200119 - KURUKSHTHRA WAR and DHARMAPUTHRA

KURUKSHTHRA WAR and DHARMAPUTHRA

 There are many passages in the Mahabharata in which you will see Yudhisthira arguing against fighting a bloody war for the sake of a kingdom, but Krishna justifies the war as moral and as the unavoidable duty of all moral warriors.

Yudhisthira and his brothers were favored by the Kuru elders like Bhishma, Vidura, Kripa and Drona over Duryodhana and his brothers, the Kauravas, due to their devotion to their elders, pious habits and great aptitude in religion and military skills, and for having the necessary qualifications for the greatest of the kshatriya order.

In the war, the Kuru commander Drona was killing  thousands of Pandava warriors. Krishna hatched a plan to tell Drona that his son Ashwathama had died, so that the invincible and destructive Kuru commander would give up his arms and thus could be killed. The plan was set in motion when Bhima killed an elephant named Ashwathama, and loudly proclaimed that Ashwathama was dead. Drona, knowing that only Yudhisthira, with his firm adherence to the truth, could tell him for sure if his son had died, approached Yudhisthira for confirmation. Yudhisthira told him: "Ashwathama has died". However Yudhisthira could not make himself tell a lie, despite the fact that if Drona continued to fight, the Pandavas and the cause of dharma itself would have lost and he added: "naro va kunjaro va" which means he is not sure whether elephant or man had died. Krishna knew that Yudhisthira would be unable to lie, and had all the warriors beat war-drums and cymbals to make as much noise as possible. The words "naro va kunjaro va" were lost in the tumult and the ruse worked. Drona was disheartened, and laid down his weapons. He was then killed by Dhristadyumna.

Due to his piety, Yudhisthira's feet and his chariot do not touch the ground, to symbolize his purity. When he spoke his half-lie, Yudhisthira's feet and chariot descended to the ground.

After the war of Kurukshetra, Yudhisthira performs the funeral rites of all his people including Karna. He was deeply hurt that many of his men were killed. His mother Kunti came and said she tried to inform Karna of his relationship with Yudhisthira and persuade him to give up his enmity. Even the Sun god also spoke to Karna but because of his friendship with Duryodhana, he did not change his position. Kunti revealed that Karna was her son, and one of them. So basically, it was only after Karna (who was pretty impressive in everything he did) was killed, that the mother of Pandavas revealed about him to the other five sons. This revelation by Kunti made the Pandavas angry and depressed Yudhishthira a lot.

Yudhisthira thought that Karna should have had the same right and respect as the other five brothers. He was very upset that his own mother had kept a huge secret from him and the others.  He could not contain his anger and cursed the entire woman race with not being able to hide any secrets.

Yudhisthira performed the tarpana ritual for the souls of the departed. Upon his return to Hastinapura, he was crowned king of both Indraprastha and Hastinapura. Out of his piousness, Yudhisthira retained Dhritarashtra as the king of the city of Hastinapura, and offered him complete respect as an elder, despite the misdeeds of his dead sons. Yudhisthira later performed the Ashwamedha yagna (sacrifice) to re-establish the rule of dharma all over the world. 

Upon the onset of the Kali yuga and the death of Krishna, Yudhisthira and his brothers retired, leaving the throne to their only descendant to survive the war of Kurukshetra, Arjuna's grandson Parikshit. Giving up all their belongings and ties, the Pandavas made their final journey to pilgrimage in the Himalayas.

While climbing the peaks, one by one Draupadi and each Pandava in reverse order of age fell to their deaths, dragged down by the weight of their guilt of few, but real sins. But Yudhisthira reached the mountain peak, because he was unblemished by sin or untruth. The true character of Yuddhisthira is revealed at the end of the Mahabharata. On the mountain peak, Indra, King of Gods, arrived to take Yudhisthira to heaven in his Golden Chariot. As Yudhisthira was about to step into the Chariot, the Deva told him to leave behind his companion dog, an unholy creature not worthy of heaven. Yudhisthira stepped back, refusing to leave behind the creature who he had taken under his protection. Indra wondered at him - "You can leave your brothers behind, not arranging proper cremations for them...and you refuse to leave behind a stray dog!"

Yudhisthira replied, "Draupadi and my brothers have left me, not me [them]." And he refused to go to heaven without the dog. At that moment the dog changed into the God Dharma, his father, who was testing him and Yudhisthira had passed with distinction.

Yudhisthira was carried away on Indra's chariot. On reaching Heaven he did not find either his virtuous brothers or his wife Draupadi. Instead he saw Duryodhana and his evil allies. The Gods told him that his brothers were in Naraka (hell) atoning their little sins, while Duryodhana was in heaven since he died at the blessed place of Kurukshetra.

Yudhisthira loyally went to Naraka (hell) to meet his brothers, but the sights and sounds of gore and blood horrified him. Tempted to flee, he mastered himself and remained on hearing the voice of his beloved brothers and Draupadi calling out to him, asking him to stay with them in their misery. Yudhisthira decided to remain, ordering the Divine charioteer to return preferring to live in hell with good people than in a heaven of evil ones. At that moment the scene changed. This was yet another illusion to test him on the one hand, and on other hand to enable him to atone for his sin of using deceit to kill Drona. Indra and Krishna appeared before him and told him that his brothers were already in Heaven, along with his enemies, for earthly virtues and vices don't hold true in heavenly realms. Krishna yet again hailed Yudhisthira for his dharma, and bowed to him, in the final defining moment of the epic where divinity bowed down to humanity.

200112 - Yudhishthira (Dharmaraja) – towards Kurukshetra WAR

Yudhishthira (Dharmaraja) – towards Kurukshetra WAR

In Mahabharata, Yudhishthira(Dharmaputhra) was the eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti. He was the king of Hastinapura and Indraprastha was the principal protagonist of the Kurukshetra War.

Pandu, due to a curse, was unable to father children and asked his wife, Queen Kunti to invoke the wish granted to her by Rishi Dhurvasa in order to give birth to children. Urged by Pandu, Kunti gave birth to Yudhishthira by invoking the Lord of Righteousness, Dharma. Yudhishthira's four younger brothers were Bhima, (born by invoking Vayu); Arjuna, (born by invoking Indra); and the twins Nakula and Sahadeva, (born by invoking the Ashwini Gods). As Karna, the son of Kunti was born before her marriage by invocation of Surya, Yudhishthira was considered as the eldest. Yudhishthira's dharma was markedly distinct from that of other righteous kings. He married Draupadi along with his four brothers, the dharma that modifies itself to suit the times.

Yudhishthira was trained in religion, science, administration and military arts by the Kuru preceptors Kripa and Drona. He was a master of the spear weapon, and a maharatha, capable of combating 10,000 opponents all together at a time. Yudhishthira's true prowess was shown in his unflinching adherence to satya (truth) and dharma (righteousness), which were more precious to him than any royal ambitions, material pursuits and family relations.

Being Pandu's eldest son, Yudhishthira was the rightful heir to the throne. However, this claim was contested by the Dhritarashtra's son, Duryodhana. Yudhishthira is also known as Bharata (Descendent of the line of Bharata) and Ajatashatru (One without Enemies).

Yudhishthira rescued Bhima from Yama, and all of his four brothers from death by exemplifying not only his immense knowledge of dharma but also his very own way of understanding the finer implications of dharma, as judged by Yama, who was testing him in the guise of a Crane and a Yaksha.

Yudhishthira learned dice play from Narada Muni and assumed the guise of a brahmin courtier and dice player in the Matsya Rajya of king Virata. Yudhishthira was unable to refuse when Duryodhana's maternal uncle Shakuni, challenged him to a game of dice. Thanks to Shakuni's cheating, Yudhishthira lost each throw, eventually gambling away his kingdom, his wealth, his brothers and finally his wife. Owing to the protests of Vidura, Bhishma and Drona, Dhritarashtra returned all these losses. However, Shakuni challenged Yudhishthira one more time, and Yudhishthira once more lost. This time, he, his brothers and his wife were forced to discharge the debt by spending thirteen years in exile, with the condition of anonymity in the last year, in the forest before they could reclaim their kingdom.

When the period of exile was completed, Duryodhana and Shakuni nevertheless refused to return Yudhishthira's kingdom. Yudhishthira made numerous diplomatic efforts to retrieve his kingdom peacefully; all failed. To go to war to reclaim his birthright would mean fighting and killing his own relatives, an idea that appalled Yudhishthira. But Krishna, Yudhishthira's most trusted advisor (whom he recognized as the Avatar of Vishnu, the Supreme God), pointed out that Yudhishthira's claim was righteous, and the deeds of Duryodhana were evil. If all peace efforts failed, war was therefore a most righteous course.

Thus, Yudhishthira agreed for the Kurukshetra war.

200105 - Kunti : The Perfect Devoted Mother

Kunti : The Perfect Devoted Mother

In Mahabharata, Kunti was the daughter of Shurasena, and foster daughter of his cousin Kuntibhoja. She was married to King Pandu of Hastinapur and was the mother of Karna and the three of the Pandavas - Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna. She was the paternal aunt of Krishna, Balarama, and Subhadra. She was a beautiful and intelligent lady. She is often regarded as one of the protagonists of the Mahabharata.

Kunti's story is also told within Srimad Bhagavatam, wherein she speaks on the philosophy of devotion of Krishna, known as Bhakti yoga. Kunti is thus held as a figure of great importance within many Hindu traditions and especially with worshippers of Krishna (Vaishnavas).

Her father was Surasena of the Yadu clan, and she was named Pritha (Pŗtha). She was thus the sister of Vasudeva, father of Krishna. She was given in adoption to the childless King Kuntibhoja, after which she came to be known as Kunti. After her arrival, King Kuntibhoja was blessed with children. He considered her his lucky charm and took care of her until her marriage.

When she was young, rishi Durvasa told her a mantra with which Kunti could summon any deva and have a child by him without a pregnancy. When Kunti asked why he gave her this mantra, he told her that it would be useful to her later in life.

Kunti could not believe the mantra, so she tried to use it. The God Surya, appeared. She asked him to go back, but Surya said he was compelled to fulfill the mantra before returning. Kunti then abandoned the child in a basket on a river. This child was later found and adopted by a chariot driver and his wife, and was named Karna. He went on to become an important character in the Mahabharata. The ambiguous emotions Karna felt about his birth mother play an important role in the Mahabharata.

Kuntibhoja organized Kunti's swayamvara. Kunti chose King Pandu of Hastinapur, and this made her the Queen of Hastinapur.

Soon after, during his mission to expand his empire, Pandu married Madri, a princess of Madra in order to secure the vassalage of Madra. Madri was of the view that Kunti was inferior by birth to her because Yadavas were cattle herders while Madri was a princess. Kunti was disturbed by her husband's act, but eventually reconciled with him.

Pandu, while hunting in a forest, mistakenly shot and killed Rishi Kindama and his wife as they had taken the form of deer to mate. The dying sage placed a curse on Pandu since he had not only killed them in the midst of lovemaking but was not remorseful for his action. King Pandu argued with sage Kindama by misquoting sage Agastya's ruling on the right of Kshatriyas on hunting. Sage Kindama then decided to curse him to die if he ever should become intimate with his wife. Pandu renounced the kingdom and went into exile with Kunti and Madri. He met some sages and asked them a way for the heaven and salvation. They said, without children, one can never aspire for heaven. When Pandu expressed to Kunti his despair at the prospect of dying childless, she mentioned the boon granted to her. He advised her to beget children by suitable, illustrious men.

She used it three times, first receiving a son, Yudishtira, from the god Yama, then Bhima from the god Vayu, and thirdly Arjuna, from the god Indra.

Kunti's character within the Mahabharata is accorded much respect within the Hindu tradition. Her activities were that of a very pious and loyal wife and of a person with a great deal of self-control. Kunti was given a special boon which enabled her to bear the sons of great celestial devas as many times as she wished. However Kunti did not misuse her boon, limiting herself to three sons only.

And when requested by Pandu, she shared this special mantra with Madri, Pandu's other wife. Madri bore twin sons, Nakula and Sahadeva, from the twin Gods the Asvins. The five together are known as the Pandavas.

One day, Pandu, forgetting his curse, attempted to make love with his wife Madri. But, as a result of Kindama's curse, he died. Madri committed sati as she was the cause of his death. Kunti was left helpless in the forest with her children.

After the death of Pandu and Madri, Kunti took care of all five Pandava children taking them back to Hastinapur. As the rivalry culminated between Pandavas and Kauravas, she decided to go back to Kuntibhoja. But her attempt was stopped by Bhishma.

After the great battle and in her old age, she goes into exile to the forest, with her brothers-in-law Dhritarashtra and Vidura, and Dhritarashtra's wife Gandhari, where they die together in a forest fire.

191229 - Gandhari – Saddest and Most Powerful Woman

Gandhari – Saddest and Most Powerful Woman

Gandhari is a less sung heroine of Mahabharata. She was brave and powerful with deep traits of dharma and adharma (for the better). She tried guiding Duryodhana through righteousness and was sad on failing in it.

Gandhari was a beautiful princess of Gandhar (Qandahar - a small kingdom with region spanning northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan) ruled by King Subala who was the contemporary of Bhishma half-brothers, Chaitrangad and Vichitravirya. Gandhari had obtained a boon of 100 sons from Lord Shiva and Bhishma knew this.

Bhishma was looking for suitable wives for his nephews - Dhritarashtra and Pandu (and Vidura too). Bhishma felt that Gandhari would be an ideal wife for Dhritarashtra, the eldest (blind by birth) prince. As he was blind, Pandu became the ruler and hence Gandhari couldn't become the queen. 

Gandhari faced a difficult life. When she heard that she was to be married off to a blind prince, she chose to blindfold herself for the rest of her life. There are many opinions on this. Some (majority) say that this was the epitome of her sacrifice and she thus qualified herself to be an ultimate pati-vrata (a devout wife) and then sat in the ranks of Savitri, Sita, Damayanti, etc. Modern thinkers say that this was her snub to the society for not having given her the choice - a swayamvaram style.

Folklore says that this marriage was brought out of force by a show of strength. This "bulldozing" caused Shakuni, the brother of Gandhari, to flare up in anger, but could do nothing. Folklore also says that he swore eternal vengeance on the Kurus and made it his lifelong purpose. Movies and films (as well as many books) liked this drama angle and happily adopted the myth.

Gandhari bore a hundred sons, (collectively known as the Kauravas), and one daughter Dhushala who married Jayadratha.

After Pandu’s death, Dhritharashtra was ruling and hence Gandhari became the queen. She was always considerate to Pandavas and was always upholding Dharma.

That is why though Gandhari's sons were portrayed as villains, the Mahabharata attributes high moral standards to Gandhari. She repeatedly exhorted her sons to follow dharma and make peace with the Pandavas. Gandhari was especially close to Kunti who respected her like an elder sister.

Gandhari made a single exception to her blindfolded state, when she removed her blindfold to see Duryodhana rendering his entire body except his loins invulnerable to any foe. This was however to prove fruitless as Bhima smashed Duryodhana's thighs in their decisive encounter on the eighteenth day of the Kurukshetra battle, a move both literally and figuratively below the belt.

The Kauravas, principally Duryodhana and Dhushasana, were the villains of the Mahabharata, and were all killed in their war against their cousins, the Pandavas, at Kurukshetra.

Gandhari was also devout; an ardent worshipper of Lord Shiva. Gandhari's sacrifice of her eyesight and her austere life was to grant her great spiritual power. Gandhari's anguish in the loss of her hundred sons resulted in her cursing Krishna in effect ensuring the destruction of the Yadavas. It is also said that through a small gap in the napkin in which her eyes were blindfolded, her gaze fell on Yudhisthira's toe. The toe was charred black due to her wrath and power.

Krishna came and hugged her. She wept. And she felt Draupadi weeping next to her. Both were being hugged by Krishna, the mother of villains and the mother of heroes, both being comforted by him who they say is God. He said nothing. He allowed Gandhari to vent out her venom and he accepted the curse quietly – no retaliatory curse. Yes, his children would die as Gandhari had deemed fit and so would he. Let his clan suffer so that the spiral of vendetta does not continue. It must end sometime. And if this demands the sacrifice of his clan, then let it be so.

Gandhari ended her life with her husband and her sister-in-law Kunti in the Himalayas, where they died in a forest fire.

191222 - Kurukshetra War and aftermath - DRAUPADI

Kurukshetra War and aftermath - DRAUPADI

Students of Drona, when trained had only one role; defeat his enemy Drupada. Thus, Drupada got defeated and half of the kingdom was got under Drona. Now it is Drupada’s turn to fight back Drona and his students. They can only be won when they are divided. Drupada needs a trump card here. Hence, Draupadi was born. Her mission was to create jealousy among the first cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, which will make her a cause for war through humiliation and will make the brothers kill other brothers. Drupada’s classical example of Divide and Conquer can only be achieved by a woman whose beauty has no match on this planet.

The plot of the swayamvara hiding Arjuna’s identity, though Arjuna knew that Drupada whom he defeated is the father of Draupadi, got her married. The dice game and the plot created for the war is to make Bheema’s pledge to kill Kauravas. Thus, Kurukshetra war is a requirement of Drupada through Draupadi.

During the war, Draupadi stays at Ekachakra with other women. On the 16th day, Bhima kills Dushasana, drinking his blood and fulfilling his oath to Draupadi.

There is a popular myth often depicted in well-known adaptations of Mahabharata. It says that, Draupadi washed her hair with her brother-in-law Dushasana's blood, as a mark of her vengeance against the abuse she had suffered at the dice-game. Though an extremely powerful and symbolic theme, this incident does not appear in Vyasa's Sanskrit Mahabharata. 

Ashwathama, in order to avenge his father's as well as other Kuru warriors' deceitful killing by the Pandavas, attacks during his surprise raid on Pandavas camp at night with Kripacharya and Kritavarma. Aswathama killed Shikhandi,  Dhrishtadyumna and Upapandavas (Draupadi had five sons, one son each from the Pandava brothers. They were known as Upapandavas; Prativindhya, Sutasoma, Shrutakarma, Satanika, and Shrutasena. None of the Draupadi's children survive the end of the epic.)

In the morning, Yudhishthira hears the news and asks Nakula to bring Draupadi from Matsya kingdom. Draupadi vows that if the Pandavas do not kill Ashwathama, she would fast to death. The Pandavas find Ashwathama at Vyasa's hut. Arjuna and Ashwathama end up firing the Brahmashirsha astra at each other. Vyasa intervenes and asks the two warriors to withdraw the destructive weapon. Not endowed with the knowledge to do so, Ashwathama instead redirects the weapon to Uttara's womb, killing the Pandavas' only heir (Parikshit, who was again revived by Krishna). Krishna curses him for this act. As a punishment, Ashwathama was asked by Vyasa to surrender the gem on his forehead to Pandavas.

After the cremation was done Yudhishtira was crowned as the king of Hastinapur and he in consultation with Dhrithrashtra was running the Kingdom and is loved by all people. When Yudhishtira became the king of Hastinapura, Draupadi again became the queen.

Later Dhrithrashtra and Gandhari made their mind to retire to woods to do penance. After pacifying by Vyasa, Vidura, Yudhishtira was ready to let them retire. After performing due rituals when they were ready to leave for the woods then Vidura and Sanjaya also wanted to accompany them and seeing all this Kunti also accompanied them to woods.

Thus, Draupadi became the senior queen at Hastinapura.

After Lord Krishna ascended to Vaikhunta-loka; Pandavs after the advice of Veda Vyasa left their Kingdom in the hands of Parikshit and left for the Himalayas. When they were travelling to Himalayas a Dog accompanied them throughout their journey.

When her husbands retired from the world and went on their journey towards the Himalayas and heaven, Draupadi accompanied them, and was the first to fall on the journey. When Bhima asked Yudhishthira why Draupadi had fallen, Yudhishthira replied, "O best of men, though we were all equal unto her she had great partiality for Dhananjaya. She obtains the fruit of that conduct today, O best of men."

The Draupadi Amman sect (or Draupadi devotional sect) is a tradition that binds together a community of people in worshipping Draupadi Amman as a village goddess with unique rituals and mythologies. The sect believes that Draupadi is the incarnation of goddess Kali. Fire walking or theemithi is a popular ritual enacted at Draupadi Amman temples. At the ancient religious festival of Bangalore named Karaga, Draupadi is worshipped as an incarnation of Adishakti and Parvati in a nine-day event.

There are over 400 temples dedicated to Draupadi in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and other countries like Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius, South Africa. In these regions, Draupadi is worshipped mainly by people of the Vanniyar caste. There are a few processions and festivals which are conducted for about 3 weeks a year. The most famous festival is in the village Durgasamudram, Tirupati of Chittoor district.

191215 - Dies Game and Exile - DRAUPADI

Dies Game and Exile - DRAUPADI

Duryodhana together with his brothers, Karna and Shakuni conspired to call the Pandavas at Hastinapur and win their kingdoms in a game of gambling. Shakuni, the gambler, winning by unfair means played against Yudhishthira and won at the gambling table what was impossible to win at the battlefield.

As the game proceeds, Yudhishthira loses everything at first. In the second round, Yudhishthira's brother Nakula was at stake, and Yudhishthira loses him. Yudhisthtira subsequently gambles away Sahdeva, Arjuna and Bheema. Finally, Yudhishthira puts himself at stake, and loses again. For Duryodhana, the humiliation of the Pandavas was not complete. He prods Yudhishthira that he has not lost everything yet; Yudhishthira still has Draupadi with him and if he wishes he can win everything back by putting Draupadi at stake. Inebriated by the game, Yudhishthira, to the horror of everybody present, puts Draupadi up as a bet for the next round. Playing the next round, Shakuni wins. Draupadi was horrified after hearing that she was staked in the game and now is a slave for Duryodhana. Draupadi questions Yudhishthira's right on her as he had lost himself first and she was still the queen. Duryodhana, angry with Draupadi's questions, commands his younger brother Dushasana to bring her into the court, forcefully if he must.

Dushasana drags Draupadi to the court by the hair. Seeing this, Bheema pledges to cut off Dushasana's hands, as they touched Draupadi's hair. Now in an emotional appeal to the elders present in the forum, Draupadi repeatedly questions the legality of the right of Yudhishthira to place her at stake.

In order to provoke the Pandavas further, Duryodhana bares and pats his thigh looking into Draupadi's eyes, implying that she should sit on his thigh. The enraged Bhima vows in front of the entire assembly that he would break Duryodhana's thigh, or else accept being Duryodhana's slave for seven lifetimes.

Karna calls Draupadi "unchaste" for being the wedded wife of five men, adding that dragging her to court is not surprising act whether she be attired or naked. He orders Dushasana to remove the garments of Draupadi. Arjun tries to help Draupadi but Yudhishtira forbids him. Arjun vows to kill Karna for insulting his wife

After her husband’s fail to assist her, Draupadi prays to Krishna to protect her. Dushasana attempts to disrobe her, but she is miraculously protected by Krishna, and Dushasana finds that as he continues to unwrap the layers of her sari, the amount of fabric covering her never lessens. Dushasana is eventually reduces to exhaustion, as the awed court observes that Draupadi is still chastely dressed. At this point, a furious Bhima vows to drink the blood from Dushasana's chest, at the pain of not seeing his ancestors/entering heaven. This vow unsettles the entire court.

The only Kauravas who object to the disrobing of Draupadi in the court are Vikarna and Vidura. Queen mother Gandhari enters the scene and counsels Dhritarashtra to undo her sons' misdeeds. Fearing the ill-omens, Dhritarashtra intervenes and grants Draupadi a boon, gives them back their wealth, and grants them permission to go home.

Amused by the sudden turn of events, Karna remarks that they "have never heard of such an act, performed by any of the women noted in this world for their beauty." He taunts the Pandavas by praising their wife, as she had rescued them "like a boat from their ocean of distress"

Having restored their pride and wealth, the Pandavas and Draupadi leave for Indraprastha. Shakuni, Karna and Duryodhana later convince Dhritarashtra to invite Pandavas for a new game of dice, with modified rules, in which the loser would be given an exile of 12 years followed by a year of Agnathavasa, meaning "living in incognito". Yudhishtira yet again accepts the invitation and loses and goes on an exile with his brothers and wife Draupadi.

While the Pandavas in exile were in the Kamyaka forest, they often went hunting, leaving Draupadi alone. At this time Jayadratha, the son of Vriddhakshatra and the husband of Duryodhana's sister Dussala, passed through Kamyaka forest on the way to Salwa Desa. Jayadratha met Draupadi and then started beseeching her to go away with him and desert her husbands, forced her onto his chariot. Pandavas caught and shaved Jayadratha's head at five places in order to publicly humiliate him and sent him back.

While on the last one year of Ajnana vasa (stay hiding); one day Kichaka, and the commander of king Virata's forces, requested her hand in marriage. Draupadi refused him. Many attempts to disturb was ended in Draupadi’s curse Kichaka with death by her husband's hand. Later Kichaka trapped by Draupadi to come to the dancing hall at night were Bhima (in the guise of Draupadi), fights with Kichaka and kills him.

191208 - Rivalry PLOT due to DRAUPADI

Rivalry PLOT due to DRAUPADI

Logically if it is to think why and for whom Mahabharata started, many can be named; most prominent among them is Draupadi.

Draupadi is the daughter of King Drupada (Yajnasena) of the Panchala (Bareilly region) kingdom; hence she was named as Draupadi (Drupadakanya) and Panchali. According to the Mahabharata, she took birth from the sacred fire (Yajna), so she is also called as Yagnaseni.  Draupadi is referred to by multiple names in the Mahabharata. She took birth as a maiden and never went through the stages of childhood; Draupadi’s mission and Drupada’s intent is Mahabharata.

Drupada(son of King Prishata) and Drona (who later was the Guru for Pandavas and kauravas and fought for Dhuryodhana) studied together under the tutelage of Rishi Bharadwaja, Drona's father. They become great friends and Drupada assures Drona that once he becomes king, he will share half of his kingdom with Drona. When Drupada got kingship after the death of Prishata, Drona lived a life of poverty. Drona approached Drupada for help but he refused to acknowledge friendship and shuns Drona, calling him a beggar. Drona is later employed by Bhishma to train the Kuru princes. After the military education of the Kauravas and the Pandavas ends, as his gurudakshina as requested by Drona, Arjuna defeated Drupada and subsequently took half his kingdom. To avenge this, Drupada performed Putrakameshti yajna; from the sacrificial fire, Draupadi emerged as a beautiful dark-skinned young woman (who would enter the Kuru family and divide it) after her sibling Dhrishtadyumna (who would kill Drona).

King Drupada arranges a swayamvara for his daughter Draupadi. To win Draupadi's hand, the king's invitees, all of them royalty themselves, must string an enormous bow and shoot five arrows simultaneously through a revolving ring onto the eye of a revolving fish. All the kings fail to even string the bow; when Karna is about to succeed, he was stopped by Draupadi, who refuses to marry the son of a charioteer. The five sons of the late King Pandu of Hastinapur are present at the swayamvara, dressed as holy men. As the other attendees, including the Kauravas, protest at a Brahmin winning the competition and attack, Arjuna and Bhima protect Draupadi and are able to retreat. When Draupadi arrives with the five Pandavas to meet Kunti, they inform her that Arjuna won alms, to which Kunti says, "Share the alms equally". This motherly command leads the five brothers to become the five husbands of Draupadi.

Polyandry is justified here as in her previous birth, Draupadi did “Ghora- Thapasya” (hard penance) and invoked Eswara (God Shiva). She asked for a husband with 14 qualities (the main 5 are Moral values, physical strength, skilled, handsome and intelligent). Shiva said all these qualities cannot co-exist in one man and he can’t bless. There was protest from many including Drupa and Pandavas. But Vyasa and Krishna played their role to convince all.

Earlier Upon the news of Pandavas' death at Varnavrat, the title of crown prince had fallen to Duryodhana. Upon revealing that they are alive Dhritharashtra invites the Pandavas to Hastinapur and proposes that the kingdom be divided. The Pandavas are assigned the wasteland Khandavaprastha, referred to as unclaimed desert. With the help of Krishna, Pandavas rebuilt Khandavaprastha into the glorious Indraprastha. The crown jewel of the kingdom was built at the Khandava forest, where Draupadi resided in the "Palace of Illusions". Yudhishthira performed the Rajasuya Yagna with Draupadi by his side; the Pandavas gained lordship over many regions.

A lesser known fact is Draupadi's role as an Empress. Trained in economy, she took upon the responsibility of looking after the treasury of the Empire and ran a citizen liaison. 

Duryodhana and his entourage were exploring the keep during their visit to Yudhishthira's Rajasuya Yagna. While touring the grounds, an unsuspecting Duryodhana fell prey to one of the many illusions that could be seen all around the palace. When he stepped on the apparently solid part of the courtyard, there was a splash and Duryodhana found himself waist deep in water, drenched from head to foot by the hidden pool. The myth is, Draupadi and her maids saw this from the balcony with amusement, and joked Andhasya Putra Andhaha meaning 'a blind man's son is blind'.

Insult suffered by Duryodhana is often considered to mark a definitive moment in the story of Mahabharata. It is one of the driving reasons for the dies Game, Exile and that ultimately led to the Kurukshetra War.

191131 - MAHABHARATA WAR

Mahabharatha - WAR

At the wedding ceremony of Arjuna with Uttara at Virat, a large number of

Pandava allies gathered to draw out a war strategy. Emissaries were sent to the

Kauravas to demand the return of Indraprastha, the land granted by

Dhritarashtra, and developed by the Pandavas, but lost to the Kauravas during a

dice game. The attempt to settle the issue peacefully was a failure, even though

Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu and a maternal cousin of the Pandavas, went on the

mission by himself. Duryodhana refused to give away as much land as was covered

by the point of a needle, let alone the five villages proposed by the peace

missions. The Kauravas also gathered their allies around them, and even broke

away a key Pandava ally - the maternal uncle of the Pandava twins - by trickery.

The Kurukshetra War broke out. Scholars are divided in their opinion as to when

this war took place, and even the historicity of this war is a subject of much

debate. In any case, according to the Mahabharata, the Kurukshetra War lasted

for 18 days, during which most of the characters in the epic were killed. Arguably

the most famous episode in the epic, the Bhagavat Gita , occurs here, just before

the fighting begins.

Just before the war bugle was sounded, Arjuna saw arrayed before him his

relatives: his great-grandfather Bheeshma who had practically brought him up, his

teachers Kripa and Drona, his brothers the Kauravas, and, for a moment, his

resolution wavered. Krishna, the warrior par excellence, had given up arms for this

war and had elected to be Arjuna's charioteer. Arjuna requested Krishna to take

him back as he can not kill these people; my father, my brothers, my teachers,

my uncles, my sons. He said he has no desire on kingdom and kingship at the cost

of many dear lives. Krishna gave his philosophical discourse - the Bhagavad Gita

explaining the impermanence of Kshathriya (Kingly) life, and the importance of

fulfilling one’s duty, and keeping on the path of righteousness which made Arjuna to pick up

his bow to fight.

The battle was for 18 days. The army had 18 akshauhinis, 7 on the Panadava side

and 11 on the Kaurava (1 akshauhini = 21,870 chariots + 21,870 elephants +

65,610 horses + 109,350 soldiers on foot). At the end of the war, the Pandavas

emerge victorious, though the losses on both sides are almost total. Among those

left lives were Duryodhana and all of the Kauravas, all of the menfolk of

Draupadi's family, including all of her sons by the Pandavas. Karna was revealed

to be a son of Kunti, before her marriage to Pandu, and thus, the eldest Pandava

and the rightful heir to the throne. The grand old man Bheeshma lost life. Their

teacher Drona was dead, also all kinsfolk related to them either by blood or by

marriage. In about 18 days, the entire country lost almost three generations of its

men. It was a war not seen on a scale before, it was the Great Indian war,

the Maha-Bharat war.

The war, however, is not the end of the epic. After the war, Yudhishthira became

king of Hastinapur and Indraprastha. The Pandavas ruled for 36 years, after which

they abdicated in favour of Abhimanyu's son, Parikshit. The Pandavas and

Draupadi proceeded on foot to the Himalayas, intending to live out their last days

climbing the slopes heavenwards. One by one, they fell on this last journey and

their spirits ascended to the heavens. 

Years later, Parikshit's son Janmejaya, a great-grandson of Arjuna, succeeded his

father as king. He held a big snake sacrifice, at which this entire story was recited

for the first time by Vaishampayan, a disciple of Vyasa. Since that time, this story

has been retold countless times, expanded upon, and retold again.

The Mahabharata remains popular to this day in India. It has been adapted and

recast in contemporary mode in several films and plays. Children continue to be

named after the characters in the epic. The Bhagvad Gita is one of the holiest

of Hindu scriptures. Beyond India, the Mahabharata story is popular in south-east

Asia in cultures that were influenced by Hinduism such as Indonesia and Malaysia.

191124 - Mahabharata – Panchali, Dice & Exile

Mahabharata – Panchali, Dice & Exile

Pandavas and Kunti went into hiding, moving from one place to another and passing themselves off as a poor brahmin family. During these wanderings, Bheem killed two demons, married a demoness, and had a demon child called Ghatotkach. They also went for a swayamvaram (a ceremony to choose a suitor by the Princess) at Panchal to see the festivities. The princess Draupadi, born of fire, was famed for her beauty and every prince from every country for miles around had come to the swayamvaram, to win the task: a long pole on the ground had a circular contraption spinning disc with a fish to arrow looking down into this water-mirror.  One by one, the kings and princes tried to shoot the fish, and failed; neither could lift the bow; nor could string it. The Kauravas and Karna were also present; Karna picked up the bow and strung it in a moment, but was prevented from taking aim when Draupadi declared she would not marry anyone from the Suta clan. After every one of the royals had failed, Arjuna, the third Pandava, affixed all of the five arrows to it, shot, and pierced the fish's eye with all of the five arrows in a single attempt. Arjuna had won Draupadi's hand.

The Pandava brothers, still as poor brahmins, took Draupadi back to the hut they were staying; as reached they called for Kunti, "Ma, Ma, come and see what we've brought back today." Kunti, said, "Whatever it is, share it among yourselves". That is how Draupadi became Panchali. Meanwhile, Draupadi's twin Dhrishtadyumna, following them secretly. He is a cousin brother to Krishna and Balarama of the Yadava clan (They were related to the Pandavas - their father was Kunti's brother - but they had never met before.) Vyasa also arrived at the scene at this point.

After the wedding ceremonies at Panchal, the Hastinapur palace invited the Pandavas and their bride back; Dhritarashtra partitioned the kingdom, giving them a huge tract of barren land which soon Pandavas transformed into a paradise. Yudhishthira was crowned there, and he performed a sacrifice that involved all of the kings of the land to accept - either voluntarily or by force - his suzerainty. The new kingdom, Indraprastha, prospered.

The prosperity of Indraprastha and the power of the Pandavas was irritating Duryodhana. He invited Yudhisthira to a dice game and got his uncle, Shakuni, to play for him. Shakuni was an accomplished player; Yudhishthira step by step lost his entire wealth, his kingdom, his brothers, himself, and Panchali. Panchali was dragged into the dice hall and was insulted. Seeing this Bheema vowed to kill each and every Kauravas. Dhritarashtra intervened and unwillingly gave the kingdom and their freedom back to the Pandavas and Panchali; and set them off to Indraprastha. Duryodhana again invited Yudhishthira to another dice game; the condition was that the loser would go on a 12-year exile followed by a year of life incognito. If they were discovered during this incognito period to repeat the 12+1 cycle again. In the dice game Yudhishthira lost again.

Pandavas left mother Kunti behind at Hastinapur, in Vidura's place. They lived in forests and visited holy spots; Arjuna went to heavens and learned the techniques of several divine weapons from the Gods, he also learnt how to sing and dance from the gandharvas. After 12 years, during incognito they lived in the Virat kingdom;  Yudhishthira as king's counsellor, Bheema in the royal kitchens, Arjuna as teacher to sing and dance, the twin-brothers to keep horses, and Panchali as maid to the queen. At the end of the incognito - the Pandavas revealed themselves. The Virat king was overwhelmed; his daughter Uttara got married to Arjuna's son Abhimanyu.

Next week we shall see Mahabharata WAR.

191117- MAHABHARATHA - PLOT

The Mahabharata is an Ithihasa wherein Vyasa, the story-teller himself has a role. The story is of cousins - Pandavas and Kauravas, in the Kurukshetra War for the throne of Hasthinapura. Dictated by Vyasa and written by Ganesha. With 100,000 verses, it is the longest epic poem ever written. It was composed in the 4th century BCE or earlier. The Bhagavad Gita within Mahabharata is one of the most important texts not only of the Indian literature but also of the World literature.

Shantanu, the king of Hastinapur, was married to River Ganges, had a son Devavrata who was supposed to be Shantanu's heir. But, Shantanu fell in love with Satyavati and her father in order to agree for the marriage insisted the king that Satyavati's son and descendants would inherit the throne, Shantanu declined to do so.  Devavrata, after knowing about this, vowed to renounce the throne and to remain celibate throughout his life (thus known as Bheeshma) and asked Satyavati for his father. Pleased Shantanu granted Bheeshma the boon to select the time of his own death.

Vichitravirya, son of Shantanu and Satyavati was enthroned. Bheeshma abducted the three princesses of a neighboring kingdom and brought them over to Hastinapur to be wedded to Vichitravirya. The eldest of these princesses declared that she was in love with someone else, so she was let go; the two other princesses were married to Vichitravirya, who died soon after, childless.

Satyavati summoned her son (born to the great sage Parashara before her marriage to Shantanu) Vyasa to impregnate the two queens. By the Niyog custom, the two queens each had a son of Vyasa: to the elder queen - Dhritarashtra, and to the younger – pale son Pandu. To a maid of these queens was born a son of Vyasa - Vidura. Bheeshma brought up these three boys with great care and made them great : Dhritarashtra - the strongest of all princes in the country, Pandu - extremely skilled in warfare and archery, and Vidura – expert in all the branches of learning, politics, and statesmanship.

Since Dhritarashtra was blind, Pandu was crowned. Bheeshma negotiated Dhritarashtra's marriage with Gandhari, and Pandu's with Kunti and Madri. Pandu was a great king, but left the kingdom to elder brother to look after the state affairs, and retired to the forests with his two wives for some time. A few years later Kunti returned with her five little boys, after the death of Pandu and Madri.  The five boys were the sons of Pandu, born to his two wives through the Niyog custom from Gods: the eldest was born of Dharma, the second of Vayu, the third of Indra, and the youngest - twins - of the Ashvins. In the meanwhile, Dhritarashtra and Gandhari too had 100 sons and one daughter. 

All of the 105 princes were entrusted to the care of a teacher Kripa. Drona's school at Hastinapur also had Karna, of the Suta clan. It was here that hostilities developed between the sons of Dhritarashtra (Kauravas) and the sons of Pandu (Pandavas). Duryodhana and Bheem had a fight, Karna - uninvited as he was not a Kuru prince - challenged Arjuna, was insulted on account of his non-royal birth, and was crowned king of a vassal state by Duryodhana. Questions began to be raised about Dhritarashtra occupying the throne, since he was supposed to be holding the crown for king Pandu. To keep peace in the realm, Dhritarashtra declared the eldest Pandava, Yudhishthira, as the crown prince and heir apparent.

Yudhishthira's rising popularity with the citizens was extremely distasteful to Duryodhana. He plotted to get rid of the Pandavas. This he did by making his father send the Pandavas and Kunti off to a nearby town on the pretext of a fair; the stay in that town was built by an agent of Duryodhana; the palace was made entirely of inflammable materials since the plan was to burn down the palace. The Pandavas, however, were alerted of this fact by their other uncle, Vidura, and had a counter plan ready; they dug an escape tunnel underneath their chambers and escaped.

This is how the Mahabharata PLOT was created. Following weeks we will see the continuation.