In the previous episode, we had witnessed Duryodhana and Arjuna arriving at Dwaraka to meet Bhagawan Krishna. As they arrive, Bhagawan Krishna is fast asleep and we’ve seen that Duryodhana quickly goes and sits near Bhagawan Krishna’s pillow. Arjuna quietly follows him and takes his place near Bhagawan’s divine lotus feet. As Bhagawan wakes up, His “Nethra-Darshan” falls upon Arjuna first and Bhagawan is excited to see Arjuna at Dwaraka. However, Duryodhana too marks his presence there and as fate would have it, Bhagawan lays down a trap. He wantedly asks Duryodhana as to what he wants and what is the purpose of his visit to Dwaraka! Duryodhana straightaway replies that he has come to seek help from Bhagawan to fight the war against Yudsihtra and Co., even as Arjuna is silent.
Moving on further thus, Bhagwan Krishna immediately turns to Arjuna and asks him – “Oh Arjuna! You’ve also come to Dwaraka! Why are you silent? Do you have a purpose for visiting as well?” As Bhagawan Krishna asks thus, Arjuna slowly replies back – “Oh Bhagawan! To be very frank and honest with you, I also came precisely for the same purpose. I also wanted to seek your guidance to prepare for the war, if necessary!” As Bhagawan listens to Arjuna’s reply, Bhagawan immediately replies back thus, “Oh Arjuna! In that case, go ahead and ask whatever you want! I shall grant you without any hesitation!” As Bhagawan Krishna says thus, even as Arjuna is about to start his accord, Duryodhana objects. He angrily replies thus, “Oh Vaasudeva (Bhagawan Krishna)! I was the one who came first. Hence, the first opportunity to ask you something should be given to me and not to Arjuna!”As Duryodhana fumes thus, Bhagawan Krishna calmly replies back – “Oh Duryodhana! Yes, you are right that you’re the one who came first. However, when I woke up, I saw Arjuna first, didn’t I? Hence I felt that Arjuna should be given the chance first. Of course, both of you are first in your own ways. I do not deny that. Hence, let me declare one thing here – I shall help both of you! I will never let both of you down. You may go ahead and seek any kind of help that you require from me and I shall help you in whatever capacity I can!”
Now, this might seem to be a tricky answer given by Bhagawan Krishna! This once again tempts Duryodhana and with this, Bhagawan Krishna ensures that Duryodhana falls deeper and deeper into the trap! If such an attractive offer is given to us, what would we do? Like I mentioned yesterday, we would immediately start asking for all possible luxuries in this world, isn’t it? This is exactly what Duryodhana is doing here too! The moment Bhagawan gives an assurance of any help from His side, what should we ideally ask Him? As ardent “Bhaktas”, our focus should only be on Bhagawan and His divine lotus feet, isn’t it? This is where, Bhagawan will try to push us into a trap – This is a test whether we are falling into the trap of worldly pleasures and luxuries, or, are we overcoming all of them and turning towards Bhagawan! Now, Duryodhana is going to right royally fall into Bhagawan Krishna’s trap.
Of course, we might have another view to this situation here – Is Bhagawan Krishna biassed towards Arjuna in some way? Is Bhagawan Krishna deliberately putting Duryodhana down and favouring Arjuna? In fact, the answer is a big “No”! Bhagawan is always equal and considerate to all living beings in this world! There is no doubt about that. In fact, here too, Bhagawan offers His help not only to Duryodhana, but also for Arjuna. The question is the same for both the people! However, the answers that come out of both of them are going to be contrastingly different! Thus, Bhagawan is fair to everyone. However, the way in which we use the opportunity that Bhagawan gives, indicates all the variations that we see in the way people live in this world.
So for today, let us understand this “Sookshama” (Secret) and in the next episode, we shall continue this discussion further and witness what both Duryodhana and Arjuna asked Bhagawan Krishna. Duryodhana is going to ask one kind of help from Bhagawan Krishna, whereas Arjuna is going to ask a slightly different kind of help! In fact, this situation paves the way for a lot of future happenings in the Mahabharata story! Stay tuned for an interesting accord! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 