The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1: Books 1, 2 and 3
General
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1: Books 1, 2 and 3
Epic literature, Sanskrit
And what is seen in the universe, whether animate or inanimate, of
created things, will at the end of the world, and after the expiration of
the Yuga, be again confounded. And, at the commencement of other Yugas,
all things will be renovated, and, like the various fruits of the earth,
succeed each other in the due order of their seasons. Thus continueth
perpetually to revolve in the world, without beginning and without end,
this wheel which causeth the destruction of all things.
The generation of Devas, in brief, was thirty-three thousand,
thirty-three hundred and thirty-three. The sons of Div were Brihadbhanu,
Chakshus, Atma Vibhavasu, Savita, Richika, Arka, Bhanu, Asavaha, and
Ravi. Of these Vivaswans of old, Mahya was the youngest whose son was
Deva-vrata. The latter had for his son, Su-vrata who, we learn, had three
sons,--Dasa-jyoti, Sata-jyoti, and Sahasra-jyoti, each of them producing
numerous offspring. The illustrious Dasa-jyoti had ten thousand,
Sata-jyoti ten times that number, and Sahasra-jyoti ten times the number
of Sata-jyoti’s offspring. From these are descended the family of the
Kurus, of the Yadus, and of Bharata; the family of Yayati and of
Ikshwaku; also of all the Rajarshis. Numerous also were the generations
produced, and very abundant were the creatures and their places of abode.
The mystery which is threefold--the Vedas, Yoga, and Vijnana Dharma,
Artha, and Kama--also various books upon the subject of Dharma, Artha,
and Kama; also rules for the conduct of mankind; also histories and
discourses with various srutis; all of which having been seen by the
Rishi Vyasa are here in due order mentioned as a specimen of the book.
The Rishi Vyasa published this mass of knowledge in both a detailed and
an abridged form. It is the wish of the learned in the world to possess
the details and the abridgement. Some read the Bharata beginning with the
initial mantra (invocation), others with the story of Astika, others with
Uparichara, while some Brahmanas study the whole. Men of learning display
their various knowledge of the institutes in commenting on the
composition. Some are skilful in explaining it, while others, in
remembering its contents.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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