Mahabharata - Vishnu Parva (Excerpt): World Epic Translation Series

Author: [India] Vyasa
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-06-01
Features: The Mahabharata and the Ramayana are known as the two great epics of India. T. S. Eliot once said, "The Bhagavad Gita is the greatest philosophical poem after Dante's Divine Comedy." A. Huxley also said, "The Bhagavad Gita is one of the clearest and most comprehensive summaries of eternal philosophy," and "perhaps also the systematic spiritual expression of eternal philosophy." The tone of this epic praises the just forces represented by Arjuna, while condemning the evil forces represented by Duryodhana. In the epic, Arjuna is just, humble, and compassionate, whereas Duryodhana is the opposite—greedy, arrogant, and cruel. His actions are contrary to public opinion, and even some elders within the Kaurava clan sympathize with and protect the Pandavas. In the era of warring states, if the common people had a choice between the two sides of a conflict, they naturally hoped for a more wise and virtuous ruler to unify the world, rather than a tyrannical one. The Mahabharata is the epitome of this hope.