Delving into faith, into literature
Subrata Kumar Das appreciates a new book on the Mahabharata
Mahabharate Proshashon O Jogajoger Upadan Dr Mohammad Jahangir Hossain Palok Publishers
Along with the introductory, the major chapters of the book Mahabharate Proshashon O Jogajoger Upadan (Elements of Administration and Communication in the Mahabharata) are Synopsis, Context of the Mahabharata, The Mahabharata and Women, Royal Administration in the Mahabharata, Royal System, Administrative Construction, Features of Administration in the Mahabharata, Communication in the Mahabharata, and Administrative Communication. No doubt the titles of the chapters denote more than are expressed and demand a deep dive into the worldly acclaimed epic, the Mahabharata, and its analysis by Dr Mohammad Jahangir Hossain. If we look into the chapter on the synopsis, we will find much that is interesting in the way the writer arranges his ideas. He does not merely give a brief sketch of the story line, but also selects some episodes of the epic narration and presents them to readers with newer dimensions. And thus it is that the globally appreciated book, which the Mahabharata is, takes on a new textual value. The next chapter elucidates the existing dilemma of Indian society, one which caused the great conflict known as the Kurukshretra War that occurred some five thousand years ago. Hossain has tried to identify the ideological conflicts, conflicts between the east and the west, and the political features of the powerful personality called Krishna. The chapter on Mahabharata women deals with the existing marriage system, the sexual values that prevailed in the then Indian society and the social attitudes towards women. No doubt this chapter provides a study of the social customs related to marriage and sex in an elaborate way and proves the values of this Herculean book as a guide for the early societies of the world. The discourse on royal administration delves deep into the so-called prehistoric (or should we term that age as the early historic?) royal system of the Asian zone. Herewith it could be noted that Santosh Kumar Dasgupta in his book, Boidic Bharater Rajnoitik Itibritto (The Political Histories in the Vedic India, Kolkata, 2005) has tried to formulate the family trees of the ancient kings of India and show how his study could give us a historical picture of bygone millennia that do not get historic importance from the western scholars, not even from many of the eastern pundits on the Puranas, including the Mahabharata. Dr. Hossain has in scholarly fashion pointed to the emergence of royal systems, their evolution, and, of course, he has shown us how the royal powers became the instruments of the beneficiaries. His study includes the class and caste divisions in the then Hindu societies and thus the emergence of the Brahmins as the dominators. The components of the royal system have been given a historic view in the book. The evolution of the elements of kingship is an important aspect of the book Mahabharate Proshashon O Jogajoger Upadan. And gradually the writer has examined the administrative structure that obtained during that era. Afterwards, the author finds out the features of the administration that are found in the Mahabharata. He has substantiated his documents quoting from the different books written on this ancient Sanskrit language book. In the chapters seven, eight, nine and ten, the writer has projected his beliefs and ideas centering on the administrative and communicative aspects of Mahabharata. His main focus gets illustrated by the episode of Sulobha, the ancient Indian scholar lady. Her interaction with the king Janaka mostly illuminates the author's efforts to establish his findings regarding the communication aspects that developed in early Indian societies. But before all these the author confesses that he has primarily followed Rajshekhar Basu's Mahabharata Saranubad, or the Mahabharata in brief. Though he has mentioned his debts to Kaliprasanna Singh's translation, it seems it would have been wiser if he had primarily followed Kaliprasanna, because Kaliprasanna's Mahabharata is the true Bangla prose translation of the verse epic. In this connection it could be mentioned that people who want to profoundly explore the Mahabharata may consult the voluminous work of 19-thousand odd pages in Bangla done by Haridas Siddhantabagish. Enriched with thousands of annotations and explanations that book could really be worth studying the epic in a true sense. The subdivisions of the introductory include parts called 'The Time of Writing the Mahabharata, and 'The Author of the Mahabharata'. The author has cited from Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay and some others to establish the time of writing the book not much before the first millennium BC. Moreover, he has pointed out properly how Buddhadev Bosu, Dipankar Lahiri and Kalim Khan have negated any possibility of the existence of any single writer named Krishnadwoipayan, who was conferred the title 'Veda Vyasa' for his historically excellent task of the division of the Vedas. But Jahangir Hossain has not given his own view in this regard. More than that, it is noticed that the author does not mention or consult those books that argue in favour of the existence of an author called Vyasa. In this regard it may be worth mentioning that Mahabharater Kotha by Amalesh Bhattacharya, Mahabharater Shomaj by Sukhamoy Bhattacharya or Mahabharata, a Criticism by C.V. Vaidya could be good resources that refute the thoughts of Bankimchandra or Buddhadev. But, above all, the book Mahabharate Proshashon O Jogajoger Upadan has been a great source of inspiration in the study of this literary cum sacred book from the perspective of socio-political views. After Kabindra Mahabharata from the Bangla Academy, the publication of this invaluable book will surely be hailed by readers, among whom are people straddling literary and religious as well as political and social arenas. Subrata Kumar Das, whose book Aamar Mahabharata (My Mahabharata) has appeared at the Ekushey Book Fair, can be reached at subratakdas@yahoo.com
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