In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sahadeva’s accord on Yudishtra’s decision of ascending to the forest by taking up the “Vaanaprastha-Ashramam”. As everybody has opined earlier, Sahadeva also says that Yudishtra should not go to the forest by shunning his duties towards the kingdom, but he presents a different perspective here. He explains that the role of a “Grihasta” (Married person) is to feed the Maharishis with adequate food and water. The role of a “Grihasta” is to keep the Brahmana Rishis and Sanyaasins happy. However, if the “Grihasta” himself is wanting to go to the forest like a “Sannyasin”, where will the Maharishis and Sanyaasins go for food? Hence, instead of thinking on these lines, Sahadeva opines that Yudishtra should change his mindset and proceed with his duties as a king of Hastinapura. Meanwhile as Sahadeva opines thus, Draupati is a bit more skeptical and ruthless with Yudishtra. She recalls all the conversions and assurances that Yudishtra had given in the past while they were in the forest during the “Vana-Vaasam” period. Yudishtra had then given an assurance to Draupati that after this “Vana-Vaasam” period is over, and after Duryodhana is defeated in the war, everything will be clear and she could lead a happy life sans any problems. However, now as everything has got over, Yudishtra once again wants to go to the forest by abandoning the happy life at Hastinapura. This irks Draupati greatly and she vents out her frustration on Yudishtra.
Moving on further, Draupati continues to highlight a very important point here. She says to Yudishtra thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Do you understand the biggest mistake you’re making? You are thinking that you should be a “good” person towards everybody in this world! This is utter nonsense and it is never possible! You cannot be good to everybody in this world! You should know where to be kind, compassionate, etc. and where to give punishments. As a king, knowledge of this is extremely important! You are thinking that you can be kind and compassionate to everybody in this world, which is highly impossible! At certain times, you should know to behave harshly and meet out punishments. If you’re not able to do this, people will brand you as a mad person and will easily cheat you in everything that you do! As a king, when you fight a war, you should be able to severely punish them for all their wrongdoings. Whereas on other occasions, you should also be able to administer “Dharma” through kindness and compassion. Administration of “Dharma” through punishments is also acceptable according to the “Shaastras”. Can you be kind to people like Duryodhana and Ducchaasana and mend their ways? Hence, while dealing with such people, you need to take the stick in your hand!”
Now this is a very important point that Draupati is telling here. We should also note this carefully – If we’ve to achieve something in life, we should undergo some amount of suffering, scoldings, etc. before we taste the achievement. For instance, if we’re learning cycling – Can we learn to ride a bicycle without falling down on the road and hurting our knees and legs? It’s virtually impossible, isn’t it? If we’ve to learn to ride the bicycle without getting a single scratch on our knees, then it is imperative that we’re never going to master this art in our entire lifetime. Similarly, when a child is trying to walk for the first time, it will definitely fall down after taking 2-3 steps. If we’re not allowing the child to fall down and get up on its own, the child is going to face extreme difficulty in learning the art of walking. Similarly, when the child goes to school and doesn’t learn the lessons properly, the mother or father will give a beating on its back and make the child learn properly, isn’t it? We’ve gone through all these during our childhood days as well. However, today, things are getting different. When a child is getting beaten by the mother / father, immediately the child is sending an SOS to the school and immediately the parents are reprimanded for “beating the child”! This is a very wrong practice. Only if there is strictness at home, will we be able to develop good and competent citizens for the country and for the world at large! If we’re not criticizing our children for anything, it would serve as a motivation for them to do whatever they want, irrespective of whether it’s right or wrong! This might lead to dangerous consequences later on as the child grows up.
Hence, the point here is very simple – A king should be able to be kind, compassionate, etc. as well as be strict and harsh at the same time. A leader should be able to balance both towards his / her subjects. When people do the right things by following the path of “Dharma”,, a leader should be able to appreciate and motivate them. Whereas, at the same time, if there are people who go against “Dharma”, the leader should have the guts to call them out and punish them instantaneously! King Dhritarashtra in the Mahabharata itself failed in this aspect only! When Duryodhana was going against “Dharma” on several occasions, King Dhritarashtra failed to reprimand him and mend his ways through harsh punishments. Duryodhana was left unchecked for all his “Adharma”. Hence, Draupati cautions Yudishtra not to walk the path of King Dhritarashtra and shun everything! So for today, let us understand up to this point, and we shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 