In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sanjaya travelling to Viraata Desha to meet Yudishtra and Co. In the hindsight, even though Sanjaya knows that Yudishtra is an epitome of “Dharma”, he is a bit skeptical as to how Yudishtra will react towards him and King Dhritarashtra after experiencing thirteen years of misery, and especially as war clouds are looming large between the two camps. However, as Sanjaya arrives, Yudishtra welcomes him with all possible respects and makes him feel very comfortable. Not only this – Yudishtra is the first one to initiate the conversion by enquiring about the well-being of all the elders including King Dhritarashtra and Mother Gandhari. This takes Sanjaya by surprise and he is very happy with the way Yudishtra is reacting. Now it is Sanjaya’s turn to reply. What is Sanjaya going to tell Yudishtra? Let us witness today.
Moving on thus, Sanjaya commences his reply to Yudishtra. Sanjaya says thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Oh Dharmaputra! I’m very happy that you are constantly thinking about the well-being of all of us at Hastinapura. We are also thinking about all of you constantly, including Duryodhana and the others. But there is a slight difference in the thought process between yours and Duryodhana’s. You think about Duryodhana and Co. with the intention that they would mend their ways and return your kingdom back to you. You are thinking about Duryodhana being mended into the path of “Dharma”. However, Duryodhana has other intentions about you. You are genuinely interested in the welfare of the one hundred Kaurava brothers, however, those Kaurava brothers are jealous of your “Dharma” and growth story. This is the biggest difference that I can understand in the thought processes of both the camps!”
Saying thus, Sanjaya continues further: “Oh Yudishtra! I’ve come here as a messenger to King Dhritarashtra! He wants me to convey something to you, but I do not find any merit in what he wants to convey. I shall tell you whatever he wanted to tell you. However, I do not find any honesty and integrity in what he said. His intention is to only fuel the rift between you and Duryodhana further! What King Dhritarashtra is trying to say is this – Oh Dharmaputra! I’m very much concerned about you and your well-being! However I know that you are walking the path of “Dharma” and because of that, you will be able to survive in any kind of tough situation, even in the forest! You’ve already proven to be a steadfast person with a lot of “Vairagya” (will power). Hence, let us avoid this war and let us ensure that all of them are intact and let Duryodhana continue to rule Hastinapura without any problem. You be on your own and let him be on his own! You’ve become habituated to face any catastrophic situation in life, but Duryodhana is not! You’ve learnt how to lead a life by sacrificing the kingdom, but Duryodhana doesn’t know what sacrifice is and its meaning! Hence, let the same status quo continue and by this way, both camps are happy!”
We can see how beautifully Sanjaya crafts King Dhritarashtra’s message to Yudishtra. Actually, King Dhritarashtra did not want to tell this message openly to Sanjaya, and we’ve seen earlier how King Dhritarashtra reluctantly bluffed to Sanjaya. However, Sanjaya understood that all what King Dhritarashtra is doing is mere bluff and hence, he conveys King Dhritarashtra’s real intent to Yudishtra clearly and in a straightforward manner! This is the real job of a messenger and Sanjaya has done his job perfectly here! A messenger’s job is to clearly convey the intent of the king without any blemish. Even though King Dhritarashtra did not say deliberately that he doesn’t want to give the kingdom to Yudishtra, he meant this only, isn’t it? Hence, Sanjaya makes sure that Yudishtra understands this intent clearly without any doubt!
So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode, we shall witness what Yudishtra has to say. Bhagawan Krishna and the others are also by the side of Yudishtra at that time, and as Sanjaya explains King Dhritarashtra’s message, Bhagawan Krishna is also listening to everything keenly. So what is the reply from this camp going to be? Are they going to accept King Dhritarashtra’s idea that the same status-quo should continue? Or, are they going to contest this idea? Let us see an interesting accord tomorrow! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 