Sanjaya
Encyclopedia
Sanjaya is a character from the ancient Indian epic Mahābhārata
.
In Mahabharata, a story of war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, the blind
king
Dhritarashtra
is the father of the principals of the Kaurava side. Sanjaya is Dhritarashtra's advisor and also his chariot
eer. Sanjaya, who has the gift of seeing events at a distance granted by the sage Vyasa
, narrates to Dhritarshtra the action in the climactic battle of Kurukshetra
, which includes the Bhagavad Gita
.
Sanjaya had the unpleasant duty of breaking the news of the death of Dhritarashtra's hundred sons at the hands of Bhima
at different points of time in the battle and offers the sorrowing king solace in his darkest hours. He is known to be brutally frank in his recital of the day's battle events and his own opinions, which usually would predict the utter destruction of the Kauravas at the hands of Arjuna
and Krishna
.
In the Bhagavad Gita, passages often start with the Sanskrit
words "Sanjaya uvāca:" ("Sanjaya said:"). The entire Bhagavad Gita
is a recital of Sanjay to Dhritarashtra
of the conversation between Krishna
and Arjuna
.
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
.
In Mahabharata, a story of war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, the blind
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
king
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
Dhritarashtra
Dhritarashtra
In the Mahābhārata, Dhritarashtra was King of Hastinapur at the time of the Kurukshetra War, the epic's climactic event. He was born the son of Vichitravirya's first wife Ambika, and was fathered by Vyasa. He was blind from birth, and became father to a hundred children by his wife Gandhari...
is the father of the principals of the Kaurava side. Sanjaya is Dhritarashtra's advisor and also his chariot
Chariot
The chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled...
eer. Sanjaya, who has the gift of seeing events at a distance granted by the sage Vyasa
Vyasa
Vyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa , or Krishna Dvaipayana...
, narrates to Dhritarshtra the action in the climactic battle of Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra is a land of historical and religious importance. Historically the land belonged to Punjab now a district in Haryana state of India. It is a holy place and is also known as Dharmakshetra . According to the Puranas, Kurukshetra is named after King Kuru, the ancestor of Kauravas and...
, which includes the Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...
.
Sanjaya had the unpleasant duty of breaking the news of the death of Dhritarashtra's hundred sons at the hands of Bhima
Bhima
In the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...
at different points of time in the battle and offers the sorrowing king solace in his darkest hours. He is known to be brutally frank in his recital of the day's battle events and his own opinions, which usually would predict the utter destruction of the Kauravas at the hands of Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
and Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
.
In the Bhagavad Gita, passages often start with the Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
words "Sanjaya uvāca:" ("Sanjaya said:"). The entire Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...
is a recital of Sanjay to Dhritarashtra
Dhritarashtra
In the Mahābhārata, Dhritarashtra was King of Hastinapur at the time of the Kurukshetra War, the epic's climactic event. He was born the son of Vichitravirya's first wife Ambika, and was fathered by Vyasa. He was blind from birth, and became father to a hundred children by his wife Gandhari...
of the conversation between Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
and Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
.