In the previous episode, we had witnessed the Brahmana Rishi expressing his views in front of King Dhritarashtra and the others, which evoked sharp responses from Duryodhana and Bhishmachaarya. Bhishmachaarya is the first to respond to the views of the Brahmana Rishi by expressing his support to whatever he had communicated. Subsequently, Duryodhana fumes with anger upon Bhishmachaarya and makes it very clear that he is not interested to even spare a single speck of land from the Hastinapura kingdom for Yudishtra and Co. As both of them fight in public thus, King Dhritarashtra calms them down and assures the Brahmana Rishi that he is sending one of his most experienced ministers, Sanjaya to the Paandavas to see if there can be a mid-way to this entire dispute. Taking this message from King Dhritarashtra thus, the Brahmana Rishi makes his way back to Yudishtra’s place.
Moving on thus, we’re about to witness Sanjaya going to meet the Paandavas. Sanjaya is the son of a person by name Gavalgana and hence, we would see at various instances of the Mahabharata text that Sanjaya is referred to as “Gaavalgani”. This is very similar to Bhagawan Rama being referred to as “Daasarathi” because He is the son of King Dasharata. Similarly, we’re going to witness Arjuna being referred to as “Kaunteya” by Bhagawan Krishna often in the Bhagawad Gita, because he is the son of Kunthi Devi. As many of us might know, Sanjaya is very clear and straightforward in his attitude and approach towards things, and this is the main reason why King Dhritarashtra trusts him a lot. Calling out for Sanjaya, King Dhritarashtra explains thus, “Oh Sanjaya! You know the situation that is brewing up between Duryodhana and Yudishtra. You know about our son Yudishtra and his brothers, as well as Duryodhana and the others. Now as both these camps are in a great feud with each other, I solicit your help in trying to resolve this as quickly as possible before things go out of hand. I want you to go and meet Yudishtra and enquire about his well-being. Also please enquire about the well-being of the other four brothers as well as our daughter-in-law Draupati. Just ensure that all of them are fit and fine and convey my heartfelt wishes to all of them! You are the best person to go and do this for me and hence, I entrust you with this duty. Hence, please go immediately and try to dose down the heat that is simmering on both ends. Let your visit bring some warmth in between. You know what is best for Yudishtra and accordingly, you pitch in your points as per whatever “Dharma” is!”
Saying thus, King Dhritarashtra sends Sanjaya to meet Yudishtra and Co. at the Viraata Desha. As Sanjaya starts, King Dhritarashtra adds a few more points thus, “Oh Sanjaya! Please understand that I know the enormous significance of the Paandava brothers. I know the significance of Arjuna and his Gaandeepa bow. Bhagawan Krishna is always by Arjuna’s side and He will be with Arjuna in the future too. I know the significance and strength of Bheemasena’s powerful “Gadha” weapon. Moreover, if Saatyaki is also standing by the Paandava camp, I know that if there is a war even now, victory will only be their’s. Thus, given the situation, I do not want a war currently. Hence, please try your best to dose down the situation and do the needful to avoid the war as far as possible!”
As King Dhritarashtra says thus, Sanjaya takes this message and leaves to meet Yudishtra and Co. So for today, let us understand up to this point and in the next episode, we will witness what Sanjaya has to tell Yudishtra and how Yudishtra is going to react to Sanjaya’s words! Stay tuned for an interesting accord! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 