The Vana Parva, also known as the "Book of the Forest", is the third of eighteen parvas in the Indian epic Mahabharata . [1] Vana Parva traditionally has 21 parts and 324 chapters. [2] [3] The critical edition of Vana Parva is the longest of the 18 books in the epic, [4] containing 16 parts and 299 chapters. [5] [6]
The parva is a chronicle of the twelve-year journey of the Pandavas in a forest, where they learn life lessons and build character. [7]
Vana Parva contains discourses on virtues and ethics; myths of Arjuna, Yudhishthara, and Bhima; and the tales of "Nahusha the Snake and Yudhishthira" and "Ushinara and the Hawk". It also includes the love stories of "Nala and Damayanti" and "Savitri and Satyavan". [1] [7]
This book traditionally has 21 sub-parvas (parts) and 324 [8] chapters. [3] [9] The following are the sub-parvas: [10]
Several translations of the Sanskrit book Vana Parva in English are available. Two translations from 19th century, now in public domain, are by Kisari Mohan Ganguli [9] and Manmatha Nath Dutt. [3] The translations vary with each translator's interpretations. Compare:
The original Sanskrit:
क्षमा धर्मः क्षमा यज्ञः क्षमा वेदाः क्षमा श्रुतम |
यस ताम एवं विजानाति स सर्वं क्षन्तुम अर्हति ||
क्षमा ब्रह्म क्षमा सत्यं क्षमा भूतं च भावि च |
क्षमा तपः क्षमा शौचं क्षमया चॊद्धृतं जगत ||
Kisari Mohan Ganguli's translation:
Forgiveness is virtue; forgiveness is sacrifice, forgiveness is the Vedas, forgiveness is the Shruti. He that knoweth this is capable of forgiving everything. Forgiveness is Brahma; forgiveness is truth; forgiveness is stored ascetic merit; forgiveness protecteth the ascetic merit of the future; forgiveness is asceticism; forgiveness is holiness; and by forgiveness is it that the universe is held together.
and Manmatha Nath Dutt's translation:
Forgiveness is virtue, forgiveness is sacrifice, forgiveness is the Vedas, forgiveness is Sruti,
he who knows all this is capable of forgiving all.
Forgiveness is Brahma, forgiveness is truth, forgiveness is accumulated and future (ascetic) merit,
forgiveness is the devout penance, forgiveness is purity, and by forgiveness is the universe sustained.
J. A. B. van Buitenen completed an annotated edition of Vana Parva, based on the critically edited and least corrupted version of Mahabharata known in 1975. [1] In 2011, Debroy notes that the updated critical edition of Vana Parva, with spurious and corrupted text removed, has 16 parts, 299 adhyayas (chapters) and 10,239 shlokas (verses). [22] Debroy published a translated version of a critical edition of Vana Parva in Volume 2 and 3 of his series. [23]
Clay Sanskrit Library has published a 15 volume set of the Mahabharata which includes a translation of Vana Parva by William Johnson. This translation is modern and uses an old manuscript of the epic. The translation does not remove verses and chapters now widely believed to be spurious. [24]
The Kirata sub-parva of Aranya Parva has inspired several major poems and expanded works, such as the Kirātārjunīya by Bhāravi. [25]
The Mahābhārata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pāṇḍava princes and their successors.
The Pandavas refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. They are acknowledged as the sons of Pandu, the King of Kuru, but were fathered by different Devas (gods) due to Pandu's inability to naturally conceive children. In the epic, the Pandavas married Draupadi, the princess of Panchala, and founded the city of Indraprastha after the Kuru Kingdom was split to avoid succession disputes. After their paternal cousins the Kauravas—led by Duryodhana—tricked them into surrendering their kingdom and refused to return it, the Pandavas waged a civil war against their extended family, and this conflict was known as the Kurukshetra War. With the help of the god Krishna, the Pandavas eventually won the war with the death of the Kauravas, albeit at great cost.
Draupadi, also referred to as Krishnaa, Panchali, and Yajnaseni, is the main female protagonist of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, and the common consort of the five Pandava brothers—Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva. She is noted for her beauty, courage, and a rare polyandrous marriage.
Duryodhana also known as Suyodhana, is the primary antagonist in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was the eldest of the Kauravas, the hundred sons of the blind king Dhritarashtra and his queen Gandhari.
Yudhishthira also known as Dharmaputra, is the eldest among the five Pandava brothers, the central figures of the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was the emperor of Indraprastha and later the Kuru Kingdom.
The Kurukshetra War, also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the Mahabharata . The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura. The war laid the foundation for the Bhagavad Gita.
The Adi Parva or The Book of the Beginning is the first of eighteen books of the Mahabharata. "Ādi" in Sanskrit means "first".
Sabha Parva, also called the "Book of the Assembly Hall", is the second of eighteen books of Mahabharata. Sabha Parva traditionally has 10 parts and 81 chapters. The critical edition of Sabha Parva has 9 parts and 72 chapters.
Virata Parva, also known as the “Book of Virata”, is the fourth of eighteen books of the Indian epic Mahabharata. Virata Parva traditionally has 4 parts and 72 chapters. The critical edition of Virata Parva has 4 parts and 67 chapters.
The Udyoga Parva, or the Book of Effort, is the fifth of eighteen books of the Indian epic Mahābhārata. Udyoga Parva traditionally has 10 parts and 199 chapters. The critical edition of Sabha Parva has 12 parts and 197 chapters.
The Bhishma Parva, or the Book of Bhishma, is the sixth of eighteen books of the Indian epic Mahabharata.
The Shalya Parva, or the Book of Shalya, is the ninth of eighteen books of the Indian epic Mahabharata. Shalya Parva traditionally has 4 parts and 65 chapters. The critical edition of Shalya Parva has 4 parts and 64 chapters.
The Drona Parva, or the Book of Drona, is the seventh of eighteen books of the Indian epic Mahabharata. Drona Parva traditionally has 8 parts and 204 chapters. The critical edition of Drona Parva has 8 parts and 173 chapters.
The Karna Parva, or the Book of Karna, is the eighth of eighteen books of the Indian Epic Mahabharata. Karna Parva traditionally has 96 chapters. The critical edition of Karna Parv has 69 chapters
Mahaprasthanika Parva, or the "Book of the Great Journey", is the seventeenth of eighteen books of the Indian epic Mahabharata. It traditionally has three chapters, as does the critical edition. It is the shortest book in the epic.
The Sauptika Parva, or the "Book of the Sleepers," is the tenth of eighteen books of the Indian Epic Mahabharata. Sauptika Parva traditionally has 2 parts and 18 chapters, as does the critical edition.
The Shanti Parva is the twelfth of eighteen books of the Indian Epic Mahabharata. It traditionally has 3 parts and 365 chapters. The critical edition has 3 parts and 353 chapters. It is the longest book among the eighteen books of the epic.
Ashramvasika Parva, or the "Book of the Hermitage", is the fifteenth of the eighteen books of the Indian epic Mahabharata. It traditionally has 3 parts and 39 chapters. The critical edition has 3 parts and 47 chapters.
The Stri Parva, or the "Book of the Women," is the eleventh of eighteen books of the Indian epic Mahabharata. It traditionally has 4 parts and 27 chapters, as does the critical edition.