WWKD: What Would Krishna Do? Just War Doctrine and the Ethics of War in the Mahabharata
Amorae Times Mentor: Michael J. Nojeim Division of Social Work, Behavioral and Political Sciences Introduction: This project addresses this question: what are the similarities and differences between traditional western/Christian Just War Doctrine principles and those found in the Mahabharata? Just War Doctrine was developed in the Middle Ages by Christian theologians and offers a sophisticated outline for the conduct of war. There are three components for comparison: justice of war, justice in war, and justice after war. This project compares and contrasts the elements of Just War Doctrine found in western/Christian contexts with those found in the ancient Hindu holy text, the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita, which is found in the Mahabharata Materials and Methods: This project uses a textual, content-analysis approach in comparing Augustinian Just War Doctrine with ethics in war principles found and practiced in the Bhagavad Gita and the epic text in which it is found, the Mahabharata. It begins with an extensive literature review of Augustinian Just War Doctrine and then moves to an examination of war-fighting ethics and principles found in Hindu philosophical traditions. Then, it performs a content analysis of key action sequences found in the Mahabharata using several different translations in order to apply ethics in war-fighting principles to the text. Results and Discussion: We are still in the literature review phase of this project. This literature review serves as a foundation of holistically understanding the Just War Doctrine. Additionally, the literature review features scholarly work comparing the Just War Doctrine to other Eastern ideals and teachings. Conclusion(s) or Summary: Preliminary findings show a consistent set of similarities and themes between war-fighting ethics in both religious traditions, including violations thereof in practice. References: 1. Balkaran, Raj and A. Walter Dorn. 2012. "Violence in the Vālmı̄ki Rāmāyaṇa: 2. Just War Criteria in an Ancient Indian Epic." Journal of the American Academy of Religion 80, iss. 3 (September): 659–690. https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfs036. 3. Barua, Ananya. 2016. "Re-Visiting the Ethics of War in the Philosophy of St. 4. Augustine, Mahatma Gandhi And The Dala Llama." Prajñā Vihāra 17, no. 2 (July-December): 121144. https://core.ac.uk/reader/270165080. 5. Brekke, Torkel. 2005. "The Ethics of War and the Concept of War in India and Europe." Religion and Violence 52, no. 1: 59-86. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3270443.
6. Davis, Richard H. (n.d.). "Reflections on War and Dharma in Classical Hinduism." Paper presented to the National War College, Washington, D.C. 7. Gandhi, Mahatma. 2009. The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books. 8. Matilal, Rudraprasad. 2009. "Just War Theory." Philosophy of Peace Blog. 44
