Scholars
locate the historical setting of the Mahabharata in a vast area of
northern India sometime around 1000 BC. The poem features the classical
Indo-Aryan civilization—a culture that represents a mix of two groups:
the indigenous Indus valley peoples and the Aryans. The latter group
invaded the Indus region and subsequently assimilated elements of the
Indus society as part of their own.
Indus Valley Civilization
Archealogical evidence has uncovered a somewhat mysterious Bronze Age
culture that existed along the Indus river in what is today Pakistan, a
nation situated to the immediate west of modern India. Contemporary with
the ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations, the Indus Valley
culture thrived between about 2500 and 1500 BC. Largely agricultural, the
Indus peoples seem to have had a relatively complex society and advanced
material culture. They lived in mud-brick dwellings, produced art and
pottery, lived under a loosely democratic form of government, and offered
women an equitable status in relation to that of men. Other aspects of
their social organization remain a mystery to archaeologists, though they
worshipped and sacrificed to many gods, including Indra and Agni, both of
whom appear in the Mahabharata. Their belief system also seems to
have been an early form of the Vedic religion. Its precepts were later
organized and written down by the Aryans as the Vedas, the early
sacred texts of the Hindu religion.
Aryan Culture
By around 1500 BC the warlike Aryans (a northern tribe whose name means
"noble" in Sanskrit) had begun to invade the Indus valley,
subjugating and later assimilating many of the indigenous peoples they
found there. With their skills in iron metallurgy, the Aryans brought the
Indian subcontinent under their rule and created a highly advanced
civilization along the valleys of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, the
geographical location of the Mahabharata. In contrast to the Indus
peoples, the Aryans were militaristic, with a strongly patriarchal, or
male-dominated, society. Their culture was organized along a strict
hierarchy that eventually developed into the caste system—a social
design in which priests and warriors occupied positions of authority and
power. By the 5th century BC, the Aryan civilization in India had become
an advanced feudal aristocracy, made up of several constituent states.
Kingship and court life had grown increasingly important. Meanwhile,
stable institutions, professional occupations, a trade economy, and a rich
tradition of Sanskrit literature had developed.
The Caste System
The rigid system of social hierarchy developed by the Aryans was based on
hereditary class divisions called castes. Justified by religious and
cultural means, the caste system has become a recognizable part of Hindu
culture that survives today, though in a very different form. Within the
Aryan system, individuals were classified into four varnas, or
"classes." At the top of the hierarchy were the Brahmins or
priests. Though lacking political power, the Brahmins had created the
system, and therefore placed themselves in positions of respect above the
rest of society. They performed sacrifices and other religious ceremonies,
and relied on the generosity of the lower castes for their economic
survival. They were also teachers, instructing younger members of the
Kshatriya or warrior class in particular, as Drona and Kripacharya do in
the Mahabharata. Brahmins often appear in the Mahabharata as
hermits or ascetics, individuals who have sacrificed material wealth and
human desires in order to attain religious enlightenment. The Brahmins
were typically the source of great awe and respect in classical Indian
civilization. Below the Brahmins in the caste system were the Kshatriyas,
or warriors. These individuals made up the ruling class of Aryan society.
Including kings, princes, and the remainder of the social aristocracy,
nearly all of the significant individuals in the Mahabharata are
members of the Kshatriya caste. Beneath the warriors were the Vaisyas,
merchants, farmers and other non-aristocratic individuals. Still further
below the Vaisyas were the Sudhras. Laborers and servants to the higher
classes, the Sudhras also included slaves. Outside the system were the
Untouchables. These individuals were considered without caste. This group
included social exiles, religious outcasts, and Dravidians (the aboriginal
inhabitants of India). The caste system required that individuals never
marry outside their caste. Likewise, many occupations were unavailable to
members of a particular caste. Sometimes the restrictions of caste could
be overcome, however. Prince Duryodhana, for example, makes Karna—whom
he believes is the son of a charioteer—the King of Anga. In the context
of the story, however, this is intended to demonstrate the temporal power
of the prince rather than the possibility of moving to a higher caste,
which did not in fact exist. Individuals were caste-bound throughout their
lives—although a good person could look forward to being reborn as a
member of a higher caste.
Hinduism
Out of the tradition of the Vedic religion that flourished in the Indus
River Valley came the major world religion called Hinduism. The term
"hindu'' comes from the word "sindu," or
river—specifically the Indus River. Those who practiced the religion,
which today is prominent in India, parts of Africa and southeast Asia, and
other parts of the world, worship a large number, or pantheon, of gods.
Among the most popular are Shiva and Vishnu, both of whom appear in the Mahabharata—Vishnu
as an earthly manifestation of Krishna. The sacred texts of Hinduism
include the four Vedas and the Upanishads, a collection of
ancient wisdom and ethical writings. Among the other great Hindu texts are
several non-sacred, or secular works. These include the eighteen puranas
or "ancient tales," the most important of which are the Mahabharata,
specifically the section of Krishna's speech to Arjuna known as the Bhagavad
Gita, and the Ramayana. Dramatized in these works are the key
ideas of Hinduism. To begin with, the religion teaches a cyclic conception
of the universe. Over vast periods of time the universe is created and
destroyed, endlessly. Likewise, human life flows in cycles. The human
soul, according to Hindu doctrine, is immortal and might experience
countless lifetimes on earth. This process is called samsara, which
means reincarnation or transmigration of the soul. The form that the soul
will take in succeeding lifetimes is ruled by the dictates of karma.
Karma, sometimes characterized as "the fatality of the
act" is, simply put, the workings of a cosmic law of retribution.
According to karma, good actions in this lifetime will be rewarded
in the next, and evil deeds will be punished. Those who are predominately
good might be reincarnated into a higher caste, those who are evil might
be born into a lower one, or even as a lower form of life, such as an
animal. Heaven, in this system, still exists but only as a temporary stage
where souls wait before being reborn. Eventually an end to the cycles of
death and rebirth might be achieved, however, if one can attain moksa,
or release from worldly desires, and learn to no longer differentiate
between the individual soul (atman) and the universal soul (Brahman).
