Dhananjaya
Preface
Before
commencing work on this novel, I had to deep dive into the copious Epic that is
the Mahabharata. But my composition is neither a
translation of the Mahabharata, nor a
researched critique of the same. It is, as matter of fact, a narrative that is
entirely bereft of the spiritual and dogmatic concepts that were enshrined
therein. Rather, this novel narrates a series of incidents painted on the
canvas of a time and age long past. I have attempted to free it from the
encumbrances of supernaturalism and superlatives that the classics inevitably
entail. A consequence of this has been that incidents brought out in the novel
are capable of validation on social and scientific grounds – which, in fact,
are a sine qua non for the present
day reader. As a result, even though most of the events recounted have their
basis in the Mahabharata, the reader
is bound to discover a fresh approach in their narration.
Now for some
thoughts on the subject matter of this novel:-
नारायणं नमस्कृत्य नरं चैव नरोत्तमम्।
देवीं सरस्वतीं व्यासं ततो जयमुदीर येत्।।
This Shloka is to be found at the
commencement in the Mahabharata, and would translate as- “Invoke the
names of Narayan (Shri Krishna), the ideal amongst men (Arjun), Goddess
Saraswati and Maharishi Ved Vyas before commencing the study of the
Mahabharata.”
तौ मन्नियोगाद् ब्रह्मर्षे क्षितौ जातौ महाद्युती।
भूमेर्भारावतरणं
महावीर्यो करिष्यतः।।
“O Brahmrishi! These two splendorous beings -- Ideal man and
Narayan have taken birth on Earth only at My behest. They are destined to
relieve the world of its sinful burdens.” This
is the exchange of dialogue between Lord Indra and Lomush Muni.
प्रीतिमानस्मि ते पार्थ तव सत्यपराक्रम।
गृहाण
वरमस्मत्तः काङ्क्षितं पुरुषोत्तम।।
न त्वया पुरुषः
कश्चित् पुमान्
मर्त्येषु मानद।
दिवि वा वर्तते
क्षतं त्वत्प्रधानमरिंदम॥
“Paarth! Your power and might are faultless;
I am therefore very pleased with you. Ask what you will from me, as a boon.
There is none on earth or in the heavens to compare with your valor. You are
the best of all the Kshatriyas.” None other than Lord Mahadev addresses Arjun
thus, after engaging in battle with him. Pleased with Arjun, he bestows upon
him the Paashupat Divyaastra, saying-
अवध्यो नाम
नास्त्यत्र त्रैलोक्ये
चराचरे।
मनसा चक्षुषा
वाचा धनुषा च
निपातयेत्॥
“In the entire creation, moveable and
immovable, there exists no being who can survive a lethal attack from this
Divyaastra. The warrior invoking this Divine Weapon is capable of decimating
his enemies by dint of his mental resolve, his vision, his speech and his
bow-and-arrow.”
एतस्य कर्ता
लोकेऽस्मिन्नान्यः कश्चन विद्यते।
आग्नेयं वारुणं
सौम्यं वायव्यमथ वैष्णवम् ॥
ऐन्द्रं पाशुपतं
ब्रह्मं पारमेष्ठ्यं प्रजापतेः।
धातुस्त्वष्टुश्च
सवितुर्वैवस्वतमथापि वा॥
सर्वस्मिन्मानुषे
लोके वेत्त्येको हि धनञ्जयः।
कृष्णो वा
देवकीपुत्रो नान्यो वेदेह कश्चन ॥
“There is none else in this creation
possessing like valor. Aagneya, Varun, Saumya, Vaayavya, Aindra, Paashupat, Brahma,
Paarameshthya, Prajaapatya, Dhaatra, Twaashtra, Saavitra and Vaivaswat – these
Divyaastras have been mastered by none other than Dhananjaya or Devki Nandan
Krishna.” So said Bhishm
Pitamah as he lay on his bed of arrows awaiting death.
This novel
narrates the temporal tale of the very warrior who has been described in the
foregoing Shlokas. It is the tale of that superhuman character
Dhananjaya who can be variously characterized as the ideal man, the jewel in
the crown of the Kshatriyas, and the key pivotal character in this
monumental Epic by Ved Vyas. There is a multitude of Shlokas singing
paeans of Arjun in the Mahabharata, eliminating any room for doubt as to
who the hero of that composition is, whether it’s the protagonist’s character
or his valor that is being talked about.
But it is
noteworthy here that Maharishi Ved Vyas’s Mahabharata is an Epic; as
such, it is endowed with the attributes of our ancient Scriptures viz. supernaturalism
and superlatives. While describing the character of protagonists, the Poet
tends to elevate the narrative to superhuman levels. Their faults and foibles
are either lost sight of, or ‘brushed under the carpet’. Also, at some places
the incidents narrated seem to almost defy reason, thereby appearing a tad
contrived. This could lead to cynicism in the readers’ minds.
Man’s amplitude of
thinking things through and analyzing them is so wide that conflicting thoughts
often ensue. What emerges therefore is a plethora of varying interpretations of
classics such as the Mahabharata. If the portions embedded in this Epic
as the Bhagavad Gita were to be excluded, it could be safely stated that
Ved Vyas’s composition is straightforward and not open to a multitude of
interpretations. Thus, if one were to take away the poetic ejaculations and
confine oneself to a narrative of events and their consequences, the storyline
would lend itself to a far easier interpretation of its key characters by the
readers.
The Mahabharata
is an extensive text, for which reason it is read from start to finish by very
few readers. The majority amongst us have probably imbibed it by way of short
stories, poems, or word-of-mouth narratives. Consequently, none of us probably
have more than a ‘nodding acquaintance’ with the Classic; also, our perceptions
about the various events and occurrences are probably molded by the narrator’s
interpretation of the same. It is more than likely that in order to make the
narrative more appealing, it may have been considerably ‘spiced up’ from time to
time. The characters and attributes of the various players in this great drama
may also have been subjected to the brush of selective subjectivity over time.
When I got down to
reading the Mahabharata in original, there were times when I was
wonderstruck…there were several instances of incidents being portrayed
radically differently in the Classic, than their ‘public perception’. And so
indelibly ingrained have they become in our collective imaginations, that it
would be a herculean task to alter them now. If these were to be highlighted
now, the only consequence I can envisage is strident criticism of the original
text and author.
In this novel, the
readers will find some matter that will come across as absolutely new. Some of
these narratives, even if familiar to readers, may have been differently
perceived by them up until now. But it is my wish to reassure readers on one
account; that despite a generous embellishment of imagination on my part, I
have kept in entirety the characteristics and attributes of the major
protagonists untouched. Nowhere have I compromised their fundamental character
while depicting any event or sequence of events.
In order that my
novel also reaches readers in English, I contacted Mr. Rajeev Nair with a view
to having it translated. Not only is he blessed with a thorough grasp of the
English language, he is also fairly widely read insofar as both Hindi and
English literature is concerned. From Vedic literature to contemporary writing
in Hindi and English, his reading habit spans a wide and multi-hued canvas. I
therefore envisaged that there was no one better suited to translate my Labor
of Love. As he enthusiastically attacked this project and started sharing the
translated Chapters with me one by one, I was spellbound to perceive that they
seemed, not like mere translations, but more like independent narratives in the
English language!
Since the novel
bases its narrative in a setting three or four thousand years ago, there
feature, naturally, some words that are rooted entirely in the Indian context.
Indian readers would be well attuned to these as part of their expanded
vocabulary; but translating these for the benefit of other readers certainly
presented a challenge. Mr. Rajeev Nair would have had to dig deep to generate
English equivalents that would, above all, convey the sense in which a
particular word has been used by the author – rather than just its literal
meaning. His effort has been to make sure that the translations of these
typically Indian expressions captivated, rather than confounded, such readers!
I am thankful to him from the bottom of my heart for ‘having made this novel
his own’, thereby serving as the catalyst for disseminating my composition to a
much wider audience.
-- Pratap Narayan Singh.
कोई टिप्पणी नहीं:
एक टिप्पणी भेजें