Maotun Scholarly analysis of the poem has led some to believe that some part of the poem may date from real events that occurred as early as 1400 b.c.e Between 400 b.c.e and 400 c.e the Mahabharata reached its current form of more than 100,000 poetic couplets The Mahabharata most likely began as a warrior’s story told either by a warrior, or by a poet about a warrior in the kingdom of Kuruksetra in northern India It tells the story of the struggle for the kingdom between the descendants of King Bharata, contested by two families (the Pandavas and Kauravas) in early Indian history The Pandava brothers lose the kingdom to the Kauravas and engage in a titanic struggle to regain it The story is filled with violent conflict, gods, goddesses, heroes, the duty of making and keeping vows, and the futility of war The heroes are real historic persons in some cases In others the heroic figures represent human ideal or gods The main story of the Mahabharata is interrupted with many side stories and discussions, including those on religion and duty Central to the Mahabharata is dharma (codes of conduct) Dharma describes the proper conduct for kings or for others in all kinds of situations In its present form there are 18 sections (parvans) to the Mahabharata In addition there is a supplemental section called the Harivamsa (Genealogy of the god Hari), who is identified as the god Krishna-Vishnu The Mahabharata contains the whole of the Bhagavad Gita, or the Song of God The Bhagavad Gita records the conversation between Arjuna and his chariot driver who is really Krishna (an avatar of Vishnu) The philosophical conversation takes place on the battlefield between the two sides as they are poised for the final slaughter It presupposes a definite cosmology that is different from many other cosmologies including that of the modern West The battle between 18 armies lasted 18 days The cosmology of the Mahabharata depicts the universe as cycles of recurring creation and destruction The war and the imminent deaths of the warriors are all going to occur as part of a cycle that is part of Brahman, or reality The philosophical discussion is about karma, predestination, and human action Actions of people are determined but at the same time are also efficacious in achieving goals The Mahabharata was retold over wide areas of Southeast Asia Many of its stories were carved or painted into the walls of Hindu temples in India and in Southeast Asia The relief carvings at Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom in Cambodia portray its scenes See also Dharma Sutras; Hindu philosophy Further reading: Dharma, Krishna Mahabharata: The Greatest Spiritual Epic of All Time Badger, CA: Torchlight Publishing, 257 2001; Hill, Peter Fate, Predestination and Human Action in the Mahabharata: A Study in the History of Ideas New Delhi, India: Munshiram Monoharlan Publishers, 2001; Prabhavananda, Swami, and Christopher Isherwood The Song of God: Bhagavad-Gita New York: New American Library, 1951; Sukthankar, V S Critical Studies in the Mahabharata Poona, India: Karnatak Publishing House, 1944; ——— On the Meaning of the Mahabharata Bombay, India: Asiatic Society, 1957 Andrew J Waskey Maotun (Mao-t’un, Maodun) (r 209–174 b.c.e.) Xiongnu leader Maotun, or Maodun, was the most powerful leader of a nomadic people called the Xiongnu (Hsiung-nu), who lived north of the Yellow River valley; under his leadership the Xiongnu reached the zenith of power He became shanyu (king) of the Xiongnu in 209 b.c.e after killing his father, Toumen A dynamic leader, he consolidated his power between the Xiongnu and conquered tribes, calling their leaders to an annual meeting at his headquarters in modern Outer Mongolia There he took a census of people and animals and devised a system of government with himself as the supreme leader Maotun’s coming to power coincided with the collapse of the Qin (Ch’in) dynasty in China, beginning with the death of the first emperor, followed by the suicide of General Meng Tian (Meng T’ien) in 210 b.c.e (his powerful Chinese army had defeated the Xiongnu forces and built the Great Wall of China to keep them out of Chinese territories) The Qin dynasty ended in 206 b.c.e., and four years of civil war ensued, ending with the founding of the Han dynasty by Liu Bang (Liu Pang) The collapse of the Qin had left the frontiers undefended and Liu Bang, known posthumously as Han Gaozu (Han Kao-tsu), decided to deal with the Xiongnu threat immediately In 200 b.c.e he personally led 300,000 mostly infantry troops to war against the Xiongnu Maotun and Gaozu met in battle near the modern city of Datong (Ta-tung) in Shanxi (Shansi) Province; Maotun won with his 400,000 cavalry, and Gaozu narrowly escaped capture The two sides made peace in 198 b.c.e The Heqin (Ho-ch’in) Treaty declared the two sides as equals, demarcated their boundary along the Great Wall, and stipulated gifts of silver, silk, food, and liquor in fixed quantities several times a year from the Han to the Xiongnu In addition, Gaozu promised his only daughter by his wife Empress Lu to marry Maotun The empress vetoed