Soul Talk With Devdutt Pattanaik: Mahabharata in Politics Today

Do we look at the Mahabharata and its lessons today through a Western lens? Devdutt Pattanaik thinks so.

Today’s politics is nothing but considering oneself as Pandavas and proving the opposition as Kauravas 

(Photo: Mehul Tyagi/The Quint)

Editor: Puneet Bhatia
Illustrator: Mehul Tyagi
Producer: Prabuddha Jain

Are Pandavas and Kauravas understood as anything but ‘good guys’ and ‘villains’ these days? In the latest episode of Soul Khol, we asked bestselling author Devdutt Pattanaik about how the epic Mahabharata has come to be understood in recent times and what he thinks of it.

Also Read: Soul Talk With Devdutt Pattanaik: What do Politicians Really Want?

‘Those Who Read Geeta Consider Themselves Arjuna’

Devdutt says that everyone who reads the Geeta considers themselves to be Arjuna, that is, the hero. But the question is, do we consider the villain to be our kin?

To consider the villain purely evil is a Western concept, Pattanaik says. But Indians have a different way of looking at the villain. When Arjuna attacks the enemy, he feels their pain. For him, even the enemy is still family. But in the same Mahabharata, Dhritarashtra says that only his 100 sons are his family. His brothers’ sons are not his kin.

When talking about Mahabharata, it is important to think about “Vasudeva Kutumbkum (the whole world is family)”.

According to Devdutt:

People divide Pandavas and Kauravas into good and bad, one is god and the other is the devil. This is a totally Western outlook.  According to Western belief, at the end of the world there will be a war in which the devil will be defeated and the world will be happy again, the way it happens in fairytales.

Also Read: Soul Talk With Devdutt Pattanaik: Rajdharm Is Out, Dharmyudh Is On

Good Days and Bad Times, the Vicious Cycle

Contrary to Western belief, in Indian tradition, life turns in cycles.

Devdutt says that according to Jain mythology, time is considered to be a snake, which means that after good times, there come bad times, and then good times again. This cycle goes on eternally.

Pandavas and Kauravas in Parliament

This is the current scenario of the parliament as well, Pattanaik says. Some people consider themselves to be Arjuna, or the hero, and try to prove that their opponents are Kauravas, or the villains.

The king should be worried about feeding its citizens, he says, and not only about the battlefield!

(This story was originally published in Hindi Quint)