Paradox of Wars in Indian Writings: Traversing The Unintended Path to Peace

This paper is an exploration as to why wars become significant and important through historical journey to present times. Events that happened in the deepest of deep pasts continue to fascinate and attract humanity from around the globe. Continuous interpretations and re interpretations of the great Epics and other revered Indian texts have helped in preserving both the religious and cultural identity of not only the great Indian Sub Continent but the whole region that comes under South Asia. Wars under discussion are more than physical confrontations. Be it cosmic or human warfare, it serves to emphasize upon the inter connectedness that exists between the material realm and the spiritual one. Wars have cathartic effect on individuals. Examples of this can be seen in literary texts, historical texts and those penned down by great philosophers. These transformative events bring psychological release for individuals. There is emotional purification both at individual and collective level of societies. Aristotle says that, “Tragedy is an imitation of a serious and complete action, having magnitude, which through pity and fear bring about a catharsis of such emotions”. Catharsis comes with different explanations. The events arousing ‘cathartic’ effect mean that they are fully clarified for their role as being essential and with universal significance. The narrators of tragic events are probably meant to make readers move from particular to the general by making ‘reader spectator’ come face to face with what is known as the ‘universal law’.