Mahabharata : Purusharthas
Mahabharata : Purusharthas is a compilation on the topics of Purusharthas in Mahabharata and includes only Dharma, Artha & Kama (Pronounced as Kaama) as they appear in the great epic Mahabharata. They are also known as trivarga of purusharthas. The fourth purushartha viz Moksha has been left out of the scope here. The contents are extracted from the great epic Mahabharata.
One of the famous claims about this great epic is: Whatever has been said in this about dharma, artha, kama and moksha has been said elsewhere also. But what is not in this will not be found anywhere else also (Swargarohana parva; adhyaya 5; shloka 50). Anyone who has studied Mahabharata in depth would have realised how true this statement is.
I have extracted these contents from my other comprehensive & unique work on Mahabharata Viz Mahabharata–Spectroscope. Whereas the material in that was included in the sequence in which it appears in the original epic, in this compilation I have grouped them by meaningful Topics & Sub-topics thus making it much more useful to the student/scholar of this subject.
I have left out moksha as it is quite extensive and may interest only a few. Those who are interested in dharma as related to moksha may get my other PDF called Mokshadharma (a companion volume of Spectroscope) and study the same.
Dharma appears in several ‘flavours’ in Mahabharata. Some examples are: Adharma, Varna dharma, Ashrama dharma, Ahimsa dharma, Daan dharma, Raja dharma, Stri dharma, Putra dharma, Yati dharma, Swadharma, Yuddha dharma, Yuga dharma, Ritu dharma, Beeja dharma, Prakriti Dharma, Sankhya dharma, Pravrtti dharma, Nivrtti dharma, Moksha dharma etc. Hence understanding the underlying essence/principles & the specific variations becomes important to practice dharma.
The contents are organised under following major headings with each heading having several sub-topics: Dharma, Aapadharma, Adharma, Understanding/Knowing dharma, Contrary views on dharma, Ahimsa dharma, Avatars & dharma, Daan dharma, Dharma: Its varieties, Governance/King & dharma, Justice & dharma, Some other dharmas mentioned, Practicing dharma, Raja dharma, Relationships & dharma, Truth, Untruth & dharma, Swadharma, Varnashrama dharmas, Four stage ashrama dharma, Victory/war & dharma, Virtuous character & dharma, Women & dharma, Yugas & dharma, Miscellaneous, Artha, Dharma-Artha, Dharma-Artha-kama, and Illustrative Stories/Episodes.
It is hoped this will be a useful reference for the serious students of this topic.
If you have any feedback please send me an email to gh.visweswara@gmail.com.
Download PDF here: ( 2.21 MB; 125 pages)
For other Topic based compilations from Mahabharata see under Menus ‘Mahabharata’ and ‘More Compilations’