In the previous episode, we had witnessed King Dhirdiraashtra reluctantly announcing the kingdom split in front of everyone. The plan was made to call the Paandavas to Hastinapura and to hand over the “Kaandava-Prastham” portion of the kingdom for Yudishtra to rule. This “Kaandava Prastham” is just a barren piece of land without any human settlement or vegetation. King Dhirdiraashtra was “smart” enough to give such a piece of the kingdom, just to put a “tick mark” that he had obeyed the words of Bhishmaachaarya and Vidura. As Yudishtra was being handed over the Kaandava-Prastham, Drshtadhyumna opposed it vehemently saying that they were being cheated by King Dhirdiraashtra. However, Yudishtra remained silent and he was just watching the proceedings of the conversation between Vidura and Drshtadhyumna. Vidura clearly told Drshtadhyumna that the piece of land that a ruler is ruling isn’t important, but the ruler himself! If the ruler is an epitome of “Dharma”, even a barren piece of land can be transformed into a land of Dharma! Yudishtra too stood by Vidura’s words, and did not want to make a fuss out of this. He also knew that he was being cheated by King Dhirdiraashtra on the behest of his son Duryodhana. But still, he remained silent as war at that time was not an option.
Moreover, Vidura explains one important point here. He says thus, “Oh Drshtadhyumna! Please understand one thing here – I can tell all these points pertaining to “Dharma” only to those who would listen to it with their ears open and who would take it in the right sense. I can tell all this only to Yudishtra, who knows what is “Dharma”. Yudishtra also knows that whatever I would tell would pertain to “Dharma” only, and this is the reason behind his silence. You might ask me this – Why is Vidura always telling the Paandava brothers to adjust and go? Why is Vidura not telling the same thing to Duryodhana and Co.? The answer is very simple – I can tell all this only to those people who would listen to my words. Yudishtra listens to me and hence I advise him based on “Dharma”. Duryodhana wouldn’t even care for my words, and hence, I cannot tell him such things. Even then, I do tell him things that he would understand, but still, most of my words go in vain. There will never be a day wherein “Dharma” would face downfall. Yudishtra would definitely see light at the end of the tunnel. Unless and until Bhagawan Krishna is siding by him, what is the problem? He would take care of everything. Just because Yudishtra doesn’t have a proper kingdom today, nothing is lost! If Bhagawan Krishna tomorrow walks off from the Paandavas, that is the greatest loss ever! Oh Drshtadhyumna! Duryodhana today boasts of having such a huge kingdom under him, but if Bhagawan Krishna doesn’t have a place there, what is the use of having such a huge kingdom? He thinks he’s smart by cheating the Paandava brothers today, but this is a short-lived enjoyment that he’s having!”
As Vidura explains convincingly thus, Drshtadhyumna was satisfied. Yudishtra too accepted whatever was given to him. With this, Yudishtra and Co. leave Hastinapura and straightaway go back to the Drupada Desha. As Yudishtra and Co. were about to leave Drupada Desha, King Drupada showered them with gifts and other items and sent his daughter Draupati along with them with immense happiness. With this, the Paandavas decided to leave for the Kaandava-Prastham and asked Bhagawan Krishna for His approval for the same. As Arjuna asked Bhagawan Krishna, He immediately accepted the proposal of moving to the Kaandava-Prastham. Thus, all of them started with a big caravan surrounding them. It was the first time that the Paandavas were leaving Drupada Desha after the Svayamvara event and marriage. With the guidance and permission of Bhagawan Krishna, the Paandavas now proceed to the Kaandava-Prastham and the next step is Yudishtra’s coronation as the king of the Kaandava-Prastham.
As the Paandavas reached the Kaandava-Prastham, there was nothing at all in that place! It was an empty barren land as Vidura and Drushtadhyumna had mentioned earlier. However, Bhagawan Krishna had His divine role to play here – Upon seeing that this is a mere barren land, Bhagawan Krishna immediately thinks of Indra in His mind! With this, Indra appeared in front of Bhagawan Krishna in no time! With the wink of an eye, Indra understood the message and immediately sent Vishwakarma to the Kaandava-Prastham. As we might be knowing, Vishwakarma was the “builder” of all the palaces, etc. for the Devas. It is this same Vishwakarma who was pressed into the job of transforming this barren land into a beautiful and a sprawling kingdom! Within the wink of an eye, with the divine “Anugraha” of Bhagawan Krishna, the barren land was transformed into a beautiful kingdom with all the palaces and luxury homes! Bhagawan Krishna instructed Vishwakarma to build it in such a way that if Yudishtra sits in the middle of the palace, people should have a doubt whether it is Indra or Yudishtra who was sitting there! Moreover, Bhagawan Krishna’s role doesn’t end there. He made sure that He was staying put with the Paandavas to supervise the construction activities for the next four months or so! The construction was happening at a lightning quick pace under the close supervision of Bhagawan Krishna Himself.
Thus, with all these vibrant happenings, the barren Kaandava Prastham got transformed into one of the best cities in the kingdom, and it came to be known as “Indraprastha”! This “Indraprastha” is nothing but today’s New Delhi, which is the present capital city of our Bhaarata Desha! Readers should understand here that the exact location of erstwhile Indraprastha is still unknown, but many ancient Sanaatana Dharma and Buddhist literature suggests that Indraprastha forms a part of today’s Delhi NCR region. The Hastinapura city could somewhere possibly be located around today’s Meerut, which is around 200 kilometers north-east of Delhi. So for today, let us understand up to this point and let us continue this discussion further in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 