4 Great Management Lessons from Mahabharata

One of the oldest Sanskrit Epics of Hindu Mythology is Mahabharata.

Mahabharata is the most substantial epic poem with 100,000 verses. Mahabharata revolves around varied human emotions, relations, and their complexities. These emotions, perspectives, and objectives of different people of that time resulted in conflicts, subsequently leading to the war of Mahabharata. 

The battle was fought between Kauravas and Pandavas over the throne of Hastinapura. Relatives by blood, both these parties had different interests and perspectives towards life. Their individual and collective egos and aspirations divided them, leading to the war. 

Mahabharata is not only the story of war or differences, but it also sheds light on great moral and ethical values. Mahabharata helps to understand how ethical values could help in leading a peaceful life and the other way around. All of this is taught through multiple incidents which help us to connect with Mahabharata and apply its learnings. Apart from emotional connection and ethical learning, this epic set of poems has a lot to offer to the management enthusiasts or business owners too.

Mahabharata could help organizations to function well. This article will help you to come across a few incidents and tales that can be implemented in your professional and personal life, in order to get success and prosperity for a long time.

Management Lessons from Mahabharata

1. Strategy and Leadership

In the whole Mahabharata, what attracts our attention the most is the fact that Pandava could not have won the war if Krishna was not with them. Krishna teaches Pandavas to make strategies; Krishna reaches the opposite party for negotiations; it Krishna, who tries to convince Karna (the only warrior of Kaurava who had the ability and power to defeat Pandavas) to change the party!

Krishna is undoubtedly the most appreciated strategist of Mahabharata, and every character of this epic has acknowledged this fact. In the battle, Krishna strategically headed Pandavas’ divisions of the army in such a way that they fight against the Kauravas’ army to win (though the army of Pandavas was smaller than Kauravas). It was Krishna who kept on motivating Arjuna to lead and fight against Kauravas.

The strategies which Krishna has used in favor of Pandavas are remarkable and insightful. A person with the true insights of the human mind and behavior could only think of doing what Krishna could do.

Stephen Covey, an American educator, author, and businessman, has also stated that a professional must pay attention to his/her inner voice. He mentions the four dimensions of a person’s conscious - heart, mind, spirit, and body. A person who listens to his conscience is more likely to go ahead in leadership skills.

2. Team Spirit

Mahabharata will teach you a lot about team spirit. One of the strengths Pandavas had was their love and sense of brotherhood. Pandavas were on good terms with everybody, and their close relationship with Krishna has worked in their favor. Pandavas built a strong team that was fighting for a single/common goal. They worked in synergy.

Kauravas, on the other hand, failed to muster up the required support for winning the battle. All the great warriors and leaders of Kauravas’ army, including Karna, Drona, Bhishma, or others, fought their own fight on the battlefield.

Managers or corporate leaders must have heard about synergy. It is the synergy that brings the whole workforce and management on one page and motivate them to achieve the common objective. Harmony and cohesion within the organization is a must.

3. Use the right tactic at the right time

The battle of Kurukshetra was more than the fight between Kauravas and Pandavas. It was about strategies, tactics, planning, and know when to implement what. Like any other battleground, the situation on Kurukshetra was dynamic and intense. It was Krishna who was ready with the right strategy. He knew what to do to make the battle work in favor of Pandavas.

To make things work in favor of the Pandavas, Krishna let Abhimanyu die (by violating war rules) so that when the time comes, the Pandavas get a chance to break the rules to kill Duryodhana and others. Individually or ethically, these things might seem wrong, but what it teaches us is to look at the collective objective, the common goal, and do all it takes to reach there.

It is more or less like playing Chess; sometimes, you have to create an illusion, make a trap, and win decisively. In business management, also organizations are ready with their strategies and backups. Depending upon the situation and time, the business model and strategies are used or changed to churn out the market.

4. Excellence in Governance

When Pandavas built Indraprastha (City of Indra), they were fair and just rulers. The residents of their city were happy, and everything was done in a righteous way. Their subjects used to follow all the rules, and the Pandavas were praised for their administration and management. Pandavas ruled for thirty-six years on this path, but this excellence in governance eventually got lost. Pandava lost their kingdom in the battle of dice, finally leading to the battle in Kurukshetra.

Just the way Pandavas achieved the love, respect, and affection of their subjects through implementing excellence of governance, the business leader of today’s time could also use the same righteous path to get respect in the marketplace. It helps in bringing a healthy culture in the organizations and get rid of the internal politics or other polluting factors. A few known companies, like The Tata Group, Google India, Wipro, or Intel, offer the best work environment.

Apart from the above-mentioned lessons, here are a few more management lessons for us from Mahabharata:

• Kauravas were lead by one-man. They had a hierarchy. The whole army was commanded by one person. On the other hand, Pandavas deployed different generals for different responsibilities. What one can learn from this that, the responsibility has to be shared when the target is huge. Have different leaders heading into different departments. One person cannot do everything.
• Kauravas had their motives, but they could not build a collective or common motive for their side. While Pandavas also had their oaths to keep, they successfully planned a common goal. A lesson one can learn from this is that the leader has to align individual goals to the group as per people’s skills. It will help to generate maximum output as every individual wants to reach personal goals, which in turn fulfills the common goal.
• Another crucial fact that can be learned from the epic is that apart from theory, what helps is managing people and time.

There are many lessons one can learn from Mahabharata. Some incidents would make you introspect; some will help you understand human behavior; some lessons would relate to you; some will scare you; some might make you wonder. This epic poem is full of knowledge and surprises. A curious mind who is looking for answers might find them here.