Mahabharata Quiz - 4

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Question -4

How logical is it to assume that Lord Ganesha served as a scribe for Vyasa to write the Mahabharata? 

Answer:

It is written in the text of the Mahabharata itself that Ganesha was the scribe who wrote as Vyasa dictated the verses. Initially Lord Brahma conversed with Vyasa and suggested him to think of Lord Ganesha to write the Epic. Vyasa thought of Him and Ganesha appeared - that is how it is written in the Mahabharata.

Ganesha's part comes with a rider. Ganesha agreed to write provided his pen didn't stop to write, implying that there should be no pause in dictating the verses. If Vyasa delayed a bit in delivering the verse, Ganesha would abort writing further. 

In reply, Vyasa extracted a counter promise from Lord Ganesha that He should not write without comprehending any verse. Ganesha agreed and started writing what was dictated by Vyasa, but Vyasa cleverly interspersed with tough verses which caused Ganesha to pause to understand and then continue to write. Such pauses were enough for Vyasa to compose several verses quickly.

This stipulation resulting in Lord Ganesha not writing any verse without understanding it implies that Mahabharata did contain very difficult verses to comprehend – verses that cannot be simply translated but those that need deep study and contemplation. This must be borne in mind while deciphering the relevant verses for dating.

Thus, the Ganesha part conveys both divinity and the toughness to understand the verses of the Mahabharata. Appearance of Ganesha to Vyasa can be a true or a mental image, but not without relevance. For starting any work, for completing any work hassle-free and for writing, Lord Ganesha is invoked. It was done by Poetess Auvaiyaar (Tamil) too. 

Unfortunately, the Ganesha part didn't go well with the intellectuals of today. It was dropped from the Critical version of BORI on the pretext that it appears only in 37 out of 59 manuscripts. The editors didn't seem to know or believe that different versions of by Vyasa were in existence and not all versions had all the parts. 

By dropping it, we are depriving the future generations from knowing the famous tradition of Lord Ganesha having written the Mahabharata. Gone with it is the stipulation that Ganesha didn’t write without comprehending the tough verses that Vyasa dictated. 

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