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Dharma is Sanskrit word with many different connotations that are mostly of ethical nature. Thus far, there has not been a parallel word found for it in English or any language that truly signifies the essence of it. It comes from the root word, dhr, which literally means to uphold, sustain, and maintain a thing in its being. “It is the very norm which sustains the universe, the principle of a thing by virtue of which it is what it is” (Gupta 1991, 2). Dharma can be translated as right action, right conduct, virtue, moral law etc; however, these words even fall short of explaining the true meaning of dharma. The concept of dharma is subtle and is therefore very hard to grasp. Many have made attempts to define dharma, but have not yet aroused any intellectual minds. If one of the scholars defines dharma as “a mode of life or a code of conduct, which regulated a man’s work and activities as a member of society and as an individual to bring about the gradual development of a man and to enable him to reach what was deemed to be the goal of human existence” (Sukthankar 1998, 80); then, the other scholar defines it as “that which holds a thing together, makes it what it is, prevents it from breaking up and changing into something else, its characteristic function, it’s peculiar property, it’s fundamental attribute, its essential nature,…is its dharma, the law its being primarily” (Sukthankar 1998, 80). Just from these two definitions, it’s apparent that the concept of dharma includes so much that it is hard to capture the essence of it in just few words. The concept of dharma is very broad and is very difficult to grasp because there is no clear-cut definition of dharma that captures the essence of it. However, one can try to see how the works like the Mahabharata approach the concept. The epic mainly deals with the loss and reestablishment of dharma on Earth. “For whensoever Dharma declines and Adharma uprises, the Bhagavan (god) creates himself to guard the good and to destroy the wicked; to establish the Dharma firmly, he comes into being again and again” (Sukthankar 1998, 79). In the Mahabharata, the story goes that Earth-burdened by the tyranny of demonic kings then ruling- requests Visnu to relieve her burden; and Visnu decides to do so by, along with other heavenly beings: gods, rsis, gandharvas, kinnaras and so on, taking birth among the Yadavas. A war is fought with purpose of ending the tyranny of the demonic kings and restoring dharma on decline due to the tyranny, also, in turn relieving Earth’s burden. However, all this does not take place with such simplicity. The Mahabharata War, as one remembers, was fought between cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas. Throughout history many wars between cousins have taken place, then what makes the Mahabharata War so special to gain such recognition. As it turns out, “ what gives this trivial tale of petty jealousy, intrigue, and strife between rival claimants to a small kingdom in North India real depth and significance is the projection of the story on to a cosmic background by its own interpretation of the Bharata War as a mere incident in the ever recurring struggle between the Devas and the Asuras, in other words, as a mere phase in cosmic evolution” (Sukthankar 1998, 62). The characters of the epic, thus, are described as being either the incarnations of the Devas or the Asuras. Furthermore, the Devas or incarnations of the Devas represent dharma; and the Asuras or incarnations of such represent adharma. Now, one merely does not look at the Mahabharata War as a war between cousins, but rather a war between dharma and adharma. “According to the epic itself, the Mahabharata War is the expression of a state of tension between two ideal orders of beings, a moral (dharmic) where in gods become incarnate as heroic individuals, and an immoral (adharmic)-or rather unmoral-type which it is the object of the former to destroy” (Sukthankar 1998, 62). It is also more evident by now that the Pandavas represent dharma and the Kauravas adharma. Therefore, Pandavas are said to be incarnations of gods; and it is very obvious in the case of the five brothers. Yudhisthira, the eldest of five, is the son of Dharma and, therefore, is said to be Dharma incarnate. Bhima is the son of Vayu; Arjuna, the son of Indra; Nakula and Sahdeva, sons of the Asvins. The Kauravas are likewise incarnations of Asuras or Anti-gods. There are many other characters in the epic that are said to be incarnations of the other gods. One of the most important that is worth mentioning is Krsna who is seen to be the incarnation of the Supreme God, Visnu himself. Since, Krsna gives the Pandavas support throughout the epic and is said to be incarnation of Visnu who has come down to earth for the purpose of restoring dharma; the Pandavas are regarded as to be the ones representing dharma in the battle. From the epic, one of the points that becomes evident is that dharma must be of universal importance for it led the Supreme God himself to incarnate as a lowly human. The epic does treat the concept as if it is the ultimate goal of human existence. According to the Indian conception, there are four ends or goals of human existence: dharma, artha, kama, and moksa. Even though, “moksa (release from the otherwise unending cycle of birth and death) is the ultimate end of life” (Gupta 1991, 41); it is attained in any particular life only by the few. Thus, that leaves us with three that are considered in the epic as being worthy of the normal efforts of every single individual. Among the remaining three goals or ends, kama-sexual, emotional, and aesthetic of man-has been given the least value. And between dharma and artha, dharma plays the most significant role as “it not only regulates the desire for artha (acquisition of wealth and its use) and kama (enjoyment of pleasure), but it also paves the way for the attainment of mukti or moksa” (Gupta 1991, 41). According to the Mahabharata, a wise man has to serve all three goals or ends; but if all three cannot be attained, he should try to secure dharma and artha. And if under any circumstances it comes to choosing only one among three, he must choose dharma only for it is the source of artha, kama, and ultimately moksa. If dharma is the ultimate goal that one has to attain, how is that an individual can attain this goal? Obviously, one should follow dharma; but what is the dharma that one should follow in order to attain the goal. The answer is not easy because there is not just one certain dharma that one should follow in order to attain the goal. There are several dharmas mentioned in the Mahabharata, and some of them are worth mentioning here. They are broken down in accordance with the social classes a person is born into, different stages of social life and other duties. They include varna-dharma, duties according to the social class a person is born into; asramadharma, duties of person in the different stages of social life; rajadharma, duties of a king to its kingdom; kuladharma, duties of a family; stridharma, the duties of a women; etc. One of the dharma that is prominent in the epic is the Varna-dharma. According to this dharma one should do the “duty dictated to each individual on the basis of varna (social class) into which he is born. Each of the four varnas has a social function to fulfill and has specific rules of conduct and modes of life that circumscribe the behavior of its member” (Sutton 2000, 10). The Pandavas belong to the Ksatriya varna; and hence, are seen struggling with the dharma corresponding to it. In fact, Yudhisthira engages in the war with the Kauravas in order to perform his Ksatriya-dharma. After the gambling game, he arrives at a position where his dharma suffers diminution deeming it impossible for him to perform his dharma as a ksatriya. Bhima, in convincing Yudhisthira to action, points out that he should perform his dharma, the duty pertaining to his own varna, and destroy his enemy. He was asking Yudhisthira to act according his Ksatriya-dharma. Another character that struggles with his Ksatriya-dharma is Arjuna. When the war is about to start, Arjuna refuses to pick up his weapons to kill his own relatives. It is then, Krsna convinces Arjuna that in order to act according to dharma; he should perform his own duty adequately than to excel in someone else’s. And according to Ksatriya-dharma, Arjuna’s duty is to fight. It is after a long discourse with Krsna that Arjuna picks up his weapons and engages in the war that leads to the destruction of his own relatives. Another dharma that is given importance in the epic is the Raja-dharma. According to Raja-dharma, a king’s “duty is to ensure that the members of the four varnas in society are engaged in the ways of life appropriate to their status” (Sutton 2000, 299). Raja-dharma is of political nature as well as of ethical nature. By following the Raja-dharma, an individual not only becomes a great king but also attains the goal of dharma in life. In the epic, Yudhisthira learns about Raja-dharma from the great Bhisma and other well-versed teachers in dharma. It is because of his knowledge and him following his dharma that he is able to lead a life of a great king. Whereas the above-mentioned dharmas are mainly aimed at the men, the women’s highest dharma is considered to be the Stridharma. According the Stridharma, a woman’s duty is to serve her husband. The model character for following the Stridharma in the epic is Gandhari. Gandhari decides to blindfold herself when she learns that her husband is blind. She sacrifices herself because she does not want to have the pleasures and the joys her husband couldn’t have. She follows her Stridharma very well by putting her husbands needs before hers. By following the dharma that one is supposed to follow, an individual can attain victory in the battle of life. This is one of the various points that the epic tries to get across that victory is where dharma is. This is true in case of the Pandavas who come out victorious at the end of the Mahabharata War. Even though the Pandavas are said to be fighting on the side of dharma, they, however, do not achieve their victory by strictly following dharmic ways. At many instances, they use adharmic ways in order to get rid of their enemies. One such incident is where Yudhisthira tells a white lie in order to kill Drona. The Pandavas knew that Drona would be weakened by news of the death of his son, Asvatthama. Yudhisthira utters that Asvatthama is dead within the hearing of Drona and only adds softly whether it be the man or the elephant. Drona not hearing the latter gives up his weapons because he feels that he can’t go on anymore, and the Pandavas go on and slay him. It is somewhat the same situation with the death of Karna. Arjuna kills Karna when his chariot wheels get stuck in the mud. It is against the ksatriya laws to kill someone in distress; but the lord Krsna himself tells Arjuna to go ahead and slay the enemy. Bhisma’s death was also by deceive where the Pandavas take shelter of a man named, Sikhandin who was a women in his previous life; and Bhisma had vowed to not to use weapons against a woman. The Pandavas take advantage of this very fact and get rid of Bhisma. These violations of dharma by the Pandavas and Krsna are questioned by Duryodhana who was also killed by the Pandavas by adharmic means and Gandhari who could not understand the fact that how can they be preaching dharma when they are acting adharmic themselves. The epic does, however, manages to get away with the violations of dharma. “All the violations of dharma are sought to be explained away and justified by resorting to apaddharma” (Rukmani, 26). Appadharma is explained as the dharma of abnormal times. It sanctions any means to desired end. The epic also gives another explanation for justification of its dharmic characters’ acts; and it is that while dharma can only be practiced towards a dharmic person, it is alright to act adharmic towards an adharmic person. One can make several efforts in trying to the grasp the concept of dharma but will not succeed in fully grasping the idea due to its subtle nature. We are reminded of the fact that dharma is subtle several times by our epic poets. There have been instances in the epic where the subtlety of dharma becomes evident. One of such instances is where Draupadi, after being lost by her husband, asks Bhisma if Yudhisthira had a right to stake her in the dice game. However, at this occasion, even Bhisma, who is known to be well versed in the concept of dharma, “confesses that due to the subtle nature of dharma and the importance of the issues involved in her question he is unable to give a proper reply to her” (Dubey, 43). The concept of dharma may be subtle, but it still forms the very heart of Hindu philosophy. Without it, the universe will cease to exist; it is the very principle that holds the universe intact and prevents it from being degraded. It is because of dharma’s such universal importance that the gods from time to time have come down on earth as lowly humans with the purpose of restoring dharma whenever it is on decline. The epic of Mahabharata represents such times; and it is one of the great works that teaches an individual about the importance of dharma. Dharma according to Bhisma, who also admitted the nature of dharma is subtle, “was ordained for the advancement and growth of all creatures; therefore that which leads to advancement and growth is Dharma. Dharma was ordained for restricting creatures from injuring one another; therefore that which prevents injury to creatures is Dharma. Dharma is so called because it upholds all creatures; therefore that is Dharma which is capable of upholding all creatures” (Sukthankar 1998, 81). Dharma, as suggested by root word it is derived from, has to do with upholding and keeping things intact. Now, this can occur at universal level and as well as individual level. At individual level, dharma is considered as one of the four goals of human existence. By observing dharma, one will live a contended and happy life; and save oneself from degradation and suffering. Dharma does not only help a person during his lifetime but, ultimately, also leads to liberation. It is said that one who will live his life according to dharma will ultimately receive liberation from the unending cycle of life and death. Mahabharata does a very good job in trying to teach an individual these and many aspects of dharma that will lead him to live a more happy and contended life. It uses dharma in many senses such as varna-dharma, asramadharma, rajadharma, kuladharma, and so on. Even though, the times have changed and so has the social structure of the society; an individual can still relate himself to the dharmas described in the Mahabharata one way or the other and learn to succeed in life by learning from the successes of those Mahabharata characters who have followed dharma and failures of the characters of the epic who have not followed dharma. The concept of dharma, that has taxed many scholarly minds, can be described, after analyzing it in the context of one of the greatest epics, as a foundation of everything from universe to an individual. It can be considered as the very foundation of life. Therefore, to maintain this foundation and to maintain life; one should observe dharma, that is to fulfill his duties to god; himself; his family; and universe in accordance, throughout his lifetime. Bibliography: Word Count: 2852
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