Thread by @BhandarkarI

48 years (1919-1966)
3 generations of scholars
A critical synthesis of 1259 Manuscripts
&
12,985 plus pages across 19 volumes

-

The making of the Critical Edition of Mahabharata - A long thread

Mahabharata is often deemed the fifth Veda, meaning it is equally venerable as the four Vedas.

The critical edition calls it "an inexhaustible mine for the investigation of religion, mythology, philosophy, law, customs, political and social institutions of the ancient India"

A.K. Ramanujan once said that no Indian reads Mahabharata for the "first time". For many centuries common Indians have grown up with the stories and morals of Mahabharata.

But the variations in recensions of the Mahabharata matched the diversity of India equally maddeningly.

From 19th century onwards scholars and students of the epic increasingly demanded for a "Critical Edition" i.e., a common account to put it in layman's terms.

Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, which was founded in 1917, took up this herculean task in 1919.

N.V Udagikar initiated the project with a specimen of "Virat Parva".

Then in 1925, V.S. Sukthankar (Pictured below) was appointed as the first general editor of the project and he continued until his death on 21 January 1943.

In his own words , “What the promoters of this scheme desire to produce and supply is briefly this: a critical edition of the Mahābhārata in the preparation of which all important versions of the great epic shall have been taken into consideration...".

With this idea, many manuscripts were collected and collated from all across the country, from Kashmir to Kerala. They were in many scripts and languages.

Visvabharati of Sir Rabindranath Tagore & Sarswathi Mahal, Thanjavur also helped the institute in this collation effort.

Each manuscript was analysed and compared stanza by stanza; even the phrasing & wording in each line.

In the final form, stanzas appearing in the most number of manuscripts were taken as the authentic account. And that formed the "constituted text", which has 89,000 stanzas.

The critical edition also comes with a comprehensive "Critical Apparatus" which gives differing versions of the stanzas in the constituted text, and a Prolegomena on the material and methodology (volume I), written by V.S. Sukthankar.

After V.S. Sukthankar, S.K. Belvalkar was appointed as the general editor on April 1, 1943.

Upon his retirement P. L. Vaidya was appointed as General Editor of the project in 1961, while R. N. Dandekar became the joint general editor in 1957.

After 48 years & a critical study of 1259 manuscripts, the project was completed in 1966.

This photo depicts Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, then President of India, felicitating Dr. P. L. Vaidya, on the occasion of the conclusion of the project, September 22, 1966

This monumental effort needed public support and funding. It was the munificent donation of Shrimant Balasaheb Pant Pratinidhi, then chief of the Aundh Sansthan (in current satara district) who provided the much needed impetus.

The introduction of the Critical Edition explains what they aimed for succinctly.

"It is but a modest attempt to present a version of the epic as old as the extant manuscripts material will permit us to reach with some semblance of confidence... " cont.

"It is not the best text of the great epic... It only claims to be the most ancient one according to the direct line of transmission, purer than others as it is free of the obvious errors of copying and spurious addition"

Ever since its completion, the critical edition has become the gold standard for the study of Mahabharata. It is has been the most authentic source of reference for scholars around the world, and even for BR Chopra, who credited it as the source in his popular TV series.

The Critical Edition of the Mahabharata is the most cherished creation of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.

It is also going be the source material for our upcoming course, "18 Parvans of Mahabharata: An Introduction to the Incredible Epic".

https://twitter.com/BhandarkarI/status/1393109855624306689

As we begin our "Mahabharata Month", we could not think of a better topic to start with.

Stay tuned and join us @BhandarkarI in this celebration of the #IncredibleMahabharata

@threadreaderapp unroll