The Indian Dharma

We’re at an important juncture wherein Sairandhri (Draupati) is being physically harassed yet another time in the public courtroom – This time by Keechaka at Viraata Desha. Even as Sairandhri sounds an alarm, the king of Viraata Desha is reluctant to take any action on Keechaka, as he is a very powerful and an influencial person in the kingdom. Rather than giving a stern reply to Draupati’s appeal, the king says that he would “investigate” into the matter and then take a call on this! Upon hearing this diplomatic answer, Sairandhri is furious and warns the king of dire consequences for his gross inaction for such heinous crimes happening in broad daylight. She quotes how Draupati had a similar experience at Hastinapura and how the entire kingdom is at a brink of grave danger. As Sairandhri talks about all these, Yudishtra gets a bit alarmed. He realizes that Sairandhri is going a bit too much overboard, which might result in revealing her identity in front of the entire courtroom. Thus, Yudishtra issues a veiled warning to Sairandhri, not to talk any further and instead, just go back to her chamber and mind her own business. Even if this infuriates Sairandhri, she did not have an option but to go back. She realizes that Yudishtra’s words, even though they are harmful to her at that point, are beneficial in the long run. 

As Sairandhri returns back hastily to her room, she issues a curse as she walks along. Sairandhri says thus, “Oh King of Viraata Desha! Whomsoever is responsible for this crime, will be taught a befitting lesson by my five “Gandharva” husbands at some point in time. Maybe this might not be the time they can actually come and attack, but there will definitely be a time wherein their invincibility will be shown to this world!” As Draupati walks back thus, people around her start shaking with fear! Already, many people are feeling that the time from which these six of them entered into the Viraata Desha, all inauspicious things are happening in the kingdom. Moreover, with Sairandhri cursing thus, the fear only adds up even further in all of them! Unable to bare this torture any further, Sairandhri secretly approaches Vallabha (Bheemasena) and cries to him thus, “Oh Bheemasena! Isn’t your blood boiling upon seeing your wife being insulted publicly for the second time? Aren’t you feeling bad upon seeing me suffer like this? If you’re not, then what kind of a husband are you? Why can’t you take some action?” 

As Draupati appeals to Bheemasena thus, Bheemasena makes out a plan quickly. He replies to Draupati thus, “Oh Draupati! I’m just keeping quiet upon seeing all this for two reasons – Firstly, if Yudishtra says something, it is as per the principles of “Dharma” and we’re bound to follow his words. Secondly, if we over-react at this point, we might end up revealing ourselves, and the consequences of that would be another twelve years of Vana-Vaasam and another year of Agnyaata Vaasam. We are almost at the fag end of the Agnyaata Vaasam and it is just a matter of a few more months. Hence, we should be extremely careful here. Of course, I’m not justifying that we should be quiet when such gross “Adharma” is happening. Now let us make a plan – You now go to Keechaka and say that you’re ready to accept him and you’ve changed your mind now. Slowly you draw him into the room where dance and other art forms are being performed and I shall dress like you and lie down at the entrance of that room. You do not come there, but you ask him to come. I shall take care of the rest!” 

This plan excites Draupati immediately and she accepts it. Accordingly, Draupati goes to Keechaka and explains that she had changed her mind and she is now willing to accept him. Moreover, she invites him to the dance room wherein she is waiting for him after a few minutes! Draupati says all these things in a very convincing and in a way wherein Keechaka’s desires are kindled. Keechaka too accepts Draupati’s words, unaware of the dire consequences that he is going to face! Thus, as per the plan, Keechaka comes to the dance room and meanwhile, Bheemasena pulls up a long skirt-like dress upon him, covers himself and sleeps on the floor, in a way that a woman would sleep! Keechaka enters inside the hall and upon seeing a “woman” lying down, he thinks that it is Sairandhri who is lying down there! Thus, Keechaka expresses his desires with all the wrong words possible and tries to touch the person who is sleeping! 

So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode, we shall witness what happened next! Stay tuned for an interesting accord! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Keechaka trying to allegedly misbehave with Sairandhri (Draupati) in the public courtroom as well as while being alone in his chamber. This is the second time that something like this is happening for Draupati – The first experience being the infamous gambling game episode where Ducchaasana tried to molest her in public at Hastinapura courtroom. As Draupati is being manhandled, Surya Bhagawan’s messenger – An invisible Raakshasa attacks Keechaka from nowhere and with this, Keechaka falls on the ground dead! Meanwhile, as Keechaka is fighting this Raakshasa and as Vallabha (Bheemasena) is looking on, he gets angry and lifts a heavy tree trunk to attack Keechaka then and there – Only to be stopped smartly by Kanka (Yudishtra) by giving a secretive coded advice that if Bheemasena attacks, he would end up revealing his identity. Realizing this, Bheemasena quickly understands the situation and refrains from going forward, and this is the time the invisible Raakshasa attacks Keechaka and defeats him! 

As this happens, Sairandhri looks at the king and talks thus, “Oh King of Viraata Desha! Please understand one thing clearly – In the Hastinapura kingdom of King Dhritarashtra, a few years back, Draupati was molested by Duryodhana and the others, and with this, the entire kingdom is surrounded by a great danger! Now, I’m experiencing a similar incident like what happened to Draupati at Hastinapura. If you allow such things to happen in your kingdom unabated, it would be disastrous for your kingdom and for you as well! Hence, you should be very careful in not allowing such incidents of molestation to happen! Oh king! Please understand one thing – If you perform good and righteous actions as per the “Dharma”, your “Punya” account will keep on growing. Whereas on the contrary, if you keep performing bad and unrighteous deeds, your “Paapa Karma” will keep on growing. Hence, as a leader, you should not encourage your subjects to get into bad deeds and thereby increase their and your “Paapa Karma”! You should immediately stop such things from happening!” 

This, Sairandhri explains as she is being molested by Keechaka. However, even as Sairandhri is explaining so much in detail and even as she is crying for help, the king did not answer any of her prayers. However, as Sairandhri appeals to the king for an answer repeatedly, the king replies thus, “Oh Sairandhri! I understand the problem that you’re highlighting here. However, I need to enquire on both sides as to what had happened. Now that I’ve heard your accord, I should also hear what Keechaka is saying. Hence, I shall talk to Keechaka and then make a decision on this very soon!” Now, this is a very diplomatic answer and is very non-committal isn’t it? The king is giving such an answer even after seeing the “Adharmic” act happening in front of his own two eyes, because of the fear that he has for Keechaka. As mentioned earlier, Keechaka is like a “de-facto” king of the Viraata Desha, as the king is totally powerless in many aspects of the administration. Hence, the king doesn’t want to rub on the wrong side of Keechaka and get into trouble with him later on. Thus, we can see how even in those days, political behaviour had panned out and how “Adharma”, even if it happens blatantly, had gone unnoticed! 

It is at this time, Yudishtra (Kanka) comes up with a logic that is quite not understandable for many people around, except for the Paandava brothers and Draupati. Yudishtra explains indirectly in a coded language as to how their twelve year period got over in the forest and how their current twelve-month period is also going to get over very soon, and how the Raashis are twelve in number. Hence, the message is very clear – As we’re nearing the twelve-month “Agnyaata Vaasam” period’s ending, after the twelve-year Vana-Vaasam, it is always important for us to stay concealed in our identities, even though we might face dangers and threats of “Adharma”. Rather than revolting and revealing ourselves, it is always better to be patient and adjust to whatever happens, without blurting out or exposing ourselves! As Yudishtra says thus, he also indirectly advises Draupati to go inside her room, rather than demanding explanations and encouraging a war of words with people around. 

Thus, as all these are happening, Keechaka is still trying to misbehave with Draupati in front of the king and is also trying to justify his actions! We shall understand up to this point for today, and in the next episode, we shall continue this discussion forward to witness whether Draupati obtained justice for what she had to undergo! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed yet another event wherein Draupati (Sairandhri in this case) is being molested by someone – This time it is Keechaka, brother-in-law of the king of Viraata Desha. As we’ve witnessed, Keechaka falls in love with Sairandhri, only to be rejected by her on grounds that she is already married to five “Gandharvas” who are invisible in nature! However, Keechaka is not someone who is going to let go of his desires so easily. He tries to convince Sairandhri that there’s no use of being a wife to someone who is invisible, only to meet a dead-end in his pursuit, as Sairandhri rejects him completely. UNable to bare that insult thus, Keechaka wants his sister to make a plan for him to attain Sairandhri, again, to meet stiff resistance from her as well. Annoyed by this, Keechaka makes a plan and orders Sudeshna to ask Sairandhri to come to his chamber with a cup of alcoholic drink at night. Even though Sairandhri doesn’t approve of this, Sudeshna’s order is stronger in a way that she cannot reject. Thus, as Sairandhri enters into Keechaka’s chamber, he catches her hands and tries to pull her towards him. 

At this juncture, Sairandhri prays to Surya Bhagawan, who has taken it upon himself to protect her all through the one-year-”Agnyaata Vaasam” period. Surya Bhagawan has already sent an invisible Raakshasa, who is always around Draupati to disguise her form. Unscathing in his attack thus, Keechaka tries more and more to pull her towards him. Sairandhri shrugs him off and runs to the middle of the courtroom and cries out loudly thus, “Oh! A gross “Adharma” is happening in Viraata Desha wherein a servant is being molested in public! Won’t anybody come and save me?” As Sairandhri cries aloud, she purposefully looks at Yudishtra and Bheemasena who are also standing there amongst all the people. At this time, Yudishtra beautifully explains the “Dharma” to Sairandhri thus, “Oh lady! Please do not cry out aloud! What is happening to you is highly atrocious! However, I can see a Raakshasa emerging from your shadows and is trying to protect you! Please calm down!” 

Meanwhile, as Yudishtra says thus, the Raakshasa takes his visible form and a huge fight entails between Keechaka and the Surya Bhagawan-sent-Raakshasa. At the end, Keechaka is unable to continue the fight, as the Raakshasa emerges too powerful for Keechaka to handle! Finally, Keechaka falls on the ground, unconscious! The Raakshasa disappears again! As this happens, the entire courtroom celebrates with joy! This is because, Keechaka till date, was remote-controlling everybody with his wickedness and even the king wasn’t a respite. But now, Keechaka is dead and the entire kingdom rejoices in the freedom that Viraata Desha has obtained! At this point, when Keechaka is weakly trying to stand up once again, Vallabha (Bheemasena) looks at a hard tree trunk that is kept nearby and Keechaka together! The intention is very clear – Bheemasena is losing his temper and is urging to take that tree trunk to thrash Keechaka! However, a timely eye-gesture from Kanka (Yudishtra) saves Bheemasena from revealing his identity within a fraction of a second! Bheemasena too realizes his mistake of getting angry unconsciously and calms down a bit! 

At this time, Yudishtra asks Bheemasena in the public courtroom thus, “Oh Vallabha! Is it wise for a kitchen servant to get so angry and take the tree trunk as a weapon in hand? What are you doing with that tree trunk? If at all you have anything to do with it, please take it outside and examine what can be done! The courtroom is not a place for looking at that tree trunk in the way you’re looking at!” These words from Yudishtra alert Bheemasena and he realizes that he was going a bit too far in his anger! Now, Sairandhri is going to let out an important appeal towards the king and this is going to be extremely important here. So what is that appeal? Let us wait till the next episode to witness! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Keechaka staying firm on his decision to somehow get married to Sairandhri (Draupati), unknowing her background. Even though his sister Sudeshna tries to explain Sairandhri’s background as much as she knows, (she too doesn’t know that Sairandhri is none other than Draupati, who is the wife of the Paandava brothers), Keechaka is in no mood to listen. We’ve already witnessed earlier that Keechaka tried directly to propose his love to Sairandhri, only to meet with resistance from her. Subsequently, he once again asks Sudeshna for help, only to be warned of imminent danger. However, Keechaka’s lust is overcoming his intellect and is still not able to understand the deeper meaning of what Sudeshna is trying to explain to him. So what does Keechaka do next? Let us witness today! 

As we’re witnessing currently, Keechaka is not going to listen any further to Sudeshna’s advice. He orders Sudeshna thus: “Oh Sudeshna! I did not come here to seek advice from you! I want things to be done, and I do not want reasons for things not being done! You’re saying that there are five “Gandharvas” who are protecting Sairandhri. Now let me tell you one thing clearly – Even if a thousand “Gandharvas” come and attack me, I will not be defeated by any chance! So, please do not give me all these explanations and waste my time and energy. I’m not prepared to listen to all this. Now that you’re not ready to support me in this cause, I shall instruct you as to what you would be doing – Tonight I will be in my chamber and at the time of sleep, you’ve to call Sairandhri, give her a glass of alcoholic drink and ask her to come into my room and hand it over to me. When she comes alone with the glass of alcoholic drink, I shall ensure that she will give in to my desires. This is the only way in which I can capture her!” As Keechaka says thus, he says decisively in such a way that Sudeshna is unable to talk anything back! Anyways, the kingdom itself is running only on Keechaka’s shoulders, as Sudeshna’s husband (The king of Viraata Desha) is virtually powerless in front of Keechaka! 

Here again, we’re witnessing another case wherein if we do not listen to the words of elders, we’re going to meet a huge disaster in life. We’ve also earlier seen many cases wherein people listened to the words of elders and escaped disasters. For instance, King Janame-Jaya was performing the “Sarpa-Satra Yaaga” for the demise of all the snakes in this world, and Sage Vaishampayana and the other key sages advised him to stop the Yaaga then and there. King Janame-Jaya obeyed Sage Vaishampayana’s words and with this, a huge disaster was averted and the snakes were saved. At the same time, we’ve also seen how Ravana met his end by not listening to Hanuman or Vibheeshana. Here, in the Mahabharata also, we’ve been seeing how Duryodhana is constantly disobeying the words of elders, and as everytime he discards them, he meets with disasters! Even though he meets with disasters, does Duryodhana learn his lessons? No! He doesn’t! Similarly here too, we’re seeing Keechaka discarding the words of “Dharma” from his sister and is going ahead with the “Adharmic” act of going behind someone else’s wife. So let us see what is going to happen to Keechaka next! 

As Keechaka orders thus, Sudeshna calls Sairandhri and passes on this information to her. Initially even though Sairandhri puts up a resistance, she could not say much, because she is in a position not to reveal her true identity. If she protests too much, chances are high that her identity may be revealed, and hence, she plays a safe game. She accepts the instruction, takes the glass of alcoholic drink and enters into Keechaka’s room at night. As Sairandhri walks past Keechaka, he tries to pull Sairandhri’s hands with his! Resisting that heinous act immediately thus, Draupati shrugs him off and starts running towards the king’s courtroom. Keechaka chases Sairandhri all the way till the king’s courtroom and as she sees Keechaka relentlessly coming after her, Sairandhri prays ardently to “Soorya Bhagawan”! Initially when Draupati enters into the Viraata Desha, she seeks Soorya Bhagawan’s divine “Anugraha” and with this, Soorya Bhagawan sends a Raakshasa as her bodyguard to conceal her identity and protect her! 

Now comes the critical point for Keechaka. What is Soorya Bhagawan going to unleash? How is he going to protect Draupati now? Let us wait and witness this interesting set of events unfolding in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sudeshna’s brother, Keechaka falling in love with Sairandhri (Draupati), who is currently working as an attendant. Even though Sudeshna, the queen advises Keechaka not to fall in love with Sairandhri, owing to the danger that she has five “Gandharvas” who are protecting her all the time, and they can come and kill him if such a misbehaviour happens. Even as Sudeshna warns him thus, Keechaka is not really convinced. He is overconfident about his capabilities and is determined of defeating anyone who comes to fight against him. With this boldness, Keechaka approaches Sairandhri and proposes his love to her. So now, it is Sairandhri’s turn to respond. What is she going to say? Let us continue this discussion in today’s episode. 

Listening to Keechaka’s words of love for her, Sairandhri renders some important words of advice thus, “Oh Keechaka! You are a great warrior with immense potential. You are ruling this kingdom single handedly in an efficient manner. Hence, you should focus on your wives, rather than looking at other people’s wives. This is not “Dharma” on your part. Hence, you should turn away from me and should not say these words. You should focus on your “Dharma” and should not desire for other’s materials including their wives. I’m already the wife of someone else!” As Sairandhri says thus, Keechaka replies back, “Oh Sairandhri! As you keep talking like this, my desire for you only keeps on growing. I challenge you that I will somehow attain you by any means!” 

As Keechaka thunders thus, he walks out in anger, only for him to later sit and chart out a plan. He decides to talk once again to Sudeshna and plan with her together. Keechaka once again requests his sister thus, “Oh Sudeshna! See how elegantly Sairandhri walks! She looks like a majestic female elephant while walking, doesn’t she? Isn’t she extremely beautiful? I somehow want to attain her. I’m totally engrossed in her! Hence, I need your help in somehow convincing her to accept me. Please suggest a plan as to how we go about it. I want you to take the lead and talk to her about me. I want you to convince her to marry me. So what if she is already married? She is married to some invisible people, isn’t she? Convince her that there is no use of living with invisible persons in her life, rather than living with visible ones. Hence, tell her in this fashion again and again, so that she gets convinced! I need your help in this very badly!” As Keechaka says thus, Sudeshna warns him once again – “Oh Keechaka! You’re once again doing a wrong thing, and this may lead to your destruction. Please pay heed to my words as well as her’s. She has already told you that she is not interested. Hence, why do you want to go again and again behind her? Please don’t do this. This “Adharmic” act of yours might lead you to serious danger. Her husbands seem to be extremely powerful with the way she tells about them! Hence, my sincere advice to you is to move away from her quietly without making this an issue. It is better to act now, rather than feeling sorry later on!” 

So now, Sudeshna also stands firm that she is not going to help Keechaka in his pursuit. Sudeshna explains the “Dharma” to him, but the bigger question here is whether Keechaka is ready to understand these words or not! So what is Keechaka going to do next? Is he going to pay heed to his sister’s words, or is he going to go against her? Let us wait and witness in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed how Vallabha (Bheemasena) got into a wrestling competition as per Kanka’s (Yudishtra’s) advice to the king of Viraata Desha. As there was an invincible wrestler by name Jeemutha who was sending shivers down the spine to all wrestlers around the country across various kingdoms, Viraata Desha too did not have any one wrestler who could boldly take him down. However, as the Paandava brothers have begun their “Agnyaata Vaasam” at the Viraata Desha recently, as per Kanka’s suggestion, the king of Viraata Desha deputes Vallabha for the marquee fight. Vallabha, being extremely strong with his raw and brutal muscle power, takes down Jeemutha quite easily and single handedly. More than just defeating him, Vallabha kills Jeemutha with his might and this news reaches the Viraata Desha king, who is also excited about it. With this, the king personally meets Vallabha and showers him with all possible gifts and appreciation. As this event concludes, we come to the end of the “Samaya-Paalana Parva”. 

Moving on further thus, we enter the next “Upa-Parva” by name “Keechaka-Vada-Parva”. As we move in, we can witness here that the news of Vallabha (Bheemasena) who is just a kitchen servant, killing Jeemutha reaches far and wide. People are starting to look at Vallabha with awe, and this news spreads to other kingdoms as well. This is because, Jeemutha is a tough person to defeat and nearly every wrestler across kingdoms have not been able to stand in front of him during a fight. However, if an ordinary person who is a cook in the kitchen is able to win over Jeemutha, people start wondering how this is possible! Several questions start being raised – Who is this Vallabha? How come a kitchen servant possesses enormous strength like this? Where did this person come from? What is his background?, etc. However, once again, the Paandava brothers are very careful here too in concealing their identity and after a few days, all these questions die down and all of them move on further. Now, we move on to a very interesting phase of the “Agnyaata Vaasam” period. 

The king of Viraata, by nature isn’t a great “Balishta” (Powerful person). He had a brother-in-law by name Keechaka. This Keechaka is the queen’s own brother and it is upon his shoulders that the entire kingdom rests. For instance, if there is a battle to be fought and won, rather than the king going and fighting, he mostly sends Keechaka for the assignment. Keechaka is quite efficient and till now he has a great track record in winning battles! Once, as Keechaka passes through the queen’s “Antahpura”, he spots Sairandhri (Draupati in disguise) and falls for her beauty! He starts falling in love for Sairandhri and first talks to his sister, Sudeshna (The queen). However, Sudeshna discourages Keechaka from falling in love with Sairandhri, by saying that the moment she joined as her assistant, she had told her that if someone tries to misbehave with her, there are five “Gandharvas” who are protecting her and would destroy that person completely. Hence, the queen advises Keechaka that it is dangerous to fall in love with Sairandhri and rather, turn away from her. 

However, even as Sudeshna advises thus, Keechaka is not ready to listen to her words. Keechaka angrily replies to his sister thus, “Oh Sudeshna! Don’t give me all these excuses for not doing what I want you to do. If you aren’t interested in helping your brother, he himself can take care! I do not need your help!” Saying thus, Keechaka directly approaches Draupati and says thus, “Oh beautiful woman! I do not know anything about you and your background, but I’ve fallen in love with you! You are extremely beautiful and my fire of love is raging within me. Please accept me as your husband! Moreover, I heard that you have five invisible husbands. What is the use of having invisible husbands? Leave all of them and come to me. I’ll be your visible husband and shall protect you in all ways. If required, I shall conquer the entire kingdom and put it under your feet as a token of love and respect for you!” 

Saying thus, Keechaka proposes his love to Draupati. So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode, we shall witness what is Draupati’s response going to be, and whether Keechaka is going to pay heed to Draupati’s response or not! Stay tuned for an interesting accord! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Yudishtra and Co. taking some final words of advice from Sage Dhoumya as they entered into the Viraata Desha. Yudishtra enters into the king’s palace to serve him as an able servant. Subsequently, Bheemasena enters into the kitchen to serve as a cook, Arjuna enters into the king’s daughter’s chamber to teach music and dance to her, Nakula enters the horse stable to take care of the horses and Sahadeva enters the cowshed to take care of the cows. Similarly, Draupati enters into the queen Sudeshna Devi’s chamber to serve her in all ways. Thus, as days progress, all of them serve to the best of their abilities, which impresses many people in the Viraata Desha, including the king himself. Talks start to surface that these people aren’t ordinary ones, but have some divine power in them. However, the Paandava brothers play those talks down by projecting themselves to be normal human beings and have come to serve the king in all possible ways. The Paandava brothers are very careful in concealing their identities and in this way, four months pass by. We still have around eight more months to go, and we shall continue from this point onwards in today’s episode. 

Moving on from here, as days progress, there is a huge festival that is going to take place in the Viraata Desha, and when I say “function”, it is a competition in “Dvandha Yuddham” (Wrestling competition). For this competition, a lot of people from other kingdoms are going to participate and showcase their talents. From some another kingdom, there is a wrestling expert by name “Jeemuthaa”, who had gone and won competition after competition in various kingdoms including the Viraata Desha earlier. As none from Viraata Desha is unable to win any competition so far, the king of Viraata Desha is very unhappy and dejected. He feels that his people are well-trained and even after providing all possible facilities, they are unable to win even a single competition. At this point, Kanka (Yudishtra’s disguised name) suggests to the king thus, “Oh great king! Please do not worry! Recently I’ve seen a “Balishta” (Very powerful person physically) in our kitchen. Maybe you can send him to fight over Jeemuthaa. He might be a good representative from our kingdom!” As Kanka says thus, the king wonders within himself – “Oh wow! What is a kitchen servant going to do in a wrestling competition?” As the king is thoughtful thus, Kanka continues his suggestion – “Oh King! As I’ve mentioned to you earlier, I’ve been amidst the great Paandava brothers at Indraprastha earlier, I’ve seen the strength and capability of this person, who was also there in the kitchen at that time. His name is Vallabha (Bheemasena’s disguised name). He will be a good match of strength for sure! Give him an opportunity!”
As Kanka says convincingly thus, the Viraata king relents to his advice and sends Vallabha for the fight. A huge wrestle endures and at the end of it, Vallabha easily defeats Jeemuthaa. At one point, Vallabha lifts Jeemuthaa with just a single hand, rotates him with his raw muscle power and throws him away quite easily! Unable to withstand Vallabha’s blasting blows, Jeemuthaa falls on the ground dead, with fractures all over his body! With this, Vallabha is declared the winner and the Viraata King is extremely happy with the good news! He immediately calls Vallabha to his chamber, appreciates him and provides him with a lot of gift items. The king is extremely happy and satisfied that finally his kingdom has someone who can claim to be a champion in the “Dvandha Yuddham”. 

With this sweet victory, we come to the end of the “Samaya-Paalana Parva” and for today, let us understand up to this point. We shall wait till the next episode to continue with the next important Upa-Parva under the main Viraata Parva! Stay tuned for more updates! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Yudishtra getting some important guidance and advice from Sage Dhoumya with regards to how he should conduct himself in front of the king of Viraata Desha. Of course, Yudishtra wants to be just a mute spectator and as a servant to the king and watch him play the gambling game whenever it happens, but still, Sage Dhoumya thinks that he should be giving some important pointers to Yudishtra, because he would be directly dealing with the king. In this way, Sage Dhoumya says that Yudishtra should not get into any sort of ego clashes with the king in any way, he shouldn’t sit while the king is sitting, even if the king doesn’t allocate any work to him, he should voluntarily go and ask the king for work, etc. Moreover, Yudishtra is also instructed by Sage Dhoumya to always keep a safe distance from the queen there. Even if there is any conversation that the king wants Yudishtra to have with the queen, Yudishtra should always stick to the point of the conversation and not take it into a level wherein some sort of a relationship might prosper between them. In this way, Sage Dhoumya gives valuable advice to Yudishtra, who in turn, listens with a great deal of “Bhakti” towards the Guru. 

Saying all this, Sage Dhoumya makes his final remarks thus, “Oh Yudishtra! I’ve told you whatever little I know about Raaja Dharma. Of course, you are an expert in it anyways, and I don’t need to tell you more on this. Do whatever is according to “Dharma” for you. You have the divine “Anugraha” of Bhagawan Krishna, Goddess Durga and Yama-Dharma-Raja himself! Hence, do not worry about anything and spend your time peacefully in the king’s palace. Just do what is required of you and do not get into any sort of hiccups which might lead to people finding out your true identity!” Saying thus, Sage Dhoumya bids farewell to all of them and he leaves the spot. Accepting Sage Dhoumya’s words, Yudishtra and Co. finally enter into the kingdom of the Viraata Nagara. Thus, with this note, we come to the end of the “Nagara-Pravesha Parva” under the main “Viraata Parva”. 

As this happens, Yudishtra enters into the King’s Chamber and the king readily accepts him as his aid. Similarly, Bheemasena enters into the kitchen. Arjuna enters inside as “Brihan-Nala” in a transgender form, and the king orders that he be the security guard and a good friend of his daughter, who is very beautiful in appearance. Moreover, since Arjuna expresses his talent in music and dance, the king is impressed and he wants Arjuna to teach these art forms to his daughter. Similarly, Nakula enters inside and goes straight to the horse stable. He expresses his wish to take care of the horses in the kingdom. The king accepts and gives permission for the same. In similar lines, Sahadeva enters the “Gaushala” to take care of the cows. 

With this, we also enter into the “Samaya-Paalana Parva”. “Samayam” in Sanskrit has multiple meanings. One meaning is “Responsibility”. Another meaning to it is “Dharma”. Hence, this “Parva” talks about how all the five Paandava brothers spend their time as per their “adopted” “Dharma” for the next one year. As the Paandava brothers spend their time thus, they are excellent in whatever actions that they are performing, and people around them are appreciating them a lot! Even by looking at their appearance, although they are dressed in a very simple manner, all of them look like “Gandharva” living beings with enormous handsomeness! The Viraata King’s son’s name is “Utthara” and the daughter’s name is “Uttharaa”. It is this same Uttharaa, Arjuna is going to marry his son Abhimanyu to, but this is going to happen at a later stage and not now. However, for now, as people cast a look at the Paandava brothers, there is a lot of talk amongst them that these are not ordinary people! However, the Paandava brothers keep playing down that talk and are not letting it grow further, to an extent wherein their personal identities are revealed. 

As this is happening, four months pass by! We still have eight more months, isn’t it? So for today, let us understand up to this point and in the next episode, we shall witness how the Paandava brothers spend their remaining eight months of their “Agnyaata-Vaasam” tenure! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Yudishtra and Co. in their final leg of preparation for their “Agnyaata Vaasam” for the next one-year-period. As they start proceeding towards the Viraata Nagara after hiding all their weapons under a banyan tree, they obtain the divine “Darshan” of Goddess Durga, who provides her divine “Anugraha” to all of them. Mother Durga wants Yudishtra to ask for a boon, however, Yudishtra is not much interested in it, as usual. Yudishtra’s only prayer to Mother Durga is that neither he nor his brothers and wife should be spotted out by anybody during the next one year and their identities should be completely concealed. For this, Mother Durga grants her “Anugraha” and full protection of the Paandava brothers and with this, Yudishtra and Co. disperse from that place to their respective roles as discussed earlier. The one-year “Agnyaata Vaasam” begins! 

As Yudishtra and Co. disperse thus, Sage Dhoumya who had been following the Paandavas closely till that time, has a little piece of advice to give to Yudishtra before he leaves to the Viraata Nagara’s palace. Sage Dhoumya is going to advise Yudishtra here with four or five important pointers, and he too is going to disperse from their vicinity for the next one-year-period. Sage Dhoumya says thus, “Oh Yudishtra! This is going to be a tough phase of life for you. However, with the divine “Anugraha” of Bhagawan Krishna and Mother Durga, everything would be fine with all of you. However, as you’re going to the king’s palace, you should be very careful with certain things. I shall give you some pointers to think about as you proceed further. Oh Yudishtra! Please understand that being in the vicinity of a king is very difficult. There might be so many dangers arising from time to time because of that. Please understand this as you proceed with your pursuit. When you are with a king, first of all, you should leave your ego. You should never have your ego dominating you at any point. Irrespective of whatever the king says, you should be ready to obey his words. Even if you feel that the king’s instructions are absurd in nature, you should not raise your voice against whatever he says. Moreover, if you’re trying to meet the king at his chamber, you should not walk in straightaway. Rather, you should obtain permission from his security guards before you enter. Moreover, if a king tells you something today, please do not think that this will be the final instruction. The king might keep on changing his stance and decisions on various issues. Hence you’ve to be prepared for it. Also, when the king is seated, please do not sit either near him or in front of him. Even if a chair is vacant near him, please do not sit. Moreover, when you are conversing with the king, please do not look at the empty chair placed nearby. It would psychologically disrupt the conversation and the king might think that you are wanting him to ask you to sit. This might invoke anger into the king’s mind. Hence, be careful about this. Also, never try to sit wherever the king sits – Even in his absence. Also, if the king gives you some prizes or rewards in the form of ornaments or dresses, make sure that you wear all of them and go in front of him whenever you’re meeting him. Even if the king takes you to his “Antahpura” where his wife resides, you should not go there without the authorization and knowledge of the king. He might take you wherever he wants to, but you have to be careful to exercise your discretion on where to go and where not to go in the absence of the king. Moreover, the king will keep giving you task after task to execute. Please listen to him carefully and execute them without any blemish. Even if he doesn’t give you some tasks to perform, you voluntarily go and ask him if there is anything to be done. Also, please note that you should never send a remainder to a king on what he is supposed to do. This will hurt the king’s ego badly and might backfire at you. Also, for any reason, please do not nurture any kind of friendship or companionship with his queen. Even if the king wants you to convey something to the queen, please do so from the outside and come back immediately. Do not encourage any further conversations with her, even if she wants to talk about something with you!” 

Thus, in these lines, Sage Dhoumya renders some important advice to Yudishtra as to how to deal with a king, before he disperses. So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the commencement of the “Viraata Parva”, wherein the Paandavas begin their “Agnyaata-Vaasam”. As they choose the Viraata Nagara to spend this time in a disguised manner, Yudishtra and Co. decide upon the modalities for the same. With this, all the six of them (inclusive of Draupati) make their way towards the Viraata Nagara and as they are about to enter the city, they find a huge banyan tree with a big hole in the trunk, wherein they can hide all their weapons. Arjuna and Bheemasena are deeply disgusted to part away from their Gaandeepa bow and the Gadha respectively, but the situation is such that, if they go inside with their weapons, people would easily find out their true identities. Hence, all the five of them pack their weapons in a cloth, store it inside the trunk of that banyan tree and hang a dead human body from the tree’s branches, in a way that the hole is covered. This is also an identification mark for them and also a means to scare people and animals away from this tree, so that their weapons are safe and secure for the next one year. 

After this, the Paandavas enter into the Viraata Nagara and on their way, they stop at a small temple for Goddess Durga Devi. Yudishtra prays to Mother Durga thus, “Oh Durga Devi! You are the sister of our Bhagawan Krishna, aren’t you? You saved Bhagawan Krishna from the wretched hands of Kamsa on the day of His divine incarnation. You have the holy names of Durga, Bhadra, Kaali, Narayani, etc. All of us are under the divine “Anugraha” of Bhagawan Krishna and we are trying our best to obey all His words of direction and advice. Oh Durga Devi! We seek your “Anugraha” too, as we enter into this tough phase of our lives!” As Yudishtra and Co. offer their prayers deeply thus, Mother Durga is extremely impressed and appears in front of them in person! Mother Durga says thus, “Oh Yudishtra! I know that your mind is deep-rooted in “Dharma” and I know that Bhagawan Krishna (My brother) is protecting you in all possible ways. However, since you’ve prayed to me also, it is my duty to provide my divine “Anugraha” to all of you. I hereby would like to grant something for you and you may please feel free to ask me whatever you wish to!” 

As Mother Durga asks thus, Yudishtra replies back, “Oh Durga Devi! We are extremely pleased to have your divine “Darshan”, which not many people in this world could have in front of their two eyes! You are the supreme mother! If you are with us always, what more do I ask for? We just need your divine presence with us at all times and we need your protection in our pursuit towards the path of “Dharma”!” As Yudishtra says thus, Mother Durga is in tears of joy! She is extremely impressed with Yudishtra’s reply, but still, Mother Durga wants to grant something to them that is tangible in nature. Hence, Mother Durga replies thus, “Oh Yudishtra! I know that you wouldn’t want to ask me anything materialistic and your reply is something on my expected lines. However, I would wish to grant two things to you as per my liking – Firstly – You will get back your kingdom very soon, and it is just a matter of time from now. Indraprastha will definitely be yours at any cost!” As Mother Durga grants this, Yudishtra quickly asks her thus, “Oh Mother! You’re talking about something that is happening in the future. But we’re going to commence a tough phase in our life – The “Agnyaata Vaasam”. Hence, please ensure that we are not spotted by anybody anywhere!” As Yudishtra requests thus, Mother Durga replies back: “Oh Yudishtra! This was the same thing that I wanted to grant to all of you. Please do not worry! You will not be spotted by anybody and your real identities will not be showcased in any way! You will be under my protection at all times. Please enter into the city boldly and go ahead with your plans!” 

As Mother Durga provides her Divine Anugraha thus, Yudishtra performs the “Jala-Tarpana” to his father at that spot itself and with this, all the five brothers and Draupati disperse off in different directions as per their assigned roles. So for today, let us understand up to this point and in the next episode, we shall witness how the “Agnyaata Vaasam” is going to pan out for them! Stay tuned for interesting updates! 🙂