How many times is 'Writing' Mentioned in MB&SBh?

I can remember two clear times in the entire story:

1. Ganesha writing MB while Vyasa narrates.

2. Rukmini sends a letter to Krishna (I know that's in SBh but still)

Now, was writing mentioned anywhere else?

Also, if they could write letters, why was so much of an emphasis put on messengers/dootas?

If we are adding SMB, then before Rukmini Swayamwar, Rukmi/Jarasangh writes to Shishupal about their plan of having a fixed Swayamwar of Rukmini

The messenger or Doot wasn't only to cascade the message, they served the same purpose what the ambassadors or diplomats serve today. They were mouthpiece of the native state. Aside they could explain the message in a more rational way.

Originally posted by: proteeti

I can remember two clear times in the entire story:

1. Ganesha writing MB while Vyasa narrates.

2. Rukmini sends a letter to Krishna (I know that's in SBh but still)

Now, was writing mentioned anywhere else?

Also, if they could write letters, why was so much of an emphasis put on messengers/dootas?

Ganesha part was removed from CE as interpolation IIRC. Rukmini is not part of MBH

.

2 major reasons why writing was not common. 1. Paper had yet to be invented. 2. Lapiz lazuli was used for writing. It was a metal which had to be mined and was pretty expensive. Actually, Panchali sends Bheema after saugandhika gem and lapis lazli and that so-called flower episode.

I think Lord krishna write letter for gopis and send letter through udhav ji

And I think writing was less then in. Comparison to oral in dwapar yug time most of communication is orally only

Like vedyas wrote mahabharat, sri madh bhagwat

Sri madh bhagwat was narrated by vyas 's , son shuk dev to parikshit

And mahabharat was narrated by vyas disciples vaishampayene to parikshi son janmayena

Vyas gave collection of bhoj patra in which bhagwat written to his son sukh dev

And vyas gave collection of bhoj patra in which mahabharat written to his dicple vaishampayene

Then after few years when vaishampayene died then mahabharat was narrated by another person ( he can be vaishampayene son ) to another person and so on like this mahabharat , srimadh bhagwat passes through generation to generation

Generation to generation bhoj patra is preserved for some years but how some bhoj patra is lost that now days we don't have much written piece of ancient times

Means writer is only one but there are can be many narrater

Thanks for all the valid points everyone!

@Surabhi di, could you find me where you got Vyasa giving the bhoja-patra to Shuka?

I am also under the impression that the "writing" portions were included AFTER people actually started writing and that MB and all other texts were narrated orally.

Because, if those books were written down from the get go, we would have considerably less interpolations (people would probably still put in stuff but I guess they'd do less often)

I feel oral tradition is why MB gained so much of traction. Since so many different people modified it, all of their perspectives and life-views are also merged with this book. This is in part why it gets to EVERYONE who reads it, in some form or other.

Here is link of suk dev story . I am telling in short , for full details please check link which I gave

In this story it written that suk dev was incarnation of Lord shiv and don't want to come out from mother womb because of sansarik moh Maya. After 12years he come out and immediately leave his parents and start doing bhakti nirarakaar ishwar

Ved vyas want his son suk dev to study bhagwat but suk did not pay attention

Then ved vyas made his learn two shlokas of Lord krishna to his students

Means ved vyas ne apne shishya ko Lord krishnha ke two shlok rataa diya

Then those students were recting shlok then suk dev ask them where did u learn these shloka

They say from ur father

Then suk dev immediately go to ved vyas and studied shree madh bhagwat

So by this I made conclusions that ved vyas gave collection of bhoj putra to suk dev to study bhagwat

https://aaradhika.com/krishna/vyasnandan_shri_sukhdev_ji/

It is also written in shreemadh bhagwat in first skandh chapter 6 ( method of reading shreemadh bhagwat)

Where shanauk asking questions to suta ji when when these shreemadh bhagwat was heard

Then suta ji replied

When shree krishna leave then after when kaliyug pass 30y years then bhagwat was narrated by shuk dev to parikshit

And when kaliyug cross 200years then gokarn narrated shree madh bhagwat then after 30years sanakad narrated shree madh bhagwat to narad ji

It is also written that in first skandh and chapter 6 that at the age of 16 suk dev reading shreemadh bhagwat with devotion

It means if suk dev was is reading that means vedyas did write shree madh bhagwat and he could read shree madh bhagwat only if it is given by his father vedyas

And also shreemadh bhagwat katha was first narrated by suk dev( vyas son)

Before suk dev no one narrated bhagwat to anyone

And also in ram charitra in sundar kand it is written then when vaanar were beating very badly demons then laxman had mercy on demon and then he gave patrika ( letter) in name of raavan . This patrika also indicates that people use to write in treta yug

And raavan read patrika ( letter) so writing was there even in treta yug even before dwarpar yug there was system of writing

And I think in satyug there must be writing

And I think writing does not come in between writing is always from beginning

https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01063.htm

In this parv

Ved vyas ask his student vaishampayene to narrate mahabharat to janamaye what ever vaishampayene heard from vedyas

( vaishampayene heard mahabharat from vedyas)

So vaishampayene narrated mahabharat to janamaye in front of his guru vedyas

And it is also written in this parv that vaishampayene telling to janamaye that who ever study bharat for 4 months during rainy season that person will free from all sins

Here vaishampayene say whoever study bharat it means bharat was also written

And vaishampayene also said to janamaye that ved vyas complete his mahabharat work in three years this also show mahabharat was written

Record of every puran vedas and other spiritual text are kept in ancient time too by rishis

https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01006.htm

In this link it is said ancient text are recorded chronicle

But study toh sunke bhi we can do na. Studying can also be done by reciting over and over. I think they call it Shruti. 😳

There might've been written documents before the earliest found ones also na.

Maybe, for the earliest manuscripts they hadn't figured out how to preserve it. Ya phir, they didn't think it was that important to preserve.