Mahabharata: The fifth Veda

Author's Note: The Mahabharata is not a story of characters who are wholly good or wholly evil. Those who are under such an impression are humbly requested not to entertain any biased views on the Epic. I however will consider any counter-opinions as comments.

In my first blog, I wrote a little on the Mahabharata. Indeed, it has remained my favourite, and no other story or fiction can take its place in my mind.

People will always continue to debate: Is the Mahabharata a fact or fiction? My answer is: It doesn't matter. We have a lot to learn from the Mahabharata; those who consider it to be fact, may take it to be a historical treatise; those who consider it to be a fiction, may consider it to be an anthropological treatise.

I have been hearing the story of the Mahabharata since childhood, but only recently got to read its full version on the net. There are many stories in this Epic; and they are woven into the main fabric of the conflict between the Pandavas and the Dhartarashtras. (We know them better as the Kauravas, but I disagree with this nomenclature, since Kaurava means descendants of Kuru, and the Pandavas were also technically 'Kauravas'. I stick to Dhartarashtras, or sons of Dhritarashtra.)

Veda Vyasa sums up the Mahabharata aptly in the Adi Parva by means of the following verse (I have read only an indirect reference about it, but it is very much appropriate):

“Whatever is found here, is found elsewhere, but what is not found here, is found nowhere else.”

Truly, in the Mahabharata, we find every possible situation we may face in life: greed, envy, jealously, anger, pride, affection, difficulties faced by the honest... the list is endless. In every story, we are narrated stories on how people faced numerous difficulties, and how they sorted them out. We also learn that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, but each had one’s own way. All these have a direct relevance to our lives.

Indeed, no part of the Epic is more important than the eighteen-day war of Kurukshetra, which occupies nearly a quarter of the Epic. Incidents in the war demolish all notions that one side represents all that is good and the other represents all that is evil. Wrong and sinful deeds are committed by both the warring parties. Before the war begins, Balarama (Lord Krishna’s elder brother) says, “Let us avoid an armed conflict by all the means in our power. Only that which accrues in peace is worthwhile. Out of war, nothing but wrong can issue”.

When war becomes imminent, he says “the descendants of Bharata have let themselves be overwhelmed by greed, anger and hatred and that the peace talks have broken down and that war has been declared. Dreadful destruction is ahead. The earth is going to is a bloody morass strewn with mangled bodies! It is an evil destiny that has maddened the Kshatriya[military race] to foregather here to meet its doom.” Thus Balarama stays neutral during the war. This is just one of the ways people deal with their moral dilemmas. But I like Balarama’s opinion the most; hence I lay more stress upon it.

When we say that we must fight wars with other countries, we forget that we are putting ourselves in a state of ignorance. War can bring no good to humanity. At the end of the chapter “The Death of Karna”, C. Rajagopalachari rightly says:

 “It was Lord Krishna who incited Arjuna to kill Karna when he was vainly trying to raise his chariot out of the mud in which it had stuck. According to the code of honour and laws of war prevailing then, it was wholly wrong. Who could bear the responsibility for breaches of dharma except the Lord Himself? “

“The lesson is that, it is vanity to hope, through physical violence and war, to put down wrong. The battle for right, conducted through physical force leads to numerous wrongs and, in the net result, adharma[unrighteousness] increases.” This resonates with Balarama’s opinion.

There are many other places where the Mahabharata’s teachings are very relevant. I have just quoted one; and probably the most important one.

Some people, who sympathise with the Pandavas (but actually have antipathy towards the Dhartarashtras), justify these incidents (wrongdoings by Pandavas in the Kurukshetra War) by saying that they were fighting an evil enemy and a bigger army of better warriors. Others, who have antipathy towards the Pandavas (rather than being sympathetic to Duryodhana), quote these incidents to say that the Pandavas were no better than the Kauravas in matters of wrong and right. Again, my opinion is simple: No man is wholly good or wholly evil. The Pandavas were able to win the war because the scales of dharma were in their favour; but that is all.

It is very easy to say that Duryodhana was an evil man. Actually, I would sympathise with him a bit. Consider his childhood: a blind father who could never see him, a mother who would never look at him (even though she was not blind), a pampering uncle who would always encourage him to commit improper deeds, and elders and teachers in the family who would be always praising his cousins in front of him. (The Pandavas had not yet come into the picture). Today, any one put in Duryodhana’s situation will also become a man like him. The effects of childhood psychology have been well studied in the Mahabharata; they are well brought out in Duryodhana’s story.

I am stressing upon his character only because he is portrayed as the villain in the Mahabharata; otherwise I have no specific reason. Similarly, every other character we may consider will have such a two-sided facet to his nature. It is up to us to emulate the good side while learning from the negative side.

One more thing: With all reverence to Lord Krishna and those who worship Him, I want to stress that He is an Avataram (Incarnation). Even though He can be omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, He chooses not to be (most of the time), because He has to set an example to mankind. Thus He decides not to do any actual fighting during the war (to let the world think that the Pandavas win on their own strength, and thus every man exerts himself fully to achieve success) and seemingly makes them commit improper deeds (to explain to the world that no good can come out of a war).

The only thing I can do in this post to the Mahabharata is a great injustice. There are a lot of lessons and morals to be learnt from this Epic and apply them to our daily lives.

I do not expect all people to approve of my opinion in this matter. Still, one must learn to appreciate it in a true spirit; of emulating the good while learning from the evil. That indeed is the true destination of mankind.