The path of dharma

The Mahabharata, the Ramayana and the Bhagavata Purana illustrate the value of upholding virtue and dharma in the midst of evil and vice that thrive in this world, pointed out Sri Kesava Dikshitar in a discourse.

By showcasing the unsavoury consequences to be faced when one engages in the game of dice, the Mahabharata teaches the right way of living, while the Ramayana focuses on the penalty and potential danger that is inbuilt when coveting another man’s wife. The theme of the Bhagavata Purana, a poet says, is theft. But here it is the Lord’s theft not merely of butter, but of the hearts of His devotees. The Mahabharata exposes the vanity of earthly glories and prompts one to strive to attain truth, dharma, righteousness, renunciation and eternal peace and finally salvation. As explicitly stated in the Gita, the root cause for all sin and evil arises from desire and anger. When these begin to thrive in an individual, it spells disaster. Dhritarashtra’s blindness is symbolic of the delusion caused by desire and he succumbs to it. He fails to overcome its overpowering pressure. When the Pandavas reach Hastinapura along with Kunti after the death of Pandu, Bhishma advises him that now he has 105 sons. But Dhritarashtra is unable to accept them as his own. He knows that Yudhishtira is the heir apparent and would in course of time become king. Duryodhana and the Kaurava princes see the Pandavas as rivals to the throne. Instead of curbing Duryodhana’s desire for the throne that rightfully belongs to Yudhishtira, Dhritarashtra promises to make him king. Just as smoke hides fire or dust the mirror, desire is the enemy in man which deludes and even distorts the sense of discrimination.