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160
Secondary Tales of the two Great Epics
definite topic. It deals with a variety of subjects and has, therefore, a variety of the tale-types.
The tales in the VanP, on the other hand, lend themselves to easy groupings under four heads. The most obvious two large groups are (1) the Tirtha-yātra-parvan353 and (2) the Mārkandeya-samāsyā-parvan.354 Both of them relate mostly tales of sages, gods-goddesses, famous ancient kings and myths. The distinction is superfluous; in the former group, some tales are shown to be connected with some holy places, while in the latter, even this flimsy pre tense is given up. (3) The three Upākhyānas - those of Nala, 355 Rāma356 and Sāvitr¡357 -- are included to console the disconsolate on the maxim of 'duhkhe duḥkhādhikam paśyet',358 And all these overgrowths of stories are interspersed with (4) the heroic tales - Arjuna's achievement of divine weapons from Indra and Siva, Bhima's slaying the demons Kirmira, Jaţăsura, Rakşasas, Gandharvas etc., Yudhisthira's extricating his brothers from the clutches of Nahusapython and Dharmayksa.359
The great collection of tales in Van also brings up the question of the so-called temporal hiatuses. There is no doubt, that all the tales and episodes in VanP are intended to serve just one purpose - that of filling up the gap of the uneventful twelve years of compulsory seclusion to the forest-life. It is observed that such large gaps of uneventful years are bound to occur in any tale which runs for some decades and into generations. Such tales, no doubt, disturb the flow of the principal narrative, but Sukthankar eloquently tries to justify their inclusion in the epics. Talking of the digressions in MBh in the form of secondary tales, he says: "At places these digressions crowd together, rising up in big imposing piles, as in the Aryanyaka, śānti and Anuşāsana Pa.vans : sometimes they are far and few between, when the story advances at a more rapid and, to us, congenial pace, as in the Sabhā, Virāța, Sauptika and Stri parvans. These excursions do not, in reality, disturb the archetectonic beauty and harmony of the composition as a whole, though at first sight they may appear to do so. For, as PISANI has pointed out, at least the longer ones of these digressions have been introduced into the story in such a manner as to fill up "Temporal hiatuses” consisting of uneventful years, hiatuses which are bound to occur in a very detailed and elaborate narrative covering a period of nearly two centuries.360
and Bali (216-218), of Indra and Namuci (219), of Vyāsa and his son Šuka (224-247) have become famous. For a complete and detailed conspectus, one should refer to the introduc
tion to Santi-parvan (Critical Edition) by S. K. Belvalkar and P. L. Vaidya. 353 Van P. 80-153. 354 VanP. 179-221. 355 VaaP. 50-78. 356 VanP. 258-2 75. 357 Van P. 277-283. 358 Cf. Van P. 49.36. yas tvatto duḥkhitataro rājā'sit etc. 359 See above the section of Tales of the Heroes', pp.108ff. 360 On the Meaning of the Mahābhārata, Sukthankar, p.33,
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