The Variants of the Root to Sleep in the Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is a unique phenomenon in the literary history not only of India but of the whole word. The numerous variants, additions and omission, which distinguish various versions of the Mahabharata, are indicative of the dynamic character of the Epic. In the Mahabharata, the interchane of the three sibilants occur more than hundred times with the root meaning to slp. The study of the manuscripts clearly indicated that it is the grammatical and metrical irregularities of the original that are responsible for quite a large number of variations, which we come across in the manuscripts. Fluctuations in the spellings of proper names transposition of words: monosyllabic particles and verse fillers; common adverbs and conjunctions and some prepositions all of which are used indiscriminately; metrically equivalent synonyms or words or phrases of similar significance etc. cause variation on reading.