Mahabharat in Quarantine

Just as I finished watching the whole season of Mahabharat today I had tears in my eyes. Tears of grief and happiness both. Why? Because there was victory of dharm on one end, and on the other end was this question troubling thousand others like me - "Was it all worth so much destruction and blood?" 

Krishna said - When a tree gives bitter fruits we can't just cut the branches and expect it to give sweeter fruits. One needs to destroy the whole tree so that in future another tree can be planted which gives better and sweeter fruits." True.  Dharm yuddh like it is called was fought to provide a better and a sweeter future for the coming generations and it demanded massive destruction. The post-war years must have been the happiest ones since it did not involve adharmis anymore. But for that to happen, so many sacrifices were made, so many people lost their loved ones, so much of mental trauma was experienced, the past was erased to make the future strong though many of the future leaders got killed. The Mahabharat era has seen a lot of pain, most of which was unbearable and hence it has taught us the most important life lessons in one of the best ways possible. 

It's not about if the mythology is true or not but about the ideology and lessons it has left behind. The lesson that says- nothing is above your dharm (your duty)- the purpose of your life, and for that to complete you should be ready to make whatever sacrifice it demands, because that is what is RIGHT. It has taught us an easier way to live. 

The Kurukshetra war demanded one of the most difficult and painful sacrifices ever. 

• Brothers killed their own brothers, students killed their teachers, the kings killed soldiers from both sides.
• On the pandavas' side, Draupadi knew her sons would die before the war ended and though she had a chance to stop the war, she didn't. She knew her kartavya and made herself strong.
• Krishna left behind his family, Radha, friends to complete his kartavya- to establish dharm. He even got cursed later about which he knew earlier but that didn't stop him from going to the battle field. He accepted the curse with a smiling face!
•  Arjun and bheem continued to fight even after their sons got killed during the war.
• Gandhari lost all her 100 sons and she experienced death everytime each one of them died. 
• Dhritarashtra forgave bheem even after he had killed all his sons. 
• Kunti knew one of her two sons, Karna or Arjuna would die but she didn't stop the war either.  

All these people were so selfless who only thought about the future and not themselves and their families. If I sit down counting their sacrifices it would take me weeks and I might still not finish. But all I'm trying to say is that there are millions of ways one can do adharm and still be shameless and that path is easy to take. But to do the right thing (dharm), many sacrifices will have to be made and this path will never be easy, still this is the only path one must walk on. 

Pandavas and Krishna are seen as idols and are admired by every person who knows even little about Mahabharat. But Duryodhan, Shakuni and the other kauravas are always cursed. Both for their respective actions.

The biggest sin one can ever commit is when he disrespects a woman. When he insults her. Because this sin doesn't just harm her body, it destroys her soul completely. And this sin deserves no forgiveness. The pandavas kept on forgiving Duryodhan for all his sins, even when he tried killing them. But when Draupadi was humiliated inhumanely, Mahabharat had to happen. Krishna says- jab apamaan yadi naari ki asmita ka ho toh baat pohoch jaati hain Kurukshetr tak. Yadi koi naari ke sammaan ko chhed de, toh chhid jati hai Mahabharat. 

Having said so much I cannot not mention the commendable performances of EVERY person in the serial. They have improved my thinking about certain things exceptionally. I love every person of the cast from the bottom of my heart for having done such a wonderful job! Kudos to the entire team!