WDT #6 : Which sibling bond in mytho do you follow in your real life?

Hello all,

This is the sixth weekly discussion topic in Mythological Masti forum. Here I'll post a topic (in the form of a question?) from our hindu mythology every week. Hoping to have some meaningful mythological discussions.

Since mythology is considered a component of religion, and can be a sensitive topic for most people, with the characters often being revered, you must follow the rules of Mythological Masti Forum to maintain a peaceful atmosphere in our forum.

As the title suggests, the topic of this week is:

Which sibling bond in our hindu mythology do you follow in your real life?

In short, what are the life lessons do you take from the various siblings' bond in our hindu mythology?

Let me give you some examples :

1) Murugan Karitikeya + Siddhivinayak Ganesha ~ Kartikeya & Ganesha's brotherly bond is considered as the epitome of the sibling's relationship. These two sons of Mahadev and Mata Parvati defined the bond of real brotherhood. They played and they faught like every other human siblings do. But their mutual love, care and respect for each other defines their brotherly bond over the ages. Kartikeya who was a great warrior himself, had always acknowledged the wisdom of his brother, Ganesha. This displays their exceptionally unique and sacred bond of brotherhood.

2) Ram + Lakshman ~ Ram & Lakshman are the inseparable duo who is giving us major brotherly goals for over ages. As a younger sibling, Lakshman always had been a pillar of strength for his elder brother, Ram, through thick and thin. He never cared about his own personal life in order to serve his elder brother. While Ram as his elder brother had always taken care of his younger sibling like his own child.

3) Ram + Bharat ~ Ram & Bharat are another significant example of brotherhood. As a younger sibling, Bharat had a huge respect for his elder brother, Ram, for which he hadn't accepted the throne of Ayodhya which he was given using boons. Even he had carried his elder brother's paduka over his head, out of deep respect for his elder. He too never cared about his own personal life or equations with his mother, in order to support his elder. While Ram as his elder brother always supported and had never lost his trust on his younger brother.

4) Shri Krishna + Subhadra ~ Shri Krishna & Subhadra's bond is one of the most celebrated brother-sister bond over the ages. Krishna has always been Subhadra's pillar of strength and he never kept any stones unturned to make his little sister happy, for example, arranging her marriage with Arjuna. Even in Arjuna absence, he has taken full responsibility of his sister and her son, Abhimanyu and provided him necessary yudh training, and made him an exceptionally powerful warrior.

5) Shri Krishna + Balarama ~ Shri Krishna and Balarama's bond is one of the most popular sibling bond which has been celebrated over ages. Their exceptional mutual brotherly love, deep affection and unwavering devotion makes their relationship unique. As an elder brother, Balarama had always accepted all the decisions made by his younger brother and supported him whatsoever. And they had shared so many adventures together, which demonstrated their excellent rapport with each other.

6) Panch Pandavas ~ The unbreakable sibling bond between the five Pandavas (Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakul & Sahadev) has been an example of real brotherhood over the years. Their strong bond among each other is a true example of "unity is strength" and this proves if you're united, you'll be victorious in the end whatsoever.

7) Gandhari + Shakuni ~ The unpopular yet passionate and loving sibling bond between Shakuni and his sister, Gandhari is considered to be one of the main reasons behind Mahabharat war. Shakuni had hardly ruled in his kingdom & dedicated his major part of his life for his sister's sons so that they can get the throne of Hastinapur, which his sister & brother-in-law failed to get due to his blindness.

8) Ravan + Vibhisan ~ Another unpopular sibling bond of Ravan & Vibhisan where younger brother Vibhisan tried to guide and bring his elder brother to the path of Dharma. As a younger brother, he performed his main duty by trying his best to stop his elder brother from doing more adharma.

9) Ravan + Kumbhakarna ~ A popular sibling bond where younger brother, Kumbhakarna performed his duty by fighting for his elder brother till his last breath, without judging him, although he knew and believed that his elder is doing adharma.

10) Duryodhan + Dussasan ~ Another sibling bond where the younger one followed the path of his elder without even judging the fact whether his elder is right or wrong. Dussasan supported his elder brother, Duryodhana always and performed all his orders whatsoever.

Share your views and engage in meaningful discussions with your fellow members.

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Would like to add Mithila sisters

My bond with my sister is somewhat like them.. not completely but its a mix of mischievousness and sharing stuff which we cant share with others.

Very fascinating subject, Simi. The brothers were split up to carry out their responsibilities throughout Ramayan!

The siblings in Mahabharatha came together to carry out an epic battle to fulfill their earthly mission!

If we consider these siblings as characters in these epics,...

The discussion's focus will be like this:. If we look at it from the perspective of the epic poets of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, it is on how they narrated and defined the religious, royal, and cultural life of that era in ancient times, as well as several other aspects through these sibling bonding.

The family relationships were clearly defined through these sibling relationships and rivalries, which presented a detailed picture of these characters' bonding.

The younger brothers were looked after, while the older brother was held in high regard.

If we examine these sibling relationships through the lens of history...

Rama lived at an age when human connections and exchanges were still developing, when there was diversity in family bonds, and when society was still evolving. With remarkable precision, Valmiki managed the transition from animal to human and from human to demon in all its aspects. Fascinating were the relationships and interactions between the birds, animals, and little creatures such as squirrels. The bonding and rivalry between siblings were also predicated on specific conventions; demons had their own set of social norms, just as animals like Sugreeva-Vali had their own.

If we see it as a spiritual and divine bonding for a specific purpose:

Sibling bonding was seen as divine bonding, between a deity and his devotee, if we interpret it as the interactions and connections of divine entities for a specific purpose on Earth—that is, to perform their spiritual rituals. The best examples are the relationships between the Pandavas, Rama and Lakshmana, Krishna and Balarama, and Kartikeya and Ganesh. On the other hand, there are demons and despicable people like Ravan Kumbhakarn and Duryodhan Dussasan.

Murugan Karitikeya + Siddhivinayak Ganesha -- With well-defined roles, they bonded well.

Ram + Lakshman + Bharat -- Divine bonding, dedication, and selfless love made their bonding an ideal one.

Shri Krishna + Subhadra +Balarama -- God's wisdom, sister's expectations, and elder brother's dedication. I revere this sibling bonding the most.

Panch Pandavas -- Their supernatural abilities and human passions caused them to modify some regulations, which made their bonding unique and amazing.

Gandhari + Shakuni -- Different stories defined their lives' perspectives and agendas. We can't say this is bonding for a good purpose.

Ravan + Vibhisan+ Kumbhakarna ~ These demons have a fascinating and thought-provoking relationship because of the disparate priorities they have for various reasons!

Duryodhan + Dussasan-- There is nothing specific to mention, except they bonded well while doing vile deeds!

Unfortunately, I don't have any siblings. If I had any, I would want them to be a mixture of all the characters mentioned here.

It would be great to have a brother like Shri Krishna, who takes care of me like he did with Subhadra, makes me laugh and wishes me all the happiness in the world. And a brother like Shakuni, who looks after his nieces and nephews as an uncle and teaches them important things for life.

A brother who shows me the value of respect and is a strong pillar in my life that I can count on, like Lakshman and Bharat, and one who guides me on the right path, when I get away from it like Vibhisan always tried to do with Ravan.

Sisters like Sita, Urmila, Mandavi and Shrutakirti, who stick together even in the face of difficulties and do not disintegrate, but become even stronger. With whom I can have fun together, prank our brothers and chatter about all the secret girl things.

I wish there would be mutual love, care and respect among all siblings, like Murugan Karitikeya & Siddhivinayak Ganesha. There should also be a great cohesion, a sense of community of "together we are strong", like the Panch Pandavas.

And overall, I would like all siblings to be connected in mutual sibling love, like Ravan & Kumbhakarna, Duryodhan & Dussasan and like all the other sibling bonds mentioned.

Unfortunately, envy and arguments are the order of the day among many siblings. There is often no cohesion anymore. We live in an elbow society that is increasingly characterized by selfishness and ruthlessness.

These values could be transfered to all relationships. Unfortunately, in today's fast-paced world, they are often no longer lived and appreciated. I think such values are becoming less and less important. A little more of the values from hindu mythology would make our world a small little bit better.

Ravan + Vibhishan for me

I hope my elder bro or sis is not a secret I-F member

Shri Krishna + Subhadra

And Goddess Parvati and Lord Vishnu.

I have a younger brother but he has always done stuff for me that an older brother does. He s been so responsible even though he s younger than me.

If not him , i could not have pulled off some setbacks that we had n life of my parents and for me.

He is my go to person for any advice from financial to health issues to any other random stuff.

Maybe there are better examples of brother sister bond but among the ones above, I found this one very apt.

Lovely topic, Simi! I deeply revere all of the examples! 🙏

Edit: I was told I misinterpreted the question, nvm 🙂

It would be great to follow any of these in personal life, as they embody selflessness, commitment and are also the moral compass for their siblings.

Lovely post.

Talking of Ramayana, I liked the bonding Kumbhakaran and Vibhishan shared with Ravana. Both the brothers Kumbhakaran and Vibhishan teach us lot of things about brotherhood and sacrifice. If I am not wrong, both the brothers put efforts to convince their elder brother to let Sita go back to her husband. When Ravana didn't listen, one brother fought in his side and sacrificed his life. The other brother left his kingdom, family and chose the path of righteousness. Ravana had best brothers yet couldn't really value them due to his ego and ahankaar.

Talking of Mahabharata, I did like Krishna-Balram, the 5 Pandavas bonding and even Duryodhan-Dushala, another underrated sibling bond.

Interesting post..

I’ve never had any siblings in my life.. one of the cons of being the only child.. but I have a lot of cousins with whom I have a lovely relationship 😁

I’ve always adored the relationship of Lord Krishna with his siblings Balram and Subhadra ❤️ 😊

IRL, I’m a mother of two sons..😊 and I will encourage my children to have a healthy but mischievous relationship with each other.. just like Balram and Krishna 😊

Originally posted by: Loving2Missing2

This time you have put us all in real thought mode! And yes, the beauty of each relation you explained, simply wow! To whom do we relate...... Life lessons, we take from all and different ones from every story of each of the pair!...... Now to choose one that feels ideal to us?

Sima, your concept this time really started the cogs in my memory bank! Thank you, dear!........

Life is so beautiful with small moments of happiness bestowed by the universe...... In our so-called career orientation and stuff, we become so jaded, that the sweet drizzles of carefree happiness fade away in our minds.

Your masti this time took me back to my childhood/youth, making me realise at different times situations have related to different revered Gods/Mythological entities!

Murugan Karitikeya + Siddhivinayak Ganesha: My elder brother and myself in our childhood. I was bright(?) Scholastic geek while he had the might. But whenever I was lauded for my first rank or other achievements, he must have got the feeling of being left out ( I realised this much later in life ). Yet, I have always been indebted to him. When just coming to age, I suffered eve teasing from roadside Romeos. Once, I came home and cried. The next day my brother with his friend's group went and beat up the Gang. After the incident, nobody troubled me on the road. He was my Kartikeya War God! .......And, same as Ganesha helped Murugan to marry Valli, I played tricks and supported my brother in his inter cast marriage against the family's sanction

Ram + Lakshman: That would be my husband and his younger brother, typical angry young man. My husband would restrain him and take care of him to nurse him to health if he was hurt after his angry fights.

Shri Krishna + Subhadra: My first cousin and I. He was just a year older than me and we had a great bonding. When my to-be groom asked for first meeting alone with me, my dada came to drop me. Once later, I asked him what prompted him to do that because the meeting place was next to my University where I went every day alone. He smiled and said 'Because I didn't want you to lose your confidence against the husband-to-be and I wanted him to understand that you were not alone at all. We, the Dadas and the Bhais stood behind you.........When I was pregnant, I had complications. Whenever my husband was away on tours, my cousin bro would pick me up from the workplace and take me to stay at my uncle-auntie's place. He took great care of me.........

When a person is loved by all even Gods love him... We lost him in a car accident when he was just 28...... person goes, but the love remains eternal in your heart.

Mithila Sisters, Seeta and Urmila: I and my younger first cousin. In our adolescent age, we shared everything, our dreams, our fears, even our first crushes. Whenever we were together, we would stay up all night chatting. And now we ourselves laugh at the memories because we can't remember, what we chatted all night about

Krishna+ Balarama/ Krishna+ Subhadra: My son and daughter! Like Krishna Balarama, both were always partners in mischievous crimes....... Licking the cream over the cake before it's cut...... Ringing the bell of neighbours and running away...... I, the Maiyya, got complaints and then both would get serious scolding..... Both would stand with sheepish faces but mischiefs continued in some or other form...... Plucking kachcha aam (Kairi) from the public play garden and then, with the security guard, I would be like... Gaari Naahi deejo mor Garibani ka jaayo hai.......... Both have grown up now and are best friends of each other with a very tight bonding. He is her strongest protector.

I went through these life experiences but did not relate them to mythological stories, till date. Sima's mythological masti made me realise...... Time is Cyclic..... History keeps repeating..... and Mythology is meant to take your life lessons in current times.

Gandhari + Shakuni, Ravana + Bibhishana, Ravana + Kumbhkarna, Duryodhan +Dushala are also great examples of sibling love. A person may be bad to one or a group, but they also hold soft love in their heart. Just because we don't have good encounters with someone , we shouldn't malign our hearts about their love for their loved ones......... Also, sometimes life might put you in a Mahabharat conflict over property. Still, try and be your best possible....... Sometimes, you might have to be Shakuni or Bibhishana or even Kumbhkarna! Never hesitate to fulfil your duty.

Very sorry for a very loooooooong post! I know everybody is busy and nobody wants to know the entire life story of another, but this post is more my memory sketch........ perhaps the first time!