THE MAHABHARATA WAR, MODERN MANAGEMENT & SCIENCE

THE MAHABHARATA WAR, MODERN MANAGEMENT & SCIENCE

 NOTE : THIS PIECE / POST IS NOT MY CREATION OR COMPILATION BUT JUST RE-PRODUCED FROM 
THE INTERNET, LANGUAGE & PRESENTATION EDITED  WITH THE INTEREST TO SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE, FOR MUTUAL BENEFIT, THAT'S ALL.

BACKGROUND 

The Mahabharata, claimed to be written around 3000 B.C. ( May be even Before)is known to be the second longest EPIC of the World. It’s a Buffet of Ideologies.

We all know the story of how PANDAVA BROTHERS were exiled for 13 Years by the KAURAVA BROTHERS

And how at the end were compelled to the Great War.

THE LOGISTICS

Kauravas        :      11 Akshouini ;  Pandavas    :      7 Akshouini

( 1 Akshouhini = 21,870 Chariots, 21870 Elephants, 65,610 Horses & 109,350 Foot- Soldier -Ratio 1:1:3:5)

STILL THE PANDAVAS WON THE BATTLE, HOW ?? APPLYING MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES.

PREPARATION :

Kauravas subdued different Kingdoms & acquired wealth by country-wide military mission.

Pandavas, in exile turned their attention to improving over their weaknesses.  Arjuna Missioned to acquire Divya astras; Bhima got his strengths enhanced with  Brother Hanuman’s blessings; Yudhisthira acquired teaching from wise Rishis and learnt the game of Dice from Gandharva Chitrasena & became undefeatable in the game.

MANAGEMENT LESSON NO. 1 : TURN YOUR WEAKNESSES INTO YOUR STRENGTHS

LEADERSHIP:

Kauravas  had centralized leadership with One Head or Supreme Commander at a time for all the forces, ie. Bhisma, Drona, Karna, Shalya & Ashwatthama. 

Pandavas distributed their leadership. 7 Commanders for their 7 Divisions, ie. Virat, Drupad, Sahadeva, Dhrshtaketu, Satyaki, Shikhandi & Dhrshtadymna as Commander in Chief; Arjuna as Supreme Commander;  Krishna as Counselor

MANAGEMENT LESSON NO.2 : SHARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

ALLIES : 

Kauravas, greatest empire of the time, centralized power but not many powerful Allies. Only from old relations from far off places, as Ghandhar(Shakuni), Sindhu(Jayadrath) & Camboja(Bhagadutt)             

Pandavas  had no power or wealth of their own but had powerful allies from all over India. Panchala through Marriage with Draupadi; Dwarka through marriage with Arjuna & Subhadra ; Magadh through marriage of Shadeva and Vijaya; Chedi through marriage of Nakula and Karenmayi; Kasi through marriage of Bhima and Balandhara; Kekaya through marriage of Yudhisthira and Devika; Matsya through marriage of Abhimanyu and Uttara; The Rakshasas through marriage of Bhima and Hidimba; The Nagas through marriage of Arjuna and Uloopi.

MANAGEMENT LESSON NO. 3 : MAKE POWERFUL ALLIES

TEAM SPIRIT :

Kauravas had no team spirit. They all fought their individual wars. Bhisma, for his vow to protect the throne of Hastinapur ; Dhrona & Kripa, owing allegiance to the throne; Shalya, simply cheated by Duryodhana to be there, originally, Pandavaa ally; Karna, to prove his mantle against Arjuna and friendship for Duryodhana; They didn’t gel well with each other.

Pandavas, had 1 team, 1 goal. As men, they all had huge respect for Krishna and Yudhisthira. While as warriors they were in complete awe for Bhima and Arjuna. Most of them were close relatives and were all part of decision making process. The war was a COMMON war.

MANAGEMENT LESSON NO.4 : TEAMWORK DEFINITELY SUCCEEDS WHEREAS INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS  MAY FAIL.

INDIVIDUAL MOTIVES :

Kauravas,except for Duryodhana, no one wanted the War. All the 4 main Generals had close ties with Pandavas. Bhisma, Drona, Shalya, Karna. A team of traitors(from the Kaurava point of view)

Pandavas, Though all had a common goal, yet individuals had their own targets & agenda which became one with the Team’s agenda.

Dhrastadyumna – Drona; Shikhandi – Bhisma; Satyaki – Bhurisravas; Arjuna – Karna; Bhima – Duryodhana Sahadeva – Shakuni; Nakula – Karna

MANAGEMENT LESSON NO. 5: THE RIGHT TEAM IS MADE BY SELECTING THE RIGHT INDIVIDUALS. GET THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE RIGHT JOB            

COMMITMENT :

Kaurvas, Bhisma gave away the secret to  kill him, prolonged the war and did not fight like a true warrior; Dhrona too gave away his secret of invulnerability with weapons which he abandoned; Karna did not kill Yudhisthira & Bhima when had a chance and gave away his Kavach & Kundala prior to the War. He did not save Dushasana when Bhima was killing him; Shalya kept insulting Karna in the Battle field.

Pandavas, Abhimanyu ventured beyond enemy lines alone, though suicidal, took great part of the Army down with him.; Ghatotkach even in death took with him almost half the Kaurava Army; Yudhisthira knew couldn’t face Karna in war, still went in to set an example and did not hesitate to tell a twisted truth, when faced with a decision between PERSONAL INTEGRITY & TEAM WELFARE; Krishna took-up arms twice despite his promise, only to be stopped by Arjuna.

MANAGEMENT LESSON NO.6 : THE INTERESTS OF THE INDIVIDUALS SHOULD NEVER EXCEED THE TEAM INTEREST & THE BEST MAN FOR A JOB IS NOT THE ONE WITH THE BEST CAPABILITIES BUT ONE WITH THE GREATEST COMITTMENT

RIGHT MANAGERS :

Krishna, the greatest crisis manager we can think of; Yudhisthira, a low-key strategist, played a Master Game, going over to Enemy side in the guise of seeking blessings of Elders but actually making a deal for help, by getting the secrets of defeating them; Yudhisthira, also took a calculated risk of making an offer to all to change sides, if wanted. Yuyutsu, crossed over to Pandavas.

This exposed the Kauravas weakness of lack of cohesiveness.

MANAGEMENT LESSON NO. 7 : KNOW YOUR ENEMIES WEAKNESSES AND EXPLOIT THEM. TAKE CALCULATED RISKS. INSPIRE, INVIGORATE, COUNSEL YOUR OWN TEAM IN MOMENTS OF NEED

THE ROOTS :

Kauravas, Princes, brought up in the comfort of royal palace. No experience of GROUND REALITIES

Pandavas, spent greatest part of their lives in poverty, among rishis, among poor, in vanavas; Had experience with ground realities, interaction & association with various classes of people, different races of people and had a sense of sharing & brotherhood.

MANAGEMENT LESSON NO.8 : KNOW GROUND REALITIES, DIFFERENT IDEOLOGIES & SHARE

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT :

Kauravas, patriarchal structure; No women in decision making. No one listened to Gandhari.

Pandavas, Matriarchal Structure, Kunti was Supreme for the Pandavas; Draupadi was a companion to Pandava actions and played key role in decision making; Younger Pandavas were brought-up by their Mothers and had great female influence.

MANAGEMENT LESSON NO. 8 : WOMEN = BETTER HALF. TEAM WITHOUT WOMEN IS UN-BALANCED

FOR MASCULINE TRAITS OF AGGRESSION & DOMINANCE A BALANCE WITH FEMININE TRAITS OF HARMONY & SUSTENANCE IS MANDATORY FOR SUCCESS

Its told there were also mind boggling revelations of various disciplines  in The Mahabharata, as :

·         Astronomy : Existence of Uranus ( Shwetha) & Neptune (Ksharaka)

·         Geography : Lands as far as Cambodia (Kamboja), Kazakhistan or Scandinavia( Uttarakuru)

·         Mathematics : Numbers to the range of 10 to the power of 16 & -16

·         Artillery  : Resembling most advanced of the Modern  Weaponry, including Chemical & Nuclear

Weapons.

·         Complex Military Formations & Strategies

·         Other disciplines as Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Spirituality, Religion, Politics

SUMMARY :
* TURN YOUR WEAKNESSES INTO STRENGTHS
* TURN ENEMIES INTO ALLIES
* SHARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
* TEAMWORK SCORES OVER INDIVIDUAL EFFORT
* RIGHT TEAM = RIGHT SET OF INDIVIDUALS; RIGHT MAN FOR THE RIGHT JOB
* COMMITMENT SCORES OVER COMPETENCE
* TEAM INTERESTS OVER INDIVIDUAL INTERESTS
* KNOW YOUR ENEMY / CHALLENGES. EXPLOIT ITS WEAKNESSES, TAKE CALCULATED 
   RISKS
* THE RIGHT MANAGERS - TO INSPIRE, INVIGORATE, COUNSEL IN CRISIS
* KNOW GROUND REALITIES. ACCEPT DIFFERENT IDEOLOGIES. CO-OPERATE
* EMPOWER WOMEN. THE GENDER BALANCE IS REQUIRED FOR STABILITY AND
   ADMINISTRATION

JAI! HIND!