Bh\u0101rat is India\u2019s identity of itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Rig Veda is a set of 1028 ancient hymns and poems composed over the course of many millennia. Sometime around 1500 B.C., as per modern historians, the poems were compiled together in ten volumes (called Mandalas) and carefully preserved. This is the form in which they have come down to us. Several poems in the Rig Veda describe a furious battle called the Battle of the Ten Kings<\/a>. Historians agree that this battle was an actual historical event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As per the poems, a confederation of 10+ clans ganged up and attacked the Bh\u0101rata clan, but after prolonged fighting, the Bh\u0101ratas were successful in defeating them and driving them out of their lands. The battle was fought, at different times, on the banks of River Yamun\u0101 and River R\u0101vi, which flow through modern India\u2019s Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, and Punjab states. Based on modern and historical place names, many of the defeated clans appear to have migrated and settled in areas to the west of the Indus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Bh\u0101ratas expanded their territory in the Indian subcontinent and eventually became a powerful superstate, winning the loyalty of and receiving taxes from all the surrounding kingdoms in return for protection. We don\u2019t know the exact geographical extent of the ancient Bh\u0101rata empire, but we do know that their legacy has extended and endured far beyond their empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the reasons for this may be the Mah\u0101bh\u0101rata.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among the various types of ancient Indian literature is a genre called Itih\u0101sa. Itih\u0101sa in Sanskrit literally means \u201cthus indeed it was,\u201d and is defined in the ancient texts as \u201chistory told in an entertaining style with moral teachings.\u201d In other words, historical fiction for the purpose of religious instruction. The two most important Itih\u0101sa works are the R\u0101m\u0101yana<\/a> and the Mah\u0101bh\u0101rata<\/a>, the latter of which was inspired by the history of the Bh\u0101rata clan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The introduction to the Mah\u0101bh\u0101rata says that its composer, Sage Vy\u0101sa, having studied the\u00a0Vedas, Upanishads, Pur\u0101nas, and all other relevant works<\/a>, wanted to summarize the contents therein for the benefit and edification of the common man. The result of his endeavors was an epic poem about 15 times the length of the Bible. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Mah\u0101bh\u0101rata is told primarily as the saga of the Bh\u0101rata clan, which began with King Bharat. His descendants are called Bh\u0101rata. A short summary is that decades of strife and bickering among cousins culminate in a great war to preserve dharma<\/em> (righteousness), and despite having a much smaller army, the righteous side wins, and dharma<\/em> prevails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the Mah\u0101bh\u0101rata is much more than a story of good over evil. It is a microcosm of life itself. The story has a vast canvas of thousands of characters (2,736 as per one estimate), each with their own storyline and character arc, and each episode is meaningful, memorable, and eminently tellable. You can find parallels in the Mah\u0101bh\u0101rata for almost any real-life situation that can be found in society even today. You also find out how different responses to the same situation pan out in the end, which is where the \u201cmoral instruction\u201d aspect comes in. All in all, then, the Mah\u0101bh\u0101rata is a lesson in history, life, and morality all rolled into one, and it has shaped the collective consciousness of Indians ever since its composition sometime in the first millennium B.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\nItih\u0101sa \u2013 Meaningful History<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A Civilization Called Bh\u0101rat<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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