In the previous episode, we had witnessed King Dhritarashtra conveying a clear message to Sanjaya that he doesn’t want a war to take place at this moment, because he knows that when Bhagawan Krishna and Saatyaki are on Yudishtra’s side, victory is always going to be theirs. Duryodhana doesn’t even have a chance to win over the Paandavas if this current situation persists, and hence, King Dhritarashtra wants to play it safe. Hence, he wants Sanjaya to enquire about the well-being of Yudishtra and Co., and psychologically this might dose down the tension in Yudishtra’s mind. King Dhritarashtra wants to make sure that Yudishtra feels good and is being cared for by all the elders at Hastinapura and hence, this is the greater and deeper message that he wants to convey through Sanjaya.
Thus, as King Dhritarashtra conveys all his points, Sanjaya immediately sets out to meet Yudishtra and Co. However, Sanjaya still has a doubt in his mind. He once again asks back thus, “Oh King Dhritarashtra! You’re telling me to convey your message to Yudishtra, aren’t you? But you never told me what exactly the message is! Till now you’ve only asked me to enquire Yudishtra’s well-being. However, this is not the message, isn’t it? You’ve to be clear with your plan for the future, upon which Yudishtra can make a decision to move forward! So tell me – Are you planning to give away half of the Hastinapura Kingdom (Indraprastha) back to Yudishtra? Or, are you going to deny him his due share still? Or, do you have any other plans in place? Only if you give clarity on the main issue in hand, I shall be able to convey your intent to Yudishtra effectively!”
As Sanjaya asks a straightforward question thus, King Dhritarashtra replies diplomatically! He doesn’t have a specific answer to give Sanjaya, as internally, King Dhritarashtra doesn’t want Yudishtra to enjoy a share of the kingdom. He wants his son Duryodhana to enjoy the entire kingdom and leave Yudishtra in the lurch. However, he cannot tell that openly as a king, as it would be against the “Raaja-Dharma”. Thus, King Dhritarashtra is clearly caught in two minds. With this confusion lingering in his mind, King Dhritarashtra replies thus, “Oh Sanjaya! Why do you want to pull words out of my mouth? You know what is best for Yudishtra and the Paandavas, don’t you? Hence, you construct your own answer as per your knowledge on this issue. Certain things cannot be disclosed by the king openly at all times. It is up to the minister to understand the gravity of the situation and act accordingly. First when you start the conversation, observe the reaction of Yudishtra and his body language. Based on how Yudishtra reacts, you structure your argument. If Yudishtra is aggressive in his reaction, just enquire about his well-being and come back. However, if Yudishtra is calm and composed, maybe you can talk to him about the kingdom issue and see what he says and what he opines!”
Now this is a very ambiguous approach from King Dhritarashtra as we can see clearly. Since he doesn’t have clarity in his mind, he wants Sanjaya to structure his communication as per Yudishtra’s mindset and body language. Whereas, if King Dhritarashtra is honest and straightforward, why should he look at Yudishtra’s body language and reactions? Truth is truth, isn’t it? Irrespective of how Yudishtra would react, if King Dhritarashtra is telling the truth, he should be able to convey the message straight away isn’t it? This is where being truthful comes to the fore! We can see this even in our daily lives too – If we’re telling the truth and if we’re honest and straightforward, we would be able to talk anything to anybody with ease! However, if there is no truth in whatever we’re saying, we would start looking for various shortcuts and reactions to somehow escape from the situation by telling some lie and getting away! This is exactly what King Dhritarashtra is trying to do here! He doesn’t want Sanjaya to convey his bad intention directly, because he himself knows that his thought process is totally against “Dharma” and is unduly favouring his son for no reason!
So now, Sanjaya has a tough task in hand – To convey King Dhritarashtra’s “Adharmic” message to Yudisthra and Co.! Now how is he going to do it? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 