Amit Shah's Mahabharata tale confusing: COCOMI
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, January 11 2023:
Strongly disapproving linking of Manipur with the Mahabharata epic as narrated recently by Union home minister Amit Shah, Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) has said that Amit Shah's remark made during a public function was quite confusing and there is no link between Mahabharata's Manipur and the present Manipur state.
In a statement, COCOMI recalled that Amit Shah addressed a public gathering at Moirang on January 7 wherein he claimed that the third of the five siblings of Mahabharata namely Arjun married a Manipuri woman and their son took part in the Mahabharata war.
However, there is no link between Mahabharata and the present Manipur state as Mahabharata is a legendary story developed as an epic of the Hindu people.
Several historians had proven that there is no link whatsoever between stories of Mahabharata and the present state of Manipur, the COCOMI statement added.
According to COCOMI, there are more than 45 places in India named Manipur and Viyasa Dev's Mahabharata is a Hindu book written between 400 BCE-400BC in Sanskrit having more than 1.18 million religious words with 200,000 verses and 18 Parvas.
The present Manipur state was not known as Manipur during the time when such books were written.
The present Manipur came to be known only in 1762 and Manipur was known by different names during that time, COCOA said, adding that no other religion excep the indigenous religion of the Meeteis was followed in Manipur during that time.