Vedic Wisdom - Itihasas

Vedic Wisdom

ITIHASAS

While the Puranas were part imaginary and part recalling of some events that had happened in the past as known to the author, or as told to the author or as hypothesized by the author; the Itihasas were of contemporarian nature with the Author.

Origin of Itihasas

Itihasas are composed by some of the characters of the Itihasas or some one who lived when the events mentioned in the itihasas were unfolding. Therefore it becomes more authentic as it is a firsthand account of the story ‘as is happening now’ and ‘not as has happened in the past’. No doubt Itihasas also have their poetic liberties, hero worship and exaggerations but they are not totally figment of imagination.

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Two major Itihasas

In india we have two Itihasas –‘Ramayana’ written by sage Valmiki, and ‘Mahabharata’ written by Sage Vyasa.

Valmiki is said to have brought up Lava- Kusha –sons of Lord Rama after giving divine shelter to Mata Sita and so he was a contemporarian with the hero/heroine during the final stages of the Ramayana.Vyasa was on one side the first son of Satyavat, step mother of Bhisma and on the other side the progenitor of - Dhritarashtra,Pandu and Vidura, all being principal characters of Mahabharata.

Itihasas, in addition to dealing with high moral values, also dealt with real life predicaments, issues, trials and tribulations. They also provided satisfactory answers for these problems. They also dealt with extensively on social issues and governance issues. In this way it went beyond personal morals to social and group morals.

Such Itihsas are there in other religions as well, though not designated as such. For example in our opinion the life story of Jesus or Prophet Mohammed or Gautama Buddha will fall into this category, though some one can claim it is not Itihasa but history. Similarly somebody may claim Ramayana and Mahabharata are also history more than Itihasa. The itihasa and history are differentiated by a thin line only. Therefore these are all word plays but essentially mean the same.

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Most Adorable Heros

Itihasas were written on people or characters who played an extraordinarily beneficial role for the up liftment of the human mind and who lived and established eternal values that can lead the mind to become a super mind.You can see for yourself the contribution to the evolution of human mind made by Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, Lord Buddha, Lord Jesus, Prophet Mohammed, Guru Nanak etc.,

Their sayings and teachings are all divine energy infusers as these great men carried the divine power and wisdom with them. That is why their name evokes devotion, respect and a magnetic pull. Since the very story of Itihasas is woven around the good overpowering the evil - at the gross mind level it created very positive thoughts and at subtle mind level a very strong cosmic vibratory power - the most powerful tool for mind nourishment.The Itihasas were also popularized and was taken to the masses in the same way as puranas.

But the human acceptability and adoration was more in Itihasas as the characters have been in flesh and bone and the people were able to quickly and strongly establish a mutual empathy. Therefore Ithihasa play a very major role in human growth into a superman and making our children to understand the underlying morals in formative years will be highly beneficial for them.

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This article is a snippet from the Book Vedic Wisdom, Authored by Pandit Sri Rama Sharma. Vedic Wisdom is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.