Staying True to Yourself: The Mahabharata’s Take on Authenticity
Riya Kumari | Feb 23, 2025, 23:58 IST
( Image credit : Times Life Bureau )
Look, I get it. You just want to be you—unapologetically, gloriously, unquestionably you. But then life happens. Your boss wants you to be “more of a team player,” your relatives think you should “settle down,” and social media keeps asking if you’re living your best life when, honestly, you’re just trying to live at all. And in the middle of this identity tornado, there’s that one nagging question: Am I being true to myself, or am I just curating a personality based on what gets the least resistance?
At some point, we all face the question: Am I living as myself, or as the person the world expects me to be? It happens in small ways—biting your tongue in a conversation where you disagree, laughing at a joke that isn’t funny, nodding along when someone tells you what you should be doing with your life. And it happens in bigger ways—choosing a path that isn’t yours because it’s safer, more acceptable, or just easier. But what if the cost of belonging was losing yourself? The Mahabharata asks this question over and over again. It’s a story of war, yes—but beneath the battles and politics, it’s a story about identity. Who we are. What we stand for. And what happens when we betray or honor that truth.
1. Arjuna: The Fear of Facing Ourselves
At the heart of the Mahabharata, there’s a moment that stops everything. Arjuna, the great warrior, stands on the battlefield, ready to fight. But when he looks ahead and sees the faces of his own family on the other side, his resolve crumbles. I can’t do this, he says. He drops his bow, paralyzed. This isn’t just fear of battle. It’s the fear of making a choice that will define who he is. If he fights, he wins a war but loses people he loves. If he walks away, he saves them but betrays his duty. Neither option feels right.
Krishna doesn’t tell him to ignore his emotions or pretend it’s easy. He tells him something harder: You already know who you are. The question is whether you have the courage to act on it. And that’s the real struggle of authenticity. It’s not about discovering some hidden self—it’s about accepting the truth that’s already there, even when it’s inconvenient. How many times do we hesitate at a choice because we don’t like what it says about us? How often do we know what we must do, but stall because we wish the answer were different? Arjuna’s lesson is simple but difficult: Running from your truth won’t change it. Facing it, however painful, is the only way forward.
2. Karna: The Tragedy of Being Who the World Says You Are
Karna is the opposite of Arjuna. He doesn’t question who he is—he lets the world decide for him. Born into royalty but raised as a charioteer’s son, Karna is constantly reminded that he doesn’t belong. So he dedicates his life to proving he does. He binds himself to Duryodhana, the only man who gave him status, even when it leads him to destruction. He rejects the truth of his noble birth because he has spent too long believing he is less.
Karna’s story is one of the greatest tragedies in the Mahabharata, not because he lacked strength or skill, but because he let others define him. And once you start living by a version of yourself that isn’t real, it becomes nearly impossible to leave it behind. How often do we do this in smaller ways? Convincing ourselves we are only as worthy as the approval we get? Staying in places that diminish us because we’re afraid to step into something greater? Karna’s life was proof that no amount of external validation can fill the void of an unlived truth.
3. Draupadi: The Strength of Uncompromising Truth
If Karna is a lesson in losing yourself, Draupadi is a lesson in never letting go. From the moment she enters the story, Draupadi refuses to be defined by others. She is humiliated, insulted, and treated like property—but she does not lower her voice. She demands justice when everyone else looks away. She does not accept what is done to her as her identity.
And that is a lesson in authenticity we rarely talk about: It’s not just about who you are; it’s about what you refuse to become. Sometimes, staying true to yourself isn’t about doing something—it’s about refusing to let the world change you into something you are not. Draupadi’s power was not that she won every battle. It was that she never surrendered her sense of self.
4. Krishna: The Wisdom of Being, Not Performing
And then there’s Krishna. Krishna never struggles with identity because he understands something simple: Authenticity is not about holding on to one rigid version of yourself. It’s about knowing what truly defines you, beyond labels and roles. Krishna is a warrior when needed, a diplomat when necessary, a friend when called upon. He shifts without losing himself, because he isn’t tied to one image of who he must be. His values remain unchanged, even when his form of action does.
This is a kind of authenticity that is both freeing and terrifying. It means that you are not bound by expectations—yours or anyone else’s. It means that you can change while remaining true to yourself, as long as you never lose sight of what actually matters. And maybe that’s the highest form of selfhood: Not being trapped in one idea of who you are, but understanding yourself deeply enough that no matter where life takes you, you remain you.
What Does This Mean for Us?
The Mahabharata doesn’t hand us easy answers. It shows us people—flawed, brilliant, struggling people—who teach us what happens when we embrace or deny who we are.
1. Arjuna shows us that truth isn’t something we find—it’s something we accept.
2. Karna warns us that if we let others define us, we may spend our whole lives chasing a version of ourselves that was never real.
3. Draupadi reminds us that identity isn’t just about who we are, but what we refuse to become.
4. Krishna teaches us that authenticity isn’t about being unchanging—it’s about being unwavering in what truly matters.
And so the question remains: When the moment comes to choose between comfort and truth, between fitting in and standing firm—what will we do? Because in the end, staying true to yourself isn’t about what you say. It’s about what you do when it matters.
1. Arjuna: The Fear of Facing Ourselves
Run
( Image credit : Pexels )
At the heart of the Mahabharata, there’s a moment that stops everything. Arjuna, the great warrior, stands on the battlefield, ready to fight. But when he looks ahead and sees the faces of his own family on the other side, his resolve crumbles. I can’t do this, he says. He drops his bow, paralyzed. This isn’t just fear of battle. It’s the fear of making a choice that will define who he is. If he fights, he wins a war but loses people he loves. If he walks away, he saves them but betrays his duty. Neither option feels right.
Krishna doesn’t tell him to ignore his emotions or pretend it’s easy. He tells him something harder: You already know who you are. The question is whether you have the courage to act on it. And that’s the real struggle of authenticity. It’s not about discovering some hidden self—it’s about accepting the truth that’s already there, even when it’s inconvenient. How many times do we hesitate at a choice because we don’t like what it says about us? How often do we know what we must do, but stall because we wish the answer were different? Arjuna’s lesson is simple but difficult: Running from your truth won’t change it. Facing it, however painful, is the only way forward.
2. Karna: The Tragedy of Being Who the World Says You Are
Mirror
( Image credit : Pexels )
Karna is the opposite of Arjuna. He doesn’t question who he is—he lets the world decide for him. Born into royalty but raised as a charioteer’s son, Karna is constantly reminded that he doesn’t belong. So he dedicates his life to proving he does. He binds himself to Duryodhana, the only man who gave him status, even when it leads him to destruction. He rejects the truth of his noble birth because he has spent too long believing he is less.
Karna’s story is one of the greatest tragedies in the Mahabharata, not because he lacked strength or skill, but because he let others define him. And once you start living by a version of yourself that isn’t real, it becomes nearly impossible to leave it behind. How often do we do this in smaller ways? Convincing ourselves we are only as worthy as the approval we get? Staying in places that diminish us because we’re afraid to step into something greater? Karna’s life was proof that no amount of external validation can fill the void of an unlived truth.
3. Draupadi: The Strength of Uncompromising Truth
No
( Image credit : Pexels )
If Karna is a lesson in losing yourself, Draupadi is a lesson in never letting go. From the moment she enters the story, Draupadi refuses to be defined by others. She is humiliated, insulted, and treated like property—but she does not lower her voice. She demands justice when everyone else looks away. She does not accept what is done to her as her identity.
And that is a lesson in authenticity we rarely talk about: It’s not just about who you are; it’s about what you refuse to become. Sometimes, staying true to yourself isn’t about doing something—it’s about refusing to let the world change you into something you are not. Draupadi’s power was not that she won every battle. It was that she never surrendered her sense of self.
4. Krishna: The Wisdom of Being, Not Performing
Pray
( Image credit : Pexels )
And then there’s Krishna. Krishna never struggles with identity because he understands something simple: Authenticity is not about holding on to one rigid version of yourself. It’s about knowing what truly defines you, beyond labels and roles. Krishna is a warrior when needed, a diplomat when necessary, a friend when called upon. He shifts without losing himself, because he isn’t tied to one image of who he must be. His values remain unchanged, even when his form of action does.
This is a kind of authenticity that is both freeing and terrifying. It means that you are not bound by expectations—yours or anyone else’s. It means that you can change while remaining true to yourself, as long as you never lose sight of what actually matters. And maybe that’s the highest form of selfhood: Not being trapped in one idea of who you are, but understanding yourself deeply enough that no matter where life takes you, you remain you.
What Does This Mean for Us?
1. Arjuna shows us that truth isn’t something we find—it’s something we accept.
2. Karna warns us that if we let others define us, we may spend our whole lives chasing a version of ourselves that was never real.
3. Draupadi reminds us that identity isn’t just about who we are, but what we refuse to become.
4. Krishna teaches us that authenticity isn’t about being unchanging—it’s about being unwavering in what truly matters.
And so the question remains: When the moment comes to choose between comfort and truth, between fitting in and standing firm—what will we do? Because in the end, staying true to yourself isn’t about what you say. It’s about what you do when it matters.