Is the composition of the Mahabharata for the common man to understand the significance of the Vedas?

 

Is the composition of the Mahabharata for the 

common man to understand the significance of 

the Vedas?

 

According to the Padma Purana, at the end of Dwapar, when the essence of the Vedas became obsessed with various misconceptions, the gods took refuge in Srinarayana. The idol of Srinarayana then descended to earth in the form of a diagram and divided the Chaturveda. Dividing the Vedas, Byasadeva thought that those who would be engaged in Yajna, recitation, those who were devoted and meritorious, would realize the meaning of the Vedas and would be liberated by doing Bedokta. But what will be the way of the women, the Shudras and the fallen, that is, those who are short-sighted, those who do not have the time and ability to read, those who are not fit to acquire meaningless knowledge? So he expressed the theories of the Vedas through stories, exhortations, stories, etc., through the composition of the Mahabharata and the Puranas, so that even the common man could transcend the illusion by realizing the mythical theories. Rik, Jajuh, Sam and Atharva — the Vedas are divided into these four parts and the Mahabharata history and Skanda, Padma etc. Puranas are considered as the fifth Veda. The purpose is that through the stories, advices and stories contained in the Puranas and the Mahabharata, the common man will be able to understand the theories of the Vedas  beyond delusion, man will be liberated, will attain devotion. Moreover, in order to explain the theories of those who are intelligent and rational, Byasadeva composed the Brahma Sutras by incarnating arguments. The Vedas, the Puranas, the Mahabharata, the propagation of the Brahma Sutras  all have the same purpose  cessation of subject matter, attachment to God, and the pursuit of liberation. But in spite of all this, the desire of people to enjoy things did not go away — devotion, people did not seek liberation. According to the Vedic Kama Karma, as a result of the Yajna Yajna, man will be able to go to heaven and enjoy happiness. Forgetting the cessation of the Vedas, man leaned towards the enjoyment of those heavens. Karinu Pippalikhand has twice as much coughing as he has coughed. So one day Vyasadeva was sitting in his mind thinking ও even after composing the Vedas, Puranas, Mahabharata and Brahma Sutras, the true welfare of the living beings did not come — the human mind did not go to rest.

What will be the way now - what will be the speed of the creature? Extremely distressed by this thought, when Byasadeva was sitting on the bank of the river Saraswati in grief, Devarshi Narad went there. Seeing Narad, Byasadeva got up respectfully and seated him. The union of Devarshi Narad and Brahmarshi Byasadeva is very strange and the result is far-reaching. One is the greatest devotee and the other is the greatest of knowledge. After the devotee-Churamani Narad took his seat, the great Byasadeva of knowledge sat in front of Narad with a sad face like an ignorant one.

Seeing the shadow of sadness on Byasadeva's face, Narad thought - what a strange pastime of God! He who is self-knowledgeable, is the one who has come down in the form of a dialect and is acting like an ignorant person, showing that without devotional knowledge there is no learning. Narad then said to Byas-dev - what more questions can I ask you! What else can you have unskilled? Religion is the only knowledge of living beings and you know it well. The Mahabharata written by you is the proof of that. You have written the Mahabharata so that the common man can understand the significance of the very incomprehensible Vedas.

From Swami Gitananda's 'Bhagavat-katha'