INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY FIELD

The Mahabharata by Sage Vedvyasa, one of the foundational sacred Hindu epics of the Indian civilisation, does not present only a narrative of the dynastic conflict of the Kuru lineage but also a sustained reflection on the ethical values, governance, justice, as well as moral responsibility. Among its various episodes divided into 18 Parvas, in the second book entitled Sabha Parva, or The Book of the Assembly Hall, there is a depiction of the gambling match arranged by Duryodhana and his maternal uncle, Shakuni, in the royal assembly of Hastinapur, where a formally authorised game of the dice gradually transforms into a profound crisis of the ethical order. This particular episode exposes a tension between procedural legality and moral accountability, raising enduring questions about the stability of the authority when the ethical restraint collapses. In the global markets of the contemporary era, several institutions similarly operate through the structured systems of risk, volatility, immorality, and competition. Financial instruments, trade regimes, and economic policies often normalise economic uncertainty as a condition of excessive growth and development. To interpret this parallel, this study draws upon the Risk Society Theory as articulated by Ulrich Beck, who was a well-renowned German sociologist and who argues that the prevailing economic systems of the society in the modern era increasingly produce and manage several risks generated by their structures. This paper tries to examine how this risk in this framework is not accidental but systematic. This paper explores how the institutional silence as well as procedural continuity keep a deeper moral fracture out of sight and how, while being extended to the contemporary global market, this pattern invites reflection on economic systems undermining their own legitimacy by diffusing responsibility and normalising instability. Thus, by placing the age-old ancient narrative in conversation with the modern sociological theory, the study foregrounds the continuing relevance of dharma as an ethical inquiry into authority, responsibility, as well as the limits of risk in sustaining institutional order.