We’re at the midst of a complete anarchy that is unfolding at Hastinapura, wherein Duryodhana has discarded Vidura’s words of “Dharma” and goes ahead with the illegal gambling game. Yudishtra is made to pay for the “Shabadhams” that he had taken earlier – He wouldn’t hurt anybody by talking in a rude manner. Duryodhana smartly plays to his advantage to humiliate Yudishtra further! He makes Yudishtra stake his four brothers one by one and play – Only to lose all of them! Next in the list and as the final nail in the coffin, Yudishtra is pushed to stake his wife Draupati and play! As the pressure from Duryodhana’s side is stepped up immensely with Sahuni and Karna joining the party, Yudishtra is left with no other option but to go for it! He stakes Draupati and continues the play and here’s the huge stunner – Draupati is lost as well! Now as per the rule of the game, Draupati becomes Duryodhana’s “Daasi” (Servant maid) and she becomes a slave to him! Yudishtra couldn’t believe his eyes! As Duryodhana roars with laughter amidst the shouts of “Jitham”, “Jitham” (Victory), Yudishtra completely succumbs! His entire life is doomed! Twenty-four hours ago, Yudishtra was a great king of the sprawling Indraprastha kingdom, rated one of the best in the entire world, and things have changed dramatically within just one single day!
Upon seeing the dramatic turn of events, Bhishmachaarya is stunned beyond words! Guru Dhronachaarya is completely speechless! Tears roll down the eyes of Sage Kripachaarya! But none of the three had the guts to stand up and protect Draupati or the Paandavas! All the three seniors are just watching the show unfold just like mute spectators to the entire fiasco! On the other hand, Vidura’s blood is boiling and is simmering with anger! He once again gets up angrily and shouts at King Dhridiraashtra now! Till this stage Vidura was requesting with teary eyes to both King Dhridiraashtra and Duryodhana, but both discarded his words of wisdom. Now this is a “do-or-die” situation for King Dhridiraashtra and Vidura decides to take the offensive route. He stands up angrily from his seat and says thus, “Oh King Dhridiraashtra! This Duryodhana is such a thorn in the flesh for this great kingdom, aided by another thorn called Sahuni! You’re letting these thorns rule the roost! Now the situation has become more disastrous! I never expected Duryodhana to have the guts to make Draupati a scapegoat here. He has crossed all limits. Of course, I would have still kept quiet, had he stopped with the abducting of Yudishtra’s kingdom, as still, this was part of the game. However, this is atrocious! Nowhere was it mentioned earlier that this game would go to such disastrous levels wherein a woman would be staked and played! Are you real Kshatriyas or cowards? What is happening right now at Hastinapura would definitely have a long-standing effect on the future of this kingdom! Oh King Dhridiraashtra! Please make note of my words today – For all what is happening today, Hastinapura will pay a heavy price! The kingdom would be doomed completely in the near future! Duryodhana has messed up the entire show! Without even realizing any of these ill-effects, you’re allowing disaster to happen right in front of your eyes! What kind of a king are you? Don’t you know which is “Dharma” and which is “Adharma”? Just because your son Duryodhana has to be secured with a kingdom, would you stoop to such low levels of insulting someone else’s wife? What kind of a logic is this? Do you even have an iota of thought about how the kingdom would perish if such things blatantly happen amidst the courtroom? Let me tell you one thing very clearly – The moment you’ve insulted the woman who has come as the “Kula-Vadhu” (Daughter-in-law), the downfall of your Hastinapura kingdom has begun! From now onwards, the growth of Hastinapura is only southwards and is never going to be northwards at any point of time!”
Shouting on top of his voice thus, Vidura continues further, “Oh King Dhridiraashtra! Even now it is not too late. You can still nullify the entire game with just one word of yours. Please realize that your son has been totally brainwashed by this useless Sahuni and Co.! His jealousy and selfishness know no bounds! You’re just getting carried away by Duryodhana’s blackmailing. Please stop this game now. Please nullify this and let Draupati free from this unnecessary bondage. If this continues any further, things are going to turn extremely disastrous and you’re going to be completely doomed! Please pay heed to my words! Please realize that the dice that Sahuni is rolling each and every time, is nothing but a form of “Yama-Dharma-Raja” who is writing all the accounts of sins on Duryodhana’s name! You’re completely blinded by the “Putra-Vaatsalya” and because of this, you’re not even knowing that you’re singlehandedly spoiling your son’s future! In fact, let me tell you one more thing – The move that Yudishtra made to lose Draupati is a foul move because, Yudishtra has lost himself to Duryodhana as per the game! If one has lost himself, how would he have the eligibility to continue the play henceforth? What right does he have to stake Draupati and play, if he has lost himself? Hence, this move is completely foul and can be totally nullified!” As Vidura pleads and pleads thus, Bhishmachaarya, Guru Dhronaachaarya and Sage Kripachaarya are still silent. They know that Vidura is totally right, but they aren’t able to speak a single word against Duryodhana, just because of the “gratitude” that they had towards him for helping them in the past. Even as Vidura requests the trio to talk, they just act as mute spectators.
Thus, as Vidura expresses himself, the entire courtroom is stunned! Now what is Duryodhana going to do? Is he going to pay heed to Vidura’s words atleast now? Or, is he going to go ahead doing something more disastrous? Let’s wait till the next episode to witness the drama unfold further! Stay tuned!
The Indian Dharma 