In the previous episode, we had witnessed Yudishtra continuing to defend his stance of not wanting to rule Hastinapura, even while Arjuna is trying his best to counter him. As Yudishtra is now invoking King Janaka as an example for his decision, Arjuna replies to Yudishtra that this same King Janaka was stopped by his wife, when he wanted to go for “Sanyaasam” by renouncing the kingdom. Moreover, Arjuna reminds Yudishtra about the oath that he had taken while being coronated as the king. Yudishtra had indeed taken the pledge that he would serve the Hastinapura kingdom at all times till his last breath. Now this same Yudishtra is contemplating upon leaving the kingdom. Hence, isn’t it a controversial decision that Yudishtra is making here? Is Yudishtra going against his own oath that he has administered in front of his people? Arjuna reminds him of all these, to make him understand that running away from the kingdom is not a solution for anything, and that he should continue ruling the kingdom as before.
Narrating this anecdote from King Janaka’s wife, Arjuna continues further thus, “Oh Yudishtra! King Janaka’s wife also describes to him thus – “Oh King Janaka! Do you really understand what your duty is? Renouncing your kingdom and going away to the forest is not your duty! Rather, working hard for your people’s welfare is your real duty! There are so many people like Brahmana Rishis, Veda Virpannas, Carpenters, Farmers, Builders, Masons, etc. who are living in the Mithila Kingdom. You are the savior for all of them. Your work should ensure that all of them are well fed and are happy and satisfied. Instead of doing this, if you go away to the forest, who will feed all of them?” As she says thus, King Janaka replies to her – “Oh! In that case, what is “Thyaagam” (Sacrifice) in this context? As a “Raaja-Rishi”, isn’t “Thyaagam” an important parameter to be followed? Isn’t it “Dharma”? By sacrificing myself for the kingdom, I’m only doing good to my people, isn’t it?” For this, King Janaka’s wife replies thus, “Oh King Janaka! I’m sorry, but you are wrongly understanding the meaning of “Thyaagam” here. So what is “Thyaagam”? “Thyaagam” refers to the situation wherein a person earns sufficiently and donates his earnings for the welfare of others, without keeping anything for his personal benefit and luxury. As a king, you have to earn wealth, but these earnings should be directed to your people’s welfare. This is the real meaning of “Thyaagam” or “Sacrifice”. Nowhere in the “Shaastras” is it mentioned that “Thyaagam” means sacrificing one’s work completely and sitting freely without doing anything!” Quoting this from King Janaka’s wife’s accord, Arjuna reminds Yudishtra that he should look at the other side of King Janaka’s story and not just that part wherein he wanted to go for “Sanyaasam”.
This is yet another important point for all of us to ponder. Many of us, just like King Janaka, mistake the meaning of the word “Thyaagam”. It doesn’t mean that we should leave all our work and just sit simply at home. The real meaning of “Thyaagam” is that, we should work, earn money and other forms of wealth as much as possible, but that should be of good for others, and not for us. In other words, the action should be performed by us (Our duty), but the result of our action should be of benefit for others and not for us.
Moving on further, as King Janaka’s wife says thus, he has not other option, but to change his stance. King Janaka replies to his wife that she is perfectly correct with what she has mentioned, and with this, he takes back his decision of going to the forest. King Janaka continued to rule Mithilapuri kingdom till his last days. Narrating this incident thus, Arjuna explains that just like how King Janaka changed his stance, Yudishtra too should do so and return back to the kingdom to avoid any kind of chaos or confusion. So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode, we are going to witness Yudishtra’s reply to Arjuna on this. So what is Yudishtra going to decide now? Is he going to change his mind after Arjuna’s accord? Stay tuned to find out! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 