The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhagawan Krishna issuing orders to Mayan and Co. to construct a grand “Sabhaa” and a palace around it for the Paandavas at Indraprastha. We had witnessed Arjuna leaving this decision to Bhagawan Krishna and accordingly, with the divine intervention of Bhagawan Krishna, the construction works progressed very quickly. Mayan swiftly mobilized the required labor force from all sides and ensured that the “Sabhaa” was constructed according to “Global standards” of those times! Bhagawan Krishna instructed that this “Sabhaa” should be equal to or even better than Indra’s Sabhaa “Svarga Lokha” and Bhagawan Brahma’s Sabhaa at the “Satya Lokha”. Bhagawan Krishna ensured that at every stage, He gave the best to the Paandavas as an answer to their complete surrender to His divine lotus feet. We’ve had a small description about this in yesterday’s episode as well – Whatever decision-making that Yudishtra and Co. were into, they made sure that they leave the final word to Bhagawan Krishna. Thus, since Bhagawan had the final say for everything that the Paandavas decided, Bhagawan also ensured that He gave His best foot forward for them. 

Thus, the construction was happening at a lightning-quick pace and it was completely done within the next few days / months. Until the last brick was constructed in the entire campus, Bhagawan Krishna ensured that He was with the Paandavas every minute and every second. Readers should recollect that when King Dhridiraashtra gave this piece of land for the Paandavas to rule (“Kaandava Prastham”), it was a mere forest land without anything in it. However, with Bhagawan Krishna’s divine will and grace, this barren land was getting transformed into a sprawling place! Once all the civil works were over, Bhagawan Krishna went around the sprawling campus once and looked at how the construction had taken place! Mayan had done an excellent job! The construction was so impeccable that Bhagawan Krishna Himself was in awe of it! There is going to be a detailed description later on as to how this palace and the courtroom looked like. But for now, Bhagawan Krishna Himself was awestruck with the way it has been created!

Thus, Bhagawan Krishna finished His inspection and appreciated Mayan for the excellent and phenomenal work done within such a short span of time. With this, Bhagawan Krishna also decides that it is time for Him to be back at Dwaraka to discharge His other important duties. He had been with the Paandavas for quite a long time now and the time has come for Him to take leave. Arjuna was in tears as Bhagawan Krishna was about to leave him. Yudishtra also did not have the heart to let go of Bhagawan Krishna, however, he understood that Bhagawan Krishna too had a kingdom and His people to take care of. However, as Bhagawan Krishna was about to leave, something interesting happened. Bhagawan Krishna had a charioteer by name Daaruka. When Daaruka was about to start the chariot with Bhagawan Krishna inside it, Yudishtra stopped Daaruka for a moment and said to him thus, “Oh Daaruka! We are very honored to have Bhagawan Krishna with us, and at the same time we’re very happy that you’ve got a golden opportunity to drive Bhagawan Krishna’s divine chariot. I only have one request for you – If you would permit me, can I drive the chariot for some distance atleast with Bhagawan Krishna in it? This would be a great token of respect and surrender that myself and my brothers have towards Bhagawan. I request you to take your seat along with Bhagawan Krishna for a while, as I would drive the chariot for some distance, after which you can take over!” 

As Yudishtra said thus, Bhagawan Krishna was overwhelmed! He was in tears of joy! Arjuna too was in favor of Yudishtra’s words and he too was ready to drive Bhagawan Krishna’s chariot. Upon seeing this, Bhagawan Krishna did not know how to part with Yudishtra, even though it is only going to be for a short time period. He was amazed with Yudishtra’s steadfast “Bhakti” towards Him! Thus, paying heed to Yudishtra’s words, Bhagawan asked Daaruka to come and sit beside Him, and allowed Yudishtra to drive the chariot! It was this instance that Bhagawan Krishna had impinged in His mind, and at the time of the Kurukshetra war, Bhagawan Krishna repaid this gesture by being the charioteer for Arjuna! 

Thus, for today, let us understand how devoted the Paandava brothers were towards Bhagawan Krishna and let us together take atleast one step forward to imbibe this level of “Bhakti” towards Him! We shall wait till the next episode to understand what happened next! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the commencement of the detailed description of the “Sabhaa Parva” from where we had left at the end of the “Aadhi Parva”. We’ve left at a point wherein the “Kaandava Vanam” is on fire, courtesy Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna. We had witnessed how Indra tried to doze off the fire with rain clouds, but Arjuna chased away the clouds with his powerful “Aagneya-Asthra”. As the fire was raging high, there were many who died in the blaze, however, there were a few who escaped it as well. One such person was Mayan, who was the “real-estate developer” of the Raakshasas. As Mayan escaped, he was happy and relieved, and he wanted to do a return favor to Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna. He proposed that he would help them in building a beautiful “Sabhaa” for Yudishtra and Co. However, Arjuna did not accept it first. He was of the opinion that being a Kshatrya prince, it was his duty to save the lives of genuine people, and for this, he should not get a return favor from anyone. Even as Arjuna explained his stance thus, Mayan was steadfast in his proposal, which now fell into the court of Bhagawan Krishna to decide. Bhagawan Krishna was standing by the side of Arjuna and Mayan and watching the entire proceedings. Now Arjuna pointed out to Bhagawan Krishna to decide if he should go ahead with Mayan’s proposal or not. 

We might basically wonder here as to why Arjuna depended upon Bhagawan Krishna for anything and everything that he had to do. Now this is an important discussion here and there’s an important point that all of us need to understand. Here, building a “Sabhaa” is a small thing, as far as Arjuna and Yudishtra were concerned. If they would have thought about it, they could have themselves created one within just a day or two, or even within the fraction of a second. However, they did not do so. For every move that they took, they left it for Bhagawan Krishna to decide. This shows their infinite trust and devotion towards Bhagawan Krishna and expresses their unconditional surrender to His divine lotus feet. Yudishtra and Arjuna knew who Bhagawan Krishna really was, and Bhagawan on His side, reciprocated their complete surrender. This is why at every instance in the Mahabharata text we would see that if there is anything that the Paandava brothers require or are going through, Bhagawan Krishna would always be present amongst them. We can see this from the beginning till the end. At a time when the Paandavas were insulted in the public courtroom and when Draupati was stripped, Bhagawan Krishna came for their rescue, even though He wasn’t physically present at that time with them. When the Paandavas had to go on exile for twelve years, Bhagawan Krishna was with them for a vast majority of that time period. Subsequently, when it came to undertaking the “peace-mission” before the war, Bhagawan Krishna volunteered Himself to represent the Paandava brothers in front of King Dhridiraashtra and Duryodhana. Finally as all of us know, during the Kurukshetra war, Bhagawan Krishna was with Arjuna for all the eighteen days and made sure that the five brothers were protected. 

Thus we can see here how Bhagawan reciprocated the unconditional surrender that the Paandava brothers exhibited towards Him. As part of this unconditional surrender and the Bhakti that they exhibited, here we’re witnessing how even for a small decision to be made, Arjuna leaves it to Bhagawan Krishna to decide. It is only when we ask Bhagawan for His divine intervention, He would respond. Else, He would only be a mute spectator to whatever we do, even if we encounter hurdles in the middle. Thus, the lesson that we’ve to learn from this point here is that, we should surrender ourselves completely to Bhagawan in whatever action that we do. We should develop that sense of detachment from the results of our actions. Bhagawan Krishna Himself is going to explain this in detail in the upcoming Bhagawad Gita episodes, wherein we shall also witness this point in a great detail as explained by Bhagawan! But for now, we shall understand that for Mayan to proceed with his return-favor, Bhagawan Krishna takes the final decision. 

Taking the lead thus, Bhagawan Krishna gives the green signal to Mayan for building a grand courtroom for Yudishtra to sit. Bhagawan Krishna issues a set of detailed instructions to Mayan on how the courtroom should look like. Bhagawan Krishna emphasizes that the courtroom should look as dazzling as that of Indra’s at the “Svarga Lokha”. If one sees the courtroom around, he shouldn’t be able to differentiate this one from that of Indra’s. Thus, with Bhagawan Krishna’s instructions and divine will, Mayan quickly mobilized all his troops and people. The grand palace was under construction and it was happening at lightning quick speed as well! So for today, let us understand up to this point and let us wait for the next episode to witness the great grandeur of this magnificent courtroom taking shape! Stay tuned! 🙂 

The previous episode saw that culmination of the seemingly long introductory note of the “Sabhaa Parva”. I had spent a lot of time giving a brief of this “Parva” as this is where the entire Mahabharata story takes its shape. The seeds for the Kurukshetra war were sown in this Parva, wherein Draupati was insulted in public, which led to a series of “Sabadhams” (Pledges) being taken by the Paandava brothers in front of King Dhridiraashtra and the others. These pledges were later successfully executed by the Paandavas during the Kurukshetra war where the Kaurava brothers encountered a tragic end to their lives. In this way, during the previous episode we had witnessed the final part of the “Sabhaa Parva” brief, wherein Yudishtra and Co. were once again called for another round of gambling. Since Yudishtra couldn’t say a “NO” to Duryodhana, he returned back to Hastinapura to play the game, only to once again lose to Duryodhana and Sahuni. However, Duryodhana was very steadfast this time and unlike the last time where King Dhridiraashtra intervened and spoilt his party, he made sure that Yudishtra and Co. accept the consequences of losing the game. According to the agreement, the loser of this game had to take up “Vana-Vaasa” for twelve years, followed by a one-year-period of “Agnyaata-Vaasa” wherein they should lead a disguised life without being spotted by anyone anywhere. If however they are spotted by anybody, they would have to once again take up another twelve years of “Vana-Vaasa”, followed by one year of “Agnyaata-Vaasa”. 

This was really tough on Yudishtra and Co., but they did not have an option! The Paandavas had to endure the intense suffering under the wretched hands of Duryodhana. Yudishtra surrendered the kingdom to Duryodhana and got ready to leave for the forest. His brothers and Draupati followed him. Thus, the Paandavas departed to the forest for twelve long years, and with this, we come to the end of the “Sabhaa Parva” brief. So from here on, we shall go back to the beginning of the “Sabhaa Parva”, and commence witnessing each and every instance in detail. I shall try my level best to include all the intricate details that are present in the Mahabharata text, however, there might be some discrepancies here and there, and readers are requested to kindly bear with them. The place where Bhagawan Krishna’s “Charitra” would come, will be stressed upon with a lot of importance, as this is the most important part of the “Sabhaa Parva”. 

Now moving on to the first “Upa-Parva” – As mentioned yesterday, it is often referred to as the “Mantra Parva” or sometimes as “Sabhaa-Kriya Parva”. This is where, Mayan is going to create the grand “Sabhaa” (Courtroom) for Yudishtra at Indraprastha. We had earlier at the end of the “Aadhi Parva” witnessed Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna together destroying the “Kaandava Vanam” isn’t it? Readers can recall here that one of the persons who tried to escape out of this mass destruction was Mayan, who was the builder and “real estate developer” of the Raakshasas. In fact, Arjuna should have killed Mayan, since he was also part of the Raakshasa group, however, Arjuna did not do that. Bhagawan Krishna too understood within a split of a second that Mayan can be used in a good way if he was saved at that point. Subsequently, as Mayan gets protected by the duo, he was very happy and wanted to return the favor. Mayan asks Bhagawan Krishna and Arjuna thus, “Oh Krishna and Arjuna! You’ve done a great deal of help in protecting me and saving my life from the intense fire here at the Kaandava Vanam. For this, I’ve to perform a “Prathyupakaaram” (Favor in return to a favor done). So what shall I do for you? Please feel free to ask me!” 

Upon hearing this from Mayan, Arjuna was happy and replied thus, “Oh my dear Mayan! I know that you are a genuine person by nature and that is why I did not kill you. However, just because I’ve saved your life, it doesn’t mean that I obtain a “Prathyupakaaram” from you. Saving the lives of good people is my duty as a Kshatrya prince! Thus, I’ve only done my duty, and I do not want anything in return from you!” As Arjuna explained his stance thus, Mayan was very happy as well. He replied thus, “Oh Arjuna! Even though you have immense talent and prowess with the bow and arrow, you stand apart from others because of your humility. Many people might be as talented as you, but they might not possess the humility that you do! I’m very impressed with your humility and respect that you’re giving me! Atleast as a token of respect to your humility and talent, I would like to be of some help to you. You might be knowing very well that I have the capability to single handedly construct beautiful buildings. So maybe, if you might permit me, I shall do that for you!” 

As Mayan explains thus, Arjuna replied back: “Oh Mayan! Thank you for the offer! You’ve proposed this idea in front of Bhagawan Himself! Hence, I do not have the right to neither accept or reject your proposal. We shall ask Bhagawan Krishna who is standing by our side for His opinion. If He accepts your proposal, then we can go ahead with it. If He doesn’t seem interested with it, we shall leave it at that!” Now the ball is on Bhagawan Krishna’s court! It is going to be His decision whether to accept or reject Mayan’s proposal! What is Bhagawan Krishna’s decision going to be? Let us wait and witness it in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the introductory note for the important “Sabhaa Parva”, which forms the fulcrum of the entire Mahabharata story. We are at a stage wherein the first game of gambling was over and at the end of it, Yudishtra had lost his five brothers and his wife Draupati. With this, Draupati was insulted in the public courtroom by Duryodhana, Karna and Duchaasana, which led to the Paandava brothers taking a strong pledge to destroy the entire Kaurava clan. As the Paandavas thunder one after the other with extreme anger and frustration, King Dhridiraashtra understood where this is going to, and immediately granted Draupati three boons, with which, the slavery was taken away, and Indraprastha was given back to Yudishtra. However, Duryodhana opposed his father’s move as his entire plan was foiled! He originally wanted to use this gambling game to outsmart Yudishtra and abduct Indraprastha completely and it did happen. However, when King Dhridiraashtra intervened and nullified the game, Duryodhana fumed with anger! He once again confronted his father angrily and wanted another game of gambling wherein the rules were a bit stricter. With repeated persuasion and some emotional appeal from Duryodhana, King Dhridiraashtra unwillingly accepted for the second round of the gamble. 

With this, Yudishtra and Co. were called back to Hastinapura once again. The Paandava brothers had just left Hastinapura and had reached only half the distance of their travel towards Indraprastha. However, within a lightning quick time, Duryodhana was able to convince King Dhridiraashtra for the second round of the gambling game and an invite was sent to Yudishtra immediately. As Yudishtra had already taken a pledge that he wouldn’t say a “NO” to anybody, he was forced to come back for the second round. Now the rule was simple – Whoever loses the game would go to the forest in exile for a period of twelve years. Post the twelve-year-period, there would be a one-year-period called “Agnyaata-Vaasam” wherein they should not be spotted by those who remain in the kingdom. If by chance they are spotted by someone, they would again have to take up another twelve-year exile in the forest plus one year of  “Agnyaata-Vaasam”! 

This was a dangerous rule and Yudishtra knew that he and his brothers are going to be doomed. Inspite of Bheemasena and the others trying to stop Yudishtra from going into this gamble, he couldn’t stop himself. Thus the gamble began and as usual, it was an extremely one-sided affair. Duryodhana was winning right from the word “Go” and finally, Yudishtra had to accept a stunning defeat! Sahuni made sure that whenever the dice was rolled, it was never in favor of Yudishtra even once. Finally Yudishtra was defeated in the gambling game for a second time, and now the rule was very clear – The Paandavas had to go on a twelve-year-exile plus one year of “Agnyaata-Vaasam” wherein they should live secretly without revealing their identity! Meanwhile, Indraprastha and the other wealth that Yudishtra possessed, came under the ambit of Duryodhana completely and with this, he was overjoyed! Nobody was able to question Duryodhana’s scheme of things and thus, Duryodhana “won” over the Paandavas completely without a single arrow being fired on the battlefield! 

On the other hand, Yudishtra graciously accepted defeat and prepared himself to go on the twelve-year exile. Draupati and the other four Paandava brothers followed him silently. Inside their minds, the feud was burning intensely, but that was not the time to show it out, as they were on the losing side. The Paandavas were waiting patiently for the apt time to arrive, so that they could give it back to Duryodhana and Co. with interest! With this, we come to the end of our introductory note for the “Sabhaa Parva”, and from here on, we shall commence our detailed discussion of each “Upa-Parva” that the Sabhaa Parva contains. Readers should note again here that till now for the past few episodes, we had only witnessed a brief of what is discussed in the “Sabhaa Parva”, and we’ve not yet gone into the details of things. So for today, let us understand upto this point and from the next episode, we shall commence our detailed discussion on the “Sabhaa Parva”. The first “Upa-Parva” is often referred to as the “Mantra-Parva”, and we shall witness the contents of this “Mantra-Parva”, starting next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the introductory part of the “Sabhaa Parva”, which extensively talks about how the Paandavas faced extreme humiliation under the hands of Duryodhana, Sahuni and the others, when the gambling game was going on. The vicious one-sided game came to a grinding halt when Draupati was dragged and her saree was stripped off in the public courtroom by Duchaasana (Duryodhana’s brother) as everybody including Bhishmaachaarya, Guru Dhronaachaarya and King Dhridiraashtra watched on without opening their mouths to condemn the blatant “Adharma” that was taking place. However, with the “invisible hand” and the divine intervention of Bhagawan Krishna, Draupati was saved from being humiliated further. As Arjuna and Bheemasena realized that Bhagawan Krishna has saved their wife, both of them stood up and thundered their pledge to the entire courtroom. Bheemasena took a pledge in front of everybody that he would chop off Duchaasana’s hands which pulled Draupati’s saree in public. In his turn, Arjuna took an oath that the entire Kaurava clan would be the victims of his powerful “Gaandeepa”! 

Unable to resist thus, King Dhridiraashtra was extremely scared of the severe consequences that his sons were going to face! He tried to doze down the anger by granting three boons to Draupati, with which she eliminated the slavery of herself and her five husbands from Duryodhana and Co. King Dhridiraashtra on his part nullified the entire game and gave back the Indraprastha kingdom with all its wealth and resources back to Yudishtra. With this, the Paadavas, along with Draupati started returning back to Indraprastha, but their hearts and minds were brimming with anger and frustration over what had happened. They were absolutely sure that they’re going to teach Duryodhana and Co. a befitting lesson very soon for all what they had committed to them.

Meanwhile as the Paandavas left the Hastinapura courtroom with all their resources and kingdom back in their hands, Duryodhana was frustrated! His plan of abducting the Paandavas’ kingdom and property were “cheaply” nullified by none other than his own father, King Dhridiraashtra! Thus, Duryodhana with all his fury demanded an explanation from King Dhridiraashtra: “Oh father! I had put in a lot of effort along with my uncle Sahuni to convince the Paandavas to come for the gambling game, and to win over them. I’ve taken enormous effort to outsmart Yudishtra through the game. However, you came in the middle and spoiled all my efforts! Now that Yudishtra has regained his kingdom and the lost wealth, the purpose of conducting this gambling game has been totally defeated! Now Yudishtra would again regain all his power and fame, and your son Duryodhana would have to beg in the streets! Seeing this, as a father, you would be the happiest person in this world, isn’t it? Today I understood your real intention – You only want your brother’s sons to prosper at the cost of your own sons. You’ve proved to be the worst father that the world could ever see!” 

Hearing this from Duryodhana, King Dhridiraashtra was clearly caught between two minds! He shed tears of empathy and frustration! By playing this “emotional victim card”, Duryodhana struck chord with King Dhridiraashtra and slowly changed his mind from “Dharma” to “Adharma”. With Duryodhana’s words, King Dhridiraashtra started thinking within himself that he was really doing “Adharma” to his son! Thus, Duryodhana saw this as a golden opportunity to push his agenda further. He continued thus, “Oh father! Even now it is not too late! Yudishtra wouldn’t have reached Indraprastha yet. We can still call him back for another game of gambling and regain all his property along with the kingdom. If we call him for the game, he would never say “No”! This is his weakness. Hence, let us exploit his weakness one more time and do a course correction!” 

As Duryodhana says thus, King Dhridiraashtra clearly knew that his son was overpowering him now! Unwillingly and reluctantly King Dhridiraashtra accepted Duryodhana’s demand and gave in to his pressure tactics. Thus, the Paandavas were once again called back for the gambling game and as expected, Yudishtra could not say “NO”! He once again came back along with his brothers and Draupati to play the gambling game, as Sahuni and Duryodhana took their places to commence the game. The rules and regulations were stricter this time! So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode we shall witness what were the rules of the game now, and whether the Paandavas won or lost this time! Stay tuned for the last part of the “Sabhaa Parva” introductory note! 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the introductory note on the “Sabhaa Parvaa”, wherein, we were at the juncture of Draupati being dragged and stripped in front of the entire courtroom of Hastinapura. We had witnessed that Yudishtra had no option but to stake Draupati and play the gamble, only to lose the game to Sahuni’s vicious dice. Once Draupati was lost, Duryodhana declared that from that moment onwards, she would be his “Daasi” or a servant, who would do whatever he wanted, including various kinds of “favors”. Hearing this, the Paandavas were fuming with anger, but couldn’t speak a word against Duryodhana at that moment. Thus, Duryodhana continued his offensive by instructing Duchhasana to drag her to the center of the courtroom and to unstrip her saree in front of everyone. Upon seeing this, the entire courtroom was shell-shocked! Duryodhana had breached all limits to show his anger, frustration and jealousy on the Paandava brothers. Nobody could speak a word against Duryodhana, including Bhishmaachaarya, Guru Dhronaachaarya and King Dhridiraashtra himself! However, as Draupati ardently prayed to Bhagawan Krishna, He came to her rescue and protected her chastity and image by extending her saree length to infinite limits. 

As this happened, Duchaasana was tired of pulling Draupati’s saree and at one stage, he couldn’t continue further. Once Duchaasana halts his offense, the entire courtroom was fuming with anger! Bheemasena lost his cool. He was brimming with anger and stood up violently amidst everyone and took a firm oath in front of the entire courtroom. As Bheemasena spoke, the entire courtroom shook with fear! Bheemasena took an oath thus, “Given that Duchaasana and Duryodhana have breached their limits of insulting my brothers and our wife Draupati, there would definitely be a day wherein I shall give it back to them! There would be a day wherein I would personally chop off the very same hands of Duchaasana which pulled Draupati’s saree in public. There would be a day wherein I would chop off Duryodhana’s thighs, upon which he wanted Draupati to come and sit! This would definitely happen and on that day, the world would witness what is Bheemasena’s raw muscle power really is!” 

As Bheemasena roared with anger thus, Arjuna stood up! He took a pledge in a similar way as his brother thus, “Oh King Dhridiraashtra! Please make a note – Till today all of us were patiently absorbing all the insults that were thrown upon us by Duryodhana! There would be a day wherein all your hundred Kaurava sons would be the target of my “Gaandeepa” (Bow) and with that, your entire clan would be wiped out of this world! There would be a day when I would shower my arrows upon your sons and just like we suffer today with immense pain, your sons would also face the same suffering on the battlefield! All your hundred sons would encounter a painful death!” Hearing thus, Nakula and Sahadeva stood up and took a similar pledge in front of everyone! They roared thus, “Oh King! Just like how this vicious Sahuni rolled the dice to doom us, there would be a day when either of us would chop off Sahuni’s hands permanently! The very fingers that rolled the dice would be cut off mercilessly by both of us! This day is not very far off!” 

As King Dhridiraashtra was hearing all this one by one, he was shell-shocked! He was speechless! He did not know what was going on! He did not expect the gambling game to take such a “U-turn” to the worst! As Vidura repeatedly recommended King Dhridiraashtra to break his silence and put an end to all this nonsense that was going on, King Dhridiraashtra says thus, “Oh Paandava brothers! I seek an unconditional apology on behalf of my son Duryodhana! Whatever has happened today in the Hastinapura courtroom is completely unprecedented! I request you to forgive all of us for the insult that has been caused to you and to Draupati! Now I give the orders as a king – All the Paandavas would go back to Indraprastha and Yudishtra would continue serving as the king with all the wealth and resources. This game has been nullified with immediate effect! Since Draupati has borne extreme insult and since she is our dearest daughter-in-law, I request Draupati to ask for three boons to me and I shall grant it to her immediately!” 

As King Dhirdiraashtra requests thus, Draupati asked for two boons and kept the third one unasked. With the first boon, she relieved all her husbands from Duryodhana’s slavery. Secondly, she relieved herself from being a “Daasi” of Duryodhana. As Draupati asked these two boons, King Dhirdiraashtra immediately granted both of them to Draupati and with this, the entire Paandava camp started their journey back to Indraprastha. So for today, let us understand until this point wherein the events turned back to the Paandavas’ favor. However, the insults and the pledges made, remained as bad memories forever! We shall continue this discussion further in the next episode, to witness what was Duryodhana’s reaction to what his father had done! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had continued with the introductory note of the “Sabhaa Parva”, wherein we’re at an important juncture of the gambling game taking place at Hastinaupra. Duryodhana and Sahuni had arranged a “friendly” game of gambling with the Paandavas, but the malicious intention behind it was to abduct all the wealth from the Paandavas through the game. This was a cowardly act to insult and demean the Paandavas. Yudishtra, being interested in the game, but not knowing how to play it smartly, started losing item after item to Duryodhana. Sahuni, being the fulcrum behind Duryodhana’s “success” in the dice, made sure that Yudishtra did not win even for a single time. Whatever Sahuni rolled out, came in Duryodhana’s favor and after every move, Yudishtra lost something or the other. At the final stages of the game, Yudishtra had to stake his four brothers in order to continue the game further. In Spite of warnings from his brothers, Yudishtra continued the game, only to lose his brothers to Duryodhana as slaves! 

Now it was time for the final move and the rule for the final move was to stake Draupati and play. Yudishtra wasn’t ready for this, but because of repeated insults and teasing from Karna and Duryodhana, Yudishtra was pushed to a corner. He had no other option but to stake Draupati and play. As usual – Sahuni rolled the dice and the numbers again were in favor of Duryodhana! Now Yudishtra had lost all his wealth, along with his four brothers and his wife Draupati! He did not have anything else with him to stake and continue the play. Finally, it was declared that Duryodhana was the winner and the owner of all of Yudishtra’s wealth, kingdom, his brothers and Draupati as well! Buoyed by this, Duryodhana and Karna went a step forward to insult Draupati with all sorts of unparliamentary words. Karna went on to make fun of Draupati by saying thus, “Oh wow! Look at Draupati! She is a shameless woman who had a desire to “sleep” with five useless men! If she can shamelessly do so, why can’t she sleep with the sixth and the seventh men? She can very well sit on Duryodhana’s lap now, since she is his “Daasi” (Servant who should do anything and everything whatever the master asks for)!” 

As Karna said thus, the entire courtroom was stunned! King Dhridiraashtra couldn’t understand what was going on! What started as a “friendly” game, has now taken a turn for the worst! The real plan of Sahuni and Duryodhana were achieved without even the knowledge of King Dhridiraashtra! Bhishmaachaarya, Guru Dhronaachaarya were also stunned and could not open his mouth to condemn the open crime that was happening in front of their eyes! Now it was time for Duryodhana to take a giant leap forward. As nobody objected to what was going on, Duryodhana felt that he had all the powers in the world to do whatever he wanted! He immediately saw a chance to pile on the Paandavas’ misery further and ordered his servants to drag Draupati to the middle of the courtroom! At that time, Draupati was in her menstrual periods time, and she objected to being called in front of people. However, the servants held her hands and dragged her to the courtroom! 

Upon seeing this, even though nobody opened their mouth to speak anything against Duryodhana, Vidura stood up and blasted King Dhridiraashtra for being a mute spectator to what is happening! This was an unprecedented event where a woman was being publicly insulted in front of the entire courtroom filled with men. Vidura tried to educate King Dhridiraashtra and urged Bhishmaachaarya and Guru Dhronaachaarya to open their mouth and stop this “Adharma” that was blatantly happening in front of their eyes. However, Vidura’s advice went into deaf ears of people, as all of them were scared of facing Duryodhana’s wrath. Thus, as Draupati was dragged on, she was insulted left, right and center by Duryodhana and Co. on her face. As part of the final assault, Duryodhana’s brother, Duchaasana got up immediately and saw an opportunity to inflict more pain – He started undressing Draupati in public! 

Upon seeing this, the entire courtroom was stunned beyond words! Nobody knew how to react any further! Bhishmaachaarya was stunned! He did not expect such a thing to happen! This was really unprecedented and a blatant “Adharma” that was happening! Vidura’s heart pained immensely as Duchaasana started removing Draupati’s saree. Draupati cried profusely and helplessly and nobody came to her rescue! Even Yudishtra or the other Paandava brothers couldn’t come to her rescue and protect her chastity. Finally, Draupati realized that there’s no use of trusting any human being here – The only solace is Bhagawan Krishna! She quickly remembered Bhagawan Krishna’s promise to her that He would come to her rescue whenever she wanted! Draupati immediately folded her hands and prayed immensely to Bhagawan Krishna! With this, Bhagawan Krishna’s heart melted and tears flowed through His eyes! In fact, Bhagawan Krishna was not physically present at Hastinapura at that moment, however, He decided to intervene! How can Bhagawan let His ardent devotee suffer such an immense insult and torture in public? How can Bhagawan allow such a blatant “Adharma” to go unchecked? 

Thus, as Draupati surrendered herself to Bhagawan, He stepped in. Bhagawan Krishna ensured that the length of Draupati’s saree kept on increasing as Duchaasana was pulling it! In other words, Duchhasana wasn’t able to undress Draupati completely as Bhagawan Krishna protected her with an infinite length of her saree. 

This event is referred to as “Draupati-Vastra-Apaharnam” and is the turning point of the entire Mahabharata story! For today, let us understand until this point, and we shall continue in the next episode as to what happened further! Stay tuned! 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the introductory note on the “Sabhaa Parva”, wherein we’re seeing a jist of all the events that are explained here. In that way, we’re currently at a place wherein Yudishtra’s Raaja-Suya Yaga took place and in the midst of it, Sishupala was killed by Bhagawan Krishna. Post that, Duryodhana looks around Yudishtra’s Indraprastha palace and the enormous wealth he possessed. Fuming with jealousy thus, Duryodhana goes back to Hastinapura and starts a brainstorming session with King Dhridiraashtra, Sahuni and the others. The team decided that war is no more an option to bring down the Paandavas. Secret attempts to kill the Paandavas have also failed in the past, with the “Laaksha Griha” episode being the biggest proof for the same. Since Bhagawan Krishna is with the Paandavas 24*7 almost, there is no option to directly confront the Paandavas in any way. So the only way to take them down is to do something with “perverted intelligence” and smartness. In some way or the other, Duryodhana and Co. should outsmart the Paandavas and abduct all the wealth and the kingdom that they currently possess. As this discussion was going on in full swing, Sahuni comes up with the idea of inviting the Paandavas for a game of gambling! Sahuni was an expert in this game and when he rolls over the dice, it would reflect exactly the same number that he thinks before rolling. Also, Sahuni knows Yudishtra’s weakness in this regard – Yudishtra loves playing the gambling game, but he doesn’t know how to play it with perfection. The more he would lose, the more involved he would be in playing it. This is exactly the weakness that Sahuni plans to use, in order to slowly abduct all the wealth from Yudishtra. 

Thus the plan was made! It was a simple one – Yudishtra and Co. would be called to Hastinapura on a “friendly game” of gambling. As the game goes on, and as Yudishtra is involved deeper and deeper, with every loss of his, the wealth of Indraprastha would slowly start becoming Duryodhana’s! As this plan was being finalized, King Dhridiraashtra meekly objected to it. He wasn’t very keen with this idea, and we should remember that King Dhridiraashtra wasn’t aware of the intricacy behind Duryodhana’s plan. He initially thought that it is going to be merely a friendly game, but playing a game of gambling in the center of a king’s courtroom is totally against Raaja-Dharma. However, Duryodhana and Sahuni suppressed King Dhridiraashtra’s meek resistance and the game was finalized. All these details are explained under the important “Upa-Parva” called “Dyutha-Parva”. This is the penultimate “Upa-Parva” of the “Sabhaa Parva” and it is in this same “Upa-Parva” Sage Vyaasa explains how Yudishtra agreed to play the gambling game, and how he started losing from the moment the game commenced. 

Every move that Sahuni and Duryodhana made were extremely smart and Yudishtra had no clue as to how to win over this vicious duo! Move after move goes on and there was no sign of Yudishtra winning even for a single time. As the game progresses, all the wealth that Yudishtra possessed, started to go out of his control. This included thousands of elephants, thousands of infantry soldiers, thousands of chariots, gold, silver, and other costly ornaments, etc. Finally, the turn came to stake the remaining four Paandava brothers and play. If Duryodhana wins this move, the four Paandava brothers including Bheemasena, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva would become slaves of Duryodhana and Co. The dice was rolled and as usual, it came in the favor of Duryodhana and Sahuni. With this, Yudishtra lost his four brothers as well! 

Now it was the time for one final move – Draupati. Duryodhana and Karna teased Yudishtra to stake Draupati and claim. Even though Yudishtra opposed it, he was pressured into staking her. Without an option, Yudishtra staked Draupati and played – Only to lose her to Sahuni’s vicious dice! Post this, Duryodhana and Co. gained complete control of Yudishtra and Draupati became Duryodhana’s slave. With this, Duryodhan ordered Draupati to be pulled out of her living room! So for today, let us understand up to this point, and we shall continue this treacherous discussion in the next episode to witness what happened to Draupati after this! Stay tuned!

In the previous episode, we had continued with our introductory description of the “Sabhaa Parva”, wherein we had witnessed two important events – The Jaraasandha Vadam and the Sishupaala Vadam. Jaraasandha was killed by Bheemasena and Sishupaala was killed by Bhagawan Krishna Himself. As Sishupaala threw the hundredth abuse on Bhagawan Krishna in the public courtroom, Bhagawan Krishna employed His “Chakra-Aayudha” and killed Sishupaala on the spot. Before Sishupaala was killed and as Sishupaala was abusing Bhagawan Krishna, Bhishmaachaarya tried to intervene in the middle and explained the significance of Bhagawan Krishna. Bhishmaachaarya tried making Sishupaala understand that Bhagawan Krishna isn’t an ordinary person as the others think and that, He was Bhagawan Vishnu incarnate. However, all these good pieces of advice from Bhishmaachaarya failed to enter into Sishupala’s ears, and finally he met a ghastly end to his life in the hands of Bhagawan Krishna. 

As this Sishupala episode comes to an end, the Raaja-Suya Yaaga of Yudishtra continues without any further interruption. As the Yaaga was going on, Duryodhana and Co. went around the Indraprastha palace of the Paandavas and they saw enormous amounts of gold and other forms of wealth abundant there. The construction of the Indraprastha palace stunned Duryodhana beyond words. He was so impressed with the structure of the palace and the other luxury homes that surrounded it. Duryodhana goes around the palace and tries to push one door to open it. However, the door’s structure was different and it came and dashed upon Duryodhana’s face. At another place, Duryodhana tries to pull a door open. However, that door doesn’t open by pulling, and again it comes back to hit his face! At another place, it appears to Duryodhana’s eyes that there is a lot of water on the floor. Seeing this, Duryodhana pulls up his dress from below so that the dress doesn’t get wet. However, as he walks through that place, there wasn’t even a single drop of water! It was just a mirage! At another place, Duryodhana was thinking that it was a mere floor without anything, however, that floor was full of water and Duryodhana accidentally fell into it and got drenched completely! 

As Duryodhana’s struggle was exposed, many people in the palace laughed at him. Draupati also laughed at Duryodhana when he fell on the ground filled with water! As laughter filled the place, Duryodhana’s ego was deeply hurt! He was clearly insulted by everyone around him, including Draupati. This made him fume with anger and frustration! He thus rushed back to Hastinapura and made a savage resolution – He is not going to let the Paandavas grow in popularity and richness any further. Enough is enough! Duryodhana decided to “go for the kill” and somehow abduct all what the Paandavas had with them. He thus goes directly to his father, King Dhridiraashtra and fumes thus, “Oh father! Look at how the Paandavas have grown! It is only because of your compassion towards your brother Paandu that these people have grown enormously with so much wealth. If this continues further, your son Duryodhana would be buried under the bushes by Yudishtra and Co. I’ve tried all my ways and means to kill them, but nothing have worked so far. In many of my attempts, you were a stumbling block for me from proceeding further!” 

As Duryodhana fumes thus, Sahuni joins the party as well. Sahuni supports Duryodhana and explains thus, “Oh King! There is Sage Dhoumya, Bhagawan Krishna, etc. alongside the Paandavas, and hence, there is no point in calling them for a fight. Thus, the only way to get a hold on the Paandavas is to go through the “backdoor” way. There is no point fighting them head-on. It is only our smartness and shrewdness with which we’ve to win over the Paandavas. According to my understanding, Yudishtra likes to gamble, but he doesn’t know how to play the gamble smartly. Moreover, if he’s pulled into gambling, he would go to any extent to keep playing the game. Let us call them for a game of gambling and with that, I shall use all my smartness and experience to abduct everything from Yudishtra! Hence, Oh King Dhridiraashtra! Please grant us permission to proceed with the game of gambling!” 

So for today, let us understand the introductory note until this point. Of course, we should remember that all these things are going to be witnessed by all of us in a greater detail later. This is just a summary of the set of events that are being talked about in the “Sabhaa Parva”. We shall continue this discussion further in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had continued with the introductory note on the “Sabhaa Parva” wherein, we had witnessed a jist of a few events that we would find a detailed explanation here. In that way, we had witnessed Sage Naarada’s accord on various dazzling “Sabhas” (Courtrooms) at Indra Lokha, Varuna Lokha, Satya Lokha, etc. Subsequently there is a detailed description of how Jaraasandha was killed. As Yudishtra wanted to perform a grand “Raaja-Suya Yaaga”, Jaraasandha was a stumbling block for it. Bhagawan Krishna decided to use this opportunity to kill Jaraasandha, who has been escaping Bhagawan Krishna’s ploy for so many years until then. Thus, with the help of Arjuna and Bheemasena, Jaraasandha was neutralized. 

Next in the list is the “Sishupala-Vadha Parva”. Now why did this come here? As Yudishtra commenced the “Raaja-Suya Yaaga”, there was a question as to who should accept the “Arga-Puja”, which is an integral part of the ritual offering. Normally, as a token of customary respect, the first “Argya” (A spoon of holy water) should be offered to someone who had the highest level of Bhakti or “Sharanaagati” towards Bhagawan, isn’t it? We have this practice even today. Thus, “Argyam” is the terminology given to the spoon of holy water that is given in the hands of the person who has the highest level of Bhakti. The spoon of water with which that person’s feet is washed with, is called “Paadyam”. Finally, the spoon of water that is given in that person’s hands to drink is called “Aachamaneeyam”. Thus, as part of a spiritual offering, the person who is performing it should give all these three to someone who is an epitome of Bhakti before commencing the rituals. This is what we refer to as the “Agra-Puja”. Readers should be familiar with all these basic terminologies as we move on. 

As Yudishtra is the “Karta” here, he is now thinking as to whom should he offer the “Argyam”, “Paadhyam” and “Aachamaneeyam”. As usual, Yudishtra had this doubt in him, and he asks Bhishmaachaarya, Guru Dhronaachaarya, etc. who were sitting by his side. We should remember that this “Raaja-Suya Yaga” was an extremely grand event and for this, the entire Hastinaupra kingdom was invited. Duryodhana and Co. were also sitting as part of the Yaga that was taking place. Thus, as Yudishtra expresses his doubt, Bhishmaachaarya immediately stands up and replies, “Oh Yudishtra! Why do you even have an iota of doubt? The “Agra-Puja” should be performed to none other than Bhagawan Krishna who had graced His presence for this auspicious event. I don’t think anybody else has that qualification other than Bhagawan Krishna here. Hence, you may proceed forward by performing the “Agra-Puja” rituals to Bhagawan Krishna!” 

As Bhishmaachaarya declares thus, everybody in the courtroom accepted it, including Duryodhana. All of them were happy that Bhagawan Krishna had graced the occasion and with this, Sahadeva took the container where the holy water was stored and walked towards Bhagawan Krishna. He was ready to wash Bhagawan’s divine lotus feet with that holy water from the container. It is at this time, Sishupala burst out with anger! He was the only person in the entire courtroom who was against Bhagawan Krishna being respected so highly. He immediately stood up and replied to the entire courtroom with anger thus, “Oh wow! A person who “stole” my wife from me is getting a royal treatment and enormous respect! Long live Hastinapura and Indraprastha kingdoms! A person who doesn’t deserve even an iota of respect is being given a high-level treatment and that too, as part of a spiritual offering! This fellow abducted Rukmini Devi without my knowledge, took her somewhere and married her. He is a thief right from childhood days. He never knows the meaning of the word truth. He’s a mere bunch of lies and nothing more! He has married over sixteen thousand women and still is roaming around without even an iota of shame! You’re all providing so much respect to such a foolish person amidst this important occasion, and this is a shameful act!”

Fuming with extreme anger thus, Sishupala went on to make hundred such accusations against Bhagawan Krishna amidst the public courtroom. As Sishupala was going on and on thus, Bhagawan Krishna remained silent and was smiling at Sishupala for whatever he was saying against him. After the hundredth accusation was made, Bhagawan Krishna decides that it was time for Him to finish Sishupala then and there. As Bhagawan Krishna was about to rise up, Bhishmaachaarya quickly intervened in the middle and explained the significance of Bhagawan Krishna to Sishupala and to the entire courtroom. This is where Sage Vyaasa has kept the detailed accord of Bhagawan Krishna in the entire Mahabharata text. 

However, even as Bhishmaachaarya explains Bhagawan Krishna in detail, Sishupala wasn’t ready to listen to all of this. He went on with his accusations and at one point in time, Bhagawan Krishna decided that He has had enough. He immediately took out His “Chakra-Aayudha”, aimed it at Sishupala’s head and with this, Sishupala fell on the ground dead! Thus, Bhagawan Krishna neutralized Sishupala amidst the public courtroom itself and this “Charitra” finds a detailed description in the “Sabhaa Parva”. So for today, let us understand until this point and let us wait till the next episode to continue this introductory description further! Stay tuned! 🙂