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Mahabharata PodcastRetelling the Ancient Indian Epic Author: Lawrence Manzo
An English language re-telling of the ancient epic Mahabharat. Language: en-us Genres: Hinduism, Religion & Spirituality, Spirituality Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Episode 100 - Summing up
Wednesday, 11 April, 2012
Episode 100 - I've put together my review of the epic, in its totality. I discuss the strange way in which the epic goes into fine detail on some parts of the story, and breezes over others. Some of the most critical moments in the story, like when Dhrtarastra was skipped and then later made king, or during the dice game, or in dealing with the birth & death of Krishna, the story is ambiguous and full of holes. The only explanation that I can come up with is that the author himself may not have known exactly what took place in those scenes, so he tells us what he knows-- which isn't much. I talk about the three layers of religious philosophy in the epic-- Vedic Sacrifice, Karma Yoga, and Bhakti. I propose that Karma Yoga was an innovation introduced by the Mahabharata, and I believe Bhakti was inspired by the epic, and subsequently the epic was modified to include that religion. That would explain Krishna's promotion from country cousin to Top God... Next, I discussed some of the characters in the story-- reviewing their actions and whether they were fairly rated "good guys" or "bad guys" by the epic, and by modern listeners in general. Finally, I compare the epic with other literature, and compare the religious philosophy of the epic with other works and other religions. I hope no one gets overly offended! Please write in my blog and let me have it if I did. I apologize in advance!
