In the previous episode, we had witnessed the commencement of the detailed description of the “Sabhaa Parva” from where we had left at the end of the “Aadhi Parva”. We’ve left at a point wherein the “Kaandava Vanam” is on fire, courtesy Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna. We had witnessed how Indra tried to doze off the fire with rain clouds, but Arjuna chased away the clouds with his powerful “Aagneya-Asthra”. As the fire was raging high, there were many who died in the blaze, however, there were a few who escaped it as well. One such person was Mayan, who was the “real-estate developer” of the Raakshasas. As Mayan escaped, he was happy and relieved, and he wanted to do a return favor to Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna. He proposed that he would help them in building a beautiful “Sabhaa” for Yudishtra and Co. However, Arjuna did not accept it first. He was of the opinion that being a Kshatrya prince, it was his duty to save the lives of genuine people, and for this, he should not get a return favor from anyone. Even as Arjuna explained his stance thus, Mayan was steadfast in his proposal, which now fell into the court of Bhagawan Krishna to decide. Bhagawan Krishna was standing by the side of Arjuna and Mayan and watching the entire proceedings. Now Arjuna pointed out to Bhagawan Krishna to decide if he should go ahead with Mayan’s proposal or not.
We might basically wonder here as to why Arjuna depended upon Bhagawan Krishna for anything and everything that he had to do. Now this is an important discussion here and there’s an important point that all of us need to understand. Here, building a “Sabhaa” is a small thing, as far as Arjuna and Yudishtra were concerned. If they would have thought about it, they could have themselves created one within just a day or two, or even within the fraction of a second. However, they did not do so. For every move that they took, they left it for Bhagawan Krishna to decide. This shows their infinite trust and devotion towards Bhagawan Krishna and expresses their unconditional surrender to His divine lotus feet. Yudishtra and Arjuna knew who Bhagawan Krishna really was, and Bhagawan on His side, reciprocated their complete surrender. This is why at every instance in the Mahabharata text we would see that if there is anything that the Paandava brothers require or are going through, Bhagawan Krishna would always be present amongst them. We can see this from the beginning till the end. At a time when the Paandavas were insulted in the public courtroom and when Draupati was stripped, Bhagawan Krishna came for their rescue, even though He wasn’t physically present at that time with them. When the Paandavas had to go on exile for twelve years, Bhagawan Krishna was with them for a vast majority of that time period. Subsequently, when it came to undertaking the “peace-mission” before the war, Bhagawan Krishna volunteered Himself to represent the Paandava brothers in front of King Dhridiraashtra and Duryodhana. Finally as all of us know, during the Kurukshetra war, Bhagawan Krishna was with Arjuna for all the eighteen days and made sure that the five brothers were protected.
Thus we can see here how Bhagawan reciprocated the unconditional surrender that the Paandava brothers exhibited towards Him. As part of this unconditional surrender and the Bhakti that they exhibited, here we’re witnessing how even for a small decision to be made, Arjuna leaves it to Bhagawan Krishna to decide. It is only when we ask Bhagawan for His divine intervention, He would respond. Else, He would only be a mute spectator to whatever we do, even if we encounter hurdles in the middle. Thus, the lesson that we’ve to learn from this point here is that, we should surrender ourselves completely to Bhagawan in whatever action that we do. We should develop that sense of detachment from the results of our actions. Bhagawan Krishna Himself is going to explain this in detail in the upcoming Bhagawad Gita episodes, wherein we shall also witness this point in a great detail as explained by Bhagawan! But for now, we shall understand that for Mayan to proceed with his return-favor, Bhagawan Krishna takes the final decision.
Taking the lead thus, Bhagawan Krishna gives the green signal to Mayan for building a grand courtroom for Yudishtra to sit. Bhagawan Krishna issues a set of detailed instructions to Mayan on how the courtroom should look like. Bhagawan Krishna emphasizes that the courtroom should look as dazzling as that of Indra’s at the “Svarga Lokha”. If one sees the courtroom around, he shouldn’t be able to differentiate this one from that of Indra’s. Thus, with Bhagawan Krishna’s instructions and divine will, Mayan quickly mobilized all his troops and people. The grand palace was under construction and it was happening at lightning quick speed as well! So for today, let us understand up to this point and let us wait for the next episode to witness the great grandeur of this magnificent courtroom taking shape! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 