According to the Mahabharata, why did kingship become necessary? What differences and similarities do you see between this descr
iption of kingship and the portrayal of Egyptian kingship in "Hymn to the Pharaoh" from Module One? What, do you think, was the author's purpose in telling the story?
Mahabharata says that royalty is necessary to create a sense of belonging to the people, in addition to creating religious and civil unity in a territory. This is because royalty determines the rules to be followed to create the organization of the society, in addition to representing a religion that must be followed and promoting faith and hope for its people. This kind of importance can also be seen in Egyptian royalty, with the difference that in Egypt, royalty did not represent a religion, but was seen as the very god of his people. An author who decides to tell this story, seeks to show readers how royalty can have different meanings in different cultures and regions.
