The Indian Dharma

We’re in the midst of a very important day of the Kurukshetra war – Day Twelve, wherein a huge ploy is being executed by Duryodhana and Co. to somehow capture Yudishtra alive. Guru Dhronachaarya is entrusted with the task of isolating Yudishtra from the others on Day Eleven, but somehow Bheemasena and Arjuna understood this ploy very well and they protected Yudishtra from all sides. Guru Dhronachaarya, as a result, could not breach the fortress built by the Paandava duo. However on the twelfth day, the plan is slightly modified – Susharma, the leader of Trigatthas comes into the scene. The plan is very simple – Arjuna is the spearhead of the fortress around Yudishtra, isn’t it? Hence, Susharma is trying to drive Arjuna away from the battlefield to a long distance, so that he virtually loses connection from what’s happening in the main Kurukshetra battlefield. Accordingly, Susharma tempts Arjuna to follow him and Arjuna too starts doing the same. Susharma takes Arjuna to an entirely different place and a huge war breaks out between Arjuna and the Trigatthas. 

Meanwhile before Arjuna leaves, he entrusts the responsibility of protecting Yudishtra to Bheemasena, Satyaki and King Drupada. There are some sound languages being set for effective identification of danger – If Bhagawan Krishna’s “Paanchajanya” sound is constantly in the air, along with Arjuna’s Gaandeepa sound, it means to Yudishtra that Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna are safe. On the other side, when Yudishtra’s Shankam keeps emitting the sound, Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna would infer that Yudishtra is safe. In this way, the code languages were set up between them. Thus, the war between Susharma and Arjuna is of an entirely different level altogether! The Trigatthas are extremely powerful in nature and even then, Arjuna is able to single-handedly neutralize several Trigatthas in Susharma’s army. The constant sound of Bhagawan Krishna’s “Paanchajanya” indicates that Arjuna is extremely successful in his pursuit so far.
As this is happening on one side, Guru Dhronachaarya and Duryodhana get together to discuss a new strategy to isolate Yudishtra. Thus, both of them try to attack Yudishtra from either sides together, which alerts Bheemasena and Saatyaki immediately. Both of them rush near Yudishtra in super-quick time and a fierce battle ensues between the four of them. Bheemasena once again trains his guns towards Duryodhana, and at the same time there’s a huge fight between Saatyaki and Guru Dhronachaarya. All four of them are equally powerful, however, Bheemasena and Saatyaki emerge successful in somehow thwarting the isolation plan of Duryodhana and Guru Dhronachaarya once again. This is the second time that the duo’s ploy is ending up in failure. Meanwhile, Yudishtra’s “Shankam” is also making a huge sound and as mentioned before, this sound communicates the message to Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna that Yudishtra is not in any kind of problem on the other side. 

Meanwhile, as Duryodhana realizes that his ploy has failed, he immediately thinks of the next alterntive. Bhagadatta comes near Duryodhana. We’ve already seen a short note about Bhagadatta earlier. He comes on his elephant called “Supra-Deepakam”. This elephant is extremely powerful and its power equals the power of around 10,000 elephants put together! Thus, as Bhagadatta arrives near Duryodhana on his huge elephant, the entire Paandava army starts shaking with fear. It should also be noted that Bhagadatta has a very important weapon, which he had obtained from Raakshasa Narakaasura earlier. It is called as “Vaishnava-Asthram”. This “Asthra” is extremely powerful and nobody in this earth could actually neutralize it. Thus, upon Duryodhana’s motivation, Bhagadatta commences his fight. A huge battle ensues and all the four Paandava brothers (Sans Arjuna) unite together and try to give resistance to him. However, the Paandavas are not able to stop Bhagadatta’s advancement. Thus, Bhagadatta breaches the fortress successfully within no time and with his “Vaishnava-Asthram”, Bhagadatta is casually killing tens of thousands of soldiers on the Paandava side. The entire Paandava army runs into chaos and in the process, a great sound erupts. This alerts Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna! Bhagawan immediately informs Arjuna about Bhagadatta’s arrival on the battlefield and tells him that they’ve to now hurry towards the main Kurukshetra battlefield. Meanwhile, Arjuna had finished almost three-fourth of Susharma’s army single-handedly and with this, Bhagawan Krishna quickly drives the chariot away from Susharma. Now as Arjuna is reaching the main battlefield, Bhagadatta is in full fiery mode, going on a rampage from one point to the other. His “Vaishnava-Asthram” is doing all the talking! So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall continue this interesting segment of the discussion in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the proceedings of Day Eleven at Kurukshetra wherein the ply was very clear – To somehow isolate Yudishtra from the rest of the Paandava army and to capture him alive. However, what conspired on the battlefield was something different. As the war began on Day Eleven, Yudishtra was heavily guarded by Bheemasena and Arjuna on either sides and not even for a single split of a second, this guard was compromised! This eventually made it very difficult for Guru Dhronachaarya to breach this fortress and enter inside. Meanwhile from the other side, Duryodhana tried his best to remove Bheemasena and Arjuna, but he failed miserably in his attempt. Thus, at the end of the eleventh day, the Paandava army had an upper hand over the Kauravas, which now leads the latter to do a lot of thinking and introspection. 

Now, as the twelfth day war is about to commence, Susharma, leader of the Trigatthas is going to be deputed for this job. This “Upa-Parva” which we’re entering into now is called “Sham-Saptaka Parva”. Now why is this “Upa-Parva” called this way? There’s a fascinating reason behind it. We might be remembering that during the “Agnyaatavaasam” period (Thirteenth year of the Vana-Vaasam of Paandavas), Yudishtra and Co. were residing at the Viraata Desha. Duryodhana somehow smelled this and he wanted to expose the identity of the Paandavas to send them back to the forest once again for the next twelve years. To prove to the world that the Paandavas were residing there, Duryodhana sent his messengers to drive away all the cows and calves from Viraata Desha, with a ploy to invite Arjuna to the battlefield, so as to fight with him and obtain the cows back. As Arjuna would come to fight with him, Duryodhana can openly declare that he has found the identity of the Paandavas and as per the earlier agreement, they’ve to once again go back to the forest for the next twelve years. However, as we’ve seen earlier, what conspired was grossly different! The cows were saved, but these “Trigatthas” sent by Duryodhana were badly injured and insulted by Arjuna! 

Recalling this incident in mind, Susharma, who is the leader of the Trigatthas takes a pledge in front of Duryodhana thus, “Oh Duryodhana! The insult that we obtained from Arjuna on that day is still fresh in our minds until this minute! Hence, we will go and capture Arjuna and insult him back as a token of revenge for what conspired then! For this, we’ve taken a pledge under the sacrificial “Agni Bhagawan” (Fire). So what we’ll do is, we shall call Arjuna for a war separately off the main Kurukshetra battlefield and take him somewhere else! We have a huge army behind us and we will make Arjuna fight with our army. Meanwhile in his absence, you can capture Yudishtra alive!”

As Susharma speaks thus, Duryodhana is seemingly convinced that this sounds like a good plan. Thus, the twelfth day of the war commences and immediately Susharma unleashes his plan. He calls Arjuna separately for a battle and Arjuna obeys Susharma’s call! Before going behind Susharma, Arjuna hands over the responsibility of protecting Yudishtra to Saatyaki, King Drupada and Bheemasena. Arjuna instructs all three of them to be around Yudishtra all the time and to ensure that nobody is trying to isolate him and take him away. As Arjuna departs, the war begins on both sides. On one hand, Arjuna and Susharma fight a fierce battle with each other, even as things unfold in Kurukshetra as well. Guru Dhronachaarya continues with his pursuit to isolate Yudishtra, only for his plan to get thwarted everytime by Bheemasena and King Drupada. Saatyaki is also attacking and holding fort on one end and Bheemasena guards the other. Yudishtra is very carefully protected by this trio. 

Meanwhile on Arjuna’s side, a fierce battle ensues and there are “signal languages” being communicated between Arjuna and Yudishtra at all times. For instance, if Yudishtra is able to hear Bhagawan Krishna’s “Paanchajanya” sound (Sound of the Shankam that Bhagawan Krishna holds) from time to time, it means that Arjuna is safe. If Arjuna’s “Gaandeepa” sound keeps thundering through the air from any direction, it means Arjuna is safe and the fight is going on! Meanwhile, Arjuna keeps checking with Bhagawan Krishna whether Yudishtra is safe and secure. On the other side, if Yudishtra’s “Shankam” keeps emitting the desired sound, it is a signal for Arjuna that Yudishtra is safe. Thus, the battle continues interestingly and for today, let us understand up to this point. We shall continue this interesting and absorbing accord further in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sanjaya concluding his conversation with King Dhritarashtra with regards to how “Dharma” has been “compromised” in this war. We’ve seen Sanjaya giving a strong rebuttal to King Dhritarashtra’s claim that this entire war is completely “Adharmic” in nature and his son is being unduly targeted. Sanjaya recalls how “Dharma” was completely compromised at several stages by King Dhritarashtra himself when the gambling game happened and with several incidents that unfolded henceforth. Saying all this, Sanjaya commences the description of the Day Eleven of the battle at Kurukshetra. At the beginning, we’ve seen Duryodhana approaching Guru Dhronachaarya to request him to somehow capture Yudishtra alive without killing him. Even though for a moment, Guru Dhronachaarya thinks that Duryodhana has finally mended his ways, he was wrong in his assessment about the intent with which Duryodhana asked that question. Later on, as Duryodhana revealed his sadistic intention behind capturing Yudishtra alive, Guru Dhronachaarya feels extremely bad. 

As this happens, Duryodhana reveals further thus, “Oh Guru Dhronachaarya! If you’re able to capture Yudishtra alive, I will call him for a game of gambling once again. I will win that game and at the end of it I will once again send him to the forest for another twelve years, plus one more year of “Agnyaatavaasam”. In the meanwhile, I will be happily ruling the Hastinapura kingdom with the excitement of seeing Yudishtra and his brothers suffering! This is my aim! I somehow want Yudishtra to keep experiencing suffering after suffering and this gives me a lot of happiness!” Upon hearing this, Guru Dhronachaarya doesn’t know what to reply to Duryodhana! His heart is bubbling with pain upon hearing these wicked words of Duryodhana, but, just like Bhishmachaarya, Guru Dhronachaarya is also not able to talk back to Duryodhana, condemning his words! However, he has to give some reply to Duryodhana, isn’t it? So Guru Dhronachaarya keeps his reply very short by saying thus, “Oh Duryodhana! This can be done, provided Arjuna is not coming from any side to shield him! If Arjuna barges in from somewhere during the pursuit, it might not be possible to corner Yudishtra! So Duryodhana! It is your responsibility to keep Arjuna away from Yudishtra for the entire day! You keep him occupied by making him fight with the others in the army, meanwhile I’ll try and corner Yudishtra!”

With this, the Day Eleven at Kurukshetra begins! The Kauravas come up with the “Shakata Vyuham” and the Paandavas come up with the “Krauncha Vyuham”. The entire strategy is aimed at somehow isolating Yudishtra from the rest of the crowd. The Paandavas understand this strategy and during the entire eleventh day, Bheemasena and Arjuna guard Yudishtra from either sides and with this, Guru Dhronachaarya is unable to approach Yudishtra for a one-on-one fight at all! Being in the close proximity of Yudishtra, both Bheemasena and Arjuna unleash their fury on the Kaurava army and kill several important people on that day. The Kaurava army makes several attempts to isolate Yudishtra, but all their attempts are thwarted by the Bheemasena-Arjuna combo. Duryodhana also tries his bit too, but is being continuously blocked by Bheemasena. There’s also a Duryodhana vs. Bheemasena fight once more, but it is for a very brief period. This time, Bheemasena’s aim is not to kill Duryodhana, but only to prevent him from advancing inside.  

Thus, the eleventh day of the war comes to a conclusion with the Kaurava army encountering a big lapse! Inspite of their best attempts, they are not able to penetrate the Paandava army and breach Bheemasena and Arjuna’s vigil. Both of them are too strong and because of their befitting replies, the Kaurava army starts running into complete chaos! Guru Dhronachaarya’s plan is completely thrown out of gear as he is unable to even move a step closer to Yudishtra! So at the end of the eleventh day, the Paandavas are a happier camp and the Kauravas have a lot of things to ponder over! With this note, we shall conclude Day Eleven at Kurukshetra and in the next episode, we shall continue with what is going to happen during Day Twelve! Stay tuned for an interesting accord!

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sanjaya continuing with his scathing reply to King Dhritarashtra. He now says that whatever has happened till now over the past fifteen days (Bringing Bhishmachaarya down and the demise of Guru Dhronachaarya) are just a trailer. The real show is going to begin after this only. Duryodhana’s fortress will fall apart in a short time from now. Even though he has invincible warriors on his side, he will still not be able to win over the Paandavas because of the mere presence of Bhagawan Krishna with them. Saying thus, Sanjaya narrates the entire incarnation of Bhagawan Krishna to King Dhritarashtra, highlighting the fact that Bhagawan Krishna is none other than the “Kaala-Devata” who has incarnated in this world to destroy all sorts of “Adharma”. His mission can never be thwarted by anybody and Duryodhana is no exception to that! 

Saying all this, Sanjaya once again tells King Dhritarashtra thus, “Oh King! Look at the valour of all those Raakshasas whom Bhagawan Krishna has destroyed so far – They were extremely invincible people and Bhagawan Krishna neutralized them within minutes. Kamsa had immense strength and manpower to support him. However, Bhagawan Krishna killed Kamsa so easily as if it was a game for Him. Comparing Kamsa’s might with Duryodhana’s, do you even think Duryodhana stands a chance to survive? Afterall who is Duryodhana and what is his power? All these people got destroyed only because of the fact that they were on the side of “Adharma”. Duryodhana is unfortunately in those lines only and there’s no chance that he is going to survive this onslaught from Bhagawan Krishna! The fate of Duryodhana hangs in a small thread now and things are inevitable!” 

Concluding this discussion thus, we now enter into the eleventh day of the Kurukshetra war. Now, as we know, Guru Dhronachaarya has taken over as the Senapati after Bhishmachaarya and the war is about to begin. As the war is about to commence, Duryodhana quickly comes to Guru Dhronachaarya and says thus, “Oh Guru! I have a small request for you as we’re about to commence today’s fight – When you approach Yudishtra and fight with him, do not go for the kill. Try to capture him alive and bring him to me!” As Guru Dhronachaarya hears this from Duryodhana, for a moment he thinks that Duryodhana has obtained some “realization” overnight! 🙂 He thinks thus, “Oh wow! What happened to this Duryodhana overnight? What has changed in him? Why is he not wanting to kill Yudishtra? Has he changed for good?” Thinking thus, Guru Dhronachaarya replies back to Duryodhana – “Oh Duryodhana! Today you’ve become a “Dhanyan” (Good person)! I’m very happy that you’ve changed your mindset from killing Yudishtra to keeping him alive! This is good progress. I hope you would gradually stop this war from proceeding further! I think the positivity of Yudishtra has attracted you towards him somehow! If your father hears these words of yours, he will be the happiest person in this world!” 

But is Guru Dhronachaarya correct in his judgement about Duryodhana? Duryodhana replies back thus, “Oh Guru Dhronachaarya! I think you’ve mistaken me – If Yudishtra is killed in the war, the remaining four Paandava brothers will also be gone forever! I do not want that to happen! I want all of them to be alive. I want all of them to keep suffering in front of me as I rule the kingdom. I want to see them undergoing immense pain. I should not have enemies at all around me! Only if these five people keep suffering, I shall get the happiness of ruling the kingdom. Whereas if these five brothers are not there, what is the charm in ruling this entire Hastinapura kingdom?” 

We can clearly see how sadistic Duryodhana is here – The meaning of what he wants to convey is very clear – He wants these Paandava brothers to be around, but they should undergo immense suffering at all times. Upon seeing these people suffer, he wants to derive happiness! We would see such dialogues even in today’s context too, isn’t it? For instance, some people might say out of frustration – “Oh! For all that he / she has done to me till now, I will ensure that I’ll lead a better life than them some day, in front of them! I shall show them who I am and what I’m capable of!” We keep hearing all these dialogues in movies as well! This is clearly a sadistic nature and this is exactly what Duryodhana is expressing here! So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall continue this discussion further in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sanjaya giving some stern words of reply to King Dhritarashtra when he tried to question the “Dharma” behind Guru Dhronachaarya being killed in an undemocratic manner in the battlefield by Drishtadhyumna on the fifteenth day. Sanjaya clearly points out that the “Dharma” of the Hastinapura kingdom has been compromised long back when Draupati was insulted in public amidst everybody and subsequently in several occasions including the insult meted out to Bhagawan Krishna Himself when He came as a messenger on behalf of Yudishtra to broker peace between the two rival camps. “If “Dharma” wasn’t questioned then, why is it being questioned now?” – This is the counter narrative that Sanjaya is coming up with, when King Dhritarashtra feels bad for Guru Dhronachaarya’s demise. 

Having conversed thus, Sanjaya is now going to begin his narrative starting from Day Eleven of the Kurukshetra battle. Upon King Dhritarashtra asking him to explain every incident in detail, Sanjaya begins. But as he begins, he doesn’t go straightaway into what is happening at Kurukshetra. He begins on a different note again – This time with the significance of Bhagawan Krishna! We might wonder what is the need for Sanjaya to explain about Bhagawan Krishna at this juncture when King Dhritarashtra is asking him about the war proceedings. There’s a link here. Sanjaya beautifully explains thus, “Oh King Dhritarashtra! Please think for a moment carefully – Bhagawan Krishna is the one who is spearheading everything on the Paandavas’ side. If Bhagawan Krishna is approving of something that might still be categorized normally as an “Adharma” or an unethical act, we need to step back a bit and think why He’s doing that! Rather than squarely blaming someone for what is happening, we should first be patient and understand why it is happening. If Bhagawan Krishna is approving of something to be done, it can be taken as a guarantee that it is for the sake of “Dharma” only. There can be no second thought about that!” 

Saying thus, Sanjaya explains the significance of Bhagawan Krishna. He talks about how Bhagawan Krishna was born and how He is an incarnation of Bhagawan Vishnu (Bhagawan Narayana of the Bhadrinatha Kshetra) and how He destroyed all the “Raakshasas” ever since day one of His incarnation in this world. While highlighting all these points, Sanjaya lists down the entire set of Raakshasas whom Bhagawan Krishna has killed so far! I don’t think I should go into that list because it would be like chanting “Raakshasa Suprabhaatham”! 😀 Thus, through this narrative, Sanjaya explains how Bhagawan Krishna’s main motive of this incarnation is to “reduce the burden of this earth” by destroying all sorts of “Adharma” completely at the grassroot levels! In this way, Sanjaya explains that Bhagawan Krishna is none other than the “Kaala-Devata” who has come to destroy all forms of “Adharma” in this world, and unfortunately even after several warnings and advice Duryodhana chose to walk into the “Adharma” trap, only to eventually get destroyed! Highlighting all these points, Sanjaya says that even if Duryodhana had the state-of-the-art expertise in warfare, or even if he has people around him who are invincible, it is impossible for Duryodhana to win this war, solely because of the mere presence of Bhagawan Krishna on the side of “Dharma”. Sanjaya clearly explains that this is not an ordinary war, but a war between “Dharma” and “Adharma”, in which, “Dharma” is bound to win, even if it is through hook or crook and Bhagawan Krishna will definitely ensure that this happens. 

Explaining all these important points thus, Sanjaya commences the discussion of Day Eleven of the Kurukshetra war proceedings, which we shall commence in the next episode! For today, let us realize this important narration of Sanjaya with regards to how Bhagawan Krishna orchestrated this entire Kurukshetra war, with the sole intention to make “Dharma” win. We shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode, we had witnessed King Dhritarashra expressing his dismay and shock upon hearing Guru Dhronachaarya’s death on the Kurukshetra battlefield. This comes at a time when Sanjaya begins his narration on the “Dhrona Parva” – From the point where Guru Dhronachaarya takes over as the “Senapati” after Bhishmachaarya. Instead of narrating the events step by step, Sanjaya has a unique pattern of building the narrative wherein he first breaks the end-result and then starts building the narrative around it. In this way, he first starts with the news that Guru Dhronachaarya’s head has been chopped off by Drishtadhyumna, and this sends shockwaves to King Dhritarashtra. Upon hearing Guru Dhronachaarya’s demise and the way in which it was orchestrated, King Dhritarashtra questions the “Dharma” behind such a killing. For this, Sanjaya schools King Dhritarashtra that he doesn’t have any moral right to talk about “Dharma” or Ethics because, “Dharma” had been compromised in his own courtroom when Draupati was molested during that infamous gambling game episode. Sanjaya blasts King Dhritarashtra by saying that, all these incidents are nothing but a fallout or a consequence of that gross act of “Adharma” which happened during that time, which King Dhritarashtra never had the guts to question about. Then, why does he talk about “Dharma” now, if he did not question the “Adharma” of his own son then? 

Saying thus, Sanjaya continues further – “Oh King Dhritarashtra! You should remember one thing clearly – When you’re performing an act of “Adharma”, things will seem very happy and enjoyable for you at that moment. Bhagawan too would motivate you indirectly further and further to go into “Adharma” more and more! However, when you’re facing the consequences of all the “Adharma” that you’ve done, things will start getting painful. This is exactly what has happened in your case as well – When your son Duryodhana was winning over Yudishtra in that infamous gambling game, you were very happy! When Duryodhana was going overboard because of that illegal victory to insult the Paandavas and Draupati, those things did not appear as serious offences to you at that time, because your son’s future and your affection towards him came in the forefront like a screen and blocked you from seeing the reality! In the same lines, when Duryodhana refused to part with even an inch of land and when he insulted Bhagawan Krishna publicly, it did not appear to you as a crime once again because of your unending affection towards your son! If this would have been done by Yudishtra or someone else, you would have taken strict action against them, but just because it was your son doing all these, you were silent! You were partial towards your subjects, and where did “Dharma” go then? Can a leader show partiality towards his subjects? Is this “Raaja Dharma”? As a leader you should have been fair to everyone. Just like how Duryodhana is your son, Yudishtra is also your son only, even though he might be Paandu’s son biologically. But you never understood this aspect of “Dharma”! So after all this, why are you complaining about the lack of “Dharma” on Yudishtra’s side? Afterall it’s a human life that has been lost, and there should be no complaints about it!”

Sanjaya continues further thus, “Oh King Dhritarashtra! You’re now talking about arrows hitting your sons and Guru Dhronachaarya, Bhishmachaarya, aren’t you? But imagine this – Your sharp-pointed arrows have already been fired on Yudishtra and Co. during the gambling game – When Sahuni rolled the dice every time, each roll was an arrow that was pointed towards Yudishtra, which tore him to pieces! Who is answerable to Yudishtra’s suffering? Who is answerable to Yudishtra getting insulted for no fault of his? Who is answerable to Yudishtra’s illegal loss? It is solely you! Oh King! When you’re making a mistake, the ill effects and the consequences of it will never haunt you at that time. However, at a later point of time when the consequences of your mistakes start getting on you, you will comfortably forget the mistake that you performed previously and instead you will only keep lamenting about the consequences that you’re facing! How unfair this can be? What you sow, so you reap!”

Saying thus, Sanjaya says that there’s no point in lamenting now. Guru Dhronachaarya has attained the “Svarga Lokha” and he is now the thing of the past! Upon hearing this, King Dhritarashtra asks Sanjaya – “Oh Sanjaya! Please tell me in detail as to what exactly happened on the battlefield after Guru Dhronachaarya took over. How did he fight? Why did this unfortunate incident happen during the fifteenth day of the war?” As King Dhritarashtra asks thus, Sanjaya is now going to begin his narrative from Day Eleven of the war. So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall wait till the next episode to witness things further! Stay tuned! 🙂

We’re at a very important juncture wherein Sanjaya is commencing his narrative of Guru Dhronachaarya’s demise to King Dhritarashtra. Upon breaking the news that Guru Dhronachaarya is no more, King Dhritarashtra is shell-shocked! Also, upon hearing that Guru Dhronachaarya has been killed when he was without his weapons in the battlefield, he is even more shocked! King Dhritarashtra laments in anger as to what were Yudishtra, Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna doing on the battlefield when Drishtadhyumna committed this unethical crime! King Dhritarashtra concludes with a lot of frustration to Sanjaya that this entire battle that is happening at Kurukshetra has breached several levels of unethical acts! First, Bhishmachaarya was cornered by bringing Shikhandi into the battlefield and secondly now, it is Guru Dhronachaarya’s turn to experience this unethical wrath from the Paandava side! As King Dhritarashtra laments thus, Sanjaya is laughing within himself and is pretty calm and composed! Now, Sanjaya has to give a reply to King Dhritarashtra’s lamenting, isn’t it? 

Sanjaya says thus, “Oh King Dhritarashtra! I understand your pain and frustration – But please rewind yourself several years ago when unethical behavior unfolded in your courtroom in front of everybody, right under your nose! When you allowed Duryodhana and Sahuni to play the gambling game against Yudishtra, where did your ethics go? Is playing the gambling game ethical according to you? Secondly, when the game was progressing, you let Duryodhana unleash his wrath on Yudishtra, who was subjected to enormous insult. Was that ethical according to you? Moreover, at the peak of things, Draupati was dragged to the centre of the courtroom by Ducchaasana! Was that ethics according to you? Moreover, Draupati was publicly molested in front of everyone! Was that ethics according to you? As all these events unfolded one after the other, as a king, you were silent and a mute spectator! Was that ethical according to you? After all this fiasco, Yudishtra had to illegally transcend to the forest for twelve long years plus one year of Agnyaatavasam for no fault of his! Where did your ethics go at that time while Yudisthra departed? When Yudisthra finished thirteen years of forest life and came back to claim his kingdom, your son Duryodhana denied him completely! Where did your ethics go then? When Bhagawan Krishna requested you on Yudishtra’s behalf for five villages atleast, and when Duryodhana insulted Bhagawan Krishna on His face, where did your ethics go?” 

Sanjaya continues thus, “Hence, King Dhritarashtra! “Dharma” in your kingdom was murdered a long time ago! It is not being murdered today on the battlefield! I’m literally surprised that you are talking about ethics! You’ve let so many unethical things unfold and now why are you lamenting when the mirror is shown to you? You’ve to live with it now. It’s too late for you to lament! When you do something bad to others, you wouldn’t bring that ethics component inside. However, when someone else does something bad to you, you will start talking about ethics! Isn’t this a perfect example of your double standards? Hence, I don’t think you have any moral right to talk about ethical and unethical behavior here! Oh King Dhritarashtra! This is not all! There are more such events to unfold! Wait and see!” 

Saying thus, Sanjaya blasts King Dhritarashtra with the harshest words possible! So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall wait till the next episode to continue with Sanjaya’s narration further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Guru Dhronachaarya taking over as the “Senapati” of the Kaurava army as Duryodhana and Karna do the needful to him. With this, we commence the discussion on the “Dhrona Parva”, wherein a few important events are to take place under the leadership of Guru Dhronachaarya on the battlefield. As Guru Dhronachaarya takes over the responsibility, he assures Duryodhana that he would definitely fight for his cause, however, the duo of Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna are invincible in the battlefield. Guru Dhronachaarya reminds Duryodhana of the fact that this combo is nothing but the “Nara-Narayana” combo of the Bhadrinaatha Kshetra which has incarnated here to establish and restore “Dharma” in this world. In that way, unless and until Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna are together on the battlefield, victory is assured for the Paandava side. There is no second thought about this! 

Meanwhile we shall now shift to what’s happening at Hastinapura – As we know, Sanjaya is narrating all the events that are taking place at Kurukshetra to King Dhritarashtra. Now, at a crucial juncture, Sanjaya suddenly laments to King Dhritarashtra thus, “Oh King! There’s a huge commotion on the battlefield! There’s absolute chaos everywhere! Guru Dhronachaarya is dead! Guru Dhronachaarya has collapsed on the ground of the battlefield! Drishtadhyumna has fulfilled the purpose behind his birth! He has chopped off Guru Dhronachaarya’s head! Oh my God! What a disaster!” As Sanjaya says thus, King Dhritarashtra couldn’t believe what was going on! In fact, this is one way of narrating a story. Sanjaya is an expert in story narration and he follows a method wherein he first narrates the main incident, followed by the entire story. He did the same thing in the beginning as well. Readers might remember that Sanjaya commences the entire war discussion with King Dhritarashtra by saying that Bhishmachaarya has fallen down! This is a tenth day incident as we know, but Sanjaya starts from here. This invokes King Dhritarashtra’s interest and involvement and as he asks for more details, Sanjaya starts narrating all the incidents that took place right from day one, including the Bhagawad Gita episode. This is the same strategy that he’s following here too. He’s starting from a point wherein Guru Dhronachaarya has fallen down – For a matter of fact, we’ve not even commenced the discussion of Guru Dhronachaarya entering the battlefield, however, Sanjaya is miles ahead in his narrative! This once again provokes King Dhritarashtra, who asks Sanjaya to narrate everything that happened around Guru Dhronachaarya’s demise. 

Now, Sanjaya starts thus – “Oh King Dhritarashtra! Let me first tell you in jist as to what happened – During the fifteenth day of the war, Guru Dhronachaarya was at his best! His prowess was unmatchable on the battlefield. At a time when the entire Paandava army was running for shelter, an unusual event unfolded wherein Guru Dhronachaarya dropped down his weapons all of a sudden and went into penance. At this time, Drishtadhyumna rushed towards him and chopped off his head with his sharp sword! This marks the end of Guru Dhronachaarya!” Upon hearing this, King Dhritarashtra immediately asks a follow-up question to Sanjaya thus, “Oh Sanjaya! What are you saying? How can Guru Dhronachaarya be without weapons in the middle of the battlefield? What happened to him? Why did he drop down his weapons? Who made him do it? What were the others doing around him? Why didn’t they come for his protection? What was Bhagawan Krishna doing? Was he silent when Guru Dhronacharya’s head was chopped when he was weaponless? This is certainly not “Dharma-Yuddham”. This is grossly unethical! What was Yudishtra doing? Everytime he keeps talking about “Dharma” and how did he allow this to happen? Oh God! This is a huge insult to our entire clan! This kind of war should not be fought at any cost! I never expected this deafening silence from Yudishtra during this unethical event! Even Yudishtra has failed in his duty today! “Dharma” has been grossly compromised!” 

Saying thus, King Dhritarashtra cries and laments! Upon hearing all this from King Dhritarashtra, Sanjaya never gets into any panic mode. He is very calm and composed. In fact, he laughs at King Dhritarashtra’s ignorance and is now going to give a very important reply to King Dhritarashtra, which we shall wait till the next episode and witness in detail! Stay tuned for an important and an interesting accord from Sanjaya! 🙂  

In the previous episode, we had continued with the conversation between Karna and Bhishmachaarya with regards to experiencing the effects of the Punya Karma. While Karna’s question is about experiencing the fruits of our Punya Karma in this birth itself, in the context of Bhishmachaarya’s current suffering, Bhishmachaarya plays it down. He tells Karna that he shouldn’t worry about all that now. Bhishmachaarya says that he himself has stopped thinking about all these things, and he has decided to focus on Bhagawan Krishna for the first time and thereby transcend towards the Svarga Lokha. Bhishmachaarya has decided to move on with his life now and he has had enough with this family for all these years. He has tried his best to protect and safeguard the interests of this entire Kuru Vamsa and he has now decided to leave all the bonding that he had with everyone till now. Saying thus, Bhishmachaarya asks Karna to get ready for the battle against the Paandavas and to finish off all his debts that he has with Duryodhana. 

Continuing this conversation thus, Karna tells Bhishmachaarya further – “Oh Bhishmachaarya! Who is this Arjuna? Is he even a match to your prowess in a battle? Yet, how was he able to win over you and bring you to this state of affairs? It is only because Bhagawan Krishna is with him all the time, and I know this for a fact. If such a state of affairs can happen to you, it can happen to all of us within minutes. Of course you tried your best and fought for ten long days with a lot of zeal, but I don’t think any of us in the Duryodhana camp is going to give such a big resistance. All of us are going to fall like a pack of cards very soon to Arjuna. Bhagawan Krishna is an expert in strategizing and giving timely advice to Arjuna and Co. He is the one who is behind making them win this contest!” 

This is exactly what Sage Vaishampayana is also narrating to King Janame-Jaya. In fact, as Sage Vaishampayana is narrating all these details about the Kurukshetra war to King Janame Jaya, there is a question from him thus, “Oh Sage Vaishampayana! How can my grandfathers (Paandava brothers) have the strength and valour to defeat and kill veterans like Bhishmachaarya and Guru Dhronachaarya in the war? If such a thing has happened, it cannot be without divine intervention, isn’t it?” For this, Sage Vaishampayana replies in the affirmative and confirms King Janame-Jaya’s answer as he explains about the divine nature of Bhagawan Krishna and His role in the entire Kurukshetra war. Thus coming back to this context, when Karna says that it is humanly not possible to stop Bhishmachaarya and Guru Dhronachaarya in the battlefield and if Arjuna is able to achieve it, it cannot happen without Bhagawan Krishna’s divine “Anugraha”. But why is Bhagawan Krishna providing His divine “Anugraha” to the Paandava brothers and not for the others? It is because Yudishtra and Co. stand for “Dharma” and Bhagawan Krishna will always be on the side that favours “Dharma”. In other words, Bhagawan Krishna is using the Paandava brothers to establish and re-establish “Dharma” in this world! This is what we’ve to understand from this entire conversation. 

Speaking all this, Bhishmachaarya gives the “go ahead” for Karna to go and fight for Duryodhana and with this, Karna comes back to the camp. He recommends to Duryodhana that Guru Dhronachaarya should lead the army from today onwards and with this, Guru Dhronachaarya is officially coronated as the “Senapati” (Leader) of the Kaurava army after Bhishmachaarya. Of course, there’s a lot of commotion and uncertainty that has started looming in the Kaurava camp and with this heavy feeling, the coronation ceremony is not very grand in nature. It is a very simple formality, and Duryodhana does the needful to Guru Dhronachaarya. Thus with this, we come to the end of the “Dhrona-Abisheka Parva”, which is the first “Upa-Parva” under the main “Dhrona Parva”. 

Thus, as Guru Dhronachaarya takes the oath, he says to Duryodhana thus, “Oh Duryodhana! I shall take a pledge that I shall fight for you in the battlefield till my last birth. But please remember one thing clearly – Arjuna cannot be defeated in this war because Bhagawan Krishna is with him. Both of them are incarnations of the “Nara-Narayana” combine from Bhadrinaatha Kshetram. Arjuna is the “Nara” and Bhagawan Krishna is “Narayana”. Hence, it is virtually impossible to defeat this combo in any battlefield, however, I shall give my best!” This is nearly the tenth time that we’re seeing this conversation that is taking place. Initially we’ve seen Bhishmachaarya say the same thing to Duryodhana and many others too have told him the same. Yet, Duryodhana is not willing to pay heed to all these words! So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall continue this discussion forward in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂