Mantralaya-2058
(The Mahabharata’s account of the advanced technology of growing 101 babies outside the mother’s womb)
Date : Sep 4, 2025
Dear Devotees : Namaskara.
| Sri MannMoolaRamastu Mannmathe Moolamahasamsthhaana Mantralaya Sri Rayaramathe||
|| OM SRI RAGHAVENDRAAYA NAMAHA||
Background
The
Mahabharata’s account of the advanced technology of growing 101 babies
outside the mother’s womb is described in Mantralaya (2058).
Meaning
In
the previous article of Mantralaya (2057), we explored how the warfare
of the Mahabharata was not only rooted in astonishingly advanced
technology but also inseparably bound with spirituality and dharma. The
level of sophistication described was so far ahead that even if modern
science were to reach a fraction of it, say thirty percent, we would
still fall short, especially in embedding moral and ethical discipline
into our machines of war.
In today’s article, we turn to yet
another dimension of the Mahabharata’s genius, its profound insights
into biology and human science, where the knowledge and advancements
were equally extraordinary and far beyond our present grasp.
In
the Mahabharata, the birth of the hundred Kaurava brothers remains one
of the most fascinating and mysterious episodes. Queen Gandhari, the
devoted wife of King Dhritarashtra, had received a boon from Sri Veda
Vyasaru, promising her a hundred sons. Sri Veda Vyasaru, revered as
none other than Sri Narayana himself, assured her that the boon would
be fulfilled.
Sri Raghavendra Swamy regards Sri Veda Vyasa as
the eternal teacher, the master of dharma, and the divine source of
spiritual protection. Through Sri Rayaru’s writings, commentaries and
teachings, Rayaru not only honors Vyasa but also ensures that his
wisdom continues to guide generations. Vyasaru’s influence is central
to Rayaru’s philosophy: knowledge without devotion and ethics is
incomplete and the study of scriptures must be coupled with the
practice of dharma.
In time Gandhari conceived but her pregnancy
extended abnormally for nearly two years. Overcome with frustration
when she heard that her sister-in-law Kunti had already given birth to
Yudhishthira, Gandhari struck her womb in despair. This violent act
caused her to deliver a hardened mass of flesh, lifeless and resembling
an iron lump.
At that crucial moment, Sri Veda Vyasaru appeared.
With his divine knowledge and extraordinary wisdom, Sri Vyasaru divided
the mass into one hundred and one pieces. Vyasaru placed each piece
into separate earthen pots filled with ghee and instructed that they be
sealed and nurtured carefully. After two more years of incubation,
these pieces miraculously grew into fully formed children, the hundred
Kaurava brothers led by Duryodhana and their only sister, Dushala.
The
extraordinary account of the birth of the hundred Kauravas, though
narrated in the Mahabharata as a divine event, has been interpreted by
many scholars and enthusiasts as more than just mythology. It appears
to echo principles of advanced reproductive science that humanity is
only beginning to understand today.
While modern technology has
not yet reached such a level, the episode bears striking resemblance to
concepts in biotechnology, embryology and genetic engineering. This
suggests that ancient Indian texts may encode symbolic representations
of sophisticated scientific principles.
Although today’s
scientific progress has achieved remarkable milestones, it still falls
short of the extraordinary feats accomplished by Sri Vyasaru. Yet, to
aid our understanding, we can attempt to draw parallels between his
divine intervention and the advancements of modern science.
The
division of a lifeless fetal mass into pieces and their incubation in
ghee filled pots parallels modern IVF, where fertilization occurs
outside the body and embryos are nurtured in controlled incubators
before being implanted. In the Mahabharata, the pots function as
artificial wombs, with ghee serving as a sterile, nutrient rich medium
that preserved and nourished development over time. Remarkably, this
was described millennia before the first human IVF birth in 1978.
The
transformation of one amorphous mass into 101 living children evokes
modern stem cell science and cloning. In today’s world, scientists can
split embryos or reprogram cells to form identical organisms, as
famously demonstrated with Dolly the sheep in 1996. Yet the Mahabharata
describes the creation of one hundred one distinct human beings, each
unique, implying a level of genetic partitioning and programmed
differentiation far beyond current capabilities. Some interpret this as
a form of embryonic splitting or early genetic engineering.
Gandhari’s
unusual two year pregnancy, followed by extended incubation in pots,
hints at knowledge of delayed or suspended embryonic development. This
resonates with cryopreservation, where embryos are frozen for future
use or ectogenesis, the external growth of fetuses in artificial
environments. The ghee pots could be viewed as early symbolic
bioreactors, sterile chambers providing optimal conditions for life to
flourish.
Together, these elements combine biology, chemistry
and engineering in ways that mirror what we now classify as
reproductive endocrinology or assisted reproductive technology. Yet,
they do so on a scale and precision still unattainable today.
Even
with modern breakthroughs such as IVF and CRISPR gene editing, our
science lags behind the vision described in the Mahabharata. Modern
medicine can occasionally produce identical twins or quadruplets
through embryo splitting but creating one hundred one viable, healthy
individuals from a single source is far beyond reach. Human cloning
remains ethically prohibited and scientifically unstable, plagued by
high failure rates. Achieving the Kauravas scale would require flawless
mastery over telomeres, epigenetic reprogramming and anti aging
processes, technologies we have not yet unlocked.
Similarly,
while experiments have sustained lamb fetuses in artificial sacs for
limited periods, sustaining full human development outside the womb
remains decades away. Replicating the placenta’s complexity, immune
integration and nutrient delivery is a challenge no laboratory has yet
overcome.
The Mahabharata’s narrative, therefore, is not merely
a myth. It reads as a symbolic memory of a scientific age whose
knowledge surpasses our own. Whether taken literally, spiritually or
allegorically, it reminds us that human progress is incomplete unless
guided by wisdom. For in that epic, technology was never divorced from
dharma.
The Mahabharata presents the birth of the Kauravas as a
boon from Sri Vyasaru, showing not only an astonishing technological
feat but also a profound spiritual dimension. The narrative reminds us
that what happened was not merely a biological experiment but something
sanctified by divine will and guided by higher wisdom. Sri Vyasaru’s
intervention hints at the use of prana or life force and the activation
of subtle energies beyond the grasp of material science. This suggests
that ancient seers possessed a holistic understanding that blended
meditation, mantra, herbs, rituals and perhaps technologies unknown to
us.
In contrast, modern science focuses largely on the material
aspects of life such as genes, cells and molecular pathways, while
often dismissing the unseen forces that could play a role in creation
and healing. The success of Sri Vyasaru’s process might have been
possible only because it combined both physical and spiritual sciences
in perfect balance. Today, researchers are beginning to explore
emerging fields such as quantum biology, consciousness studies and
epigenetics, which might one day point toward the bridges between mind,
energy, and matter. Yet, we remain far from integrating them in the way
our ancients once did.
When we compare, modern assisted
reproductive techniques like IVF achieve about a thirty to forty
percent success rate per cycle and cloning remains experimental and
riddled with failures. In contrast, the Kaurava episode reflects a
fully developed, flawless system that transformed a single inert mass
into a hundred viable children. If modern science represents the
infancy of these ideas, Sri Vyasaru’s intervention shows the maturity
of a civilization that was far ahead of its time. It is similar to
comparing early sketches of flight with today’s supersonic jets, only
here, the ancients appear to have already mastered what we are just
beginning to imagine.
The act itself was deeply spiritual. Sri
Vyasaru’s boon was not an experiment in a laboratory but a sacred act
aligned with divine order. The power of Vedic mantras, the resonance of
sound and the influence of consciousness itself may have shaped the
outcome. While materialist science often rejects such possibilities,
emerging practices such as biofield therapies, meditation based healing
and even psychedelic assisted medicine are beginning to recognize that
consciousness can influence biology. The Mahabharata suggests that
rediscovering this lost wisdom and combining it with modern technology,
may open doors to new horizons in medicine and human potential.
Yet,
there is also a moral lesson hidden here. Sri Vedavyasa, though capable
of extraordinary feats, never replicated or widely taught this
knowledge. This restraint was not due to inability but to ethics.
Ancient sages knew that with great power comes great responsibility and
that such profound knowledge, if misused, could lead to destruction
rather than upliftment. Hence, while many had glimpses of these
sciences, none used them casually or for selfish purposes.
The
story of the Kauravas’ birth therefore stands as more than just a tale
of advanced reproductive technology. It is a reminder that true
knowledge is never merely about mastery over nature but about harmony
with dharma. Science without ethics becomes dangerous and power without
wisdom becomes destructive. The ancients remind us that the highest
form of knowledge is one that balances material progress with spiritual
responsibility.
The Mahabharata’s account of the Kauravas’ birth
reveals a synthesis of advanced science and deep spirituality that
modern civilization has yet to rediscover. It shows us that progress
cannot be measured by technology alone but must be guided by ethics,
dharma and humility. Sri Vedavyasa’s restraint teaches us that wisdom
is knowing not just what is possible but also what should and should
not be done. As we marvel at the hints of biotechnology in this
episode, we are reminded to seek knowledge with reverence, to blend
science with spirituality and to ensure that every breakthrough serves
humanity in alignment with truth and righteousness.
The devotion towards
Sri Raghavendrateertharu is the ultimate truth and is the most simple
and effective way to reach Sri Hari - "NAMBI KETTAVARILLAVO EE
GURUGALA"! “Those who have complete faith in this Guru will never be
disappointed.”
|| BICHALI JAPADAKATTI SRI APPANACHARYA PRIYA MANTRALAYA
SRI RAGHAVENDRATEERTHA GURUBHYO NAMAHA||