A History of Indian Literature v1.c9.s9.2

v1.c9.s9.2

Already in the short account of the contents of the actual heroic poem (pp. 328-375) the reader must have noticed a contradiction, which is still more noticeable in the reading of the Mahābhārata itself. While the poem in its present form absolutely takes the part of the *Pāṇḍavas*, and describes the Pāṇḍavas as not only brave beyond measure, but also as noble and good, and on the other hand represents the *Kauravas* as treacherous and mischievous,—the poem, in remarkable self-contradiction, relates that all the heroes of the Kauravas fall through treachery or in unfair fight.[^2)