Morality of Myths

Morality of Myths

Mythology and Myths have always served to ignite a feeling of wonder and fascination in the deepest recesses of my mind. The Journey to the West from Chinese mythology with its iconic character of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, the myths and epics from Greece depicting heroes like Achilles, Odysseus, and Heracles, the much well known Norse mythology with legends of Asgard, Thor and Loki, the ingenious Egyptian mythology with its attempts to capture the workings of this realm and who could forget the innumerable stories from Hindu mythology in the form of the Mahabharat, the Ramayan, the Vedas, the Puranas, the Upanishads and so on. Many of these myths serve as backbones for the understanding of the diverse cultures of those times and are usually not taken literally as actual history. These aspects are all well and good, but the most intriguing part of the myths for me is the stories.

Today, however, we are only going to focus on the vast Hindu mythology. Hindu mythology is Polytheistic in nature, possibly even the oldest. There are great heroes, memorable villains, and inspiring life lessons. However, what makes Hindu mythology unique is that, simply, there are no clear boundaries between many heroes and villains. Some might argue otherwise, pointing to characters like Kansa and Dushasana, who are undeniably vile. However, consider Duryodhana, the much-reviled villain of the Mahabharat, who also had his reasons for his actions. His father, since his birth, had fed him fantasies of when he would be King, influencing him to yearn for the throne and direct his ambition in the form of hatred towards anyone who challenged his claim. He was a diligent student, much loved by his mentor, Balarama, a friend who was loyal to the end. Characters like Duryodhana reflect the Mahabharata’s preference for nuanced antagonists over the more straightforward villains of the Ramayana. In fact, the most nuanced villain, in my opinion, belongs to the Mahabharat. Karna the child of the Sun God, is the most debated character in the story. Yes, he chose the side of injustice or Adharma (immorality), but he had the right reason, Duryodhana was his best friend, his anchor in the darkest times of his life, and for the debt he owed him, Karna was willing to follow him to death’s doors.

On the other side of the spectrum, though, we have the questionable heroes. The Pandavas belong to this category. When they faced tough times, they blamed and cursed their treacherous cousins but when they went through periods of prosperity, they managed to somehow ruin their state through their own questionable decisions. They are petty in many of their actions. Their disrespect for the abilities of Karna made him find support in Duryodhana. Arjun’s jealousy towards Eklavya led to his finger being cut. To many rationalists, the Pandavas invited their own trouble. However, without a doubt, the most ambiguous character in the entirety of Hindu mythology is Krishna but he also acts as the answer to all our questions. The exploits of Krishna, without suitable context, might seem morally grey. The killing of Bhishma, Drona, and Karna were the saddest of the deaths of the Mahabharat because we had grown to love these characters, and almost all these were through trickery and orchestrated by Krishna. As said by Gandhari, Krishna could have stopped the entire war single-handedly but he chose to wipe out more than half of the world’s male population, as estimated. However, a true understanding of Hindu mythology can only come if you understand the aspects of Krishna. There is no right and wrong, there is no righteous side or the enemies of good. There is only a reaction that spans lifetimes. A reaction that punishes those who indulge their hunger and frees those who try to overcome it and the universal path for all living things to follow in their lives in the journey to overcome their base desires to reach something more than godhood, to reach clarity. In Hindu mythology, there is only karma and dharma.