MAHABHARATA’S STRATEGIC INSIGHTS: Navigating the Dharmic Compass

ABOUT THE BOOK

The appeal and allure of the Mahabharata have remained undiluted for centuries. It is the first text that lays the foundation of Indian strategic thought. This book’s analysis is based on the English translation of The Critical Edition of the Mahabharata, by the late Bibek Debroy. The epic falls in the unique category of itihasa, which translates to “it happened like this”. Drawing on historical facts, its primary aim remains deriving lessons and contextualising these with the present. It is a living text with a timeless appeal.

The Mahabharata is a foundational text for Indian strategic thought. It successfully distils ancient strategic wisdom through a combination of descriptive, didactic and prescriptive approaches. In doing so, dharma remains its abiding spiritual, philosophical and strategic anchor, with Krishna as its primary architect. This guidance frames the objective of yoga kshema as the raja dharma of a king, or a state, in contemporary times.  The book discusses a conceptual framework for wars. This includes its conditional acceptability, planning process and conduct. The book also compares key aspects of the Mahabharata with the Arthashastra and Nitisara, to identify common elements of strategic thought over a period spanning almost 2,000 years.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Col Vivek Chadha (Retd) is a Senior Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). He joined MP-IDSA in 2011 after serving over 22 years in the Indian Army.

Colonel Chadha’s areas of research include counter-terrorism and military studies. His single-author books on counter-terrorism include Low-Intensity Conflicts in India: An Analysis; Lifeblood of Terrorism: Countering Terrorism Finance and Company Commander in Low-Intensity Conflicts. His single-author books on military subjects include Even if Ain’t Broke Yet, Do Fix It: Enhancing Effectiveness Through Military Change; Kargil: Past Perfect: Future Uncertain; CDS and Beyond: Integration of the Indian Armed Forces. He has also written the book, Indo-US Relations: From Divergence to Convergence. His current area of research focuses on the strategic lessons of the Mahabharata.

Col Chadha is the Managing Editor of the Journal of Defence Studies. He has edited several books, contributed research papers to journals and writes regularly for national dailies and online platforms.