Ethical Issues In The Mahabharata In The Context Of Dharma

Shazia Yousuf, Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad

ABSTRACT

This study considers moral behaviour in the context of dharma in the Mahabharata. Even though the Dharmasutra/Dharmasastra texts include many principles for what constitutes dharma, there are several occasions in which characters in the Mahabharata do not adhere to the dharma requirements stated in textbooks. As a result, a recurring theme throughout the Mahabharata is that dharma is not simple to grasp. Underlying the study is also the concept that dharma cannot be subsumed under an all-encompassing particular moral theory, as is sought in western moral theories, and is instead dependent on individual conditions that one confronts. With these considerations in mind, the study next analyses characters such as Satyavati, Bhisma, Kunti, Karna, and Yudhisthira in the context of Dharma.

Having the ability to judge what is right and wrong in any scenario is a challenging undertaking at any moment. An ethical issue is concerned with how to conduct correctly in any given scenario. As a result, the literature on Moral Philosophy is incomplete. We will never be able to determine if morality is transcendental, empirical, or anchored in a general ethos of individual civilizations. Different cultures have developed behavioural models based on their sense of what it means to be right in certain situations. I'd like to say that, like authors such as Austin Creel, P.T.Raju, and G.C Pande, I believe that In the Hindu worldview, moral life was one lived in line with dharma.