By P Mohan Chandran
“Can a lie be justified if it leads to a greater good? Is loyalty to the family always the right path, even when they stray from dharma?” The Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, is a grand saga that intricately weaves these moral and ethical dilemmas into the fabric of its timeless narrative. A deep-dive into the nuanced complexities of its characters offers rich insights into these dilemmas.
Let us begin with King Dhritarashtra. Born blind, he yearned for his son Duryodhana to inherit the throne, despite knowing that his moral compass was skewed. Torn between fatherly affection and kingly duty, his dilemma led to dire consequences for the Kuru clan. His blindness extended beyond the physical, clouding his ethical judgment.
Kunti, a central figure and the mother of the Pandavas, faced her share of moral dilemmas. Abandoning her first-born Karna due to societal norms and fear, she later revealed his true identity to him, further burdening him with a moral conflict of loyalty versus lineage.
Karna, the tragic hero, was trapped in his promise to Kunti of sparing the Pandavas, save Arjuna, and his duty as a warrior. His character continually navigates a sea of ethical paradoxes, choosing loyalty over truth, honor over birthright, often leaving readers with a bitter-sweet admiration for his character.
Bhishma's vow of celibacy and loyalty to the throne is another instance of a moral quandary. Despite knowing the corrupt intentions of Duryodhana, he chose to side with the Kauravas due to his vow of unflinching allegiance to the throne, leading to a war that annihilated his lineage.
Even Vidura, known for his wisdom, was not untouched by dilemmas. Despite being aware of Duryodhana's wrongdoings, he remained a passive advisor, struggling to voice his dissent openly, torn between familial loyalty and moral righteousness.
Arjuna's ethical dilemma on the battlefield of Kurukshetra is perhaps the most renowned. The sight of his kinsmen ready for war led him to question the morality of the fratricidal conflict, putting down his weapons and seeking guidance from Krishna, thus birthing the philosophical treatise of the Bhagavad Gita.
Yudhishthira, the embodiment of righteousness, also found himself in a moral maze. His decision to gamble away his kingdom and his brothers' freedom, succumbing to the vices of pride and honor, illustrates the complexity of his character.
Finally, Shalya, forced to fight on the side of the Kauravas despite his affection for the Pandavas, encapsulates the heart-wrenching ethical conflicts many faced due to the convoluted ties of kinship and duty.
In closing, we may ponder – are moral dilemmas truly dilemmas, or are they reflections of the complexities inherent in the human condition? As the threads of ethics, duty, and loyalty intertwine and unravel in the epic Mahabharata, we realize that life often does not provide clear, binary choices. The labyrinth of morality is a journey through shades of grey, a constant negotiation between what is, what should be, and what can be. What guides us through this maze? Is it our conscience, our duty, or our loyalty? As we grapple with these questions, we find the Mahabharata resonating within us, reminding us that the struggle between dharma and adharma is as much internal as it is external.
Do you think deeply knowing & analyzing the story of Mahabharata can help you navigate your own moral & ethical dilemmas in life?
A. Yes, Mahabharata has every moral dilemma faced by us.
B. No, there are some dilemmas not covered in Mahabharata.
© 2023. P Mohan Chandran. All Rights Reserved.
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