Book Review

Title: The Mahabharata and the Yugas – India’s Great Epic Poem and the Hindu
System of World Ages
Author: Luis González-Reimann
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidas Publishers Private Limited, Delhi.
First Indian Edition: Delhi 2010 by arrangement with Peter Lang Publishing Inc.
Email: mlbd@vsnl.com; Website: www.mlbd.com
ISBN: 978-81-208-3484-2
No. of Pages: 298
Price: Rs. 495/-

The notion of yugas or cyclical time has come to occupy a central place in the Indian
worldview, particularly in our spiritual and philosophical understanding of the
cosmos. The concept of cyclical time is often used to explain away a wide range of
phenomena – from the very purpose of human existence to social, political and global
events of our time. When confronted with gross injustice or a bizarre occurrence, it is
common for us to exclaim, “Such is the evil influence of the Kaliyuga!”

The average Hindu reconciles himself to the happenings around by reminding himself
of the philosophical notion that perhaps this was destined to happen and it is the very
nature of the present time to bring about such events. So, when a corrupt leader gets
re-elected to power, the average Hindu is not excessively perturbed but reconciles
himself quickly and tries to move on with his life. For this very reason, the Hindus
have often been criticised for being fatalistic in their attitude.

Now, the author of this scholarly work explodes a bombshell by questioning whether
this notion of yugas has always been central to Hinduism, particularly to the original
core of the Mahabharata, shorn of later interpolations. He argues that the notion of
yugas was incorporated into the Mahabharata later to explain the terrible events that
occurred during the Mahabharata war at Kurukshetra – the large scale destruction of
human life and property (based on the description of akshauhinis given in the
Mahabharata, scholars say that around 4 million soldiers must have taken part in the
war), the death of the Purna Avatara Lord Krishna himself at hands of a mere hunter
etc.
 A Tribute to Hinduism / p.2

The author argues his case in a systematic manner citing many passages from the
original text. For example, he highlights the interesting fact that the names of the
yugas are based on the names of the throws that come up in the game of dice: Krita-4,
Treta-3, Dvapara-2 and Kali-1. The time duration of these yugas is also in the same
ratio of 4:3:2:1.

The author’s scholarship is commendable, considering the fact that today many
Hindus themselves have not read the original text of the Mahabharata in Sanskrit.
Today’s generation doesn’t even read the Amar Chitra Katha or Rajagopalachari’s
Mahabharata, what to speak of the original text!

However, one gets a feeling while reading the book that the author is trying hard to
prove his point at any cost. Often, evidence which goes in favour of his theory is
emphasized and other passages are treated as later additions to the original text.
Despite this tendency, the presentation on the whole is quite convincing and a strong
case has been built to support the theory that the concept of yugas is not central to the
core plot of the Mahabharata.

This book must be taken seriously by all scholars of Mahabharata and those studying
the history of Indian astronomy, astrology and cosmology. The book and its central
theme are likely to evoke much debate and discussion in the days to come amongst
scholarly circles. But it will take a long time indeed to convince the common man that
the idea of the Kali Yuga may be more recent than he thinks it is. Such is the
confusion that prevails in the Kali Yuga in the minds of men!

 M. Pramod Kumar