Witness to Time

Vaisampayana continued, "Thus addressed, the powerful Bhimasena of mighty arms, affectionately, and with a cheerful heart, bowed unto his brother, Hanuman, the monkey-chief, and said in mild words, 'None is more fortunate than I am; now have I seen my elder brother. It is a great favour shown unto me; and I have been well pleased with thee. Now I wish that thou mayst fulfil this desire of mine. I desire to behold. O hero, that incomparable form of thine, which thou at that time hadst had, in bounding over the main, that abode of sharks and crocodiles. Thereby I shall be satisfied, and also believe in thy words.'

Thus addressed, that mighty monkey said with a smile, 'That form of mine neither thou, not any one else can behold. At that age, the state of things was different, and doth not exist at present. In the Krita age, the state of things was one; and in the Treta, another; and in the Dwapara, still another. Diminution is going on this age; and I have not that form now. The ground, rivers, plants, and rocks, and siddhas, gods, and celestial sages conform to Time, in harmony with the state of things in the different yugas. Therefore, do not desire to see my former shape, O perpetuator of the Kuru race. I am conforming to the tendency of the age.'

'Verily, Time is irresistible' Bhimasena said, 'Tell me of the duration of the different yugas, and of the different manners and customs and of virtue, pleasure and profit, and of acts, and energy, and of life and death in the different yugas.'

Thereupon Hanuman said, 'O child, that yuga is called Krita when the one eternal religion was extant. And in that best of yugas, every one had religious perfection, and, therefore, there was no need of religious acts. And then virtue knew no deterioration; nor did people decrease. It is for this that this age is called Krita (perfect). But in time the yuga had come to be considered as an inferior one. And, O child, in the Krita age, there were neither gods, nor demons, nor
Gandharvas, nor Yakshas, nor Rakshasas, nor Nagas. And there was no buying and selling. And the Sama, the Rig, and the Yajus did not exist. And there was no manual labour. And then the necessaries of life were obtained only by being thought of. And the only merit was in renouncing the world. And during that yuga, there was neither disease, nor decay of the senses. And there was neither malice, nor pride, nor hypocrisy, nor discord, nor ill-will, nor cunning, nor fear, nor misery, nor envy, nor covetousness. And for this, that prime refuge of Yogis, even the Supreme Brahma, was attainable to all. And Narayana wearing a white hue was the soul of all creatures. And in the Krita Yuga, the distinctive characteristics of Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras were natural ... And then Brahma was the sole refuge, and their manners and customs were naturally adapted to the attainment of Brahma and the objects of their knowledge was the sole Brahma, and all their acts also had reference to Brahma. In this way all the orders attained merit. And one uniform Soul was the object of their meditation; and there was only one mantra (the Om), and there was one ordinance. And although of different characteristics, all of them followed a single Veda; and they had one religion. And according to the divisions of time, they led the four modes of life, without aiming at any object, and so they attained emancipation. The religion consisting in the identification of self with Brahma indicates the Krita Yuga...

'Do thou also hear from me of the character of the Treta Yuga. In this age, sacrifices are introduced, and virtue decreaseth by a quarter. And Narayana (who is the Soul of all creatures) assumeth a red colour. And men practise truth, and devote themselves to religion and religious rites. And thence sacrifices and various religious observances come into existence. And in the Treta Yuga people begin to devise means for the attainment of an object; and they attain it through acts and gifts. And they never deviate from virtue. And they are devoted to asceticism and to the bestowal of gifts. And the four orders adhere to their respective duties; and perform rites. Such are the men of the Treta Yuga.

'In the Dwapara Yuga, religion decreaseth by one half. And Narayana weareth a yellow hue. And the Veda becometh divided into four parts. And then some men retain (the knowledge of) the four Vedas, and some of three Vedas, and some of one Veda, while others do not know even the Rig. And on the Shastras becoming thus divided, acts become multiplied. And largely influenced by passion, people engage in asceticism and gifts. And from their incapacity to study the entire Veda, it becomes divided into several parts. And in consequence of intellect having decreased, few are established in truth. And when people fall off from truth, they become subject to various diseases; and then lust, and natural calamities ensue. And afflicted with these, people betake themselves to penances. And some celebrate sacrifices, desiring to enjoy the good things of life, or attain heaven. On the coming of the Dwapara Yuga, men become degenerate, in consequence of impiety.

O son of Kunti, in the Kali Yuga a quarter only of virtue abideth. And in the beginning of this iron age, Narayana weareth a black hue. And the Vedas and the institutes, and virtue, and sacrifices, and religious observances, fall into disuse. And (then) reign ... disease, and lassitude, and anger and other deformities, and natural calamities, and anguish, and fear of scarcity. And as the yugas wane, virtue dwindles. And as virtue dwindles away, creatures degenerate. And as creatures degenerate, their natures undergo deterioration. And the religious acts performed at the waning of the yugas, produce contrary effects. And even those that live for several yugas, conform to these changes.

O represser of foes, as regards thy curiosity to know me, I say this,--Why should a wise person be eager to know a superfluous matter? (Thus), O long-armed one, have I narrated in full what thou hadst asked me regarding the characteristics of the different yugas. Good happen to thee! Do thou return.'"

The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, BOOK 3, VANA PARVA
Translated into English Prose from the Original Sanskrit Text by Kisari Mohan Ganguli [1883-1896]

Hare Potter, Harry Potter, Potter Potter Hare Hare

Much as certain Tolkien-Nazis may disapprove, the ride on the Harry Potter bandwagon isn't entirely unpleasant. There are still places where the paths run close to each other and if you crane your neck just a little, and peer into the mist, you can see the bobbing lanterns of the Tolkien travellers, maybe even an enterprising hobbit or two waving.

I was a Tolkien-Nazi myself till about 2 years ago, when after running out of gas midway into the Silmarillion, I stood waving my thumb at a horseless carriage that came rattling down the street. It stopped a few feet from me and the door opened, and in there sat an old wizard with sharp blue eyes and half-moon spectacles. I pursed my lips and got on. The old man silently handed me an hourglass-shaped object.

"It's a Time-Turner", he rasped. "A couple of turns should do it." And that was how I landed at Number 4, Privet Drive.

Five books and seven chapters later, I realise that (in these days where "Generation Gap" means a couple of years) the author has not written for just a generation, but for a generation to grow up with. Granted, the depth and seriousness of Tolkien's work can never be emulated, but the Harry Potter world doesn't pretend to do so, and that's what saves it. The dragons, the wizards, the elves that inhabit this universe don't make deliberate attempts to be similar or different; they are just as convinced of their reality as "Muggles" are of theirs. And that reality isn't the stuff of fairy-tales either.

Before my brother gave me a leg-up onto the Tolkien wagon, I was tricycling up and down the driveway on a different vehicle: Enid Blyton. While a lot of my friends graduated to Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, and dreamed their earliest American (wet) dreams, I resolutely stuck to what is often dismissed as "kid stuff". The Famous Five (and the lesser-known Five Find-outers) were closer and more real to me than cheesy teenagers who were ju-jitsu experts and flew planes and had sexy dates. It was a part and parcel of my happiness, to grow up with a bunch of ink-and-paper characters, to know and befriend them.

That is what JK Rowling has given the present generation. There have been books and books about the Harry Potter phenomenon. But when I see my 9-year-old nephew listen to his dad read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, hear him create imaginary incidents with Dumbledore, watch him scare himself by imitating Vol - I mean, You-Know-Who...I don't need an analysis of what makes it work. And I know that growing up, he will identify only more with Harry, see his liking for Hermione change shades. JK Rowling hasn't created a cult, or a religion, or a lasting pop-culture icon, as much as merely handed a broomstick to the child that lives in everyone, and let their imaginations fly with hers.