The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Indra inviting Arjuna to his “Indra Lokha” for a while, as he was mightily impressed with Arjuna’s dedication and sincerity. As Bhagawan Shiva had also mentioned before He left, that the “Devatas” would come in next and provide their divine “Anugraha”, Indra arrives immediately after this, and proposes thus. Arjuna too accepts it and he transcends towards the “Indra Lokha” in the chariot driven by Maathali swiftly. As Arjuna arrives there, he receives a grand welcome from none other than Indra himself, as Arjuna is Indra’s own son! As Arjuna settles down, Indra proposes to him that he would arrange a teacher to teach him a few things such as music, dance, etc. apart from providing him with some important “Asthras”. Initially, Arjuna did not understand why he should learn music and dance, but Indra explained to him that these art forms would be extremely helpful for him in the days and years to come. 

Moving on thus, the music and dance lessons begin for Arjuna and the time that he spends at Indra Lokha is about five years! It is not just one or two days or months! Five years is quite a long time period isn’t it? As Arjuna spends time thus, Urvasi is dancing in front of Arjuna and he is somehow getting attracted to her. As this is happening, Indra spots this, and he decides that Arjuna needs a companion as he is staying alone here. He decides that Urvasi would be the right companion for him and he calls upon Chitrasena to talk to Urvasi regarding this. However, on the contrary, Arjuna did not have any intention to marry Urvasi. He is only attracted towards her beautiful dance and nothing else! However, Indra seemingly mistakes Arjuna’s interest in Urvasi’s dance as love for her! 

According to Indra’s instruction, Chitrasena goes and tells Urvasi that Arjuna is in love with her. As Chitrasena tells this, Urvasi replies thus, “Oh Chitrasena! This is the news that I was waiting to hear for a long time now! Even though I’m in love with Arjuna, I did not know how to approach him! Now this is a good opportunity. Let me go and talk to him about this directly!” Saying thus, Urvasi hurries to meet Arjuna. She goes in front of him and proposes her love for him thus, “Oh Arjuna! Till this moment, I had been longing to talk with you! I’m in love with you! I did not know that you are also in love with me until Chitrasena came and told me! I would love to be your wife forever. Oh Arjuna! Will you marry me?” 

As Arjuna hears this from Urvasi, he gets shell-shocked! He never has had this feeling of love towards her at all! He doesn’t know how to respond to Urvasi’s proposal. So finally after giving it a thought, he slowly replies back to Urvasi thus, “Oh Urvasi! You’re a great woman! I have great respect and reverence for you like my mothers Kunthi Devi and Maadri Devi! Out of my respect for you, I bow down to your divine lotus feet! You are a great “Apsaras” woman and one of the purest women in the entire world! Hence, Urvasi! Please tell me what I should do! I’m waiting for your instruction!”

As Arjuna says thus, Urvasi fumes in anger! How come a male stays put and doesn’t get carried away with my beauty? How can a male insult me like this when I’m proposing my love to him? This is not good! With this thought in mind, Urvasi inflicts a curse on Arjuna thus, “Oh Arjuna! You’ve spoken extremely rudely to me! I cannot tolerate such talks! I’m hereby inflicting a curse on you now – You would go back to the “Bhoo Lokha” once again and take birth as a person amidst many women. You would lose your self-respect and societal respect in this process. You would spend one full year like this, dancing and singing amidst women!” As Urvasi inflicts such a curse, Arjuna is shocked beyond words! He did not anticipate this, and this curse comes to him for no fault of his! Now what does Arjuna do? What is going to be his next reaction? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed a detailed accord on how Bhagawan Shiva makes His divine appearance in front of Arjuna. Initially He did not do so, but came to Arjuna in the form of a hunter. Eventually Bhagawan Shiva intentionally picked up a “war of words” and also a physical fight with Arjuna, just to test his calibre as a “Kshatrya Prince”. On Arjuna’s front, he tried his best to defeat the so-called hunter, both in terms of words and in terms of physical fighting, but in vain! As Arjuna was at the verge of accepting defeat, Bhagawan Shiva revealed His true form and provided His divine “Anugraha” to Arjuna. Along with this, Bhagawan Shiva also blessed Arjuna with the most powerful “Asthra” called the “Paashupatha-Asthra”, and also taught Arjuna how to use it. Subsequently, Bhagawan Shiva goes on to declare that all the other Celestial Beings (Devatas) will also be in queue to meet Arjuna and bless him with various other divine “Asthras” very soon. Saying thus, Bhagawan Shiva leaves the place in a jiffy. Arjuna is extremely happy with what had just happened. 

Subsequently as Bhagawan Shiva leaves the place, as per what He had mentioned just now, Indra comes to meet Arjuna. Indra explains to Arjuna thus, “Oh Arjuna! Please do not mistake me! I should have come earlier itself when you had called me. But since Bhagawan Shiva had to initiate the proceedings, we were waiting for the “Divine Will” to start. Now that Bhagawan Shiva has provided His divine “Anugraha”, I shall now chip in along with the other “Devatas” like Varuna, Yama, Vaayu, and the others. Oh Arjuna! Please do one thing! You come along with me to the “Svarga Lokha” and I shall provide you my divine “Anugraha” in the form of various boons and other important “Asthras”. As I leave this place now, I shall immediately send you a divine chariot which would be driven by my charioteer, Maathali. You just get into that chariot and Maathali will straightaway drive you to my “Svarga Lokha”. We shall meet there for further discussions on this subject!” 

Saying thus, Indra leaves the place. Subsequently Maathali arrives with his chariot, as per Indra’s instruction. Maathali requests Arjuna to get into the chariot immediately and Arjuna obeys. Thus, Maathali straightaway drives Arjuna to the “Svarga Lokha”! With this, we come to the end of the “Arjuna-Abhigamana Parva” and the “Kailaasa Parva”. Now as Arjuna ascends to the “Svarga Lokha”, we enter into the important “Indra-Lokha Abhigamana Parva”. As Maathali hurries the chariot towards Indra’s “Svarga Lokha”, upon looking into either sides on the way, Arjuna is extremely happy! He hasn’t seen such amounts of happiness ever in his life till date! In fact, at one point in time, he even forgets that all his four brothers and Draupati are waiting for him in the “Bhoo Lokha” below. Arjuna gets into the mindset of “Let them wait for me! I shall enjoy all this and then come back!” as he is being driven swiftly on the chariot by Maathali. 

As Arjuna thus enters the contours of the Indra Lokha, he gets stunned by its beauty and attractiveness! As Arjuna moves further inside, he reaches the “Indra-Sabha” which is sprawling in nature with all its dazzles! At the centre of the “Sabha”, Indra is sitting with all his wives fanning him from all sides! As Indra sees Arjuna coming towards him, he quickly runs and receives Arjuna, hugs him and takes him to his throne. Subsequently, Indra makes Arjuna sit on his lap and looks at him with all his love and affection! Afterall, Arjuna is none other than Indra’s son! We should never forget this. Thus, the father in Indra is awakened as he sees his son, Arjuna! As both of them settle down, Indra tells Arjuna thus, “Oh Arjuna! You stay here with me for a short period of time! I’m going to teach you two important things – One is the “Asthra-Viddha” and the second is the “Sangeetha-Viddha”. Along with this, Chitrasena, who is sitting here by the side, will teach you dance, some musical instruments, etc. Oh Arjuna! You might be thinking within yourself that what am I going to do with music and dance? Please understand that you would require this at some point in time, and I’m teaching you all of this in advance! Please utilize this time to learn all these things!” 

As Indra says thus, Arjuna accepts Indra’s proposal without a second opinion! With this, Arjuna stays in the Indra Lokha for the next five years! Nobody amongst the Paandava brothers even could trace where Arjuna is! So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode, we shall continue this interesting discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an intense war of words breaking out between Arjuna and a “Hunter” (Bhagawan Shiva in a disguised form). As Arjuna is performing his penance at the highest level, he is disturbed by a wild boar which is speeding in front of him! Arjuna however was quick enough to take his bow and arrow and thwart its approach path! However, what Arjuna did not expect here was another arrow coming at virtually the same speed and hitting the wild boar at precisely the same time! Both these arrows meet each other and the wild boar dies on the spot! Now the argument begins – There’s a hunter in front of Arjuna and he argues that it is only because of his shrewd presence of mind that Arjuna was saved on time! However, Arjuna did not want to accept this argument as his ego presented itself right in front of him! Arjuna denies the hunter’s statement and establishes that he was able to save himself and did not want any external help, as he is a great “Kshatrya prince” himself! However, the hunter isn’t ready to relent either! As both of them stick on to their stance, a huge war of words break out between them! As this escalates further, a physical fight endures as well, and both of them started to virtually attack each other! 

As the fight goes on, Arjuna at one stage picks up his huge “Gaandeepa” bow and tries to aim one sharp arrow against the hunter – Only for the hunter to be extremely quick to react! The hunter immediately jumps over Arjuna and plucks away his “Gaandeepa” bow from his hands quite easily! Upon seeing this, Arjuna is stunned! Not even once till this time did anyone have the audacity to jump over him and snatch away the “Gaandeepa” from his hands! Holding this “Gaandeepa” itself is not easy for anyone as it is extremely heavy in nature! But if someone is able to easily snatch it and throw it away, this person isn’t an ordinary person at all! However, even before Arjuna obtains this realization, Bhagawan Shiva unleashes another part of His “Maya” (Illusion)! He tempts Arjuna to fight even more! Carried away by the “hunter’s” invitation to continue the fight further, Arjuna prepares himself for a physical muscular fight! For this, he also picks up some stones and branches from the ground and aims all of them at the hunter’s head! However, the hunter is extremely quick enough to thwart all whatever Arjuna is throwing upon him! A bitter physical fight endures between both of them, and somehow as Arjuna is inflicting lusty blows one after the other, the hunter is literally unmoved! 

Unable to believe what he is seeing in front of him, finally Arjuna comes back to his senses and asks the hunter thus, “Oh hunter! I feel that you’re not an ordinary person! Till now nobody has even dared to come in front of my “Gaandeepa” but you managed to pluck it away from me so easily! Till now I’ve never lost to someone in terms of the “Dvandha-Yuddham” (Physical fight) as well. But how much ever I hit you, you seem to be completely unmoved and unhurt! How can this be? You seem to be a very mysterious person. I’ve seen such immense raw muscle power in my brother, Bheemasena, but you’re seeming to be one step higher than him too! So please tell me who you are, and why did you come here? I accept my defeat in front of you!” 

As Arjuna asks thus, Bhagawan Shiva reveals His true form in front of him! Upon seeing Bhagawan Shiva in front of him, Arjuna doesn’t know what to speak! He is completely in tears of joy! As Arjuna cries out and falls on His feet, Bhagawan Shiva provides Arjuna with His divine “Anugraha” with all His compassion! With this, Arjuna is singing in praise of Bhagawan Shiva extensively, which Sage Vyaasa has also beautifully captured in this current “Adhyaaya” itself! As Arjuna does so, Bhagawan Shiva replies to him thus, “Oh Arjuna! Please do not worry! You’ve not done anything wrong. It is me who wanted to test your valour and perseverance! You’ve successfully passed my test and I’m extremely happy with the way you’ve conducted yourself in front of me! I was very pleased with your immense “Tapas” towards me and I wanted to appear in front of you to provide you the important “Paashupatha-Asthra”. This is a very important “Asthra” and it is extremely powerful. When the time comes, you may employ this “Asthra”, by just thinking and praying towards me! It would make you emerge extremely successful against your enemies! Moreover, you would also be gifted with many such “Asthras” in the near future by all the “Devatas” (Celestial Beings) and I shall pave the way for the same! Oh Arjuna! Please do not worry! Success is all yours!” 

As Bhagawan Shiva says thus, Arjuna is extremely happy and once again seeks His divine “Anugraha”. As requested, Bhagwan Shiva too provides His divine “Anugraha” to Arjuna and He departs from that place! So for today, let us understand up to this point, and let us rejoice the fact that Arjuna has obtained Bhagawan Shiva’s divine “Anugraha”, which is actually not easy to obtain! We shall also try our best to obtain Bhagawan Shiva’s “Anugraha” as we wait till the next episode to witness what happened to Arjuna next! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Arjuna commencing his intense “Tapas” towards Bhagawan Shiva, as Indra instructs him to do so. Initially, we had witnessed Sage Vyaasa once again providing his divine “Anugraha” to the Paandavas in terms of the important “Prati-Smriti-Vidya” Mantra. He initially gives the Mantra to Yudishtra, and as instructed by Sage Vyaasa, Yudishtra passes on the Mantra to Arjuna, who in turn undertakes an intense “Tapas” towards Indra, who in turn guides him to focus on Bhagawan Shiva and continue the “Tapas” further. As Arjuna is doing so, all the Maharishis started getting scared that Arjuna may go for an important position in the “Svarga Lokha” and they collectively represent their concern to Bhagawan Shiva. However, Bhagawan Shiva downplays their concerns as He gets ready to meet Arjuna in person. But now, the question is whether Bhagawan Shiva is directly going to appear in front of Arjuna, or in a disguised form. This is going to be an interesting accord, and in today’s episode, let us witness what conspired between Arjuna and Bhagawan Shiva. 

Moving on thus, as Arjuna’s penance is increasing in terms of intensity by the minute, Bhagawan Shiva decides to hurry and make His way to meet Arjuna as quickly as possible. However, as all of us anticipated since yesterday, Bhagawan Shiva does not appear in front of Arjua in His true form. Instead, He takes a disguised form of a hunter and comes down. Arjuna is still under deep penance. At this moment, a wild boar tries to attack Arjuna. Realizing this all of a sudden, Arjuna quickly manages himself and takes his bow, locks an arrow towards it and releases it. Precisely at the same time, the “hunter” (Bhagawan Shiva disguised) is also taking a shot at the wild boar and both the arrows travel together to hit the animal. As the arrows hit the boar, it falls on the ground dead! 

As this happens, Arjuna is surprised as to who is the person releasing another arrow at precisely the same time! He looks around and finds this “hunter” standing there. Arjuna immediately goes near that “hunter” and asks him thus, “Who are you? What are you doing here? Are you the person who released an arrow precisely at the same time when I did?” As Arjuna asks thus, the “hunter” replies back thus, “Oh Arjuna! Yes! It was me who took a potshot at the boar at the same time when you did! In fact, it was only because of my arrow you were saved! Else, you would have become history by now!” As Arjuna heard this from the “hunter”, his ego immediately came in the middle! He replies back to the “hunter” thus, “Oh hunter! Who are you to save me? You do not know who I am! Nobody has dared to come in front of me with such narratives! I’m a great warrior myself and I know how to safeguard from any enemy’s attack! This animal is afterall one amongst a hundred enemies that I would have seen in my life till now!” 

As the “hunter” listens to Arjuna’s boasting and ranting, he starts to laugh within himself! Readers should not forget at this point in time that this so-called “hunter” is none other than Bhagawan Shiva Himself! Bhagawan Shiva thinks within Himself thus, “Oh wow! Look at the ego of this fellow! Bhagawan Krishna has been trying so hard to teach him the truth behind life, and he doesn’t seem to understand even a bit of what Bhagawan is trying to teach!” Such is our attitude as well! If something good happens to us, we would immediately jump in to take all the credit for it, don’t we? However, if something goes wrong, what do we do? We comfortably put the blame on Bhagawan thus, “Oh! This thing went wrong because Bhagawan did not want me to be successful!” 🙂 However, when we tasted success earlier, didn’t this same Bhagawan play a role then? However, we would at this moment proclaim thus, “Oh! I was successful in this mission because of my hard work and effort! It was solely my dedicated work that brought about this success!” This is our typical human mentality and this is exactly what Arjuna is also having here! 

However, as Arjuna rants thus, Bhagwan Shiva once again makes a tall claim – “Oh Arjuna! You’re wrong! It is my arrow that saved you! You do not have any role in this!” As Bhagawan Shiva tells thus, Arjuna is in no mood to relent! A huge “war of words” breaks out between the two of them, which ends up ultimately in a big fight! The war between the two of them goes on for days together as both of them are unwilling to relent! So for today, let us understand up to this point wherein Arjuna and Bhagawan Shiva are engrossed in their battle! Let them be so till tomorrow’s episode and we shall witness what happens further! Stay tuned for an interesting and absorbing accord tomorrow! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an offshoot discussion on Yudishtra’s strategy in this context. We’ve witnessed how long-term orientation is extremely important for a leader’s success in any organization in any domain ro industry. Of course, short-term orientation is also essential, but that should not be the primary focus point. The short-term success can arise out of our pursuit towards our long-term goal, but we shouldn’t get entirely carried away with just the short-term success. Also, we’ve seen that the long-term orientation that we should have, should be aligned with the path of “Dharma”. We should always remember in life that there’s no short-cut for success, and Yudishtra is a perfect example for walking this path. However, on the other hand, Duryodhana wanted to take short-cuts to somehow outsmart Yudishtra by orchestrating the gambling game episode. We’re going to witness in our further episodes as to what is the fate that Duryodhana is going to meet for all his “short-cuts” that he wanted to take to succeed. Thus, readers should remember this point very clearly as we move on further. 

Moving on thus, Yudishtra concludes his detailed accord to Bheemasena and Draupati by saying that no matter whatever happens, he shall never forgo his path of “Dharma” for anyone. There should be no lapse in this, and Yudishtra is extremely clear about it. As Yudishtra is concluding his accord thus, Sage Vyaasa makes a surprise visit to the hamlet where the Paandavas are residing. As Sage Vyaasa arrives, Yudishtra falls on his feet and pays all his respects. As Sage Vyaasa settles down, he talks to Yudishtra and Co. thus, “Oh Yudishtra! I’ve been patiently hearing all your recent conversations within each other. All of you have a valid point – To get back the “Raajya” by following the path of “Dharma”. Yes, it is possible, and all of you should start preparing for an all-out assault on Duryodhana and Co. very soon. I cannot tell you when exactly the war would take place, but all I can say at this point in time to you is that, you should start preparing and equipping yourself to face that situation. Only if you will be able to win the war, will you get back the Indraprastha kingdom. For this, I shall teach you a small “Mantra”. Keep chanting this Mantra and success will be yours. This Mantra is called “Prati-Smriti-Vidya”. Oh Yudishtra! I shall teach you this Mantra now. You in turn teach this to Arjuna. With this, Arjuna would be able to transcend to the “Deva-Lokha”, meet all the Devas there including Indra, Varuna, etc. and he would be able to receive some important “Astras” and “Shastras” from them. This would be extremely important for you during the war period!” 

Saying thus, Sage Vyaasa teaches the “Prati-Smriti-Vidya” Mantra to Yudishtra. As Sage Vyaasa teaches this Mantra to Yudishtra, he leaves from the place. Now, as Sage Vyaasa leaves, Yudishtra follows the instruction of teaching this Mantra to Arjuna. Hence, he calls Arjuna in private and he secretly teaches this Mantra to Arjuna. With this, Arjuna leaves the hamlet to a place surrounded by mountains nearby and sits on an immense penance towards Indra. As Arjuna performs his penance very intensely, Indra appears in front of Arjuna and says thus, “Oh Arjuna! You do not need to perform this penance towards me. Instead, perform this towards Bhagawan Shiva. It is He who is going to gift you with the all-important “Paashupatha-Asthra”!” 

Saying thus, Indra leaves the place and this “Adhyaaya” comes to a close. As Indra leaves, Arjuna commences his intense “Tapas” towards Bhagawan Shiva. As days progress by, the intensity of Arjuna’s “Tapas” started to increase. He had food only once in three days initially. Subsequently, that interval between two meals increased to six days, and subsequently to fifteen days. As days and months roll by, Arjuna did not wake up at all from his “Tapas” and he achieved maximum intensity! With this, Bhagawan Shiva becomes immensely happy, and at the same time, several Maharishis started having a fear within themself. Their fear is very simple – What if Arjuna would attain the “Svarga Lokha” with his “Tapas”? If Arjuna attains the “Svarga Lokha” by any chance, what will happen to our positions there? Thinking thus, all the Maharishis rushed towards Bhagawan Shiva. 

As the Maharishis come up with their concern thus, Bhagawan Shiva replies back, “Oh Maharishis! Just because someone is performing an intense “Tapas” towards me, it doesn’t imply that all of them are aiming for a position here. I know that Arjuna is not in “Tapas” for any position here at Kailasa. I shall go down in person and meet him, provide my divine “Anugraha” and ask him what he wants! You do not need to worry!” Saying thus, Bhagawan Shiva decides to go down and meet Arjuna. 

So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode we shall witness how Bhagawan Shiva made His way to meet Arjuna. Did He go directly like this in His original form, or, did He fake Himself and go? An interesting accord awaits us tomorrow! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Yudishtra giving a befitting reply to Draupati and Bheemasena for their obnoxious questioning! Of course, both of them have real concerns on how to tackle the current situation that they are in, but Yudishtra is someone who is not going to buckle down under any sort of pressure from anybody! Yudishtra stands steadfast on his principle of “Dharma” and reassures Bheemasena and Draupati that he would somehow get back the kingdom, but not through any sort of “Adharmic” paths. The simple point that Yudishtra is making here is that, just because Duryodhana walked the path of “Adharma”, should we also do that? If we do so, what is the difference between Duryodhana and ourselves? What right would we have to point out fingers at others, if we’re also following the same path of wrongdoing? This is exactly the point that Yudishtra is trying to drive home here – He consoles Bheemasena by saying that by walking the path of “Dharma”, it is possible for them to get a long-term solution to this problem. It is not always good to look for short-term achievements and successes, barring a few exceptions of course. 

This would be one question that would always be lingering in our minds as leaders and as professionals in whatever domain we are in – Should we always look out only for long-term success, as against short-term? Should we always focus on the long-term goals, rather than some short-term brownie points? Is the strategy of earning some brownie points in the short-term a wrong one? This is a very valid question that needs a bit of introspection here. I shall give my perspective here, with a comparison to what Yudishra does in this context. Readers can feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. Yes, of course, long-term orientation is mandatory for all of us – both professionally and personally. For this, we should plan our goals in accordance to our respective paths of “Dharma”. Every domain / industry / profession / personal paths have a “Dharma” attached to them. We should design and re-design our long-term orientation in such a way that we meticulously follow “Dharma”. However, in the process, there would definitely be certain stages and times wherein we would tend to achieve some intermittent milestones. These should ideally be our “short-term” goals that we would achieve. As we achieve more and more such milestones in the short-term, we would gradually move up the ladder in achieving our long-term vision, which is something that pertains to the path of “Dharma”. 

Thus, the point is very clear – Our orientation should always be long-term and pertaining to “Dharma”. There should be no compromise on this aspect, as ardent followers of our Bhagawan Krishna and our Sanaatana Dharma. As we progress through with our long-term orientation, if we come across certain awards, recognitions on our way, these can be termed as short-term achievements. These short-term achievements should ideally be “motivators” for us to go ahead with our long-term goal achievement! Now here is where the problem lies with most of us – The moment we receive one reward / recognition during the short-term, we tend to get carried away with it! Thus, because of the elated feeling that we obtain by getting the award / recognition, our long-term focus goes for a toss, and we tend to deviate from the path. The moment we deviate from our path, our minds would automatically tend to give more focus only on the short-term rewards, and at some point in time, we would prepare ourselves to go to any extent to obtain that short-term reward! This is where we start compromising on our “Dharma” and instead of maintaining focus, we would start walking into dangerous paths, just to score those short-term brownie points! This is where we’ve to be very careful as professionals! We should never get caught into the web of short-term achievements and get stuck there! We should learn to move on from that towards our “Dharma-focused” long-term orientation! 

Thus, the point is very clear – Both short-term and long-term orientations are important in our personal / professional endeavors. However, we should be able to balance both and should know how much of importance we should attach to both. Yudishtra does exactly that here – Even though he knows that he has all the power and arsenal with him in the form of his powerful brothers, Bhagawan Krishna, etc., he wants to walk the longer path of “Dharma” and obtain a permanent solution for the problem in hand. Of course, with Bheemasena around, this fellow can easily and singlehandedly finish off Duryodhana in his own backyard!  However, is doing so an aspect of “Dharma”? This is Yudishtra’s biggest question! Hence for today, let us understand this point very clearly and we shall continue this discussion further in the next episode as well! Stay tund! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Draupati taking her argument with Yudishtra to an entirely different level altogether. As Draupati does so, Bheemasena too joins the bandwagon to corner Yudishtra, in a bid to go for the kill immediately without wasting any more time. Draupati and Bheemasena together talk about the “Purushaartha” and question Yudishtra’s commitment to his “Purushaartha” as a king. The definition of “Purushaartha” that both of them are talking about is “attack”, “avenge”, “kill”, “anger”, “victory” and “battling it out” with Duryodhana and Co. As Yudishtra is still steadfast with his “Dharma” of patience and perseverance, Draupati and the others are getting irked by it as time passes by. This entire argument surfaces primarily because Draupati has an innate feeling that Yudishtra is under gross inaction and is completely insensitive to what is happening around him. Draupati moreover feels that Yudishtra is somehow hiding himself under the blanket called “Dharma”, and is using it as an excuse for not taking action against Duryodhana and the others. 

As Draupati and Bheemasena accuse Yudishtra of sacrificing his “Purushaarhta” for something called “Dharma”, Yudishtra has to now give a befitting reply to these people. So what is Yudishtra going to reply? Yudishtra beautifully puts across his answer thus, “Oh Draupati! Oh Bheemasena! I completely understand your frustration and anger! But please understand – This is not the time to exhibit them in the open. You’re all talking about “Purushaartha”, but the meanings that you attach to it are all pertaining to short-term implementation of the “Purushaartha”. However, as a king, my understanding of “Purushaartha” is “following the “Dharma” and finally attaining the highest “Moksha” and in the meanwhile, discharge my duties as a king in the most righteous way possible!” This is the real long-term definition of what “Purushaartha” is. If one has to go for a war every now and then, what is the point in having something called “Dharma”, “Artha” and “Moksha”? At some points in time, we’ve to show restraint. Just because I’m not taking action at this point, it doesn’t mean that I’m inefficient or inactive. Please do not get into such conclusions. If one follows the “Dharma” meticulously, that “Dharma” itself will be a huge saviour for him / her. Please understand this eternal truth!” 

As Yudishtra says thus, Bheemasena quips again: “Oh Yudishtra! If that is the case, what kind of “Purushaartha” are you following? As a king and as part of your “Dharma”, you should have something in your agenda, isn’t it? What is that you’re following?” As Bheemasena asks thus, Yudishtra immediately replies back, “Oh Bheemasena! There you are! Now you’re coming to the point! I’m following all the aspects of the “Purushaartha” of a Kshatrya prince!” As Yudishtra gives such a reply, Bheemasena did not understand anything for a moment! He asks Yudishtra back, “Oh Yudishtra! What is the “Purushaartha” that you’re following as a “Kshatrya Prince”? You’re neither getting angry, nor taking steps to obtain our kingdom back! If you’re inactive on both these fronts, what “Purushaartha” are you following?” For this, Yudishtra again gives a beautiful reply. He says thus, “Oh Bheemasena! Did I ever tell you that I’m not going to try and get back our kingdom of Indraprastha? Did I ever tell you that I’m only going to roam around in the forest all the time? Who told you that anger is the only way through which one can obtain the lost kingdom and wealth? There are other ways of doing it as well! I shall meticulously exhibit my “Dharma” and re-obtain my kingdom and I’m confident about it! All these suffering that we’re undergoing is temporary in nature. It will go off very soon. When the time comes, you would see who this Yudishtra is!”

This is where we can see a gross difference between Yudishtra and Arjuna! At this point in time, except Yudishtra, everybody including Arjuna wanted to go for an all-out war against Duryodhana and win over him. However, when it came to the actual Kurushetra battlefield, who tried to run away from it? It was Arjuna, and not Yudishtra, isn’t it? This is where we have the 700-sloka Bhagawat Gita, which ultimately pulled Arjuna back to the battlefield to fight the war! But did Yudishtra shudder even for a moment? The answer is “No” isn’t it? Thus, we can witness here that Yudishtra is someone who is steadfast in his “Dharma”! If there should be silence, there should be no war at that point in time. However, if there should be a war, there is no place for silence at that point in time! Yudishtra was steadfast in this “Dharma”, isn’t it? This is the significance of Yudishtra as a righteous king! So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall continue this discussion in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂  

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Yudishtra’s reply to Draupati’s venting of anger and frustration. As Draupati starts reluctantly arguing with Yudishtra over “Dharma” and the moment she mentions that even Bhagawan is inside the “Karma” cycle and Bhagawan also seems to be hand and glove with whatever “Adharma” is happening around, Yudishtra loses his cool for the first time ever. He angrily replies to Draupati that whatever opinion she has upon Bhagawan and the Vedas are completely wrong and she looks at everything in terms of an opportunistic mindset. Yudishtra clearly states that whatever happens in this world, we do not have any control over it, and it is according to Bhagawan’s divine will. Yudishtra also reiterates the important point that Bhagawan doesn’t dance to the tunes of anyone in this world. He cannot be curtailed by the “Karma” cycle and Bhagawan is someone who is beyond all this. Thus, Yudishtra advises Draupati to be patient and expresses his displeasure for the statements that she had made. 

As Yudishtra says thus, he adds further to his narrative: “Oh Draupati! Please understand one thing very clearly – If we’re experiencing these sufferings, it is because of our “Karma”. We never know what bad things we’ve  done to others in the past. Hence, if you feel that you’ve to get over your “Karma” very soon, you go and exhibit “Sharanaagati” to Bhagawan and free yourself. Just think about what you said – You say that Bhagawan is also inside the “Karma” cycle and He is not beyond it, didn’t you? Now think on these lines – For instance, if Surya Bhagawan (Sun God) is emitting an enormous amount of light to brighten the entire world, what if darkness comes and sticks to it? Does anyone in this world asks such a stupid question? Can darkness stick on to Surya Bhagawan? Similarly, if Bhagawan is helping all of us to come out of the “Karma” vicious cycle, and if He is also within that same cycle, how will He be able to help us come out? For instance, if you’ve fallen into the well, people from outside the well can only pull you out of it, right? How can a person who has also fallen into the same well as you, save you from it? What kind of logic are you talking about? Hence, please understand the fact that Bhagawan is beyond all the “Karma” cycles that we undergo as normal human beings. Please do not make such foolish arguments!” 

As Yudishtra replies firmly thus, Draupati is still not convinced! She still has some doubts sticking on to her! She once again questions Yudishtra’s gross inaction thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Fine! I accept and agree to your point that Bhagawan is beyond everything. But you are not Bhagawan, are you? You are amidst the “Karma” cycle, is it not? Hence, as a king, and as a “Kshatrya prince” you should have your own “Purushaartha”, shouldn’t you? Now where is that “Purushaartha” that you possess? So, is your “Purushaartha” staying silent when people around you are getting insulted and humiliated?” As Draupati says thus, Bheemasena also joins her and asks Yudishtra quickly, “Oh brother! So your silence simply means that your “Purushaartha” is completely weak! You do not have the guts to stand up and rise to the occasion!” 

As people question Yudishtra on a term called “Purushaartha”, we should first understand what this “Purushaartha” terminology means. It simply means “Something that a Purusha (King) likes a lot and goes after meticulously! Now what should be an ideal “Purushaartha” for a king? It should be the “Raajyam” or kingdom, isn’t it? This is exactly what Draupati is asking here. She has this point in her mind and frames her question very beautifully and smartly! Hence, Draupati is indirectly asking Yudishtra, why is he failing in his duties as a king! If one is a king of a territory, there are certain duties and responsibilities that he needs to discharge, isn’t it? Now Draupati’s question here is, why is Yudishtra running away from performing his duties towards his “Raajyam”? Why is he hiding himself behind something called “Dharma” and is grossly insensitive to whatever is happening? In similar lines, Bheemasena gives a slightly different definition to the term “Purushaartha”. Now he says that “Purushaartha” means, victory, war, battlefield, fight, killing and avenging the insult that is meted out to him! Thus, Bheemasena is very clear here – As a king, Yudishtra has forgone all his “Purushaartha” and is afraid of entering the battlefield and fighting! If he really has the guts, why not call Duryodhana to the battlefield and give him a drubbing straightaway, instead of accepting whatever he says? Why should Yudishtra accept a punishment that hasn’t come out of a legal crime proceeding? What is the reason behind hiding behind “Dharma” if there is no fault from our side? 

Thus, Draupati and Bheemasena employ this term called “Purushaartha” and are trying to corner Yudishtra through this. Now this will be a very interesting answer from Yudishtra to both these people! What did Yudishtra reply? An interesting episode dedicated to this is awaiting us tomorrow! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of Draupati’s lamenting to Yudishtra over the current situation that they are facing. We’ve also witnessed in due course, Yudishtra’s reply to Draupati, which irks her even more. Yudishtra had mentioned that only patience and truth can serve the purpose and not anger and frustration. He tried to dose down Draupati’s anger, but that effort backfires on him. Now Draupati goes on the offensive mode and hits a sensitive place which irks Yudishtra. She started complaining that “Karma” never catches up with those people who are powerful in terms of finances and positions. “Karma” only catches up with people who do not have any of these strengths! Draupati went on to lament that even Bhagawan is a partner in crime in letting those powerful people escape quite easily and He only punishes those who are weak! As Draupati says thus with anger and frustration towards her husband, Yudishtra now finally gets angry. Now what did Yudishtra reply? Let us witness today. 

As Draupati says thus, Yudishtra replies, “Oh Draupati! Till this point I was patiently hearing you out! But now when you talk about Bhagawan also being a partner in crime, “Karma” touching Bhagawan, etc., I won’t keep quiet. Are you trying to talk “Naasthikam” or “Aasthikam”? If you want to be a “Naasthik” (Atheist), I do not have anything further to add upon. In fact, with such a thought process of yours, I feel ashamed that I have such a person alongside me who is not approving of the path of “Dharma” that the husband is following! This is very atrocious of you to make such statements of “Naasthikam”!” Saying thus, Yudishtra sits down on the floor with sadness written all over his face. 

As Yudishtra sits down thus, Draupati once again questions him. She’s in no mood to relent now as she’s getting ready to fire up all cylinders, left, right and center! Draupati asks a simple question thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Till now you were saying that you would never get angry, you would never shout or fire at someone, etc. didn’t you? Now why are you firing at me? What wrong did I do to you? Is marrying you the greatest mistake I did in my life? Why are you getting angry towards me for no fault of mine? What is so wrong about whatever I asked you? If any other woman would have been in my place, she would have also asked the same questions to you for sure!” As Draupati asks with tantalising pain in her heart, Yudishtra once again tries consoling her. He says thus, “Oh Draupati! I never got angry on you till now. I understand your pain. However, if you talk against “Dharma” and the “Vedas”, I have no choice but to get angry. Just because we’re currently suffering, doesn’t mean that “Dharma” never exists. Just because you’re suffering, it doesn’t mean that Bhagawan is aiding those who are walking the path of “Adharma”. All I’m saying is that, we’ve to be patient. Many times, we might be suffering, but we cannot take the offensive route just like that. You should understand this reality of life. Thus, I shall always get angry when someone talks ill about “Dharma” and the “Vedas”. However, I would never get angry even when someone comes to kill me. This is my “Dharma” and this is something that I would follow all through my life, no matter whatever happens to me or to my kingdom! Moreover, Bhagawan is someone who is neutral in nature. He doesn’t differentiate between powerful and the non-powerful people. Bhagawan is someone who is beyond “Karma”. If such is the case, who are you to talk ill about Bhagawan, just because you’re undergoing suffering today? If for instance, Bhagawan is punishing Duryodhana immediately, you would praise Bhagawan, won’t you? So where does all your lamenting go now? Hence, your statement compares Bhagawan to a businessman and an opportunist! Bhagawan is not an opportunist as you think! You’ve not understood Bhagawan’s neutral stance as yet. Time will teach you that lesson and if I make you understand this, you would never be able to!”

Saying thus, Yudishtra clearly expresses his displeasure to Draupati’s statements on “Dharma” and Bhagawan. So for today, let us understand this point very clearly and let us wait till the next episode to continue this further. Stay tuned! 🙂  

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Yudishra’s reply to Draupati as part of an important conversation between both of them. Draupati had initially exhibited her displeasure on Yudishtra being a mute spectator to all whatever happened at Hastinapura. She vented out her frustration on her husband that he should have taken action immediately on Duryodhana for whatever he had done to her. She questioned Yudishtra’s silence even on critical issues like these, and also went on to doubt whether he is really having the guts to fight against Duryodhana, or is he trying to hide behind the shadows of “Dharma” to safeguard himself from being defeated and getting embarrassed. As Draupati questioned him thus, Yudishtra however remains unfazed. He is steadfast in his “Dharma” that he would not voluntarily cause any harm to anyone, even if it is Duryodhana himself. After hearing out Draupati patiently, Yudishtra replies back to her calmly that anger (“Krodham”) is the root cause of human destruction and one should never take this route to establish himself / herself. Yudishtra advises Draupati to remain patient and let time take its due course of action. He also cites an important pointer to justify his stance – Even Bhagawan Krishna did not want a war or whatever at this point in time. If Bhagawan Krishna would have felt the need to rise up to the occasion, He would have told it openly. If Bhagawan is choosing to remain silent, why should we go and poke our nose into it at this point? 

As Yudishtra establishes his point thus, he also re-emphasizes at this moment – “Oh Draupati! There is nothing in this world that is better or equivalent to “Sathyam” (Truth). There is nothing in this world that is better or equivalent to “Dharma” and “Compassion” (“Karuna”). Hence, let us exhibit these qualities and be patient!” As Draupati listens to this, is she getting convinced? Are the other four Paandava brothers getting convinced? The answer is a big “NO”! Draupati immediately asks with more anger thus, “Oh Yudishtra! So do you mean to say that we’re never going to get our kingdom back? Are we going to live like this for the rest of our lives for no fault of ours? What did we do to Duryodhana? What wrong did we do to him? Why are we getting punished like this? If you do not open your mouth and talk at a time when it is direly needed, what is the use of following all the “Dharma” that you do? Do you even understand that you’re putting many other people’s lives in danger, just because you want to uphold your “Dharma”? So if that is the case, for whatever we’re suffering today, Bhagawan also has a share and a cause. I would vouch and tell today that the reason behind our suffering today, is both “Dharma” and “Bhagwan” Himself! Just because of this one reason of upholding “Dharma”, Bhagawan wants all of us to suffer! Hence, I do not like this way of living!” 

Moreover, as she says thus, Draupati adds one more important point here, which is the most crucial of all whatever has been discussed till now. She continues her argument thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Perhaps, “Karma” doesn’t catch up with people who are powerful in this world! You are extremely powerless and this is why “Karma” catches up with all of us! Also, Bhagawan is very powerful and probably because of this, “Karma” doesn’t catch up with Him! So, everything in this world depends upon who is powerful and how that person is exhibiting his / her power to the world! If a person is extremely powerful, no “Karma” can touch him / her, isn’t it?” 

This is something that all of us might also have in our minds too – For instance, a person who is swindling crores of rupees would never get punished by the law. Whereas, if we cheat even for a meagre ten rupees, the Income Tax department would be after us! However, the same Income Tax department is so useless that they would not go behind those who loot lakhs and crores of rupees! Why? Because, the Income Tax officials know that they would be useless in front of those powerful politicians / business tycoons! On the pretext of abolishing black money, common people would be harassed! We’re seeing this every passing day in India, isn’t it? Moreover, our judicial system is more than just a mere mockery! It doesn’t punish anyone who is a wrongdoer! Every case would run up to twenty years minimum and people who are victims of the crime committed, never get justice on time! 

This is exactly what Draupati is also saying here – For people who are powerful financially and position-wise, law can be re-written in their favor! “Karma” doesn’t catch up with them! However, for people who are in the relatively lower stratum of the society, all the laws would be applicable and “Karma” would catch up immediately! How fair is this? 

I’m sure many of us have this in our minds, but we might be afraid of expressing these questions in public due to the fear of getting a backlash! So what is Yudishtra going to reply for this? Is he going to get angry on Draupati for openly and blatantly asking such a question? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂