In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhagawan Krishna showing the mirror to both Duryodhana and Yudishtra with regards to the Kurukshetra disaster. While Duryodhana is at fault on several occasions, Yudishtra is equally at fault as well. While all of us know what Duryodhana did, Bhagawan Krishna highlights where Yudishtra went wrong. As a righteous king, he shouldn’t have accepted the invite for playing the gambling game with Duryodhana at Hastinapura. This was his major fault. Next, Yudishtra shouldn’t have continued playing the game once he started to be on the losing side. Even after understanding the fact that there’s a conspiracy orchestrated by Duryodhana with the help of Sahuni, Yudishtra never relented, and he went to the extent of staking his wife, Draupati and playing. This is the biggest blunder that Yudishtra did, and even his other Paandava brothers failed to stop Yudishtra from proceeding further. Thus, it is not only Yudishtra – But also Bheemasena, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva who are at fault.
Over and above all this, Arjuna’s fault here is to not keep Bhagawan Krishna in the loop when such an illegal thing is about to happen. Normally we would have seen all through the Mahabharata story that whatever Yudishtra and Co. did, they would consult with Bhagawan Krishna every time. However, when it came to taking the decision of playing the gambling game with Duryodhana, it would be surprising to know here that Bhagawan Krishna was not consulted! Yudishtra took a unanimous decision to go ahead with the gambling game, even though he knew that it was an illegal affair. Thus, the “Sharanagati Dharma” was compromised completely, and Yudishtra had to pay a heavy price for it! Mentioning all these points, Bhagawan Krishna explains that because of these blunders committed by Yudishtra, the loss is heavy on the Paandava side as well. Moreover, several people who fought the war, had several “Karma-Phalam” pending to be experienced – In the form of several curses from several Brahmana Rishis as well. How can the words of Brahmana Rishis go untrue? Hence, the Kurukshetra war was a culmination of all “Karma Phalam” of all the people who had assembled there!
Moving on further thus, Bhagawan Krishna once again trains His guns towards Duryodhana, who still keeps ranting relentlessly, putting the blame on Bhagawan Krishna for all the disaster that happened. Bhagawan Krishna says thus, “Oh Duryodhana! Before the commencement of the war, I myself had come to meet you to request for five villages for Yudishtra and Co. and when I had come, you had the audacity to insult and abuse me! Did you forget all those incidents? I tried my best to prevent the war. I’ve been watching you closely for several years now. I’ve been giving several opportunities for mending your ways, but you failed to utilise even a single opportunity for it. Whatever Yudishtra asked from you is completely legitimate – You should have returned Yudishtra’s Indraprastha kingdom after he came back from the thirteen-year-exile period. It is his right. It is his kingdom, which duly came from his father, King Paandu. Whereas you had joined hands with evil forces and denied Yudishtra’s legitimate right of ruling the Indraprastha kingdom. Moreover, even if you didn’t want to part with the entire Indraprastha kingdom, I had requested you for five small villages from it. Had you given those five villages to Yudishtra, this war would not have happened at all! When I had requested you for the five villages, what did you reply to me? You said that you will not part with even an inch of land from the Hastinapura kingdom! How fair is this? Before I came, there were several messengers from both sides to broker peace, in the form of Vidura, Sanjaya, etc. You single handedly undermined all their efforts and it was you who wanted this war to happen at any cost. If such is the case, why are you blaming me for the state of affairs that you are in right now?”
Blasting Duryodhana thus, Bhagawan Krishna is in no mood to relent! He continues ripping Duryodhana apart further thus, “Oh Duryodhana! I’ve never seen a coward like you in my entire life! If you’ve to win over a kingdom and a war, you should have been in the forefront and fought the war under your leadership. In this case, what did you do? You dragged in Bhishmachaarya, Guru Dhronachaarya, Sage Kripachaarya, Karna, and the others into it! Not even on a single day, I saw you in the forefront of the war. For you to rule the kingdom, you’ve made all your relatives and friends prey for destruction! Can there be another selfish person like you in this world? What mistake did Bhishmachaarya do? Don’t you understand that he’s your grandfather? For your selfish cause, would you place your aged grandfather in front of you like a protective shield and hide behind his shadow? What mistake did Guru Dhronachaarya do to you? He was your teacher. Unmindful of how he shaped you up as an individual, you went on to insult and abuse your Guru! What mistake did Karna do to you? He supported you all through your life, even though he knew that you are on the track of “Adharma”! I myself had spoken to Karna several times to bring him to the Paandava camp, however, Karna refused because he was so loyal to you! You betrayed Karna’s loyalty by putting him as a scapegoat in front of you on the battlefield! What mistake did King Shalya do to you? You cheated and tricked him to bring him into your fold and his three-crore-strong army of Madra Desha is completely destroyed today! Oh Duryodhana! You’ve been in fault for all these reasons and do not squarely put the blame on someone else and try to escape! Accept your mistake atleast now!”
Saying thus, Bhagawan Krishna lambasts Duryodhana left, right and center! So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode, we shall continue this discussion further! Stay tuned!
The Indian Dharma 