Ocean Creatures in the Mahabharata: What the Ancient Hindus Knew
Many people believe that the people of Mahabharata lived
only in the middle part of Bharatavarsha and so they knew very little about the
sea and its creatures. This belief is not correct. The Astika Parva of the Adi
Parva gives a clear picture of the ocean and the creatures living in it. It
shows that the Hindus of that time had good idea about what lives in the deep
waters, long before modern man started exploring the ocean.
The Journey of Kadru and Vinata
The description comes in the 19th chapter of the Astika Parva in the story of two sisters, Kadru and
Vinata, wives of Rishi Kashyapa. They made a bet about the colour of the tail
of the divine horse Uchaishravas, which came out during the churning of the
ocean. Kadru said the tail was black, and Vinata said it was white. The loser
would become the servant of the winner. To check the matter, they travelled
towards the place where the horse was, and on the way they saw the great ocean.
Creatures of the Ocean
The text says the ocean was full of fish that swallow
whales. The word used is timingila. Timi means whale, and timingila means one
who swallows the timi. So the Mahabharata speaks of a whale, and also of a
creature even bigger than the whale. The ocean was also crowded with sharks,
crocodiles and thousands of other creatures of many forms. The shores were
guarded by crocodiles and huge turtles, so no ordinary creature could go near
it. This shows the people knew both the dangers and the variety of marine life.
The Many Names and Roles of the Ocean
The Mahabharata gives the ocean many titles. It is the
treasury of waters, the source of all jewels, the abode of Varuna, the home of
the nagas and the lord of all rivers. Every river ends in the ocean, and so it
is called the husband of rivers. It is also described as the home of the
subterranean fire, called Badavagni or Vadavagni. This fire sits inside the
ocean and does not allow it to overflow or dry up. The ocean is friend to the
demons and a terror to all creatures, and at the same time it brings welfare to
the gods and is the source of amrita, the ambrosia.
Symbolism and Meaning
In Hindu thought, the ocean is not only a large body of
water. It stands for many things.
The first is abundance. All jewels come from it, and the
churning of the ocean by the devas and asuras gave Lakshmi, amrita, the
Kaustubha gem and many other treasures. This teaches that great results come
only after great effort.
The second is the two-sided nature of the world. The same
ocean gives amrita and also gives halahala poison, which Bhagavan Shiva drank
to save the world. Good and bad both come from the same source, and a wise
person must know how to handle both.
The third is the mind and life itself. The roars of sea
creatures, deep whirlpools, shifting shores and waves rising like raised hands
show the restless nature of the mind and of samsara. The waves change with the
moon, just like our thoughts change with our moods. A person who crosses this
ocean with knowledge and discipline reaches peace.
The fourth is depth and limit. The text says the ocean is
beyond measure and beyond imagination. It never decays and never becomes full,
however many rivers join it. Bhagavad Gita has a verse on this idea. In Chapter
2, Verse 70, Bhagavan Krishna says that the person into whom all desires enter
like waters entering the ocean, which is full and unmoving, attains peace, but
not the one who desires objects. The ocean here is the example of a steady
mind.
Why This Description is Important
This passage in Astika Parva proves that the knowledge of the Hindus about geography and nature was wide. They knew of whales, sharks, crocodiles and turtles, of tides that follow the moon, of whirlpools and of strong winds that change the shoreline. They did not see this only as information. They linked every aspect to dharma, to the gods and to the inner life of a human being. The ocean was both a physical reality and a teacher.
The Astika Parva description of the ocean shows that Mahabharata is not limited to the story of Kurukshetra. It carries knowledge of nature, of living beings and of the deeper truths of life. The timingila, the sharks and the whirlpools remind us of the power of nature, and the calm, unmeasurable ocean reminds us of the steadiness we should develop within ourselves.