The path of dharma

The Mahabharata, the Ramayana and the Bhagavata Purana

illustrate the value of upholding virtue and dharma in the
midst of evil and vice that thrive in this world, pointed out
Sri Kesava Dikshitar in a discourse.

By showcasing the unsavoury consequences to be faced

when one engages in the game of dice, the Mahabharata
teaches the right way of living, while the Ramayana focuses
on the penalty and potential danger that is inbuilt when
coveting another man’s wife. The theme of the Bhagavata
Purana, a poet says, is theft. But here it is the Lord’s theft
not merely of butter, but of the hearts of His devotees. The
Mahabharata exposes the vanity of earthly glories and
prompts one to strive to attain truth, dharma,
righteousness, renunciation and eternal peace and finally
salvation. As explicitly stated in the Gita, the root cause for
all sin and evil arises from desire and anger. When these
begin to thrive in an individual, it spells disaster.

Dhritarashtra’s blindness is symbolic of the delusion caused

by desire and he succumbs to it. He fails to overcome its
overpowering pressure. When the Pandavas reach
Hastinapura along with Kunti after the death of Pandu,
Bhishma advises him that now he has 105 sons. But
Dhritarashtra is unable to accept them as his own. He knows that Yudhishtira is the heir apparent and would in course of time become king. Duryodhana and the Kaurava princes see the Pandavas as rivals to the throne. Instead of curbing Duryodhana’s desire for the throne that rightfully belongs to Yudhishtira, Dhritarashtra promises to make him king. Just as smoke hides fire or dust the mirror, desire is the enemy in man which deludes and even distorts the sense of discrimination.