The story of Uttara, who spoke boastfully in the ladies’ boudoirs and fled in panic at the sight of the hostile array, has not been introduced in the Mahabharata, merely as a comic interlude. It is in ordinary human nature to look with contempt on lower levels of conduct in ability. The rich scorn the poor; the beautiful, the plain; the strong, the weak. Brave men despise cowards. But, Arjuna was no ordinary man but a great soul and a true hero who felt that his duty as a strong, brave man was to help others to rise above their weakness. Knowing that nature had endowed him with courage and
...more
