suffers from leprosy and his kingdom’s moral order is declining. Here, rishi Jaimini tells Janamejaya how the Pandavas succeeded because of their surrender to Krishna. As he listens, he moves to a state of bliss and as the last verses of the text are recited, Janamejaya’s skin gets restored.
Other texts
· Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: It says there are three stages of knowledge: Shravana (Hearing), Manana (Reflection), and Nididhyasana (Meditation). Vyasa puts Janamejaya through the "Shravana” and “Manana” stages to fix his agitated mind.
· Chandogya Upanishad: It mentions the study of "Itihasa-Purana" as the "Fifth Veda." Vyasa tells Janamejaya – listen to my work and then understand and practically apply it in your life. That will help one understand the Truth.
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