Monday, November 2, 2009
Reactions of The Mahabharata
We have read about the dice game that takes place in The Mahabharata between Yudhisthra and Sakuni, my question is: Why do you think Yudhisthra's brothers did not try to stop Yudhisthra when he was going to wager them in the dice game knowing that Sakuni was cheating and they would likly be lost?
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The Pandavas as described in The Mahabharata are to be the kingdom that represents the kingdom of the god Vishnu. Draupadi represents the incarnation of Shri (prosperity) or wife of Vishnu. The Pandavas just like the kingdom of Vishnu follows the principles of dharma, or proper social law to the T. Yudhisthra is the oldest of the five brothers and the one who has been appointed as king; therefore the brothers just as their wife is expected to accept the king choices. It is their dharma as younger brothers and subjects to a king not to interfere with the decisions made by Yudhisthra even when their own sake is at stake of loss.
ReplyDeleteI think that no one stopped Yudhisthra from playing the dice game against Sakuni when they knew he was cheating and everything Yudhisthra put at stake would be lost out of respect for Yudhisthra. I think that the Pandavas respected each other’s decisions and did not question one another. This question reminded me of the duel between Bhima and Duryodhana and Bhima and Hidimba’s brother. It seemed to me as if though the Pandavas believed that each brother could handle whatever situation they got themselves into. When I was watching the film and I saw the duel between Bhima and Hidimba’s brother, I was really surprised that all four Pandava brothers were watching Bhima fight and get brutally hurt at times, but did not step in. There were several other instances like these in which the brothers just watched their other brother fight from the sideline and essentially, the dice game was just another fight which had to be fought by one Pandava brother.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Yurdhisthra's brothers tried to stop him because of customs and courtesies. Yurdhisthra is the oldest and he is the king, so he has the ability to wager what he wants at over the dice game. Also if they spoke up it would be disrespectful to Yurdhisthra as the king to undermine him.
ReplyDeleteI most definitely agree with what everyone else is saying about duty to an eldest brother and one's social place. India is built on a strong caste system. Here we have a people whose entire way of life as far back as any of them can remember is all about knowing your place. Even the religion, one might argue, is a caste system of death and rebirth. Better lives lead to better rebirths.
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