Hidden Tales from the Mahabharat: #1 >> Where are the Rhinos of Sindh/Punjab?

The images below are seals from the Indus Valley Civilisation. According to archaeologists they may be from the period 3,000 to 2,500 BCE. That is about 4,500 to 5,000 years in the past from now. While more than 3,000 seals have been found, I have selected a few, all of which show various wild animals. Tiger, rhinoceros, elephant, deer (below the seated human figure), buffalo can all be seen. Of special interest is the rhinoceros because in the present day, the only rhino available in the Indian sub-continent is in Assam which is 2500 km from the Indus valley. So how did a rhino appear on an IVC seal? The answer lies in the Mahabharat (MB).

To get to the answer, we have to first understand the historical and cultural context of the MB. This is going to be a bit long, but here we go:

The orthodox Indian tradition recognises 3 scriptural pillars. The Veda (and associated Brahmana, Aranyak and Upanishad). Collectively they are called the Shruti (revealed). The second pillar is the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. These are called Itihaas (History). The third pillar are the Purana. The Veda are the oldest composition (2000-1000 BCE) followed by the epics (originally approx. 400 BCE but extended /expanded subsequently over a long period) and then the Purana (300 to 1,000 CE). So, there is about 800-1000 years between the Veda and Epics and another 800-1000 years between the Epics and Purana.

There are several facts about the MB which are not widely known.·

First the name. The Bharat in the name Mahabharat does not refer to a region or province. It refers to the Bharat (भारत) dynasty named after King Bharat (भरत), See note below) who is mentioned very briefly in the Rig Veda. But King Bharat posthumously becomes more well-know because of the exploits of his descendants, the Kuru-Bharat dynasty chronicled in the MB. Indeed, the exploits of the Kuru-Bharat dynasty were so highly admired by a section of Indians, that Bharat / भारत was adopted as a name for the country in the Constitution of India. ·

The MB is a fictional story woven around the Bharat-Kuru Vedic dynasty. It chronicles the rise of Vedic kingdoms in general (and the Kuru kingdom/ dynasty in particular) from Punjab and their eastward expansion into the Gangetic plain.·

The kernel of the Kurukshetra war scenario is the Battle of Ten Kings (aka BTK or Dasrajnya from Rig Veda Mandala 7) which has been dated to about 1200-800 BCE. In this battle, King Sudas (a descendant of King Bharat) defeated the combined forces of 9 Vedic tribes some of who were his own cousins and kinsmen. One can notice the similarity between BTK and MB here (one kingdom against many/ brother-against-brother). The genealogy is King Bharat --7 generations –King Sudas -several generations--King Kuru --several generations –MB era.·

The extant MB is a very large work, but it did not begin so. It was expanded in stages. The MB itself records that the original story was Jaya (Victory) of 8000 verses, expanded to Bharat with 24,000 verses and finally to the Mahabharat with 100,000 verses. So Mahabharat is the Great (Maha) story of the Bharat dynasty. ·

It is these expansions, which likely happened over a period of several hundred years, maybe even a 1000 years, that makes the MB a treasure trove of information on the social, cultural and political changes happening in India in those times. As incident upon incident was woven into the original, the authors (or editors), perhaps unintentionally, recorded contemporary history in a dramatic genre/style. So while the characters (Karna, Yudhishthira , Arjun etc) are fictional, the expanded MB is a very good record of the broad social and political trends in India over perhaps 800 to a 1,000 years. 

So, what about the rhino?

The MB mentions a forest by the name of Khandava Prastha located in present day Haryana. The clearing of the forests is specifically mentioned in the MB in the Adi Parva/ Khandava-Daha section incident which describes the burning of the Khandava Prastha forest by Krisha/ Arjun. This is an allegorical reference to the clearing of Gangetic plains lands (for farming/ agriculture) by the Vedic people and expulsion / displacement of wildlife that lived in the forest. Modern Khandava Prastha is identified as the town of Khanda (Dist. Hissar, Haryana) close to the river Yamuna and about 125 km to the east of Hastinapur.

The MB (Adi Parva / Khandava Daha ) says (from the transltion of the Mahabharata by KM Ganguli 18183-1896)

Vaisampayana said, 'Then those foremost of chariot-warriors (Krishna and Arjuna), riding in their chariots and placing themselves on opposite sides of that forest, began a great slaughter, on all sides, of the creatures dwelling in Khandava. At whatever point any of the creatures residing in Khandava could be seen attempting to escape, thither rushed those mighty heroes (to prevent its flight). Indeed, those two excellent chariots seemed to be but one, and the two warriors also therein but one individual. And while the forest was burning, hundreds and thousands of living creatures, uttering frightful yells, began to run about in all directions. Some had particular limbs burnt, some were scorched with excessive heat, and some came out, and some ran about from fear. And some clasping their children and some their parents and brothers, died calmly without, from excess of affection, being able to abandon these that were dear to them.>>

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Repeat this a few hundred times over a 1,000-year period and you can see why there is no wildlife (or forests) in the Gangetic plains. Also, by the 10th C BCE, the Vedic people were using iron weapons and implements. This made the task of clearing the forests easier. Thus, the rhinos were pushed eastwards to Assam.

But this story does not end here: It gets worse, much worse. Read about it in the next Hidden tale.

Note on Bharat / भरत (the king): The word derives from the Sanskrit root “bhar” which means to fill or to replenish. Bharat is someone who is responsible for replenishing the yagya fire. According to the rules of Sanskrit grammar the progeny of Bharat/ भरत are called Bhaarat/ भारत. The English word “bear” (as in to bear the burden/ responsibility) is a cognate of the same Sanskrit word “bhar”.

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