Namaste Believer,

Quote Originally Posted by Believer View Post
I hate to digress, but a clarification of the above statement is in order.

When Kauravas refused to give the kingdom back to the Pandavas, in order to avoid a war, Pandavas countered that Duryodhan give them just five villages to rule so that each brother will have a place to live. They decided to fight only because Duryodhan refused to give them even a square inch of the territory. Even then Arjun got cold feet at the battleground and had to be exhorted by Shri Krishan Himself through the narration of Bhagwad Gita before Arjun finally decided to fight. This seems like Pandavas were less concerned about their Dharma and the welfare of *their* people (in the whole kingdom) and more with their personal needs. They were perfectly willing to accept an unjust solution to avoid a physical skirmish. This does not sound good but that is what the historical records state. Pandavas must have had some other compulsions besides the desire to not spill blood that initially made them present unjust proposals. Any comments?
You are right. My understanding is this :

This is what Pandavas thought. They thought that they had to fight for their own right and the war was for their own cause alone. This was the reason that Arjuna felt that it was not worth the bloodshed. However, the destiny had decided it to be the war of Dharma Vs the Adharma and Arjuna was the chosen hero to lead the Pandavas in this war. We know from Mahabharata that the Kauravas didn't follow the path of Dharma. The character of Shakuni, Duryodhana etc. are depicted as symbols of evils. They were determined to do anything to keep themselves in the throne. So, we can very well imagine the life of common men in their rule. This was the rule where a woman was considered a thing just for enjoyment and her prestige as a human being was of no value. So, there was a decline of Dharma to an unacceptable level.

This decline of Dharma is also echoed in Lord Krishna's words, "Yadaa yadaa hi dharmasya glaani bhavati bharat". So, this war was predestined for rooting out Adharma spread in the society and for re-establishing Dharma even though the Pandavas thought it otherwise initially until Lord Krishna made them understand the whole thing by narrating Bhagwad Gita.

OM