The Mahabharata and Dharma Discourse: A Vision of Clarity Through Its Tales

125 Pages·2020·0.796 MB·English

by  Nitin Malhotra

The Mahābhārata and
Dharma Discourse
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Malhotra, Nitin. The Mahbhrata and Dharma Discourse : A Vision of Clarity Through Its Tales, Cambridge Scholars Publisher,
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Malhotra, Nitin. The Mahbhrata and Dharma Discourse : A Vision of Clarity Through Its Tales, Cambridge Scholars Publisher,
The Mahābhārata and
Dharma Discourse
:
A Vision of Clarity through

Its Tales
By
Nitin Malhotra

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Malhotra, Nitin. The Mahbhrata and Dharma Discourse : A Vision of Clarity Through Its Tales, Cambridge Scholars Publisher,
The Mahābhārata and Dharma Discourse:
A Vision of Clarity through Its Tales

By Nitin Malhotra

This book first published 2020

Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Copyright © 2020 by Nitin Malhotra

All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
the prior permission of the copyright owner.

ISBN (10): 1-5275-6031-7
ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-6031-4
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Malhotra, Nitin. The Mahbhrata and Dharma Discourse : A Vision of Clarity Through Its Tales, Cambridge Scholars Publisher,
Dedicated to my teacher

Prof. Shrawan K. Sharma

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Malhotra, Nitin. The Mahbhrata and Dharma Discourse : A Vision of Clarity Through Its Tales, Cambridge Scholars Publisher,
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Malhotra, Nitin. The Mahbhrata and Dharma Discourse : A Vision of Clarity Through Its Tales, Cambridge Scholars Publisher,
CONTENTS

Preface ....................................................................................................... ix

Acknowledgements ................................................................................. xiii

Introduction ................................................................................................ 1

Chapter I ..................................................................................................... 9
The Structure of the (cid:48)(cid:68)(cid:75)(cid:407)(cid:69)(cid:75)(cid:407)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:68)

Chapter II .................................................................................................. 19
Sva-Dharma (Individualism)

Chapter III ................................................................................................ 39
(cid:54)(cid:407)(cid:71)(cid:75)(cid:407)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:1772)(cid:68)-Dharma (Universalism)

Chapter IV ................................................................................................ 57
(cid:406)(cid:83)(cid:68)(cid:71)-Dharma: Practical Applications to Illusions of Modernity

Chapter V ................................................................................................. 83
.de Ethical Dilemmas and Visions of Clarity through the Tales
vrese
r sth Conclusion ................................................................................................ 99
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.re Appendix - Indo-Romanic Symbols ....................................................... 105
hsilb
uP Select Bibliography ................................................................................ 107
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Malhotra, Nitin. The Mahbhrata and Dharma Discourse : A Vision of Clarity Through Its Tales, Cambridge Scholars Publisher,
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Malhotra, Nitin. The Mahbhrata and Dharma Discourse : A Vision of Clarity Through Its Tales, Cambridge Scholars Publisher,
PREFACE

Ever since reading the (cid:48)(cid:68)(cid:75)(cid:407)(cid:69)(cid:75)(cid:407)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:68), I have been gripped with an eerie
feeling that there is something in this incredible text which eludes my grasp.
During childhood, I was born and brought up listening to the stories of the
Ramayana and the (cid:48)(cid:68)(cid:75)(cid:407)(cid:69)(cid:75)(cid:407)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:68)(cid:3)in a religious way. Some questions played
on my mind as I began my literary studies. Moreover, I was desperate to
search for all the answers to my curiosities, and finally, I selected Indian
classical texts to look for the meaning and purpose of human existence. I
can see the passage of my life in three texts which are all very close to my
heart—the (cid:51)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:70)(cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:87)(cid:85)(cid:68) fascinated me as a child, the Ramayana as a
teenager, and the (cid:48)(cid:68)(cid:75)(cid:407)(cid:69)(cid:75)(cid:407)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:68) as an adult, with several questions concerning
dharma, the most vital question I have ever encountered among thinking
minds.

Dharma, the word reflecting the core narrative of the epic (cid:48)(cid:68)(cid:75)(cid:407)(cid:69)(cid:75)(cid:407)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:68), is
untranslatable. Words such as duty, rights, goodness, law, conduct, virtues,
and righteous way of living seem to be possible literal translations, but they
fall short when explaining the spiritual sense of the word dharma.
Nevertheless, a question arises: What does dharma mean? Does it mean the
faith or belief that Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs hold? Is there any
.de individual god, society or religion that is expected to be an authority on
vrese dharma? Who is responsible for dharma? Is the root of dharma what Manu
r sth said? The entire Vedas, the traditions and customs of those who learn, teach,
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.re satisfactory to oneself is dharma. Is this correct? The (cid:48)(cid:68)(cid:75)(cid:407)(cid:69)(cid:75)(cid:407)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:68) keeps
hsilb (cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:87)(cid:88)(cid:85)(cid:81)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:74)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:82)(cid:3)(cid:37)(cid:75)(cid:431)(cid:2530)(cid:80)(cid:68)(cid:182)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:70)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:70)lusion that dharma is subtle ((cid:86)(cid:460)(cid:78)(cid:1800)(cid:80)(cid:68)(cid:12)(cid:17)(cid:3)(cid:39)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:88)(cid:83)(cid:68)(cid:71)(cid:431)(cid:15)(cid:3)
uP (cid:39)(cid:75)(cid:2522)(cid:87)(cid:85)(cid:407)(cid:2530)(cid:2540)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:90)(cid:76)(cid:79)(cid:79)(cid:3)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:83)(cid:72)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:83)(cid:75)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:86)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:90)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:92)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:74)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:88)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:72)(cid:3)
sra difficulty. It seems that dharma is subtle ((cid:86)(cid:460)(cid:78)(cid:1800)(cid:80)(cid:68)) because it does not deal
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20 existence which I believe have been the main concern of the major
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© scriptures of the world. However, in no other culture has a non-scriptural
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Malhotra, Nitin. The Mahbhrata and Dharma Discourse : A Vision of Clarity Through Its Tales, Cambridge Scholars Publisher,