In the previous episode, we had witnessed Yudishtra concluding his accord on King Janaka, and how he was a “Raja-Rishi”. Yudishtra wanted to emulate the King Janaka Model of taking up “Sanyaasam” and abandon everything. Just like how King Janaka was unmoved when the entire Mithila Desha was on fire (An illusion created by Sage Yajnavalkya), Yudishtra also wants to be completely detached from the Hastinapura kingdom. However, as Yudishtra says thus, Arjuna is readily waiting to counter him with some “fact checks”. Arjuna immediately quips that Yudishtra is only looking at one half of the story, and is conveniently leaving out the other half. This same King Janaka, when he wanted to completely renounce the kingdom and go to the forest for performing penance, was stopped by his wife and was made to change his mind to continue as the king of Mithilapuri. Arjuna asks Yudishtra as to why he is ignoring this part of King Janaka’s story, wherein the same King Janaka whom Yudishtra is referring to, was a great king and discharged all his duties as per the norms of “Dharma”.
Moving on further, Arjuna explains what King Janaka’s wife explained to King Janaka when he wanted to go for “Sanyaasam”. King Janaka’s wife says thus, “Oh King Janaka! You had taken a prestigious oath while assuming responsibility as a king, didn’t you? How did you take the oath? You said that till the end of your life, you will be in service to your people and to your country at all times. This is a pledge that you have given to your people at that time when you became the king. Now, after giving this pledge and promise to your people, you are doing something different. How unfair this will be on the people who entrusted you with this responsibility? Hence, you’ve to live up to your pledge and should not go haywire with such hasty decisions!”
Arjuna quotes this accord of King Janaka’s wife and replies to Yudishtra thus, “Oh Yudishtra! In similar lines, you’ve also taken an oath / pledge while assuming responsibility as a king, didn’t you? What did you take oath as? You’ve taken an oath to be a righteous king, discharging all your duties as per “Dharma” towards your people, till the end of your life, haven’t you? Now, you are contradicting your own statements and promises that you’ve made to your people. By making such quick and hasty decisions, you are undermining the hopes and aspirations of your Hastinapura subjects, which is a huge “Paapa Karma” that you will accumulate for the rest of your life! Hence, Oh Yudishtra! If not for anybody of us, atleast for the sake of the country and our people, please reconsider your decision!”
This is quite a valid statement made by Arjuna here. Even in today’s practice, when the Prime Minister of our country, Chief Minister of our state, etc. assume responsibility, we have this oath-taking ceremony at the forefront, don’t we? This is not only the practice in India, but also worldwide. During the oath-taking ceremony, what do the leaders pledge? They pledge in front of the President of India / Governor of the State by saying that they will constantly be in service to the people of the country / state at all times during their tenure at office. However, very few of them live up to the oath that they are taking – Atleast in the Indian context today, and this is a separate debate which we can keep discussing on and on! But the broader point here is that, if the leader is not living up to the oath that he / she is taking during this oath-taking ceremony, it is a huge “Paapa Karma” that they are accumulating. More than the “Paapa” and “Punya” part, the point here is that, as a leader who has assumed responsibility of an office, he / she should discharge the duties associated with it, without any blemish and as per the rules and regulations of “Dharma”. There should be no backing out from it at any point in time. Just because something bad has happened, it doesn’t mean that the leader will quit the position and run away! There will of course be a lot of challenges that might come the leader’s way. A true leader is a person who overcomes all these challenges and continues to discharge his / her duties towards the country / state.
So for today, let us understand Arjuna’s point of view and in the next episode we shall witness whether Yudishtra was convinced with this or not. Stay tuned for an important and an interesting discussion ahead! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 