Connecting the pastimes of the Srimad Bhagavatam and the Mahabharata

The Mahabharata describes the recent history of the world from the viewpoint of the Pandavas. In the Srimad Bhagavatam, however, the history is narrated from the viewpoint of Krsna.

The Mahabharata describes the recent history of the world from the viewpoint of the Pandavas, describing their struggle to uphold the principles of Dharma. The glories of Krsna as the Supreme Lord are described, and His loving relationship with the Pandavas is exulted, but still, Krsna is not the main focus of the narration.

In the Srimad Bhagavatam, however, the history is narrated from the viewpoint of Krsna. He takes His birth in the prison of Kamsa and is transferred to Gokula and later Vrindavana, where He enjoys His childhood pastimes. Later He goes to Mathura, where he kills Kamsa, and later to Dvaraka to avoid the constant attacks of Jarasandha, etc.

The two stories are connected, but the points where they both connect may not be so obvious. Here are a few points that may help:

- Yudhiṣṭhira studied under Kripa and Drona. He became a master in using the spear and the war chariot. At the end of their education, Drona asked the Pandavas to defeat Drupada as daksin. They did so, and he took half of the kingdom.

- After Yudhiṣṭhira and his brothers completed their studies with Drona, they returned to Hastinapura. Yudhistira was crowned as the king, but Duryodhana was plotting to kill the Pandavas and take the kingdom.

- Duryodhana along with Shakuni planned to kill them and sent them to the palace made of lac, called Lakshagriha. Vidhura alerted Yudhistira about the palace. When the palace was set on fire, they escaped through a tunnel that they had previously made and survived.

- They were taken for dead. Dritarastra even made a funeral for them. Bhisma and others were unhappy; only Vidhura knew what really happened.

- Understanding that there was a conspiracy in place to end their lives, Kunti ran away with the Pandavas through the forest, away from the kingdom. At this point, Bhima fought with the rakshasa Hiḍimba and married Hiḍimbī. Later, Ghaṭotkaca was born. In this way, they traveled from Hastinapura (New Delhi) all the way up to what is now West Bengal, in the village of Ekacakra.

- Because of the danger, they remained incognito for some time, living as in Ekacakra, dressed like ascetics. They lived in a Brahmana's house.

- During their time there, they saved the Brahmana who was hosting them by sending Bhima to fight with the rakshasa Baka, who was eating one person from the village each week. Bhima brought a cart full of food to Baka, but on the way, he became hungry and ate the food. Baka became angry and attacked him. They fought, and Bhima killed him, smashing his head with a headbutt.

- After a few years of living incognito, they reached the kingdom of Pañchāla, where Arjuna (still dressed as a Brahmana) attended the svayaṁvara of Draupadi and won her hand.

- Finally, after years of living incognito, the Pandavas returned to Hastinapura. By that time, Duryodhana had already been crowned as the king, so, under the advice of Bhisma, Dhṛtarāṣṭra gave half of the kingdom to the Pandavas, the part to the southwest. That part was at the time occupied by the Nagas, led by Taksaka, so the Pandavas had to fight and defeat them. (It seems that although Nagas have their own abode in the lower planets, at the time they were living on the earth, just as Rakshasas and others).

- After saving Maya-Dhanava from the forest fire, he built the Indraprastha palace for the Pandavas. This palace became the center of their capital.

- Modern historians say that the Puranic Hastinapura was to the north-east of the current-day Delhi, which is currently the city of Meerut, and that Indraprastha corresponds to what is now the old part of New Delhi (the distance between the two is about 80 km). However, Prabhupada appears to disagree, saying that Hastinapura corresponds to today's New Delhi, and Indraprastha is part of it, or very close to it.

In Krsna Book 71, for example, he describes:

"In this way the procession of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s party advanced toward Hastināpura (New Delhi) and gradually passed through the kingdoms of Ānarta (Gujarat Province), Sauvīra (Surat), the great desert of Rājasthān, and then Kurukṣetra. Between those kingdoms were many mountains, rivers, towns, villages, pasturing grounds, and mining fields. The procession passed through all these places in its advance. On His way to Hastināpura, the Lord crossed two big rivers, the Dṛṣadvatī and the Sarasvatī. Then He crossed the provinces of Pañcāla and Matsya. In this way, He ultimately arrived at Hastināpura or Indraprastha."

We can see that Prabhupada doesn't differentiate between the two cities. It appears that Indraprastha was thus built as part of Hastinapura, or adjacent to it, and not as a separate city. It appears that the kingdom of the Kurus was to the north-east, and of the Pandavas to the southwest, and the division line passed through the capital, dividing it into Hastinapura and Indraprastha.

In the Krsna book, chapter 71 is entitled "Lord Kṛṣṇa in Indraprastha City", and then, the chapter that comes after Bhima killing Jarasandha is entitled "Lord Kṛṣṇa Returns to the City of Hastināpura". It would not make any sense if these were two separate cities.

- A few years after his coronation in Indraprastha, Yudhiṣṭhira started preparing to execute a Rajasuya sacrifice. Arjuna, Bhima, Nakula, and Sahadeva led armies across the four corners of the world to obtain tributes from all kingdoms for Yudhiṣṭhira's sacrifice, and an envoy was sent to Dvaraka to invite the Lord to attend the ceremony.

- In Dvaraka, a messenger came with a plea from 20,000 kings who had been captured by Jarasanda, who had attacked Krsna in Mathura 18 times until Krsna finally decided to transfer the whole population to Dvaraka.

- The kings begged the Lord to save them. While Krsna discussed with His advisors how to deal with the situation, the envoy of the Pandavas came with the invitation for the Rajasuya sacrifice. Uddhava suggested that the Lord should first go to Indraprastha to meet the Pandavas and, from there, go to kill Jarasanda, since in any case it would not be possible to hold the Rajasuya sacrifice without eliminating all opposing kings.

- Krsna, together with Arjuna and Bhima, visited Jarasanda dressed as Brahmanas to beg for a fight. Jarasanda accepted and was killed by Bhima.

- Krsna saved the 20,000 kings imprisoned by him and returned to Hastināpura/Indraprastha

- The Pandavas executed the Rajasuya Sacrifice, and Krsna received the first worship. When Sisupala protested, Krsna killed Him with his chakra to avoid a greater fight that could spoil the sacrifice.

- Duryodhana, although externally accepting Yudhiṣṭhira as the emperor, was burning with envy. Later, he felt insulted when he was laughed at while visiting the Indraprastha palace. Maya-Dhanava made a palace in a way that land appeared to be water and water appeared to be land. Duryodhana lifted his dhoti when passing a dry floor and fell into a part that was water. When Bhima, Arjuna, the twin brothers, and the queens laughed at him, Yudhiṣṭhira tried to stop them, but Krsna encouraged everyone to laugh at him. Duryodhana left insulted.

- Duryodhana had been put into illusion by the supreme will of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and this was the beginning of the enmity between the two sects of the Kuru dynasty. This appeared to be a part of Kṛṣṇa’s plan in His mission to decrease the burden of the world.

- After this, there is the game of dice, in which Yudhiṣṭhira loses the kingdom and is forced to go into exile for 13 years.

- The Mahabharata narrates in detail the pastimes of the Pandavas while in exile, but the Srimad Bhagavatam sticks with the description of the pastimes of Krsna, with The Battle between Śālva and Members of the Yadu Dynasty, The Deliverance of Śālva, The Killing of Dantavakra and Vidūratha, etc.

- The later pastimes of the Pandavas, after the battle of Kuruksetra, are narrated in the 1st canto, including Aśvatthāmā trying to kill Pariksit with the Brahmastra, the passing away of Bhismadeva, Krsna returning to Dvaraka, etc. In the 1st canto, the pastimes are narrated from the perspective of the Pandavas, just like in the Mahabharata.