June 30, 2025

The Hindu

14 hours ago

It is commonly perceived that in the Kali Yuga we are living in, people tend to place rivalry, competitiveness, avariciousness and gathering of power and pelf as the topmost agenda, instead of accumulating virtuous deeds, said P. Swaminathan. Many devotees give token importance to rituals, forgetting all the good things our scriptures tell us, on how to lead a virtuous life.
It is a reality in today's world that brothers are at loggerheads over property and parental responsibility, with families failing to forge the kind of bond that is not only ideal but also highly desirable for happy coexistence in this world. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata reiterate the importance of sibling bonding and virtuous conduct. Rama was to be anointed as the king when Kooni, with her narrow vision, convinced Kaikeyi to seek her son Bharata's coronation in place of the older brother. When this was conveyed to Rama, He readily agreed to obey his parents' wishes, with a smiling countenance, and left for the forests to live like a hermit for 14 years. An equally noble Bharata refused to ascend the throne and when his efforts to persuade Rama to return to Ayodhya and rule the kingdom failed, he installed Rama's paduka on the throne and remained a regent. The Mahabharata, likewise, shows how the Pandava brothers took the cue from the virtuous older brother Yudhisthira and obeyed him in toto. Reading scriptures and adhering to a dharmic way of life has been followed by kings, especially in Tamil Nadu, from time immemorial. In the sixteenth century, Varathunga Pandian and Athivirarama Pandian were ruling over the areas around Tirunelveli. The older brother was a staunch devotee of Kasi Viswanatha, while the younger one held Lord Siva as everything. Both the kings and their wives were also Tamil pundits. Once, when Athivirarama Pandian wrote a poem on Nala and Damayanthi and showed it to his older brother and his queen. Neither one minced words on criticising the work. An incensed Athivirarama decided to invade his brother's kingdom. Hearing of his fury, the older brother sent him a missive, extolling sibling bonding and dissuaded him from a disastrous path. A contrite Athivirarama travelled to Kasi to get rid of his sin.