Ethical Elements Of Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is at once an archive and a living text, a sourcebook complete by itself and an open text perennially under construction. Driving home this striking contemporary relevance of the famous Indian epic, Mahabharata Now focuses on the issues of narration, aesthetics and ethics, as also their interlinkages. The cross-disciplinary essays in the volume imaginatively re-interpret the ‘timeless’ classic in the light of the pre-modern Indian narrative styles, poetics, aesthetic codes, and moral puzzles; the Western theories on modern ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, psychoanalysis, and philosophy of science; and the contemporary social, ethical and political concerns. The essays are all united in their effort to situate the Mahabharata in the context of here and now without violating the sanctity of the ‘written text’ as we have it today. The book will be of interest to scholars and students of Indian and comparative philosophy, Indian and comparative literature, cultural studies, and history.

"This book on Ethics draws upon the words of wisdom found in the Mahabharata, following the spirit of Bernard Williams' proposal that we look for inspiration for the modern-day ethical understanding in the ideas of the past. In elucidating the literary and religious meaning of the Mahabharata, the author probes for the ethical and epistemological truth it contains, in the frame of reference of the uniquely Indian variety of existentialism. In the process he has not only come to an understanding of the principle of morality, along with the relation holding among Satya (Factual Truth), Rta (Truth as Value) and Dharma (Righteousness in Conduct), but has come up with observations that shed fresh light on the analysis of the epic itself."--BOOK JACKET.

The Mahabharata, one of the major epics of India, is a sourcebook complete by itself as well as an open text constantly under construction. This volume looks at transactions between its modern discourses and ancient vocabulary. Located amid conversations between these two conceptual worlds, the volume grapples with the epic’s problematisation of dharma or righteousness, and consequently, of the ideal person and the good life through a cluster of issues surrounding the concept of agency and action. Drawing on several interdisciplinary approaches, the essays reflect on a range of issues in the Mahabharata, including those of duty, motivation, freedom, selfhood, choice, autonomy, and justice, both in the context of philosophical debates and their ethical and political ramifications for contemporary times. This book will be of interest to scholars and researchers engaged with philosophy, literature, religion, history, politics, culture, gender, South Asian studies, and Indology. It will also appeal to the general reader interested in South Asian epics and the Mahabharata.

A study of an ancient Indian epic.

Dive into the Mahabharata: A Timeless Exploration of Ethics, Morality, and the Human Condition The Mahabharata, a sprawling Indian epic, is more than just a thrilling tale of war and heroes. It's a profound exploration of ethics, morality, and the complex choices we face in life. Embark on a journey through this ancient world and grapple with timeless questions alongside its characters. Unveiling the Dharma: Delve into the concept of dharma, the cornerstone of the Mahabharata's moral framework. Witness characters like Yudhishthira struggle to uphold righteousness in the face of war and betrayal. Explore the complexities of duty, loyalty, and the consequences of violating dharma. Beyond War and Duty: Discover how the Mahabharata's ethical dilemmas transcend its epic battles. Contemplate the justifications for war, the role of deception in achieving a noble goal, and the power of forgiveness in the aftermath of tragedy. These themes resonate across cultures and time, offering valuable insights into navigating our own moral quandaries. Decoding the Mahabharata: Unpack the multifaceted characters who drive the narrative. Analyze the leadership styles of Yudhishthira and Dhritarashtra, and the impact of their choices on the course of the war. Explore the moral complexities of characters like Karna, torn between loyalty and righteousness. A Look at History and Legacy: Explore the Mahabharata's influence on Indian culture, literature, and philosophy. Witness how this epic has shaped artistic expressions, religious beliefs, and philosophical inquiry for millennia. Delve into the ongoing debates surrounding its historical accuracy and its portrayal of social structures. The Mahabharata for the Modern Reader: Discover how the Mahabharata's ethical questions remain relevant in today's world. Examine its insights on leadership, social responsibility, and the pursuit of a just war in the face of contemporary challenges. Engage with this timeless epic and find inspiration for navigating your own moral compass in an ever-changing world. Whether you're a student of history, philosophy, or simply captivated by epic tales, the Mahabharata offers a wealth of knowledge and a captivating journey.

Here the collected papers explore the whole question of the relation between the mythopoetic and the moral in the context of the Mahabharata. Here we have a story of extreme complexity, characters that are unforgettable, and a cosmic context in which gods and men alike grapple with destiny. The obligations of kinship and friendship jostle with each other. The women characters, as in everyday life, seem to bear a very heavy load of the burden of life and to stand in a key position in almost every conflict. We are presented with predicaments at every turn. At times these predicaments seem to be aggravated by social structure. At other times they are cushioned by it. Philosophical tangles tied up with karma and dharma are interwoven with the mythopoetic material. Perhaps philosophical issues are pinpointed rather more than they are in Greek epic literature. The essays in this book treat the Mahabharata from an unusual angle, fastening on the moral dilemmas it presents. How universal are the dilemmas faced by the characters in the story, and are the dilemmas in fact resolved? In dealing with these questions, the discussions range over the meaning of the purusarthas, the institutions of marriage and the family, the concept of action in the Gita and the special predicaments faced by Draupadi, Arjuna and others. These studies invite the scholar to reflect afresh on the text and encourage the general reader to find in epic literature much that is relevant to life today.

This book explores the relationship between ethics, aesthetics, and religion in classical Indian literature and literary theory by focusing on one of the most celebrated and enigmatic texts to emerge from the Sanskrit epic tradition, the Mahabharata. This text, which is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important sources for the study of South Asian religious, social, and political thought, is a foundational text of the Hindu tradition(s) and considered to be a major transmitter of dharma (moral, social, and religious duty), perhaps the single most important concept in the history of Indian religions. However, in spite of two centuries of Euro-American scholarship on the epic, basic questions concerning precisely how the epic is communicating its ideas about dharma and precisely what it is saying about it are still being explored. Disorienting Dharma brings to bear a variety of interpretive lenses (Sanskrit literary theory, reader-response theory, and narrative ethics) to examine these issues. One of the first book-length studies to explore the subject from the lens of Indian aesthetics, it argues that such a perspective yields startling new insights into the nature of the depiction of dharma in the epic through bringing to light one of the principle narrative tensions of the epic: the vexed relationship between dharma and suffering. In addition, it seeks to make the Mahabharata interesting and accessible to a wider audience by demonstrating how reading the Mahabharata, perhaps the most harrowing story in world literature, is a fascinating, disorienting, and ultimately transformative experience.