Mahabharata(2013): Morality

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Mahabharata(2013): Morality
One of the numerous views proposed in Mahabharata is that Dharma depends and varies according to the situation that an individual finds themselves in and the intention behind the action. Based on the case, some actions that appear to be immoral can be good according to the intent of the characters, while other deeds that strictly adhere to the rules can be seen as unjust. For instance, the marriage of Pandavas to Draupadi as well as the fame of dice reflect this scenario. Every accepted social and moral norm that was broken formerly is followed later. For example, the game of dice followed the rules established before its beginning. However, the polyandrous marriage was seen to be a virtuous deed but Duryodhas intents portrayed the game of dice as malicious. This paper describes how one can decide when an action is virtuous and when it is not based on the perception of moral variance. The paper also describes when the rules can become immoral, especially when morality is based on the following of certain rules. The main intent of this paper is to focus on the text’s description of dharma and the description of dharma in the text is sophisticated and rich, which is going beyond the simplistic issues about the kinds of supernatural carrot-and-stick mechanisms.
At times, bad things happen to good people, and it is difficult to respond to the suffering and challenges in life. Maintaining faith in a moral standard in the event of the complexities and challenges of everyday life requires moral life (Sahota). The issues of living a morally strong life have been mulled with challenges that have been common in religious traditions. The religious traditions offer individual figures playing the roles of moral teachers and exemplars, as well as parables and stories depicting morally good behaviors in particular contexts. The stories provide a framework for moral reasoning in an individual’s particular situations. For instance, the behavior of Rama in Ramayana is perceived as a moral paradigm in the Sahitya-Darpana. According to the Christian view in the New Testament, the figure of Jesus and the characters in the parables offer inspirational examples guiding the moral lives of Christians over a long period (Sahota). However, there are questions of moral deliberations and ethical behaviors taking on more unsettled and nuanced aspects. Mahabharata is a known itihasia and describes as a text about Vijnana, Yoga, Veda, Artha, Kama, and Dharma.
In Mahabharata, Dharma is often deconstructed and problematized and exposed to the unavoidable disorder of moral life. Yaksaprasna and Bhagavad Gita are the most focused discussions about Dharma as well as the Bhisma’s discussion in Santiparvan. Neve(Sahota)ruthless, almost every episode in the show offers some new insight into Dharma’s nature. Draupadi is compulsorily dragged into the assembly hall in one of the most famous episodes and would lose almost everything to the Kauravas (Sahota). Yudhishthira gambles and loses the life of their single wife Draupadi after losing almost everything including the lives of the five Pandava brothers and wealth. However, Vidura is not in th...