dharma in mahabharata essay

Dharma in the Mahabharta The concept of dharma is the most central and core concept of Hindu philosophy, "all the other principles and values flow from the beautiful fountain of Dharma" (Srinivasan n.d., 1). Consequently, the Hindu scriptures present many examples of its importance in a variety of ways. The two epics Mahabharata and Ramayana are particularly interesting in their presentation of dharma. Dharma is Sanskrit word with many different connotations that are mostly of ethical

“Dharma is knowledge prominently directed to the achievement of desired happiness here (i.e. in this life) and hereafter by means of appropriate actions”. (Khan, Benjamin. The Concept of Dharma in Valmiki) Rama and Krishna have been set as perfect exemplars of Dharma in the texts of Ramayana and Mahabharata respectively. They are considered to be the reincarnations of God Visnu, a Supreme Being, and supposedly lived their lives according to the Dharmic (or right) way of life. However, the stories

In The Táin and the Mahābhārata, brothers slaughter and mourn over brothers, parents are separated from their children, and husbands and wives quarrel and grow apart; the ideals of these epics seem to suggest that avoiding desires and violence will resolve such familial conflict. However, it is difficult to generalize from these dramatic epics since they do not necessarily resolve conflicts within families or settle disputes realistically. Nonetheless, the texts offer explanations as to why dysfunctional

Indian epic poetry in classical Sanskrit and earliest form of Indian literature influences the religious and cultural life of the whole India and much of Asia. These two main epic poems of Hinduism include, the Ramayana (The Story of Rama) and the Mahabharata (The Great Epic of India). Beside the question of their value of being good or worthy literature, they are among the most important and earliest literature of the world. For India, the land of spiritualism, the composition of these two great epics

The Mahabharata (composed between 300 BC and 300 AD) has the honor of being the longest epic in world literature, 100,000 2-line stanzas (although the most recent critical edition edits this down to about 88,000), making it eight times as long as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey together, and over 3 times as long as the Bible (Chaitanya vii). According to the Narasimhan version, only about 4000 lines relate to the main story; the rest contain additional myths and teachings. In other words, theMahabharata resembles

Selflessness 6 4.8 Karna’s Status Anxiety 7 4.9 Conclusion 8 5. Key Learning 9   INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY The Difficulty of Being Good by Gurcharan Das is an attempt to study and analyse the Mahabharata and the relevance it holds in todays’ world. The author realises that the great warriors in Mahabharata were

DEATH AND VIOLENCE IN THE MAHABHARATA AND THE TALE OF THE HEIKE Death, and the process of dying and killing, is central to the plots of the ancient Indian Mahabharata and the ancient Japanese Tale of the Heike. These epics, though the products of different cultures, describe similar beliefs and practices regarding death, focusing on death in relation to the religious beliefs and societal roles of the warriors classes—the Vedic Kshatriyas and the Japanese samurai. This great significance attached

What role did women play in the Mahabharata? Comment on the nature of the religion in the text? “In the construction of womanhood in the Hindu tradition, the idea of the goddesses functions as a philosophical and social archetype.” Goddesses were perceived as a symbol of divine power and irresistible energy. Women were prescribed roles like the protector, wielder of power, wife, helper, daughter, mother and nurturer. It was in the dharmaśāstras, that women were prescribed rules to abide by in their

Keywords:Pandavas, Draupadi, Bhagwat Gita, Krishna, Duryodhana 1. Introduction Mahabharata has been an oft-cited Indian epic for its grey portrayal of characters, their foibles and the unique codes of righteousness it preaches. The story came into existence as conceived by the medieval saint Tulsidas, and spread by word of mouth for centuries thereafter. The first and most noted English text on Mahabharata has been “Mahabharata” as written by C. Rajagopalachari which is the central focus of discourse

the Mahabharta, it seems to have one over-arching theme. This theme is dharma or more specifically fulfilling you dharmatic duty. I think that dharma includes both the themes of duty and loyalty. Any other presented themes in the Mahabharta seem to relate