The Creative Process: The Arts of War (Spring 2017)

Spring 2017
The Arts of War
approach to right conduct; and it is Rāvana who (albeit reluctantly)
upholds them. Nevertheless, this criterion, too, has been nullified.
CONCLUSION
While the epic defies the logical principles of just war, it adheres to
a Hindu code of moral supremacy. Throughout the Rāmāyana, great
importance is placed on the morality of the leader, and nondefensive,
punitive war is justified for the defence of morally superior
ideas (Hindu cosmic balance, in this case); quite unlike western
philosophical thought. Further, adhering to strong, defined moral
principles allows a leader to gain and maintain political legitimacy.
If we were to see this in the context of the principle of last resort, it
may be inferred that since Rāvana’s ideology was not consistent with
Rāmā’s, Rāmā did not deem him a legitimate ruler.
Perhaps we may attribute the complex nature of the war to moral
relativism; a concept most famously crafted by Plato and explored
by Nietzsche, but rarely mentioned in Hinduism. There is no
universal moral philosophy that dictates a code for distinguishing
right from wrong, and therefore there are different viewpoints on
morality, each shaped by its culture, history and society; with no
viewpoint considered superior over others. What to some may seem
a clash between two males whose egos could not be adequately
massaged without military slaughter, to others may be the coming
of the divine Lord and the redemption of their sins. It is up to the
reader to choose which camp they belong to.
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Gauri Saxena is currently reading Economics and Anthropology at
Ashoka University, where she serves as arts and culture editor of the
university newsletter. She has previously been published in the
Entartete Kunst Literary Review, The Bombay Review, and
Alexandria Quarterly, amongst others.
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