Mahabharata and You (Part-1)

 Most of us are aware of the famous epic of Mahabharata. We must have watched, if not all, some of the episodes too. Or else we have heard stories from our elders about various incidents in it.

As I was watching the mythology, I could easily relate each character to myself. It was so easy to find that I am an epitome of all the negative and positive characters that exist in it. So, no wonder that it is still so relevant in today’s times.

I won’t be discussing the Bhagwat Gita here; it is an entirely different way to look at life. I will be discussing how the entire Mahabharata resides in us. Which character gets bigger role in our life depends on how we think, act and behave in a specific scenario.

How Mahabharata characters exist in all of us?

Satyavati/ Rajmata

The young girl with her dreams, who desired to shape her future in an explicit way, like we all want to. She prearranged, and strategized decisions so that she and her children live a luxurious and relaxed life. Little did she know about plans of God.

Can you discover that ambitious dreamer in you? Do you also make precise choices to achieve a pre-desired result? We all do! But we tend to forget that Divinity’s plan may be different than our thoughts.

Devavrata/ Bheeshma

The devoted son who was ready to sacrifice everything for the happiness and peace in his family. He swore tough lifetime for himself so that his father gets to tie the knot to the girl he desires. We all want our families to be contented and we can do anything to make it happen.

Can you relate with the fact that occasionally we say or do things without rational thinking and they turn otherwise? We act to make someone happy but it ruins a lot of things?

Shantanu

The king, also a human who was confused between his obligations and his desires. He wanted his son to be the king but the girl he wanted to marry wished something else.

If you are the head of family, some choices are extremely hard to make, particularly those which are linked with your happiness. It’s not easy to prioritize yourself over family. Do you agree?

Amba

The girl who wanted to marry the person she loved. She got distressed when this could not happen and instigated her fight for justice without any fear or hesitation. She decided to punish the individual who ruined her life, no matter how strong he was.

We also get angry and want to penalize the person who hurts us. Pardoning is out of question sometimes. Does Amba get active in you at times?

Dhritrashtra

The person for whom being skilled was not sufficient owing to a disability. He was deprived of his constitutional right. He continuously handled injustice and was never understood. Because of this, adverse sentiments piled up in him which led to the catastrophe.

His blindness was not of the eyes, but probably of the right and wrong. He was unwilling to find the culpabilities of his sons. But he never saw long term effects of this favoritism and injustice to others.

Do we all get annoyed when things don’t go as anticipated? Don’t we all judge life and individuals when their behavior is not favoring us. Don’t we act in haste which truly does not satisfy our ego too. Do we overlook the faults of our loved ones without realizing the fact that sometimes modifying or punishing is important, so that their small blunders do not become larger sins and crimes later?

Gandhari

The woman who had her own philosophies of a matrimonial life, took an oath which turned out to be a curse for her life. She had the power for a phenomenal task (read birth of 100 boys here) but due to decisions of her own and of those in her life, her benefit turned into drawback. Her husband and sons took guidance from her brother who was undoubtedly guiding incorrect, which she never acted upon even after realizing. She kept silent even after being aware of the misconducts of her family members.

We must be aware whether our well-wishers are really wishing us well because our blind trust on them could be destructive. Ignoring the evils doesn’t reflect patience. Its better to voice up against anything happening off beam, even if the doers are your closed ones.

Kunti

She Struggled her entire life and never got to live peacefully but never lost patience. She Always gave good lessons to her sons. Her faith in God was never affected. Though she had some secrets from her husband and some decisions of hers had a major impact in history. She faced the results with dignity.

Giving good values to our younger generation is important. Instilling kindness, empathy and humanity is vital for success. Facing consequences of our own decisions make us strong.

More characters shall be discussed in the next part.

Till then find out which character you relate with the most.