In the previous episode, we had witnessed the Paandavas revealing their real identities to the Viraata Desha king amidst the fully assembled courtroom. Yudishtra requests Arjuna to do the honours and accordingly, as Brihannala gives a detailed report on the recently concluded wars, he reveals his true identity and subsequently explains that his four brothers along with his wife Draupati were in disguise till today because they had a rule to fulfil. Moreover, Arjuna thanks the Viraata Desha king for giving them hospitality and jobs in the kingdom and also for the opportunity to defend the kingdom at critical times. As Arjuna explains everything, the Viraata Desha king is both in a state of shock as well as happiness. He now has to reply something to what Arjuna has just said, isn’t it? So what is he going to reply? How is he going to react to Arjuna’s words? Let us discuss today!
Moving further, the Viraata King replies thus, “Oh Arjuna! I’m both shocked as well as happy with this revelation! Till today, I did not know that the Paandava brothers were amidst all of us, and if I would have known this earlier, I would have treated all of you with much more respect. You had come here posing as servants and if I had erred in my hospitality to all of you in any way, I’m seeking my profound apologies in front of everyone. Indeed, I’m extremely happy that I had an opportunity to spend one full year with all of you. Moreover, you had played an important role in protecting our kingdom from enemies from both the northern and the southern direction. If you were not there, Viraata Desha would have been history today. Hence, as a token of gratitude to Arjuna, I would like to give my daughter, Utthara in marriage to him in front of everybody here! I request Arjuna to accept Utthara Devi as his wife!”
As the Viraata King says thus, Arjuna immediately replies back: “Oh great king! I’m deeply moved by your token of gratitude that you’re willing to give me. However, please remember one thing – Utthara Devi, till now was my student when I was teaching her music and dance forms. Hence, it is not fair that a student marries a teacher, and it is against “Dharma”. Thus, I will not be in a position to marry Utthara Devi. However, I shall accept Utthara Devi as my daughter-in-law, which means, I’m willing to give my son, Abhimanyu in marriage to Utthara Devi!” Upon hearing this, the Viraata King is extremely happy and satisfied with Arjuna’s answer and all the arrangements for a grand marriage is made. This detail is explained in the next Upa-Parva called “Vaivaahika Parva”. The invitation for the the grand marriage is sent to all people around, including Bhagawan Krishna, Balarama, Sathvaki, Pradhyumna, Aniruddha, etc. and all of them assemble at the Viraata Desha immediately as the news is known. Bhagawan Krishna, along with his son, Pradhyumna arrives at the Viraata Nagara to witness the marriage and to provide His divine “Anugraha” to the newly-married couple.
Bhagawan Krishna, while coming, brings a lot of gifts to Abhimanyu and Arjuna. On one hand, many of us might be knowing that Subhadra is the sister of Bhagawan Krishna and hence, there is a family relationship between Abhimanyu and Bhagawan Krishna. As per the relationship, Bhagawan Krishna is the uncle of Abhimanyu, and hence, as an uncle, Bhagawan Krishna has the duty to conduct the marriage with all the possible gifts, isn’t it? Hence, Bhagawan Krishna comes with a truck load of gifts and conducts the marriage in a grand fashion! Thus, Subadhra’s son, Abhimanyu (Arjuna’s son) marries Utthara Devi and both of them start leading a happy married life with each other, and with this, the “Agnyaata-Vaasam” period of the Paandava brothers is successfully over, and with this, the entire thirteen-year Vana-Vaasam is also satisfied according to the rule laid down by Duryodhana! Now, Yudishtra and Co. have every right to return back to Hastinapura and stake claim for the Indraprastha kingdom again. Saying thus, Sage Vyaasa ends the Viraata Parva.
With this, the Paandavas once again come into a huddle and plan the next course of action. Anyway, now Duryodhana and Co. know that the Paandava brothers are at Viraata Desha, things are going to get a bit complicated from here on for Yudishtra, and with this, we enter into the crucial “Udyoga Parva”. This is going to be a turning point in the entire Mahabharata story and for today, let us understand up to this point. In the next episode, we shall be commencing the “Udyoga Parva” formally and start witnessing what happened next! Stay tuned for more updates! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 