The Mahabharata

Through the study of both Eastern and Western spiritual and psychological traditions, we can experience an integrated sense of ourselves, culturally as well as individually, rather than the fragmentation of feeling that we have to choose between the two. Those who are receptive recognize that the discovery of India and all that its mythic symbolism has to offer is still a work in progress. This article explores key stories from the Indian epic Mahabharata from a Jungian standpoint to expand on specific ideas and explicate main features and teachings of the epic. Since the epic of the Mahabharata is so complex—and believed to be the longest epic ever composed—only selected themes are amplified: lineage and birth stories, exile, and war, as well as the women in the Mahabharata and attitudes towards them. A primary focus is on the relationship between Arjuna and Krishna as symbols of the bond between ego and Self.