Mahabharata is an Indian epic, one of the biggest epic known to mankind which is full of Wisdom and Knowledge.
Mahabharata illustrates the LAW OF KARMA, it explains how the actions of one generation can affect the other generations as well. No one can escape the results of their own Karma and every action has its consequences, one that is intended and another which is unintended.
For example - The impulsive oath taken by Bhishma (Devavrata) when he vows to remain celebate so that Satyawati's heir can rule the kingdom, it was due to his devotion towards his father but it led to dire consequences as that very act was the source of the dispute between Kauravas and Pandavas which eventually led to the great war.
Similarly, the choices made under the influence of Lust, Ego, Greed, Pride are deadly and always has multiple negative effects.
Behind the great war, lies an infinite pool of lessons and teachings. So according to me, the 10 things that everyone should learn from Mahabharata are:
1. Stand by what's right, no matter what or who is against you.
~ Arjuna was initially hesitant to wage war against his kin but then Lord Krishna reminded him that one must follow the path of Dharma (Duty) even if it meant going against your own family. Similarly, parshuram agreed to fight Bheeshm (his student) in a one on one war to get justice for Amba. Even if you are a great warrior or leader, you won't be considered a great individual unless you take a stand against wrong things. Duryodhan and durshasana would have never committed such a great sin of insulting draupadi if not for the silence of Bheeshm, Dronacharya, Karna and the whole Sabha.
2. Half Knowledge can be very dangerous
~ Abhimanyu rivalled his father in terms of skills. We all remember him for his bravery and courage, no one could defeat him through fair means, so they used his incomplete knowledge regarding chakravyuha as a weapon to get rid of him.
3. Passion - No one can stop you, if you are passionate about what you do.
~ Arjuna was known to be the greatest archer in the whole world but Eklavya was even better than him, he hid beneath the trees to learn everything that drona taught Arjuna as drona refused to accept him as a student due to fact that he didn't belong to a Kshatriya family. His passion for archery and hunger for knowledge made him the most skilled archer in the whole world.
4. Don't be swayed by greed
~ Gambling is never acceptable. Look at what it did to Yudishthira, what did he win out of his greed, the answer is NOTHING. Infact he lost everything, his kingdom, wealth, his brothers, wife. To gamble a woman is the biggest sin. All this could have been avoided if he had stopped when he knew that things were going too far and all he needed to do was to simply accept his defeat.
5. Quality > Quantity
~ The Pandavas won due to the master plan and various strategies deviced by Lord Krishna. There is no way they would have faced victory if not for him. And when given the chance, Duryodhan chose the Narayani Sena over KRISHNA. So he had a large Sena but still he was the one who lost as what is the use of large amount of resources if you don't know how to manage them.
6. Learn to learn, throughout your life
~ The most admirable quality of Arjuna would be his habit of accepting all that came his way. He never stopped learning and growing. His obedience, will, focus, determination made him one of the greatest warrior of his time. Not only did he learn about military science from Drona, Divine weapons from Indra, Pashupatastra from Mahadev, he considered Krishna as his mentor and received the ultimate gyan in terms of Bhagvad Gita.
7. Think before you speak
~ One must always choose their words wisely as we cannot take back what we have already spoken. Draupadi insulted Karan during her swayamwar by asking him about his caste also she used harsh words towards Duryodhan saying that "The son of a Blind is blind too" when he slipped due to illusion of land and water in Mayapuri. That very action of hers enraged Duryodhan into taking an oath to seek vengeance which he did in the form of insulting her in the worst way possible (her cheerharan).
8. Revenge consumes all.
~ Revenge and hatred can lead to only one thing : Destruction. Shakuni's hatred towards Bheeshma due to the unfairness done to his sister was the reason for his sinister plans which led to the kurukshetra war and ultimately to the death of not only himself, but also his sons, nephews and millions of other people.
9. As you sow so shall you reap.
~ One will always face the results or consequences of his/her actions. When Lord Krishna was hurt, draupadi tied a cloth on his hand to prevent it from bleading. Similarly when kauravas attempted to dishonour her by trying to disrobe her, Lord Krishna saved her honour by robing her. All the kauravas died in the kurukshetra war as a result of their adharma (Draupadi's cheerharan, Attempting to murder pandavas multiple times). The same way Shikhandi (reincarnation of Amba) was the cause of bheeshm's death as bheeshm was the reason of Amba misfortune, she was rejected by her family and her chosen husband (Salva) when bheeshm abducted her and her sisters during their Swayamvar.
10. Friendship - An Eternal Bond
~ The Pandavas had Lord Krishna and The Kauravas had Karna. Both always backed the two parties whenever needed. The pandavas managed to survive the war with Lord Krishna's unconditional support. It was lord Krishna who came to draupadi's rescue while her husband gambled her to disgrace as then he was protecting his Sakhi.
The discussion will not be finished without mentioning one very important character.
There is one person who was admired the most, may be due to his generosity, kindness or due to fact that life was unfair to him since birth - KARNA. He was the prime example who taught us that being good is important but one should know when to stop being good as the world is an evil place and people will take advantage of your kind nature if you let them. Duryodhana used him all the time knowing that Karna values his friendship the most. Even Indra Dev took advantage of his generosity by asking him his Kavacha and Kundalam so that his son Arjuna can defeat Karna in the war.
So, it's better to admire Karna for his nobility and courage from a distance but we'd rather not follow his footsteps.
In the end, our goal must be to follow the path of Dharma, do what your conscience tells you, it liberates you from all bonds and one can do anything as long as the intentions are good as did Lord Krishna when he asked Arjuna to kill Karna when he was vulnerable or when he asked yudishthir to lie to protect dharma.
Moral : Life is not fair on Anybody, so its unfairness doesn't gives us a license to walk on the path of Adharma. Everyday is a chance to change your life so don't let hurdels stop you from achieving your goals.
Mahabharata illustrates the LAW OF KARMA, it explains how the actions of one generation can affect the other generations as well. No one can escape the results of their own Karma and every action has its consequences, one that is intended and another which is unintended.
For example - The impulsive oath taken by Bhishma (Devavrata) when he vows to remain celebate so that Satyawati's heir can rule the kingdom, it was due to his devotion towards his father but it led to dire consequences as that very act was the source of the dispute between Kauravas and Pandavas which eventually led to the great war.
Similarly, the choices made under the influence of Lust, Ego, Greed, Pride are deadly and always has multiple negative effects.
Behind the great war, lies an infinite pool of lessons and teachings. So according to me, the 10 things that everyone should learn from Mahabharata are:
1. Stand by what's right, no matter what or who is against you.
~ Arjuna was initially hesitant to wage war against his kin but then Lord Krishna reminded him that one must follow the path of Dharma (Duty) even if it meant going against your own family. Similarly, parshuram agreed to fight Bheeshm (his student) in a one on one war to get justice for Amba. Even if you are a great warrior or leader, you won't be considered a great individual unless you take a stand against wrong things. Duryodhan and durshasana would have never committed such a great sin of insulting draupadi if not for the silence of Bheeshm, Dronacharya, Karna and the whole Sabha.
2. Half Knowledge can be very dangerous
~ Abhimanyu rivalled his father in terms of skills. We all remember him for his bravery and courage, no one could defeat him through fair means, so they used his incomplete knowledge regarding chakravyuha as a weapon to get rid of him.
3. Passion - No one can stop you, if you are passionate about what you do.
~ Arjuna was known to be the greatest archer in the whole world but Eklavya was even better than him, he hid beneath the trees to learn everything that drona taught Arjuna as drona refused to accept him as a student due to fact that he didn't belong to a Kshatriya family. His passion for archery and hunger for knowledge made him the most skilled archer in the whole world.
4. Don't be swayed by greed
~ Gambling is never acceptable. Look at what it did to Yudishthira, what did he win out of his greed, the answer is NOTHING. Infact he lost everything, his kingdom, wealth, his brothers, wife. To gamble a woman is the biggest sin. All this could have been avoided if he had stopped when he knew that things were going too far and all he needed to do was to simply accept his defeat.
5. Quality > Quantity
~ The Pandavas won due to the master plan and various strategies deviced by Lord Krishna. There is no way they would have faced victory if not for him. And when given the chance, Duryodhan chose the Narayani Sena over KRISHNA. So he had a large Sena but still he was the one who lost as what is the use of large amount of resources if you don't know how to manage them.
6. Learn to learn, throughout your life
~ The most admirable quality of Arjuna would be his habit of accepting all that came his way. He never stopped learning and growing. His obedience, will, focus, determination made him one of the greatest warrior of his time. Not only did he learn about military science from Drona, Divine weapons from Indra, Pashupatastra from Mahadev, he considered Krishna as his mentor and received the ultimate gyan in terms of Bhagvad Gita.
7. Think before you speak
~ One must always choose their words wisely as we cannot take back what we have already spoken. Draupadi insulted Karan during her swayamwar by asking him about his caste also she used harsh words towards Duryodhan saying that "The son of a Blind is blind too" when he slipped due to illusion of land and water in Mayapuri. That very action of hers enraged Duryodhan into taking an oath to seek vengeance which he did in the form of insulting her in the worst way possible (her cheerharan).
8. Revenge consumes all.
~ Revenge and hatred can lead to only one thing : Destruction. Shakuni's hatred towards Bheeshma due to the unfairness done to his sister was the reason for his sinister plans which led to the kurukshetra war and ultimately to the death of not only himself, but also his sons, nephews and millions of other people.
9. As you sow so shall you reap.
~ One will always face the results or consequences of his/her actions. When Lord Krishna was hurt, draupadi tied a cloth on his hand to prevent it from bleading. Similarly when kauravas attempted to dishonour her by trying to disrobe her, Lord Krishna saved her honour by robing her. All the kauravas died in the kurukshetra war as a result of their adharma (Draupadi's cheerharan, Attempting to murder pandavas multiple times). The same way Shikhandi (reincarnation of Amba) was the cause of bheeshm's death as bheeshm was the reason of Amba misfortune, she was rejected by her family and her chosen husband (Salva) when bheeshm abducted her and her sisters during their Swayamvar.
10. Friendship - An Eternal Bond
~ The Pandavas had Lord Krishna and The Kauravas had Karna. Both always backed the two parties whenever needed. The pandavas managed to survive the war with Lord Krishna's unconditional support. It was lord Krishna who came to draupadi's rescue while her husband gambled her to disgrace as then he was protecting his Sakhi.
The discussion will not be finished without mentioning one very important character.
There is one person who was admired the most, may be due to his generosity, kindness or due to fact that life was unfair to him since birth - KARNA. He was the prime example who taught us that being good is important but one should know when to stop being good as the world is an evil place and people will take advantage of your kind nature if you let them. Duryodhana used him all the time knowing that Karna values his friendship the most. Even Indra Dev took advantage of his generosity by asking him his Kavacha and Kundalam so that his son Arjuna can defeat Karna in the war.
So, it's better to admire Karna for his nobility and courage from a distance but we'd rather not follow his footsteps.
In the end, our goal must be to follow the path of Dharma, do what your conscience tells you, it liberates you from all bonds and one can do anything as long as the intentions are good as did Lord Krishna when he asked Arjuna to kill Karna when he was vulnerable or when he asked yudishthir to lie to protect dharma.
Moral : Life is not fair on Anybody, so its unfairness doesn't gives us a license to walk on the path of Adharma. Everyday is a chance to change your life so don't let hurdels stop you from achieving your goals.
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