THE THEME OF DHARMA IN THE MAHABHARATA

Vyasa says that the purpose of writing the Mahabharata is "to engrave dharma on the hearts of men." The Sanskrit dictionary has over 200 entries for "dharma," the most important being:

* that which is established or firm, steadfast, "what holds together"
* decree, law
* righteousness, justice, duty
* virtue, morality, religion 

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says: "Whenever righteousness (dharma) becomes lax, O Arjuna, and injustice (adharma) arises, then I send myself forth to protect the good and bring evildoers to destruction; for the secure establishment of dharma, I come into being age after age. ... I was born to destroy the destroyers."

Moral dilemma: how to defeat evil without resorting to evil oneself

* The Mahabharata does not depict the conflict between the two sides as a battle between right and wrong. The Pandavas are not perfect, and several who fight for the Kauravas are truly noble, such as Bhishma, Drona, and in some ways even Karna.

* Each rule of war is eventually broken by the Pandavas: Bhishma is shot by Arjuna when he lays down his arms before Sikhandin, Arjuna kills Jayadratha at "night" when Krishna darkens the sun, Arjuna shoots Karnawhen unarmed (at Krishna's urging), Bhima crushes Duryodhana's thigh (hitting below the waist).

* Duryodhana accuses Krishna of unfair conduct, but Krishna responds with two defenses: that it was his own deceit at dice that began this conflict, and it was in order to defeat a greater evil: "The gods have destroyed demons in the past in this way." (Arjuna's father Indra defeated Vritra by trickery, a myth retold in the epic).

* Duryodhana bitterly replies that the Pandavas could never have won without cheating, to which Krishna agrees; right does not always triumph by ideal and unsullied means. "There are limits to the extent an individual can be moral in an immoral society" (Chaitanya 110). Krishna tells Yudhishthira: "Sometimes one protects dharma by forgetting it."

Ambiguous nature of dharma in the Mahabharata

* In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna fears that acting out his own dharma as warrior will conflict with universal dharma: how can killing family members be good, and not disrupt the social order? Herein lies an unresolved conflict in Hinduism between universal dharma and svadharma (an individual's duty according to caste and station in life). A warrior must kill to fulfill his duty, whereas a brahmin must avoid harming any living creature. Even demons have their own castes and svadharma, which may run counter to human morality. One person's dharma may be another's sin. This doctrine distinguishes Hindu thought from religions such as Judeo-Christianity and Islam which teach universal or absolute moral codes.

* Yudhishthira's battle cry: "Where dharma is, there is victory." But contrast Karna's lament at his death that his righteousness did not make him victorious: "Knowers of dharma have always said, 'Dharma protects those devoted to dharma.' But since my wheel sank today, I think dharma does not always protect." (CN 165)

* The events of the Mahabharata occur at the end of the third age, showing evidence of dharma's decline. Yudhishthira has a vision of the age to come: "I see the coming of another age, where barbaric kings rule over a vicious, broken world; where puny, fearful, hard men live tiny lives, white hair at sixteen, copulating with animals, their women perfect whores, making love with greedy mouths. The cows dry, trees stunted, no more flowers, no more purity; ambition, corruption, the age of Kali, the black time" (quoted from the play).

* After the dice game, Draupadi challenges the men by asking, if Yudhishthira lost himself first, then by what right did he wager her freedom, being a slave himself? When even the wise Bhishma cannot resolve the question, she says, "I think time is out of joint. The ancient eternal dharma is lost among the Kauravas."

* Incidentally, the four ages (yugas) are named after throws of the dice, the last (kali) being the worst (dharma standing on a one-legged stool).

* In his dying speech, Bhishma tells Yudhishthira that in the fourth age of kaliyuga (our present age), "dharma becomes adharma and adharma, dharma." Somewhat paradoxically, he continues, "If one fights against trickery, one should oppose him with trickery. But if one fights lawfully, one should check him with dharma ... One should conquer evil with good. Death by dharma is better than victory by evil deeds."