Tragic nobility and the ethics of war: The interplay of fate, pride, and duty in the iliad and Mahabharata

Abstract

The current paper questions the idea of a noble tragedy and ethical aspects of war as presented in the writings of Homer in the Iliad and Vyasa in the Mahabharata as the two pillars of their respective societies that define the moral and philosophical paradigms of the time and place. Both works define war as not just a political or war of arms, but a test of character that determines how the hero is true to fate, pride, and to duty, and so forth. The study examines the presence of a comparative view of the characters Achilles, Hector, Arjuna, and Karna by investigating how the Greek understanding of the concept of virtues and excellence, namely, *areté*, and the Indian one, namely, dharma, convey the similar or different values of heroism. With a reference to the theory of tragedy provided by Aristotle, Indian dharma philosophy, and the virtue ethics by Alasdair MacIntyre, the paper assumes that both epics redefine heroism as moral consciousness limited by fate. The paths of acceptance of fatal destiny of Achilles and of realization of nishkama karma (selfless action) of Arjuna make the typical moral development of movement of retribution against wisdom to pride against humility. As opposed to Greek fatalism which anticipates the nobility of the struggle, the Indian spirituality underscores the moral transcendence by self-knowledge. In line with this, the study concludes that, in truth, nobility occurs as self-realization in ethical turbulence, and thus, transforms suffering into moral experiences. In Greek fatalism, the virtue of endurance is enhanced whereas moral transcendence through self-knowledge is on the spotlight in Indian spirituality. The paradigms offered by these epics are still very relevant in modern time when the world is like a battlefield of leadership, duty, and conscience. According to them, the greatest manifestation of heroism is not realized in success or power, but moral perseverance, human concern and self-control.