A History of Indian Literature v1.c9.s8.5

v1.c9.s8.5

Thereupon Ugraśravas remarks that exactly the same request had been made by Janamejaya to Vaiśampāyana after the recitation of the Mahābhārata, and the latter had then related all that which he himself was now going to repeat. Thus all that follows is placed in the mouth of Vaiśampāyana. Besides this, in a few verses at the beginning and a complete lengthy song at the end of the appendix,¹ the praise of the Mahābhārata including the Harivaṃśa is sung in extravagant verses, and the religious merit acquired by the reciting and hearing of the whole poem is emphasized. This exhausts practically everything whereby the Harivaṃśa itself shows its connection with the Mahābhārata. As far as the contents are concerned, the Harivaṃśa has no more in common with the Mahābhārata than the Purāṇas; for many legends, in particular brahmanical legends and myths, which occur in the Mahābhārata, reappear in different versions in the Harivaṃśa as well as in the Purāṇas.