Tracing the Mahabharata in
Uttarakhand
There are two epic sagas of ancient India that almost
everyone is familiar with – the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. It’s hard to reduce either great story to a
single line, but the Ramayana is basically the trials and tribulations of Lord
Rama, who overcomes a scheming stepmother and assorted obstacles in his quest
to be rightfully recognised as king. Meanwhile, the Mahabharata is the story of
the five Pandava brothers and their long and bloody family feud with the
Kauravas. Needless to say, both stories have a phenomenal cast of characters,
including gods, demons, humans and animals, and employ more plot twists than
you can shake a stick at.
It’s not surprising, then, that when you travel across
India, you’ll find several places where events from these great sagas took
place. Part of the Ramayana takes place in Ayodhya in north India and there’s a
crucial episode in what is now Sri Lanka.
In the Mahabharata, the main action takes place across north India, more
or less between Delhi and the foothills of the Himalayas.
If you want to see where Kurukshetra, the battle to
end all battles in the Mahabharata took place, you can find it in Haryana. Purana
Qila in Delhi supposedly stands where Indraprastha, the capital of the
Pandavas, was located.
Mahabharata in Garhwal
In the Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, where
Himalayan Hideaway is located, the Mahabharata is hugely important. The Garhwali
people consider themselves to be descended from the Pandavas, the good guys,
more or less, of the saga. Do the Kauravas, the villains of the story, have any
fans there?
Oddly enough, they do! In the Tons River basin in the
western area of Garhwal, near the border with Himachal Pradesh, you’ll find
people who worship Karna, a tragic figure associated with defeat and death, and
Duryodhana, a symbol of evil. In fact, local legend has it that Duryodhana was
not killed at Kurukshetra and fled for his life to the Tons basin area. As for
why he is worshipped, well, it has less to do with his unattractive traits and
more to do with his power. As a being
powerful enough to bring or withhold rain, Duryodhana is important for the
local farmers.
The Mahabharata lives on in the pandav lila, a local
tradition of a ritual performance of some of the more martial episodes of the
story. And we say ‘ritual drama’ because this is more than a folk drama – the
performances are meant to please the gods and ensure that the crops grow, peace
and prosperity prevail and disease and misfortune are averted. For nine nights,
villagers across Garhwal sing, act and dance the stories that they know by
heart.
Visit scenes from the
Mahabharata with us
Himalayan River Runners, Himalayan Hideaway’s sister
company, operates a camp on the Tons
River between April and June every year. In addition, we organise many treks into the area mentioned in the
Mahabharata, including a walk to the Duryodhana temple. We can also take you to
Har Ki Dun, which has the Swargarohini mountain, the point where the Pandavas
ascended into the heavens, as its backdrop.
If you haven’t read the Mahabharata yet, we highly
recommend it. Not only is it a fabulous story of good vs. evil, the characters
and episodes resonate today across India. There are any number of versions
around, some longer than others, and there are also TV adaptations for those
who prefer seeing the action instead of reading about it!
Photo: 18th-19th
century carpet showing Krishna and Arjun on the chariot, Mahabharata
(This
image is in the public domain in India because its term of copyright has
expired)
For information about treks to
Mahabharata sites in the Himalayas, please contact our Delhi office:
Tags: Mahabharata, Himalayan Hideaway, Krishna and
Arjun, Uttarakhand, Tons basin, Garhwal, Pandavas, Kurukshetra, Duryodhana,
pandav lila, Himalayan River Runners, tons River
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