Mahabharata

Nonfiction | Scripture | Adult | BCE

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Translator’s Preface-Chapter 5

Chapters 6-13

Chapters 14-21

Chapters 22-29

Chapters 30-37

Key Figures

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

The Disrobing of Draupadi

The disrobing of Draupadi is a symbol that illustrates themes of honor, justice, and the degradation of moral values. After Yudhishthira gambles away Draupadi in the rigged dice game, Dushasana attempts to disrobe her in the royal court, subjecting her to extreme humiliation. Draupadi’s fervent prayers to Krishna result in a miracle where her sari becomes endless, protecting her modesty.

This event underscores the ideal of divine intervention in response to injustice. Draupadi’s ordeal exposes the moral bankruptcy of the Kauravas and catalyzes the ensuing conflict. It also highlights the vulnerability and resilience of women in a patriarchal society. The event underscores the belief that the divine upholds dharma and protects the righteous, reinforcing the idea that wrongful actions, especially against the innocent, will lead to inevitable retribution.

The episode echoes, though does not fully recapitulate, the event that opens the narrative and the origins of the Kuru lineage: the accidental disrobing of the goddess Ganga, whose witness, King Shantanu, is sent back into the cycle of rebirth as punishment. Divine intervention thus resolves both incidents of disrobing, reasserting justice.

Boons

Boons in the Mahabharata serve as a significant symbol representing the interplay between the divine and mortal realms, as well as the themes of destiny, power, and the consequences of one’s actions. One prominent example is the boon granted to Kunti by the sage Durvasa, which allows her to invoke any deity to bear a child. This boon leads to the birth of the Pandavas, each fathered by a different god—Yudhishthira by Dharma, Bhima by Vayu, and Arjuna by Indra—endowing them with divine qualities. Similarly, Gandhari, the wife of Dhritarashtra, receives a boon from Vyasa to have 100 sons, resulting in the birth of the Kauravas. These boons speak to the theme of destiny shaped by divine influence, highlighting how individual and collective fate are intertwined with the will and power of the multitude of gods.

Boons also carry the weight of unforeseen karma and consequences. Karna, for instance, receives celestial weapons through boons but is also subject to curses that contribute to his downfall. The complexity of boons in the narrative illustrates the duality of blessings and burdens. While they provide characters with extraordinary abilities or fulfill desires, they often come with conditions or lead to unintended outcomes that test the characters’ adherence to dharma.

Boons in the Mahabharata thus represent the importance of responsibility in wielding power and the ethical implications of one’s choices. It reflects the belief that while divine favor can elevate individuals, it also holds them accountable to higher moral standards. Boons thus function as a narrative device to explore the characters’ virtues and flaws, advancing the epic’s exploration of morality, fate, and the human condition.

The Life and Death Cycle

The motif of the cyclical nature of time and existence is seen throughout the Mahabharata, reflecting the Hindu concept of samsara—the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. This worldview posits that atman (the soul) is eternal, undergoing countless incarnations until it achieves moksha, or liberation from the cycle of existence. The epic emphasizes that life is not a linear journey but a repetitive cycle governed by cosmic laws and one’s actions.

In the Prologue, Sauti describes how the universe emerged from a primordial cosmic egg, leading to cycles of creation and dissolution. This depiction sets a cosmic scale for the narrative, suggesting that the events within the Mahabharata are part of a much larger, timeless pattern. The universe itself is undergoing endless cycles, mirroring the individual soul’s journey through samsara and highlighting the interconnectedness of all existence.

Throughout the epic, the lives and actions of characters exemplify this motif. Bhishma, who possesses the boon of choosing his time of death, embodies the cyclical nature of existence. Despite his immense wisdom and martial prowess, he cannot escape the inevitability of death. His life illustrates the impermanence of even the most powerful beings and the futility of clinging to worldly status. Similarly, the Pandavas’ exile and return represent the cycles of fortune and adversity. Their loss of their kingdom, years of wandering, and eventual restoration of power reflect the ups and downs that souls experience across lifetimes, speaking to the idea that suffering and joy are temporary states within the larger journey of the soul.

Instances of rebirth and the consequences of past lives are evident in characters like Shikhandin, originally born as Amba, who is reborn as a male warrior to fulfill a vow of vengeance against Bhishma. This rebirth is a direct result of unresolved actions from a previous life, highlighting how past desires and grudges carry over across incarnations. The enmity between the Pandavas and Kauravas can also be seen as a continuation of karmic debts and rivalries from previous existences, suggesting that their conflict is part of a larger, ongoing cycle.

The Mahabharata uses these narratives to illustrate that actions in one life have repercussions in future lives. This understanding is meant to encourage individuals to act righteously, knowing that ethical conduct influences the soul’s journey through samsara and the collective harmony of the cosmos. This motif underscores key Hindu beliefs: Life is a continuous cycle, and the material world is impermanent. Human purpose in this view lies in spiritual growth and aligning oneself with spiritual principles that promote positive karma. By recognizing the cyclical nature of existence, individuals are encouraged to focus on spiritual progress over temporary successes or failures. The motif of the cyclical nature of time and existence is used to emphasize that personal actions contribute to the larger cosmic order and that understanding this interconnectedness is essential for achieving harmony, balance, and individual and collective liberation.