INTERNAL ASSIGNMENT 

ICL
By: Tanya chawla

Roll no: 2011175

Submitted on: 6th February, 2021

            “Dharma itself will become the god of death to those who do evil” 

If I were to be asked to answer the philosia of Dharma in a word or rather, even a

sentence, I would fail, for this answer cannot be stated and hence, read and

understood, but it has to be felt. It has to be felt by the soul. It requires to be understood

in the form of its true essence with pure dedication and concentration. 

Dharma can be closely related to the terms, ‘righteousness’, ‘prescribed duty’, ‘code of

conduct’, and ‘morality’ i.e. it is what is expected out of a moral citizen. For example, the

dharma of fire is to be hot and to cause heat. This actively demonstrates that this is the

nature of fire, which is universal and eternal. Each and every entity in the universe has a

unique dharma and his/her moral responsibility is to fulfil that dharma. 

At its very simplest, it means the “essence” of all entities of the universe, whether

humans, plants, animals, stars, galaxies, alien life forms or the universe itself. For

example, the dharma of sugarcane is sweetness. The dharma of a star is to shine.

Majority of the masses have been misusing the word dharma for quite a long time.

Dharma is often used in coordination with the words ‘religion’ or ‘sect’, whereas dharma

is a universal law of nature which is applicable to everyone. It is the moral law combined

with spiritual discipline that guides one’s life.

Each artist, while making his work of art has a message to send through it, a

quintessence that he needs to spread to the world; hence in essence, it can be called

The Dharma of that particular artistry. In literature particularly, dharma, helps each text

reach the pinnacle of its epical structure, since it is the sole reason the text was written

in the first place. 

Looking at one of the two most ancient epic texts of archaic India, The Mahabharta,

has the essence of Lord Krishna’s message to Arjuna as dharma being the ultimate

goal of life. The initial segment of Mahabharata depends on the occasions that lead to

the incomparable Kurukshetra War. The subsequent part manages the actual war and

the last part is the events post the war and its traumatic impacts on the family members

of the fighters involved. With the commencement of the book entitled ‘The Dharma of

Kings’, the fierce battle that had been fought at Kurukshetra is over. The Pandava

brothers and their allies have emerged as the victors, and the eldest of the brothers,

Yudhisthira, is expected by all to assume his responsibility as king. Yudhisthira,

however, surveys the devastation of the battlefield, and is overcome with despair and

grief. If a king can be held responsible for such a slaughter, then he wants to renounce

his kingship, and rather become an ascetic in the forest and practise austerities. His

closest friends advise him against it, but he remains unconvinced. Finally it is Krishna

who advises him to go and see Bhishma, the grand old man of the Kurus, who is lying

on his deathbed of arrows on the battlefield, and seek out his advice. Although Bhishma

is mortal, he had long ago received a boon from a god which granted him the favour of

being able to choose the time of his death. Dharma doesn’t define good and bad, as the

outcome of an action can be both simultaneously. In some cases, the outcome is

favorable to some and so might be considered good, but unfavorable to others and

hence might be conceived as bad. If dharma is to define good and bad then there was

no need for Sri Krishna to explain to Arjuna  his dharma in the battlefield of

Kurukshetra. 

The concept of the dharma of kings, or Raja Dharma, as it is known in the Orient, is still

very much in vogue in the present day Indian consciousness, because it is not restricted

to monarchs alone, but to any high placed person in politics. 

In a nutshell, looking at the other sacred text of ancient India, The Ramayana, Sri Rama

could have liberated Devi Sita from Ravana’s captivity by allying with Bali., He chose

Sugriva because Bali committed the same adharma as Ravana by kidnapping someone

else’s wife. Sri Rama, after battle, performed proper rites and rituals for the fallen

soldiers of Ravana, the particular reason for this circumstance being; he didn’t fight the

war with hate or vengeance, he, on occasion, admired the valor, strength and skill of

Ravana. Even after the war, Rama underwent penance for killing Ravana because,

though Ravana performed many acts of adharma, he also performed various dharmic

activities towards the well-being of his own kingdom and towards his respective ashram.

To summarize all that has been stated up until now, Dharma is this reality and this

presence that isn't our choice, however it is here and thus, it is the will of man to decide

to either explore it and consolidate it or live by accident and trial.