The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the commencement of an important conversation between Yudishtra and Bhishmachaarya, ably enabled by Bhagawan Krishna. As this conversation is about to begin, Sage Vyaasa, Sage Naarada, etc. also mark their presence near Bhishmachaarya, realizing the importance of this moment. As the first question of the conversation, Yudishtra asks Bhishmachaarya about Karna. He is still unable to digest the fact that Karna is his elder brother and he has been killed in the war, even though Karna was an epitome of “Dharma” in several ways. Yudishtra asks Bhishmachaarya as to why Karna was on the backfoot everytime. 

Now, this is going to be a very important question to begin with, and as Bhishmachaarya is getting ready to answer, Sage Naarada decides to start proceedings. He thinks that he is the right person to take this question, rather than Bhishmachaarya. Hence, Sage Naarada begins his accord on Karna thus, “Oh Yudishtra! You’ve asked a very important question, and let me answer you – Karna, being an epitome of “Dharma” had to face disaster, primarily because of two curses. The first curse was from Parasurama, who was Karna’s Guru. Once upon a time, when Parasurama was sleeping on Karna’s lap, Indra wanted to test Karna’s resilience. He takes the form of a crow and starts poking Karna’s lap. However, Karna is extremely resilient and he bears the pain with a lot of resistance. The crow goes on poking and at one point, Karna’s blood droplets fall on Parasurama, as he wakes up from his sleep. As Parasurama wakes up, he understands what was going on! Karna had initially lied to Parasurama that he was a Brahmana, before starting to learn from him. However, Parasurama finds out the truth after this incident. Rather than appreciating Karna for his “Guru-Bhakti”, Parasurama went on the offensive. He fired a salvo towards Karna thus, “Oh Karna! I’m sure with the resilience that you have, you are a “Kshatrya” warrior and not a Brahmana as you had told me earlier. You’ve lied to me in such a big way, and you’ve to pay a heavy price for this! I’m cursing you straightaway – You will forget all the key lessons that I’ve taught you, at a crucial time when you would need them the most! This includes all the “Mantras” of the “Asthras” that you’ve learnt from me over the years!” This is the first curse that Karna had earned, and that too from none other than his Guru, Parasurama!”

Saying thus, Sage Naarada continues with the second curse thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Once when Karna was going on a hunting spree, he accidentally killed the cow of a Brahmana Rishi. Realizing this, the Brahmana Rishi curses Karna once again, reinforcing Parasurama’s earlier curse that he would be weaponless in the battlefield during a key battle, and at that point, everyone on his side would desert him! Moreover, the Brahmana Rishi’s curse also contained a catch there, as he said that Karna’s chariot will get stuck on to the ground at a key moment, and he will not be able to move it any further! Hence, all these curses that Karna accumulated during his lifetime, came true during the Kurukshetra war. A Brahmana Rishi’s curse and a Guru’s curse can never go off without being true! They are bound to take shape at some point in one’s life! Hence, Karna had to fall victim to these!” 

Narrating this, Sage Naarada explains how Karna was cornered in the battlefield. Karna is certainly unfortunate and unlucky to meet an end in such a disastrous way. So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode, we shall continue with this discussion further! Stay tuned! 

In the previous episode, we witnessed the context being set in beautifully by Sage Vyaasa, as Bhishmachaarya is readying himself for a long accord on “Dharma”. This is going to be a very important conversation between Bhishmachaarya and Yudishtra, being ably facilitated by Bhagawan Krishna. Thanks to His presence in the middle, Bhishmachaarya is able to overcome his physical limitations and enrich Yudishtra with several important aspects of “Raaja-Dharma”. This advice that Bhishmachaarya is going to render to Yudishtra is not only for the betterment of the Pandava brothers alone, but also for all of us. Here, Bhagawan Krishna’s sole aim is to make Bhishmachaarya disseminate the ocean of knowledge that he possesses, to the entire world, so that subsequent generations of people would be able to benefit from it. Moreover, rather than Bhagawan Krishna Himself talking about “Dharma”, He wants Bhishmachaarya to do that, in order to highlight the important concert of “Guru-Sishya” relationship. As per our “Sanaatana Dharma”, a “Guru” is a person who creates the awareness about the “Paramatma” in the mind of the “Jeevatma”, and with the guidance of the “Guru”, the “Jeevatma” will be able to attain the divine lotus feet of the “Paramatma”. Here too, Yudishtra being the “Jeevatma”, needs the “Guru” in the form of Bhishmachaarya as a guiding light to make him get closer to the “Paramatman”, who is none other than Bhagawan Krishna Himself! 

As the conversation is about to begin, the Devas and Sage Narada are also interested in participating from the Kurukshetra battlefield itself. As this is going to be a very important juncture, Sage Vyaasa also hurries to that place and takes his position. Everywhere in the Mahabharata text, we will see Sage Vyaasa’s presence at all crucial times – Both good and bad. Here too, Sage Vyaasa is one of the first persons to rush into Kurukshetra as this important conversation begins. Thus, as Yudishtra is about to start, all the important Maharishis, Sage Naarada and Sage Vyaasa, are all in readiness. With this, we are now moving into the first “Upa-Parva” under the main “Shaanti Parva”, which is known as “Raaja-Dharma Anushaasana Parva”. Here is where Bhishmachaarya is going to detail a great deal about “Raaja Dharma”, which is a very important segment when it comes to modern day Leadership & Management. 

Now, as all of them are in readiness, Yudishtra asks the first question to Bhishmachaarya. We’ve already seen that Yudishtra is extremely pained at the moment and is not a happy man. He asks thus, “Oh great grandfather! Thank you for giving me this opportunity to learn from you! As you know, I’m deeply pained first-up due to the loss of my elder brother, Karna. Till this point I don’t even know that Karna was my elder brother. Oh Bhishmachaarya! Please tell me why this unfortunate thing happened? Why did Karna die, even though he was gifted with enormous power? What circumstances led Karna to this sad state of affairs? Inspite of having a lot of positives in terms of his character (Karna was a noble person by heart, and was an epitome of “Dhaanam”, which is one of the highest qualities of “Dharma”), why was he at the receiving end everytime? Why was he feigned and cornered? Why was he not able to respond to Arjuna’s onslaught during the battle at Kurukshetra?” 

As Yudishtra asks a series of questions one after the other, Sage Naarada interrupts him a little bit. Before Bhishmachaarya could commence his accord, Sage Naarada intervenes and gives a detailed accord on what happened to Karna and why unfortunately he had to be on the wrong end! Sage Naarada is going to describe how Karna had to entangle himself into two curses – One from his Guru, Parasurama and the other from a Brahmana Rishi. It was because of these two unfortunate curses, Karna was at the receiving end. We’ve already witnessed this in our earlier episodes, but as Sage Naarada is describing it, we shall once again recall what exactly happened to Karna and how he obtained these two curses. We shall understand up to this point in today’s episode and wait till the next, to continue further! Stay tuned! 

In the previous episode, we witnessed a very important conversation between Yudishtra and Bhagawan Krishna. After coronation, Yudishtra somehow lost interest in ruling the Hastinapura kingdom as the successor of King Dhritarashtra. So he goes to Bhagawan Krishna and expresses his displeasure of continuing as the king of Hastinapura for a longer time, and he wants to resign from the responsibility. Yudishtra feels extremely lonely as all important people of the kingdom have died in the recently-concluded Kurukshetra war. As Yudishtra expresses his feelings, Bhagawan Krishna is not letting him go anywhere. He convinces Yudishtra to continue further, however, He wants Yudishtra to go to Bhishmachaarya to learn all important aspects of “Dharma” from him before he passes away during the “Uttarayana” time period. As Bhishmachaarya is an epitome of all knowledge, Bhagawan Krishna puts him in the status of a great “Aachaarya” (Guru) for Yudishtra to learn “Dharma” in more detail. Of course, Yudishtra himself is an epitome of “Dharma”, however, Bhagawan Krishna wants Yudishtra to learn further, thus strengthening his hold on “Dharma” further. 

Saying thus, Bhagawan Krishna and Yudishtra go to the Kurukshetra battlefield to meet Bhishmachaarya, who is still in the arrow bed, struggling with his last breath. As all of them pay their respects towards Bhishmachaarya, Yudishtra comes forward and expresses his concerns and displeasure to rule the Hastinapura kingdom, at a time when nobody was there to support him in anything. Yudishtra breaks down upon expressing himself about his loneliness sitting at the top. As Yudishtra says thus, Bhishmachaarya gives a very important reply – “Oh my dear Yudishtra! You deserve to be the king of Hastinapura, without any second thought. You are a king who has successfully performed the “Raaja-Suya Yaagam” and has proved to the world that you are a righteous person. You have the biggest responsibility to perform the “Dharma-Paripaalanam” (Righteous administration) of the kingdom. You should not shy away from your responsibility. If you have any confusion in your mind with regards to “Dharma”, you can always turn to Bhagawan Krishna for advice. Who on earth can be better than Bhagawan Krishna to render you advice pertaining to “Dharma”?” 

As Bhishmachaarya says thus, Bhagawan Krishna immediately intervenes here. He says thus, “Oh Bhishmachaarya! It is for this important advice on various aspects of “Dharma”, I’ve brought Yudishtra to you! You are the right person to advise him on various fronts. You are the “Aachaarya” for the entire family, aren’t you? Oh Bhishmachaarya! Yudishtra came to me first. He expressed his opinion to me a while back. I wanted him to come to you for advice. Rather than me telling everything to everyone, it would be better if the words of “Dharma” comes from an “Aachaarya”. I always see you as the perfect “Aachaarya” who can render these pieces of advice to the world. If I tell everything, nobody takes me seriously anymore! 🙂 Hence, please render some important pieces of advice to Yudishtra, so that he can take a leaf out of your words to perform the “Raajya-Paripaalanam” in the path of “Dharma”. 

These words of Bhagawan Krishna makes Bhishmachaarya laugh! He knows that Bhagawan Krishna is giving him a great responsibility in his hands by praising and motivating him. On a normal given day, Bhishmachaarya would have been more than ready to accept Bhagawan Krishna’s request, but now he is heavily injured and is battling for his life! How will he be able to render such important pieces of advice effectively? With this concern, Bhishmachaarya talks to Bhagawan Krishna slowly thus, “Oh Bhagawan! Yudishtra is my grandson! I would be more than happy to resolve all his confusion and doubts that he has in mind pertaining to “Dharma”. However, given my health condition presently, I do not know if I’ll be able to do a great job! I’m struggling to talk five words at a stretch. My lungs are panting for breath. I’m unable to talk coherently at the moment! How do I ensure that I make Yudishtra understand my talking clearly? Oh Bhagawan Krishna! Given my physical limitations at the moment, why don’t you take this responsibility to talk with Yudishtra on behalf of me?” 

As Bhishmachaarya requests thus, Bhagawan Krishna understands his condition. However, He is not willing to let Bhishmachaarya go away just like that. Bhishmachaarya’s knowledge has to be disseminated somehow to Yudishtra – It is not only to Yudishtra, but also for the entire world! Subsequent generations of people after Yudishtra should benefit from Bhishmachaarya’s vast and expansive knowledge of “Dharma”. So what does Bhagawan Krishna do now? How is He going to ensure that Bhishmachaarya is able to disseminate his knowledge to the world? We shall wait till the next episode to witness! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the commencement of the most important “Shanti Parva” of the Mahabharata text. As mentioned earlier, this “Parva” is packed with several important aspects of “Dharma”, as mentioned by Bhishmachaarya to Yudishtra and the Pandava brothers. We are going to witness in detail, several aspects of “Raaja-Dharma”, “Aapat-Dharma” and “Moksha-Dharma” as part of this “Shanti Parva”. Of course, this is extremely lengthy – Given our limitations, we shall see a few important points from this, which is directly applicable to modern-day leadership and management contexts and also a few personal contexts with respect to value systems, morality and ethics. Of course, having said this, it does not mean that the rest of the pointers in the “Shanti Parva” are unimportant. Everything is important, but due to paucity of time, limitations with regards to interpretations, applicability, etc. we shall limit to the important pointers as highlighted by Bhishmachaarya. 

Now, as we enter into the “Shanti Parva”, we’ve to set up the context for discussion. Sage Vyaasa beautifully sets it up for us in a way that the “Jala-Tarpanam” for all the departed souls is over at Kurukshetra. Subsequently, all of them vacate the battlefield tents and start returning to Hastinapura, as all the formalities have come to an end. Kurukshetra battlefield remains disastrous with all the destruction, and those people who are still alive, are back at the palace of Hastinapura. In the presence of everyone, Sage Vyaasa and the other important sages assembled there, recommend unanimously that Yudishtra should be the next successor of Hastinapura, after King Dhritarashtra. By this time, King Dhritarashtra and Mother Gandhari also leave for the “Vaanaprastha-Ashramam”, unable to bear the pain of the demise of the entire Kaurava clan. At this point, Yudishtra is not very happy internally within himself. However, with the insistence of Sage Vyaasa and Bhagawan Krishna, Yudishtra reluctantly accepts to be crowned to the Hastinapura throne. A grand “Pattabishekam” (Coronation Ceremony) is arranged at the Hastinapura palace, and in the presence of Draupati, Bhagawan Krishna, Sage Vyaasa, Sage Kripachaarya, and other important seniors like Vidura, Sanjaya, etc., Yudishtra takes oath as the next king of Hastinapura. 

Subsequently as this happens, Yudishtra’s reluctance and uneasiness at the throne is only increasing by the minute. He is not very comfortable in ruling the kingdom after the disaster that unfolded in Kurukshetra. Of course, the war was for the sake of “Dharma”, but given the extent of the disaster that unfolded, Yudishtra is mentally devastated. Also, as not many people are remaining in the kingdom (Most of them, including normal people have died in the war), including his own family members, loneliness starts haunting Yudishtra. At this time, unable to bear this mental weakness, Yudishtra approaches Bhagawan Krishna. He talks to Bhagawan Krishna thus, “Oh Bhagawan! I obeyed your words and fought this war at Kurukshetra. This war however, has left me completely orphaned! For whom am I ruling this kingdom? This palace, which used to be sprawling and vibrant with so much activity and people, has completely gone deserted, sans very few people around! Also, the demise of my elder brother, Karna, is haunting me constantly. How do I go about this? Should I really continue to be the king of Hastinapura? Given a chance, I would like to renounce the kingdom and instead go to the forest and start performing “Tapas”! After losing everyone, what is the point in becoming a king for an empty kingdom?” 

As Yudishtra says thus, he breaks down in front of Bhagawan Krishna! This is the same way in which Arjuna broke down in front of the entire Kaurava army on Day one at Kurukshetra, which led to the birth of the famed Bhagawad Gita. Now, after the entire war is over and after emerging victorious, Yudishtra is facing the same mental block. So now, how is Bhagawan Krishna going to handle this? How is He going to convince Yudishtra to stay strong and continue with his “Dharma”? We shall wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂 

We’ve witnessed a major revelation in the previous episode, wherein Kunthi Devi for the first time is revealing that Karna was none other than her first son, before Yudishtra was born. Even though Karna was popularly referred to as “Raadheya” (Charioteer’s son), this is far from true. We’ve seen this earlier as well that Kunthi Devi prayed to Surya Bhagawan and in turn obtained a child. Since she wasn’t married at that time and having a child before marriage would be seen in a wrong way, she sacrificed this child by abandoning it in the river. Subsequently the child was adopted by a charioteer and grew up as Karna. Till this point, none of the Pandava brothers knew of this fact. However, several others including Bhagawan Krishna knows of this. As Yudishtra is performing the “Jala-Tarpanam” to all the departed warriors on the Pandava side, Kunthi Devi stresses that he performs the “Tarpanam” to Karna, as he was his elder brother! Upon hearing this, Yudishtra is shell-shocked! Arjuna’s guilt takes over as he was the one who conspired time and again against Karna to kill him. 

As the Pandava brothers sink into an inconsolable grief, Bhagawan Krishna is now going to give a very important reply. Bhagawan says to Yudishtra thus, “Oh Yudishtra! I’ve indirectly indicated several times to all of you with regards to this truth. However, you never realized it. Moreover, I’ve tried my best to protect Karna from getting killed during the war. I had personal conversations with him and I tried to convince him to come into our side. However, Karna did not want to leave Duryodhana till the end, even though he knew that his life is going to be sacrificed. Karna was an epitome of friendship and was a fine example of how one should stand by his companion during tough times. Oh Yudishtra! It is humanly not possible for everyone to know and understand everything in this world. Actually, going by the fact of life, killing an elder brother is a gross “Adharma”, however, since you’ve done it for the cause of “Dharma” and since you were unaware of the fact that Karna was your elder brother, I was there to protect you at all times!” 

Turning now towards Arjuna, Bhagawan Krishna says thus, “Oh Arjuna! Yes. It was only the five of you who did not know that Karna was your elder brother. All of them know it, including Bhishmachaarya, Guru Dhronachaarya, Sage Kripachaarya, etc. If I would have revealed it to you earlier, you wouldn’t have been in a mental state to accept Karna. You were only interested in conspiring against him every time. You were not ready to understand this truth. When Karna came into the battlefield on the twelfth day, I tried my best to drive you away from him, not only because he had lethal weapons to kill you, but also for the fact that you should not kill your elder brother! However, you were the one who pressured me to take you in front of Karna all the time. You even took a pledge to kill Karna somehow by the end of the sixteenth day. When you took the pledge, did you consult me? You were carried away by your emotions of losing Abhimanyu and because of that, you took the pledge, not knowing the repercussions behind your actions! Thus, it was because I’ve to protect a “Kshatrya” warrior’s pledge, I had to take you in front of Karna for the battle. It was with a lot of reluctance, I made this happen, and you were able to kill him! Oh Arjuna! What you had done is gross “Adharma” to Karna. You never gave him an opportunity to express himself all these years. You only saw Karna as your fierce enemy! However, just because you followed the path of “Dharma”, and since you exhibited “Sharanagati” towards me, which is the greatest “Dharma” in this world, you were protected! Else, you would have been history in Karna’s hands!” 

Saying thus, Bhagawan Krishna highlights Karna’s significance to Yudishtra and Arjuna. Upon hearing this, the two brothers cry aloud upon losing Karna. More than just losing him, Yudishtra feels bad that he hasn’t done his duty towards his elder brother! So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode, we shall continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhagawan Krishna concurring with Yudishtra over the fact about who has reached which “Lokha”. For instance, those warriors who had fought valiantly, giving their best to defend their kingdom, will automatically attain the “Veera-Svargam” or “Svarga Lokha”. Those of them who reluctantly fought the battle, and tried to escape from the battlefield at crucial moments, will go to several lower-level “Lokhas”, whereas, those handful of warriors who fought the war by putting themselves in the front, thinking that fighting for their kingdom is their duty, would have reached the highest “Satya Lokha” of Bhagawan Brahma. Yudishtra recalls all these points mentioned to him by Sage Lomaharshana around ten years ago when he was on a “Teertha-Yatra” during the “Vana-Vaasam” time period. 

Moving on further thus, the “Tarpanam” begins. All the wives and sons of the dead warriors perform the “Jala-Tarpanam” to their departed near and dear ones with a lot of tears in their eyes. This is a very tragic moment and Bhagawan Krishna is overseeing everything from a distance. Yudishtra is also performing the “Jala-Tarpanam” for all his relatives – Including Guru Dhronachaarya, the Kaurava brothers, Abhimanyu, etc. Meanwhile, the Kaurava brothers’ wives are performing the “Jala-Tarpanam” for their departed husbands, as many of them were young and did not have children as yet. While Yudishtra is performing the “Jala-Tarpanam” on one end, a faint voice of Kunthi Devi is heard from a distance. Kunthi Devi says to Yudishtra thus, “Oh Yudishtra! I’m happy that you are performing the “Jala-Tarpanam” for all the departed people in the war. However, you’ve to do a special “Tarpanam” for your own brother who has died in this war!” As Yudishtra hears this, he initially doesn’t understand what his mother is saying. He turns back and asks Kunthi Devi thus, “Oh Mother! What are you saying? All my four brothers are alive and why should I perform the “Tarpanam” for them?” As Yudishtra innocently says thus, Kunthi Devi could not hold back her tears. She says with a trembling voice thus, “Oh Yudishtra! You’re wrong! You had an elder brother and you killed him in this war!” Upon hearing this, Yudishtra is shell-shocked! He couldn’t believe what his mother is saying. As Yudishtra asks for more details, Kunthi Devi slowly opens up about the past. She says thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Before you were born, I gave birth to a child, which was blessed by Surya Bhagawan. As I was unmarried at that time, I could not keep that child with me. I had to disown that child and abandon it in the waters of the River Ganges. Subsequently, a charioteer saw the child floating in the water and adopted it. The child grew under his supervision, and hence came to be known as “Raadheya”! Oh Yudishtra! You know who I’m talking about now! The one whom you were thinking all these years as “Raadheya” (Karna) is not really a charioteer’s son. He is your own elder brother and is one amongst the Paandavas!” 

As Kunthi Devi says thus, it comes as a huge thunder for Yudishtra and the Pandava brothers! Arjuna is stunned beyond words! Bheemasena could not believe his ears! Unable to bear this shocker, Yudishtra falls on the floor and faints! He could not hold back the intense grief of killing his own elder brother in the battle! He turns to Kunthi Devi and asks thus, “Oh Mother! Why didn’t you reveal this fact before? Now I’ve performed the greatest sin of killing my own elder brother in the battle! All these days, because I did not know that Karna was my brother, I’ve done several abuses and insults to him. Now who is going to forgive me for all these? How many times have I spoken against Karna? How many times I’ve conspired to kill him! Isn’t this a gross “Adharma” that I’ve performed right in front of my eyes?” Saying thus, Yudishtra turns towards Bhagawan Krishna and asks – “Oh Bhagawan Krishna! I’m sure you will be knowing this! Why did you not reveal this to me earlier?” 

As Yudishtra cries aloud like this, Arjuna is also equally feeling guilty! He cries aloud to Bhagawan Krishna thus, “Oh! I was the one who killed Karna on the battlefield. I was the one who had pledged to finish Karna in the war. I never knew that I’m fighting against my own elder brother! Just because Karna did something to me, I was extremely impatient with him. I never understood Karna! It was totally my fault and I own up the crime of killing my own elder brother! Oh Bhagawan Krishna! Is this why you never took me near Karna for several days during the war? You avoided my direct confrontation with Karna, but I was the one who insisted on taking me towards Karna to fight with him! I did not understand this secret at that time! How foolish I was!” 

Saying thus, Arjuna sinks into an inconsolable grief! So for today, let us understand up to this point and let us wait till the next episode to witness Bhagawan Krishna’s answer to Yudishtra’s and Arjuna’s cries! Stay tuned!