CONTENTS MAHABHARATA-B14 Book 14: Aswamedha-Anugita Parva

[Anne Terri]

"GOD'S LIVING BIBLE ---- THE THIRD TESTAMENT ----- RESEARCH LIBRARY"
©*
HINDUISM
THE MAHABHARATA
of
Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa

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Book 14: Aswamedha Parva-Anugita Parva

Aswamedhika Parva

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ANUGITA PARVA XVI-L

Section XVI
Section XVII
Section XVIII
Section XIX
Section XX

Section XXI
Section XXII
Section XXIII
Section XXIV
Section XXV

Section XXVI
Section XXVII
Section XXVIII
Section XXIX
Section XXX

Section XXXI
Section XXXII
Section XXXIII
Section XXXIV
Section XXXV

Section XXXVI
Section XXXVII
Section XXXVIII
Section XXXIX
Section XL

Section XLI
Section XLII
Section XLIII
Section XLIV
Section XLV

Section XLVI
Section XLVII
Section XLVIII
Section XLIX
Section L

ANGUITA PARVA LI-XCII

Section LI
Section LII
Section LIII
Section LIV
Section LV

Section LVI
Section LVII
Section LVIII
Section LIX
Section LX

Section LXI
Section LXII
Section LXIII
Section LXIV
Section LXV

Section LXVI
Section LXVII
Section LXVIII
Section LXIX
Section LXX

Section LXXI
Section LXXII
Section LXXIII
Section LXXIV
Section LXXV

Section LXXVI
Section LXXVII
Section LXXVIII
Section LXXIX
Section LXXX

Section LXXXI
Section LXXXII
Section LXXXIII
Section LXXXIV
Section LXXXV

Section LXXXVI
Section LXXXVII
Section LXXXVIII
Section LXXXIX
Section XC
Section XCI
Section XCII

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Contents of The Mahabharata Book 14

Ashvamedhika Parva (The Book of the Horse Sacrifice)

The royal ceremony of the Ashvamedha (Horse sacrifice) conducted by Yudhishthira. The world conquest by Arjuna. The Anugita is told by Krishna to Arjuna.

WIKIPEDIA

THE MAHABHARATA of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa

This book, one of the concluding portions of the Mahabharata, is notable for several reasons.
The first is a long interposed section of Upanishadic material, known the as Anugita. This occupies a large part of this book; Arjuna asks Krishna to repeat his battlefield discourse (the Bhaghavad Gita in Book 6). What follows is a somewhat disjointed metaphysical treatise which was probably composed at a much later date than the main narrative. This has also been translated in the Sacred Books of the East by Telang.

Following the Anugita is the story of Utanka, a disciple of Krishna who undergoes a fairy-tale-like journey involving a cannibal king, magic earrings and a journey to the underworld.

Finally there is the story of the great Horse Sacrifice of Yudhishthira, which resumes the main narrative of the Mahabharata. The Horse Sacrifice was the premiere ceremony of the Yajur-Veda, a scapegoat-like expiatory ritual of unmatched extravagance. A magnificent wild black horse is set loose from Hastinapur, the Kuru capital. In hot pursuit is the Kuru army, let by Arjuna. They must follow this horse, wherever it may lead. They are required to engage in ritual combat with the Kshatria (military caste) of whatever territory it enters, without killing the leader of the opposing force. Then they invite the trespassed nation to the sacrifice. In the course of this journey they settle some old scores.

The horse returns to the capital city, and the ritual starts; amidst a pavilion of pure gold the horse is sacrificed. However, at the last moment, a mongoose with a gold head pops out of the ground and states that the Horse Sacrifice is of less meaning than a Brahman who sacrificed a handful of barley during a famine. With this bizarre anticlimax the book--and possibly the original narrative of the Mahabharata--ends.

--John Bruno Hare, January 16, 2004.

PRODUCTION NOTES: (1/12/2004) The printed edition we used divided this book into two parts. Note that each part's page numbering starts at page one, so if you cite a page number in this etext for some reason, you will also need to cite the part. --John Bruno Hare.

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“God / Brahman Speaking To Anne Terri Through The Holy Spirit: This will be an ongoing endeavor, which will take many hours to build. I Begin this new section within The Third Testament - Research Library, to Bring forward one of the most important ancient texts of Hinduism, The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa as translated into English from Sanskrit. by Kisari Mohan Ganguli [1883-1896] In doing so, I have Asked of Anne to begin advanced studies on this, for the purposes of future links with other Hindu Study Guides currently in process. It is important to note that
The Mahabharata was written between 540 and 300 B.C. Most credit has been given to Vyasa. The Bhagavad Gita appears in Book 6. .... Juliet Sutherland, Project Manager. at sacred-texts.com, 2003, has asked that the Attribution appear with this public domain work as it is written below. AMEN”

*© NOTICE OF ATTRIBUTION
Scanned at sacred-texts.com, 2003. Proofed at Distributed Proofing, Juliet Sutherland, Project Manager. Additional proofing and formatting at sacred-texts.com, by J. B. Hare. This text is in the public domain. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice of attribution is left intact.