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 the mood to heed the order and gives a stinging speech saying that she cannot comprehend the order given by a fool bound by cords. She gives descriptions and metaphors of the reckless and immoral actions referencing the of being bound with cords. This is a metaphor for sin and in his view, Vidura describes the outcome of the gambling match according to Draupadi.
Mahabharata enlists the conditionality criteria where Dharma is envisioned as Apaddarma, in which the criteria are instructed through solid cases. However, the manifested criteria fail to suggest the making of universal laws but rather suggest them as a situation sensitivity in deviating or applying some laws. In the Apaddharma section in the story of Canׅdālavis՛vāmitrasamׅvāda, there is a description of how taboos about food can be ignored particularly in times of stress. The section also states about situations when theft can be acceptable. At the start of Dvapara eons, people’s normal life was completely disrupted by a drought that lasted about twelve years as well as the resultant famine. During this period, the sages let their normal duties of penance and hermitage to search for livelihood. It is during this trying moment that sage Vis’vamitra who had visited a village inhabited by Candalas ate dog meat and failed to find any food through alms. Vis’vamitra was weakened due to prolonged fasting and fainted next to the door of a Candala domiciliary. After he regained consciousness at night, he discovered and decided to steal some pieces of the dog meat in the house, which even the Candalas had known to be inedible. Remembering the scriptural rule of stealing for the sake of survival, Vis’vamitra justified his actions that taking anything devoid of the owner’s consent, in this case, does not amount to theft. This section shows how morality is perceived differently in Mahabharata using the conditionality criteria.
After discovering Vis’vamitra’s intent to steal the dog meat, Candala pleads to the sage to stop committing the offense. According to Candala, stealing the dog meat means that Vis’vamitra will commit at least four sins that will fetch him adharma. In the f...