MAHABHARATA FOR

CHILDREN

text by Gilbert Mane

PART ONE

THE BIRTH OF THE PANDAWAS

I bow to Narayana and to Nara

I bow to Saraswati, Goddess of learning

I bow to the holy Wyasa

THE BEGINNING

Once upon a time many, many years ago a group of holy men
sat together in a forest to sing the praises of Brahman - the
Absolute.

They sang of Brahman as Eternal, Unlimited and Glorious. They

spoke together of the innermost Truth - That all is Brahman.

It came into their minds to hear the story of the great war
between good and evil. This war was between two sets of
cousins called the Kaurawas and the Pandawas. The Kaurawas
were evil but the Pandawas loved all that is good and true.

As they sat and thought, a wandering holy man came to them.

"I have heard the story of the war between the Kaurawas and
the Pandawas," said the holy man, "I can sing you this great
poem. This story is called the MAHABHARATA. It was composed
by Wyasa, wisest of men."

This is how Wyasa's story began...

IN THE BEGINNING ALL WAS DARKNESS

Then there appeared a great golden egg, like a seed for all
beings. From the egg came Prajapati, the Creator, and all the
great Gods and Goddesses. From them came all the creatures.

Then came Time - the year, the seasons, the days and nights;
Heaven and earth; Wind and sky; Sun and moon; Lightning
and stars. Everything was there...
WYASA

All creatures are really Brahman. Remembering this, all

creatures were happy. But as time passed men began to forget
the Truth.

The holy Wyasa wanted to help men. He knew that they would
soon forget the Truth. They would need to be reminded. He
sat in deep meditation.

One day while Wyasa was sitting Prajapati, the Creator, spoke
to him. Prajapati told Wyasa to bring together the wisdom of
the Weda and to write it down.

Then men could hear about the Truth. Then they could live
truthfully.

So Wyasa brought together the Weda in four books.

When he had finished he began to meditate again.

As he meditated a wonderful story of all mankind filled his mind

and his heart. This story told everything. All the good and all
the bad. All laws and about how to live well. It was about kings
and warriors. It was about beautiful maidens and holy men. It
told of a war between cousins who were great warriors.

This story was the Mahabharata.

GANESHA

Wyasa was very happy. He wondered who could write down such a
long story. He asked Prajapati, the Creator. Prajapati told Wyasa
that he must call on the God Ganesha.

Ganesha was big and fat and had the head of an elephant. He rode
on a mouse. He was very clever but also a little lazy.

Wyasa prayed to Ganesha and he came riding on his mouse.

"I bow to you, O Ganesha," said Wyasa.

"I bow to you, Holy Man," said Ganesha, "What do you want of
me?"

"I have made a great poem. A story of a mighty battle. I will speak
and I would like you to write it down while I speak."

"Is it long?" said Ganesha reluctantly.

"Yes," said Wyasa, "It is - very long."

Ganesha did not want to do all that writing but in the end he agreed.

"But," he said, "You must not stop speaking. If you stop I will go
away and not come back."
"Alright," said Wyasa, "But you in turn must understand fully
everything I say before you write it down."

Ganesha agreed and Wyasa began to tell his great story.

(Sometimes Wyasa needed time to think of the next part. Then he

would say something very clever and a little tricky. Ganesha would
stop writing to think about it, giving Wyasa time to make up the next
part.)

And so the story begins...

SHANTANU WEDS GANGA

Once there was a great king called Shantanu. He was very brave.
He was a great warrior, very strong and good looking. All his people
loved him because he was wise and good and ruled them well. He
protected his people from their enemies. His people were very
happy and healthy and rich.

One day he was hunting by a river when he saw a beautiful maiden.

"Who are you," he asked, "Are you a Goddess or a mortal?

Whoever you are, I should like to marry you."

Now the maiden was really the Goddess Ganga, the sacred river.

"I will marry you," she said, "But you must not ask me who I am.
You must never question anything I do, whether good or bad."

Shantanu agreed. He and the maiden were married.

They live happily together for a year. After the year a beautiful baby
boy was born to them.

Soon afterwards Ganga took the boy to the river and said, "This is
for your own good."

While Shantanu looked on in horror she threw the baby into the
river. Shantanu said nothing but he was very sad.

Another year passed and another beautiful baby boy was born.

Again Ganga took the boy to the river and said, "This is for your
own good." She then threw him into the river. Again Shantanu was
sad but said nothing.

Year after year seven children were thrown into the river. Still
Shantanu said nothing.
THE BIRTH OF BHISHMA

Finally when the eighth baby was born Shantanu could stand it no
longer.

The baby was as radiant as a god. He glowed with bliss. Ganga

again picked up the baby.

Again she walked to the river. Again she said, "This is for your own
good."

She was about to throw the baby into the river. This time Shantanu
could not keep silent.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this cruel thing? At least leave
me this one child."

"O King," said Ganga, "I am the Goddess Ganga. I will grant your
wish and spare this child. But since you have broken your promise I
now leave you forever.

"All these children of ours were Godly beings. One day they
offended a holy man named Wasishtha. They stole his cow.
Wasishtha cursed them. They were to be born on earth as men.

"They came to me and begged me to be their mother. They wanted

you to be their father because you are brave, wise and strong.

"To free them from the curse I threw each one into the river. Fear
not, these children of ours have returned to heaven. Only the last
now has to live on earth.

"He will grow up to be one of the greatest warriors ever. His name
is Bhishma. He will live with me for the first sixteen years and I will
then return him to you."

Ganga and the baby then disappeared.

THE RETURN OF BHISHMA

Many years later Shantanu was hunting again near a river.

He chased a deer down to the river. The river was shallow.
Shantanu wondered why.

He saw a good looking boy shooting arrows into the river.

The boy was noble and very strong. He shot hundreds of
arrows very quickly. The arrows had made a dam which
blocked the river.

Shantanu was amazed that the boy could dam the river
with his arrows.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Suddenly Ganga appeared.

"This is your son Bhishma," she said to Shantanu, "I have

raised him carefully. He knows the Weda. He knows how
to be a king and how to fight. He can use a bow and arrow
better than anyone."

Ganga then disappeared.

Shantanu was very happy. He and Bhishma then returned

together to Shantanu's palace.

Bhishma studied and trained. He grew into a handsome

and wise young man. Shantanu wanted Bhishma to be
king when he died.

He told everyone that Bhishma would be the next king.

SATYAWATI

Four years later Shantanu was again hunting by a river when he saw a
beautiful maiden.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I am Satyawati," she replied, "My father is the king of the fishermen. I
take people across the river in this boat."

Shantanu fell in love with Satyawati. He asked her to marry him.

"You will have to ask my father," she said.

The king of the fishermen would agree to the marriage only if Shantanu
made Satyawati's son king after Shantanu died.

Shantanu was sad. Bhishma was to be king. He went home with a heavy
heart. Bhishma saw that his father was sad.

"Why are you sad, father?" he asked. Shantanu finally told him about
Satyawati and the king of the fishermen.

Bhishma went to the king of the fishermen to ask for Satyawati's hand for
Shantanu. The king of the fishermen repeated his request that
Satyawati's son become king.

Bhishma agreed to step aside from the throne.

The king of the fishermen thought for a moment, "But what will happen
when you have sons? They might not agree. They may fight against
Satyawati's son."

"I vow never to marry or have children," said Bhishma.

The Gods in heaven began to praise Bhishma and to rain flowers from
heaven because of Bhishma's vow.

The king of the fishermen now agreed and Shantanu and Satyawati were
married.

Shantanu was grateful to Bhishma and he gave Bhishma a gift. The gift
was that Bhishma would die only when he decided to.
AMBA

Shantanu and Satyawati had two sons. One was named

Chitrangada and the other was named Wichitrawirya. Both were
brave and strong but Chitrangada was killed in a battle.

Shantanu also died but Wichitrawirya was too young to become

king. Bhishma ruled the kingdom until Wichitrawirya grew up.

One day it was decided that Wichitrawirya should marry. Bhishma

went to the palace of the King of Kashi. The king's three beautiful
daughters were to pick their husbands. Their names were Amba,
Ambika and Ambalika.

All the great kings and princes from other kingdoms were there
hoping to marry one of the beautiful daughters of the King of Kashi.

Bhishma saw that all three would be good wives for Wichitrawirya.
He drove his chariot into the hall, picked up the three beautiful girls
and hurried away. All the other kings and princes, burning with fury,
jumped into their chariots and chased him.
There was a great battle. The angry kings and princes shot
hundreds of arrows at Bhishma. Bhishma shot hundreds of arrows
back. Everyone fought bravely but Bhishma was the greatest
warrior. Finally, the kings and princes were defeated.

But Amba said to Bhishma, "I don't want to marry Wichitrawirya. I

love King Shalya. We were to be married."

Bhishma allowed her to return to King Shalya.

But King Shalya was frightened of Bhishma and wouldn't marry

Amba. Amba became very angry with Bhishma. Amba made a
terrible vow that one day she would kill Bhishma.

But Ambika and Ambalika, Amba's sisters, married Wichitrawirya

and they were very happy.
THE SONS OF WICHITRAWIRYA

One day Wichitrawirya died. He had no children and everyone in the

kingdom was very sad. Who would rule over them justly and wisely? Who
would protect them from their enemies?

Satyawati asked Bhishma to break his vow not to marry. She asked him
to rule the kingdom, to marry and to have children. Bhishma refused.

"Mother, have you forgotten my vow?" he said, "I won't go back on my

word. I will never forsake the Truth. The earth may give up its smell,
water may give up its wetness, the sun may give up its glory, fire its
heat; but I cannot give up Truth."

Many years before, Satyawati, while still a young girl, had secretly given
birth to a baby. The baby had grown up to be the holy Wyasa, the teller
of this tale. Wyasa normally lived in the forest meditating. His hair and
beard were long and his clothes were rough. Although he was kind, he
looked frightening.

Satyawati now thought of Wyasa and he came to her. Wyasa agreed to

help his mother Satyawati. She wanted Wichitrawirya* s wives to have
children with Wyasa's help.

But Ambika closed her eyes in fear when she saw Wyasa. So her son
Dhritarashthra was born blind. Ambalika turned pale in fear when she
saw Wyasa. So her son Pandu was born pale. The servant girl bowed
respectfully to Wyasa when she saw him. And so her son Widura was born
full of wisdom and justice.

Bhishma raised the three brothers, Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Widura, as

his own sons. Dhritarashtra excelled all men in strength, Pandu in archery
and Widura in wisdom and virtue. Although Dhritarashtra was the oldest,
he was blind. So Pandu was crowned king.

Dhritarashthra married Gandhari, the daughter of King Subhala. Gandhari

had been given a boon by Lord Shiwa. She would have a hundred sons.
When Gandhari found out that her husband was blind she took a piece of
cloth and tied it around her own eyes so that she would be blind too.
KUNTI

Sura, King of the Yadawas, had a son named Wasudewa. He

had a daughter too. Wasudewa became the father of the Lord
Shri Krishna.

King Sura had a cousin named Kuntibhoja. Kuntibhoja had no

children so King Sura gave his daughter to Kuntibhoja. The
daughter was then called Kunti.

Kunti was very beautiful. She liked to play and to sing but most
of all she liked to be of help to anyone who needed her. She
always did as she was told and she learned to make herself
very useful in the palace of Kuntibhoja. Kuntibhoja and his
Queen loved Kunti very much.

One day a holy man named Durwasa came to Kuntibhoja's

palace. Durwasa had a very bad temper. Kuntibhoja was
worried. He was afraid that Durwasa might lose his temper and
then curse the king and his people. The King asked Kunti to
serve Durwasa. He warned her to be very careful.

Kunti looked after Durwasa from morning until night. She was
always cheerful and pleasant and happy. She knew what
Durwasa needed before he asked. Durwasa was so pleased
that he gave Kunti a very special gift.

The gift was a secret word which was called a Mantra. This
Mantra was very powerful. If Kunti held this Mantra in her heart
and thought of one of the gods then that god would come to
her and give her a baby. The baby would be the son of the
god.

Kunti told no one of the Mantra.

THE BIRTH OF KARNA

One day Kunti, out of curiosity, held the Mantra in her heart and thought
of the Sun God. Suddenly the room was filled with a blazing light and the
Sun God stood before her. Kunti was very frightened.

Trembling, she said, "Please pardon me. I do not want anything. I was
only testing the Mantra to see if it worked."

But the Sun-God said, "It is my duty to obey the words of Durwasa. I give
you a son. He will be born with golden armour on his body and golden
earings."

The Sun God vanished leaving Kunti with a radiant baby boy in her arms.
He had golden armour on his body and golden earings.

Kunti was very frightened. She was not married and so it was wrong for
her to have a baby. She did not want people to know about her son. She
thought she would be in trouble. So she secretly took the baby to the
river. She placed it in a basket and sent the baby floating down the river.

Some distance down the river lived a chariot driver and his wife. The
chariot driver was saying his prayers by the river. He saw a basket
floating towards him. Full of curiosity he looked into the basket and saw a
beautiful baby boy with golden armour and golden earings.

"He has been abandoned by his mother," said the chariot driver to his
wife, "We will raise him as our son."

The chariot driver and his wife named the baby Karna. Karna grew to be
strong and handsome. He became expert in the use of all weapons. He
used to worship the Sun from daybreak until sunset. His back was burnt
by the heat of the sun.

He had a generous heart. He would give anything he was asked for.

There was nothing that Karna would not give to the holy men as a gift.
One day Indra, the King of the Gods, disguised himself as a holy man. He
asked for Karna's armour. Without a word Karna chopped the armour off
his body and gave it to Indra.

In return Indra gave Karna many powerful weapons.

PANDU'S CURSE

When Kunti grew up she was married to Pandu. Pandu took a

second wife named Madri. All three lived very happily together.
They were full of love for one another. But they had no children.

Pandu conquered many kingdoms and became a great and wise

ruler. All his people loved him and the kingdom was full of peace
and wealth. Pandu made wise laws which reminded people how to
live well and happily. He loved to hear the holy men sing the
praises of God. He loved to be reminded of the Truth - that all is
Brahman.

One day Pandu was hunting deer in a forest. He saw a male deer
playing with a doe. He shot five arrows and the deer fell.

But when he ran to the deer it changed into a holy man. The holy
man had changed his shape by magic, to play with his wife who had
been the doe. As he died, he cursed Pandu.

"You will die if you touch your wife," said the holy man.

Pandu was sad. Kunti and Madri were also sad.

"I have sinned. I have killed a holy man. I can no longer be king,"
Pandu said, "I will go to the forest and live there."

"We will go with you," said Kunti and Madri. So all three set off
together for the forest.

Everyone in the kingdom was very sad to see Pandu, Kunti and
Madri going to the forest. Even though he was blind, Dhritarashtra
was made king instead of Pandu.
THE BIRTH OF DURYODHANA

Gandhari, the wife of King Dhritarashtra, had been promised a

hundred sons by the Lord Shiwa. One day it was announced in the
palace that she was going to have a baby. She was very happy.
Dhritarashtra was very happy. Everyone in the kingdom was very
happy.

Time passed and the baby was not born. Gandhari became worried.
She asked her servant girl to hit her with an iron bar. Gandhari then
gave birth, not to a baby but to a hard, solid ball. Gandhari couldn't
see because of her blindfold.

The servant girl was afraid to tell Gandhari that she had given birth
to a hard, solid ball. When she did, Gandhari was very upset.
"Throw it away," she said, "I don't want it."

Wyasa heard about the birth of the hard, solid ball.

"Don't throw it away. Take a hundred jars and fill them with oil," he
said.
When this had been done he broke the ball up into a hundred pieces
and placed each piece in a jar. There was a little bit left over and he
put this into an extra jar.

A year later there were a hundred baby boys in the hundred jars and
a baby girl in the extra jar. The hundred sons of King Dhritarashtra
became known as the Kaurawas.

When the first baby boy was taken out of the jar he was named
Duryodhana. As he came out of the jar he made a noise like a
donkey, the sky turned black, animals howled, fires broke out and a
storm raged.

Widura, Dhritarashtra's wise brother said, "This means he will be

evil. He will bring suffering to you and to your kingdom. You must
kill him at once."
But Dhritarashtra, who was blind, could not bring himself to kill his
first born son.
THE BIRTH OF THE PANDAWAS

When Pandu, Kunti and Madri had been living in the forest for a few
years, Kunti told Pandu of the Mantra which Durwasa had given to
her.

"O Kunti, please use your Mantra to get a son for me," said Pandu.

"O Husband, which God shall I think of?" asked Kunti.

"Please think of Dharma, the God of holiness and right action. Then
our son will be holy and will always do that which is right and good,"
said Pandu.

Kunti held the Mantra in her heart and thought of Dharma, the God
of holiness and justice. Immediately a son was born. They named
him Yuddhishthira.

Kunti used her Mantra again. Pandu asked her to think of Wayu, the
God of the wind, strongest of all the Gods.

"Then our son will be the strongest warrior ever to have lived. He
will protect us all," said Pandu. Immediately a second son was
born, and they named him Bhima.

Kunti used her Mantra again. Pandu asked her to think of Indra,
King of the Gods, the great general of the Gods.

"Then our son will be a brave and skilful warrior," said Pandu. A
third son was born and they named him Arjuna.
Madri wanted children too so Kunti taught her the Mantra. Madri
thought of twin Gods called the Ashwins. They were the
handsomest of the Gods. She gave birth to twins who were
wonderfully wise, brave and beautiful, and they named them
Nakula and Sahadewa.

Pandu, Kunti and Madri were very happy living in the forest with
their sons.
Because they were the sons of Pandu the boys became known as
the Pandawas.