The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an important juncture wherein the time had come for the “Laaksha Griha” to go up into flames! Purochana and Duryodhana believed that the Paandavas had trusted them enough and it was time that they were burnt alive inside the “Laaksha Griha” as per their plan. However, neither Purochana nor Duryodhana had an iota of an idea that Vidura’s workman was building an underground escape route for the Paandavas overnight. Thus, as the “D-day” approached, the Paandavas saw it as an opportunity to escape out, when Purochana’s assistants (A woman and her five sons) were residing in the same “Laaksha Griha” and were fast asleep. As Purochana’s men saw these six people sleeping, they thought that these were the Paandava brothers alongside Kunthi Devi who were sleeping! Thus, the entire “Laaksha Griha” was set on fire and all the six people were burnt to death. However, the Paandavas took the escape route and reached the banks of river Ganges, wherein another assistant of Vidura was readily waiting for them with a raft. He helped them to cross over the river and ensured that the Paandavas and Kunthi Devi are safe and secure. 

As all this was happening, it was the wee hour of the night and the entire town was fast asleep. However, with the entire “Laaksha Griha” up in flames, people of the town woke up to see the horror visuals. They gathered in front of the burning palace and there was a lot of hue and cry going around. As the Paandavas were aboard the raft, they were also seeing all this happening at a distance. As the entire town was frenzy all around, the fire was somehow dozed down, but not without damaging the entire palace. As the fire came to a halt, people started to find out the whereabouts of those who were residing inside. They saw the burnt corpse of a woman, which was beyond identification. As nobody was able to identify who it was, the people came to a conclusion that it was none other than Kunthi Devi! Subsequently, the corpses of five other people were also found out, and the town believed that these were the corpses of the five Paandava brothers who were residing here. 

Thus, the news spread thick and fast like wildfire. King Dhirdiraashtra, Bhishmaachaarya and Dhronaachaarya were shell-shocked upon hearing the news! Duryodhana too acted as if he was in despair, but internally he knew what had really conspired. The entire Hastinapura kingdom started mourning the untimely demise of the Paandava brothers and Kunthi Devi. The situation went to such an extent that even the “Jala-Tharpana” was performed for the Paandavas and Kunthi Devi. As Bhishmaachaarya couldn’t hold back his grief during the process of “Jala-Tharpana”, Vidura called him by his side. In fact, as the entire kingdom was mourning the Paandavas’ demise, Vidura was the only person who was not mourning. In fact, he was laughing within himself, knowing what had happened. He thus called Bhishmaachaarya towards him and secretly told him not to worry – The Paandavas were alive, safe and secure! Upon hearing this, Bhishmaachaarya was surprised! He asked Vidura how he knew of it. Vidura explained to Bhishmaachaarya that it was he who ensured the Paandava’s safe passage out of the “Laaksha Griha” through an underground tunnel that was dug overnight by his workman. Eventually as the Paandavas escaped out, it was his person who ensured that the Paandavas crossed over the River Ganges to reach the other side safely. 

As Vidura explains thus, he is now going on to scold Bhishmaachaarya! Why is Vidura scolding Bhishmaachaarya, even though he was a senior person in the kingdom? What was Bhishmaachaarya’s fault here? Let us wait till the next episode to witness Vidura’s stinging accord on Bhishmaachaarya! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the Paandavas strategizing their way out of the “Laaksha Griha”. The broad strategy was that, they would wait till Purochana trusts them and one night when he was sleeping, they would somehow sneak out of the “Laaksha Griha” and burn it up to trap Purochana inside. As the Paandavas were strategizing thus, a workman arrived from Hastinapura, introducing himself as Vidura’s messenger. To earn Yudishtra’s trust, the workman narrates all what Vidura had advised him in the “Mlecha Bhaasha” and with this, the Paandavas knew that he was a trusted aide of Vidura. The workman joined the strategizing process along with Yudishtra and Co. and finally, a tunnel was planned to be built underground, so that this would serve as a secretive exit route for all of them. The workman cautioned them that it was not easy for the Paandavas to sneak through the normal entrance / exit gates as Purochana is a very shrewd person to find out the intention with which the exit is done. Hence, the only way to outsmart Purochana is to escape through an underground tunnel, which he might not know. 

Moreover, the day on which Purochana and Duryodhana are planning to burn down the “Laaksha Griha” is the “Krishna-paksha Chaturdashi” day, which is quite far off. As a lot of time is left, the workman assures the Paandavas that he would finish the tunneling work within that day. Thus, the tunneling work goes on in full swing and the workman singlehandedly does all the work. This work goes on without the knowledge of Purochana, who is not going out even for a single minute. He is constantly inside the house 24*7, with a constant vigil over the Paandavas. The Paandavas in turn behave well with Purochaha, thus earning his trust. As time passed by, Purochana believed that the Paandavas trusted him a lot and they treated him as a loyal and a royal servant with all the respect! Yudishtra was extremely smart in that way, and somehow kept Purochana away from the place from where the tunnel was being built. 

As this tunneling work was coming to an end, the day that Duryodhana had anticipated was also coming closer. At this point in time, there was a woman who had five sons. All of them were wicked in nature and were all assisting Purochana in whatever he was doing. These six people also used to reside in the same “Laaksha Griha” for the night and as the “D-day” arrived, Yudistra saw this as an opportunity. Meanwhile, there was someone outside who was ready with the fire! Bheemasena saw this secretly from a window and the Paandavas decided that it is now or never! Along with Kunthi Devi, all of them jumped into the tunnel one after the other, walked underground and came outside through another exit that was far outside the “”Laaksha Griha” near the banks of River Ganga. As this was happening, it was the wee hour of the night and the time that the Paandavas left along with Kunthi Devi, the Laaksha Griha was set on fire! 

Since the “Laaksha Griha” was built with all inflammable items, the fire catches quickly and the entire palace started burning with full steam! Duryodhana’s messenger set the fire on to the “Laaksha Griha” thinking that the five people and the wicked woman (Purochana’s assistants) were the five Paandava brothers along with Kunthi Devi. They were all sleeping at one point, which was visible for Duryodhana’s assistant from outside. As the fire was set, Duryodhana’s messenger runs away from that spot, so that he is not traced by anybody outside. As the “Laaksha Griha” was burning, the Paandavas safely exited out of the tunnel and were shell-shocked to see the entire palace on fire! They were protected by timely help from Vidura! 

As the Paandavas reach the banks of the river, there was a boatman readily waiting for them, who again introduced himself as someone who was sent by Vidura to transport them safely across the river. We’re witnessing multiple places wherein Vidura was of great help to the Paandavas and how he protected them at critical junctures when their lives were at risk. Thus, the Paandavas got into the raft and with this, they reached the other side of the river safely. So for today, let us understand until this point, and let us witness in the next episode as to what happened next at Hastinapura! Duryodhana would have been an extremely happy person because his “plan” was executed with “perfection”! Stay tuned for an interesting accord! 🙂 

We’re amidst a crucial juncture wherein the Paandavas are trapped inside the “Laaksha Griha” at Vaaranaavatha Desha – Courtesy, a wicked plan by Duryodhana with the help of Purochana. We’ve witnessed earlier that Purochana was deputed by Duryodhana to build an attractive “Laaksha Griha” which was built with all types of inflammable items that would easily catch fire when burnt. The idea was to trap the Paandavas while they were fast asleep during the wee hours of the night and burn them alive! As per the mega plan, the “Laaksha Griha” was constructed within no time and Purochana sent a message of consent to Duryodhana. Accordingly the Paandavas move in, but not without some pieces of advices and “indirect” warnings from Vidura. In the entire Hastinapura family, if there was one person to be picked out who was genuinely worried about the Paandavas’ welfare, it was Vidura. This is the second instance wherein Vidura tried his best to protect the Paandavas from the wrath of Duryodhana and Co. 

Accordingly, we’ve seen that as the Paandavas started their new life at the “Laaksha Griha”, Yudishtra came to know the real plan of Duryodhana. He discovered with the touch of one of the walls in the palace that the entire structure was built of wax and other inflammable items. Within a flash, Vidura’s advice lingered in Yudishtra’s mind. He understood the ploy and immediately called for a meeting amongst the five brothers. Kunthi Devi was shocked! Bheemasena was fuming with anger! He wanted to go and finish off Duryodhana then and there and put and end to all these nasty things that were happening. However, Yudishtra calmed all of them down. Especially for Bheemasena, Yudishtra had a piece of advice to make, which is very important here. Yudishtra explains to Bheemasena thus, “Oh Bheemasena! I understand your anger. It is genuine. Even I have the same anger within me too! But this is not the right time to express it in the open. Duryodhana’s intent is that all of us should be killed. At this time, if we try and do something against Duryodhana, Purochana would wake up and smell the situation. We should never let Purochana know our strategy, as he is even more wicked than Duryodhana!”

Yudishtra continues further with his advice to Bheemasena. He now recollects what Vidura had explained to him before they left for the Vaaranaavatha Desha. Yudishtra advices Bheemasena thus, “Oh Bheemasena! Moreover, remember Vidura’s words of wisdom! If Vidura wanted us to protect us then and there, he would have easily done so! But he did not do that. Vidura advised us only to “escape” from Duryodhana’s trap, and not to “fight” against Duryodhana at this time. Vidura is a senior person, isn’t it? Hence, he would definitely know when is the right time to take Duryodhana down. Since Vidura advised us to escape out, perhaps he wants us to live somewhere else without the knowledge of Duryodhana for sometime. This might perhaps give a chance for Duryodhana to mend his ways and be friendly with us again. Oh Bheemasena! Fights and wars should always be the last resort to take on someone. According to the “Raaja Dharma” we should always give a chance for the enemy to mend his ways and understand our real good intent towards him. Fighting doesn’t take a long time! All of us know your strengths and we know that you are no match to what Duryodhana is. But you need to wait. You should exhibit your strength only at times when it should be exhibited. For now, let us strategize our way forward! Our first agenda should be to somehow escape out of this “Laaksha Griha” as soon as possible before Purochana finds out!” 

As the Paandavas were strategizing thus, a workman from Hastinapura arrived at the “Laaksha Griha” to meet the Paandavas. This workman was specifically sent by Vidura to help the Paandavas in building an underground tunnel. As the workman arrives, he talks to Yudishtra thus, “Oh Yudishtra! I’m Vidura’s apprentice, and I have come to help you to escape out of this place as quickly as possible. I know you wouldn’t be in a position to believe me directly. But here is proof that I’ve come from Vidura. Do you remember Vidura talking to you in a “Mlecha Bhaasha” before you left Hastinapura? If I tell the content of what Vidura had said, you would believe in me, isn’t it?” Saying thus, the workman narrates the entire advice given by Vidura in the “Mlecha Bhaasha”. I’m not going into it again, as we’ve already witnessed in our previous episode. This is exactly the same strategy that Hanuman adopted when he went to meet Mother Sita at Lanka. He too narrated some instances that were highly intimate between Mother Sita and Bhagawan Rama to earn her trust. We’ve witnessed this in our previous Ramayana project and readers can refer to it for more details.

Thus, Vidura’s workman too earns the trust of Yudishtra and Co. and the process of tunnel building begins! So for today, let us have it until this point and we shall witness in the next episode how the Paandavas escape out of the “Laaksha Griha”! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Yudishtra and Co. leaving for the Vaaranaavatha Desha and as they leave, Vidura gives some important pieces of advice in the “Mlecha Baasha” (Combination of non-verbal and indirect communication) to the Paandavas, so that they would be alert of the grave danger that they’re being put into. As Vidura explains his points, Yudishtra fairly understands that there is some sort of a problem awaiting them, but doesn’t understand completely. Anyways, all of them leave Hastinapura and the entire caravan lands at the beautiful “Laaksha Griha”, which is newly constructed at the Vaaranaavatha Desha. 

As they are on the way, Kunthi Devi slowly asks Yudishtra thus, “Oh Yudishtra! What was Vidura telling you all this while? I was not able to understand what he was trying to say. I guess he was trying to tell you something indirectly. Did you understand the deeper meaning behind what he said?” Yudishtra replies thus, “Oh Mother! Yes. I fairly understood. I know that Vidura is one person who always thinks about our welfare and is extremely concerned for our well-being. Hence, I’m sure that whatever he has said, is for our own good only. All that I understood from Vidura’s narrative was that, we should be very alert at all times! Walls might have ears, so we should be very careful in what we talk. We shouldn’t believe anyone so naively and we should be careful to identify what people’s real agendas are. Moreover, Vidura has warned that there might be a danger with fire and hence we should be careful not to be trapped into any sort of fires. Anyways, let us see what happens as we reach Vaaranaavatha!” Saying thus, the entire caravan reaches the Vaaranaavatha Desha and Purochana is there, waiting to receive all of them! 

Purochana, on his part, shows the entire palace to them and the Paandavas are impressed with the design and the aesthetics with which the palace was constructed. They slowly start residing there and Purochana, as planned, acts like an extremely loyal person to all of them. However, as hours pass by, Yudishtra recalls Vidura’s words regarding the “wall” and “fire”. He touches the wall and sees that it is something different than the normal construction. The wall was very soft, unlike the ones that are constructed with rocks. Upon deeply examining the construction, Yudishtra understood that the palace is fully constructed with wax! He became alert of the imminent danger that is ahead of them. As Yudishtra realizes this, he immediately calls his brothers and Mother Kumthi Devi and explains thus, “Oh brothers and mother! Do you remember Vidura’s words? There’s an imminent danger with fire and the wall! Look at this. The entire palace is constructed with wax and other inflammable items. There is every chance that the entire palace would be burnt down any minute and we might be trapped into the fire! Look at the trees and grass that are planted outside this palace – All of them would catch fire immediately and burn quickly. Whatever we see around are all inflammable items, including oil, ghee, etc.”

As Yudishtra explains thus, the Paandavas understand the serious danger that they are into! Mother Kunthi Devi is shocked beyond words! Their lives are under a huge threat! However, Yudishtra continues thus, “Oh people! Let us not panic at this point. This would cast a doubt in Purochana’s mind, whether we’ve found out their ploy! Let us just go by the flow. Let Purochana try and earn our loyalty. We shall also act as if we trust him. As time progresses, we shall trap him and burn him inside this “Laaksha Griha”!” Hearing this from his brother, Bheemasena was fuming with anger! He bit his teeth with extreme fury and asks Yudishtra thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Give me permission! I shall kill this Purochana on the spot and after this, go and kill Duryodhana straightaway! Enough is enough! Why should we undergo these tortures and threats from an incapable and a jealous fellow?” 

As Bheemasena was fuming thus, Yudishtra calmed him down by saying that this is not the right time to exhibit anger and frustration! Here, Yudishtra’s strategizing of the problem is exceptional and impeccable and this is something that all leaders and managers should learn and understand! What is Yudishtra’s strategy going to be to counter Duryodhana’s arrogance? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Duryodhana entrusting the important and a secretive task of building the “Laaksha Griha” (Inflammable palace or “Arakku Maaligai”) to his dear friend Purochana at the Varaanaavatha Desha for the Paandavas to reside. The plan is to somehow earn the trust of the Paandavas and as they start residing there comfortably, they would be burnt down by Purochana and Co. When the people see the entire palace burning with fire, they would think that it was just another fire accident and unfortunately the Paandavas would have been trapped into it, without being able to escape out on time. As Duryodhana was planning and instructing the entire set of events to Purochana, there was someone who overheard the entire agenda! This person was none other than Vidura himself! On one hand, as Purochana received all the instructions from Duryodhana, he immediately set out to complete the task of building the “Laaksha Griha”. On the other hand, Vidura was fuming within himself thinking about the wickedness of Duryodhana and Co. He was thinking of ways and means of protecting the Paandavas and to avoid an unnecessary “Adharma” from taking place due to Duryodhana’s ignorance and arrogance. 

Thus, the civil works of the “Laaksha Griha” are going on extremely quickly. As mentioned earlier, the palace is being built with all possible inflammable items such as wax, oil, etc. which can catch fire very easily. Within the next few days and months, the palace is completely built and is ready for accommodation. The news reaches Duryodhana and he is extremely happy. Thus, Duryodhana goes to Yudishtra and explains to him that he and his Paandava brothers would be able to live a happy life if they proceed to the Vaaranaavatha Desha’s most beautiful palace. Yudishtra too accordingly accepts Duryodhana’s words innocently, not knowing what is the secretive agenda behind his words. As the day approaches fast, the Paandavas are ready to move their base to Vaaranaavatha. Kunthi Devi also accompanies her five sons to Vaaranaavatha. An entire set of army also accompanies the Paandavas, so that they would reach safely without any hiccups in the middle. 

As the caravan was set to start, Vidura storms in and gives an important piece of advice to Yudishtra before he leaves. We call this as “Mlecha Bhaasha” in Sanskrit, which we can equate it what we call today as “Non-verbal communication”. Of course, what Vidura employed wasn’t fully non-verbal, but it also contained few words which had multiple inner meanings. Vidura explains thus: 

“Aloham nishitam chatram shareera parikarthanam!

Yovetthi nathutham gnanthihi prathigaathavitam dvishaha!!” 

Vidura first starts with some eye movements towards Yudishtra to draw his attention towards him. Accordingly, Yudishtra understood Vidura’s “eye-language” and focused his attention towards him. Now Vidura explains thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Please do not come to the conclusion that weapons used for warfare are only made of metals (“Loham”). There are certain weapons that might not be made of metals too! (“Aloham”). If you think destruction is possible only by using weapons, please think again! Destruction can be caused without employing a single weapon! Even if it is a devastating fire that is burning down the entire city, a rat can easily escape from the fire by entering into a net and safeguarding itself! Hence, please take care!” Vidura explains further thus: 

“Naa chakshurvethi panthaanam naa chakshur vindate dishaha!

Naa dhrithir buddhimaam aapnoothi budhyasthaivam prabodithaha!!”

Vidura continues to explain in his “Mlecha Bhaasha” thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Please understand – Walls have ears! If you think that you’re safe under any roof to talk and strategise whatever you want to, please be careful! Please do not think that only those people who have good eyesight would know the way forward. People who are blind also would know it much better! Only those who have the right mindset and intellect would be able to understand the proper way forward. When you are at Vaaranaavatha Desha, you should make sure that you keep both your eyes and ears open at all times. You should never fall into anybody’s trap because of your lack of alertness and attention to details. Oh Yudishtra! Please do not trust anybody so easily! Please take your time to analyze what is that person’s real agenda behind coming to you! If you have doubts on the wall, please touch the wall and check!” 

As Vidura explains the danger indirectly with these above words, Yudishtra fairly understood what is in store for him and his Paandava brothers. Yudishtra assures Vidura that he would be careful on all accounts right from day one and would ensure that no lapse occurs with his alertness.  Assuring thus, the Paandavas, led by Yudishtra leave for Vaaranaavatha Desha. Kunthi Devi is also accompanying them all along. So for today, let us halt at this point and in the next episode we shall see how Yudishtra is going to implement Vidura’s advice! Stay tuned for an exciting accord tomorrow! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Duryodhana conspiring yet another plan to take on the Paandavas. He now decides to send them off to the Vaaranaavatha Desha along with their mother, Kunthi Devi, so that they can “live happily” there and Duryodhana can live happily here at Hastinapura. As Kanika has already done his job, King Dhiridiraashtra is in a confused state of mind as to how to proceed further. On one hand, he was having affection towards Yudishtra and the Paandavas, because they are his brother Paandu’s sons. On the other hand, his affection towards his own son Duryodhana is equal or greater than the affection towards the Paandavas. Duryodhana is now targeting the softer side of King Dhirdiraashtra to push through his agenda. Let us see what conspires now. 

As we move into this section, we are getting into the next “Upa-Parva” called the “Jatu-Griha” Parva. We might have known this very well. “Jatu-Griha” means “Wax palace” or in Tamil “Arakku Maaligai”. As Duryodhana plans to send off the Paandavas to the Vaaranaavatha Desha, he has a wicked internal notion. He wants to build a palace full of wax and other inflammable items and make the Paanndavas live there. As they start feeling comfortable, one night, he would burn the palace and kill them amidst the huge fire. This was Duryodhana’s intention. Now what happened? How did this conspire? Was Duryodhana successful in his pursuit? Let us rewind a bit and witness the background story. 

Yudishtra, as we had witnessed earlier, is trying his best to rule the kingdom with all the aspects of “Dharma”. He is trying to establish a “Dharma Raajya” at Hastinapura, along with King Dhirdiraashtra. With this, all the people are starting to like Yudishtra in a special way. His name and fame is growing day after day. This is irking Duryodhana as he is fuming with anger. With this, he decides to call Purochana, who was Duryodhana’s good friend. Duryodhana is conspiring a huge plan to trap the Paandavas somehow and kill them. He thus calls Purochana and explains to him thus, “Oh Purochana! You are one of my good and trusted aides. Thus, I’m planning to give you a responsibility, which you’ve to implement in a secretive manner without the knowledge of anyone!” As Duryodhana explains thus, Purochana agrees to the deal and wants more details. Duryodhana explains thus, “Oh Purochana! I’ve already told my father, King Dhirdiraashtra, to send off the Paandavas to the Vaaranaavatha Desha. Accordingly, King Dhirdiraashtra had spoken to the Paandavas and they accepted it as well. Before they depart, you go there quickly and with the team of workers that you have with you, build a huge and an attractive palace with the help of inflammable items like wax, oil, jute, etc. The palace should be made up of all these items, so that it would easily catch fire. Moreover, the palace should be in such a way that it would be extremely attractive to live there. The Paandavas should never know even a bit that the palace is made up of all these inflammable items. Once you finish building the palace, give me an update. I shall make sure that the Paandavas are being sent off to live in this particular palace at Vaaranaavatha Desha!” 

As Duryodhana explains thus, he continues further: “Oh Purochana! Let them start living there and you also live along with them like a royal and an obedient servant. Let them develop a good faith and belief in you. After a few days, once they develop that faith in you completely, you burn down the palace during the wee hours of the night when all of them are fast asleep. Since you’re building the entire palace with all inflammable items, the building would catch fire immediately. So there wouldn’t be any time for them to escape out. Once you lit the fire, you run away from that place. Upon seeing the entire palace on fire, the people should come to a conclusion that there was a huge fire accident in the palace and with this, the Paandava brothers were burnt to death. With this, our mission would be accomplished!” 

Saying thus, Duryodhana entrusted this great conspiracy in the hands of Purochana. Listening to all this carefully, Purochana immediately pressed himself into the task that was given to him. He quickly goes to Vaaranaavatha Desha and begins constructing the inflammable palace. This is happening on one side. But on the other side, something else is going to happen. What is that? Is there a foil for Duryodhana’s plan? Let us wait till the next episode to find out the thrilling set of events that conspired after this! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed how Kanika is slowly brainwashing King Dhirdiraashtra with his “Dhur-Bodhana” (Misguidance). As Duryodhana listens to Kanika he gets more and more confident that he is taking the “right” approach towards the Paandavas. Already we know that Duryodhana is dead against the rapid and “undue” growth of Yudishtra and he is already waiting for a chance to pull him down. As Kanika adds his part, it only becomes easier for Duryodhana to convince King Dhirdiraashtra to walk his path, rather than giving importance to Yudishtra. As both of them try and convince, King Dhiridraashtra’s righteous mind started to blink. King Dhirdiraashtra clearly fell into a trap here. He has to now take a stance between “Adharma” that is brewing beside him and “Dharma” that Vidura has explained to him multiple times. It is now boiling down to whether to accept Kanika’s words or Vidura’s words. 

As King Dhirdiraashtra starts to think thus, Duryodhana uses this opportunity to further emphasize his agenda. Duryodhana says thus, “Oh father! Look at what this Kanika is saying! He’s totally right, isn’t it? If you let the enemy grow, he would become a huge burden for us in the future. Therefore it is always wise to kill and destroy the enemy at the grassroot level itself. Hence, make up your mind quickly. There is no point thinking and waiting. If we keep waiting like this, please remember – Every day lost by us is every day gained by Yudishtra! Hence, do not think too much on all this. If there’s something to be executed on an urgent basis, it should be done without any delay!” 

As Duryodhana talks thus, King Dhirdiraashtra is still not convinced! He is in two minds. He replies back thus, “Oh Duryodhana! What you’re saying is right. This is the same thing that I was also thinking in my mind. However, the Paandavas are my own brother’s sons and they are like my sons as well. That is my only concern. However, I’m not trying to say that you and the Kauravas aren’t important to me. All what I’m trying to say here is that, it is not easy for me to take stern action against them right away. I need some time to think and decide what course of action should be taken forward!” 

This was what Duryodhana was waiting for! With King Dhirdiraashtra replying thus, Duryodhana has hit the jackpot accurately! He replies to his father thus, “Oh father! Now that you are convinced that I’m right, you do not need to strain and think too much. You relax and take care of the other administrative words. Leave the rest to me! I shall ensure that the Paandavas do not grow and I shall ensure that they are kept at check. Moreover, it is a problem only because the Paandavas are at Hastinapura, isn’t it? Why don’t you send them off to the Vaaranaavatha Desha? Perhaps, with this arrangement, there would be no feud between the two camps. They can live happily at Vaaranaavatha Desha and we can live happily here at Hastinaapura!” As Duryodhana comes up with this idea, King Dhirdiraashtra agrees to it. He replies thus, “Oh Duryodhana! This is a good idea. If they would be happy, let them go and live at Vaaranaavatha and you can continue here. Atleast by this arrangement, no damage would be caused to both of you!” 

As this part of the story was being narrated by Sage Vaishampaayana to King Janame-Jaya, he suddenly and abruptly goes to a point wherein the Paandavas along with Kunthi Devi try to cross the river Ganges on a small raft when their entire surrounding was burning with a huge fire! A small note here – Readers should remember that all whatever we’re witnessing till now is part of the narration given by Sage Vaishampayana to King Janame-Jaya. Moreover, Sage Vaishampaayana wants to finish off things fast. But as he is trying to move forward quickly by just “hinting” at a few instances that happened here and there, King Janame-Jaya captures those hints and asks him to explain them in detail. Similarly here also, when Sage Vaishampaayana explains that the Paandavas are trying to cross the River Ganges along with Kunthi Devi, King Janame-Jaya stops him and asks thus, “Oh Sage! Why should the Paandavas suddenly cross the River Ganges overnight? Why was there a fire? Where did this fire come from? Who was responsible for all this? You never told me all this!” As King Janame-Jaya asks thus, Sage Vaishampayana replies, “Oh yes! I forgot to tell you! There’s a huge story behind why the Paandavas had to cross the River Ganges overnight! There is a huge instance that I’ve to narrate to you! So let me do it now!” 

Saying thus, we now move into the “Jatu-Griha Parva”. The word “Jatu” means “Wax” and “Griha” means palace or house. We can take “palace” in this context as we’re talking about kings and royal families. Thus, we’re coming to the stage wherein Duryodhana employs Purochana to build the “Wax palace” at Vaaranavara and the plan is to burn down the Paandavas inside the palace overnight. Many of us might be aware of this event. This is what is spoken about in the “Jatu-Griha” Parva. So for today,, let us have it until this point, and let us wait till the next episode to commence this interesting and important event. Stay tuned! 🙂 

We’re amidst an important turning point in the sequence of events that is happening at Hastinapura wherein, Duryodhana is confronting his father, King Dhirdiraashtra with utmost jealousy. He could not resist and tolerate the rise and emergence of Yudishtra as the Yuvaraja of the kingdom. As he does so, Kanika, who is supposed to be a renowned scholar in “Raaja Dharma” walks in, as a coincidence. As both father and son ask Kanika for a solution as to how to defame Yudishtra, Kanika clearly misguides both of them by giving enormous inputs of “Adharma”. He explains to the already wicked Duryodhana as to how one should succeed by creating a “Bedham” (Enmity) and a rift with the enemy. Ultimately with the enmity growing, one can be successful only if he kills the enemy along with all his aides once and for all. Such were the venomous inputs that Kanika gave Duryodhana, who was already looking for ways and means to kill the Paandavas right from his childhood days. We’ve already witnessed earlier how Duryodhana plotted against Bheemasena and how he tried to kill Bheemasena through various ways. Now with Kanika’s words, it was only a reaffirmation of the “Adharmic” path that Duryodhana was already taking to try and achieve his goals. 

Thus, the ultimate message from Kanika was that the Paandavas should always be muted and should not be allowed to grow in name and fame, just like how the fox behaved in the story that we had witnessed yesterday. These words from Kanika made King Dhirdiraashtra think! He was thinking within himself thus, “Oh! Yesterday I spoke the same thing with Vidura in some other context. However, Vidura’s words were different isn’t it? Vidura was steadfast in explaining that a king should treat all people equally and there should be no enmity between the people. However, this is in stark contradiction to what this Kanika is explaining! Whom should I believe in?” This is the problem zone now – If we have a predetermined mindset of doing something in some way, and if someone comes and talks extremely in favor of what we want to do, automatically our mind would also lean towards that person who is talking favorable to us, isn’t it? Especially if we’re trying to take the wrong path and if some other person tries to correct and mend our ways, our mind wouldn’t favor those words. This can happen for both men and women. Nowadays most of us are working and if we have problems within our family, automatically we tend to go and talk about the problems to a third person at work, who has no connection with what is happening at our home. This is where the entire problem starts. We never know the intention with which this “third person” or a stranger is striking a conversation with us. Many a time, the intention would be to use our problem and to gain an undue advantage. On the pretext of consoling us, this “third person” might lead us to a wrong path and in turn, he would gain undue advantage over us, isn’t it?

This might be like a bit of story-telling, but these are things that are rampant in our society today. If we have a problem within our family, it is always better to talk about it to Bhagawan directly, rather than to a third person or a stranger. Many a time, we might unconsciously search for a shoulder to lean upon and wipe out our sufferings. In this “Kali Yuga”, we are not going to get a trustable shoulder anywhere else apart from Bhagawan. When our mind is wavering with such things, we must immediately think of what Draupati did. When she was being stripped in public, she did not want a shoulder of consolation from even her husbands who were sitting right next to her. She directly wanted a shoulder from Bhagawan Krishna, isn’t it? This is “Bhakti” at its highest level! To be frank, all of us have problems at varying levels, and we do not have an option to escape out of problems as we’re living amidst the “Samsaara”. But it is in our hands as to how we handle those problems and come out successfully. The only way to succeed without getting trapped further is to lean on Bhagawan’s shoulders and not on anybody else’s. We should be very careful not to be misguided by anyone on the pretext of “finding a solution” to our problems. 

This is exactly where King Dhirdiraashtra too got sucked in. Kanika is clearly misguiding him, and he too knows it at the back of his mind. Who can be more scholarly than King Dhiridraashtra? He is an epitome of all aspects of “Raaja Dharma”. Even for such a scholarly person, if someone comes up with a “Dhur-Bodhana” (Misguidance), there is every chance that he falls into the trap. If King Dhirdiraashtra has to fall into this trap, who are we? We are neither as scholarly as King Dhirdiraashtra, nor do we have the requisite experience of seeing how ruthless the world can be. Hence, we’ve to be extremely careful here and this is the important lesson that we should learn from King Dhirdiraashtra. The “Samsaara” is something that is very tempting and is full of worldly desires and pleasures, which are only going to lead us to downfall. It is we who’ve to be careful not to fall prey to these pleasures and desires. Bhagawan Krishna is going to explain this in complete detail later on during His Bhagawad Gita and we’re going to witness it when the time comes. But for now, the lesson that we’ve to learn here is that, we should be extremely careful when it comes to opening up our problems to someone whom we do not know and whom we aren’t much familiar with. This might lead to a potential danger and once we get stuck up, it might be too late to take a step back. 

Thus, with these words, Kanika successfully made King Dhirdiraashtra’s mind waver. King Dhirdiraashtra doesn’t know which path to take – Either to favor his son Duryodhana or to favor “Dharma” in the form of Yudishtra! What is King Dhirdiraashtra’s reaction going to be? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed King Dhirdiraashtra right royally falling into Duryodhana’s trap when the latter played the emotional card touching upon the sensitive father-son relationship. Perhaps when this softer side of a person is rubbed, any father would have that compassion towards his son, and maybe King Dhirdidraashtra, although he was righteous until this point, started having that special extra bit of compassion towards Duryodhana. However, King Dhirdiraashtra did not directly come to a conclusion to oust Yudishtra from the post of “Yuvaraja”. He wanted to get some “expert opinion” on the matter, wherein a so-called scholar in “Raaja-Dharma”, Kanika entered inside. Although Kanika was an expert on paper, he was the straight opposite. He wanted to perhaps use this opportunity to gain closeness to King Dhirdiraashtra and Duryodhana and voiced out all possible “Adharma” in the name of “Dharma”. We had witnessed yesterday as to how Kanika completely misguided the duo, and this was the starting point of Duryodhana taking the feud with the Paandavas to a drastically different level. 

To substantiate his point further, Kanika narrates a small story thus: Once upon a time, there was a fox. This fox was extremely smart and opportunistic in nature and got its things done easily by duping others. This fox had a rat as his friend. The rat had a tiger as his friend. The tiger had a dhole as his friend. This dhole had a mongoose as his friend. Thus, these five of them were very good friends – The fox, rat, tiger, dhole and mongoose. These five friends once had a meeting. The fox spoke in the meeting thus, “Oh friends! There is a deer which is standing at a distance. We need to catch that deer for our prey today. If myself or our tiger friend went near the deer, it would run away. So let us ask our rat friend to go near the deer without its knowledge and ask him to bite the deer’s legs nicely, thus creating a big wound. Thus, with the wound, the deer cannot run fast, isn’t it? With this, the tiger can easily approach the deer and kill it.” This seemed a good idea from the fox as the rat and tiger were deputed for their respective jobs. The job was neatly executed by the rat and subsequently the tiger gives a chase and the deer falls into the trap. The tiger finally manages to kill the deer. 

Thus the mission is accomplished! However, when all the friends assemble near the corpse of the deer, the fox said again, “Oh friends! Before we prey on the deer’s corpse, we should take a bath and come. According to the Shaastra, one should not consume any food without a shower isn’t it? Hence, let us all have a bath and then come and eat this!” Accordingly all went for a bath and the tiger took a quick shower and came back within a short duration of time. Now the fox starts playing its game. The fox slowly tells the tiger thus, “Oh friend! When you were away for your shower, the rat was trying to behave opportunistically and I’ve to tell you this as your good friend – The rat was feeling that it was only because he had bit the deer’s legs, the tiger was able to catch it. Hence, it is only after the rat had consumed his share of the deer’s corpse, should the tiger even touch it! See how opportunistic our friend has become! I just thought of informing you this, because you are my very good friend, and transparency between two good friends is very important!” 

Upon hearing this from the fox, the tiger started fuming with anger! His ego was clearly hurt here! He immediately confronted his rat friend and when he did not get a convincing answer, the tiger said thus, “Oh rat friend! I do not need to consume the remains of another friend, and that too, you are afterall a rat! I know how to take care of my diet needs. I myself would hunt down another deer without your help and feed myself!” Saying thus, the tiger left the place angrily. Meanwhile as the tiger leaves the place, the rat finishes its bath and arrives. Actually the rat was nowhere in the picture till now and it was the fox which built up all these narratives to chase the tiger away! Now when the rat comes, it asks the fox thus, “Oh friend! Where is our tiger friend? Why is he taking so much of time to shower?” The fox cunningly replies thus, “Oh friend! The tiger was here only until a few minutes ago. However, when the tiger came back from the shower, I overheard a conversation between the tiger and the dhole. The two of them were planning to kill you before they consume the deer corpse, because they see you as a threat for their food! I’m your good friend isn’t it? Hence, there should be complete transparency between two good friends. This is why I was waiting to tell you this as soon as you come!” 

As the fox says thus, the rat got scared! It started running for its life and eventually went and got stuck amidst a net. As time passed by, the dhole came after its shower and asked the fox about the other friends. Again the fox cunningly replies thus, “Oh friend! Do you hear the tiger’s roar? He has gone to search for another prey, because he did not like to taste the remains of this deer’s corpse as our rat friend has already consumed it. I heard him telling within himself that if our dhole friend was coming by, he was going to make the dhole his prey. See how opportunistic our tiger friend has become! He is now hunting you down for his food even though you are his good friend. He’s cheating on you!” Hearing this from the fox, the dhole starts running for his life! Finally when the mongoose came by, it asks the fox about the whereabouts of their other friends. The fox replies thus, “Oh friend! I’ve managed to kill all our other friends and I’m waiting to kill you also! Run if possible to save yourself!” Hearing this, the mongoose runs away for its life! 

Thus, all the four friends were chased away by the cunning fox and finally it had all the luxury to feast on the corpse of the deer, all by itself! Narrating this story thus, Kanika explains to the duo that if one has to succeed in life, he has to create a rift between the others around him and with this, a fight would ensue between them! With this, they would start clashing with each other and would eventually destroy themselves! This was the biggest misguidance that Kanika gave King Dhirdiraashtra and Duryodhana! So for today, let us understand until this point, and we shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Yudishtra being promoted as the “Yuvaraja” of the kingdom even as Duryodhana fumed. Duryodhana was clearly miffed with Yudishtra’s and the Paandavas’ indomitable growth in power. Duryodhana felt that it was the right time to pull the plug on the Paandavas before things escalate further. He rushed to his father and confronted him straightaway. Duryodhana appealed to his father that Yudishtra was a wrong choice to be the Yuvaraja! However, King Dhirdiraashtra at that point in time was extremely righteous and neutral in whatever he did. He defended his decision of making Yudishtra as the “Yuvaraja” and tried to pacify Duryodhana. However, Duryodhana was in a savage resolution – He did not want any pacifying or “sales talk” from his father. He meant business. As King Dhirdiraashtra did not pay heed to his words, Duryodhana touched the emotional and the softer aspect of King Dhirdiraashtra’s emotions. He knew where to hit his father. King Dhirdiraashtra, although being righteous as a king, had a hidden soft corner towards his son, Duryodhana, which Duryodhana used to his convenience! He now tried to capitalize on the “emotional front” and cornered King Dhirdiraashtra that he was taking a decision against the interest of his own son and with this, his son would be pushed into poverty and slavery under the hands of Yudishtra and Co. 

This is the same thing that Manthara (the old woman) did to Kaikeyi during the Ramayana time. Readers might remember that in our previous Ramayana project, we had witnessed how initially Manthara failed to convince Kaikeyi to send Bhagawan Rama to the forest and ask King Dasharata to coronate her son Bharata. Kaikeyi initially scolded Manthara for her “divisive tactics” to wreak havoc at Ayodhya. Kaikeyi as a mother had never seen any difference between Bharata, Rama and Lakshmana. She treated all the four children as her own. However, when Manthara touched the “emotional card”, Kaikeyi’s mind got shattered. She fell into Manthara’s trap when Manthara was repeatedly stressing upon the point that if Bhagawan Rama becomes the king of Ayodhya, “her son Bharata” would be pushed into slavery! This is the same thing that Duryodhana is doing here too – He repeatedly stresses upon the point that if “King Dhirdiraashtra’s son Duryodhana” is not given due recognition, Yudishtra is going to treat him as a slave. 

As Duryodhana repeatedly stressed upon this point 2-3 times, King Dhirdiraashtra’s mind started to waver towards Duryodhana. He slowly started falling into Duryodhana’s trap. Now King Dhirdiraashtra replies back to Duryodhana thus, “Oh son! Whatever you’re saying is right and I’m not denying that. Perhaps I shouldn’t give the entire kingdom to just one person. I should maybe share the kingdom between you and Yudishtra!” As King Dhirdiraashtra replies thus, Duryodhana fumed further, “Oh father! You still haven’t learnt the lesson! I’m saying that even if you give them half the kingdom, they’re going to dominate and ruin your son’s future! Hence, do not give them anything and send them back to the forest, which is the place they rightly belong to!” For this, King Dhirdiraaahtra meakly opposes. He is now slowly not able to talk back to his son with aggression. However, he replies thus, “Oh Duryodhana! Please do not think otherwise. I know about Yudishtra and the Paandavas. They are not such people like you think who would push you into slavery. Like you say, I do not have the heart to destroy them and their future, as they are my own brother’s sons. Maybe what we can do is, let us call someone who is well educated and an expert in “Raaja-Dharma”. We shall tell our dilemma to that person. Let him decide which is the right path for us to take and we shall then take a decision based on that!” 

As both of them were talking this way, there was a person by name “Kanika” who came in. This Kanika was supposed to be an “expert” in the Raaja Dharma and was a very shrewd administrator. King Dhirdiraashtra and Duryodhana were very happy to see Kanika and welcome him. As Kanika settles down, King Dhirdiraashtra explains the dilemma to him and seeks a solution. Kanika, instead of guiding them in the right way, gave the wrong guidance. He replies thus, “Oh King! Whatever Duryodhana says is right! He has a valid point to his credit. The kingdom should be solely given only to Duryodhana and not Yudishtra. By doing this, you’re only escalating the power of the Paandavas further, who do not even have any right to claim the throne. You are the king now and the successor to the kingdom should be only your son. If Paandu would have been the king, the story would perhaps have been different. So you may stick to the idea of Duryodhana!” 

Saying thus, Kanika clearly misguides both of them. He further adds a few more points thus, “Oh King Dhirdiraashtra! There is nothing in this world called “Dharma”! Many people would time and again come and try to talk about “Dharma”, which is totally irrelevant! If you’ve to win over someone, you should always go on the offensive to beat or kill them! If you feel someone is your enemy, you should never spare him or her. You should kill that person along with his / her friends and family. You should not even spare his wife or children. The entire “Vamsa” should be finished off, so that he wouldn’t be able to cause any problem to you in the future. Even if the enemy is a woman, you should insult her and kill her without being merciful. Even if the enemy is a child, you should go ahead and kill the child without any compassion! Just like how a small fire in the forest would destroy the entire lot of trees and shrubs in that area, if there is even a small enemy, you should not hesitate to destroy the entire surrounding of that enemy!” 

With all these words, Kanika tried to drive his agenda towards King Dhirdiraashtra and Duryodhana. Further to this, Kanika is going to narrate a story of a fox and how the fox was extremely smart! We shall wait till the next episode to find out what this story is about and how King Dhirdiraashtra and Duryodhana fell into Kanika’s trap! Stay tuned! 🙂