In the previous episode, we had witnessed Yudishtra and Co. in their final leg of preparation for their “Agnyaata Vaasam” for the next one-year-period. As they start proceeding towards the Viraata Nagara after hiding all their weapons under a banyan tree, they obtain the divine “Darshan” of Goddess Durga, who provides her divine “Anugraha” to all of them. Mother Durga wants Yudishtra to ask for a boon, however, Yudishtra is not much interested in it, as usual. Yudishtra’s only prayer to Mother Durga is that neither he nor his brothers and wife should be spotted out by anybody during the next one year and their identities should be completely concealed. For this, Mother Durga grants her “Anugraha” and full protection of the Paandava brothers and with this, Yudishtra and Co. disperse from that place to their respective roles as discussed earlier. The one-year “Agnyaata Vaasam” begins!
As Yudishtra and Co. disperse thus, Sage Dhoumya who had been following the Paandavas closely till that time, has a little piece of advice to give to Yudishtra before he leaves to the Viraata Nagara’s palace. Sage Dhoumya is going to advise Yudishtra here with four or five important pointers, and he too is going to disperse from their vicinity for the next one-year-period. Sage Dhoumya says thus, “Oh Yudishtra! This is going to be a tough phase of life for you. However, with the divine “Anugraha” of Bhagawan Krishna and Mother Durga, everything would be fine with all of you. However, as you’re going to the king’s palace, you should be very careful with certain things. I shall give you some pointers to think about as you proceed further. Oh Yudishtra! Please understand that being in the vicinity of a king is very difficult. There might be so many dangers arising from time to time because of that. Please understand this as you proceed with your pursuit. When you are with a king, first of all, you should leave your ego. You should never have your ego dominating you at any point. Irrespective of whatever the king says, you should be ready to obey his words. Even if you feel that the king’s instructions are absurd in nature, you should not raise your voice against whatever he says. Moreover, if you’re trying to meet the king at his chamber, you should not walk in straightaway. Rather, you should obtain permission from his security guards before you enter. Moreover, if a king tells you something today, please do not think that this will be the final instruction. The king might keep on changing his stance and decisions on various issues. Hence you’ve to be prepared for it. Also, when the king is seated, please do not sit either near him or in front of him. Even if a chair is vacant near him, please do not sit. Moreover, when you are conversing with the king, please do not look at the empty chair placed nearby. It would psychologically disrupt the conversation and the king might think that you are wanting him to ask you to sit. This might invoke anger into the king’s mind. Hence, be careful about this. Also, never try to sit wherever the king sits – Even in his absence. Also, if the king gives you some prizes or rewards in the form of ornaments or dresses, make sure that you wear all of them and go in front of him whenever you’re meeting him. Even if the king takes you to his “Antahpura” where his wife resides, you should not go there without the authorization and knowledge of the king. He might take you wherever he wants to, but you have to be careful to exercise your discretion on where to go and where not to go in the absence of the king. Moreover, the king will keep giving you task after task to execute. Please listen to him carefully and execute them without any blemish. Even if he doesn’t give you some tasks to perform, you voluntarily go and ask him if there is anything to be done. Also, please note that you should never send a remainder to a king on what he is supposed to do. This will hurt the king’s ego badly and might backfire at you. Also, for any reason, please do not nurture any kind of friendship or companionship with his queen. Even if the king wants you to convey something to the queen, please do so from the outside and come back immediately. Do not encourage any further conversations with her, even if she wants to talk about something with you!”
Thus, in these lines, Sage Dhoumya renders some important advice to Yudishtra as to how to deal with a king, before he disperses. So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 