ITIHĀSA : SUSASTRA DAN SUMBER AJARAN ETIKA HINDU

Abstract

The discussion about Vedic literature is never ending. One of the most popular parts of the Vedic literature is Itihāsa. This is because Itihāsa is often packaged in interesting forms such as comics and films so that it makes it easy for everyone to access and understand Itihāsa itself. Apart from its popularity because of its interesting story, as a part of the Vedic literature, of course Itihāsa has a lot of value in it. One of these values is the ethical value of Hinduism. This is interesting to study, so that Itihasa is not only understood as part of literature or just to entertain the public, but also as a means to know and understand Hindu ethical values and their forms of implementation in everyday life. Based on the research results, it can be understood that the first step in studying the Vedas is through the Itihāsa and Purāṇa. This is because both the Itihāsa and the Purāṇa contain the essence of the Vedic teachings themselves, including the teachings of Hindu morality. In the Rāmāyana as a part of Itihāsa, it is explained that Śrī Rāma is described as an ideal human being who must be emulated because of his character and behavior which always prioritizes obligations as a leader, son, husband, brother and friend. Like the Rāmāyana, the Mahābhārata also contains moral teachings that should be used as a guide by all mankind, even by modern humans like today. One of them is contained in the Bhagavadgītā as part of Bhīṣmaparva which shows how humans must be faithful to uphold the truth and not get stuck in arrogance, darkness of mind and other bad behavior and character.