Mahabharata in Jataka
Updated On: 05 June, 2022 07:18 AM IST | Mumbai | Devdutt Pattanaik
The first is the Vidura Jataka. Here we have the story of a yaksha who wants to capture the king’s minister, Vidura
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Illustration/Devdutt Pattanaik
While some see Mahabharata as history, others see Mahabharata as an epic born of a common pool of folk stories that was shared by Buddhist Jatakas also. Here are four stories that share plots with the Mahabharata as a result.
The first is the Vidura Jataka. Here we have the story of a yaksha who wants to capture the king’s minister, Vidura. He is unable to do so because the king has a big army. He then discovers that the king loves to gamble. So, he challenges the king to a gambling match. The king cannot resist, especially since the yaksha wagers on a fancy horse and a very beautiful gemstone. In the gambling match, the king loses and is forced to give away his favourite minister, Vidura. In this story, the king who gambles away what he loves most reminds us of Yudhishthira gambling away Draupadi. That the King’s minister is named Vidura, who is renowned for his wisdom, further reminds us of of the uncle of the Pandavas and Kauravas.
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