Is Jaya Samhita the original version of Mahabharata?

 

Sage Vyasa composed the story of Pandavas and Kauravas in Jaya Samhita, after the completion of the great war.

Mahabharata was first recited at the site of sarpa yagna or snake-sacrifice by the sage Vaisampayana, a disciple of Vyasa, to the King Janamejaya, who was the great-grandson of the Pandava prince Arjuna.

Arjuna → Abhimanyu → Parikshit —->Janamejaya

The present day version Mahabharata, with 1,00,000 slokas, was available in Classical Sanskrit of Panini in Devanagari script.

It was stated in the present day version of Mahabharata itself that the original version of Mahabharata,ie., Jaya Samhita, as composed by Sage Vyasa. might have contained 8,800 slokas only, but not 1,00,000 shlokas.

Sauti said.

I am (continued Sauti) acquainted with eight thousand and eight hundred verses, and so is Suka, and perhaps Sanjaya. From the mysteriousness of their meaning, O Muni, no one is able, to this day, to penetrate those closely knit difficult slokas. Even the omniscient Ganesa took a moment to consider; while Vyasa, however, continued to compose other verses in great abundance.

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We have to remember that the original name of Mahabharata is Jaya Samhita. Jaya indicates VICTORY.

Sage Vyasa might have composed Mahabharata upto the episode of the victory of Pandavas over Kauravas and the coronation of Yudhisthira, as the King of Hastinapura (ONLY 10 parvas), as it was the tradition at that point of time, to end a story on a HAPPY note.

The subsequent parvas,ie., Stri Parva to Svargarohana Parva might have been added later.

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To corroborate this view, consider the following.

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In Mahabharata, Shi Krishna had placed a curse on Ashwatthama that "he will carry the burden of all people's sins on his shoulders and will roam alone like a ghost without getting any love and courtesy till the end of Kaliyuga" . This was done because Ashwatthama had cowardly killed son of Pandavas.

Many people reported incidents of people spotting Ashwatthama in Villages/forests, etc.

One such meeting was narrated in the life of Narayanappa (ನಾರಾಯಣಪ್ಪ), known by his pen name Kumara Vyasa. He was an influential and classical Vaishnava poet of early 15th century in the Kannada language.

In 15th century there lived in Gadag, Karnataka Narayanappa, whose greatest desire was to write Mahaabhaarat based on original sources, and to this end he prayed day-in and day-out in the Temple of Veera Naaraayan, temple of Trikooteshwar. One day the Almighty decided to answer his prayers and appeared in his dream and said:

“Attend the forthcoming Dwaadashee Paaran (Dwaadashee feast) in the Veera Naaraayan Temple. Watch out for one lone Brahman, who would leave the feast earliest. He is none other than Ashwathaama of Mahabharata. Fall at his feet and ask him to narrate the Mahabharata as it happened. You can record it in writing and claim your share of fame”.

Promptly Narayanappa attended the following Dwaadashee Paaran at the Veera Narayan Temple, and then followed the Brahmin, who finished his feast the earliest and started walking out of the Temple. He approached him and fell at his feet. Thus, he could write later a Kannada version of Mahabharata.

Kumara Vyasa's most famous work, the Karnata Bharata Kathamanjari (the Mahabharata of Karnataka) is popularly known as Gadugina Bharata and Kumaravyasa Bharata.

The work is celebrated in Kannada literature due to its universal appeal.

Interestingly, it is an adaptation of the first ten parvas (chapters) of the Mahabharata. Kumara Vyasa ends his epic with the coronation of Yudhishthira, the eldest of the Pandavas.

The remaining eight chapters that were left incomplete by Kumara Vyasa were completed by Shri M S Ananthapadmanabha Rao.

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According to my understanding, Shri Narayanappa might have stopped his Mahabharata with the episode of coronation of Yudhishthira because Ashwathaamaa told him upto that stage only, as original Vyasa Mahabharata or Jaya Samhita ends with that episode.