We’re amidst an important juncture wherein King Dhritarashtra is seemingly making a concrete attempt, perhaps for the first time to med Duryodhana’s ways and turn his path towards “Dharma”. Out of frustration, King Dhritarashtra tries to tell Duryodhana amidst the courtroom that it is time for him to hand over Indraprastha to Yudishtra as agreed upon earlier when the gambling game was played. King Dhritarashtra tries to convince Duryodhana to move on with things, rather than getting stuck with Yudishtra and seeking revenge against him. King Dhritarashtra also renders an important piece of advice, both as a father as well as a king that Duryodhana shouldn’t stand his ground unnecessarily and there is no use of fighting a war endlessly which would only result in the feud getting bigger and bigger at the end of each war! Of course, King Dhritarashtra is now doing his part, as Sanjaya and Vidura wanted him to do. But the bigger question here is whether this nudge from King Dhritarashtra is going to work with Duryodhana or not! Let us continue with what happened subsequently.
As King Dhritarashtra says thus, it is now Duryodhana’s turn to reply. This time, he changes his stance a little bit, because he is seeing that his father is increasingly not getting convinced with his argument. Duryodhana says thus, “Oh father! Look! If you’re thinking and believing that I’m solely dependent on either Bhishmachaarya or Guru Dhronachaarya or Sage Kripachaarya, you are grossly mistaken! I’m not dependent on any of these three people, even though they might be veterans in warfare. I can win any war without these three people! I have ninety-nine brothers including my dear brother Ducchaasana. I have Karna’s never-ending support with me. With these people, I can fight and win any war in this world! They will never ditch me at any point in time!”
Upon hearing this statement from Duryodhana, Guru Dhronachaarya and Bhishmachaarya immediately get up from their seats in anger! Both of them jointly say thus, “Oh Duryodhana! This is exactly what we are saying – Your statement is sounding absolutely foolish! Neither Ducchaasana nor Karna nor Sahuni are going to be behind you all the time! They are highly opportunistic in nature and you are not understanding their true nature! This is exactly where you are going wrong and you are completely aloof of this fact! Oh Duryodhana! Recollect the past a little bit – When all of us invaded the Viraata Desha last year, don’t you remember how Arjuna singlehandedly made Karna and Ducchaasana run for their money? Did they come and protect you when Arjuna was attacking you in the battlefield and when you were struggling to defend yourself? Moreover, when you were under attack from the Gandharvas, did Karna come and save you at that time? Instead of fighting the war, he ran away from that spot, leaving you alone to defend yourself! Finally it was Arjuna who came and saved you from the Gandharvas on that fateful day! If not for Arjuna, you would have been killed on that day itself! Oh Duryodhana! You’re talking so high about Karna, aren’t you? Where was Karna on that day when you were brutally attacked? Hence, please remember one thing clearly – Karna is a huge opportunist! Sahuni is even more of an opportunist and we know exactly what is his personal agenda behind rallying by your side! Please understand the reality!”
As Guru Dhronachaarya and Bhishmachaarya speak in the forum thus, Duryodhana fumes with intense anger! He replies thus, “Oh Bhishmachaarya! Oh Guru Dhronachaarya! Whatever you’re talking about is just nonsense! I know about Karna! Nobody needs to give me lectures and sermons about the friendship and bonding that I share with him! Karna will never ditch me and he has been with me through the kith and kin of my life till today! Let me tell you one thing – Both of you, even though you are great warriors with a proven track record, have fallen trap to Yudishtra’s words! You are clearly rattled by the threat that Yudishtra is time and again doing! You’ve clearly succumbed to Yudishtra’s relentless pressure! If you succumb to those listless people, I do not bother! I know how to handle these kinds of threats and cheap tactics of Yudishtra! He doesn’t have the guts to come and fight a war with me and instead, he is veiling all these useless threats on me! Such things will never work with me and Yudishtra has to meet me on the battlefield very soon! I’m very clear on this!”
Saying thus, Duryodhana asserts himself with aggression, never more than before! With this, King Dhritarashtra’s attempt to correct Duryodhana’s course of actions have come to a grinding failure! So for today, let us understand up to this point and in the next episode, we shall witness the continuation of what Duryodhana has to say! He is now going to convey his final decision through the course of this conversation! Stay tuned for an interesting accord! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 