Apr 18, 2014, 09:04 IST

Dharma and Mahabharat

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Bhishma, grand old patriarch of the Kuru dynasty in the Mahabharata was supposedly known for his selflessness. He remained unmarried and did not become a king. For his father's sake he decided to be a celibate. His father fell in love with a beautiful lady who belonged to a lower social class. Apparently this was prohibited by Vedas, as Arjuna states in BG chapter one that intermarriages are not acceptable and this would destroy "kula dharma".



Bhishma abducts the three girls against their wishes from the king Kashi, proving his step mother Satyavati's sons were incapable of finding suitable ladies on their own. Abduction of women against their wishes is construed as against the principle of Dharma.


We think the ancient society was conservative, but we read the older girl Amba had a boyfriend!  Paradoxically when Amba goes back to her boyfriend he refuses because she was "touched" by another man, a conservative attitude!  This probably speaks of more of male dominated society.  Amba goes back to Bhishma and he refuses to marry her based on his view of “Dharma”.

The story powerfully ends when Amba declares that she would settle this issue by getting even with Bhishma.   She came back in a transsexual form during the war and Bhishma would not fight any more as his Dharma prohibited him fighting against a transsexual!  



After the death of her son Satyawati pleads her step son Bhishma to marry her widowed daughters in law and he refuses telling her that he has to abide by his words. ? Dharma.  This may sound very noble thing to do speaks of his selflessness.  But in a different perspective had he married, then there would not have been the Great War of Mahabharata and probably peace would have prevailed forever. 


Satyavati in order to keep the dynasty going asks her an illegitimate son Vyasa to become the sperm donor.  The two younger widowed girls were literally raped by great Vyasa,  the author of this great epic. He was born to Satyavati who earlier had an affair.  One girl closes her eyes during the intimacy and another goes into shock becoming pale.  This explains blind king Drutarashtra and the ever sickly Pandu.  Vyasa did not have enough; his orgy extends to to the maid servant who then conceives Vidura.  I am not sure where was Bhishma, the upholder of Dharma when such acts were taking place?   As per Dharma sex is about intimacy between a wife and husband, anything outside is considered adharmic  or even rape. 


In the episode of public humiliation of Draupadi, she asks the assembly, a powerful question “Whom did Yudhishtira lose first, to himself or to her?” 


The cold answer given by Bhishma was “My dear Draupadi, Dharma is subtle! (suksma in Sanskrit)  Simply it means grey, not black or white. 


Draupadi poses a legal question, whether a wife is just a husband’s property or a free person with a human face? This was a very bold courageous question posed in that male dominated assembly. In the patriarchal society a woman’s existence and identity were dependent on her husband. She was just considered a “property”. It was not unusual those days men having more than one wife, like owning a piece of property. This practice was universal and was not just in the eastern cultures. Bhishma must have thought even though Yudhishtira (husband of Druapadi) lost the game first, he still had the right of a husband in owning his wife. I hope modern legal experts shed some light here. 



Bhishma seemed   on that day miserably failed to answer her question. He could not stand for what was moral.


At least Gandhari and Vidura had moral sense and each of them declared this type of public humiliation of a woman would destroy the kingdom. Unfortunately their pleas go unheard.


Mahabharata ends in a tragedy unlike a Bollywood story.



Dharma is often seen as a state of policy and legalistic, that are adopted and enforced but in reality it blinds moral courage. Bhishma's concern was just to strengthen the interest of kingdom to preserve the lineage of Bharat without the consideration of human needs, values, compassion and love.


These observations are not meant to put down the message in Mahabharata and think it is irrelevant.  On the contrary Mahabharata boldly and powerfully describes human limitations in trying to be perfect and see the world in nicely boxed in concept of Dharma.

Ref  G. Das

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