Symbolism of Mahabharata Characters.

When it comes to characters in our epics, it is not right to take the metaphysical form of the same. They are not supposed to be taken as human beings just as we do normally. Such characters were made to pass certain knowledge, to pass certain morals, for the common man to learn and understand. In one discussion once someone pointed at Draupadi and said how she was subjected to agree to five husbands though her heart was for Arjun. This is not the right way to think of Draupadi as any woman, there’s lot of depth into it.

In the book “God Talks with Arjuna” by Paramhansa Yogananda, he tells in detail about the physical and metaphysical and spiritual meaning of Gita for us to understand. He tells in details about the real inner meaning of Gita.

According to him, the battle field of Kurukshetra represents our own life. Dritarashtra is the blind and ignorant mind of ours which tends to give rise to 100 sense tendencies and desires. The 100 sons of Dritrashtra are those sense tendencies. Pandu represents the wisdom, hence white. Hence Kurukshetra is the battlefield of our mind, body and senses. It’s the battle of ignorant and wise, so as to find the way to rise up and get the status of Param Brahma.

Coming to Draupadi and the Pancha Pandavas, well Draupadi represents the Kundalini and the Pandavas the five chakras of our body. As posted here in this article, as the Kundalini is raised, she passes through the chakras uniting her to each chakra.

1.       Sehdeva, the base chakra Mooldhara, it means avoidance of attitude that prevent one from attaining Inner Peace.

2.       Nakula, Swadhishthana Chakra, represents “Niyama”. It means adhering to attitudes that brings Inner Peace.

3.       Third Chakra Manipura is Arjuna. As per yoga, when manipura is awakened, it brings in fiery self-control. Leaving aside that brief moment of weakness when he saw his own people on battlefield, he was always the representative of self-control brave one.

4.       Bhim represents the Anahat Chakra, located at the heart. When this chakra gets awakened, it brings in intense feeling, a feeling which can pull us up towards devotion or take us down into emotions. Bhim represented this vigorous feeling in anything he did, be it right or error.

5.       Yudhistira is the Vishudha chakra. This chakra when awakened brings in a deep calm feeling. It brings in the feeling of devotion, righteousness and calmness. Yudhistira represented exactly that in Mahabharat.

And finally the Agya/Ajna chakra, located between the eyes, it is the doorway to soul consciousness. During meditation we concentrate on this point and when it opens, we get to experience the bliss. This chakra is represented by none other than Lord Krishna in Mahabharat.

Every incident in Mahabharat has bearing on life events and carries a deep rooted meaning. The game of dice in Mahabharat represents a game of ego versus desire that we face in life. So you see even if you reach the state where your Vishuddha chakra is awakened, yet you have the chance to again go down. So in spiritual journey you need to stay strong and stand erect with determination, only then you can merge with the Supreme one. This book is more enlightening than any I read till date.