"Think, while it's not illegal." I remember reading this through the teenage years. Incorporating this thought, which I agree to, in the readings of mythology, I gained quite a curious thought process reading Mahabharat. Again, as always, being an atheist, it compelled me to read mythology like novels and the characters therein, not divine. My fascination with the character Karna from Mahabharat always makes me count the misgivings and (to put it in current terms) "red flags" of Kunti and Pandav brothers. Starting from unconsented polyandry, betting humans (brothers and a wife) for gambling, the greed, the pretentious righteousness, casteism, are the ones I thought of, agitated me.
Looking at the sins of one side and turning a blind eye towards the sins of the so called ideal protagonists always made me uncomfortable.
Not to deny them of the human characteristics - desires, jealously, egos, selfishness, survival and many more, Kaunteyas (Pandavs), apparently great warriors ("apparently", because of my love for Karna) were blinded by the circumstances that prevailed during the time, may it be war, gambling, education promoting casteism, dirty politics and many more. Their lesser inclination towards rationality was a well evident weakness, which was used like strings that controlled the puppets, toyed by almost all the characters in Mahabharat.
Krishna, a beloved character from the novel (not divine, but a human from my pov), extremely intelligent and smart, a strategist, an illusionist and an outstanding politician. More of a human, wanting to support family ties (considering Kunti was directly related to him) by getting them a kingdom (by hook or by crook) with his intellectual and strategic planning and then marrying off his sister (Subhadra to his cousin Arjun) one powerful archer and potential prince, thereby creating a strong potential alliance for his own little tribe. Convincing a beautiful woman to marry one of the princes, foreseeing the damage, initiating fights, resolving fights, preaching ethics, breaking the rules at times, a teacher, an ardent relative, a tribe-leader, from passively lighting the match of a war to being a life coach, Krishna is undeniably an interesting character of Mahabharat.
Now, wasn't this the OG Game of Thrones? Spreading it's fandom through centuries.
Just like in Harry Potter, how Dumbledore plotted the events of all lives around him with his great experience and unfathomable foresight, I could easily compare Krishna with Dumbledore, with his strikingly accurate foresight and apt judgement of people, observing their strengths and their weaknesses and accordingly plotting and planning the events of everyone's lives around him. He was indeed a shepherd leading a herd of sheeps where he wanted them to go.
Happy Janmashtami.
Disclaimer: This is just my point of view, being an atheist, considering the characters as that of a novel and not divine. No offence is intended towards any religion or faith. People's personal views and faiths are respected, with an expectation of a reciprocal feeling towards my faith.
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