An ancient Sanskrit “mythological” Account
This little-known account, found in the Karna Parva of the Mahabharata, provides details concerning the triumph of the gods—thus ending the war—which are not contained in the more familiar Greek traditions. According to the latter, the war between the Titans and Olympians raged on for ten years in a sort of stalemate, until Zeus “no longer restrained his soul, but straightway his mind was filled with fury and he showed forth all his might.” His bolts “flew near at hand” with thunder and with lightning, while in his hands he was “rolling a holy flame.” It crashed as it “burned the life-giving earth,” and the “infinite wood cried aloud with fire.” The oceans “seethed and boiled” as volcanoes (Cottus, Briareus and Gyes) hurled rocks by the hundreds. Once defeated, the warlike Titans are bound and imprisoned forever in Tartarus, a mythological prison far beneath the “waves of the restless ocean” in the far West. The hint is given that “divine weapons”—given to Zeus by Kyklopes and Hekatoncheires—turned the tide against the Titans.
WAR OF THE GODS AND ASURAS
From the Karna Parva of the Mahabharata
Translated from the Sanskrit
by Protap Chandra Roy
Depicted is the Great War between the Devas and the Asuras.
INTRODUCTION
The Sanskrit Karna Parva, given below in English translation, is much more detailed, describing at least two battles involving aerial vehicles known as vimanas. The first battle fails to topple the ocean-based regime; but eventually an especially large vimana is constructed and equipt with celestial weaponry, including something containing the “power of the universe” (nuclear energy?). Sankara (herein called Mahadeva or “Great God”) is given command of this aerial vehicle. He enters this celestial car, accompanied by cheering deities, and ascends into the heavens fully armed with powerful celestial weapons. Flying resolutely toward his enemies the Daityas and Danavas (Titans), Sankara streaks from the skies in his radiant vimana, and ends the ten year-long war by firing this god-given weapon straight at Tripura, the capital city of Atala, totally destroying Triple City and sending the entire rebellious race of Asuras burning to the bottom of the “Western Ocean”. Here is the account (edited because it is about a dozen pages long) from the Karna Parva:
Duryodhana said,—Listen, once more, O ruler of the Madras, to what I will say unto thee, about what happened, O lord, in the battle between the gods and the Asuras in the days of yore! The great Rishi Markandeya narrated it to my sire. I will now recite it without leaving out anything, O best of royal sages! Listen to that account confidingly and without mistrusting it at all. Between the gods and the Asuras, each desirous of vanquishing the other, there happened a great battle, O king, which had Takara for its evil (root). . . Those Asuras then, filled with joy . . .and having settled it among themselves about the construction of the three cities [Tripura], selected for the purpose the great Asura Maya, the celestial artificer, knowing no fatigue or decay, and worshipped by all the Daityas and Danavas. Then Maya, of great intelligence, by the aid of his own ascetic merit, constructed the three cities . . . all in such a way as to revolve in a circle, O lord of Earth! Each of those cities measured a hundred Yojanas in breadth and a hundred in length. And they consisted of houses and mansions and lofty walls and porches. And though teeming with lordly palaces close to each other yet the streets were wide and spacious. And they were adorned with diverse mansions and gate-ways . . .
Those three Daitya kings, soon assailing the three worlds with their energy, continued to dwell and reign, and began to say,—”Who is he called the Creator?” . . . Crowned with success by means of austere penances, those enhancers of the fears of the gods sustained, O king, no diminution [sic] in battle. Stupified then by covetousness and folly, and deprived of their senses, all of them began to shamelessly exterminate the cities and towns established all over the universe. Filled with pride . . . the wicked Danavas ceased to show any respect for anybody. While the worlds were thus afflicted, Sakra [Cukra, in some translations], surrounded by the Maruts, battled against the three cities by hurling his thunder upon them from every side. When however Paradara failed to pierce those cities . . . the chief of the celestials . . . asked the divine Grandsire the means by which triple city could be destroyed. The illustrious deity, hearing the words of Indra, told the gods,—”He that is an offender against you offends me also . . . Those three forts are to be pierced with one shaft. By no other means can their destruction be effected.” (Karna Parva, Section XXXIII)
The gods said,—”Gathering all forms that may be found in the three worlds and taking portions of each, we will, O Lord of the gods, construct a car [vimana] of great energy for thee. It will be a large car, the handy-work of Viswakarman, designed with intelligence.”—Saying this, those tigers among the gods began the construction of that car . . . the Mind became the ground upon which that car stood, and Speech the tracks upon which it was to proceed. Beautiful banners of various hues waved in the air. With lightning and Indra’s bow [celestial weapons?] attached to it, that blazing car gave fierce light.
Thus equipt, that car shone brilliantly, like a blazing fire in the midst of the priests officiating at a sacrifice. Beholding that car properly equipt, the gods became filled with wonder. Seeing the energies of the entire universe united together in one place, O sire, the gods wondered, and at last represented unto that illustrious Deity that the car was ready. After, O monarch, that best of cars had thus been constructed by the gods . . . Sankara placed upon it his own celestial weapons . . . the gods repaired unto the Grandsire, and inclining him to grace, said these words . . . ‘A car [vimana] has been constructed by us, equipt with many wonderful weapons . . .’
Then Mahadeva, terrifying the very gods, and making the very Earth tremble, ascended that car resolutely . . . When that boon-giving Lord, that despeller of the fears of the three worlds, thus proceeded, the entire universe, all the gods, O best of men, became exceedingly gratified . . . having ascended the car [Sankara], set out for the Asuras . . . to the spot where the Daityas are!
When the boon-giving Brahman, having ascended the car, set out for the Asuras . . . towards that spot where triple city . . . stood, protected by the Daityas and Danavas . . . The triple city then appeared immediately before that god of unbearable energy, that deity of fierce and indescribable form, that warrior who was desirous of slaying the Asuras. The illustrious deity . . . sped that shaft which represented the might of the whole universe, at the triple city. . . loud wails of woe were heard from those cities as they began to fall . . . Burning those Asuras, he threw them down into the Western Ocean. Thus was the triple city burnt and thus were the Danavas exterminated by Maheswara . . . (Karna Parva, Section XXXIV)
* * * COMMENTS * * *
Notice that the war occurred in “the days of yore,” which indicates an immense distance in time prior to the narration of the story. Just as Plato related in his account, the oral succession (the means by which the tale was passed down) is also given. Notice that Tripura is described as of circular construction and divided into three concentric parts. According to Plato, the capital city of Atlantis was disk-shaped, and divided into three parts by circular canals.
According to this account (Section XXXIII), the “excellent Ocean” was said to be the abode of the Danavas, just as Okeanos (located in the far West) was the location of Hesiod’s Titans—likewise the Atlanteans of Plato’s account. According to a standard Sanskrit Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 1974) the Danavas of the Mahabharata are identical with the Titans; and according to Diodorus the gods of the Atlanteans originated in that same Ocean, known today as the Atlantic Ocean (Ullman & Henry, 1953).
According to the above narrative, pride gained the upper hand when one military success led to another, until the Daitya kings wanted to take over the whole world, which created a tremendous panic and fear. But the gods engineered the destruction of the evil culprits by creating a weapon containing the “energy of the universe”. It is stated that the only way Tripura can be destroyed is by a single “shaft” (missle?) powerful enough to destroy all three parts at one time. This would require a destructive blow on a par with what we know today as nuclear energy.
The deific “power” the gods invoked upon that shaft during its preparation for use is described in these chilling, but graphic, words: “Then . . . smoke . . . looking like ten thousand Suns, and shrouded by the fire of super-abundant Energy, blazed up with splendour.” (Section XXXIV) This sounds very much like a nuclear test! The question is, how could the ancient Hindu sages so graphically describe an event they had never witnessed? (Important NOTE*)
Following the destruction of Triple City, the land sinks beneath the Western Ocean (Section XXXIV). There can be no doubt that all such references are to the Atlantic Ocean! The ball of “holy flame” utilized by Zeus in Hesiod’s account is not far removed from the smoke “looking like ten thousand Suns” which “blazed up in splendour” in the Sanskrit account.
ALSO FROM THE MAHABHARATA
The Mahabharata (the complete English translation of which comprises twelve large volumes) contains numerous such accounts. The Drona Bhisheka contains a short description of the destruction of another of the cities of Atala (the “White Island”) called Saubha.
“Putting forth his prowess, Mahadeva hurled into the sea the paradisiacal [sic.] Daitya city called Saubha protected by Salwa, and regarded as impregnable . . . these all he vanquished in battle: The Avantis [close to “Atlantis”!], the Southerners, the Mountaineers . . . In days of old, penetrating into the very sea, he vanquished in battle Varuna himself in those watery depths, surrounded by all kinds of aquatic animals.” (Drona Bhisheka, Section XI)
Notice it is again our hero Mahadeva who hurls the marvelous Daitya city into the sea, and even pursues the sea-god Varuna into his own environs in order to vanquish him. Incidentally, Varuna is the Vedic equivalent of the god Poseidon, founder of the civilization of Atlantis in Plato’s account—and the Danavas are “giants” and “Titans” according to the Sanskrit Dictionary.
A question has come up regarding how the inhabitants of India (being located so far from the shores of the Atlantic) could have been familiar with Atlantis and the problems the Atlanteans created for Europeans. It has even been suggested that Sri Lanka (a large island off the coast of India) might be Atlantis. Such an hypothesis is unnecessary, the answer being very simple.
Many European scholars believe that the Aryans of India who composed these writings were once part of the original Indo-European people who thousands of years earlier were located in central or southern Europe. From there migrations took place in all directions where they became known as Nordics, Kelts, Romans, Greeks, Medes, Persians and Indians. If this be correct, during Atlantean times the Aryans who eventually committed these epics to writing were just as close to Atlantis as were the later historical Greeks and Romans. Some of them may have had to fight the Atlanteans. Linguists and archeologists are able to trace the Indo-Europeans back 12,000 years to their original homeland in central Europe. (Alinei, 1996; Ballester, 2001, et al.)
NOTE
*I have learned that the authenticity of passages similar to the above has been questioned by knowledgeable East Indians (for whom I have the greatest respect). The passage given above is word for word from Protap Chandra Roy’s translation of the Mahabharata, and not from a secondary source. More on nuclear-like blasts can be found in the Mausala Parva and Drona Parva of the same work. The set of volumns containing this great Epic can be found in the main library of the University of Oklahoma (I personally Xeroxed copies of the passages used on this page directly from those volumes). As far as I am aware, Roy’s translation is the only complete one (many modern translations are “condensed” versions), and is where one must look to find the above passages. [Back]
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alinei, Mario, Origini delle lingue d’Europa, Vol. I – La teoria della continuità, Il Mulino, Bologna, 1996.
Ballester, Xaverio, “Indo-European: a Language for Hunters and Gatherers,” in Proceedings of XIVth Congress of the UISPP, BAR International Series, Liège, September 2-8, 2001.
McDonald, Aurthur A. (editor), A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary, Oxford University Press, London, 1974.
Roy, Protap Chandra (translator), Mahabharata, Bharata Press, Calcutta, 1889.
Thomas, Homer L, “Indo-European: from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic,” in AA.VV. Perspectives on Indo-European Language, Culture and Religion, Vol. I, Institute for the Study of Man, Washington DC, 1991.
Ullman, B. L., & Henry, N. E., “Latin for Americans,” (Revised Edition) Book 2, the Macmillin Co., New York, 1953.
Copyright © by R. Cedric Leonard, Apr 2002.
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