In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sanjaya tabling his detailed report on his Viraata Desha visit in front of King Dhritarashtra, Bhishmachaarya, Duryodhana and the others at Hastinapura courtroom. We’ve seen Yudishtra’s and Arjuna’s messages loud and clear – “We would always like a peaceful settlement, wherein Indraprastha should be given back to us at any cost. We’ve sacrificed a lot for the past thirteen years, endured a lot of insult in the name of “Dharma” and safeguarding it. We’ve seen how Draupati was insulted in the public courtroom and even then we were patient about it. However, now there is no question of such patience and perseverance. Duryodhana has to come forward and hand over Indraprastha as per the earlier agreement that was reached after the gambling game. We have fulfilled King Dhritarashtra’s order of spending thirteen years in the forest. Now it is Duryodhana’s turn to hand over our kingdom to us! If this is not happening, we are ready for a full-fledged war, knowing the disastrous consequences that might arise out of it!”
As Sanjaya spells out this message loud and clear, it is now Bhishmachaarya’s turn to reply to it. Bhishmachaarya replies thus, “Oh King Dhritarashtra! Oh Duryodhana! Whatever Yudishtra says is right. After he lost the gambling game on that fateful day, it was agreed that if Yudishtra and Co. finish the “Vana Vaasam” and “Agnyaata Vaasam” for a period of thirteen years, Indraprastha would be handed over to him. Now that they have finished the “Vana Vaasam” and the “Agnyaata Vaasam” successfully, it is only apt that you give back Indraprastha to Yudishtra! This will be a fair decision and will resolve all outstanding problems between the two camps. Oh King Dhritarashtra! Whatever happened has happened! Past is past! Even now there is time for some bug-fixing! Let us use this opportunity to heal all the past wounds that Yudishtra and Co. are carrying along with them. I know about Yudishtra and how he would always stick to the path of “Dharma”. If you give his Indraprastha kingdom back to him, he would forgive all whatever disasters happened in the past and all of us could make a fresh beginning from here on!”
As Bhishmachaarya gives his reply thus, it is now time for Guru Dhronachaarya to respond. Unlike Bhishmachaarya who addressed the entire courtroom, Guru Dhronachaarya trains his guns towards Duryodhana and Karna specifically! Guru Dhronachaarya says thus, “Oh Duryodhana! Please understand the reality and practicality of life. You are getting carried away by whatever Karna is saying. He is wrong in his approach and he doesn’t know anything! You are falling trap to Karna’s false propaganda! On Duryodhana! You only listen to three people in this world – One is Karna! Second is your uncle Sahuni! Third is your younger brother, Ducchaasana! Don’t you understand that all of them have their personal agenda and are trying to use you for fulfilling it? All three of them to whom you are listening to, do not have brains of their own!” The moment Guru Dhronachaarya says thus, Karna gets triggered! He immediately stands up and asks thus, “Oh Dhronachaarya! How dare you question my valour and intelligence? You have not even seen a miniscule amount of my strength and intelligence during a war. Just because I am a “Sootha-Putra” (Charioteer’s son), you are underestimating my strength and this is totally unfair upon you as a responsible teacher! If you are going to embrace such differences within the camp, what kind of a “Guru” you are? It simply shows your shallow thinking and utter stupidity!”
These words from Karna trigger Guru Dhronachaarya! He angrily asks Karna thus, “Oh wow! Look at who is talking about valour! On that fateful day when Duryodhana was attacked by the “Gandharvas”, when Duryodhana was unable to defend himself, he seeked your help. However, after a brief fight with the “Gandharvas”, you ran away from that place like a coward by abandoning your dear friend, Duryodhana! You were not even bothered whether Duryodhana is safe or not and today you are talking as if you’re an epitome of valour? You were bothered only about your safety and your life, and with this, you ran away from the battlefield! Moreover, when all of us went to the Viraata Desha and attacked Arjuna who was fighting singlehandedly, why didn’t you exhibit your valour then? Why weren’t you able to defeat Arjuna who was fighting all alone? If you’re unable to stand in front of one Arjuna, how are you going to stand in front of five such Arjunas in the battlefield? Oh Karna! I feel pity for you! Your anger is taking centre stage and because of that, you are not able to understand reality! You are not even eligible to stand in front of Arjuna or Yudishtra in a war! You’ve not proved your mettle, given multiple chances in the past! Even after all this, if Duryodhana is still trusting you and your valour, I do not know how to describe Duryodhana’s utter stupidity!”
Saying thus, Guru Dhronachaarya blasts Karna with his heated arguments! So for today, let us understand up to this point and in the next episode we shall witness what happened next from here on! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 