Published on: April 2026
STRATEGIES IN THE KURUKSHETRA WAR: A COMPARATIVE REVIEW WITH CLASSICAL MILITARY THEORY
Colonel Prof Dr N N Murthy
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Abstract
The Kurukshetra War provides a nuanced and multidimensional framework for examining strategic decision-making, leadership behaviour, ethical dilemmas, and conflict management within large and complex organisations. This article analyses the strategic principles reflected in the Kurukshetra and compares them with early classical approaches to strategy and governance, particularly those associated with Sun Tzu, Kautilya, and Clausewitz. By exploring themes such as leadership under pressure, strategic deception, negotiation and diplomacy, moral restraint, and the guiding role of dharma in decision-making, the paper demonstrates how the epic functions as an early treatise on strategic and ethical leadership. Synthesising contemporary management and leadership scholarship, the study argues that the Kurukshetra offers enduring insights applicable to modern organisational strategy, crisis leadership, and ethical governance.
How to Cite this Paper
Murthy, C. P. D. N. N. (2026). Strategies in the Kurukshetra War: A Comparative Review with Classical Military Theory. International Journal of Creative and Open Research in Engineering and Management, <i>02</i>(04). https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i4.786
Murthy, Colonel. "Strategies in the Kurukshetra War: A Comparative Review with Classical Military Theory." International Journal of Creative and Open Research in Engineering and Management, vol. 02, no. 04, 2026, pp. . doi:https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i4.786.
Murthy, Colonel. "Strategies in the Kurukshetra War: A Comparative Review with Classical Military Theory." International Journal of Creative and Open Research in Engineering and Management 02, no. 04 (2026). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i4.786.
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- •Published on: Apr 30 2026
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