Libya and Kurukshetra

Picture Courtesy: The Hindu

Gaddafi is dead and how! Some say it is Karma. Quite possible. One of the articles about his death had an interesting comment. The reader compared the treatment meted out to Gaddafi with an incident in Mahabharata  - when Bhima kicks Duryodhana on his head after the latter has fallen to the ground being a dealt a blow, which though fatal was against the rules of engagement. Looking up on the internet I found scores of interpretations of this incident - am talking about Duryodhana not Gaddafi. It is amazing to see the kind of polarized views people have of an incident which is part of an epic that many of us even doubt had occurred. One of the most believable, I thought, was this one.

Now if I have to take the analogy one step further, if Duryodhana is Gadaddi, who is Krishna? I think it is the NATO. Who are the Pandavas - the NTC I guess. Sirte is Samantpanchaka. Russia is Balarama in this sequel.

If the tumultuous history of India after Mahabharata is anything to go by, Libya's hard days have just started. It is only selective memory which can help forget Iraq, which is being vacated by the way, and Afghanistan.

But the most important question is, 'What is Dharma?' Was Dharma at the time of Mahabharata the same as it today? Gadaffi's fate is adequately explained by Karma but leaves a big question when you try Dharma. I guess even after thousands of years, the question of Dharma still looms large.