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Write a Short Essay (About 500 Words) on the Following: this is What a Famous Historian of Indian Literature, Maurice Wintemitz, Wrote About the Mahabharata: “Just Because the - History

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प्रश्न

Write a short essay (about 500 words) on the following:

This is what a famous historian of Indian literature, Maurice Wintemitz, wrote about the Mahabharata: “Just because the Mahabharata represents more of an entire literature…. and contains so many kinds of things….(it) give(s) us an insight into the most profound depths of the soul of the Indian folk.” Discuss.

संक्षेप में उत्तर
टिप्पणी लिखिए

उत्तर

Plenty of literary sources are available to reconstruct the ancient Indian history.

Mahabharata is one of them. It is an important literary and historical source. Its importance has been recognised even by the foreign writers. Its importance has also been recognised by Maurice Wintemitz because in his opinion the Mahabharata represents an entire literature. This great epic is full of various examples of different aspects of the Indians life. The reading of the Mahabharata gives a profound depth of the soul of the Indian folk. It has been written in simple Sanskrit and therefore widely understood.

Generally, historians classify the contents of the Mahabharata under two sections.They are narrative and didactic. Narrative section contains stories and didactic sections contains prescriptions about social norms. But at some instances, there were intermingling also.

Many historians believe that the Mahabharata was a dramatic, moving story and that the didactic portions were a later interpolation.

We get several different views about the authorship of the Mahabharata. It was believed that the original stories were composed by Sutas. Sutas were charioteer bards. They accompanied Kshatriya warriors to the battle field and composed poems celebrating their victories other achievements. These compositions were circulated orally. From the fifth, century BCE onwards, Brahmanas took over the story and started writing story.This great epic contains vivid descriptions of battles, forests, palaces and settlements.

It describes kinship, political life of the said period, social priority. Major features of the family life such as patriliny, different forms of marriage and rules related with marriage, position of women in the society, social differences of the Indian society can be traced back to the period of the Mahabharata. This great epic also describes social mobility.

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  क्या इस प्रश्न या उत्तर में कोई त्रुटि है?
अध्याय 3: Kinship, Caste And Class: Early Societies - Exercises [पृष्ठ ८१]

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एनसीईआरटी History - Themes in Indian History [English] Class 12
अध्याय 3 Kinship, Caste And Class: Early Societies
Exercises | Q 6 | पृष्ठ ८१

संबंधित प्रश्न

The original story of Mahabharata was composed by ______.


The composition of the Mahabharata has been traditionally attributed to a Rishi. Identify his name from the following options.


Identify the character of Mahabharata with the help of the following information.

  • Guru or Mentor of Kaurvas and Pandvas.
  • Did not accept Eklavya as his disciple.

Identify the character of Mahabharata with the help of the following information.

  • Belonged to the Rakshasa clan
  • Married with Bheema
  • Mother of Ghatatkacha

Read the following source carefully and answer the following question by choosing the most appropriate option.

Draupadi’s question

Draupadi is supposed to have asked Yudhisthira whether he had lost himself before staking her. Two contrary opinions were expressed in response to this question.

One, that even if Yudhisthira had lost himself earlier, his wife remained under his control, so he could stake her. Two, that an unfree man (as Yudhisthira was when he had lost himself) could not stake another person. The matter remained unresolved; ultimately, Dhritarashtra restored to the Pandavas and Draupadi their personal freedom.

To whom did Draupadi ask question after losing in the dice game?


Read the following source carefully and answer the following question by choosing the most appropriate option.

Draupadi’s question

Draupadi is supposed to have asked Yudhisthira whether he had lost himself before staking her. Two contrary opinions were expressed in response to this question.

One, that even if Yudhisthira had lost himself earlier, his wife remained under his control, so he could stake her. Two, that an unfree man (as Yudhisthira was when he had lost himself) could not stake another person. The matter remained unresolved; ultimately, Dhritarashtra restored to the Pandavas and Draupadi their personal freedom.

Why is Draupadi raising these questions?


Read the following source carefully and answer the following question by choosing the most appropriate option.

Draupadi’s question

Draupadi is supposed to have asked Yudhisthira whether he had lost himself before staking her. Two contrary opinions were expressed in response to this question.

One, that even if Yudhisthira had lost himself earlier, his wife remained under his control, so he could stake her. Two, that an unfree man (as Yudhisthira was when he had lost himself) could not stake another person. The matter remained unresolved; ultimately, Dhritarashtra restored to the Pandavas and Draupadi their personal freedom.

How did Draupadi react to her humiliating treatment?


Read the following source carefully and answer the following question by choosing the most appropriate option.

Draupadi’s question

Draupadi is supposed to have asked Yudhisthira whether he had lost himself before staking her. Two contrary opinions were expressed in response to this question.

One, that even if Yudhisthira had lost himself earlier, his wife remained under his control, so he could stake her. Two, that an unfree man (as Yudhisthira was when he had lost himself) could not stake another person. The matter remained unresolved; ultimately, Dhritarashtra restored to the Pandavas and Draupadi their personal freedom.

How did Dhritirashtra react at the end?


Read the following source carefully and answer the following question by choosing the most appropriate option.

Draupadi’s question

Draupadi is supposed to have asked Yudhisthira whether he had lost himself before staking her. Two contrary opinions were expressed in response to this question.

One, that even if Yudhisthira had lost himself earlier, his wife remained under his control, so he could stake her. Two, that an unfree man (as Yudhisthira was when he had lost himself) could not stake another person. The matter remained unresolved; ultimately, Dhritarashtra restored to the Pandavas and Draupadi their personal freedom.

How do you evaluate the position of Draupadi as a wife on the basis of this case?


Read the following source carefully and answer the following question by choosing the most appropriate option.

Draupadi’s question

Draupadi is supposed to have asked Yudhisthira whether he had lost himself before staking her. Two contrary opinions were expressed in response to this question.

One, that even if Yudhisthira had lost himself earlier, his wife remained under his control, so he could stake her. Two, that an unfree man (as Yudhisthira was when he had lost himself) could not stake another person. The matter remained unresolved; ultimately, Dhritarashtra restored to the Pandavas and Draupadi their personal freedom.

How was Draupadi’s question related to womanhood?


Who excavated the site Hastinapur in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh?


Which one of the following language was used by the earliest ordinary people?


Hastinapur was lhe capilal of which of the following?


Who among the following was the author of 'Ashtadhyayi', a work on Sanskrit grammar?


Identify the character of Mahabharata with the help of following information: 

  • Was the husband of Gandhari.
  • Became the king of Hastinapur.

Analyse the elements examined by historians on Mahabharata as text.


How is Mahabharata a colossal epic to understand social behaviour of early historic period?


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