In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sahuni proposing the idea of conducting the Yudishtra vs. Duryodhana “Dyutam” (Gamble) game at Hastinapura to King Dhridiraashtra. He does that in an emotionally attacking manner, wherein King Dhridiraashtra too is slowly getting carried away due to his excessive affection towards his son Duryodhana. Duryodhana too plays his part by playing the sentimental victim card wherein he repeatedly highlights Yudishtra’s meteoric rise and because of this, Duryodhana’s downfall was “imminent”. This, coupled with Sahuni’s agenda proved decisive for King Dhridiraashtra to fall by Duryodhana’s side to approve of the illegal gambling game. Thus the plan was very clear – Without even a single drop of blood shed in the battlefield, all the wealth and kingdom of Yudishtra would come into Duryodhana’s fold with the help of the gambling game. Sahuni would roll the dice on behalf of Duryodhana and would yield all the success to him.
Upon listening to this plan, King Dhridiraashtra was somehow convinced, but still he wanted to do something before approval. King Dhridiraashtra says to Duryodhana thus, “Oh Duryodhana! The plan seems to be good. However, let us ask the opinion of Vidura once before we proceed. Vidura is a learned scholar and he would give the right approach and thought process for us to make the final decision. Somehow I feel that Vidura should be the right person to guide us through this pursuit!” As King Dhridiraashtra said thus, Duryodhana immediately burst out in immense anger! This is the thing that Duryodhana feared the most and it is about to happen! Duryodhana was damn sure that if this goes to the ears of Vidura, this plan is never going to move forward. Hence, Duryodhana fumes to King Dhridiraashtra thus, “Oh father! This is the biggest problem with you! You do not have the guts to make a decision on your own. Why are you consulting that stupid Vidura every time? Who is the king here? You or him? I’ve given you a proposal and you’re making the decision. Who is Vidura in the middle of all this? Moreover, what does he know about administration? Does he have prior experience? Does he even know what the nuances are in administration? Most importantly, does he know even an iota of the imminent downfall that I’m staring at? Why on earth are you wanting to have his ideas? It is only because you go and fall on his feet every time that Vidura is thinking too much about himself! He projects himself as an epitome of “Dharma”! Who wants all his so-called “Dharma” advice? He’s only proving to be a stumbling block for everything that I propose! This was the same Vidura who pressed upon you that the kingdom should be split, isn’t it? If you take this proposal to Vidura, he is only going to reject it, because he’s always in favour of Yudishtra and Co. Not even for a single day till now, Vidura has spoken for me!”
Fuming thus, Duryodhana continues further: “Oh father! It is only now you’re in a good frame of mind. If you let Vidura inside this, I’m sure that he’s going to brainwash you within no time! Hence, atleast for this proposal, please do not go to him. You may consider his decisions for other administrative affairs of the kingdom, but not for this!” We can see here how Duryodhana had totally misunderstood who Vidura really is! We had seen how Duryodhana is lashing out at Vidura as someone who doesn’t know anything of “Dharma”, but the actual truth is something on the contrary. As we’ve witnessed earlier, Vidura is the son of Yama-Dharma-Raja and is the epitome of “Dharma”. He knows all the nuances of “Dharma”, and King Dhridiraashtra had complete trust in Vidura’s capabilities. It is only because Vidura doesn’t mince his words and doesn’t favour even an iota of “Adharma”, Duryodhana never found support in him. Thus, even though Duryodhana was in close proximity to Vidura, he never realized Vidura’s importance, whereas Yudishtra had full confidence in Vidura. We’ve seen at various instances in the past wherein Yudishtra took Vidura’s advice very seriously and executed his actions accordingly. Even when Yudishtra and Co. were sent to the “Laaksha Griham” (Wax palace), we’ve witnessed how Vidura had advised Yudishtra in the “Mlecha-Bhaasha” (Secretive coded language) and how Yudishtra followed it meticulously and was able to escape the wrath of Duryodhana!
Thus, it is not important if a resource person is just by our side. The point is whether we utilize that person in the proper manner or not. We’re seeing exactly this point being highlighted by Sage Vyaasa beautifully here – Even though Duryodhana had Vidura right by his side, he never knew even an iota about who Vidura really was. Therefore, Duryodhana completely lost the opportunity to learn important lessons of “Dharma” from him, even though he was in Duryodhana’s close proximity. So for today, let us understand how Duryodhana insulted Vidura left right and centre without knowing his significance and King Dhridiraashtra too is stunned upon Duryodhana’s outburst! We shall continue this discussion forward in the next episode as well to witness how Duryodhana continued his outburst and emotional ranting and whether King Dhridiraashtra paid heed to Duryodhana’s words or not! Stay tuned for an interesting accord! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 