Dharma, and the Mahabharata

While I watched the Mahabharata, I noticed that one of the underlying philosophies in the epic was Dharma and the importance of following it. One of the earliest examples of dharma is Pandu’s slaughter of a hiding couple. Cursed to die if he were to ever lie with his wife, he determines that he is unfit to rule the throne, and to repent for his cruel act, Pandu becomes a hermit. Although this initially allows him to staves off death for years, the curse eventually ‘catches’ up with him, and he repents for it with his life.

Dharma is also used in the Mahabharata to reinforce the importance of the caste system – especially in the case of Karna. Because he is brought up by a charioteer, Karna is ranked on a lower caste. This, therefore, prevents him from fighting Arjuna in a tournament – as only a person of stature could challenge the prince to a battle. However, Duryodhana behaves adharmically, breaking the caste system and offering Karna the kingdom of Anga – an act performed to exact revenge on his Pandava brother Arjuna.

Dharma, in the Mahabharata, is also seen as a god. Yudhisthira, the son of Dharma, is seen as a strict follower of Dharma, and seems to innately follow ‘the truth’. When he is challenged by Duryodhana to a game of dice, he accepts his defeat without any protest. There is no dispute or struggle – when Draupadi is won over, Yudhisthira willingly gives her to the Kauravas.

Although I have only watched a small portion of the Mahabharata, I can surmise that much of the epic, and its conclusion is based on this idea of Dharma. Although (up to the point we watched in the video) the Kaurava brothers  attained power and wealth by acting adharmically, these acts will eventually catch up with them, as karma, or the natural laws of causation will eventually catch up to them as they did Pandu.