Mahabharat a philosophy

Mahabharat is the longest epic written till date. The characters are absolutely real neither good nor bad all the times. But good and bad are in continuation. The good have their moments of baseness and the evil touch magnanimity. One wanders at times, whether the so called evil is a perpetuator as he is portrayed or a victim. You empathise with their inner turmoil. Dhritrashtra, is obsessed with love for his eldest son Duryodhan who has nothing but hatred for his father?s inherent blindness. The father in turn is frustrated with life itself, for had it not been for his blindness, he would have been the king of Hastinapur, and not the caretaker of the throne. But life gives him another chance. His younger brother Pandu, the king designate, leaves for the forest, along with his two wives Kunti and Madri, in the prime of youth.Pandu, although a brave warrior who had subjugated almost all of neighbouring kingdoms, and brought it under Hastinapur?s flagship, is suddenly no longer confident and daring. He now fears for his life. The curse of a dying Brahmin, accidently, at his hands, takes the wind off his sails. He leaves his kingdom, riches, a life of utmost luxury, in the care of his elder brother Dhritrashtra and proceeds to the forest, to live the life of an ascetic, with his wives in tow.But fate had it otherwise. After traversing the length and breadth of earth, like an impoverished ascetic, Pandu suddenly desires to have children, which he himself is incapable of delivering. In keeping with laws of nature, his wives Kunti and Madri, have children, through very noble, learned, brave Brahmins (priests). Thus, Pandu becomes a father to five illustrious sons. Unfortunately, he dies, one day, a premature, untimely death. His second wife Madri sits on the pyre and immolates herself along with him. Now with no one to look upon to, and five young children to look after, Kunti the older wife, as advised by fellow travellers and ascetics, plans to go back to Hastinapur.Kunti is welcomed whole heartedly by the elders of the family and people of the town. Dhritrashtra, in spite of the facade of happiness is a worried man. The kingdom which till now was all his and his sons again had legal heirs. To add to his turmoil, the realisation that his dead brother?s sons were extremely skilful and loved by the people of his city, made him dread with fear. His eldest son Duryodhan was a venomous character. He would never part with the throne. Unfortunately he was not skilful enough to defeat the cousins on the battle field. He was no match to them in strength.Duryodhan tried the baser means. With lots of conniving and deceit, he deprived them of their rightful share, time and again. When evil overflows, its march has to be halted. Pandu?s sons otherwise righteous and humble, waged a battle against their own kith and kin, to abolish evil and establish justice. In spite of all possible interventions and mediation by Krishna, a philosopher and guide of high caliber, the war followed. In the process only a few warriors were left. Hundreds of thousand lost their lives. Pandu?s sons initiated and waged the war but still they are worshiped and treated with respect. Dhritrashtra lost all his children in the battle. Not a single one survived. Duryodhan was killed with deceit. But still this known, established fact brought no sympathy but only scorn.The wise considered the battle as a war, not of egos, personal gains or against loved ones. It was a war waged to stop evil from thriving, growing and defeating good in turn.The epic that was written a few centuries ago holds relevance in today?s world. With terrorists and terror groups across the world, trying to establish power with arms, time has come that their march be stopped and goodness, happiness, peace, re-established in the world.