The Mahabharata is one of the two great Indian epics, the other being the Ramayana. Composed in Sanskrit, it embodies the quintessential definition of the word epic with a length of approximately 90,000 verses and a clearly defined hero on whom his tribe depends. The hero of the Mahabharata is Yudhishthira, son of Dharma and leader of the Pandavas. This hero, as in many epics, must fight heroic battles against an anti-hero, whose role in the Mahabharata is played by Duryodhana, the leader of the Kurus. Complicating this struggle between good and evil is the fact that these two sides don't start out as sworn enemies but are rather relatives. Although the conventions used are traditionally epic, the work takes on a distinctively Indian tone as the struggle between the Pandavas and the Kurus is further confounded by questions of fate and dharma. These two themes emerge repeatedly throughout the Mahabharata culminating in an exchange between King Dhritarashtra and his subjects as he requests that they allow him to resign his kingship to live out his days in the forest. In William Buck's retelling of the epic, his subjects accept his resignation and agree that his sons died not because he was a poor ruler, but because of fate's role in the battle and righteous and strict adherence to dharma of the Kshatriya caste that his sons have set such a courageous example as they reply to the king: “The destruction of the Kurus… was not brought about by you [Dhritarashtra]. Such a thing could never happen without the influence of dharma. Especially the Kshatriyas are expected to kill enemies and meet death in battle. Hindu ideas of destiny and dharma constantly emerge throughout the Mahabharata and often allow characters to free themselves from responsibility for their actions and the consequences that arise from them. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The tension between the Pandavas and the Kurus is caused by the fact that the clans born of two brothers, Pandu and Dhritarashtra, are vying for control of their family's kingdom. Dhritarashtra, the blind and balanced king, intends to give the Pandavas rule over half the kingdom to maintain peace within the family. He plans to make it as a wedding gift to the five Pandava brothers, who all married Draupadi. His stubborn and heavy-handed son learns of this plan and responds with an impassioned speech about how futile such an attempt to restore harmony would be. He enters the room and begins, “What do we need with the Pandavas? If the whole world is against you, you will maintain your kingdom, if this is your destiny, even if you only struggle to breathe air! And if you are destined to lose a throne, do what you will, with all your strength, you will fall” (Buck 75). This is one of the first instances where a character will take away all responsibility for the outcome of their actions, blaming fate rather than their own poor choices. Duryodhana argues that it is useless to give land to the Pandavas, because if war breaks out according to the laws of destiny, then it will happen regardless of the preventive measures taken. It is this sentiment that is echoed when the subjects proclaim Dhritarashtra and his son Duryodhana innocent in the war that destroyed the Kuru clan. When Duryodhana travels to the kingdom given to the Pandavas, he falls into an invisible pool of water and is mocked by an unknown spectator. To regain his pride, he challenges Yudhishthira to a game of dice. Yudhishthira responds, “Like a brilliant planet fallen from the sky, reason is overthrown and man bows to his destiny” (Buck 91). In this way, he absolves himself from the repercussions of playing dice, be they good or bad. He recognizes that it isn'tIt is possible to think about rolling the dice. Dice are subject only to fate. It is in this game of dice that Yudhishthira bets on the Pandavas' possessions, kingdom, wife and the Pandavas themselves. Given the possibility of another roll of the dice, with the winner taking all the kingdom and the loser forced into exile for thirteen years, Yudhishthira says: “Success or misfortune will come to me whether I play or not… I am not afraid ” (Buck 103). Once again in this final roll of the dice, Yudhishthira recognizes that the outcome for the Pandavas will be the same whether he rolls the dice one last time or not. This is because all outcomes, for Yudhishthira, are the result of fate and not of his inability to stop playing when he is losing. The dice game itself can be interpreted as the embodiment of fate. Yudhishthira, with his apparent gambling problem, continuing to gamble even after he has gambled and lost himself, is simply expressing his desire to control his and his clan's destiny. The fact that he fails is also significant as his attempts to control destiny are unsuccessful. In addition to allowing characters to evade responsibility for the results of their actions, fate also acts to impose a sense of desperation on the Kurus and causes general discontent within. the clan. In a conversation between Duryodhana and Karna about the current direction of the war, they discuss their failures as they continue to be defeated by the enemy. When Duryodhana states that Drona's affection for his clansmen clouded his judgment as he failed to capture Yudhishthira, Arjuna retorts by saying, “Where is the wonder in that? Seeing how fate defeats us no matter what we do, how many have not died or left us? (Buck 287). Once again, the main characters are blameless as it is the role of fate that resigns them to failure. In this worldview, it is not the fault of the Kurus that they have failed to achieve victory up to this point, but it is the fault of fate, which handed them a war full of defeats. In addition to the role that fate plays in the Mahabharata, another strong and equally important Hindu theme is reflected not only in the subjects' parting words to their beloved king, but also throughout the epic: the role of dharma, especially the dharma of the Kshatriya caste, or warrior. This also gives men reason to renounce the results of their actions by arguing that, to act according to dharma, they have no choice in most matters because making one choice acts in accordance with dharma while the other is prohibited by dharma. The use of dharma to justify one's poor actions is first seen in an exchange between Duryodhana and Krishna, in which Krishna tells Duryodhana that he will lead a richer life if he simply returns the land to the Pandavas. Duryodhana, in his usual stubborn manner, responds by saying, “Krishna, what need have you of so many words? You have never heard the Kshatriya Dharma: Stand straight and never bow, for that alone is manhood. Rather break the knots than bend them” (Buck 242). In addition to destiny, Duryodhana also acts according to dharma, disregarding whatever complications may arise as a result of his actions. In his worldview, one should act solely according to one's dharma and leave the rest to fate because the outcome will still be the same. Another shift from individual choice to the choice required by dharma occurs while Sanjaya is telling the blind king Dhritarashtra what is happening on the battlefront. He begins his description of the brutality and carnage that warfare brought to the Pandavas and Kurus by saying, "Kshatriya Dharma is cruel,,.