The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sanjaya conveying King Dhritarashtra’s message in a straightforward and a clear fashion. Even though King Dhritarashtra did not express his intention fully to Sanjaya and left it to Sanjaya to make his own interpretations, Sanjaya was extremely clear in his interpretation of what exactly King Dhritarashtra had in his mind! He expressed in clear words to Yudishtra and Co. that King Dhritarashtra doesn’t want to give the kingdom to Yudishtra and he wants his son Duryodhana to rule it fully. Even though King Dhritarashtra doesn’t prefer a war to happen, his opinion is that, Yudishtra should continue his same status quo and Duryodhana should be let to rule the kingdom. In other words, Yudishtra should make a compromise in favour of Duryodhana, so that the feud comes to an end! Now we’ve to see whether this formula is acceptable for Yudishtra and Co. or not. Let us continue the discussion from this point onwards in today’s episode. 

Moving on thus, we’ve already seen that Yudishtra isn’t alone there. Around Yudishtra, there is the king of Viraata Desha, Saatyaki, etc. along with Bhagawan Krishna. As Sanjaya finishes his accord, Saatyaki put forth a question from this side as a starter. He asks Sanjaya thus, “Oh Sanjaya! I know you are doing the job of a messenger now. However, you are a great scholar. You tell me from the lens of a scholar – Is King Dhritarashtra right in conveying such a message to Yudishtra? Does he even have the basic maturity to understand what is right and what is wrong? How can Yudishtra keep compromising every time, just because “Dharma” is on his side? He has been telling this narrative for the past thirteen years during the “Vana-Vaasam”. But now it is over! Now the “Dharma” for Yudishtra is to rule the Indraprastha kingdom and not to keep sacrificing the throne everytime for Duryodhana who has wicked intentions. Why is King Dhritarashtra not understanding this?” 

As Saatyaki asks thus, Sanjaya replies – “Oh Saatyaki! Whatever you’re saying is correct! However, when it comes to such a situation, there is no “right” or “wrong”. It is the question of “Dharma” vs. “Adharma”. What might be right from him might not be right for me. Similarly, what might be wrong for him might not be wrong for me. Hence, the definition of right and wrong keeps changing from person to person and is very subjective in nature. However, when it comes to “Dharma”, it is the same for everyone and it doesn’t change with people and their definitions of right and wrong. Now let us see what is “Dharma” here. The “Dharma” in this context of whatever King Dhritarashtra says is that, if there is a war, there will be huge bloodshed and many people will lose their lives. Because of this, many families will get affected and will not be able to conduct their livelihood. Hence, the suggestion to go for a compromise is “Dharma” here. However, you might ask me another question here – Just because avoiding war is “Dharma”, should I keep on sacrificing everytime? Why are those people not being questioned on “Dharma” at all? This question can be asked to Duryodhana isn’t it? If the war should be avoided (“Dharma”), why doesn’t he give the Indrapastha kingdom to me? My answer to this is very simple – We can talk about “Dharma” only to those who will understand what it is, isn’t it? What is the use of going to Duryodhana and talking about “Dharma” to him? It makes sense only for people like you who meticulously follow “Dharma”. Here, avoiding war is “Dharma” and hence, if you’re ready to make a sacrifice for Duryodhana, war can still be avoided!” 

Saying thus, Sanjaya answers Saatyaki’s question and now the debate becomes even bigger! Is Sanjaya’s answer acceptable to the others in Yudishtra’s camp? Let us wait till the next episode to witness what others opined on this! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sanjaya travelling to Viraata Desha to meet Yudishtra and Co. In the hindsight, even though Sanjaya knows that Yudishtra is an epitome of “Dharma”, he is a bit skeptical as to how Yudishtra will react towards him and King Dhritarashtra after experiencing thirteen years of misery, and especially as war clouds are looming large between the two camps. However, as Sanjaya arrives, Yudishtra welcomes him with all possible respects and makes him feel very comfortable. Not only this – Yudishtra is the first one to initiate the conversion by enquiring about the well-being of all the elders including King Dhritarashtra and Mother Gandhari. This takes Sanjaya by surprise and he is very happy with the way Yudishtra is reacting. Now it is Sanjaya’s turn to reply. What is Sanjaya going to tell Yudishtra? Let us witness today. 

Moving on thus, Sanjaya commences his reply to Yudishtra. Sanjaya says thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Oh Dharmaputra! I’m very happy that you are constantly thinking about the well-being of all of us at Hastinapura. We are also thinking about all of you constantly, including Duryodhana and the others. But there is a slight difference in the thought process between yours and Duryodhana’s. You think about Duryodhana and Co. with the intention that they would mend their ways and return your kingdom back to you. You are thinking about Duryodhana being mended into the path of “Dharma”. However, Duryodhana has other intentions about you. You are genuinely interested in the welfare of the one hundred Kaurava brothers, however, those Kaurava brothers are jealous of your “Dharma” and growth story. This is the biggest difference that I can understand in the thought processes of both the camps!” 

Saying thus, Sanjaya continues further: “Oh Yudishtra! I’ve come here as a messenger to King Dhritarashtra! He wants me to convey something to you, but I do not find any merit in what he wants to convey. I shall tell you whatever he wanted to tell you. However, I do not find any honesty and integrity in what he said. His intention is to only fuel the rift between you and Duryodhana further! What King Dhritarashtra is trying to say is this – Oh Dharmaputra! I’m very much concerned about you and your well-being! However I know that you are walking the path of “Dharma” and because of that, you will be able to survive in any kind of tough situation, even in the forest! You’ve already proven to be a steadfast person with a lot of “Vairagya” (will power). Hence, let us avoid this war and let us ensure that all of them are intact and let Duryodhana continue to rule Hastinapura without any problem. You be on your own and let him be on his own! You’ve become habituated to face any catastrophic situation in life, but Duryodhana is not! You’ve learnt how to lead a life by sacrificing the kingdom, but Duryodhana doesn’t know what sacrifice is and its meaning! Hence, let the same status quo continue and by this way, both camps are happy!”

We can see how beautifully Sanjaya crafts King Dhritarashtra’s message to Yudishtra. Actually, King Dhritarashtra did not want to tell this message openly to Sanjaya, and we’ve seen earlier how King Dhritarashtra reluctantly bluffed to Sanjaya. However, Sanjaya understood that all what King Dhritarashtra is doing is mere bluff and hence, he conveys King Dhritarashtra’s real intent to Yudishtra clearly and in a straightforward manner! This is the real job of a messenger and Sanjaya has done his job perfectly here! A messenger’s job is to clearly convey the intent of the king without any blemish. Even though King Dhritarashtra did not say deliberately that he doesn’t want to give the kingdom to Yudishtra, he meant this only, isn’t it? Hence, Sanjaya makes sure that Yudishtra understands this intent clearly without any doubt! 

So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode, we shall witness what Yudishtra has to say. Bhagawan Krishna and the others are also by the side of Yudishtra at that time, and as Sanjaya explains King Dhritarashtra’s message, Bhagawan Krishna is also listening to everything keenly. So what is the reply from this camp going to be? Are they going to accept King Dhritarashtra’s idea that the same status-quo should continue? Or, are they going to contest this idea? Let us see an interesting accord tomorrow! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sanjaya making a few important clarifications with King Dhritarashtra and this clearly shows King Dhritarashtra’s mindset. He is quite confused as to which road to take. On one hand, he knows that as per the “Raaja-Dharma”, Yudishtra should duly get his share because he has obeyed the order of going on a twelve-year “Vana Vaasam” and a thirteenth year of “Agnyaata Vaasam”. Yudishtra was earlier promised that if he successfully completes this thirteen-year-period, Indraprastha would be given back to him. Now that Yudishtra has completed it successfully, isn’t it “Dharma” to give his due share of the kingdom? However, on the other hand, King Dhritarashtra is afraid of the backlash from his son if Yudishtra is given his kingdom. Moreover, King Dhritarashtra internally wants his son to be on the forefront as a ruler and not Yudishtra. However, if he tells this intention to Sanjaya, he is sure that Sanjaya wouldn’t accept and appreciate it. Hence, even as Sanjaya is trying to pull words out of his mouth, King Dhritrarashtra maintains a diplomatic stance and tries to play it neutral without giving any sort of commitment to Yudishtra. He just wants Sanjaya to enquire Yudishtra’s well-being and check how his mindset and body language is. 

As King Dhritarashtra explains his stance, Sanjaya thinks thus, “Oh wow! Look at his blemish! He doesn’t have clarity in what he is talking! It is like saying that you should keep sitting in one place, however, within the next ten minutes you should be present at a place, 10 kilometres from here! How can both be possible at the same time? If we’re sitting at one place, how can we even get up and move? Only if we start walking or taking a vehicle, will we be able to cover the distance of 10 kilometres within the stipulated timing, isn’t it? King Dhritarashtra’s stance is quite similar to this – On one hand, he wants to satisfy his “Putra-Vatsalya” and is trying to favour his son Duryodhana. On the other hand, he also wants the well-being of Yudishtra and ensures that his “Dharma” doesn’t get affected. How can both happen at the same time?”

Thinking thus, Sanjaya makes his way to Yudishtra’s place and to his surprise, Yudishtra welcomes Sanjaya with enormous respect! Till now, Sanjaya was in two minds whether Yudishtra would insult him and send him back, however, Yudishtra is giving all possible respects for Sanjaya! He receives Sanjaya with a smile, makes him comfortable, offers all the “Argyam”, “Paadhyam”, “Aachamaneeyam”, etc. as per the “Dharma” of receiving an “Atithi” (Guest). As Sanjaya is comfortably seated, Yudishtra talks to him thus, “Oh great Sanjaya! I’m extremely pleased to see you after a long time today! Welcome to our place! I’m very happy to host you! I hope your arrival brings a lot of happiness to all of us! Please tell me – Are you doing well? How is my mother Kunthi Devi? It has been thirteen years since I saw her. Is she doing fine? How is King Dhritarashtra and Mother Gaandhaari? Are they doing fine as well? How is Bhishmachaarya? Is he without any worries? Is King Dhritarashtra free from the tension from Karna, Duryodhana and Ducchaasana? King Dhritarashtra is extremely good by nature. However, he is constantly being pricked by his son Duryodhana and the others. I hope things have settled down at Hastinapura in such a way that King Dhritarashtra is not getting worried and tense much!” 

As Yudishtra asks thus, Sanjaya doesn’t know what to reply for a moment! He did not anticipate this series of questions from Yudishtra. He expected Yudishtra to be cold and angry. Howeevr, on the contrary, Yudishtra is extremely calm, composed and pleasing in nature. This approach from Yudishtra gets Sanjaya into tears! So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode we shall witness what Sanjaya’s reply is going to be! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed King Dhritarashtra conveying a clear message to Sanjaya that he doesn’t want a war to take place at this moment, because he knows that when Bhagawan Krishna and Saatyaki are on Yudishtra’s side, victory is always going to be theirs. Duryodhana doesn’t even have a chance to win over the Paandavas if this current situation persists, and hence, King Dhritarashtra wants to play it safe. Hence, he wants Sanjaya to enquire about the well-being of Yudishtra and Co., and psychologically this might dose down the tension in Yudishtra’s mind. King Dhritarashtra wants to make sure that Yudishtra feels good and is being cared for by all the elders at Hastinapura and hence, this is the greater and deeper message that he wants to convey through Sanjaya. 

Thus, as King Dhritarashtra conveys all his points, Sanjaya immediately sets out to meet Yudishtra and Co. However, Sanjaya still has a doubt in his mind. He once again asks back thus, “Oh King Dhritarashtra! You’re telling me to convey your message to Yudishtra, aren’t you? But you never told me what exactly the message is! Till now you’ve only asked me to enquire Yudishtra’s well-being. However, this is not the message, isn’t it? You’ve to be clear with your plan for the future, upon which Yudishtra can make a decision to move forward! So tell me – Are you planning to give away half of the Hastinapura Kingdom (Indraprastha) back to Yudishtra? Or, are you going to deny him his due share still? Or, do you have any other plans in place? Only if you give clarity on the main issue in hand, I shall be able to convey your intent to Yudishtra effectively!” 

As Sanjaya asks a straightforward question thus, King Dhritarashtra replies diplomatically! He doesn’t have a specific answer to give Sanjaya, as internally, King Dhritarashtra doesn’t want Yudishtra to enjoy a share of the kingdom. He wants his son Duryodhana to enjoy the entire kingdom and leave Yudishtra in the lurch. However, he cannot tell that openly as a king, as it would be against the “Raaja-Dharma”. Thus, King Dhritarashtra is clearly caught in two minds. With this confusion lingering in his mind, King Dhritarashtra replies thus, “Oh Sanjaya! Why do you want to pull words out of my mouth? You know what is best for Yudishtra and the Paandavas, don’t you? Hence, you construct your own answer as per your knowledge on this issue. Certain things cannot be disclosed by the king openly at all times. It is up to the minister to understand the gravity of the situation and act accordingly. First when you start the conversation, observe the reaction of Yudishtra and his body language. Based on how Yudishtra reacts, you structure your argument. If Yudishtra is aggressive in his reaction, just enquire about his well-being and come back. However, if Yudishtra is calm and composed, maybe you can talk to him about the kingdom issue and see what he says and what he opines!”

Now this is a very ambiguous approach from King Dhritarashtra as we can see clearly. Since he doesn’t have clarity in his mind, he wants Sanjaya to structure his communication as per Yudishtra’s mindset and body language. Whereas, if King Dhritarashtra is honest and straightforward, why should he look at Yudishtra’s body language and reactions? Truth is truth, isn’t it? Irrespective of how Yudishtra would react, if King Dhritarashtra is telling the truth, he should be able to convey the message straight away isn’t it? This is where being truthful comes to the fore! We can see this even in our daily lives too – If we’re telling the truth and if we’re honest and straightforward, we would be able to talk anything to anybody with ease! However, if there is no truth in whatever we’re saying, we would start looking for various shortcuts and reactions to somehow escape from the situation by telling some lie and getting away! This is exactly what King Dhritarashtra is trying to do here! He doesn’t want Sanjaya to convey his bad intention directly, because he himself knows that his thought process is totally against “Dharma” and is unduly favouring his son for no reason! 

So now, Sanjaya has a tough task in hand – To convey King Dhritarashtra’s “Adharmic” message to Yudisthra and Co.! Now how is he going to do it? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the Brahmana Rishi expressing his views in front of King Dhritarashtra and the others, which evoked sharp responses from Duryodhana and Bhishmachaarya. Bhishmachaarya is the first to respond to the views of the Brahmana Rishi by expressing his support to whatever he had communicated. Subsequently, Duryodhana fumes with anger upon Bhishmachaarya and makes it very clear that he is not interested to even spare a single speck of land from the Hastinapura kingdom for Yudishtra and Co. As both of them fight in public thus, King Dhritarashtra calms them down and assures the Brahmana Rishi that he is sending one of his most experienced ministers, Sanjaya to the Paandavas to see if there can be a mid-way to this entire dispute. Taking this message from King Dhritarashtra thus, the Brahmana Rishi makes his way back to Yudishtra’s place. 

Moving on thus, we’re about to witness Sanjaya going to meet the Paandavas. Sanjaya is the son of a person by name Gavalgana and hence, we would see at various instances of the Mahabharata text that Sanjaya is referred to as “Gaavalgani”. This is very similar to Bhagawan Rama being referred to as “Daasarathi” because He is the son of King Dasharata. Similarly, we’re going to witness Arjuna being referred to as “Kaunteya” by Bhagawan Krishna often in the Bhagawad Gita, because he is the son of Kunthi Devi. As many of us might know, Sanjaya is very clear and straightforward in his attitude and approach towards things, and this is the main reason why King Dhritarashtra trusts him a lot. Calling out for Sanjaya, King Dhritarashtra explains thus, “Oh Sanjaya! You know the situation that is brewing up between Duryodhana and Yudishtra. You know about our son Yudishtra and his brothers, as well as Duryodhana and the others. Now as both these camps are in a great feud with each other, I solicit your help in trying to resolve this as quickly as possible before things go out of hand. I want you to go and meet Yudishtra and enquire about his well-being. Also  please enquire about the well-being of the other four brothers as well as our daughter-in-law Draupati. Just ensure that all of them are fit and fine and convey my heartfelt wishes to all of them! You are the best person to go and do this for me and hence, I entrust you with this duty. Hence, please go immediately and try to dose down the heat that is simmering on both ends. Let your visit bring some warmth in between. You know what is best for Yudishtra and accordingly, you pitch in your points as per whatever “Dharma” is!” 

Saying thus, King Dhritarashtra sends Sanjaya to meet Yudishtra and Co. at the Viraata Desha. As Sanjaya starts, King Dhritarashtra adds a few more points thus, “Oh Sanjaya! Please understand that I know the enormous significance of the Paandava brothers. I know the significance of Arjuna and his Gaandeepa bow. Bhagawan Krishna is always by Arjuna’s side and He will be with Arjuna in the future too. I know the significance and strength of Bheemasena’s powerful “Gadha” weapon. Moreover, if Saatyaki is also standing by the Paandava camp, I know that if there is a war even now, victory will only be their’s. Thus, given the situation, I do not want a war currently. Hence, please try your best to dose down the situation and do the needful to avoid the war as far as possible!” 

As King Dhritarashtra says thus, Sanjaya takes this message and leaves to meet Yudishtra and Co. So for today, let us understand up to this point and in the next episode, we will witness what Sanjaya has to tell Yudishtra and how Yudishtra is going to react to Sanjaya’s words! Stay tuned for an interesting accord! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed a glimpse of the “Sanjaya-Yaana Parva”, which is one of the most important “Upa-Parvas” under the larger “Udyoga Parva” of the Mahabharata text. As we’ve witnessed earlier, this “Udyoga Parva” contains several important aspects of management and leadership as explained by several people including the likes of Vidura and Bhagawan Krishna Himself at various stages. Of course, we’re going to witness the Bhagawad Gita when we commence the discussion on the Kurukshetra war, but all these are preludes that lead to the main discussion. Hence, this “Udyoga Parva” assumes enormous significance. In this way, we’ve witnessed King Dhritarashtra pacifying Karna, Ducchaasana, Bhishmachaarya, etc. when an internal feud broke out in the Hastinapura courtroom over the issue of handing over the Indraprastha kingdom. Subsequently, King Dhritarashtra assures that he is sending Sanjaya as his messenger to broker peace between the Kaurava and Paandava camps. With this prelude, we shall move into the main discussion of this “Sanjaya-Yaana Parva” with all the details of whatever conversations, heated words of exchanges that took place at both places. 

So as we move on, we shall slightly rewind a bit to see what the Purohita (Brahmana Rishi) conveyed at Hastinapura in front of King Dhritarashtra and Co. The Brahmana Rishi arrives and receives all the basic respects at the Hastinapura courtroom. As King Dhritrarastra asks the reason for his visit, the Purohita commences his accord thus, “Oh King! You might be aware that the Paandava brothers have finished their twelve years of “Vana-Vaasam” followed by the thirteenth year of “Agnyaata-Vaasam” successfully as per your instruction. Now, as per the rule, Yudishtra is eligible to rule Indraprastha once again. So, you should take steps to ensure that Yudishtra obtains his due share now. Oh King Dhritarashtra! Please do not differentiate between your sons and your brother’s sons. All are one and the same. Please do not encourage a feud between them. Instead, as a responsible king and a father, it is your duty to balance between both the camps. Moreover, as per the rule, Yudishtra is entitled to rule one half of the kingdom, which is Indraprastha. Hence, please ensure that you give Indraprastha back to Yudishtra and put an end to this entire episode immediately!” 

As the Purohita communicates his message clearly without any blemish, Bhishmachaarya stands up and conveys his accord. Initially, Bhishmachaarya pays his respect to the Purohita and states thus, “Oh King Dhritarashtra! Whatever the Purohita is saying is absolutely correct! Yudishtra has undergone enormous suffering and has been extremely patient with whatever has happened, although he knows that the gambling game episode was totally illegal in nature. Even then, he has given you and Duryodhana enormous amounts of respect and has waited patiently for his “Raajya”! Hence, it is only right at this point that you give back the Indraprastha kingdom to Yudishtra and this would put an end to the entire feud that is brewing up unnecessarily!” 

As Bhishmachaarya says thus, Duryodhana and Karna start fuming with anger! Duryodhana immediately gets up and cuts Bhishmachaarya’s accord in the middle. He fumes thus, “Oh great Bhishmachaarya! Till today I’ve been having great respect towards you in terms of your valour and confidence. But what happened to you today? You are sounding like a coward! Why should I give my kingdom to Yudishtra? What is his qualification? Who on earth is Yudishtra to claim a share in my kingdom? Just because he is Paandu’s son, will he start claiming anything and everything in this world? Oh Bhishmachaarya! Let me tell you clearly – This unified Hastinapura kingdom (including Indraprastha) is mine and only mine! The way you are talking in favour of Yudishtra indicates to me that you’ve been sold out to the Paandavas! The way you are talking doesn’t suit your courage and confidence!” 

As Duryodhana fumes thus, Bhishmachaarya becomes extremely angry! A huge ego clash erupts and both of them trade barbs at each other! This happens even as King Dhritarashtra is present in the courtroom! After a while, King Dhritarashtra intervenes and pacifies both of them and tells the Purohita thus, “Oh Purohita! This discussion is leading to a lot of clashes at this moment! Hence, let us wait for some time. You’ve heard the intent of Duryodhana and Bhishmachaarya. I shall communicate my intentions through my minister, Sanjaya very soon. I shall send him to Viraata Desha with my message in the coming days. Hence, you may return back peacefully and let us put an end to this here for now!” Pacifying everyone thus, King Dhritarashtra lets go of the Purohita and with this, we shall commence the “Sanjaya-Yaana Parva”. For today, let us understand this background and in the next episode, we shall eagerly await the arrival of Sanjaya at Viraata Desha! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed some important learnings that we can imbibe from the event wherein Duryodhana and Arjuna seeked Bhagawan Krishna’s help in their war preparations. We’ve seen how Duryodhana was more interested in worldly objects, whereas Arjuna was more interested in having Bhagawan Krishna in his close proximity forever. In fact, we’ve been seeing this approach of the Paandava brothers right from the beginning. Even when Yudishtra took over the throne of Indraprastha, Bhagawan Krishna was there at every point in time to provide guidance to him. Subsequently we’ve seen the Arjuna-Bhagawan Krishna bonhomie prosper at every instance and there has been no looking back at all! 

Moving on further thus, we’ve to move ahead with the “Sanjaya-Yaana Parva”. Here we’re going to see how the Brahmana Rishi’s words went unheard in the Duryodhana camp and as a result there is an internal feud between Duryodhana’s brothers and Bhishmachaarya, and King Dhritaraashtra had to intervene in the middle and broker peace between both the camps! Subsequently, King Dhritarashtra assures the Brahmana Rishi that he would send Sanjaya, who is one of his experienced ministers to the Paandava camp very soon. Accordingly, Sanjaya makes his way to the Paandavas’ dwelling place and explains whatever King Dhritarashtra had wanted him to convey. However, Bhagawan Krishna clearly says that whatever King Dhritarashtra is saying is not acceptable at all from the Paandavas’ side, and thus, sends Sanjaya back with an assurance that Bhagawan Krishna Himself will volunteer to come to the “Raaja-Sabha” of King Dhritarashtra very soon and talk on behalf of Yudishtra. Subsequently, Sanjaya returns back to Hastinapura with Bhagawan Krishna’s message and by the time he reaches the palace, it is late night. Hence, Sanjaya tells King Dhritarashtra that he is tired and will explain Bhagawan Krishna’s message in detail the subsequent day in the courtroom amidst everyone. 

As King Dhritarashtra hears this from Sanjaya, he starts getting nervous, not knowing what Bhagawan Krishna and Yudishtra are wanting to convey to him – Should it be a war, or is there still an opportunity for peace-making? Should they compromise and let Duryodhana rule the kingdom? Many thoughts are running in King Dhritarashtra’s mind and as a result, he is unable to sleep at night. So he calls Vidura for some advice. With this, we conclude the “Sanjaya-Yaana Parva” and as Vidura arrives, we move into the “Prajaakara Parva” wherein Vidura is going to give golden pieces of advice pertaining to various aspects of “Raaja-Dharma”, also referred famously as “Vidura-Neethi”. 

So for today, let us understand the introductory summary of the Sanjaya-Yaana Parva and this is an extremely important phase in the entire Mahabharata story. In our next episode, we shall commence with the detailed discussion on the “Sanjaya-Yaana Parva” and we shall see what Sanjaya had to say to Yudishtra and Bhagawan Krishna! Stay tuned for an interesting and an important accord! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed a thought process on whether Bhagawan Krishna conducted Himself in a biassed way towards Arjuna or Duryodhana, or, did He take a neutral approach towards both of them. One of the perspectives through which we witnessed is that, Bhagawan Krishna gave away all His army and cavalry and thus, satisfied Duryodhana’s wish! This might make us feel that Bhagawan Krishna batted for Duryodhana for his preparation towards the war. However, on the other end, Arjuna had asked for Bhagawan Krishna’s mere presence, and He granted that as well. So now, can we say that Bhagawan Krishna was biassed towards Arjuna and not towards Duryodhana? This is where we’ve to understand an important point – Bhagawan grants all whatever a devotee asks for! Here in this perspective, we’ve witnessed that Duryodhana had asked for Bhagawan Krishna’s army and he obtained it. It was not that Bhagawan Krishna had volunteered to give it to Duryodhana. In the same way, Arjuna had asked for Bhagawan Krishna’s presence with him and He granted it to Arjuna. It was again not that Bhagawan Krishna volunteered to be with Arjuna during the war. Thus, it is evident from this perspective that Bhagawan is always neutral towards all His devotees. He does not differentiate between who is whom and the devotees’ backgrounds! 

This leads us to a very important point here – How does this viewpoint impact us? What can we learn from this accord as ardent devotees of Bhagawan Krishna? First and foremost point to be spoken about here is that, all of us are equal under Bhagawan’s eyes! There is no difference between us with respect to being rich or poor, being from an elite family background or being from a poor family, or hailing from a particular “high” caste or a “lower” caste, etc. All of us are “Jeevatmas” and children of Bhagawan and just like how a mother or a father doesn’t entail any differentiation between their children, Bhagawan also doesn’t encourage any sort of differentiation between His divine children. If a mother has two kids and if one kid is having a physical problem and the other one doesn’t, will the mother be biassed towards the child which doesn’t have any problem? Will the mother ignore a child with some problems? The answer is “No”, isn’t it? Similarly here too, Bhagawan does not differentiate between any of His children. This is where we’ve witnessed even during our Ramayana project as to how Bhagawan Rama accepted Vibhishana as His own brother along with Lakshmana, Bharata and Shathrugna. Even though Vibhishana was a Raakshasa by nature, did Bhagawan Rama reject him? Even though Guha was a poor hunter, did Bhagawan Rama reject him? The answer is “No”, isn’t it? Hence, Bhagawan does not entertain any sort of differentiation between His ardent devotees. All that He wants from us is complete “Sharanagati” (Surrender) to His divine lotus feet! Are we ready to do this? This is what we’ve to answer within ourselves! 

Secondly, it is important as to what we ask from Bhagawan! For instance, when we go to a temple or when we offer our prayers and Bhagawan comes in front of us! Bhagawan asks us thus, “Oh child! I’m ready to grant whatever you want! Please feel free to ask me for whatever you wish for!” If such an offer is given to us by Bhagawan, what will we ask for? Most of the time, we would ask thus, “Oh Bhagawan! I want a luxurious home to live in! I want a luxurious car to travel in! I want all my family members to respect me enormously! I want my son / daughter to secure admission in a good university / college for graduation!, etc.!” The list goes on and on…. But do we have the maturity to reply to Bhagawan thus, “Oh Bhagawan! You know what you should give your beloved child! Who am I to ask anything to you? You give me whatever you feel is best for me!” Bhagawan, as our divine father knows what to give and what not to give to his child, doesn’t He? If He knows everything, who are we to ask him for all these petty things? Of course, Bhagawan will grant anything that we ask for, and if we’re asking all the above-mentioned items to Him, we are on Duryodhana’s side! This is exactly what Duryodhana too asked for, isn’t it? For worldly pleasures, kingdom, luxuries, etc.! Should we fall on this side, or should we leave it to Bhagawan to decide what to give us? If we leave it to Bhagawan, we automatically get away from Duryodhana’s side, isn’t it?

This is just the second stage. There is a third stage to it. For the same question from Bhagawan, do we have the maturity to ask Bhagawan thus, “Oh Bhagawan! I want you to grant me the opportunity to be at your divine lotus feet, serving you all the time! Through this, please grant me the highest “Moksha”!” How many of us are mature enough to ask this to Bhagawan? This is the very purpose of taking a human birth in this world, isn’t it? When Arjuna requested Bhagawan Krishna’s mere presence with him at all times, he meant this only! He wants to be at Bhagawan Krishna’s divine lotus feet all the time and this enabled him to obtain the divine “Anugraha” from Bhagawan! Now if we’re developing this level of spiritual maturity, it automatically implies that we are on Arjuna’s side! 🙂 

So for today, let us think on these lines and reflect within ourselves to inculcate a change in approach towards Bhagawan! We shall continue this discussion in the next episode to take things forward from here! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of what happened at Hastinapura as the Brahmana Rishi goes from Viraata Desha with his peace message to Duryodhana and Co. As the Brahmana Rishi finishes his accord, it does not seem like anyone being interested in brokering peace and returning back the Indraprastha kingdom to Yudishtra. Everybody including the likes of Ducchaasana, Karna, and the others have a feeling that Yudishtra should “earn” back his kingdom, rather than requesting them like this, and the only way to earn back the kingdom is through war. As all these people are steadfast in their decision, King Dhritarashtra is oscillating as usual! He doesn’t know which side to take! On one hand, he wants to favour his son Duryodhana more than Yudishtra and on the other hand, he doesn’t want a ghastly war between the two camps on this issue. Hence, King Dhritarashtra requests some time to think and explains to the Brahmana Rishi that he would shortly send Sanjaya (his minister) to try and find a mid way to this problem. 

Now as we go into this discussion, we’ve to witness one more important discussion here. As Duryodhana is steadfast in war, we’ve seen that he had gone to Bhagawan Krishna to seek help in preparing for the war. We’ve also understood that Bhagawan Krishna too had favoured Duryodhana with whatever he has asked for – His entire Dwaraka army! On the other hand, Bhagawan Krishna had to do the balancing act because Arjuna had also come precisely for the same reason. Now the question comes – Whom did Bhagawan Krishna actually favour? Is it Duryodhana or Arjuna? If we look at things outwardly, it would seem as if Bhagawan Krishna favoured Duryodhana more, as He had gifted His entire army and cavalry to Duryodhana, and on the other hand, He only promised His mere physical presence to Arjuna! So with this view, can we come to a conclusion that Bhagawan Krishna favoured Duryodhana more than Arjuna? We shall witness this from multiple angles today. 

One angle in which we can view this is – Of course, Bhagawan Krishna might have favoured Duryodhana more than Arjuna because he had given away His entire army to him. However, if we look at another perspective, we can infer here that Bhagawan Krishna favoured Arjuna more than Duryodhana. Mere presence of Bhagawan Krishna can imply a lot of things, isn’t it? In fact, during the Kurukshetra war, we are going to witness how Bhagawan Krishna is going to protect Arjuna at various instances and enable him to win the war, even though Bhagawan Krishna doesn’t take a single weapon in His hand to fight! So if this is the case, it might seem to us that Bhagawan Krishna has favoured Arjuna more than Duryodhana, isn’t it? Of course, we can always say here that the Paandava brothers followed the path of “Dharma” and obviously Bhagawan will take the side which stands by “Dharma”. This is one way of looking at it as well. 

There is a fourth angle to this as well, and this is the spiritual angle. Till now we’ve witnessed various perspectives based on the facts of the case. But now, we can look at it in a slightly different way – Bhagawan Krishna had given an equal opportunity to both Duryodhana and Arjuna to request whatever they required, didn’t He? We’ve witnessed this in our earlier episodes as well. We’ve subsequently seen that Duryodhana wanted Bhagawan Krishna’s entire army, and this is because, he did not have that spiritual maturity to understand who exactly Bhagawan Krishna is and what He can do. However, Arjuna had this spiritual maturity to request Bhagawan Krishna’s mere presence, since he knows that Bhagawan Krishna is a “Paramatman” (Supreme Consciousness). Thus, when both of them requested whatever they wanted, Bhagawan Krishna immediately granted it to both, didn’t He? Hence, we can see here that Bhagawan is carefully treading a neutral stance here, isn’t He? When Duryodhana asked for His army, Bhagawan Krishna readily gave him. Similarly when Arjuna asked for His mere presence, Bhagawan Krishna readily granted Himself to Arjuna! Even after this, Duryodhana sought to clarify whether Bhagawan Krishna will team up with Arjuna and fight the war, and for this too, Bhagawan Krishna assures Duryodhana that He wouldn’t take the weapon in hand, isn’t He? 

Thus, we can see here that Bhagawan is always neutral towards all His Jeevatmas and it is only up to us to ask whatever we want to Bhagawan! So for today, let us understand this point very clearly and in the next episode, we shall witness what are the implications that we have to take home from this! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed King Shalya’s concluding remarks with Yudishtra wherein he explains how Indra too had to undergo enormous suffering in the hands of Vridhraasura and subsequently how he had to undergo the “Brahma-Hatthi-Dosha” and eventually lost his leadership position in the “Svarga Lokha”. Moreover, he was at the verge of losing his wife Indraani as well, however, at the right time, the famed group of seven Maharishis ensured that this didn’t happen. Nahusha, who was ruling the “Svarga Lokha” in the absence of Indra, had a desire to marry Indrani, but thanks to Sage Agasthya’s curse, Nahusha had to take birth as a snake in the “Manushya Lokha” amidst the forest for a period of ten thousand years! It is this same Nahusha whom Yudishtra met during the “Vana-Parva” and released him from this curse. Narrating all these incidents, King Shalya explains that Yudishtra’s suffering is short-lived and he is going to see light at the end of the tunnel very soon. 

With this, we come to the end of this Upa-Parva called “Sena-Udyoga Parva”. Readers might remember that we have commenced our discussion on the famed “Udyoga Parva” of the Mahabharata text. In this Upa-Parva, we’ve witnessed how Duryodhana and Arjuna commenced their preparations for facing the war. Subsequently, we now move on with the next Upa-Parva called “Sanjaya-Yaana Parva”. This is a very short one and we shall see this quickly. We’ve witnessed a few episodes ago that a Brahmana Rishi was sent from the Viraata Desha to Hastinapura to broker peace between the two camps, isn’t it? We’ve also witnessed Bhagawan Krishna getting involved in this too. Now let us continue that part of the story a bit more. In the middle, I had put a break on this story and we went into how Duryodhana and Arjuna met Bhagawan Krishna at Dwaraka. Now as we come to this side of the story, the Brahmana Rishi goes and talks in the courtroom of Hastinapura, wherein King Dhritarashtra and the others are present. As the Brahmana Rishi completes his accord, none of them in the courtroom are satisfied with the ideas that he proposes. Finally, after several rounds of debates and talks, King Dhritarashtra concludes thus, “Oh Brahmana Rishi! It seems that nobody here is interested in peace-making as you’ve proposed. However, do not worry. I shall send Sanjaya on behalf of Hastinapura to try and do something in this regard. Sanjaya is a learned person and he would be apt to find a way to this feud between the two camps. You may leave now, and I shall send Sanjaya shortly as my messenger to broker peace!” 

Taking this news from Hastinapura, the Brahmana Rishi returns back to Viraata Desha. Upon hearing the Brahmana Rishi’s accord of what happened at Hastinapura, Yudishtra is totally upset, and so are the others as well, including the king of Viraata Desha. Of course, all of them are preparing themselves to face the war, but the situation now is that this war is becoming more and more inevitable! So, as per the Brahmana Rishi’s words, Yudishtra decides to wait till Sanjaya comes and pins his hopes on Sanjaya to find a solution to this. Yudishtra knows that Sanjaya is a learned man and he would take a mid-way to the problem. So for today, let us also wait along with Yudishtra for the arrival of Sanjaya from Hastinapura. We shall continue this discussion further in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂