In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the lengthy accord on “Raaja-Dharma” by Bhishmachaarya to Yudishtra. Now, a heart-broken Yudishtra, after listening to several important aspects of leadership and “Raaja Dharma” laments to Bhishmachaarya that he expected Duryodhana to mend his ways till the last day at the Kurukshetra war. However, nothing of that sort happened and finally he, along with his ninety-nine Kauravas had to face destruction. Had Duryodhana even once felt remorse in the Kurukshetra battlefield, with Bhagawan Krishna in front of him, things would have been different. Yudishtra was ready to put down my weapons even during the last moment and a deal could have been arranged for. Hence, Yudishtra asks Bhishmachaarya as to what prevented Duryodhana from coming forward and seeking forgiveness for all that he had done.
As Yudishtra says this with a lot of emotions, a moved Bhishmachaarya replies back thus, “Oh Yudishtra! I understand your point. But you’ve had good expectations from a bad person! Please understand that Duryodhana wasn’t the person whom you think he was! He had been conspiring against you right from day one. He had tried to kill all of you on several occasions in the past as well. Have you forgotten all of that? If such is the case, how do you expect Duryodhana to walk the path of “Dharma” by having remorse for whatever he had done to you?”As Bhishmachaarya asks thus, a sad Yudishtra replies back – “Oh Bhishmachaarya! I had that belief that he would change! Nothing else! I was just thinking that upon seeing a huge battleground, lakhs of people, horses, elephants, etc., and on top of everything, Bhagawan Krishna standing against him – Duryodhana’s mind would give up and he would come to me. It was just a belief that Duryodhana’s conscience would be shaken up atleast a bit and he would come to me for brokering peace! Oh Bhishmachaarya! If you ask me, honestly, I never came to Kurukshetra to fight the war! I was hoping that things would change for good! But that belief within me was broken to pieces!”
As Yudishtra laments thus, Bhishmachaarya lets out a laugh and says thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Let me tell you something – “Belief” is a very fragile thing with a soft “Shareeram” and is not easy to manage at all times!” Bhishmachaarya says this and pauses for a second, which leaves Yudishtra confused! He asks Bhishmachaarya thus, “Oh Bhishmachaarya! You’re saying that belief is fragile! You’re saying that it has a soft “Shareeram”! What do these sentences mean? Are you trying to tell me that we should never believe in anybody in this world? Please give me more clarity!” As Yudishtra asks thus, Bhishmachaarya explains in detail – “Oh my dear Yudishtra! You’re matured enough to understand this! Anyway, let me tell you a small story to highlight this point further – “Belief” is personified in the form of a sage – This sage is none other than Sage Thanu. (Thanu means “Shareeram” in Sanskrit). This Sage Thanu is someone who has a slim body, but very tall! He never had any fat in any of the places in his body! In fact, he was just a bag of bones, and nothing else! There was an interesting conversation between this Sage Thanu and a king, and let us delve into it. This king’s son had met an unfortunate death at a very tender age. Upon knowing that his son is no more, the king could not believe it. His heart was broken to pieces and he could not accept this reality that his son is no more! However, the king had a belief that his son was still alive and would come back to him some day! The story here is about this king and his belief, and how Sage Thanu is going to answer him!”
As we look into this story, we should also understand how fragile “belief” is. All of us might have a lot of beliefs and we might be very confident about them. However, we might not be able to understand at certain points in time, which of those beliefs are believable and which are not, isn’t it? We might believe in something or someone so deeply that one fine day we would come to know that it is completely fake! With this, our hearts will break, won’t they? This story is about this concept and in the next episode, we shall witness it and learn a few important lessons from it, as narrated by Bhishmachaarya! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 