Philosophers have historically considered the Mahabharata to be superior to the Vedas. This is because the Vedas have three meanings, whereas the Mahabharata is said to have ten different meanings. Additionally, the Mahabharatha conveys the meaning of the Vedas in the form of a story. Therefore, it is at once historic and Vedic. It is also meant to impart Vedic knowledge to those who are unequipped to study the Vedas. As learning about the great characters of the Mahabharata will fetch merit, it is certainly not a fiction.
In his commentary to the Mahabharata, called Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya, Sri Madhwacharya illustrates how the Mahabharata enriches the understanding of the Vedas. He opines that the Vedic incantation “tē:’vardhAnta svatAvasō mahitvanA nAkaṁ cakrirē sadAḥ| viṣṇuryaddhAvad vr̥ṣaṇaṁ madacyutaṁ vAyō na sīdannAdhi barhiṣi priyē||” narrates the story of the Mahabharata. In Tatparya Niryana, he includes a verse of this incantation, “tē:’vardhAnta svatAvasō mahitvanA”, in reference to the Pandavas.
Briefly, this incantation means thus: “By the ability and glory of the Independent Lord, the Pandavas grew up similar to the way birds flourish in a perilous forest. Further, by the grace of God, the Pandavas created a paradise wherever they were.”
Birds are not capable of defending themselves from the many dangers of the forest. However, it is only through the grace of God that they are able survive and grow up. Similarly, the Pandavas lived in several uncomfortable and mountainous terrains. The place Pandukeshwara, where Bheemasena was born, is a hamlet, that is difficult to reach even to this day. However, they overcame their many difficulties by the grace of the omnipotent Lord.
Although they were always protected by the Supreme Lord, the Pandavas never refrained from performing their duties. With His grace, they harnessed their inner abilities and grew up, relieving the people around them of troubles and creating an environment like a paradise, wherever they went. Throughout the Mahabharata, there are several instances which depict these feats of the Pandavas. It is evident from these illustrations that the meaning of the Vedas can be understood by studying the Mahabharata.
Among the characters of the Mahabharata, Bheemasena – an incarnation of Lord Vayu – plays the second most important role, following the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna. The glory of Bheemasena is so great that it has been acknowledged in the Vedas. In the BaḷitthA sūkta, there is a mention of his might, which comprises both his physical and mental strength. Lord Vayu is the personification of strength and therefore, so are his incarnations.
The Vedic verse “pr̥kṣō vapuḥ pitumAn nitya A śayē dvitīyamA saptaśivAsu mAtr̥ṣu” subtly but elegantly describes the two qualities of Bheemasena that must be known: “pr̥kṣaḥ” and “pitumAn”. The meanings of these qualities are elaborated as follows:
“pr̥t” means army. One who can decimate an army is “pr̥kṣaḥ”. Bheemasena destroyed the armies of his enemies. The uniqueness of this ability of Bheemasena is that he did not need any weapons to do so. Sri Vadirajateertha aptly says that Bheemasena’s fists and sight were his most formidable weapons. Therefore, annihilating an army of his enemies was a sport for Bheemasena. However, although he destroyed several armies of traitors and those who had hatred towards the Supreme Lord, Bheemasena ensured that not even one devotee of the Lord was harmed in the process. Such was his capability.
“pitu” means food that protects us, and “pitumAn” means one who possesses such food. The lines “baṇḍi annavanuṇḍitu kūsu” and “viṣada laḍḍuge medditu kūsu” (from the composition “kūsina kaṇḍirA” by Sri Purandaradasa) can help us to understand the meaning of the Vedic word “pitumān”.
“baṇḍi annavanuṇḍitu kūsu” refers to the incident in which Bheemasena consumes a cartload of food that was meant for the demon Bakasura. When Bakasura was about to attack, Bheemasena stops him, offers the food to God, consumes it, and then kills Bakasura. By doing so, he protected the people of that town. This was a task which nobody else could do. “viṣada laḍḍuge medditu kūsu” refers to the incident where Bheemasena, knowing about the evil plot of the Kauravas, consumed all the poisoned sweets given by them, in order to protect the other Pandavas.
In this manner, the Vedas and the Mahabharata educate us on the merciful “pitumān” quality of Bheemasena, who consumed food not for his personal gain but in the pursuit of protecting others. He is the incarnation of Lord Vayu, who consumed poison and gave amr̥ta (divine elixir) to others.
It must be noted that material food is known to have ill effects on the mind. An example of such an effect can be seen in the case of Shantanu, the incarnation of Varuna. Because of the effect of material food, Shantanu fails to recognize his wife Ganga. However, such material food has no effect on Lord Vayu. Sri Vadirajateertha says that even on consuming material food, the three incarnations of Lord Vayu have never experienced any mental weaknesses. It can be observed from the study of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and Sri MadhwaVijaya that Hanuma, Bheema and Madhwa (the three incarnations of Lord Vayu) never experienced any ignorance, misunderstanding or forgetfulness, even though they consumed material food.
In the Mahabharata, Bheeshma, who preaches Lord Sri Krishna’s supremacy, also talks of Bheemasena’s divine attributes as “tatvajñAnē viṣṇubhaktau dhairye sthairyē parAkramē | vēgē ca lāghavē caiva pralApasya ca varjanē|| bhīmasēnasamō nAsti sēnayōrubhayōrapi | pAṇḍityē ca paṭutvē ca śūratvē ca balē:’pi ca ||” — “No one, in either army, equals Bheemasena in philosophical knowledge, devotion towards Lord Vishnu, courage, stability, valour, speed, swiftness as well as learnedness, skill, bravery and strength.”
Throughout the Mahabharatha, we can see various instances which stand out as examples of the several exceptional qualities of Bheemasena, and, therefore, the study of Mahabharata is incomplete without learning about Bheemasena. This is the intrinsic ability and glory of Bheemasena. We must all constantly recollect his divine qualities and pray that he protects us.
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