When I first learned that I’ll be taught the Mahabharata in my English Honors course at Delhi University, I was everything but thrilled about it. Before starting it in class, I had a rather ignoble opinion of it. I was of the impression that the Mahabharata is a vain and impractical text where a set of 5 husbands stake their common wife Draupadi in a game of dice and all the bad that is happening, can be attributed to the vile and vicious Shakuni. But now that I’ve had lengthy discussions about the text with my teacher and classmates, I’ve grown to respect and love the text so much. Up until now, I didn’t even know that Karna sided with the Kauravas. But now, for me, this is so much more than cousin rivalry and women who love throwing their babies in the Ganges (nervous glances towards Kunti).
The text gave me a plethora of different feelings. Shock, amazement, moments of realization, pure horror, and laughter being some of them. For instance, I couldn’t help but laugh at Yudhisthira describing his wealth and then staking it all at once in the game of dice.
Yudhishthira said,“O son of Suvala (Shakuni), I know that I have untold wealth. But why is it, O
Sakuni, that thou askest me of my wealth? Let tens of thousands and millions and millions and
tens of millions and hundreds of millions and tens of billions and hundreds of billions and trillions
and tens of trillions and hundreds of trillions and tens of quadrillions and hundreds of
quadrillions and even more wealth be staked by thee. I have as much. With that wealth, O king,
I will play with thee”
( The Mahabharata, Translation by K. M. Ganguli)
I wonder what Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos would have to say about this. Along with astounding amounts of wealth, the epic is replete with examples of medical miracles! Where do you think the 101 Kauravas came from? From their mother Gandhari’s womb? No! From earthen pots full of ghee? Yes! So technically, Duryodhana was the first-ever test-tube baby!
The Mahabharata for most Hindus resonates with piety, for the holy Hindu text, the Bhagavad Gita is a derivative of the Mahabharata. Sure, the epic made me laugh sometimes but mostly it was epiphanic, beautifully complex, and well balanced. It is unbelievable how a single text covers such a wide range of spiritual topics along with touching upon ethical, social, and philosophical issues that go far beyond the central theme of the Pandava-Kaurava war. I could make out how Dhritarashtra’s and Gandhari’s blindness is symbolic of permissive and extremely easy-going parenting which as a result produced kids who were greedy, disrespectful, and in short, astray. What Vyaas also tries to convey is that you can play a single social role at once. You cannot be a good king and a good father at the same time. Dhritarashtra often hung loosely between the two roles and hence failed to come up to the expectations of either. How he rendered his fatherly and kingly duties is of course subjective. But, for me, Duryodhana’s greed, his need for revenge, and Dussassana’s act of disrobing a woman in a public court is a testimony to the fact that Dhritarashtra failed both, as a king and a father. His complete inaction during the vastraharan of Draupadi also proves to us that a woman’s dignity is in her own hands. No matter how powerful a woman’s husband, father, or brother is, if she doesn’t speak up for herself, no one else is going to. Draupadi’s infamous question to Yudhishthira that demanded to know who did he lose first in the game, himself or her unsettled the highest authorities and held up mirrors to each person. It is impossible to ignore Draupadi or her question.
Each character in the epic is very well fleshed out. Unlike many other epics which clearly distinguish its black characters from its white ones, the Mahabharata flaunts its grey characters.The grey characters I find the most tantalizing are Karna and Shakuni. Both of them support the Kauravas and deciding whether their actions are Dharmic or Adharmic is not easy. On the surface, it seems that if they are siding with those who attempted to disrobe Draupadi, they are on the Adharmic path. But, if we delve deeper into their respective pasts, Karna is just helping his dear friend Duryodhana who accepted and recognized Karna for his talent when everyone else shunned him for his lower caste and Shakuni is solely honoring the pledge he made to his father and his family who were all murdered by Bhisma. If you still feel that Karna’s loyalty and Shakuni’s act of keeping his promise are Adharmic, then they surely are!
At no point will the epic imply or judge who is good or bad. In fact, there is no good and bad in it and that’s what makes it so relevant even today. And it shall stay relevant till the human race exists, unless people decide they want to make kids in earthen pots full of ghee!