When the Epic Mahabharata Outweighed the Vedas The Anukramanika Parva, the opening chapter of the Mahabharata, closes with Souti describing the true greatness of this epic. He narrates that in ancient times, the gods and the great sages gathered together for a singular purpose: to weigh the value of the Bharata against the four Vedas. On one side of the scale they placed the Vedas, and on the other, the Bharata composed by Rishi Vyasa. When the scale was balanced, the Bharata proved heavier, both in literal weight and in the depth of its content and meaning. Because it surpassed the Vedas in substance, it came to be called Mahabharata, the Great Bharata. Souti further states that anyone who understands this true significance of the epic is freed from sin. Why the Epic Outweighs the Vedas The Vedas hold universal truths in their purest form, unaltered and uncorrupted, representing the highest spiritual knowledge available to humankind. In Kali Yuga, the current age, human intellect and ...