The Mahabharata

Picture announcing the revival of the Ramyana and Mahabharata (bottom)

When India suddenly announced a lock down for three weeks in March, it was a big deal. The entire country was now stuck inside with limited means of entertaining themselves. The TV networks took this as an opportunity to revive some favorites, specifically, two Indian serials from the 1980s that had held the nation enthralled while they were running. Both of these were based on Hindu epics, The Ramayana and The Mahabharata. 

My family has also been watching the Mahabharata as a nightly ritual. This is quite a commitment since the serial has over 90 episodes that are each 45 minutes.

Arjun listens to Lord Krishna tell the Bhagwad Gita

But this is a commitment that I think we all hold onto eagerly (though my father admitted one evening that he as other shows that he wants to watch and so would be happy to take a break from it for an evening. He was overruled). This is because the Mahabharata, specifically B.R. Chopra's version (there are others, they are not worth watching) covers every aspect of engagement possible. There are songs (this is India, after all) but there is also moral philosophy. There is spirituality (the Bhagvad Gita is given a full three or four episodes) and gripping scenes of depravity (a dice game gone horribly wrong). Not to mention wars, weddings and appearances of major and minor Hindu deities.

It also, is done with the greatest love. Yes, the special effects are amateur by today's standards, yes the characters do tend to be dramatic at times or have a tendency to make long speeches but I would not have it any other way because this all is an act of love from both the actors who whole heatedly threw themselves into their roles, and the director who chose actors based on how well they embodied the role rather than their acting abilities. And narrating the whole tale, guiding us through the murky waters of what right action, duty, and fate all mean is samaya (time) who frames what is happening in the story from the past for the present generation.

There is a great deal to learn from the Mahabharata, even before the Lord Krishna teaches Arjun about the nature of right and wrong action. Because although the final battle is between good and evil, the story shows how good and evil are not so simply navigated. Many of the characters who are on the side of evil are among the most virtuous but, through fate, are feel compelled to fight on the side of evil (it's complicated). Even one of the most evil figures, Dhuryodhan, shows some slivers of virtue in his easy acceptance of the son of a charioteer who the rest revile (the son charioteer has one of the most tragic stories I've ever heard).

Likewise , the figure who is the essence of truth, Yudhiṣṭhira (cousin of Dhuryodhan), gives into his weakness for dice and loses not only his kingdom but also wages himself, his brothers and their wife (she is married to all five brothers). During the war, the good must resort to trickery to win against evil. The only person who I think is consistently bad is the king and father of Dhuryodan who is both physically blind and figuratively blinded from truth by his ambition.

When I was younger and watched this, the moments in which a figure who was supposed to be "bad" was good or a "good guy" did something bad were so troubling that I tried not to think about them because it was too confusing. I wanted the world to be black and white so that I could understand what you should and shouldn't do. But what I'm realizing in this story is that this desire to cleanly categorize everything causes its own blindness. Even though Yudhiṣṭhira makes a very large mistake during the game of dice, his brothers don't deny his righteousness. And Dhuryodan's kindness toward one individual does not make up for the many wrongs he does in virtually every other aspect of his life.

The story of the Mahabharata shows that even when there are clear lines between truth and untruth, the lines between right and wrong action aren't always as easy to see. Many of the figures in the story struggle with their many duties (and oaths they have taken) and what is the right way to act given these various factors. And most of the time, there aren't Dhuryodans who we are dealing with who clearly allow evil to guide them, but more subtle people and forces.

My reflections on the story have thus become deeper and more complex after this viewing. We are already nearing the end though with the final war about to begin and my heart is already mourning the end. Maybe I will start watching it again. After all, who knows what else I might pick up from another viewing.