In this article, respected scholar Greg Baily provides an overview of contemporary scholarship on the ethics of war in Hinduism, including recent scholarship which compares and contrasts it with Western Just War Theory. The concept of dharma – duty, virtue or morality – informs concepts of dharmayuddha or “righteous war” in Hindu epics such as the Mahābhārata, and which align with IHL rules to limit the suffering of contemporary war.

Greg Bailey, formerly Reader in Sanskrit, is an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Linguistics and Culture, La Trobe University, Melbourne. He has published translations and studies of the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Bhartṛhari’s Śatakatrayam and books on early Buddhism, Australian politics and many articles on Sanskrit literature.

Please read the article here.