COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE ILIAD AND THE MAHABHARATA AS EXAMPLES OF CLASSICAL LITERATURE.
Two of the world’s best widely read epics, The Iliad and The Mahabharata originated in two distinct parts of the globe which had no rapport at the time of their foundation. Over centuries they have been repetitively read and re-read, translated into other languages and criticized and talked upon in almost all parts of the world. No matter their original languages, Greek and Sanskrit are almost defunct in today’s world; they have punched their everlasting influence in the frame work of the epics. In order to bring to us such great classic versions of the life of the ancient world, Homer and Vyasa must have been profoundly rooted in their respected traditions. 2 The Epic tradition, dating back to c. 3000 B.C., has been one of the most unique genres in the history of Literature. Written in around 6th-8th century B.C., The Iliad is not much distanced in its date from the great Indian epic, which belongs to the 6th century B.C. Whereas when we compare the volume, The Mahabharata is much ahead of the Iliad. The Iliad limits its grandeur with around 15,000 lines, and on the other hand, Mahabharata is supposed to have 200,000 lines, which mark up to eight times that of Iliad. 3 Homer is a third person, omnipotent narrator who is not only retelling the story of the Fall of Troy, but also has access to every character’s mind. Vyasa himself is both poet and actor in the epic. Vyasa has written the story but Vaisampayana, a disciple of the rishi, is actually telling it. There is a linear form but some open-ended questions like this, make the epic a mystery. 4 The Iliad, as told earlier, is the story of the fall of Troy. E.V. Rieu, inn his introduction to his translated edition gives us a brief plot of the epic. He writes King Agamemnon the imperial overlord of Greece has, with his brother Menelaus of Sparta, induced the princes who owe him allegiance to join forces with him against King Priam of Troy, because Paris, one of Priam’s sons, has run away with Menelaus’s wife, the beautiful Helen of Argos. & And from here, the glory of war starts. The Achaean and the Trojan forces come to almost a decade long combat. Homers Iliad we are placed almost in the last year of the war, but through his excellent narration, Homer creates the impression that he is covering the whole war and even the periods before and after it. Meanwhile, the Mahabharata is a touching tale of how sibling rivalry can bring about the onset of a war. The plot surrounds around Kouravas and Pandavas, the two groups of brothers from the same lineage. It progresses with various instances that result from Duryodhana’s jealousy of the Pandavas. Leading to Pandavas’s sojourn and many other adversities in their life, this jealousy ends up with a great war, with destruction of the multitude. It is during this battle only that Krishna recites the sacred Bhagwat Gita to Arjuna in order to teach him the lessons life. 5 In the Iliad we have direct interventions of Thetis, Aphrodite, Apollo, Hera, et cetera, in making various decisions during the course of the war. Krishna, the divine factor in the Mahabharata, appears sometimes in quasi-human form while sometimes in a complete divine picture. We may also note that, in both the epics, there is this belief in the prophecies. In the Iliad, the prophecy as about Paris, and it foresaw his as the cause of Troy’s destruction. Meanwhile, in the Mahabharata, it was foretold that Duryodhana would bring about the destruction of the entire universe. 6 After a long overview, we may say that the two epics have some similar traits as their dates are quite close to each other, whereas their differences may be the result of the long distance between their lands of action. Being great epics, even after so many centuries, the two of them are profoundly regarded by a worldwide audience and expect such acceptance with the future generations as well. And hence, The Iliad and The Mahabharata stand as literary works that inspire many a generation. 7 Now the above is the thought of the west writing making both in 600 BCE as done, though, also added that of 3000 BCE in the opening. Incident in the era of Mahabharatham was written after 2400 years, after the participation in the war of Mahabharatham, by the Yavanas, which would only prove the Greek wrote the Iliad after the Mahabharatham. KR IRS 71222 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZoq%3D5HtqaUEcK6ZnfOY_vtNr4nrtg0Grv3U_3g3nn1-ZZw%40mail.gmail.com.
