In the previous episode, we had witnessed Duryodhana making a firm decision to somehow put an end to his life, unable to bear the insult and humiliation he had to receive in the hands of Chitrasena and subsequently with Arjuna and the Paandava brothers. Since Arjuna had to come to his rescue, Duryodhana could not digest this fact, despite having great warriors like Karna and the others at his disposal. This leads to peak frustration, and Duryodhana goes away from everyone, only to be intercepted by the “Dhaanavas”, who did the “Dhur-Bodhana” (Instigating) to him in his dream. The Dhaanava king reiterated that Duryodhana has all the capabilities to be a great king and sort to misguide him on the path of “Adharma”. The logic behind the Dhaanavas doing this is very simple – If Duryodhana attempts a suicide and kills himself by chance, only one out of the hundred “Adharmic” people would die. The rest of the 99 would be alive and will continue to wreak havoc. If Duryodhana is alive, he himself will pave the way for the demise of all the other 99 brothers of his who walk the path of “Adharma”! Hence, the Dhaanavas wanted to keep Duryodhana alive at any cost!
Moving on further thus, as Duryodhana wakes up again, he is completely rejuvenated! He gets that much required confidence and morale-booster from the Dhaanava king and with this, his jealousy and aggressiveness gain more traction. Thus, Duryodhana returns back to Hastinapura with a new vigour! As all of them return back after the futile forest visit, Duryodhana convenes a meeting with Sahuni and the others and proposes thus, “Oh Sahuni uncle! Oh Karna! Oh brothers! Now that Yudishtra and Co. are never going to return back to the kingdom for their entire life, I’m having a plan. Anyway, the Dhaanavas have confirmed to me that I’m going to be the next king of Hastinapura, I’m planning to perform the “Raaja-Suya Yaaga”, just like how Yudishtra performed a few years ago! But this time, I’ll make sure that I perform the “Raaja-Suya Yaaga” in an even more grand fashion than what Yudishtra did! I request your cooperation for this. We need to take this opportunity to prove to the world that Duryodhana is a much better king as compared to Yudishtra!
As Duryodhana proposes this idea, Sahuni opines immediately – “Oh Duryodhana! Your proposal seems to be good! However, we need to check with the Brahmin pandits as to whether it is possible. Also, if it is possible, we need to look at ways and means of how to perform it!” Paying heed to Sahuni’s advice, Duryodhana and the others consult some highly scholared Brahmin pandits. The answer that Duryodhana obtains from them is quite shocking to him! The Brahmin pandits explain thus, “Oh Duryodhana! If you’ve to perform the Raaja-Suya Yaaga, you should first win over the kingdom which has an equal share with Yudishtra. Without making the kingdom completely yours, how will you perform the Yaaga? If Yudishtra performed it, he was already the king of Indraprastha, which was given to him by your father. But since you’ve not yet taken over the reins of the kingdom from your father as yet, you’re not even a king at the moment. If that is so, how will you perform the offering? Moreover, how can you do the “Raaja-Suya Yaaga” when your father is alive? Yudishtra performed it because his father is no more. Hence, it is not wise of you to compare yourself with Yudishtra blindly like this!”
As one of the Brahmin Pandits says thus, Duryodhana is getting confused! He fumes back thus, “Oh! If that is the case, can I never match Yudishtra in everything? Why is that all of you are taking so high of Yudishtra and are keeping me at one level below him every time? What is so special about that Yudishtra? Afterall he is a cheat and he is a coward in all aspects! He doesn’t even know how to be smart and win a game of gambling! If such is the case, how can he even be a king and manage the kingdom for a single day? His acumen of being a king is a complete zero. He does not have any iota of smart thinking! This is never going to happen! Hence, Oh Brahmin Pandits! I somehow want to prove to the world that I’m better than Yudishtra in the “Raaja-Suya Yaaga”, with which, I can declare to the world that I’m a “Chakravarthy” (Great King). Hence, rather than creating stumbling blocks like this, suggest some other ways through which I can somehow perform it!”
So we can see here that Duryodhana is firm and adamant as usual! He is now boosted with the Dhaanvas’ words and this is also acting as a catalyst in Duryodhana’s arrogance! So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall wait till the next episode to see what other alternatives do the Brahmin Pandits come up with for Duryodhana! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 