The Individual Cost of War as Represented in The Bhagavad-Gita and The Florentine Codex
The history of war extends nearly as far as the history of humanity and so expressions of war’s impact abound in literature. The Bhagavad-Gita and The Florentine Codex, texts concerning war, exhibit similarities despite having been written centuries and continents apart. Each emphasizes that although war carries global repercussions, it causes conflict on an individual level as well.
In The Bhagavad-Gita, the Pāṇḍavas play the aggressor, defending their denied claim to power. Their claim’s legitimacy and their impending victory is implied by the presence of Krishna, riding charioteer with Arjuna. Initially, Arjuna exults to “undertake a warrior’s delight in fighting,” as he surveys the opposition, however focus shifts from the opposing masses of soldiers to:
“…rows of grandfathers and grandsons; sons and fathers, uncles, in-laws; teachers, brothers and companions,
‘all relatives and friends of his…” (“The Bhagavad-Gita” 729, 730)
Contemplating the individual impact causes Arjuna to feel “...for them a great compassion.” He acknowledges their “lives and riches now abandoned,” grieves “the family’s destruction” and “friendships lost …show more content…
He made choices because they would work, not because they would be judged kindly, and I admire that. Machiavelli, in The Prince, follows suit. The vision that he shared with Borgia, of a unified Italy, was every bit as important as they felt it to be. Cesare actively, violently pursued this end, while Machiavelli employed his own methods. They are the embodiment of the ends justifying the means, beating Fortune into submission because she is a woman who likes bad boys (Machiavelli 1634). Cesare performing a balancing act between his powerful father and his own ambition, Machiavelli walking a fine line between those in power and his own station in life. Their minds excite
The history of war extends nearly as far as the history of humanity and so expressions of war’s impact abound in literature. The Bhagavad-Gita and The Florentine Codex, texts concerning war, exhibit similarities despite having been written centuries and continents apart. Each emphasizes that although war carries global repercussions, it causes conflict on an individual level as well.
In The Bhagavad-Gita, the Pāṇḍavas play the aggressor, defending their denied claim to power. Their claim’s legitimacy and their impending victory is implied by the presence of Krishna, riding charioteer with Arjuna. Initially, Arjuna exults to “undertake a warrior’s delight in fighting,” as he surveys the opposition, however focus shifts from the opposing masses of soldiers to:
“…rows of grandfathers and grandsons; sons and fathers, uncles, in-laws; teachers, brothers and companions,
‘all relatives and friends of his…” (“The Bhagavad-Gita” 729, 730)
Contemplating the individual impact causes Arjuna to feel “...for them a great compassion.” He acknowledges their “lives and riches now abandoned,” grieves “the family’s destruction” and “friendships lost …show more content…
He made choices because they would work, not because they would be judged kindly, and I admire that. Machiavelli, in The Prince, follows suit. The vision that he shared with Borgia, of a unified Italy, was every bit as important as they felt it to be. Cesare actively, violently pursued this end, while Machiavelli employed his own methods. They are the embodiment of the ends justifying the means, beating Fortune into submission because she is a woman who likes bad boys (Machiavelli 1634). Cesare performing a balancing act between his powerful father and his own ambition, Machiavelli walking a fine line between those in power and his own station in life. Their minds excite