Vedic Wisdom - Central Message of Itihasas

Vedic Wisdom

Central Message of Itihasas

Itihasas over and above the myth part of it always had a telling and profound central message to be conveyed.

In Ramayana

Ravana was no ordinary man- He was a devout and scholarly Brahmin that too the son of Sage Pulastya; Ravana himself was a great Shiva devotee and was loved by Shiva himself; and was blessed with all boons by Lord Shiva.In fact on a fight for right between Ravana and Nandi (the ever companion of Shiva) Shiva sided with Ravana. But Ravana committed the cardinal mistake of falling for lust and had to be quelled. And for this Lord Vishnu had to come himself as Lord Rama. Even for Lord Rama it was not possible to just like that vanquish him because he could not match the boons earned by Ravana. So to first get fit to meet Ravana; Rama had to undergo several ordeals including vanavasa and wait for Ravana to commit the unpardonable sin.

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In Mahabharata

Though Duryodhana had many things in his favour- strictly speaking he was a victim rather than the culprit in respect of his claim for kingdom - lost the game only because as Lord Krishna says, he was having the dirt of bad thoughts. So the moral of the story is that you can earn all powers from nature. But if your mind is polluted all your other good things will get buried.

Morals of Itihasas

In addition to a central message the Itihasas also convey several Morals.

In Ramayana

1)Effects of Karma:

The great moral of Ramayana is that you can’t avoid the consequences of Karma – past deeds. The story in essence is a struggle between good and evil. But it is not just linear. There are many many layers of karma involved which are interwoven. Also there are many dilemmas to be faced. In fact the gap between good and evil is not as clear as we might have thought.

Therefore as we move along the story, we are tested emotionally and intellectually.

2)Freedom vs. Duty:

Another major moral of Ramayana is the giving up of freedom for the sake of one’s duty or honor. The Sanskrit word “duty” means dharma which has no equivalent word in English. Roughly translated it means, ‘ the core purpose of life.’ In sanatana dharma this manifests as a set of principles governing the behaviour; a set of the obligations to be performed- to the nature, to the parents and dependents.

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In Mahabharatha

The moral of Mahabharatha was very well summed up by Veda Vyasa himself as the finale of Mahabharata which is amazingly and gloriously impressive.Rishi Vyasa concludes: ‘Dharma is eternal; but life, its joys and sorrow are not. Do not give away the eternal for the temporal values of life.’ And dharma is ‘Do not do to others what you do not wish to be done to yourself by others; and do wish for others What you wish, desire and long for yourself ‘.

This article is a snippet from the Book Vedic Wisdom, Authored by Pandit Sri Rama Sharma. Vedic Wisdom is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.