Writing a post on the Mahabharat or trying to explain its philosophy in a single article, is akin to gathering the waters of the ocean in your palm. Because the Mahabharat, is not just an epic, not just a poem, not just a story. It is something way beyond that. It is about philosophy, about life, about battles, about human beings. The Mahabharat is not about good and evil, it is about human beings, about their personal complexities, their insecurities. It is a veritable ocean, the more you explore it, the lesser you know about it. You could spend your entire lifetime studying the Mahabharat, but still you find that you know less. It is again a tale which can be interpreted in various ways. If Shakespeare’s plays were the basis of Western literature, then it can be safely said that the Mahabharat is the fountainhead of Indian culture, literature, art and tradition. Unlike the Ramayan, where the lines between good and evil were clearly defined, in Mahabharat it is not. This review of mine is not about the Mahabharat per se, but some of my thoughts on this book. What i really found fascinating about the Mahabharat is that quite a lot of the messages it gives are relevant in the real world even today. This in fact would be a two part series, and i would be sharing some more thoughts of mine in my next review, which incidentally would be my review no 350.
To Pardon a 100 Mistakes
One very fascinating tale in the Mahabharat is that of Krishna and Sishupal. The latter was Krishna’s own cousin, the son of his aunt. The story goes that Sishupal was born as a deformed child, with 4 arms and 3 eyes. And neither the omens were good too, jackals howling and lightning flashes. When Krishna came to visit his aunt, he took Sishupal in his arms, and miraculously he became normal. However Shishupal’s mother was worried, because it was prophesized that Sishupal would die at the hands of the very person, who bought him to his normal self. Seeing his aunt’s distress, Krishna vowed to her, that he would he would not harm her son, as long as the sins committed by him,did not cross 100. His mother was relieved, as she felt her son would not stray the path of virtue. Unfortunately as he grew up Shishupal became vain and arrogant, aligning himself with the powerful king Jarasandha. He had no love lost for his cousin Krishna, especially after he eloped with his bride to be Rukmini. However the turning point came, when during the Rajasuya Yagna, Yudhisthir , gave Krishna the honor, on the advice of Bheeshma. This infuriated Shishupal, who asked why when more powerful kings were present, a mere cowherd like Krishna, should be given the honor. And he thus launces into a tirade against Krishna, insulting him, calling him names. He attacks the elders Bhismha and Drona , and mocks at the Pandavas as beggars. When the Pandavas are wondering why Krishna does not stop him, he then tells the gathering of the promise he had made to Sishupal’s mother. And now that Sishupal had crossed the 100 mistakes, he is no longer bound by that, and sends the Sudarshana Chakra to kill him. The idea here is that we might get away with our mistakes or sins, at times, but some time or other in the longer run, those mistakes are bound to visit on us. There is no escaping the consequences of our actions.
Pride goes before a Fall
Was Duryodhan a singularly evil character? Or was he more sinned against than sinning? Like Raavan, he was more in the mould of a noble villian. he was learned, he was a man who never cared for the caste when he made Karna the king of the Anga region, inspite of his lowly upbringing. Nor do any accounts mention of him as being a tyrannical leader. And he was one of the greatest warriors. A much more superior warrior to even Bhim, something which his guru Balaram, mentioned. But his downfall was due to one main reason- excessive pride. Was it a pride based on his own feelings of superiority? Or was it due to his anger at having to bear the cross of being born to a blind father? Or was it the fact that he felt insecure of his own cousins, the Pandavas? Whatever the main factor was his own egoism. He had blind belief in himself and his Kuru army. Far from refusing to give back to the Pandavas what he had deprived from them, he refused to part with an inch of land also. Duryodhan always felt insecure, and he spent all his life plotting against the Pandavas. From the lac home to the game of dice to his refusal to part land which led to the terrible war. Both Raavan and Duryodhan in a way were victims of their own arrogance and their own ego. Their inflexibility to listen to sane advice, their belief in their own superiority, which ultimately led to their downfall and the destruction of their empires.
A Half knowledge is a dangerous thing
One of the most fascinating tales in the Mahabharat is Abhimanyu and his fight to the death in the Chakravyuh. The son of Arjun, Abhimanyu, was an expert archer and a great warrior like his father himself. Born to Arjun and Subhadra, he grew up mostly in the care of his mother, and his maternal uncle, Krishna, when Arjun was away in the forest on exile. During the Mahabharat war, he showed his valour and bravery, prompting even the admiration of Bheeshma. During the war, Duryodhan wished to capture Yudhistir, alive, and he asked the commander in chief Drona to help him out. Drona in turn came out with the Chakravyuh, an impregnable battle formation, which was difficult to break through. The only person who knew how to break that formation was Arjun. So Duryodhan, diverted Arjun from the main battlefield, by sending a huge army to attack him. Helpless without Arjun and Krishna, Yudhistir turned to Abhimanyu for help. The problem was that while Abhimanyu knew how to enter the Chakravyuha, he had no knowledge on how to exit it. The Pandavas reassure that they would follow Abhimanyu, inside, once he breaks through the first cordon. Abhimanyu manages to break inside, but the Pandavas find their path blocked by Jayadratha, who had obtained a boon from Lord Shiva, that he would defeat all of them sans Arjun in a battle for one day at least. Inside the Chakravyuh, Abhimanyu finds himself totally trapped and cut off, and fights till the end, before being killed unfairly by the Kauravas, but not before inflicting a great damage. This incident reveals the dangers of half knowledge. Many of us at times rush headlong into a task without having the full knowledge about it, and we find ourselves trapped and in all sorts of trouble, as we are unable to proceed further.
To Pardon a 100 Mistakes
One very fascinating tale in the Mahabharat is that of Krishna and Sishupal. The latter was Krishna’s own cousin, the son of his aunt. The story goes that Sishupal was born as a deformed child, with 4 arms and 3 eyes. And neither the omens were good too, jackals howling and lightning flashes. When Krishna came to visit his aunt, he took Sishupal in his arms, and miraculously he became normal. However Shishupal’s mother was worried, because it was prophesized that Sishupal would die at the hands of the very person, who bought him to his normal self. Seeing his aunt’s distress, Krishna vowed to her, that he would he would not harm her son, as long as the sins committed by him,did not cross 100. His mother was relieved, as she felt her son would not stray the path of virtue. Unfortunately as he grew up Shishupal became vain and arrogant, aligning himself with the powerful king Jarasandha. He had no love lost for his cousin Krishna, especially after he eloped with his bride to be Rukmini. However the turning point came, when during the Rajasuya Yagna, Yudhisthir , gave Krishna the honor, on the advice of Bheeshma. This infuriated Shishupal, who asked why when more powerful kings were present, a mere cowherd like Krishna, should be given the honor. And he thus launces into a tirade against Krishna, insulting him, calling him names. He attacks the elders Bhismha and Drona , and mocks at the Pandavas as beggars. When the Pandavas are wondering why Krishna does not stop him, he then tells the gathering of the promise he had made to Sishupal’s mother. And now that Sishupal had crossed the 100 mistakes, he is no longer bound by that, and sends the Sudarshana Chakra to kill him. The idea here is that we might get away with our mistakes or sins, at times, but some time or other in the longer run, those mistakes are bound to visit on us. There is no escaping the consequences of our actions.
Pride goes before a Fall
Was Duryodhan a singularly evil character? Or was he more sinned against than sinning? Like Raavan, he was more in the mould of a noble villian. he was learned, he was a man who never cared for the caste when he made Karna the king of the Anga region, inspite of his lowly upbringing. Nor do any accounts mention of him as being a tyrannical leader. And he was one of the greatest warriors. A much more superior warrior to even Bhim, something which his guru Balaram, mentioned. But his downfall was due to one main reason- excessive pride. Was it a pride based on his own feelings of superiority? Or was it due to his anger at having to bear the cross of being born to a blind father? Or was it the fact that he felt insecure of his own cousins, the Pandavas? Whatever the main factor was his own egoism. He had blind belief in himself and his Kuru army. Far from refusing to give back to the Pandavas what he had deprived from them, he refused to part with an inch of land also. Duryodhan always felt insecure, and he spent all his life plotting against the Pandavas. From the lac home to the game of dice to his refusal to part land which led to the terrible war. Both Raavan and Duryodhan in a way were victims of their own arrogance and their own ego. Their inflexibility to listen to sane advice, their belief in their own superiority, which ultimately led to their downfall and the destruction of their empires.
A Half knowledge is a dangerous thing
One of the most fascinating tales in the Mahabharat is Abhimanyu and his fight to the death in the Chakravyuh. The son of Arjun, Abhimanyu, was an expert archer and a great warrior like his father himself. Born to Arjun and Subhadra, he grew up mostly in the care of his mother, and his maternal uncle, Krishna, when Arjun was away in the forest on exile. During the Mahabharat war, he showed his valour and bravery, prompting even the admiration of Bheeshma. During the war, Duryodhan wished to capture Yudhistir, alive, and he asked the commander in chief Drona to help him out. Drona in turn came out with the Chakravyuh, an impregnable battle formation, which was difficult to break through. The only person who knew how to break that formation was Arjun. So Duryodhan, diverted Arjun from the main battlefield, by sending a huge army to attack him. Helpless without Arjun and Krishna, Yudhistir turned to Abhimanyu for help. The problem was that while Abhimanyu knew how to enter the Chakravyuha, he had no knowledge on how to exit it. The Pandavas reassure that they would follow Abhimanyu, inside, once he breaks through the first cordon. Abhimanyu manages to break inside, but the Pandavas find their path blocked by Jayadratha, who had obtained a boon from Lord Shiva, that he would defeat all of them sans Arjun in a battle for one day at least. Inside the Chakravyuh, Abhimanyu finds himself totally trapped and cut off, and fights till the end, before being killed unfairly by the Kauravas, but not before inflicting a great damage. This incident reveals the dangers of half knowledge. Many of us at times rush headlong into a task without having the full knowledge about it, and we find ourselves trapped and in all sorts of trouble, as we are unable to proceed further.
Aswathama Hatha Kunjara
One of the more contentious issues in the Mahabharata is the killing of Drona. One of the mightiest warriors, the only way to defeat Drona would be to make him lay down his arms. Krishna knew that Drona loved his son Aswathama intensely, for him his son meant more than anything else. And that is when he adopts the strategy of using a half truth. He gets Bhim to kill an elephant named Aswathama, and asks him to utter it loudly. Drona is shocked on listening to this, and he asks Yudhistir whether this was indeed true. Drona has immense faith in Yudhistir and would accept whateve he says as the truth. And that is when Yudhistir utters the famous quote ’’Aswathama Hatha Kunjara’’ ( Aswatthama an elephant has been killed). Now here actually the Kunjara part is deliberately told by Yudhistir in a low voice not audible by Drona, and which is drowned out in the noise of the drums and conches. Drona really believes that his son is dead, and he lays down his arms, following which he is killed. What Yudhistir said was not a lie, but it was a far worse crime, a half truth. At times half truths can be much more dangerous than lies, becuase they contain an ounce of truth in them and people believe in them. Sometimes the results can be dangerous for humanity, as can be seen in the way Hitler’s half truths about Jews. And unfortunately we do not seem to have learnt from it, as political leaders, willingly utter half truths to come to power. So many times we find ourselves falling prey to the Ashwatthama Hatha Kunjara which our politicians utter.
One of the more contentious issues in the Mahabharata is the killing of Drona. One of the mightiest warriors, the only way to defeat Drona would be to make him lay down his arms. Krishna knew that Drona loved his son Aswathama intensely, for him his son meant more than anything else. And that is when he adopts the strategy of using a half truth. He gets Bhim to kill an elephant named Aswathama, and asks him to utter it loudly. Drona is shocked on listening to this, and he asks Yudhistir whether this was indeed true. Drona has immense faith in Yudhistir and would accept whateve he says as the truth. And that is when Yudhistir utters the famous quote ’’Aswathama Hatha Kunjara’’ ( Aswatthama an elephant has been killed). Now here actually the Kunjara part is deliberately told by Yudhistir in a low voice not audible by Drona, and which is drowned out in the noise of the drums and conches. Drona really believes that his son is dead, and he lays down his arms, following which he is killed. What Yudhistir said was not a lie, but it was a far worse crime, a half truth. At times half truths can be much more dangerous than lies, becuase they contain an ounce of truth in them and people believe in them. Sometimes the results can be dangerous for humanity, as can be seen in the way Hitler’s half truths about Jews. And unfortunately we do not seem to have learnt from it, as political leaders, willingly utter half truths to come to power. So many times we find ourselves falling prey to the Ashwatthama Hatha Kunjara which our politicians utter.
The Right man in the Wrong Place.
As a character, Karna, is the most fascinating in the Mahabharat. He is a person forever cursed by fate. Cast away by his mother Kunti on birth, he grows up in a charioteer’s family, though a Kshatriya by birth. He is cursed by his guru Parasuram, for hiding the origin of his birth, that he would forget the use of the weapons when needed. Shunned by the world, he finds a true friend in Duryodhan, when the latter mocks at the elders for saying he could not participate in the archery competition, because of his lowly background. He is given the kingdom of Anga by Duryodhan, and he latter becomes a life time friend and confidant. Karna is indeed a complex character, he readily goes along with Duryodhan in his humiliation of the Pandavas during the dice game. To the extent that he remarks about Draupadi saying that ’one who has 5 husbands, could not be a virtous woman, be ready to accept my friend Duryodhan as your 6th husband’. His rivalry with Arjun is legendary, and he is the only one who could match him in skills. Yet he is a noble soul, readily giving away anything, to the extent that he donates his life saving armor to Indra, knowing very well, that this could cost his life against Arjun. He promises his real mother Kunti, that he would not harm any of her sons, except Arjun. In the event that either he or Arjun dies, she would still have 5 sons. He refuses Krishna’s offer to switch sides, saying that he could never betray Duryodhan’s trust and loyaltly. Karna is an example of a right man in the wrong place. Quite often we find people who compromise with their values and conscience, because they are indebted to some one else.
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