The concept of Dharma in the Mahabharata

One of the most spoken about concepts in the Sanatana religion in about Dharma. There is a popular misconception about Dharma. Some people equate dharma to religion, which is totally incorrect. So, what then is Dharma? It is a concept that is unique and not found in any other culture. It is a word that cannot be easily translated into English.

The word Dharma is a Sanskrit word that originates from the root ‘Dhr’ that means uphold. Dharma means to uphold. The question is – uphold what? It is upholding virtue, it is upholding good, it is upholding one’s duties. To put it in simple forms, Dharma is all about one’s conduct. You are said to be dharmic if you uphold virtues. Being dharmic is living life in the right way. It is about discharging your duties, upholding values and virtues, and practicing goodness.

The Mahabharata is an epic where dharma is the cornerstone. Dharma is the essence of Sri Krishna’s message to Arjuna. When the great warrior feels disillusioned and disinclined to fight the war, he is woken up by the Lord. Krishna explains the concept of Dharma. He tells him that as a Kshatriya war is his dharma. He has to uphold Dharma and to do this he needs to do battle.

Apart from the concept of dharma as virtue or duty, dharma is also a being. Dharma refers to the God of justice, who is Yama. Dharma stands for all that is just, right, and virtuous. Dharma makes its presence felt in different situations in the epic. Yudhishtira is the son of dharma and hence is the epitome of dharma. Vidura is believed to be an incarnation of Dharma, who had to be born on earth as a result of a curse.

Dharma makes it presence felt in the royal assembly hall when the infamous dice game takes place. When Duryodhana attempts to disrobe Draupadi, she is saved miraculously. The popular story is that Krishna saved her. There are texts of the Mahabharata that clearly say that it is Dharma who saved Draupadi.

Draupadi was virtuous and was engaged in doing good deeds and charity as the Empress of Indraprastha. Dharma saved her when she prayed to the Lord. This is an illustration of the famous verse “Dharmo rakshati rakshitaha”, which means dharma protects the one who upholds and protects dharma.

A very popular verse from the Mahabharata is “Yato Dharmastato jaya”, which means where there is Dharma there is victory. If we look at the full context, it says, “Yato Krishnastato Dharma, Yato Dharmastato Jaya”. This clearly states that Dharma is where Krishna is, which means Dharma is one of the side of Draupadi, which is why her honour was saved.

Dharma is also on the side of the Pandavas, since Krishna is with them. And since dharma is on their side, their victory is assured. When Arjuna is presented a choice between Krishna and his army, he chooses Krishna and thus chooses victory.

The concept of dharma comes up in different situations throughout the epic. Characters in the Mahabharata do different things to uphold their Dharma. In their quest to uphold dharma, they make decisions that sometimes end up with unintended results. Let’s look at a few such instances.

Bheeshma	His vow to be loyal to the throne led to many problems. He strongly believed his dharma was towards the ruler of Hastinapura. As a result, he stood by the king even when he took wrong decisions. He did not object during the game of dice or when Dushasana attempted to disrobe Draupadi. He fought for the Kauravas even though he knew they were not just wrong but committing adharma. In the belief that he was upholding his dharma, he ended up supporting evil.
Yudhishtira	The son of dharma plays the game of dice even though he knows it is a sin. He does it not because he is addicted to gambling but because he believes it is his dharma. According to him, Kshatriya dharma binds him to play dice when invited even if he doesn’t want to. This leads him to commit mistake after mistake where he gambles his brother and wife leading to the terrible situations that follow. His interpretation of Dharma led him to pardon even the evil. Yudhishtira pardons Jayadratha who abducted his wife since killing him would make his sister Dushala a widow. Later on Jayadratha would block the Pandavas from entering the Chakravyuha leading to Abhimanyu’s death.
Karna	Karna is humiliated in front of everyone when asked about his parentage. Duryodhana then makes him a king and gives him status. For this act, Karna is obliged to Duryodhana and becomes his best friend. He believes his Dharma lies in doing what his friend wants. This was a cardinal mistake. He should have done what was good for his friend not what his friend wanted. As a result of his mistaken interpretation of Dharma, Karna stands with Duryodhana in all his vile acts from trying to burn the Pandavas alive to the shameful killing of Abhimanyu. Karna thus believed he was discharging his dharma but was actually being adharmic. Krishna shows him the way by trying to bring him back to the path of Dharma but Karna refuses believing that he is already on the path of Dharma.
Arjuna	Arjuna steadfastly practices Dharma throughout the story. He goes on an exile for intruding on Yudhishtira’s privacy even though Yudhishtira tells him he need not go. He marries Uloopi when she threatens to kill herself because he believes it is his dharma to save a life. During the war, he fails in upholding his dharma and refuses to fight. When Krishna shows him the right way, he allows himself to be led on the path to Dharma by Krishna. This is the difference between Karna and Arjuna. Karna failed to move on the path shown by the Lord, whereas Arjuna did it willingly.
Bheema	As a Kshatriya, Bheema knew his dharma was to fight and he did it on every single occasion to the best of his ability. Among all the Pandavas, it was Bheema who steadfastly upheld his dharma as the husband of Draupadi. Whenever she was in trouble, it was Bheema who stood by her. When she wanted flowers, he fought even with Yakshas and rakshasas so her wish is fulfilled. When first Keechaka and then his brothers try to harm her, he is the one who immediately fights for her and saves her. There is another interesting facet to this. When Ashwathama deploys the Narayanastra, Krishna asks everyone to surrender. Bheema is the only one who continues to fight even though he knows he is fighting against a deadly weapon that can destroy him. He does it because it is his dharma to fight. When Krishna orders him to surrender, he immediately obeys. Just like Arjuna, he is willing to be corrected and do the right thing.

There are indeed many interesting facets to dharma. The Mahabharata has numerous such instances that are not just thought provoking but teaches us lessons that we need to use in our lives.

In future blogs, I hope to look at more such instances.