to decide what is right and what is not so right..

अधर्मरूपो धर्मो हि कश्चिदस्ति नराधिप।

धर्मश्च अधर्मरूपोऽस्ति तस्च ज्ञेयं विपश्चिता॥।

महाभारते शान्तिपर्वे ३२-२०

adharmarūpo dharmo hi kaścidasti narādhipa|

dharmaśca adharmarūpo'sti tasca jñeyaṁ vipaścitā|||

mahābhārate śāntiparve 32-20

A great perspective from the Epic Mahabharatham... Shantiparvam

The war between Kauravas and Pandavas is over and the Pandavas are victorious..

Dharmaputra is making a victorious entry into the city of his ancestors..

The victory is indeed a glorious feather in his cap..

 But the man is sensitive and is not at all sure within himself whether the price paid for such a victory ... in a war that saw death of millions of soldiers on both sides...

 and the victory at the cost of flesh, blood and the very life of the enemies who were none other than his own kin.. 

his own dear cousins..

was really worth the trouble 

 He is not able to decide whether his actions were according to Dharma..

 whether he was right .. or whether his actions were acts of Adharma ...

or whether he was wrong..

He is in a mental turmoil.

Sage Vyasa, the Krishnadwaipayana the great grandfather of the king, reminds him of the vagaries of thoughts in interpreting right and wrong, with these words..

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My child, and the leader of men,

please remember that there can be Adharma in the shape of dharma..

And there can be Dharma in the shape of Adharma too..

The difference, as well as the right course of action should be understood and chosen by the ones with intelligence and knowledge..

( Free translation of the couplet extracted from Mahabharatham above)

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Numerous ethical issues arise from this discussion.

Of course there is nothing right or wrong in absolute terms.. and Dharma is nothing but following the right..

We talk very aloud about maintaining dharma.. but often we have little clue as to what really is Dharma..

If adherence in an adamant way to certain ideas and conviction, however noble they would appear, would constitute Dharma, if such adherence would cause too much of misery and damage to many ?

The question can never be answered either way

There will be a path at all moments in our journey,

but the path can turn out to be wrong at any moment..

Often the staunch advocates of right actions or path of Dharma insist too much on the steadfast pursuit without deviation come what may..

But is it that simple..?

Even the war strategies chalked out by Krishna to ensure sure victory for Pandavas would not pass muster as in accordance with Dharma..

There were many tricky activities..

But the blessed Lord, the guardian of Dharma ensured that the victory embraced the people who stood for the good of all.. and that was the ultimate dharma

Views can vary on this issue

But Dharma is a tool for the good of all, the welfare of all..

and no Dharmic rule was to be there just for the pleasure of the ruler or the judge..

That idea of jurisprudence surpasses all creeds and isms..

An enigmatic question indeed.