And for that matter were the Kuaravas merely fulfilling their own darma by acting out against the Pandavas (trying to burn them in their home, cheating at dice and then banishing them, etc.) in order to maintain their empire? Or would this have been considered adarma because these were backed by selfish reasons?
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"And for that matter were the Kuaravas merely fulfilling their own darma by acting out against the Pandavas (trying to burn them in their home, cheating at dice and then banishing them, etc.) in order to maintain their empire?"
ReplyDeleteGreat point! It is natural for a king and his family to want to remain in power, and to feel threatened!
I think dharma is hard for some people to understand because what is right and wrong is always clear. But in Hinduism, there can't just be good, there needs to be a balance. If you're a demon, it isn't bad to be one, it is your dharma to be bad/evil/whatever. The Kauravas are following their dharma as well, doing what's right for them.
I don't think where the feud started between them can be easily pinpointed, but Duryodhana's jealousy is definitely a factor! Once you put Duryodhana and Karna together, since he didn't feel too fondly about them either, it gets worse. They all feel inferior to the Pandavas and don't want them taking over.
I wondered the same thing. It never really does say what exactly was the cause for the hostility between the families. I think jealousy and greed is what continuously fueled it though. I think Duryodhana's greed and Sakuni cheating was some adharma but everything else I think was dharma. Even with all that he did Duryodhana was is in heaven so what he performed must have been in line with his dharma. It seems that the Gods favored the Pandavas, which is not surprising seeing as how they to were 1/2 Gods but alot of wrong done by the Pandavas is overlooked. I wonder if any of that had to do with the rivalry? I always wondered was Yudhisthira questioning of Karna skill to Drona merely trying to find the truth or some jealousy or maybe a mixture of both. Although Yudhisthira was virtuous he was shown to faulter occasionally.
ReplyDeleteI meant was Arjuna's questioning of Karna to Drona, not Yudhisthira. I put the wrong name. My apologies.
ReplyDeleteThe Pandavas and the Kauravas were faced with sibling rivalries since they were children. For instance, they constantly fought over weaponry skills such as the use of the bow. Pandava's father, Dhritrashtra, was the current ruler the kingdom, however, he knew that the sons of his brother, Pandu, had the right to have some participation in the repartition of the kingdom. Eventhough Pandu is not the real father of the Pandavas, Dhritrashtra considered them to be. Dhritrashtra was now faced with a difficult question of dividing the kingdom between his sons and those of his brother Pandu. Then, Krishan entered the scene and advises the two families that continuing with the single kingdom would not be possible for long and a partition was necessary. Dhritrashtra was a blind king and did not have the skills to handle such a problem so he divided the kingdom between the Pandava’s and the Kaurava’s. However, Duryodhana, the oldest of the Kauravas, was so self-centered and greedy that did not want to share the kingdom with his cousins so he invited Yudhisthira to play the game of dice and by cheating Duryodhana won the game. After the humiliation the Pandavas received from the Kauravas, Yudhisthira and his brothers sweared that they would avenge their wife and pride for everything Duryodhana made and so the events that lead to the war between occured.
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