EXPLORING FILIAL PIETY AS AN INSPIRATIONAL MORAL VALUE FROM MAHABHARATA

Abstract

The Mahabharata (Mbh) is a well-known ancient epic that is seven times longer than the Iliad and Odyssey combined. It has been a key source of moral ideas and education for Indians. The story centred around the Kauravas and Pandavas, two branches of the same family. Through the family story, the author draws all aspects of human existence, namely Dharma (Virtue and Social Righteousness), Artha (Acquisition of Wealth), Kama (Enjoyment and Sensual Pleasure) and Moksha (Spiritual Liberation). This study seeks to identify moral values associated with family life, especially love for parents. Though many scholars studied this epic, love between children and parents is underexplored. This epic is also often misconstrued as a spiritual text, which limits its application to moral living. Textual analysis, is employed for data extraction and interpreted through Hermeneutic Approach. Four steps were used for analysis, namely, Identifying and Documenting, Investigation and Categorisation, Interpretation and Analysis, and finally Integration and Conclusion. Murray Bowen's Family Systems Theory is used to determine how human interaction in a family operates in Mbh and Kohlberg’s Moral Development Theory has been chosen as it outlines an individual's moral development in stages.The findings reveal that the children such as Pandavas demonstrated unconditional and selfless love to their parents. They believed that their parents were Gods and should be worshipped.The findings also suggest that the Mbh epic could be an insightful resource in moral teaching and learning and, more importantly, as a guide in building a strong relationship between parents and children.