Tragic limits of moral intervention in a corrupt world.
Tragic limits of moral intervention in a corrupt world . Maitreya in the Mahābhārata 1. Brief Biography of Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit: मैत्रेय ) is presented in the Mahābhārata as a sage (Maharishi) belonging to the Angirasa–Bṛhaspatya Brahmin lineage . He is described as a descendant of the Angiras gotra , traditionally associated with wisdom, priesthood, and spiritual authority. Maitreya appears during a crucial political phase after the Pandavas lost their kingdom in the dice game and went into exile. He personally visited the court of Hastināpura to counsel Duryodhana , urging him to return the kingdom to the Pandavas and avoid destruction. His counsel was ignored and disrespected , leading to a powerful curse that foretold the annihilation of the Kauravas in fourteen years, specifically naming Bhīma as the instrument of Duryodhana’s death by breaking his thighs with a mace. In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa , Maitreya is referred to as Bṛhaspatya . He serves as a spiritual teacher to V...