History of Sansakerta

MAHABHARATA (SANSEKERTA)

By eryc9

Mahābhārata

Manuscript illustration of the Battle of KurukshetraThe Mahābhārata (Devanagari: महाभारत) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Ramayana.

With more than 74,000 verses, long prose passages, and about 1.8 million words in total, it is one of the longest epic poems in the world.[1] Including the Harivamsa, the Mahabharata has a total length of more than 90,000 verses.

It is of immense importance to the culture of India and Nepal, and is a major text of Hinduism. Its discussion of human goals (artha or wealth, kama or pleasure, dharma or duty/harmony, and moksha or liberation) takes place in a long-standing mythological tradition, attempting to explain the relationship of the individual to society and the world (the nature of the ‘Self’) and the workings of karma.

The title may be translated as “the great tale of the Bharata Dynasty”, according to the Mahābhārata’s own testimony extended from a shorter version simply called Bhārata of 24,000 verses[2] The epic is part of the Hindu itihāsa, literally “that which happened”, which includes the Ramayana and the Purāṇas.

Traditionally, Hindus ascribe the Mahabharata to Vyasa. Due to its immense length, its philological study has a long history of attempts to unravel its historical growth and composition layers. Its earliest layers date back to the late Vedic period (ca. 5th c. BCE) and it probably reached its final form in the early Gupta period (ca. 4th c. CE).
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Bibliography
With its depth and magnitude, the Mahabharata’s scope is best summarized by one quotation from the beginning of its first parva (section): “What is found here, may be found elsewhere. What is not found here, will not be found elsewhere.” [citation needed]

In its scope, the Mahabharata is more than simply a story of kings and princes, sages and wise men, demons and gods. Vyasa, says that one of its aims is elucidating the four goals of life: dharma (duty),artha (wealth),kama (pleasure), and moksha (liberation). The narrative culminates in moksha, believed by Hindus to be the ultimate goal of human beings. Karma and dharma play an integral role in the Mahabharata.

The Mahabharata includes aspects of Hinduism, stories of the gods and goddesses, and explanations of Hindu philosophy. Among the principal works and stories that are a part of the Mahabharata are the following (often considered isolated as works in their own right):

Bhagavad Gita (Krishna advises and teaches Arjuna when he is ridden with doubt. Anusasanaparva.)
Damayanti (or Nala and Damayanti, a love story. Aranyakaparva.)
Krishnavatara (the story of Krishna, the Krishna Lila, which is woven through many chapters of the story)
An abbreviated version of the Ramayana. Aranyakaparva.
Rishyasringa (also written as Rshyashrnga, the horned boy and rishi. Aranyakaparva.)
Vishnu sahasranama (a hymn to Vishnu, which describes his 1000 names; Anushasanaparva.)

Textual history and organization
It is undisputed that the full length of the Mahabharata has accreted over a long period. The Mahabharata itself (1.1.61) distinguishes a core portion of 24,000 verses, the Bharata proper, as opposed to additional secondary material, while the Ashvalayana Grhyasutra (3.4.4) makes a similar distinction. According to the Adi-parva of the Mahabharata (shlokas 81, 101-102), the text was originally 8,800 verses when it was composed by Vyasa and was known as the Jaya (Victory), which later became 24,000 verses in the Bharata recited by Vaisampayana, and finally over 90,000 verses in the Mahabharata recited by Ugrasravas.[3]

As with the field of Homeric studies, research on the Mahabharata has put an enormous effort into recognizing and dating various layers within the text. The complex structure had caused some early Western Indologists to refer to it as chaotic.[4]

The earliest known references to the Mahabharata and its core Bharata date back to the 6th-5th century BC, in the Ashtadhyayi (sutra 6.2.38) of Pāṇini (c. 520-460 BC), and in the Ashvalayana Grhyasutra (3.4.4), while various characters from the epic are also mentioned in earlier Vedic literature.[3] This indicates that the core 24,000 verses, known as the Bharata, as well as an early version of the extended Mahabharata, were composed by the 6th-5th century BC, with parts of the Jaya’s original 8,800 verses possibly dating back as far as the 9th-8th century BC.[5]

The Greek writer Dio Chrysostom (ca. 40-ca. 120) reported, “it is said that Homer’s poetry is sung even in India, where they have translated it into their own speech and tongue. The result is that…the people of India…are not unacquainted with the sufferings of Priam, the laments and wailings of Andromache and Hecuba, and the valor of both Achilles and Hector: so remarkable has been the spell of one man’s poetry!”[6] Despite the passage’s evident face-value meaning—that the Iliad had been translated into Sanskrit—some scholars have supposed that the report reflects the existence of a Mahabharata at this date, whose episodes Dio or his sources syncretistically identify with the story of the Iliad. Christian Lassen, in his Indische Alterthumskunde, supposed that the reference is ultimately to Dhritarashtra’s sorrows, the laments of Gandhari and Draupadi, and the valor of Arjuna and Suyodhana(or aka Dhuryodhana) and Karna.[7] This interpretation, endorsed in such standard references as Albrecht Weber’s History of Indian Literature, has often been repeated without specific reference to what Dio’s text says.[8]

Later, the copper-plate inscription of the Maharaja Sharvanatha (533-534) from Khoh (Satna District, Madhya Pradesh) describes the Mahabharata as a “collection of 100,000 verses” (shatasahasri samhita). The redaction of this large body of text was carried out after formal principles, emphasizing the numbers 18[9] and 12. The addition of the latest parts may be dated by the absence of the Anushasana-parva from MS Spitzer, the oldest surviving Sanskrit philosophical manuscript dated to the first century, that contains among other things a list of the books in the Mahabharata. From this evidence, it is likely that the redaction into 18 books took place in the first century. An alternative division into 20 parvas appears to have co-existed for some time. The division into 100 sub-parvas (mentioned in Mbh. 1.2.70) is older, and most parvas are named after one of their constituent sub-parvas. The Harivamsa consists of the final two of the 100 sub-parvas, and was considered an appendix (khila) to the Mahabharata proper by the redactors of the 18 parvas.

The division into 18 parvas is as follows:

parva title sub-parvas contents
1 Adi-parva 1-19 Introduction, birth and upbringing of the princes.
2 Sabha-parva 20-28 Life at the court, the game of dice, and the exile of the Pandavas. Maya Danava erects the palace and court (sabha), at Indraprastha.
3 Aranyaka-parva (also Vanaparva, Aranyaparva) 29-44 The twelve years in exile in the forest (aranya).
4 Virata-parva 45-48 The year in exile spent at the court of Virata.
5 Udyoga-parva 49-59 Preparations for war.
6 Bhishma-parva 60-64 The first part of the great battle, with Bhishma as commander for the Kauravas.
7 Drona-parva 65-72 The battle continues, with Drona as commander.
8 Karna-parva 73 The battle again, with Karna as commander.
9 Shalya-parva 74-77 The last part of the battle, with Shalya as commander.
10 Sauptika-parva 78-80 How Ashvattama and the remaining Kauravas killed the Pandava army in their sleep (Sauptika).
11 Stri-parva 81-85 Gandhari and the other women (stri) lament the dead.
12 Shanti-parva 86-88 The crowning of Yudhisthira, and his instructions from Bhishma
13 Anusasana-parva 89-90 The final instructions (anusasana) from Bhishma.
14 Ashvamedhika-parva[10] 91-92 The royal ceremony of the ashvamedha conducted by Yudhisthira.
15 Ashramavasika-parva 93-95 Dhritarashtra, Gandhari and Kunti leave for an ashram, and eventual death in the forest.
16 Mausala-parva 96 The infighting between the Yadavas with maces (mausala).
17 Mahaprasthanika-parva 97 The first part of the path to death (mahaprasthana “great journey”) of Yudhisthira and his brothers.
18 Svargarohana-parva 98 The Pandavas return to the spiritual world (svarga).
khila Harivamsa-parva 99-100 Life of Krishna.

The Adi-parva is dedicated to the snake sacrifice (sarpasattra) of Janamejaya, explaining its motivation, detailing why all snakes in existence were intended to be destroyed, and why in spite of this, there are still snakes in existence. This sarpasattra material was often considered an independent tale added to a version of the Mahabharata by “thematic attraction” (Minkowski 1991), and considered to have particularly close connection to Vedic (Brahmana literature), in particular the Panchavimsha Brahmana which describes the Sarpasattra as originally performed by snakes, among which are snakes named Dhrtarashtra and Janamejaya, two main characters of the Mahabharata’s sarpasattra, and Takshaka, the name of a snake also in the Mahabharata. The Shatapatha Brahmana gives an account of an Ashvamedha performed by Janamejaya Parikshita.

According to Mbh. 1.1.50, there were three versions of the epic, beginning with Manu (1.1.27), Astika (1.3, sub-parva 5) or Vasu (1.57), respectively. These versions probably correspond to the addition of one and then another ‘frame’ settings of dialogues. The Vasu version corresponds to the oldest, without frame settings, beginning with the account of the birth of Vyasa. The Astika version adds the Sarpasattra and Ashvamedha material from Brahmanical literature, and introduces the name Mahabharata and identifies Vyasa as the work’s author. The redactors of these additions were probably Pancharatrin scholars who according to Oberlies (1998) likely retained control over the text until its final redaction. Mention of the Huna in the Bhishma-parva however appears to imply that this parva may have been edited around the 4th century.

Map of “Bharatvarsha” (Kingdom of India) during the time of Mahabharata and Ramayana. (Title and location names are in English.)Some people believe that “The epic’s setting certainly has a historical precedent in Vedic India, where the Kuru kingdom was the center of political power in the late 2nd and early 1st millennia BCE. A dynastic conflict of the period could very well have been the inspiration for the Jaya, the core on which the Mahabharata corpus was built, and eventually the climactic battle came to be viewed as an epochal event. Dating this conflict relies almost exclusively on textual materials in the Mahabaharata itself and associated genealogical lists in the later Puranic literature.” [citation needed]

The evidence of the Puranas is of two kinds. Of the first kind, there is the direct statement that there were 1015 (or 1050) years between the birth of Parikshit (Arjuna’s grandson) and the accession of Mahapadma Nanda, commonly dated to 382 BCE, which would lead to an estimate of about 1400 BCE for the Bharata battle.[11] F.E. Pargiter rejected this because it would imply improbably long reigns on average for the kings listed in the genealogies.[12] Of the second kind are analyses of parallel genealogies in the Puranas between the times of Adhisimakrishna (Parikshit’s great-grandson) and Mahapadma Nanda. Pargiter accordingly estimated 26 generations by averaging the lists of ten different dynasties, and assumed 18 years for the average duration of a reign to arrive at an estimate of 850 BCE for Adhisimakrishna, and thus approximately 950 BCE for the Bharata battle.[13] B. B. Lal used the same approach with a more conservative assumption of the average reign to estimate a date of 836 BCE, and correlated this with archaeological evidence from Painted Grey Ware sites, the association being strong between PGW artifacts and places mentioned in the epic.[14]

Attempts to date the events using methods of archaeoastronomy have produced, depending on which passages are chosen and how they are interpreted, estimates ranging from the late 4th to the mid 2nd millennium BCE.[15] The late 4th millennium date has a precedent in the calculation of Aryabhata (6th century), based on planetary conjunctions. His date of February 18th 3102 BCE has become widespread in Indian tradition (for example, the Aihole inscription of Pulikeshi II, dated to Saka 556 = 634 CE, claims that 3735 years have elapsed since the Bharata battle.[16]) Another traditional school of astronomers and historians, represented by Vriddha-Garga, Varahamihira (author of the Brhatsamhita) and Kalhana (author of the Rajatarangini), place the Bharata war 653 years after the Kaliyuga epoch, corresponding to 2449 BCE.[17]

In discussing the dating questions historian A. L. Basham says:

“According to the most popular later tradition the Mahabharata War took place in 3102 B.C., which in the light of all evidence, is quite impossible. More reasonable is another tradition, placing it in the 15th century B.C., but this is also several centuries too early in the light of our archaeological knowledge. Probably the war took place around the beginning of the 9th century B.C.; such a date seems to fit well with the scanty archaeological remains of the period, and there is some evidence in the Brahmana literature itself to show that it cannot have been much earlier.”[18]

Kirata
The Kirat (Sanskrit: किरात) mentioned in early Hindu texts are the tribals or Adivasi of the land. They are mentioned along with Cinas (Chinese). Kiratas are believed to be of Tibeto-Burman origin. Kiratas have been identified as the present day Limbu, rai and Sunuwar of Nepal. Ghatotkacha of Mahabharata fame (Son of Bhima) was a Kirata Chieftain.

In Yoga Vasistha 1.15.5 Rama speaks of kirAteneva vAgurA, “a trap [laid] by Kiratas”, so about BCE Xth Century, they were thought of as jungle trappers, the ones who dug pits to capture roving deer. The same text also speaks of King Suraghu, the head of the Kiratas who is a friend of the Persian King, Parigha.

The most famous Kiratas in Hinduism are the Kiratra avatar of Shiva, Lord Buddha and sage Valmiki, writer of the Ramayana.

Structure and authorship
The epic employs the story within a story structure, otherwise known as frametales, popular in many Indian religious and secular works. It is recited to the King Janamejaya by Vaisampayana, a disciple of Vyasa.

The epic is traditionally ascribed to Vyasa, who is also one of the major dynastic characters within the epic. The first section of the Mahabharata states that it was Ganesha who, at the behest of Vyasa, wrote down the text to Vyasa’s dictation. Ganesha is said to have agreed to write it only on condition that Vyasa never pause in his recitation. Vyasa agreed, providing that Ganesha took the time to understand what was said before writing it down. This also serves as a popular variation on the stories of how Ganesha’s right tusk was broken (a traditional part of Ganesha imagery). This version attributes it to the fact that, in the rush of writing, his pen failed, and he snapped off his tusk as a replacement in order that the transcription not be interrupted.

Synopsis
The core story of the work is that of a dynastic struggle for the throne of Hastinapura, the kingdom ruled by the Kuru clan. The two collateral branches of the family that participate in the struggle are the Kaurava, the elder branch of the family, and the Pandava, the younger branch, with the situation where Kaurava’s elder brother Duryodhana is younger than eldest brother of Pandava’s i.e. Yudhisthir, leading to conflict where both have the claims to the throne, citing themselves elder.

The struggle culminates in the great battle of Kurukshetra, in which the Pandavas are ultimately victorious. The battle produces complex conflicts of kinship and friendship, instances of family loyalty and duty taking precedence over what is right, as well as the converse.

The Mahabharata itself ends with the death of Krishna, and the subsequent end of his dynasty, and ascent of the Pandava brothers to heaven. It also marks the beginning of the Hindu age of Kali (Kali Yuga), the fourth and final age of mankind, where the great values and noble ideas have crumbled, and man is heading toward the complete dissolution of right action, morality and virtue.

The elder generations
Janamejaya’s ancestor Shantanu, the king of Hastinapura has a short-lived marriage with the goddess Ganga and has a son, Devavrata (later to be called Bhishma), who becomes the heir apparent.

Satyavati is the daughter of a fisherman in the kingdom, and she already has a son, Vyasa. Many years later, when the king goes hunting, he sees her and asks to marry her. Her father refuses to consent to the marriage unless Shantanu promises to make any future son of Satyavati the king upon his death. To solve the king’s dilemma, Devavrata agrees not to take the throne. As the fisherman is not sure about the prince’s children honouring the promise, Devavrata also takes a vow of lifelong celibacy to guarantee his father’s promise.

Shantanu has two sons by Satyavati, Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. Upon Shantanu’s death, Chitrangada becomes king. After his death Vichitravirya rules Hastinapura. In order to arrange the marriage of the young Vichitravirya, Bhishma goes to Kashi for a swayamvara of the three princesses Amba, Ambika and Ambalika. He wins them, and Ambika and Ambalika are married to Vichtravirya.

The Pandava and Kaurava princes

A motif depicting Bhima in the battle ready posture at Hampi, KarnatakaVichitravirya died young without any heirs. Satyavati then asked her first son Vyasa to go to Vichitravirya’s widows and give them the divine vision of giving birth to son’s without losing their chastity. Vyasa fathered the royal children Dhritarashtra, who is born blind, and Pandu, who is born pale. Through a maid of the widows, he also fathers their commoner half-brother Vidura.

Pandu marries twice, to Kunti and Madri. Dhritarashtra is married to Gandhari, who blindfolds herself when she finds she has been married to a blind man. Pandu takes the throne because of Dhritarashtra’s blindness. Pandu while out hunting deer, is however cursed that if he engages in a sexual act, he will die. He then retires to the forest along with his two wives, and his brother rules thereafter, despite his blindness.

Pandu’s elder queen Kunti however, asks the gods Dharma, Vayu, and Indra for sons, by using a boon granted by Durvasa. She gives birth to three sons Yudhishtira, Bhima, and Arjuna through these gods. Kunti shares her boon with the younger queen Madri, who bears the twins Nakula and Sahadeva through the Ashwini twins. However Pandu and Madri, unable to resist temptation, indulge in sex and die in the forest, and Kunti returns to Hastinapura to raise her sons, who are then usually referred to as the Pandava brothers.

Dhritarashtra has a hundred sons through Gandhari, the Kaurava brothers, the eldest being Duryodhana, and the second Dushasana. There is rivalry between the sets of cousins, from their youth and into manhood.

Laakshagriha (The House of Wax)
Duryodhana plots to get rid of the Pandavas and tries to kill the Pandavas secretly by setting fire to their palace which he had made of lac. However, the Pandavas are warned by their uncle, Vidura, who sends them a miner to dig a tunnel. They are able to escape to safety and go into hiding, but after leaving others behind, whose bodies are mistaken for them. Bhishma goes to the river Ganga to perform the last rites of the people found dead in the burned palace, understood to be Pandavas. Vidura then informs him that the Pandavas are alive and to keep the secret to himself.

Marriage to Draupadi
In course of this exile the Pandavas learn of a swayamvara which is taking place for the hand of the Panchala princess Draupadi. The Pandavas enter the competition in disguise as Brahmins. The task is to string a mighty steel bow and shoot a target on the ceiling while looking at its reflection in oil below. Most of the princes fail, being unable to lift the bow. Arjuna succeeds, and all five brothers marry her.

At this juncture they also meet Krishna, who would become their lifelong ally and guide.

Indraprastha
After the wedding, the Pandava brothers are invited back to Hastinapura. The Kuru family elders and relatives negotiate and broker a split of the kingdom, with the Pandavas obtaining a new territory. Yudhishtira has a new capital built for this territory at Indraprastha. Neither the Pandava nor Kaurava sides are happy with the arrangement however.

Shortly after this, Arjuna marries Subhadra. Yudhishtira wishes to establish his position; he seeks Krishna’s advice. Krishna advises him, and after due preparation and the elimination of some opposition, Yudhishthira carries out a Rajasuya Yagna ceremony; he is thus recognised as pre-eminent among kings.

The Pandavas have a new palace built for them, by Maya the Danava. They invite their Kaurava cousins to Indraprastha. Duryodhana walks round the palace, and mistakes a glossy floor for water, and will not step in. After being told of his error, he then sees a pond, and assumes it is not water and falls in. Draupadi laughs at him, and he is humiliated.

The dice game
Sakuni, Duryodhana’s uncle, now arranges a dice game, playing against Yudhishtira with loaded dice. Yudhishtira loses all his wealth, then his kingdom. He then even gambles his brothers, himself, and finally his wife into servitude. The jubilant Kauravas insult the Pandavas in their helpless state and even try to disrobe Draupadi in front of the entire court.

Dhritarashtra, Bhishma, and the other elders are aghast at the situation, and negotiate a compromise. The Pandavas are required to go into exile for 13 years, and for the 13th year must remain hidden. If discovered by the Kauravas, they will be forced into exile for another 12 years.

Exile and return
The Pandavas spend twelve years in exile. Many adventures occur during this time. They also prepare alliances for a possible future conflict. They spend their final year in disguise in the court of Virata, and are discovered at or after the end of the year.

At the end of their exile, they try to negotiate a return to Indraprastha. However, this fails, as Duryodhana objects that they were discovered while in hiding, and that no return of their kingdom was agreed. War becomes inevitable.

The BATTLE at Kurukshetra
Main article: Kurukshetra war
The two sides summon vast armies to their help, and line up at Kurukshetra for a war. The Kingdoms of Panchala, Dwaraka, Kasi, Kekaya, Magadha, Matsya, Chedi, Pandya and the Yadus of Mathura and some other clans like the Parama Kambojas were allied with the Pandavas. The allies of the Kauravas included the kings of Pragjyotisha, Anga, Kekaya, Sindhudesa (including Sindhus, Sauviras and Sivis), Mahishmati, Avanti in Madhyadesa, Madra, Gandhara, Bahlikas, Kambojas and many others. Prior to war being declared, Balarama, had expressed his unhappiness at the developing conflict, and left to go on pilgrimage, thus he does not take part in the battle itself. Krishna takes part in a non-combatant role, as charioteer for Arjuna.

Before the battle, Arjuna, seeing himself facing great-uncle Bhishma and his teacher Drona on the other side, has doubts about the battle and he fails to lift his Gandiva bow. Krishna wakes him up to his call of duty in the famous Bhagavad Gita section of the epic.

Though initially sticking to chivalrous notions of warfare, both sides soon adopt into dishonourable tactics. At the end of the 18-day battle, only the Pandavas, Satyaki, Ashwathama and Krishna survive.

The end of the Pandavas
After seeing the carnage, Gandhari who had lost all her sons, curses Krishna to be a witness to a similar annihilation of his family, for though divine and capable of stopping the war, he had not done so. Krishna accepts the curse, which bears fruit 36 years later.

The Pandavas who had ruled their kingdom meanwhile, decide to renounce everything. Clad in skins and rags they retire to the Himalaya and climb towards heaven in their bodily form. A stray dog travels with them. One by one the brothers and Draupadi fall on their way. As each one stumbles, Yudhishitra gives the rest the reason for their fall (Draupadi was partial to Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva were vain and proud of their looks, Bhima and Arjuna were proud of their strength and archery skills, respectively). Only the virtuous Yudhisthira who had tried everything to prevent the carnage and the dog remain. The dog reveals himself to be the god Dharma, who reveals the nature of the test and assures Yudhishtra that his fallen siblings and wife are in heaven. Yudhisthira alone reaches heaven in his bodily form for being just and humble.

Arjuna’s grandson Parikshita rules after them and dies bitten by a snake. His furious son, Janamejaya, decides to perform a snake sacrifice (sarpasattra) in order to destroy the snakes. It is at this sacrifice that the tale of his ancestors is narrated to him.

Versions, translations, and derivative works
Many regional versions of the work developed over time, mostly differing only in minor details, or with verses or subsidiary stories being added. These include some versions from outside the Indian subcontinent, such as the Kakawin Bharatayuddha from Java.

Critical Edition
Between 1919 and 1966, the scholars at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, compared the various manuscripts of the epic from India and abroad and produced the Critical Edition of the Mahabharata, on 13,000 pages in 19 volumes, followed by the Harivamsha in another 2 volumes and 6 index volumes. This is the text that is usually used in current Mahabharata studies for reference.[19] This work is sometimes called the ‘Pune’ or ‘Poona’ edition of the Mahabharata.

Modern Interpretations

Krishna as depicted in Yakshagana from Karnataka which is based largely on stories of MahabharataThe acclaimed Kannada novelist S.L. Bhyrappa wrote a novel in Kannada (Translated to most of the Indian languages and English) titled Parva, giving new interpretation to the story of Mahabharata. He carried years of research where Mahabharata happened, in the plains of North India, Uttarakhand and Garwal region in particular. He tried to understand the social and ethical practices in these regions and correlating with the story of Mahabharata. He gave a realistic, rational explanation of the characters and events of Mahabharata.

In the late 1980s, the Mahabharata TV series [20] was televised and shown on India’s national television (Doordarshan). The series was written by Dr. Rahi Masoom Reza and directed by B. R. Chopra and his son Ravi Chopra. The concept was by Pt. Narendra Sharma - a well-known poet and lyricist. It became the most popular Indian TV series in history. It entered the Guinness Book of World Records as having been watched by a majority of Indians around the world at the time.[21] It was also shown in the UK by the BBC, where it achieved audience figures of 5 million, unheard of for a subtitled series being aired in the afternoon.[22]

In the West, the most acclaimed and well known presentation of the epic is Peter Brook’s nine hour play premiered in Avignon in 1985 and its five hour movie version The Mahabharata (1989) [23], which was shown on other TV networks, including PBS (through the “Great Performances” show) and Danmarks Radio (credited in the movie’s credits).

However, there have been film versions of the Mahabharata long before these two versions, the earliest of which was shown in 1920.[24]. Another upcoming Indian film version The Mahabharata is currently in production.

Among literary reinterpretations of the Mahabharata the most famous is arguably Sashi Tharoor’s major work entitled “The Great Indian Novel”, an involved literary, philosophical, and political novel which superimposes the major moments of post-Independence India in the 20th century onto the driving events of the Mahabharata epic. An acclaimed book, “The Great Indian Novel” also contemporized well-known characters of the epic into equally well-known politicians of the modern era (e.g. Indira Gandhi as the villainous Duryodhana).

Mahabharata was also reinterpreted by Shyam Benegal in Kalyug. Kalyug is a modern-day replaying of the Mahabharat, with the Pandava industrial family being locked in a titanic battle with their Kaurav rivals. But the times are different from the original Mahabharat’s, and external forces impinge on feudal values causing disconcerting results.[25]

Western interpretations of the Mahabharata include William Buck’s Mahabharata and Elizabeth Seeger’s Five Sons of King Pandu.

English Translations
Lal version
A poetic translation of the full epic into English, done by the poet P. Lal is complete, and in 2005 began being published by Writers Workshop, Calcutta. The P. Lal translation is a non-rhyming verse-by-verse rendering, and is the only edition in any language to include all slokas in all recensions of the work (not just those in the Critical Edition). It is both poetic and swift to read, and is oriented to the oral/musical tradition in which the work was originally created. The completion of the publishing project is scheduled for 2008. Six of the eighteen volumes are now available:

Vol 1: Adi Parva, 1232 pages, 2005, ISBN 81-8157-370-6
Vol 2: Sabha Parva, 520 pages, 2005, ISBN 81-8157-382-X
Vol 3: Vana Parva, 1580 pages, 2005, ISBN 81-8157-448-6
Vol 4: Virata Parva, 400 pages, 2006
Vol 5: Udyoga Parva, 970 pages, 2006, ISBN 81-8157-530-X
Vol 17: Mahaprasthana Parva, 30 pages, 2006 ISBN 81-8157-552-0

Clay Sanskrit Library version
A project to translate the full epic into English prose, translated by various hands, began to appear in 2005 from the Clay Sanskrit Library, published by New York University Press. The translation is based not on the Critical Edition but on the version known to the commentator Nīlakaṇṭha. Currently available are portions of Parvas two, three, four, seven, eight, and nine.

Chicago version
Another English prose translation of the full epic, based on the Critical Edition, is also in progress, published by University Of Chicago Press, initiated by Chicago Indologist J. A. B. van Buitenen (Parvas 1-5) and, following a 20-year hiatus caused by the death of van Buitenen, is being continued by D. Gitomer of DePaul University (Parvas 6-10), J. L. Fitzgerald of The University of Tennessee (Parvas 11-13) and W. Doniger of Chicago University (Parvas 14-18):

Vol. 1: Parva 1, 545 pages, 1980, ISBN 0-226-84663-6
Vol. 2: Parvas 2-3, 871 pages, 1981, ISBN 0-226-84664-4
Vol. 3: Parvas 4-5, 582 pages, 1983, ISBN 0-226-84665-2
Vol. 4: Parva 6 (forthcoming)
Vol. 7: Parva 11, first half of parva 12, 848 pages, 2003, ISBN 0-226-25250-7
Vol. 8: Second half of Parva 12 (forthcoming)

Ganguli version
Until these three projects are available in full, the only available complete English translations remain the Victorian prose versions by Kisari Mohan Ganguli,[26] published between 1883 and 1896 (Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers) and by M. N. Dutt (Motilal Banarasidoss Publishers). Most critics consider the translation by Ganguli to be faithful to the original text. The complete text of Ganguli’s translation is available online (see External Links).

Kuru family tree
Kuru

Parashara Satyavati Santanu Ganga

Vyasa Bhishma

Ambalika Vichitravirya Ambika

Kunti Pandua Madri Dhritarashtraa Gandhari Shakuni

Yudhishtirab Bhimab Arjunab Nakulab Sahadevab

Karnac Duryodhana Dussala Dushasana (98 sons)

Key to Symbols

Male: blue border
Female: red border
Pandavas: green box
Kauravas: red box
Notes

a: Pandu and Dhritarashtra were fathered; by Veda Vyasa after Vichitravirya’s death.
b: The Pandavas were acknowledged sons of Pandu but were begotten by Kunti’s invocation of various deities. In particular:
Yama or Dharma (Dharmadeva), for Yudhishtira
Vayu, for Bhima
Indra, for Arjuna
The twins, Nakula and Sahadeva were born to Madri through her invocation of the The Ashvins
c: Karna was born to Kunti through her invocation of Surya, before her marriage to Pandu.

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History of Majapahit

The kingdom of Majapahit, with its capital in East Java, flourished at the end of what is known as Indonesia's 'classical age'. This was a period in which the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism were predominant cultural influences. Beginning with the first appearance of Hinduized kingdoms in the archipelago in the 5th century A.D., this classical age was to last for more than a millennium, until the final collapse of Majapahit in the early 16th century and the establishing of Java's first Islamic sultanate at Demak.

Legend has it that Hindu civilization and culture were introduced to Java in A.D. 78 by the sage Aji Saka. This figure is often associated with Agastya, the patron saint of southern India, whose image is a common sight on the southern walls of Central Javanese Hindu temples. Not unlike the god Neptune in appearance, Agastya is also recognized as Shiwa in his form of divine teacher. When he first brought the message of Hinduism to southern India, it is said that he stood in the north and faced south.

The way in which Hindu/Buddhist culture was transmitted to Indonesia is still not yet fully understood. Older theories suggesting immigration and colonization by Indian merchants and settlers have tended to lose favour in the light of recent advances made in the fields of history and archaeology. The case seems rather to have been one in which the native Indonesians themselves played an active role in the selection and adaptation of foreign cultural forms, through which they were inspired.

The great flowering of Hindu-Javanese civilization which sprang up in Central Java during the 8th and 9th centuries may be seen as the product of a dialogue between, on the one hand, the established forms of classical Hinduism and Buddhism, and on the other, the innovative qualities of a society whose traditional beliefs and customs were already firmly entrenched.

The oldest datable evidence of a Hindu civilization in Indonesia comes from Kutei in eastern Kalimantan (Borneo). Stone inscriptions, written in sanskrit and dating from around A.D. 400, record the reign of a King Mulawarman. At about the same time, in West Java, there existed a kingdom named Tarumanagara, yet more than this little is known, on account of the scarcity of archaeological remains.

Mpu Sendok

Following the shift of political power from central to eastern Java at the beginning of the 10th century, the first kingdom to emerge was called Isana, established by Mpu Sindok in A.D. 929. The capital, at Watugaluh, is thought to have been located on the banks of the Brantas river, in the region of Jombang.

Sindok is reported to have had two wives, one of whom, Sri Parameswari Dyah Kbi, may have been the daughter of Dyah Wawa, the last known ruler of ancient Mataram in Central Java. Since it is known that Sindok had formerly held a high ministerial position in the Mataram government, it seems likely that he was recognized as the successor to Dyah Wawa on the strength of this marriage.
Despite the discovery of quite a number of stone inscriptions dating from Sindok's reign, the information which they reveal has not helped to shed very much light on this historical period. Our most informative source, in fact, dates from the following century, when East Java was ruled by King Airlangga. An inscription known as the 'Calcutta Stone', so named because it is preserved in the Indian Museum of Calcutta, traces the genealogy of Airlangga back to King Sindok. Thus we are informed that, following Sindok's death in A.D.947/8, the throne was taken over by his daughter, Sri Isana Tunggawijaya, who was married to a Sri Lokapala. Their son and successor, Sri Makutawangsawardhana, was known as the 'Sun of the Isana Dynasty'. It was from the union of his daughter, Mahendradatta, with the Balinese ruler Udayana, that Airlangga was born.

Airlangga

The history of East Java is full of prominent culture-heroes, with whom every Indonesian school child is familiar. Streets in major Javanese cities invariably bear the names of famous historical figures, such as Kertanagara, Gajah Mada and Dharmawangsa. One of the earliest and most important Javanese king, about whom anything is known, was Airlangga, who ruled over Java and Bali in the 11th century. During his reign, Airlangga succeeded in uniting his kingdom and established strong cultural contacts further afield. Literature flourished and some of the major works of classical Javanese poetry were composed during this period. Not much is left in the way of temple remains, although there are a number of ancient bathing places, man- made cave hermitages and royal tombs to be found. Among them are the caves Selomangleng I and 11, located near Kediri and Tulungagung respectively, the bathing places of Jolotundo and Belahan on Mt Penanggungan, as well as the royal tombs of Gunung Kawi, which are carved into a cliff face at Tampaksiring in Bali. These latter are said to have been built for Airlangga's younger brother and his family, who continued to rule in Bali following Airlangga's death

Gajahmada

also spelled GADJAH MADA prime minister of the Majapahit Empire and a national hero in Indonesia. He is believed to have unified the entire archipelago. The principal poet of the era, Prapanca, eulogized Gajah Mada in an epic, and the first Indonesian university in Jogjakarta was named after.

No information is available on his early life, except that he was born a commoner. He rose to power on his intelligence, courage, and loyalty to King Jayanagara (1309-28) during a rebellion led by Kuti in 1319. He served as the head of the royal bodyguard that escorted King Jayanagara to Badander, when Kuti captured the capital of Majapahit. After finding a safe place for the King, he returned to the capital and spread the rumour that the King had been killed. He discovered that many officers were upset by the King's supposed death and that Kuti was apparently unpopular among the people. Knowing, therefore, that the King still had loyal followers, Gajah Mada secretly organized a counter insurrection, in which Kuti was killed and the King was restored. As a reward, Gajah Mada was appointed as the patih (minister) of Daha and, later, the patih of Daha and Janggala, a position that made him a member of the ruling elite. Prapanca, a court poet and historian, described Gajah Mada as "eloquent, sharp of speech, upright, and sober-minded."

Gajah Mada's loyalty to Jayanagara waned, however, when the King took possession of his wife. In 1328, when Jayanagara was ill, Gajah Mada instructed Tancha, the court physician, to kill the King during an operation. Upon the death of the King, Tancha was blamed and executed by Gajah Mada. Since the King had no son, his daughter Tribhuvana became ruler.

During the reign of Tribhuvana (1328-50), Gajah Mada gradually became the most powerful figure in Majapahit. In 1331 a rebellion took place in Sadeng (eastern Java). Gajah Mada immediately sent a military expedition to the area, but a minister of Majapahit named Kembar attempted to stop him from entering Sadeng. Gajah Mada broke the blockade and won the battle.

Upon his return, Gajah Mada was appointed as mapatih, or prime minister, of Majapahit. At the same time, he took a solemn oath before the council of ministers that he would not enjoy palapa (privileges of vacation or the revenue from his fief ) before he conquered the whole archipelago for Majapahit. When Kembar and other ministers ridiculed this fantastic boast, Gajah Mada, with the help of the Queen, removed Kembar and his followers from office. In 1343, in accordance with his plans, Gajah Mada led a military expedition that conquered Bali.

Tribhuvana abdicated in 1350 and was succeeded by her son Hayam Wuruk, perhaps the best known king of Majapahit. During his reign, Majapahit reached the zenith of its power and controlled the whole of the Indonesian archipelago. The young King seemed content to leave the direction of affairs entirely in the hands of his prime minister.

The year after Hayam Wuruk's accession, Gajah Mada attempted to spread Majapahit influence to the western Java kingdom of Sunda. He sent a mission to Sunda expressing the wish of Hayam Wuruk to marry the daughter of the King of Sunda. The King consented and brought the Princess, together with some of his noblemen, to Majapahit. They camped in Bubat, north of the capital, in a large field where the wedding was supposed to take place. A disagreement ensued between Gajah Mada and the Sundanese king. The former wanted the King to surrender the Princess to Hayam Wuruk, but the King and his noblemen insisted that the Princess, as the queen of Majapahit, should have a status equal to that of Hayam Wuruk.

Gajah Mada brought in troops and intended to decide the issue by force. The Sundanese noblemen preferred death to dishonour; instead of a happy wedding, a bloody massacre took place. The King of Sunda was killed, as were the Princess and the Sundanese noblemen. After the massacre, Sunda seems to have acknowledged the overlordship of Majapahit for a time but, ultimately, recovered its independence.

To glorify his power, Gajah Mada built a temple on the boundary line of the Singhasari kingdom in eastern Java to equate himself with the last king of Singhasari. It was under his patronage that Prapanca began the composition of Nagarakertagama, the epic of Majapahit. A law book that had a great significance in Javanese history was also compiled under his instructions.

Gajah Mada also played a major role in the direction of internal policy. He occupied numerous positions, including that of chief officer of the palace. The range of his activities was so great that, when he died, Hayam Wuruk found it necessary to appoint four ministers to take over the positions that had previously been the responsibility of Gajah Mada alone. Gajah Mada's death (1364) occurred under mysterious circumstances. Some writers claim that he was poisoned by Hayam Wuruk, who had come to fear his minister's power. The evidence, however, is inconclusive.

Gajah Mada's role in unifying the Indonesian archipelago caused early Indonesian nationalists to consider him a great national hero, and the first Indonesian university in Jogjakarta, established in 1946, was named after him.

this article taken from: www.britannica.com

History Of India

Indian History - Important events

History of India . An overview : The people of India have had a continuous civilization since 2500 B.C., when the inhabitants of the Indus River valley developed an urban culture based on commerce and sustained by agricultural trade. This civilization declined around 1500 B.C., probably due to ecological changes.

During the second millennium B.C., pastoral, Aryan-speaking tribes migrated from the northwest into the subcontinent. As they settled in the middle Ganges River valley, they adapted to antecedent cultures.

The political map of ancient and medieval India was made up of myriad kingdoms with fluctuating boundaries. In the 4th and 5th centuries A.D., northern India was unified under the Gupta Dynasty. During this period, known as India's Golden Age, Hindu culture and political administration reached new heights.

Islam spread across the Indian subcontinent over a period of 500 years. In the 10th and 11th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded India and established sultanates in Delhi. In the early 16th century, descendants of Genghis Khan swept across the Khyber Pass and established the Mughal (Mogul) Dynasty, which lasted for 200 years. From the 11th to the 15th centuries, southern India was dominated by Hindu Chola and Vijayanagar Dynasties. During this time, the two systems--the prevailing Hindu and Muslim--mingled, leaving lasting cultural influences on each other.

The first British outpost in South Asia was established in 1619 at Surat on the northwestern coast. Later in the century, the East India Company opened permanent trading stations at Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta, each under the protection of native rulers.

The British expanded their influence from these footholds until, by the 1850s, they controlled most of present-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In 1857, a rebellion in north India led by mutinous Indian soldiers caused the British Parliament to transfer all political power from the East India Company to the Crown. Great Britain began administering most of India directly while controlling the rest through treaties with local rulers. In the late 1800s, the first steps were taken toward self-government in British India with the appointment of Indian councilors to advise the British viceroy and the establishment of provincial councils with Indian members; the British subsequently widened participation in legislative councils. Beginning in 1920, Indian leader Mohandas K. Gandhi transformed the Indian National Congress political party into a mass movement to campaign against British colonial rule. The party used both parliamentary and nonviolent resistance and non-cooperation to achieve independence.

On August 15, 1947, India became a dominion within the Commonwealth, with Jawaharlal Nehru as Prime Minister. Enmity between Hindus and Muslims led the British to partition British India, creating East and West Pakistan, where there were Muslim majorities. India became a republic within the Commonwealth after promulgating its constitution on January 26, 1950.

After independence, the Congress Party, the party of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, ruled India under the influence first of Nehru and then his daughter and grandson, with the exception of two brief periods in the 1970s and 1980s.

Prime Minister Nehru governed India until his death in 1964. He was succeeded by Lal Bahadur Shastri, who also died in office. In 1966, power passed to Nehru's daughter, Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister from 1966 to 1977. In 1975, beset with deepening political and economic problems, Mrs. Gandhi declared a state of emergency and suspended many civil liberties. Seeking a mandate at the polls for her policies, she called for elections in 1977, only to be defeated by Moraji Desai, who headed the Janata Party, an amalgam of five opposition parties.

In 1979, Desai's Government crumbled. Charan Singh formed an interim government, which was followed by Mrs. Gandhi's return to power in January 1980. On October 31, 1984, Mrs. Gandhi was assassinated, and her son, Rajiv, was chosen by the Congress (I)--for "Indira"--Party to take her place. His government was brought down in 1989 by allegations of corruption and was followed by V.P. Singh and then Chandra Shekhar.

In the 1989 elections, although Rajiv Gandhi and Congress won more seats in the 1989 elections than any other single party, he was unable to form a government with a clear majority. The Janata Dal, a union of opposition parties, was able to form a government with the help of the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the right and the communists on the left. This loose coalition collapsed in November 1990, and the government was controlled for a short period by a breakaway Janata Dal group supported by Congress (I), with Chandra Shekhar as Prime Minister. That alliance also collapsed, resulting in national elections in June 1991.

On May 27, 1991, while campaigning in Tamil Nadu on behalf of Congress (I), Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated, apparently by Tamil extremists from Sri Lanka. In the elections, Congress (I) won 213 parliamentary seats and put together a coalition, returning to power under the leadership of P.V. Narasimha Rao. This Congress-led government, which served a full 5-year term, initiated a gradual process of economic liberalization and reform, which has opened the Indian economy to global trade and investment. India's domestic politics also took new shape, as traditional alignments by caste, creed, and ethnicity gave way to a plethora of small, regionally based political parties.

The final months of the Rao-led government in the spring of 1996 were marred by several major political corruption scandals, which contributed to the worst electoral performance by the Congress Party in its history. The Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged from the May 1996 national elections as the single-largest party in the Lok Sabha but without enough strength to prove a majority on the floor of that Parliament. Under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the BJP coalition lasted in power 13 days. With all political parties wishing to avoid another round of elections, a 14-party coalition led by the Janata Dal emerged to form a government known as the United Front, under the former Chief Minister of Karnataka, H.D. Deve Gowda. His government lasted less than a year, as the leader of the Congress Party withdrew his support in March 1997. Inder Kumar Gujral replaced Deve Gowda as the consensus choice for Prime Minister of a 16-party United Front coalition.

In November 1997, the Congress Party in India again withdrew support for the United Front. New elections in February 1998 brought the BJP the largest number of seats in Parliament--182--but fell far short of a majority. On March 20, 1998, the President inaugurated a BJP-led coalition government with Vajpayee again serving as Prime Minister. On May 11 and 13, 1998, this government conducted a series of underground nuclear tests forcing U.S. President Clinton to impose economic sanctions on India pursuant to the 1994 Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act.

In April 1999, the BJP-led coalition government fell apart, leading to fresh elections in September. The National Democratic Alliance-a new coalition led by the BJP-gained a majority to form the government with Vajpayee as Prime Minister in October 1999.

History Of Russia

Brief History of Russia and Famous Russians — from the 7th century till nowadays

Disclaimer
Dear WayToRussia.Net visitors. You are going to read the text on Russian History. Please keep in mind that this text was not written by a professional historian. I only tried to describe the main events of the history of my country. Do not blame me if you can’t find here an information about the event or personality which you think is very important. The full course of the Russian history in our universities lasts at least a year comparing with a single webpage on our site – it is impossible to publish here the complete history of Russia. However I tried to produce a relevant overview of the key events. Please consider this text like a story told by your Russian friend, who is trying to give you an image of Russian history, nothing more.
If you are looking for the professional researches on Russian history please refer to the following authors: Vladimir Soloveyv, Nikolay Karamzin, Vasily Kliuchevsky.
- Dan Perushev
The images are used with permission from the Tretyakov Gallery. You can see the originals in Moscow on Lavrushinsky pereulok (Tretyakovskaya metro)


Russian History: In Brief
Russian state developed through several major forms: Kievan Rus’, Muscovy, Russian Empire, Soviet Union, Russian Federation.
The key events in Russian history: the adoption of Christianity from Byzantium Empire, Mongol conquest of Russia, rise of Moscow, peasants serfdom, reforms of Peter the Great, communism, reforms of 1990th.
The key tendencies in Russia’s historical development: geographical expansion and paternalism of the state.


The Ancient Ruses: 7th to 13th Century
The Tribes of Eastern Slavs – the ancient ancestors of Russians occupied Eastern European Valley around 7th century. Slavs were just one of the

(c) Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

several tribes which inhabited the valley, but step by step they became the dominant power.
Russians or Ruses were one of the smaller Slavic tribes, but somehow this name was applied later for the great number of people who settled in the area between Baltic, White, Caspian and Black seas.
The Ruses ascribed supernatural powers to the nature and the Gods they believed in were all named after the sun, the water, the earth... There was a very strong connection to the land and nature and it can still be felt in the language: there are many words to describe forests, fields, sky, water, etc.
The first known East Slavic state emerged in 862 along the Dnepr river valley. Prince Rurik founded the state with the capital in town Kiev that is why the country was called Kievan Rus’. Other major cities of Slavs were Suzdal, Chernigov, Rostov, Vladimir, Novgorod. Kievan Rus’ soon united most of East Slavic lands. In 869 ruler of Kievan Rus’ prince Vladimir adopted Christianity as a dominant religion of the state. Rus’ adopted Christianity from Byzantium and with their religion we adopted much of their culture. It is believed that lack of personal freedom, domination of the state and absolute power of the leaders partly is a result of Byzantium influence.
Unfortunately Kievan Rus’ remained united just for two centuries. The ruling clan was rapidly growing and every prince wanted to get his part of the land. Moreover, regional centers became powerful enough to claim independence from Kiev. So, finally Kievan Rus’ transformed into the bulk of independent and aggressive principalities. The most powerful were Vladimirskoe principality, Galicia and Novgorod republic.


The Mongol Yoke: 13th to 15th Century
In 13th century Kievan Rus’ was attacked by Mongol Empire. The separate armies of principalities were defeated one by one. As a result most of

(c) Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Russian principalities were vassalized by Mongol Empire. Republic of Novgorod was the only region which remained independent.
Mongol occupation which lasted about 200 years is considered to be crucial for the development of Russia. This invasion lead to further disintegration of Kievan Rus’ – princes had no use cooperating with each other, all their problems were solved by Mongols.
Also, the two centuries of the occupation by Asian invaders influenced culture much and made Russia more different from the rest of Europe. The autocracy of Mongols easily implemented in our culture, we also gained the inclination to collective actions and decisions making, rather than to individual ones.
Under Mongols small regional center Moscow developed rapidly. Moscow was just one of many small towns at north east borders of Kievan Rus’. However several trade routes passed through the town. The other advantage of Moscow was a remote and forested location, which prevented frequent Mongol attacks. Prince Daniil inherited a tiny principality of Moscow in 1303. He widely used the advantages of Moscow and started the development of Moscow as a regional center. Daniil and his descendants managed to establish a good relations with Mongols and used the decline of old principalities to increase the wealth and power of Moscow. Finally, to the end of 15th century Muscovy gained control over the most of Russian lands. Muscovy became powerful enough to claim independence. The key battle versus Mongols took part in 1480 at Kulikovo field near Dnepr river. Russians defeated Mongols and Muscovy became independent state.
Muscovy consolidated all ethnically Russian lands in 16th century and started exploring further.


The Period of Expansion: 16th to 18th Century —
Ivan Grozny, Peter the Great
Under the famous tsar Ivan The Terrible (Ivan Groznyy) Russia conquered Tartar states along Volga river and acquired access to Caspian sea. The colonization of Siberia was also started. Unfortunately the never lasting wars had the devastating effect on Muscovy. Moreover ancient ruling clan of Rurikovichy born out in the beginning of 17th century. There was a growing instability in Muscovy. Russian elites failed to produce a suitable strategy for the developing of the state, there was no widely accepted leader to become a new tsar. As a result Civil War had started in Muscovy.
Period of chaos and civil war has lasted from 1598 till 1613 and was called Time of Troubles (Smutnoye Vremya). There were many candidates who fought for the crown. People were unhappy and insecure, famine started. Unstable situation in Muscovy was used by Sweden and Poland to declare war on Russia. Muscovy lost control over western territories and even Moscow itself was captured be Poles in 1610. However Russia managed to survive. Russian army drove Poles out. Zemskiy Sobor was gathered (every area of Russia sent representative in Moscow to vote for new tsar) and proclaimed noble Mikhail Romanov to be a new tsar in 1613. The dynasty of Romanovs began their 300 years reign.
Early Romanovs had to restore the order in Muscovy. The peace treaties with Sweden and Poland were signed. The new legislation code was issued. According to the code every noble had to serve to the state. Landlords gained absolute power over their peasants. Peasants had no right to move from one landlord to another on

(c) Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

their own. In a few words the serfdom was sanctioned by the state. City dwellers could not change their occupation or move from one town to another. Everyone in Moscow had the obligations however most of the rights were handed by tsar and nobility. Muscovy bacame stable, conservative and closed structure.
In 1682 tsar Peter started to reign in Russia. He believed that only through intensive contacts with Europe and European style reforms Russia can be successfully developed. Peter stimulated Russian nobles to get education in Europe. He hired hundreds of officers, engineers and scientists all over Europe to serve in Russia. The connections with Europe though were unstable cause all the routes passed through Poland and Sweden which prevented the development of Russia. The only chance for Russia to get rid of their influence was to get access to Baltic sea, establish port there and acquire the direct link to Western Europe. However with the archaic Russian army and no navy at all Peter failed in the first attempts to conquered needed territories. He was forced to reform the army and equip it with modern weapon and tactics as well as establish Russian navy. The reorganized forces crashed Swedes and Russia acquired access to Baltic sea. The port of Saint-Petersburg was founded at the newly acquired territories in 1703 straight after the war. Saint-Petersburg was rapidly growing and in several years Peter moved capital here to his beloved city from conservative Moscow. Apart from successful foreign affairs, Peter developed the country much. He reformed government structure and system of courts. He put Orthodox Church under the state control. He obliged nobles to get education and founded national Academy of Science. Peter the Great forced the development of Russia, under his rule Russia became powerful state armed with modern institutions and technologies. In 1721 Peter proclaimed Russia an Empire and became the Emperor.


The 19th Century: Decembrists, End of the Serfdom, Reforms
After the death of Peter the Great and until the second half of 19th century Russia remained ambitious and aggressive empire. Russian Emperors were focused on expanding the territory and military power of the state. Russian armies fought versus Prussia, Ottoman Empire, France, Persia, Sweden. As the result of these wars Russia joined Crimea, part of Poland, Georgia, Northern Caucuses, Finland, more territories in Siberia. Domestic policy was not so successful. The power of the emperor was still absolute while peasants remained in serfdom and this troubled the economical development. Several well-educated nobles wished to reform the country in a France revolution way but their projects were not used.
They attempted to make a revolution but their armed revolts in 1825 in Saint-Petersburg and Ukraine were easily defeated by the state. Because the riot happened December, the rebels were called Decembrists. It took about 60 years for the state to get ready for the reforms. Emperor Alexander the Second issued the bill granting personal freedom to the peasants only in 1861.
The second half of 19th century was marked with the growing instability in the state. Many oppositional parties as well as terrorist groups occurred. People demand further reforms – constitution and parliament. One of the countless oppositional parties raised in 1861 in Minsk. It was called then RSDRP (Russian Social-Democratic Party), later they started to call themselves Communists.
The 20th century in Russia started with the catastrophe -Russia lost the war against Japan. Despite that Russia managed to sign a beneficial peace treaty (we had to pay a contribution and lost almost no territories), the consequences of the war were hard to underestimate. This failure showed the ineffectiveness of the state system and lead to the numerous riots and strikes all over Russia in 1905-1907. These two years lasted uprisings were so dangerous for Empire that later were called the First Russian Revolution. State managed to calm down the riots. But as a result emperor Nikolay the Second established a Russian Parliament - Duma and granted certain rights and freedoms to the nation. Nikolay also supported the new prime minister Petr Stolypin who was up to continue the reforms.
Unfortunately the reforms were stopped when terrorist killed Stolypin in 1911.


The First Half of the 20th Century: Revolution, Communists, USSR, Stalin's Industrialisation
The First World War started in 1914, Russia was allied with UK and France and fought versus Germany, Austro-Hungarian Empire and Turkey. This war changed completely the map of Europe and lead to the collapse of

(c) Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Russian Empire as well. Emperor Nikolay the Second handled the power to the Temporary Government on February 27th 1917. The Temporary government attempted to gain control over the country, but it was supported by the bourgeois only. The situation was used by the Bolsheviks who got popularity among soldiers and workers because of their populist slogans and charismatic leader Vladimir Lenin. Bolsheviks revolted on October 25th 1917. It took four more years of Civil war for Bolsheviks to get control over the whole Russia. To the end of this period Russian republic was completely devastated. Millions of people were killed, industry collapsed, famine started, Russia lost control over Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.
Iosef Stalin became the head of the Communist party and the state in 1922 right after the death of Lenin. Soon, the new state was proclaimed – Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Under Stalin the Soviet Union developed heavy industry, sciences, nuclear technologies. Stalin transformed the weak and ruined agricultural country into the powerful industrial state. The forced industrialization claimed a high price. Most of the population lived in misery, millions of peasants died cause state confiscated all their supplies to feed workers. Many millions of people who were critic sizing the system were jailed and died in prisons. The other specialty of Soviet industrialization was heavy industry orientation. Stalin believed that powerful army is most important for the state, so heavy industry emerged. However the consumer goods industry was stagnant. There was lack of food in the country either.


The 2nd World War, 2nd Half of the 20th Century,
Modern Times
Hitler declared the war on Russia on June 22nd 1941. During the first phase of the war Germany army defeated Red Army, blocked St.Petersburg and came as close as 30km to Moscow. Red army stopped

(c) Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Germans only in 1943 at the Battle for Stalingrad and started its victorious reconquest of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe which was finished on May 9th 1945. USSR lost about 25 million people in that war, country was ruined but USSR gained the status of superpower and one of the leading country of the world. Soon after the war former allies became enemies. USSR and USA had different point of view on the European future. The new War could start any minute and the world lived under that threat till 80th.
Soviet leaders which followed Stalin followed his ideas – they developed the army and the industry and sciences whish served army needs. They regulated people’s day to day life with ideology and still proclaimed Communism as the nearest and desirable future of USSR. However they were different in a way. Khrushchev accepted that Stalin’s regime
was too cruel and tried to make everyday life of people better, Brezhnev was too conservative and inefficient, Andropov tried to make Russians effective workers but failed. Finally Gorbachov went in charge. He had an idea that the country must be reformed. He started with the policy of glasnost’– free public access to information and perestroika - implementing democratic principles into the state system. But instead of the reforming USSR this lead to the collapse of the state. When people found out what is going on in USSR they just gave it up and in the 1991 the country ceased to exist. Instead of USSR 15 independent states were proclaimed, Russian Federation became the largest successor of former Union and was headed by the president Boris Eltsin.
Eltsin ruled for 8 years. Under Eltsin the country completely changed. We accepted democracy and capitalism as well as new constitution. Everybody was free to choose life philosophy and ideology. Everyone was free to do anything. That was a time of unlimited freedom and almost no regulations of the state. This lead to the stagnation of economy, shocking price rise and mass unemployment. But by the end of the 90s the country passed through several crisises and steady economical growth has started. The second president of Russia Vladimir Putin is opt to make Russia powerful economy. We will see...


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history Of Palestina

The history of Palestine is the account of events in the greater geographic area in the Southern Levant known since Hadrian's time as Palestine, which includes the West Bank and Gaza and the State of Israel, as well as portions of Jordan and the Golan Heights. The name "Palestine," in the form of the Greek toponym Syria-Palaistinê Syria-(Greek: Παλαιστίνη) is derived from the Greek "Philistin" and is recorded first in the work of the 5th century BCE Ionian historian Herodotus as a geographical description of part of greater Syria. He used it to denote the coastal land of the Mediterranean Sea from Phoenicia down to Egypt, the land originally inhabited by the sea-people, the Philistines.

The term was first used politically to describe all of Provincia Judaea, Galilee, Samaria, and Gaulantis after Roman domination of the Hebrew nation in the Bar Kochba revolt of 132-135 CE. The Romans changed the region's name from Judaea in order to historically disconnect the Jews from their land as punishment for their rebellion against Roman rule.^[1] Jerusalem was re-named Aelia Capitolina.

Herodotus may have taken the name from several regional languages, such as the Ancient Egyptian P-r-s-t, Assyrian Palastu, and the Old Hebrew Pleshet, the latter used in the Bible to refer to land inhabited by the Greco-Aegean non-Semite Philistines.

However, the name for the non-Semitic Philistines was already in existence in the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew word plishtim (פלישתים) appears in the Bible in reference to a non-Semitic seafaring people hailing from Greece. The plishtim, translated into English as "Philistines," settled on the coast of Eretz Yisrael, in what is now Gaza.

The Arabic word Filastin has been used to refer to the region since medieval Arab geographers adopted the Greek name. The appellative "Filastini" (فلسطيني), also derived from the Latinized term Palaestina (Παλαιστίνη), made appearances in Arabic dating to the 7th century CE.

For more on the use of the term "Palestine", see Boundaries and name of the region of Palestine. The history of Palestine covers a different area than historical Israel in that it applies only to the area of the coastal strip from Gaza to Ekron, as well as Wadi Arabah as far as Eilat (historically part of Edom), and does not include those areas trans-Jordan considered part of Israelite Gilead.

History of Islam

The history of Islam centers around one person, Muhammad (also spelled Muhammed or Mohammed). He was born around 570 A.D. and was raised by his extended family after the death of his parents. As he grew, he became dissatisfied with polytheism and came to believe in one God, Allah. He began to have religious visions around age 40. During these visions, Muhammad would receive "messages" or "revelations" from Allah. He would memorize them and teach them to his followers. These visions are now recorded in the Qur'an (or Koran). Muhammad continued to receive these visions and messages until his death in 632 A.D.

The Expansion of Islam

Muhammad's new faith was not widely accepted in his hometown of Mecca. Therefore, he and his followers moved to Medina which means "City of the Prophet". This movement is known as the Hijirat or "the flight". It marks the turning point in Islam and serves as the beginning date on Islamic calendars.

At first, Muhammad was sympathetic to both Christians and Jews, but after their rejection of his teaching, he turned from Jerusalem as the center of worship for Islam to Mecca. He realized he must return to Mecca, and he did, conquering the city. Islam quickly spread throughout the area.

When Muhammad died, he left no document appointing a successor. Some people thought that one of the original converts who had taught with Muhammad, some wanted a member of a powerful political family in the area, and others felt that 'Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad had been divinely designated as successor. An early believer, Abu Bakr was appointed, but died within two years.

Eventually, a power struggle developed as different groups of Muslims believed their method of establishing a successor were the best. The largest argument was over whether the successor should be elected or chosen through heredity. This controversy produced two major sects of Islam known as the Sunnis (followers of the prophet's way) and the Shi'a. The Sunnis are the majority in Islam today.

The Shi'a are the group of Muslims who believe that the successorship should remain within Muhammad's family, and that leaders are spiritually chosen, not politically chosen. They carry with them the pain of Muhammad's son-in-law, 'Ali, who was murdered by Mu'awiya in order to obtain power. Today, the Shi'a dominate Iran.

Sufism is a mystical branch of Islam. Strict Sufis believe that orthodox Islam is too mechanical and impersonal. This group of Islamic mystics seek for direct personal experience of the Divine. Some Muslims think of Sufism is outside the religion of Islam; others see it as simply the esoteric side of the religion.

Nationalism in the Arab world since the rise of Israel as a political power has kept Islam strong. It is a rapidly spreading religion because of its cultural and political appeal and its universal message of peace, temperance and the brotherhood of man.

Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not claim expertise on Islam.

Please send questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and inlcude the URL of this page.

If you are Muslim, your feedback is much appreciated.

References

Godlas, Alan

2008 Sufism's Many Paths. Electronic document, http://www.uga.edu/islam/Sufism.html, accessed November 5, 2008.

McDowell, Josh and Don Stewart

1992[1983] Handbook of Today's Religions. Twelfth printing. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Shelley, Fred M. and Audrey E. Clarke, eds.

1994 Human and Cultural Geography. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Publishers.

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