Strategic Lessons from Mahabharata

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We would like to express our deep gratitude to Sampujya Swamiji Amritaswarupananda Puri for his continuous guidance and support, without whom this effort would not have been possible. We would also like to thank Sampujya Swamiji Prajnanamritananda Puri for spending an immense amount of time guiding and reviewing the chapters presented in this book. Our appreciation also goes to Swami Sivamritananda Puri and Swami Shantamritananda Puri for their reviews and suggestions.

We extend our thanks to Shri. Aravindan Neelakandan, Writer and Contributing Editor at Swarajya, for guiding our content team with deep insights from the Mahabharata, alongside multiple lectures that were part of the Mahabharata Upanayanam online certificate course, of which this textbook is a part.

Our sincere thanks to Dr. Vamsee Juluri, Dr. K. S. Radhakrishnan, Dr. Vishwanathan Namboothiri and Dr. N. Gopalakrishnan for their reviews and suggestions on the syllabus of the Mahabharata Upanayanam online certificate course. We are also grateful to Dr. K. S. Radhakrishnan for the lectures that he delivered for this course, part of which has been included in this book.

Amma's teachings are our guiding light in life. Amma gives us knowledge from her divine insight, as well as practical approach to problems supposedly gained through her direct interaction with billions of people across the world for the last several decades. Moreover, Amma presents a rich collection of illustrations, stories and examples from the treasure-house of our tradition and knowledge. Many of the illustrations and stories, narrated by Amma are taken from the Puriņas, Itihasa and Vedas. Among them, Mahabharata is a work that Amma mentions very often.

Though Mahabharata depicts the stories of the Kauravas and Pindavas, it presents many principles through these stories. Along with the dynastic history, it illustrates various aspects of the concept of kingdom. The itihasa discusses at length, the characteristics of an ideal kingdom, or the nature of ideal governance. Let us take four sutras at the beginning of Canakya Niti and make a comparison.

सुखस्य मूलं धर्मः। धर्मस्य मूल अर्थ।

अर्थस्य मूलं राज्य। राज्यस्य मूर्त इन्द्रियजयः।

Sukbasya mulam dharma: dharmasya mülam artha: arthasya mülam rajyam rajyasya mülam indriyajaya:

Righteousness is the basis of happiness. Wealth is the basis of Righteousness.

The basis of all wealth is the country. The stability of a country lies in conquering the senses.

Canakya Niti, 1-4

The point here is that if a ruler wants to become a good ruler, he must first conquer his senses, implying himself. As described in the Mahabharata, wherever kings lived a life of self-control and wisdom, the kingdom was prosperous and just. Mahabharata analyzes the concept of country in depth. It depicts the origin and progression of the Bharata clan, the destruction caused by the Kuruksetra war and the revival of Dharma through the rule of Dharmaputra. All these are aimed at establishing Dharma Rajya.

There are even greater lengths of discussions on how one can conquer himself, the most popular being Bhagavadgita. There are many other treatises as well, like the Viduraniti, Yaksaprasnam, Sanatsujatiyam etc.

Bhagavadgita addresses the problems of a person who reflects deeply about Dharma and suggests solutions to them, whereas Viduraniti, presents solutions to the problems faced by a person who is not so spiritually evolved.

In Udyoga Parva, the Kauravas and Pandavas are engaged in preparations for war, while also having conversations with each other for a possible peaceful resolution of their conflict. Dhitarastra sends Sanjaya as a messenger to the Pandavas. When he comes back he chastises Dhrtarastra, warning him that owing to his sin, all the Kauravas would be burnt like straw. That night, Dhrtarastra is unable to sleep due to unbearable tension.

He summons his younger brother Vidura, seeking advice. This dialogue with more than 500 verses is the famous Viduraniti.