Prime Minister Narendra Modi (in his inaugural speech at the Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre on October 25) said: “Mahabharata ka kehna hai ki Karn maa ki godh se paida nahi hua tha,” (It is said in the Mahabharata that Karna was not born from his mother’s womb), and then he added: “Iske matlab yeh hai ki us samaye genetic science mojud tha..” (This means that in those times genetic science was very much present). The original Mahabharata written by Veda Vyasa however gives us a different version of Karna’s birth. His mother Kunti called upon Surya, the sun god, who impregnated her, and she gave birth to Karna from her womb. Let me quote the original Sanskrit verse from the Adiparva of Mahabharata: “Prakashakarma Tapanah tasyang garbha dadhou tatah. / Ajeejanattato beerang sarbashastrabhritang baram. / Amuktakabachah sreeman-debagarbhasriyabritah.” (After his appearance, the sun god made her womb pregnant. This produced a son, who was well-versed in all the scriptures, wearing a coat of mail, beautiful and powerful like one born of the gods). (Re: Mahabharata. Adiparva. Chapter 104. Verse 10. Ed. Dr. P. Sripad Damodar Satwalekar. Valsad. 1985).
May I request the Prime Minister (who, along with his RSS comrades, swears by Mahabharata every now and then) to at least read the epic in the original, and be correct when referring to the incidents described there, before going public with his interpretations and outlandish claims about the existence of 'genetic science’ and 'plastic surgery’ in ancient India ? If he persists in his indefatigable efforts to explain every mythological miracle as precursors of modern medical science, Narendra Modi may soon come up with yet another pseudo-scientific theory - this time, 'plastic surgery within the womb’ - in order to explain the birth of a fully armed Karna, as described in the epic !
O- Sumanta Banerjee,
