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“Honor ffirst Nārāyyaņa and N
Nara, the m
most excellent of all men.
Honorr too Devī Sarasvatī. Then recitte the Talee of Victorry.”
(TTraditional verse recited be
efore startingg the study off the Mahabh
hārata and thee Purāņas).
Revision A
AA dt. 10 Dece
ember 2012.
Revision A
AB dt. 05 Septt 2013. Added Vyāsa’s storyy in Section 3. 3 and changeed a few illustrrations.
Acknowledgements: Dinesh Goel re eviewed severral portions oof this book mminutely and offered num merous
suggestionns on their content. Shankaar Rajgopal, Ashmin Mansinngh, Neha Maarkanda, Rakesh Atreya, Avaantika
Gori, Enakkshi Roychow
wdhury, Devan ng Joshi, T N R Rao and s everal otherss offered sugggestions at vaarious
stages. Hoowever, all errrors are mine..
TABLE OF CONTENTS
No. TOPIC PAGE No.
A Note to the Parents 1
0 Introduction 2
1 Ādi Parva 7
2 Sabhā Parva 42
3 Vana Parva 55
• Yaksha Prashna 72
4 Virāta Parva 77
5 Udyoga Parva 84
• Vidura Gita 88
6 Bheeshma Parva 106
• Bhagavad Gita 109
7 Droṇa Parva 133
8 Karṇa Parva 150
9 Shalya Parva 158
10 Sauptika Parva 166
11 Stree Parva 168
12/13 Shānti and Anushāsana Parvas 174
14 Āshvamedhika Parva 181
• Yudhishthira Gita and Anugita 181
15 Āshramavāsika Parva 189
16 Mausala Parva 192
17 Mahāprasthānika Parva 196
18 Svargārohaṇa Parva 199
• Bhārata Sāvitri (Summary of Mahabharata’s Teaching) 200
Appendices
Appendix 1: The Kingdoms of India during the times of Mahābhārata 202
Appendix 2: The Kuru Dynasty & other important characters in the 203
Mahābhārata
Appendix 3: The good and the bad qualities and deeds of major characters in 204
the Mahābhārata
Appendix 4: Moral and Spiritual themes in the Mahābhārata 209
Bibliography 210
THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
A Note to the Parents
The Purpose of this textbook is to make the students learn the main plot of the Hindu Epic
of the Mahābhārata and understand the underlying teachings of its main incidents and
characters. We have also related the various incidents in this epic to the history and
geography of Bhārata.
A special section included is a summary of the main teachings of the Bhagavad Gita – the
beloved scripture of the Hindus which too forms a part of this sacred epic. This section is
perhaps meant more for the parents of the students.
We reviewed several other textbooks for students available commercially and found that
they fell short due to one or more of the following reasons: Age inappropriate and
excessive details were included, underlying messages of incidents were not highlighted,
no correlation to history and geography of the Hindus, and excessive reliance on the
written text of the Mahābhārata. This textbook serves to eliminate all these deficiencies.
To make the book more instructive and edifying, we have not hesitated to incorporate
relevant stories from the Hindu oral traditions as well as regional Indian traditions
surrounding the scripture. Although we have consulted the BORI (critical) edition of the
Mahābhārata and popular as well as academic translations in Hindi and English, we have
made our own selection from all these (and oral) sources to create a narrative that gives
a useful message to students in school grades 5‐6.To smoothen the narrative and make it
more instructive, we have supplemented the text with details from various Purāṇas,
especially the Bhāgavata and the Harivamsha Purāṇas.
The Mahabharata contains many sections that might not be appropriate for a study by
non‐adults. Teachers will deal with these details in a delicate manner to expose the
students to the paradoxes of our real lives. We believe that if the students are not given a
Hindu perspective on these aspects of life, then they will find their own answers which
might not be necessarily to our liking.
Many stories in this scripture are very controversial. But this only drives home the point
that the world is not black or white – most of it is shades of grey. And this is what the
Mahabharata teaches – that truth is not necessarily absolute. Rather, we should use our
wisdom and compassion to do the best possible thing after taking into account the desha
(place), kaala (time), paristhiti (situation) and paatra (person who is affected).
We hope that this course on the Mahabharata will enable the student to understand how
Hindu Dharma and spirituality help us to deal with situations that we encounter in our
day to day lives.
HISTORICAL NOTE: The book is written with the assumption that the Mahābhārata war happened
close to 1500 BCE. Other dates proposed by scholars are 3138 BCE, 1800 BCE and 950 BCE.
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0. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE MAHĀBHĀRATA
0.1 What is the Mahabharata all about?
The Mahābhārata is the encyclopedia of the Hindus who lived in the countries of India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal
and Afghanistan about 3500
years ago. These countries
collectively formed the land
of ‘Bhārata’. At that time, a
great civil war was fought in
Northern India between two
armies that were led by two
sets of cousin brothers ‐ the
five Pāṇdava brothers, and
the 100 Kaurava brothers.
Virtually, all the Kings of
these countries participated
in the war with around
4,000,000 (4 Million)
fighters. Most of them died
in the 18 day war. At the
end of the war, the
Figure 1. The land of Bhārata
Pāṇdavas won with the
guidance of Bhagavān
Krishna.
0.2 Rishi Veda Vyāsa, the Author of the Mahābhārata:
Due to the terrible death and devastation in the war, many people worried that our
Dharma and civilization would vanish from this earth. But, a great Rishi named Veda
Vyāsa, who was the grandfather of the Pāṇdavas as well as the Kauravas, decided to write
a unique book in which he recorded the history of his times, the events leading to the
war, the war itself and the events after the war. While describing the history, he also
added several hundred beautiful stories, and chapters which taught the readers about
Dharma, about what is right and what is wrong, and also about the ways of reaching
Bhagavān. The stories and history in his book made it more interesting, so that the
readers did not get bored when they read about Dharma. Veda Vyāsa took care to
summarize all the teachings about Dharma and Moksha 1 that our ancestors in those days
had. And therefore, the Mahabharata became like an encyclopedia containing the views
1
Moksha means the ways of coming out of the repeated births and deaths and reaching Bhagavān.
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and opinions of different Rishis, and stories of dozens of great Kings and ordinary people
of ancient India.
0.3 Importance of the Mahābhārata
The Mahābhārata was therefore first written around 3500 years ago, around 1450 BCE (or
even earlier, in 3100 BCE according to some scholars). In fact, it was claimed that even
Bhagavān Buddha, who lived around 2500 years ago had studied it. We Hindus treat the
Mahābhārata as a holy book especially because the Bhagavad Gita, which is one of our
holiest books, is a part of this work of Rishi Veda Vyāsa.
The Mahābhārata has greatly influenced the culture and traditions of India and other
countries included in Bhārata. But even outside the area of Bhārata, many countries in
the world have been influenced by the story and the teachings of the Mahābhārata. Some
of these countries are Kampuchea, Indonesia and, Sri Lanka. In these countries, we still
find people named after the heroes of Mahābhārata, and there are temples showing
scenes from this holy book
of the Hindus. Translations
of this holy book in
Javanese, which is an
Indonesian language, were
done almost 1000 years ago.
Parts of this translation still
exist.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Mahābhārata is the longest poem in the world. It has around 100,000 verses. It is one
of the two sacred epics of the Hindus (the other epic is the Ramayana) and contains a cast
of 2000 characters and numerous plots, sub‐plots and parables embedded within the main
story. An epic is a long poem in which the poet describes many great heroes, their acts of
bravery and so on.
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The Mahabharata is divided into 18 volumes called ‘Parva’ and it also has an Appendix
called the Harivamsha Purāṇa. Altogether, it has 2000 chapters!
The book is named after the war, which was also called the ‘Mahābhārata War’, due to
the fact that it involved people from all over the land of Bhārata. Today, Bhārata is split
into the countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Trivia: Included in the Mahabharata is a beautiful book called the Bhagavad Gita. The
Gita has 700 verses, and it takes about 3 hours to recite it continuously. Therefore, how
many hours are needed to recite the entire Mahābhārata?
0.4 How was the Mahābhārata Written and Enlarged?
Ganesha was a fast writer and Veda Vyāsa had
a tough time to keep up with Him. Therefore,
every now and then, Vyāsa dictated a verse
that was very difficult to understand. This
Figure 3. Ganapati and Veda Vyāsa slowed down Ganesha a bit and gave time to
Vyāsa to think of the next verse. There are
more than 8000 of these difficult verses in the entire book.
After the Mahābhārata was completed, Vyāsa taught it to his disciples and to his son
Shuka. In the beginning, Vyāsa had named the work ‘Jaya’ which means ‘victory of
Dharma over Adharma.’ After a few years, his student Vaishampāyana added some details
to the book, and this enlarged book came to be known as ‘Bhārata’. Vaishampāyana then
narrated the book to a story teller (called ‘Sūta’ in the Sanskrit language) Romaharshaṇa
and King Janamejaya (the great‐grandson of Pāṇdava brother Arjuna) at a place called
Taxila, which is today in Pakistan. In turn, Romaharshaṇa narrated the book to his
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student Ugrashravā, who in turn narrated it to Rishi Shaunaka and other Rishis at a place
called ‘Naimisha’ (now called ‘Nimsar’ and located in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India).
As a result of these numerous narrations over several generations, the book became
longer and longer, and finally had about 100,000 verses. This final work was called the
Mahābhārata. After a few centuries, an Appendix called the Harivamsha was added to it,
to give more details about Bhagavān Krishna and His family.
Another student of Vyāsa named Jaimini also added some more details to Jaya, but only a
small portion of his version survives. It is called the ‘Jaiminiya Ashvamedha’ because it
contains only the Ashvamedha Parva (or the 14 t h of the 18 books) of the main
Mahābhārata. The versions of the Mahābhārata of all the other students of Veda Vyāsa
are not available any longer.
So huge is the Mahābhārata and so many are the
teachings in it that it is said, “Whatever is written in
other books can be found in the Mahābhārata. But
whatever is not in the Mahābhārata cannot be
found anywhere else.”
In the 20 t h century, a group of scholars in the city of
Pune in Western India decided to collect all the
ancient manuscripts of the Mahābhārata from
different parts of India and Nepal, and print a new
edition. It took three generations of scholars about
50 years to bring out a beautiful edition of the
Mahābhārata in multiple volumes. Their research
shows that the Mahābhārata that we have available
today has hardly changed since 300 C.E. This makes
sense, because the Mahābhārata does not mention
any king who had lived after that date, or any city
Figure 4. Some volumes of Pune edition of the which was built after that time.
Mahabharata
In fact, the Mahābhārata does not mention even the
Buddha who lived around 500 BCE and many other ancient personalities. This shows that
the Hindu belief that this holy book was written more than 3000 years ago might actually
be correct. Therefore, the Mahābhārata is more ancient than the scriptures of many
other religions. And keep in mind that the Mahābhārata is not even the oldest holy book
of the Hindus, because there are older Hindu scriptures (holy books). No wonder scholars
believe that Hindu Dharma is the oldest religion in the world!
In our textbook, we will study only a brief summary of the main stories of the
Mahābhārata because the entire story is very difficult to read and understand, and it
would take many months even if we were to read it the entire day and do nothing else.
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These stories have wonderful teachings that we should understand and practice to
become a good human being. They also teach us how we should make the correct choices
in our life, and how we can reach Bhagavān.
DID YOU KNOW?
The following three examples will give you some idea of how long the Mahābhārata is.
1. It is three and half times as long as the Bible which is the holy book of Christians.
2. The ancient Greeks had two important epics called the Iliad and Odyssey. The
Mahābhārata is eight times the length of these two books put together.
3. Also, the Mahābhārata is almost 15 times the length of the Koran, which is the holy
book of the Muslims.
All these examples show that there is a very great amount of wisdom, knowledge and
historical information in the Mahābhārata.
Another interesting fact is a superstition in North India about the Mahābhārata. Hindus
there believe that keeping this scripture in their home can cause heated arguments and
fights between family members. Perhaps the reason for this is that the Mahābhārata has
a lot of interesting stories on which people can have different opinions and therefore this
can lead to arguments in our home! Do you agree with this superstition?
0.5 The Indian TV Serial on the Mahābhārata
In 1988, a Bollywood movie producer named B R Chopra created a 94 episode long weekly
TV Serial on this Hindu Epic. The TV serial became so
popular that on Sunday mornings, when it was telecast
on the television, trains would stop at railway stations.
Stores closed their doors. Streets were deserted. People
even stopped going to the Mandirs. Everyone huddled
around their televisions to watch the story of
Mahābhārata. In some colleges in India, examinations
can also be held on Sundays. But when this serial was
being telecast, the teachers would leave the classrooms.
The serial was so popular that it was telecast even
outside India on the BBC (British Broadcasting
Corporation) with a viewership of 5 million! People in
many other countries like Indonesia and Fiji also
watched it. Because of its popularity, the Guinness Book
of World Records listed it as the most popular TV serial
of all times! Today, the 94 episodes of this TV serial are
available on DVDs so that anyone can watch it
conveniently.
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BOOK 1: ĀDI PARVA
1.1 How India got its name ‘Bhārata’
Several thousand years ago in northern India, there ruled King Dushyanta of the Puru
Dynasty. 2 One day, he was hunting in the forest and lost his way. He came across the
Āshrama 3 of Rishi Kaņva, who happened to be away at that time. Kaņva’s daughter
Shakuntalā welcomed the King into the Āshrama and offered him food, water and a place
to rest. King Dushyanta spent a few days in the Āshrama and fell in love with her. The
two married, but soon, it was time for King to return to his palace.
On the way, they stopped by the Gangā River. When Shakuntalā went to take a bath in
the river, the ring unfortunately slipped out of her finger and a fish swallowed it!
Shakuntalā was terrified, and the worst that she had imagined really happened. When she
2
This dynasty was named after an ancestor King Puru.
3
In ancient India. Rishis lived away from towns and cities, and they built their cottage in forests. In these
cottages, they spent most of their time in meditation and worship. Sometimes, they also ran schools for
children. These cottages with the schools next to them were called Āshramas.
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reached the palace, King Dushyanta had forgotten her because of her father’s curse.
Shakuntalā did not have the ring to remind him of their
marriage either.
DID YOU KNOW? In the fourth century C.E., there was a
famous poet in India called Kālidāsa. He used this story of
Dushyanta and Shakuntalā to write a famous play called the
Abhigyāna‐Shākuntalam.
Kālidāsa was such an excellent author of plays and dramas
that he is often called the ‘Shakespeare of India’. Actually,
Shakespeare lived about 1200 years after Kālidāsa. Therefore,
it is perhaps better to call him as the ‘Kālidāsa of England’
because a later person is always named after an earlier one.
After King Dushyanta, Bharata became the next King of the kingdom. He was a very just
and a powerful ruler. Hindus believe that he united the entire land of the present‐day
countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal into one country. His
empire came to be known as ‘Bhārata’ after his own name.
King Bharata thought that all his nine sons were cruel and unfit to rule Bhārata after him.
Therefore, he invited Bhūmanyu, the son of Rishi Bharadvāja to become the next King of
Bhārata. This act shows how concerned King Bharata was about the happiness of the
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people of his country. In fact, the people of his country came to be known as ‘Bhāratīya’,
a name that is still used for Indians.
DID YOU KNOW? The word ‘Bhārata’ also means a person who is always busy (‘rata’) in
getting knowledge and wisdom (‘bha’). Therefore, true Bhāratīyas are people who make a
lot of effort to study and acquire a good education. Today, the word ‘Bhārata’ is applied
mainly to India because only Indians (as well as the people of Nepal) have kept alive the
ancient culture and religion of Bhārata. People of other countries now follow a different
religion that came from countries outside of Bhārata.
1.2 How Prince Devavrata became ‘Bheeshma’
Eight generations after Emperor Bharata, Kuru became the King. After his name, the royal dynasty now
came to be known as the Kuru Dynasty. The grandson of Kuru named Hastina built a new city called
Hastināpura on the banks of the Ganga
River. This new city became the capital
of the Kuru Kingdom.
Shantanu fell in love with Satyavatī and asked her to marry him. But her father put one condition for the
marriage – that Satyavatī’s son would become the King of Hastināpura after Shantanu, and no one else.4
This condition saddened Shantanu, because he really loved his son Devavrata and wanted him alone to
succeed him to the throne. Therefore, he returned to Hastināpura with a heavy heart.
When Prince Devavrata saw his father looking sad and found out the reason for it, he took some
respected people of the kingdom and went to the boatman. He said to Satyavatī’s father, “I want my
father to be happy. Right now, he is very sad because you have placed a condition on his marriage to
4
This incident shows that in ancient India, the noble Hindu kings did not force anyone to marry them against their
wish. In later times, the kings became wicked and they would often force women they liked to marry them.
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your daughter. Therefore, I promise to you that I will
never agree to become the King after my father. Only
the children of my father and your daughter will
succeed the throne of Hastināpura.”
But the boatman asked, “Even if you don’t occupy the
throne after your father, what about your own
children? They might quarrel with my daughter
Satyavatī’s kids and snatch the kingdom from them.
Therefore, I am not satisfied with your promise.”
But Devavrata would not give up. He said, “Let all the
Devas in heaven be my witness. I take a vow that for
the sake of my father’s happiness, I will never marry,
and will never have any children.” When he made this
vow, everyone was amazed to see how much Devavrata loved his father. The Devas showered flowers
on him from the sky. They praised Devavrata for the fact that for King Shantanu’s happiness, he was
willing to sacrifice his own family life by staying unmarried. From that day, Devavrata began to be
referred to as ‘Bheeshma’ because he had taken a very stern (‘bheeshma’) vow.
When King Shantanu heard of his son’s sacrifice, he was greatly moved. Being a very noble person, King
Shantanu had the power to give powerful boons and blessings. He said to Bheeshma, “My dear son, I
bless you that you will not die till you yourself want to die. Therefore, you can decide the exact moment
of your death.”
MAHĀBHĀRATA TRIVIA: REWIND & FAST FORWARD
In her earlier marriage to Rishi Parāshara, Satyavatī had a son named Veda Vyāsa, who is
the first author of the Mahābhārata. Veda Vyāsa lived a very long life and saw 7
generations in his lifetime. In fact, we Hindus believe that he never died, and still lives
invisibly at a place called Vyāsasthalī in the Indian state of Haryana. Veda Vyāsa became
a great Rishi himself. He later had a son named Shuka, who is famous for narrating the
Bhāgavata Purāņa to King Pareekshit, who was the King of Hastināpura six generations
after Vyāsa and Bheeshma.
Do you remember what was said earlier – that the Mahābhārata was also narrated by
Vaishampāyana in the presence of Veda Vyāsa to King Janamejaya, who was the son of
Pareekshit. This makes Janamejaya seven generations below Veda Vyāsa! Confused
already? Don’t worry – you will get used to these names by the time you finish this book!
Note that the mother of Veda Vyāsa was Satyavatī, who was just a poor fisherwoman at
that time. Like his mother, he was very dark complexioned and he also smelled of fish. He
was very short and ugly looking, although his mother was a beautiful lady. But despite his
physical appearance and his humble background, Veda Vyāsa became one of the greatest
Rishis in Hindu Dharma. Today, we celebrate his birthday as the festival of Guru Pūrṇimā.
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This shows that in Hindu Dharma, anyone from even a simple and a humble family can
become a great person.
1.3 The Birth & Marriages of Pāndu, Dhritarāshtra & Vidura
King Shantanu and Satyavatī got married and they gave birth to two Princes named Chitrāngada and
Vichitravīrya. Unfortunately, the Chitrāngada died in a battle before he even got married. Vichitravīrya
married Ambikā and Ambālikā, the two Princess of the kingdom of Kāshī in Northern India.
Unfortunately, Vichitravīrya too fell sick and died before he had any children of his own. His wives were
now widowed without any children. See Appendix II for details of the Kuru Dynasty.
REWIND & FAST FORWARD
The two Princesses Ambikā and Ambālikā had an elder sister Ambā who loved King Shalva.
Not knowing this, Bheeshma had kidnapped her, thinking that she would be the third wife
of Vichitravīrya. But when he learned of her love, he released her. However, Shalva now
refused to marry her, saying that it was below his dignity to marry someone who had
been rejected by Bheeshma. Ambā felt humiliated and she asked Bheeshma to marry her.
But he refused, saying that he has taken a vow to remain single. Ambā blamed Bheeshma
for ruining her life. To take revenge, she committed suicide and was reborn as Shikhandī.
We will learn how Shikhandī later caused the death of Bheeshma in the Mahābhārata war.
Queen Satyavatī now became worried that there was no Kuru King to rule the kingdom of
Hastināpura. She requested Bheeshma to either become the King, or marry Ambikā and
Ambālikā. But he refused to do both, reminding her of his vow that he will nevery marry.
Therefore, Satyavatī prayed to her other son, the great Rishi Veda Vyāsa to come and help her out of
this situation. The Rishi appeared, and blessed the two widowed Queens with a son each. He also
blessed one of their maids who had served the Rishi dutifully in the Palace. Soon thereafter, three sons
were born:
1. Dhritarāshtra was born to Ambikā
2. Pāndu to was born to Ambālikā
3. Vidura to the royal maid.
Till the boys became adults, Bheeshma agreed to be the caretaker of the throne on behalf of the
Princes.
Dhritarāshtra was a very strong man, but he was blind. Therefore, even though he was the oldest of the
three brothers, he was not allowed to become the King of Hastināpura. Due to this, he always had a
grudge in his heart about his bad luck. We will see how this grudge caused him to ignore his own
arrogant son’s behavior later.
Vidura, the youngest of them, was extremely wise and truthful. However, he declined to become the
King, saying that he preferred to remain the humble son of a Maid. Pāndu had a very pale skin
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complexion, perhaps due to some internal illness. But he was an excellent archer. He was chosen to be
the King of Hastināpura when the three Princes became adults.
When Kunti was a teenager, Rishi Durvāsā who was known for
his short temper and impatience, came to stay with Kuntibhoja
as a guest. Pleased with the excellent sevā (service) of Kunti, he
gave her a secret mantra saying, “With the help of this Mantra,
you can call the Deva of your choice, and he will come to bless
you with a son.”
Now, like many teenagers, Kunti was really curious and she
decided to try the Mantra to call Sūrya Deva. He arrived, and
said he will gift a son to her. She said that she was merely trying
to test the Mantra out of curiosity and did not want any child
because she was just a teenager. But Surya said, “One must
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never misuse Mantras. Now you must give birth
to a son.” Kunti was horrified, and after some
time, she gave birth to a son who shone like
Sūrya himself. The boy came to be known later
as Karṇa. He was born with an armor glued to his
body and magical ear‐rings. These would have
protected him from any attack on his body. But
being unwed, she was ashamed to have become
a mother. Kunti’s mother helped her daughter to
place the new‐born baby boy in a box and float it
down the Ganga River. Downstream, a humble
chariot maker Adhiratha and his wife Radhikā
found the floating box. As they did not have any of their own children, they were thrilled to get a baby
boy whom they adopted and raised as their own son. We will come back to Karṇa and his good and bad
qualities later.
INSIGHT: The tragic story of Kunti and Karṇa and the sorrow and bitterness that it caused
to both of them show why unwed girls must never become mothers. When that happens,
both the unwed mother and the child suffer, often for their entire lives.
The second wife of Pāndu was Mādrī, the princess of the
kingdom of Madra which is the region around the modern city
of Sialkot in Pakistan. She was a very beautiful lady. The
brother of Mādrī was Prince Shalya (after whom the capital of
Madra was named as Shalyakot, which later became ‘Sialkot’)
and he played an important role later in the Mahābhārata
war.
The noble Vidura was also married to a very virtuous lady by
Bheeshma. All the weddings were celebrated with great
pomp in Hastināpura.
Pāndu approached them and begged for forgiveness. But the dying Rishi cursed him and said, “You will
never have any children. You will meet your death when you are alone with your wife, just as you killed
me when I was sitting alone with my wife.”
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Pāndu was horrified at this curse. He
returned to Hastināpura and decided to
go to the forest to spend the rest of his
life in meditation. With him also went his
two wives and a large group of Rishis
and other learned scholars to keep them
company.
Meanwhile in Hastināpura, Gāndhārī and
Dhritarāshtra were expecting their first
child. When the news reached Pāndu, he
was very happy but he lamented that he
will never have any children like his
brother. At this point, Kunti revealed of the Mantra that she had learned from Rishi Durvāsā, although
she did not say anything about Karṇa. King Pāndu then requested that she use the Mantra to seek the
blessings of various Devas and have noble and brave sons. The two wives obeyed and they invoked
various Devas in the order given below. The sons born had the same qualities as the Devas:
The first child of Dhritarāshtra and Gāndhārī was supposed to be the oldest of all the children in the
royal family. But alas, he was born dead. This made Yudhishthira the oldest child. When the couple was
crying over the birth of a dead child, they were consoled by Veda Vyāsa who said, “Do not grieve. From
this dead child will be born 100 sons and a daughter in 101 jars of ghee.”
The jars were readied, and after a year, they were opened to the delight of everyone. Just as Rishi Veda
Vyāsa had predicted, there came out 101 children. These children were born after the birth of
Yudhishthira but before the birth of Bheema. When the eldest child was taken out of the jar, he started
crying with the sound of a braying donkey. At his birth, a strong storm raged and many fires erupted in
Hastināpura.
Taking this as an evil sign, Vidura advised, “For the sake of a country, a village may be abandoned. For a
village, a family should be abandoned. For a family, a family member may be abandoned. I predict that
this child will bring about great destruction to all of us. Therefore, I advise you to abandon this child.”
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But Dhritarāshtra refused, because it was his first son and he just adored him. The boy was named
Duryodhana. Then, each of the remaining 99 sons was named as Dushāsana, Vikarņa etc., and the
daughter was named as Dushālā. The children of Dhritarāshtra were collectively known as the
‘Kauravas.’
In the forest, the Pāṇdavas grew older and were taught by the Rishis who had accompanied their
parents. When Yudhishthira was 16 years old, Pāndu happened to be alone with Mādrī. Immediately,
the curse of Rishi Kardama took its effect and he died!
Mādrī really felt guilty for forgetting about the curse, and she decided to burn herself on the pyre of her
husband. She entrusted her kids Sahadeva and Nakula to Kunti.
DID YOU KNOW? In ancient India, the wife of a King or a military chief would sometimes
burn herself on the pyre of her dead husband out of devotion to him. This custom was
called ‘Anumaraṇa’ and was later called ‘Sati’. It was voluntary suicide and no woman
could be forced to commit it. When the custom became more common in later times,
about 1 in 1000 women practiced it. Many Rishis and scholars criticized and opposed this
custom. Several Hindu rulers like the Peshwas banned it in their kingdom in the 18 t h and
19 t h cent. C.E. Finally, in 1828 CE, the British who ruled India at that time outlawed it
completely. In the ancient world, this custom was present in many other societies too.
Together with five children and the Rishis, Kunti now returned to Hastināpura. Bheeshma, Dhritarāshtra,
Vidura and the citizens of the kingdom received them with honor. Everyone was deeply sad at the death
of their ex‐King Pāndu and his wife Mādrī, but they were also happy to see the handsome and strong
Pāṇdava Princes for the first time.
Bheeshma took the responsibility of educating the Kaurava and Pāṇdava brothers. After
teaching them whatever he knew himself, he appointed Kripa to teach them the military
science of archery and good habits. The 105 brothers respected their teacher Kripa a lot,
and they called him ‘Kripāchārya.’ Two beautiful stories are given in the Hindu tradition
about Kripāchārya and his students:
1.7.1 Practice what you learn: Yudhishthira does not complete his Homework5
According to Hindu scriptures, knowledge is mastered in four steps: The first 25% is
mastered when we learn it from the teacher. The next 25% is mastered when we reflect
upon what we have learned in our mind. The third 25% is mastered when we apply what
we have learned. And finally, the last 25% is learned when we teach what we have
learned to others.
5
Reproduced from http://www.sarathi.co.uk/culture_basic_hinduism.htm with slight modifications. In
some versions, this incident happened when the teacher was Drona.
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One day, when the Pāṇdavas were young, their Guru, taught them their first lesson ‐
Satyam Vada, Dharmam Chara (Speak the truth, follow your dharma).
Yudhishthira asked his Guru, "What is Dharma?"
Kripāchārya replied, "Dharma means, speaking the truth, loving others, being kind and
merciful."
Yudhishthira then asked "What is Adharma?"
The Guru replied "Speaking lies, showing anger and hating others is Adharma."
Then next day Kripāchārya began by revising the previous lesson on ‘satyam vada,
dharmam chara’ and one by one all the pupils stood up and repeated, “Satyam Vada,
Dharmam Chara". Yudhishthira did not stand up to repeat the lesson.
Kripāchārya asked Yudhishthira if he had learnt the lesson, but he replied that he had not
learnt the lesson. So Kripāchārya asked Yudhishthira to learn the lesson for the next day.
Then the next day, all pupils remembered their lesson but Yudhishthira replied that he
had still not learnt the lesson. Eventually when Yudhishthira kept on repeating day after
day that he had not learnt the lesson, Kripāchārya became angry and gave Yudhishthira a
beating.
Yudhishthira calmly took the beating and Kripāchārya then asked, “Have you still not
learnt the lesson?”
Yudhishthira replied "I have now learnt the lesson."
Kripāchārya and all pupils looked surprised.
Kripāchārya asked, "How did you learn the lesson today?"
Yudhishthira replied, "Āchārya, you told us that to speak the truth, and to love others is
dharma; whereas speaking lies and getting angry is adharma. I used to lie in fun without
meaning it. I used to become angry too. Therefore I said
to you every day that I do not know the lesson. But
even though you have punished me today, I am still not
angry with you and I love you just the same. And I have
completely stopped speaking lies, except when I am
joking. Therefore I now think that I have learnt the
lesson."
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them into practice. Learning a lesson does not mean that you just memorize the words. It
also means that you should practice in your behavior whatever you learn.”
1.7.2 Duryodhana cannot find a single person with good qualities
One day, Kripāchārya, asked all his students to find a person who had all the best
qualities, and also to find another person who had no good qualities.
Duryodhana, the evil minded prince, proceeded first to find the one who was the best.
But wherever he went, he found some evil quality in every person. He thought that there
was no one, not even his parents, who were free from defects. Even when he saw
someone worshipping, he would say, “How can this man be good? He is worshipping
Bhagavān only to get something from them!” But when he thought about himself, he
found himself to be the embodiment of all virtues.
So he came to Kripāchārya and
announced that he himself was the
best in the world. All others had
defects, and could not therefore,
compare to him.
But Yudhishthira, the virtuous prince,
came to the conclusion that he alone
was the worst in this world; though in
fact, he was one of the best teenagers
in his time. He found defects only in
himself. This was due to his humility
and sincerity.
Kripāchārya was pleased with
Yudhishthira. In the course of time,
Yudhishthira came to be known as the
embodiment of virtue. But
Duryodhana proved himself to be the
embodiment of vice.
The moral of the story is that to the
evil‐minded, the whole world is filled
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with evil. Therefore, see what is good, hear what is good, do what is good, and follow the
example of Yudhishthira. 6
The other reason why Duryodhana could not find a single virtuous person was that he
was full of pride and ego. He was worried that calling someone else as a better person
will lower his own esteem.
Very soon, the Pāṇdava and the Kaurava brothers learned all that Kripāchārya had to
teach them. Now, Bheeshma started looking for another teacher who could make the
brothers extremely skilled in using all kinds of weapons. Bheeshma thought that if the
princes could become great military experts, then no one would be able to defeat the
kingdom of Hastināpura. Eventually, he found one such teacher in Droṇāchārya, the
husband of Kripī, who was the sister of Kripāchārya. Many interesting stories are told
about Droṇāchārya and his students.
1.8.1 The Arrival of Droṇāchārya
One day, the Pāṇdava and the Kaurava princes were playing with a wooden ball.
Accidentally, the ball fell into a well. The Princes tried to get it out, but failed. They were
disappointed. Droṇa, who was on his way to meet his brother in law Kripāchārya,
happened to pass by. When he saw the
disappointed Princes, he said, “It is
unfortunate that 105 brave Princes like you
cannot get a simple ball out of a well. Let
me show you how to do it. I will also throw
my ring into the well, and get that out too!”
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of the arrow went through the ring. Then the arrow made a U‐turn and came back into
the hand of Droṇa with the ring!
The Princes were so excited to see this wonderful feat that they rushed to Bheeshma and
reported what had happened. Bheeshma said, “That Brahmana must be Droṇa. Only he
can do this wonderful feat.” He walked to the site to great Droṇa and requested, “I will
give you a lot of wealth if you make these Princes the greatest warriors on the earth.”
Droṇa was poor and he wanted to come out of his poverty. Therefore, he readily agreed.
1.8.2 Arjuna becomes the favorite Student of Droṇāchārya
Every morning, Droṇāchārya gave a pitcher to each of the Princes and to his son
Ashvathhāmā, to fill with water from the Ganga River. Except for his son’s pitcher,
everyone else’s pitcher had a very narrow neck and mouth. It took a long time for the
Princes to fill their pitchers, but Ashvathhāmā would bring back his pitcher, which had a
wide mouth and neck, in a few minutes. In this extra time, Droṇāchārya would give secret
extra lessons to his son. But very soon, Arjuna figured out how to use his bow and arrow
to fill his own pitcher faster. And so, he too started getting those secret extra lessons.
The result was that Arjuna and Ashvatthāmā became better warriors than all the other
Princes.
Droṇāchārya was so fond of Arjuna that he trusted him even more than his own son
Ashvatthāmā. He taught both the boys how to launch the deadly weapon called
Brahmshiras. But he taught only Arjuna how to call back the weapon too after it had been
launched. Therefore, Arjuna learned the science of the Brahmashiras completely,
whereas Ashvatthāmā learned only the first half of it.
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FAST FORWARD: We will see how Arjuna was able to defeat Ashvatthāmā because of
this extra knowledge after the Mahābhārata war.
1.8.3 Bheema’s Arrogance and Bullying
Of all the brothers, Bheema was the strongest and he could also swim the fastest.
Bheema used his strength to tease the Kauravas. Sometimes, he would catch them under
his arms and pretend to drown them in the Ganga River, till they gasped for breath and
begged him to free them. If they climbed a tree, Bheema would shake its trunk, causing
the Princes to fall off like fruit! These haughty actions of his made Duryodhana and other
Kauravas hate him.
Insight from this story: We make lifelong enemies by teasing and bullying our
classmates.
1.8.4 Arjuna catches up with the missed Lesson
Once, all the Pāṇdava and Kauravas complained that their Guru favored Arjuna too much.
Droṇa decided to teach all of them a lesson so that
they learn why Arjuna was his favorite student. He
sent Arjuna for an errand. As soon as he had left,
Droṇa started teaching the other princes how to
take aim at the exact leaf and shoot it successfully
with an arrow. Then, all of them left that site even
before Arjuna returned.
Insight from this story: In college, some students ‘bunk’ or miss their classes. This
harms them more than anyone else. But diligent students like Arjuna try to make up even
for lessons that they might have missed due to sickness or other genuine reasons.
1.8.5 Arjuna learns how to shoot in the dark
Once while Bheema was eating, the lamp blew out and it became dark. Bheema was of
course still able to eat. So Arjuna thought – “If Bheema can eat in the dark, should I not
be able to aim and hit my target in the dark if the target makes a sound?” He
immediately stopped eating and started practicing archery skills in the dark. But this was
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a difficult skill to master. So Arjuna cut
on his sleep time to practice even more.
In the course of time, Arjuna learned to
shoot in the dark by following the sound
of his target! In fact, one of Arjuna’s
names was ‘Gudākesha’, which has
several meanings one of which is “He
who has mastered sleep.” 7
Insight from this story: What this story teaches us that we should not waste a single
moment in our life. We should spend all our time wisely to learn new and useful things.
You never know that one day these extra skills might save your life!
1.8.6 Arjuna shoots the Eye of the Bird
The education of the Princes was now almost over. Arjuna could shoot arrows not just
with his right hand, but also with
his left hand! A person who can
use both his hands equally well is
called ‘ambidextrous’ in English
and Savyasachin in Sanskrit.
Droṇāchārya decided to give them
a final test. He announced that he
wanted to find out who among his
students was the best archer.
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taken aim and my arrow will hit its mark. I can see you, my brothers and cousins, the
trees and the bird.” Droṇāchārya was disappointed, “Step back, and let Duryodhana make
an attempt.”
He asked the same question to Duryodhana, who replied, “I have taken aim dear teacher.
I can see you all, the tree, and also our palace behind the tree. I can also see the grass,
sky and the birds flying over us.” Droṇāchārya replied, “Please step back, because you
cannot hit the target.”
One by one, Droņāchārya called all princes but asked them to step back without allowing
them to shoot at the target. Then, he called Arjuna and said, “Take aim, and tell me what
you see.” Arjuna replied, “I see only the eye of the bird that I have to hit. I do not see
anything else.”
Droņāchārya was very pleased. He said, “My child, you alone of all princes have one‐
pointed concentration. I am confident that you will hit your target successfully. Take aim
and shoot!” Arjuna took aim, and his arrow pierced the eye of the wooden bird
successfully. All the princes marveled at the marksmanship of Arjuna. In the course of
time, as expected, Arjuna became the best archer of his times.
Discussion: What are the things that distract you from focusing on your studies?
The royal princes and his son Ashvatthāmā were not the only boys who wanted to be the
students of Droṇāchārya. Let us read about two teenagers whom Droṇāchārya had
refused to teach.
1.9.1 Karṇa, the Son Forsaken by Kunti
Remember Karṇa, the first child of Kunti who was a gift from Sūrya? Karṇa was raised by
a humble charioteer Adhiratha, as we had read earlier, but he wanted to become an
expert in the use of the bow and arrow and other weapons. Having heard about the great
skills of Droṇāchārya, he approached the latter with a request to become his teacher. At
that time, Karṇa was 16 years of age and Droṇāchārya had not yet become the teacher of
the Kauravas and the Pāṇdavas. But Droṇāchārya replied arrogantly to Karṇa, “I teach
only royal princes. I will not teach you because you cannot give me much money.”
Disappointed, Karṇa decided to approach another great teacher. He got an idea – He
disguised himself as a Brahmana, and approached Parashurāma with the request to be his
student. Parashurāma was also one of the greatest military experts of those times. In
fact, he had also been the teacher of Droṇāchārya himself! But Parashurāma now taught
only the students of the Brahmaṇa families because he hated the Kshatriyas (warriors and
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rulers) for having killed his father Rishi Jamadagni. 8 Thinking of Karṇa as a Brahmana, he
took him as a student, and taught him the secret of using the deadliest and the most
powerful weapons.
As he was leaving the dwelling of his Guru, Karṇa thought of practicing the skill of
shooting at a target merely by hearing its sound. Suddenly, Karṇa heard what sounded
like a wild animal, and took aim. When he went to check whether his arrow had hit the
target, Karṇa was horrified to find that what he had thought to be a wild animal was
actually a cow stuck in the mud. The cow had been crying frantically for help when it was
shot dead by Karṇa’s arrow. The owner of the cow suddenly showed up and cursed Karṇa,
“I am a poor man. This cow was the only source of my income. I sold her milk and with
that money, I fed my family. And she was completely innocent, but you killed her for no
fault of hers. Therefore, I curse you, that in a battle, your chariot will be stuck in mud
like this cow got stuck. And at that moment, a weapon will hit you and kill you.”
FAST FORWARD : We will see later how these two curses had their effect on Karṇa during
the great Mahābhārata war and cost him his life!
8
Earlier however, Parashurāma used to teach to Kshatriyas too. For example, Bheeshma had learned
military sciences under him.
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1.9.2 Ekalavya, the Tribal Prince
Krishna’s father Vasudeva had five brothers. One of them named Shrutadeva. His son
Ekalavya was raised by a tribal chief named Hiraṇyadhanus. Therefore, Ekalavya was the
cousin of Krishna, even though he grew up to be the Prince of the Nishāda (tribal)
kingdom. 9 Ekalavya loved animals and was pained to see deer being attacked and killed
by wolves in the forest. Therefore, he decided to learn archery from Droṇāchārya so that
he could shoot at the wolves and protect
deer and other animals in the forest.
One day, the Pāṇdavas were roaming in the forest when their dog ran away to some
distance, and started barking at Ekalavya, who was practicing his archery. Very skillfully,
Ekalavya shot seven arrows quickly to stuff the mouth of the dog, without injuring the
creature. The dog went back, whimpering, to Arjuna. Prince Arjuna was amazed to see
how the arrows had silenced his dog. He met Ekalavya and asked him, “Who is your
Guru?” Ekalavya replied, “None other than Droṇāchārya!”
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the presence of an image of Droṇāchārya.
Droṇāchārya had promised to Arjuna that he would be the greatest archer. Therefore, he
made a cruel demand to Ekalavya, “Every student must give a fee – the Guru‐dakshinā, to
his Guru. And this fee is whatever the Guru asks for. Therefore, I want you to cut off your
right thumb as that fee.”
A right‐handed archer uses his right thumb and the first finger to shoot arrows from a
bow. Making this demand meant that Ekalavya could no longer shoot arrows accurately.
But Ekalavya respected his Guru Droṇāchārya so much that he gladly cut off his thumb
and presented it to him! Droṇāchārya was greatly pleased with Ekalavya’s devotion.
Therefore, he taught him how to shoot arrows perfectly using his forefinger and middle
finger and also gave him many divine weapons.
FAST FORWARD: Several years later, when Yudhishthira was crowned as the Emperor of
India in his capital Indraprastha (modern Delhi), Ekalavya represented his people and
carried the shoes of the Emperor.
DID YOU KNOW? The Bheel tribals of India consider themselves as proud descendants of
Ekalavya. Even today, they use their two fingers (and not their thumb) to dispatch arrows
from their bow while hunting! In the memory of Ekalavya, Hindu organizations have
started over 100,000 schools called ‘Ekal Vidyalayas’ in the tribal areas of India, for
imparting education to Hindu tribals. The government of India also gives the ‘Ekalavya
Award’ to ace sportsmen and women regularly to recognize their achievements in sports.
Discussion: Was it the fault of Arjuna or was it the fault of Droṇāchārya in doing the
great injustice to Ekalavya?
Now the Guru declared, “Only Arjuna among my students is capable of paying the Guru‐dakshiṇā. I want
him to invade the kingdom of Panchāla, capture its King Drupada, and bring him to me bound in chains!”
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Arjuna agreed, and soon, he was able to defeat the army of that kingdom and produce its king before his
Guru. His brothers and cousins also helped him in the attack on Drupada’s kingdom.
Rewind & Flashback:
Droṇāchārya and Drupada were classmates in their childhood. They promised to each
other that when they grow older, they will share whatever they have, with each other.
Upon graduation from school, Drupada happened to become the King of Panchāla, which
was a neighboring kingdom of Hastināpura south of it. But Droṇāchārya became very
poor. He married Kripī, the sister of Kripā, who was
another childhood friend. All of Ashvathhāmā’s
playmates loved to drink milk, but his own parents did
not have any money to get milk for him.
Droṇāchārya felt very hurt that he had failed as a father by not providing money to buy
food for his own son. He approached his friend King Drupada, and reminded him of their
friendship.
But King Drupada laughed and said, “What friends? Only people who are equal in wealth
and power can become friends. How can
a King like me become a friend of a poor
Brahmana like you? So forget about any
promises that I might have made as a
child. Children’s promises do not mean
anything. Now go away and do not
waste my time!”
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When Arjuna returned with
Drupada tied in ropes and
chains, Droṇāchārya said to the
King, “I am going to divide your
kingdom into two halves. I will
rule one half, and you get the
other. Now we are equals, and
we can be friends. So I am
releasing you!”
King Drupada had lost half of his kingdom and therefore returned home feeling
humiliated. But he was very impressed by the bravery of Arjuna. In his heart, he started
hoping that Arjuna would become his son‐in‐law one day!
Fast Forward: Several years later, Arjuna married Draupadi, the daughter of King
Drupada. We will also see that Droṇāchārya’s greed for money caused him to side with
Duryodhana in all his evil actions. It was because of his greed of money that he had
rejected poor students like Ekalavya and Karṇa.
Did you know? Archaeologists have been able to locate the ruins of Kāmpilya and
Ahichhatra. The limited excavations have indicated that the former is at least as old as
1000BCE and the latter goes back to 1750 BCE. More excavations are needed at Kāmpilya.
1.11 Jealousies Arise: Duryodhana tries to kill Bheema
Duryodhana and Bheema were great rivals when it came to fighting with the mace.
Bheema was stronger, but Duryodhana was more skillful with that weapon. They had
learned the art of fighting with the mace from Balarāma, who had come to Hastināpura
from Dwārakā for some time to teach the Princes. Balarāma was the elder brother of
Krishna. Bheema and Duryodhana were also of roughly the same age. Duryodhana’s
jealousy took a dangerous turn when he decided to kill Bheema, although the two were
just young adults in age.
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One day, all the
Princes went to
the banks of Ganga
for a picnic.
Duryodhana got
the food of
Bheema poisoned.
During the night,
when Bheema was
lying unconscious,
Duryodhana and
his other Kaurava
brothers tied
Bheema with wild
creepers and threw him into the river. To make sure that Bheema had died, they also
planted metal spikes on the bed of the river where they threw Bheema. But as luck would
have it, the strong water current dislodged the spikes and moved them away from where
Bheema fell.
Vidura said, “We have no proof that Duryodhana had poisoned Bheema. Therefore, if we
accuse him of this evil deed, he will deny it. And in future, he will try even harder to
harm all of you. Therefore, you should keep quiet for the time being, and hope that the
Devas will protect you in the future. Be careful at all times from now on.”
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Duryodhana made several other attempts to harm the Pāṇdavas. But his half‐brother
Yuyutsu (son of Dhritarāshtra and another mother) always forewarned the Pāṇdava
brothers and saved them.
1.12 The Graduation Party of Kauravas and Pāṇdavas
The royal family of Hastināpura
organized a big event inviting all
the citizens to celebrate the
graduation of the Kaurava and the
Pāṇdava princes. All the students
demonstrated their skills with
different types of weapons.
Yudhishthira won the title of the
best charioteer during the contest
between the princes. A mace‐duel
was held between Bheema and
Duryodhana. But unfortunately, the
two cousin brothers became so
intense in their competition that
people thought that one of them would get killed by the other. Finally, the two of them
had to be separated forcibly by Ashvatthāmā.
But the performance that drew
the most applause was that of
Arjuna with his bow and arrow.
With his steady aim, he could send
the arrows wherever he wished.
With one arrow, he created a
stream of water. With another, a
dazzling streak of lightening in the
sky!
Suddenly, a stranger showed up at
the entrance of the stadium and
he challenged the Princes to a
contest. The stranger was none
other than Karṇa, and he bowed at
Droṇāchārya, who had rejected him as a student earlier. Karṇa easily defeated
Yudhishthira in chariot riding, and Bheema in a mace duel. Then, he asked for a match
between him and Arjuna alone. It became clear very soon that he was an equal if not a
better archer than Arjuna.
When Kunti saw Karṇa, she could figure out that he was none other than her own eldest
son, whom she had abandoned earlier. She got so emotional that she fainted. It appeared
that Karṇa would defeat all the Princes in military skills. This would be a great insult to
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the royal family of
Hastināpura, and also to
Droṇāchārya and Kripāchārya
because they were the
teachers of the defeated
Princes.
Therefore, the teachers
decided to eliminate Karṇa
from the contest.
Kripāchārya announced,
“This contest is only for
Princes. If Karṇa is a Prince
of some country, then he
should tell us where he is
from. Otherwise, he cannot
participate in this contest!”
Now, Karṇa was in a fix, because he was only a charioteer’s son. So he merely muttered,
“I am from the country of Anga.” (Today, Anga forms a part of the state of West Bengal in
India). Duryodhana, who hated the Pāṇdavas, thought that it will be very useful to make
Karṇa as his friend. Therefore, he immediately got up and said, “Karṇa may not be from a
royal family. But now he will become a King. As the Prince of Hastināpura, I have control
over the region of Anga. Now, I will make Karṇa the King of Anga. He is therefore our
equal now and he can participate in a contest against Arjuna.”
Bheema intervened, “Princes can compete only with Princes. There is no way Arjuna will
compete with a commoner like Karṇa even though you have just made him the king of
Anga.”
Duryodhana countered him and replied, “A hero is one who is brave and courageous. Not
one just because he is born in a royal family. Many great Rishis and heroes have come
from humble families. All great rivers start as a small trickle of water.”
Duryodhana’s response to Bheema was correct, but we must not forget that he made
friends with Karṇa only to use him against the Pāṇdavas. In those times, Anga was a
useless territory that had only forests and wild animals. Therefore, ‘King of Anga’ was by
and large a hollow title for Karṇa.
Duryodhana immediately had
a ceremony performed to
declare Karṇa as the King of
Anga. Adhiratha, the humble
charioteer father of Karṇa,
could not control himself. He
ran from the spectator stands
and fell at the feet of
Duryodhana in gratitude for
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what he had done for his son. Karṇa also bowed to his father to offer respects. Now
everyone knew that Karṇa was the son of a charioteer.
INSIGHT: Although the society and even Bheema, Kripāchārya and Droṇāchārya looked upon Karṇa as
an inferior person because he was the son of a charioteer, we read later in the Mahābhārata about two
noble charioteers – Sanjaya, and none other than Krishna who became the charioteer of Arjuna in the
war. Veda Vyāsa granted a divine vision to Sanjaya and this enabled him to listen to the Bhagavad Gita,
and to see the war first hand. Most of our scriptures called the Purāņas were narrated to Rishis by a
member of the charioteer (Sūta) community. Even the version of Mahābhārata that we study today was
given its present form by a charioteer named Ugrashravā. This shows that our Rishis have always
accepted the fact that all human beings are equal and it does not matter what profession one follows as
long as we follow the path of Dharma. The example of Krishna becoming the charioteer of his friend
Arjuna shows that Bhagavān does not consider any work as lowly either.
Kripāchārya was not happy to see all this happen because he did not want to see his
student Arjuna defeated. Therefore, he announced, “The sun is setting and there is not
enough light. Therefore, the contest ends here. Everyone can go home now.”
Although Karṇa did not get a chance to complete his contest with Arjuna, he was greatly
impressed by Duryodhana’s friendship. He was just a charioteer’s son, but Duryodhana
had made him the King of Anga. Therefore, he vowed that no matter what, he will always
support Duryodhana in the future, and protect him from all harm.
FAST FORWARD: In the next few years, Karṇa supported Duryodhana even when the latter was
clearly wrong and behaving in an evil manner. In fact, there were times when Karṇa actually encouraged
Duryodhana to do wrong things even when Duryodhana did not want to go on the evil path. Do you think
Karṇa was being a true friend?
1.13 Duryodhana tries to kill the Pāṇdavas: The Episode of the Lac Palace
As time passed, the Pāṇdava brothers grew more and more popular with the common people of
Hastināpura. Everyone believed that Yudhishthira, the eldest Pāṇdava brother, will become the next
king of their kingdom because he was older than Duryodhana too.
Duryodhana now started becoming increasingly jealous of his cousins. His jealousy was provoked even
further by his new friend Karṇa, his Uncle Shakuni (the youngest brother of Gāndhārī, who had come to
live in Hastināpura as an advisor to King Dhritarāshtra) and his younger brother Dushāsana. They came
upon a plan to kill the Pāṇdavas and Aunt Kunti.
Towards the Himalayas, along the river Ganga was a beautiful place called Varanvata. Every year, a
festival of Shiva took place there. Duryodhana ordered his evil minister Purochana to construct a
beautiful palace at Varanvata from materials like wax, lac, straw, oil etc., which caught fire easily. But,
these materials were covered up very skillfully with plaster, paint and other coatings so that no one
could figure out that the palace was constructed out of inflammable material.
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Duryodhana then persuaded his father King Dhritarāshtra to ask the Pāṇdavas and Kunti to go to
Varanvata for the festival. He said, “If the Pāṇdavas and Kunti go away to that remote place for a year, I
will get a chance to impress the common people of Hastināpura. Then, it will become easier for you to
declare me as the Crown Prince.”
The palace constructed at the order of Duryodhana had only one door to the outside. Purochana was
asked to live in that room through which one had to pass before entering or leaving the palace from that
single door. In that way, he could prevent the Pāṇdavas or Kunti from escaping.
Somehow, Vidura came to know of Duryodhana’s wicked plan to kill his cousins and Aunt. He offered to
travel with the Pāṇdavas on their journey to Varanvata and drop them off there. On the way, he used a
coded language to warn Yudhishthira because he was sure that the wise Yudhishthira will understand
his clues. For example, one of the things he said to Yudhishthira was that, “In a burning house, the rats
do not catch fire because they have dug a
tunnel underneath.”
Yudhishthira understood that their lives were
in danger. When they came to live in the
palace, they were careful every moment.
Meanwhile, some laborers of Vidura were
secretly constructing an underground tunnel
from the banks of Ganga to the floor of one
of the bedrooms of the Pāṇdavas. The
Pāṇdavas pretended to celebrate the festival
for several days with the local people.
One night, when everyone was asleep, Bheema locked Purochana’s room and set the palace on fire
himself. At the same time, all the Pāṇdavas escaped through the tunnel with their mother. When they
came out of the other end of
the tunnel, a boatman hired by
Vidura was waiting for them to
take them across the Ganga.
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remains of human beings trapped in the palace were found, the people of Varanvata thought that it was
the Pāṇdavas and Kunti who had died in the fire.
When King Dhritarāshtra and the Kauravas heard the news that Pāṇdavas and Kunti had been trapped
and burned alive in the palace at Varanvata, they believed that that they had really been killed.
Everyone in Hastināpura stated blaming the King and his sons for having caused the death of the five
brothers and their mother. So, King Dhritarāshtra and Kauravas pretended to be very shocked and
saddened by this incident. They shed fake tears in front of everyone, and even performed a funeral
ceremony for the Pāṇdavas and Kunti.
Only Vidura was not upset at the turn of events because he knew that with his help, the Pāṇdavas and
Kunti had escaped!
DID YOU KNOW? Today, the village of Barhawa close to the Indian city of Meerut is said to be the
location of Varanvata. This is not very far from Hastināpura, which is also close to Meerut.
1.14 The Adventures of Pāṇdavas in Hiding
1.14.1. Bheema marries Hidimbī & has a son called Ghatotkacha
Meanwhile, the Pāṇdavas walked in the forests for several days to get as far away from Varanvata and
Hastināpura as they could. They could not trust anyone, because their own cousins had tried to murder
them! Often, they did not even have enough food to eat. Finally, they decided to settle for some time in
a forest called Hidimbāvan where they could get clean water and forest berries and roots to eat. In that
forest, lived a pair of cannibals, the Rākshasa (demon) Hidimba, and his sister Hidimbī.
When Hidimba smelled the six people in their area, he thought of killing them for food. He asked his
sister to go and find out who these six humans were. But, when Hidimbī saw Bheema, she fell in love
with him. Her brother said that she cannot marry Bheema but she refused to listen to him. She
approached Kunti and Bheema and
revealed to her that she wanted to
marry Bheema, but her brother wanted
to kill them.
Kunti immediately accepted Hidimbī as
her daughter in law. Bheema told
Hidimbī that he will not be able to stay
in Hidimbāvan for a long time because
they were just travelers. Therefore, he
could not promise to spend his entire
life with Hidimbī in that forest. But
Hidimbī promised to Bheema,
“Whenever you want to leave me, I will
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not stop you.”
Hidimba grew really angry that his sister had disobeyed him and had actually married Bheema.
Therefore, he attacked Bheema. In the fight that occurred, Bheema killed Hidimba.
Bheema and Hidimbī stayed in that area for several months, till a son named Ghatotkacha was born to
them. Everyone was overjoyed at the birth of the baby boy. In particular, Yudhishthira just loved playing
with his nephew.
FAST FORWARD: Later, during the Mahabharata war, Ghatotkacha played a very important role in
killing many enemy soldiers. In fact, one whole day of the Mahābhārata war is devoted to Ghatotkacha.
He was responsible for destroying 1 of the 11 divisions of the
Kaurava army!
DID YOU KNOW: Hidimbī was a native of the village of Dhoognri
close to the town of Manali in the Indian state of Himachal
Pradesh. She is said to be an incarnation of Devi Kali and a
festival in her honor is celebrated during the month of May. A
Mandir in her honor was constructed in 1553 CE. The Mandir
has very beautiful carvings showing various themes from the
Hindu sacred narratives. The Mandir is made of wood and has a
Pagoda structure. Close to the Mandir is another smaller shrine
dedicated to Ghatotkacha.
It was not safe for the Pāṇdavas and Kunti to continue living in
one place for a long time. If the Kauravas had discovered that
the Pāṇdavas were safe and alive in Hidimbāvan, they would Figure 5 Hidimbi Mandir in Himachal
have tried to kill the Pāṇdavas again. Therefore, they decided Pradesh
to leave the area and move to a village called Ekachakrā at the suggestion of Rishi Veda Vyāsa. Hidimbī
kept her promise and she did not stop Bheema from leaving. Instead, she stayed back with their son
Ghatotkacha in the forest.
1.14.2 The Pāṇdavas live in the Ekachakrā Village & Bheema kills Demon Bakāsura
The Ekachakrā village still exists in the district of Etah in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It was
located close to Kāmpilya, the capital of the South Pañchāla kingdom which was ruled by King Drupad.
The Pāṇdavas felt save in that area because it was not under the Kuru kingdom. In the Ekachakrā village,
the Pāṇdavas and Kunti disguised themselves as homeless Brahmanas. A poor Brahmana family of the
village stepped forward to share their own home with them. The family also shared their own food with
the Princes and their mother, without knowing their true identity. The Pāṇdavas also went around
begging for food. Bheema had a very large appetite compared to his brothers. Kunti soon noticed that
Bheema was always irritable because his stomach was not getting full and he was always hungry.
Therefore, she decided that all the food collected by them will be divided every day into two halves. One
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half will be given to Bheema and the other will be split further between her and the four remaining
brothers.
While living in the Ekachakrā village, Bheema killed a Rākshasa named Bakāsura, who had terrorized the
people of the area. Every year, the villagers had to send Bakāsura a tribute, which consisted of a
cartload of rice, two buffaloes and a human being for food. The poor human being was selected by the
villagers by a draw of lots. It so happened that the Brahmana host’s name was drawn this time! He and
his family started crying, because he was worried that there will be no one to take care of his wife and
his children after he is dead. His wife pleaded
with him, “Please let me go in your place. You
can remarry when I am dead, so that someone
else can take care of you and our children. It is
the duty of wife to share the joys and sorrows
of her husband. Therefore, I want to go to
Bakāsura in your place.” But the children said,
“No Mom and Dad, it is the duty of kids to
sacrifice their lives for their parents.”
But Kunti replied, “Have you not shared your home and food with us every day? Is it also not the duty of
a guest to protect their host, and share their joys and sorrows? Therefore, I insist that Bheema should go
in your place. I have five sons, and I am sure that Bheema will defeat Bakāsura.”
When Yudhishthira heard of his mother’s decision, he was worried and requested Kunti not to send
Bheema. But Kunti replied, “I have full confidence in Bheema’s strength. We are Kshatriyas. Therefore, it
is our duty to defend this weak Brahmana family from Bakāsura. Moreover, we are grateful to them
because they have shared their home and food with us all this time. Should we also not then share their
misfortune now?”
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So, Bheema drove the buffaloes and the
cart with the rice to the place where the
Rākshasa lived. But instead of feeding
him, Bheema started eating the food
himself! Bakāsura got very angry at this,
and a fight began between the two.
Soon, Bheema killed the demon. As the
demon died, he let out a loud cry which
was heard by all the villagers.
INSIGHT FROM THE STORY:
This story teaches us two things – One is that if you have guests in your home, then it is your duty to
protect and take care of guests even if it causes hurt or inconvenience to you. The second is that it is also
the duty of a guest to help out if his host runs into some trouble.
1.14.3 The Pāṇdavas marry Princess Draupadī of the Panchāla Kingdom
After some time, the Pāṇdavas heard that Drupada, the King of Pañchāla, had held a Swayamvara for his
daughter Draupadī.
In ancient India, the Swayamvara was a ceremony in which a Princess chose the best man present to be
her husband. Princes from many countries competed with each other to impress the Princess and marry
her. When the Pāṇdavas heard about Draupadī’s Swayamvara, they encouraged Arjuna to participate in
the contest.
The conditions to win the contest were very difficult: First, the person had to lift a very heavy and stiff
bow and string it. Second, Drupada had got attached a wooden fish close to the top of a tall pole. Below
the fish was a rotating disk that had holes in it. At the base of the pole was kept a large pan with boiling
oil. The contestant had to look at the reflection of the fish in the oil, and then shoot at the eye of the fish
through the holes in the rotating disk! It seemed like an impossible task.
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Numerous Kings and Princes from all kingdoms of Bhārata were present with the hope that they will win
Draupadī’s hand in marriage. The audience and participants also included Duryodhana, Karṇa and also
the brothers Krishna and Balarāma. Krishna immediately recognized his cousins, the Pāṇdavas, despite
their disguise. Panchāla was the second most powerful kingdom in Bhārata, after Hastināpura. Everyone
had hoped that by marrying Draupadī, they would also get powerful allies like King Drupad and Prince
Dhrishtadyumna and Prince Shikhandī (the brothers of Draupadī).
One by one the competing Princes stepped forward to give it a try. But most could not even lift the
heavy bow, forget about being able to string it.
Duryodhana and other Kauravas too tried but
failed. When Karṇa rose to give it a try, Draupadī
suddenly interjected and said, “I am not going to
marry the son of a charioteer!” Karṇa felt very
hurt, but he went back to his seat.
Everyone was amazed at this wonderful feat. Draupadī saw Arjuna and she instantly fell in love with him.
She moved forward and placed the wedding garland that she was carrying on Arjuna’s neck. The Kings
and Princes assembled there felt insulted. They said, “How can a Princess marry a Brahmana whose
family background is not known? We cannot allow this!” They got up to attack the five brothers
disguised as Brahmanas, and a battle
ensued. Yudhishthira was easily able to
route Duryodhana, Arjuna got the better of
Karṇa. Bheema and Nakula and Sahadeva
also defeated the other Kings easily. Then,
Arjuna took Draupadī on a chariot that was
waiting outside the palace and drove it to
their home to introduce her to Kunti.
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When the Pāṇdavas and
Draupadī reached their
home, Kunti was busy and
had her back turned to
them. Arjuna said to Kunti,
“Look mother, we got a
very precious gift for you
today!”
Krishna and Balarāma soon came to visit the Pāṇdavas for the first time, and expressed their happiness
at the wedding of the Princess of Panchāla with the Pāṇdavas. However, the two brothers then left the
Pāṇdavas soon because they did not want to attract others to that area and thereby put the lives of
Kunti and her family at risk.
TRIVIA: Polygamy and Polyandry: In all ancient cultures (and in many Muslim and tribal societies
even today), Polygamy was considered acceptable. In Polygamy, a man can marry multiple wives. The
opposite of Polygamy is Polyandry, but that is very rare. In Polyandry, the same woman marries multiple
men. In ancient India, the Darada community that lived in the Himalayas (and today lives in the regions
of Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh in India) practiced Polyandry. To some extent, Daradas practice
Polyandry even today, and the same woman marries all the brothers in a family. Historians believe that
Pāṇdavas had spent their childhood in these parts of Himalayas, and therefore followed the custom of
Polyandry by marrying Draupadī collectively.
Other stories are also told in the Mahābhārata and in the Hindu tradition about why Draupadī got five
husbands. One of these stories says that in her previous life, Draupadī worshipped Bhagavān Shiva for a
husband. When He appeared in front of her, she asked for the same boon five times, “I want a husband
who is completely honest, strong, skilled, handsome and knowledgeable.” Shiva then said to her that she
will be blessed with five husbands in her next life because no single man except Bhagavān has all these
five qualities. The message of this story is that we should not insist on marrying only the most perfect
person because everyone has some flaw or the other. If we insist on marrying only a person who has all
the perfections that we want, then the only possible solution is to marry many persons who have some of
them each! Therefore, we should not be too picky or fussy while marrying.
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It should be noted however that the Hindu society has always disallowed Polyandry and therefore this
instance was an exception. Hindu Dharma also looks down upon Polygamy. In modern India and Nepal,
the Hindu law for marriage disallows Polygamy as well as Polyandry.
1.15 The Pāṇdavas are invited to live with King Drupada
Unknown to the Pāṇdavas, Dhrishtadyumna had secretly followed his sister to find out the identity of
the brave Brahmana who had won his sister’s hand in marriage. When he discovered that it was none
other than Arjuna, he was overjoyed and returned to the palace to inform Drupada that his sons in law
were none other than the Pāṇdava brothers of the most powerful kingdom of Hastināpura!
Drupada immediately sent his royal chariots to bring his daughter and her new family to his palace. He
was happy that Arjuna had married his daughter, just as he had dreamt. But he was also upset that she
was made to marry Arjuna’s brothers too. However, Veda Vyāsa arrived and explained to King Drupada
why this was in accordance with Dharma, and so the King relented. Drupada invited Kunti and her entire
family to come and stay in Pañchāla henceforth as royal guests in the palace. Tough times were now
over for Kunti and her children. Soon, the word got out that the Pāṇdavas had not died in Varanvata and
that they were now in fact the sons in law of the powerful king of Panchāla.
1.16 The Pāṇdavas return to Hastināpura
When Dhritarāshtra heard about it, he pretended to be very happy and relieved that his nephews were
still alive. Karṇa took Duryodhana aside and said, “Before the Pāṇdavas come back and ask for their
kingdom, let us invade Pañchāla and kill all of them. Go and get the permission of King Dhritarāshtra,
Bheeshma, Droṇa and other elders to invade Drupada’s kingdom.” Duryodhana was glad to hear of this
plan but all the elders opposed it completely. King Dhritarāshtra had to agree to all of them, and
therefore Duryodhana did not carry out Karṇa’s plan.
King Dhritarāshtra then sent a message to King Drupada through Vidura to invite the Pāṇdavas with
their bride and mother to return
to Hastināpura. Kunti and Drupada
were very scared to accept King
Dhritarāshtra’s invitation to them
to return to Hastināpura because
he had been a part of the plan of
burning them alive in Varanvata.
But Vidura assured them, “I have
always loved and protected the
sons of my dear brother Pāņdu. It
is their birthright to get their share
of the kingdom. The Pāṇdavas are
noble and truthful, therefore
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Dharma will protect them always. So do not worry. Trust me and come with me to Hastināpura.”
Krishna and Balarāma, who too were in Pañchāla at that time, decided to accompany the Pāṇdavas to
Hastināpura.
1.17 The Division of the Kuru Kingdom
The Pāṇdavas agreed even though their half of the kingdom
was a barren part, with no water or fruit trees or even fertile
land to grow crops. But, with the guidance of Veda Vyāsa,
they constructed a beautiful capital city called Indraprastha.
DID YOU KNOW? Today, New Delhi, the capital of India, stands on site of Indraprastha.
They started agriculture and trade in their kingdom on the advice of Krishna. Very soon, their kingdom
became as prosperous and happy as that of Duryodhana. Many famous scholars, rich traders, skillful
artisans and all sorts of brave, hardworking and intelligent people came from far and wide and settled in
Indraprastha. It appeared as if Devis Saraswati and Lakshmi themselves had started living in
Indraprastha. Yudhishthira was a very good King, and he took great care of the people in his kingdom.
Once the Pāṇdavas were well settled in Indraprastha, Krishna left them and returned to his own
kingdom in Dwārakā.
1.18 Arjuna’s Marriage to Subhadrā
Meanwhile, Arjuna decided to go away to different pilgrimage places of India for 12 years. When he was
in Krishna’s kingdom Dwārakā, he happened to meet Subhadrā, the beautiful sister of Krishna. The two
immediately fell in love with each other. A Swayamvara had been announced for Subhadrā. Arjuna
asked Krishna for permission to participate so that he could win her hand as his bride. But Krishna said,
“No one really knows who will win her in the Swayamvara contest. My own brother Balarāma wants her
to marry Duryodhana, who is his favorite student. Everyone is opposed to this because Duryodhana is an
evil man. Subhadrā too does not want to marry him. She loves you instead. But we are helpless because
Balarāma has already sent the wedding proposal to Hastināpura. Therefore, I want you to carry away
Subhadrā and marry her.”
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As per the plan, Subhadrā
went to worship at the Shiva
temple at the Raivataka
Mountain close to Dwārakā.
Suddenly, Arjuna appeared
in a chariot and swooped up
Subhadrā away from all the
guards. When Balarāma
heard of this incident, he
was furious and wanted to
kill Arjuna. But Krishna
persuaded him and said,
“Look, Arjuna is from the
same noble family as
Duryodhana. In fact, He is
virtuous, whereas Duryodhana is given to evil ways. Moreover, Subhadrā and Arjuna love each other.
Therefore, I think that we should celebrate their wedding and forget about marrying her to
Duryodhana.”
Everyone there agreed to what Krishna had said, and Balarāma came around too. So, Arjuna was invited
back to Dwārakā with Subhadrā and married with great pomp. Arjuna spent the remainder of the 12
years that he had decided to stay away from Indraprastha at a place called Pushkara (in the middle of
the Thar Desert in North Western India). Then he returned to Indraprastha with his wife Subhadrā.
A year after Arjuna had married Subhadrā, a son Abhimanyu was born to the newly‐wed couple and
everyone was
overjoyed. Draupadī
now too had five sons,
one from each of the
Pāṇdava brothers.
All these years, neither
Duryodhana nor
anyone else from
Hastināpura visited
Indraprastha at all, as if
the Pāṇdavas were all
dead for them.
THE ĀDI
PARVA ENDS
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BOOK TWO: THE SABHĀ PARVA
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ceremony because he did not want any war to break out. But Krishna said to him, “Yudhishthira, there
are both kinds of Kings in this world, good and bad. It is important that a good person like you becomes
an Emperor over them, so that Dharma is obeyed by all human beings on this earth. I do not think that
any other King will oppose your claim to be the Emperor of the whole world. The only problem could
come from King Jarāsandha of the kingdom of Magadha. Jarāsandha has captured and imprisoned 86
Kings of different countries in Bhārata. He is a Bhakta of Shiva, and when he captures exactly 100 Kings,
he will kill all of them as an offering to Shiva. These 86 Kings have no freedom to choose you as their
Emperor. They will merely say what Jarāsandha asks them to do. It is your duty to release these Kings
freed from imprisonment. By announcing that you are going to perform the Rājasūya, you will surely get
into a fight with Jarāsandha. But once you have killed him, you can free all these Kings and then
complete your Rājasūya Yajna.”
Bheema and Arjuna agreed to what Krishna had said, and therefore Yudhishthira too finally agreed.
Disguised as Brahmanas, Arjuna, Bheema and Krishna went to Magadha and scaled the walls of
Jarāsandha’s palace. Krishna challenged him saying, “Either you release all the kings that you have
imprisoned, or fight with one of us.”
When Jarāsandha saw them and learned who they really were, he said, “I refuse to fight with Krishna
because he had earlier fled away from my army. Arjuna just looks like a young boy. Only Bheema is my
match and I will wrestle with him till one of us dies.”
FLASHBACK & FAST FORWARD: Two of Jarāsandha’s daughters had married Kamsa, the evil King of
Mathura who had imprisoned Krishna’s parents. Kamsa had also killed 7 of Krishna’s siblings. When
Krishna and Balarāma became older boys, they went to Mathura, where Kamsa sent two of his strongest
men to kill the two brothers. But the two strong‐men got killed instead, and then Krishna killed Kamsa
and freed his parents and others from Kamsa’s jail. Jarāsandha was very angry to hear about the death
of his son‐in‐law Kamsa. Therefore, he attacked Mathura 18 times to harass Krishna and his supporters.
Jarāsandha was defeated all the 18 times. But, Krishna thought that the people of Mathura were
suffering due to his presence. Therefore, he and his
people, who were called the Vrishnis and the
Yādavas, moved to the other end of India – to
Gujarat. There, in the western part of India, they
raised land out of the sea, and built the beautiful
city of Dwārakā, away from attacks of Jarāsandha.
Jarāsandha installed his own son Sahadeva (not to
be confused with the Pāṇdava brother who had
the same name) as the King of Magadha because
he was not sure if he will remain alive after the
fight is over. A fourteen day wrestling match
occurred between Bheema and Jarāsandha, at the
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end of which Bheema killed the King by tearing his
body into two halves.
A few Kings opposed, but they were all defeated. Finally, when all the four brothers returned to
Indraprastha victoriously, the grand ceremony started. Kings from all over the world brought precious
items as presents for Emperor Yudhishthira. Even the Kauravas, Bheeshma and other elders came from
Hastināpura.
Everyone wanted to help in organizing the grand‐function. Bhagavān Krishna requested that he too
should be given some tasks to complete. However, as he had come from a long distance and was one of
the the last ones to arrive, the only duty that was left was cleaning the kitchen after the feast was over.
Everyone requested Lord Krishna not to worry about doing this dirty job. They said that servants could
take care of cleaning the kitchen. However, Lord Krishna insisted that he too wanted to help and would
be pleased to do this dirty job.
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Duryodhana was given the task of washing the feet of arriving dignitaries to honor them. But when the
guests started coming in, Duryodhana thought, “It is beneath my dignity to wash their feet. Why should I
do this humiliating work?” So he did not step forward to do his work. Instead, he took the task of
receiving valuable jewels brought as
presents by the visiting Kings.
Other old relatives and friends of the
Pāṇdavas also got assigned the
duties that they considered
important. Dushāsana was in charge
of food, Sanjay took care of the Kings
who attended the program and
Vidura was in‐charge of the treasury. Ashvatthāmā took care of the Brahmanas.
After the ceremonies were over, all the visitors had to be honored and fed. However, a strict order had
to be followed in feeding the guests. Those who were more respected had to be fed first. Now, Emperor
Yudhishthira became confused as to who the very first person person should be. This chief guest had to
be someone very respectable and noble. He alone could put the crown of the Emperor of Bhārata on the
head of King Yudhishthira. This chief guest would be the first one whose feet had to be washed and who
would be offered food before everyone else.
When Yudhishthira consulted Bheeshma, the latter immediately suggested, “No one else but Krishna
deserves this honor. He is kind, gentle, powerful and knowledgeable and has all the other great qualities
of Bhagavān. He illuminates this entire Rājasūya ceremony just as the sun gives light to the entire world.
Therefore, I recommend that Krishna be designated as the chief guest.”
Everyone approved but King Shishupāla of the kingdom of Chedi (today located in the region of
Bundelkhand in central India) objected. He arose and started humiliating Krishna and said, “Why should
we honor Krishna? He is a person of a bad character. He is not a King like us, nor is he from a famous
family. He is just a cowherd because he was raised by a dairy farmer named Nanda. We should instead
honor someone like Droṇa or Bheeshma himself.” Krishna just kept quiet and listened to all these insults
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silently without getting
angry at Shishupāla. But,
Shishupāla did not stop
here. He started insulting
Bheeshma in very abusive
language. And then, he
challenged Krishna to fight
with him.
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As soon as Shishupāla was killed, a light came out of his body and merged with Krishna. This signified
that Shishupāla had attained Moksha.
FLASHBACK AND INSIGHT: Why did Shishupāla attain Moksha despite hating Krishna?
Hindu scriptures give four reasons as to why Shishupāla became one with Krishna despite hating Him.
The first is that whosoever is killed directly by Bhagavān gets Moksha.
The second reason is that Shishupāla practiced what our Rishis call “the Bhakti of hatred towards
Bhagavān.” When we hate someone intensely, we keep thinking of him. Shishupāla hated Krishna so
much that he thought of Him alone at all times. And because Bhagavān Krishna was always on his mind,
Shishupāla got Moksha. His hatred for Krishna was only outward, whereas his heart became full of love
for Krishna.
The third reason is given in the Shrimad Bhāgavata Purāṇa. According to this scripture, Jaya and Vijaya,
the two guards of Bhagavān Vishnu, were cursed by the Rishis to be banished from Vaikuntha (the abode
of Vishnu) and be reborn on earth. Bhagavān Vishnu then said that they will be born as three pairs of
brother demons, who will be killed by His successive Avataras. In their last of the three births, both of
them will attain Moksha and will return to Vaikuntha. Accordingly, they were first born as the evil
brothers Hiranyāksha and Hiraṇyakashipu. Vishnu took the Varāha and Narasimha Avataras to kill them.
Then, they were reborn as the brothers Rāvana and Kumbhakarna in Lanka. Vishnu took the Avatāra of
Shri Rama to kill them. Finally, they were reborn as brothers Shishupāla and Dantavakra who were killed
by Krishna Avatāra. Dantavakra attacked Krishna when he returned to Dwārakā after the Rājasūya Yajna
because he was angry with Krishna for having killed Shishupāla. Krishna killed him in a mace fight with
Krishna and gave Moksha to him as well.
In the Hindu tradition, a fourth reason is given ‐ that these 6 rebirths of Jaya and Vijaya represent the 6
true enemies of human beings: Hiranyāksha represents Lobha (greed), Hiraṇyakashipu represents Mada
(pride), Ravana represents Kāma (desire and lust), Kumbhakarna represents Moha (delusion), Shishupāla
represents mātsarya (jealousy), and Dantavakra represents Krodha (anger). The fact that Vishnu has
killed all these enemies means that Bhagavān is free of all these six enemies and evils which are found
troubling all human beings.
The ceremony now started. Krishna was welcomed to the throne. His feet were ceremoniously washed
and he was offered food. Thereafter, with the chanting of sacred mantras from the Vedas, Yudhishthira
was crowned as the emperor of Bhārata.
After the program was over and Yudhishthira had been crowned as the Indian emperor, everyone
decided to take some rest. However, Bhagavān Krishna, the chief guest, was nowhere to be found.
When people went out to look for him, they found him in the main hall, where he was picking up dirty
dishes and carrying them to the kitchen for cleaning.
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Everyone was very moved to see how
humble Krishna was. Even though Krishna
was the chief guest and is the greatest of
all, he performed his duty very humbly.
Most people would have thought that
picking dirty dishes and cleaning them was
a lowly task which only humble servants
should perform. But our Bhagavān Krishna
clearly believed that all Sevā is good.
2.6 Duryodhana’s Insult and his Jealousy towards the Pāṇdavas
After the entire ceremony was over, all the Kings started returning to their kingdoms. Yudhishthira
vowed, “I will never say bitter words to my brothers and also to all the other Kings. Discriminating
against others is the main cause of conflicts in this world. And therefore, I will treat everyone equally as
if all people were my own children. Giving up all hatred and enmity towards others, I will rule the
country for the good of everyone.”
Krishna too returned to Dwārakā. Before he left, he instructed Yudhishthira, “Just as birds find shelter in
their nests, and thirsty animals look with hope at the clouds, make sure that the learned Brahmanas
look at you with hope, and that you meet their expectations. Also, make sure that you look after your
subjects sincerely, as a father takes care of his children with love.”
However, Duryodhana expressed a desire to stay longer in Indraprastha. The Pāṇdavas were happy that
their cousin had decided to spend some more time with them after several years.
Duryodhana was amazed to see the beauty of the great hall constructed by Mayāsura. Where the hall
appeared to have a pool of water, there was just a floor of marble that had been polished so well that it
seemed to be like water. Duryodhana was now convinced that all these sections of the hall that looked
like pools of water were really polished marble slabs.
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So, he bravely stepped on
one such section. But that
section actually turned out
to be a pool of water!
Duryodhana fell into it with
a thud and his robes got
wet. The Pāṇdavas thought
that this was very funny
and everyone started
laughing at Duryodhana.
Draupadī even made a
sarcastic remark, “The son
of a blind father is also
blind.” Her laughter and
sarcastic words pierced
Duryodhana’s heart and he once again got inflamed with jealousy and hatred for the Pāṇdavas. He went
back to Hastināpura feeling insulted, and jealous at the prosperity of the Pāṇdavas.
FAST FORWARD: According to the Mahābhārata, Draupadī did not actually say any mean words to
Duryodhana. But he was so jealous of the Pāṇdavas after seeing their happiness that he made up this
part of the story when he tried to humiliate her after the first game of dice.
INSIGHT FROM THIS INCIDENT: It is not that Duryodhana did not have enough riches himself. After
all, he was the crown Prince of Hastināpura, the capital of the greatest kingdom in Bhārata at that time.
But his jealousy towards the Pāṇdavas made him feel that he did not have enough for his happiness.
We see the same thing happen many a time in our own society. Rich people fight over money even
though they have enough of their own money and should not be fighting with others for more wealth! It
is jealousy and greed that makes people feel that they do not have enough even when they have more
than everyone else. Kids having 100 toys still want to grab the only toy that their friend has. We will see
again later that the feeling of jealousy causes Duryodhana to focus more on destroying the Pāṇdavas
rather than work for his own progress. Jealous people worry more about the success of others than
about their own progress.
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them. Also, make sure that the invitation is taken to them by your Uncle Vidura, whom the Pāṇdavas
greatly respect. There are two more reasons why Yudhishthira cannot turn down this invitation. First is
that he is himself addicted to gambling. And secondly, gambling is considered a royal game. One King
cannot turn down the invitation of another King to a gambling match, because it is bad manners to do
so.”
Yudhishthira was hesitant, but he could not refuse because that would have been disrespectful to his
uncle King Dhritarāshtra. When the Pāṇdavas arrived at the palace of Hastināpura, they were surprised
to learn that Duryodhana will not play against them directly. Instead, his uncle Shakuni, who was
notorious for cheating in gambling, would be playing on the behalf of Duryodhana. Again, out of his
decency, Yudhishthira did not object.
Now, Shakuni had magical die that
followed his verbal commands to
roll the number that he wanted to
win. After the game started, both
Duryodhana and Yudhishthira
started betting their jewels, horses,
cows, land etc. But in one throw of
the die after the other,
Yudhishthira lost every time!
Duryodhana won Yudhishthira’s
kingdom, his palaces, all his cattle,
horses, soldiers, jewels etc.
Yudhishthira got carried away, and did not want to give up. Therefore, one by one, he staked his own
brothers Nakula and Sahadeva and lost them too! Duryodhana gloated that he will hire the two brothers
as servants in his palace. Shakuni then taunted Yudhishthira, “You were so quick to bet Nakula and
Sahadeva because they were only your step brothers. Obviously you do not love them as much as your
real brothers Bheema and Arjuna. That is why you have not bet them yet!” This taunt really hurt
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Yudhishthira’s heart, and he bet Arjuna and Bheema one by one, and lost them too! With nothing else
left, Yudhishthira then bet himself, and lost! Shakuni had taken full advantage of Yudhishthira’s
weakness and addiction and had manipulated his mind to ruin him completely.
2.7.1 Krishna saves the honor of Draupadī
And then Yudhishthira did the most unimaginable thing – he betted his wife Draupadī, and he lost her
too! Now Draupadī was supposed to be handed over to the Kauravas. The evil minded Duryodhana
declared, “Draupadī had insulted me by saying that the son of a blind man is also blind. Now she is our
slave.” He asked his Uncle Vidura to bring Draupadī to the assembly but Vidura refused to do so.
Then, Duryodhana sent a servant to fetch Draupadī from her room. But Draupadī refused to come in
front of everyone and instead sent a question for everyone, “Did my husband bet me after he lost
himself, or was it before he lost himself in the game?” Duryodhana realized that it would not be easy to
bring out Draupadī. Therefore, he asked his brother Dushāsana to drag Draupadī to the royal court in
front of dozens of elders, courtiers, and others. When Draupadī saw Dushāsana coming towards her, she
ran towards Gāndhārī’s chamber. But Dushāsana caught her, and started dragging her to the assembly
by her hair. Due to Dushāsana’s pull, her hair tied neatly became loose.
Everyone was shocked at this wicked behavior, but they all kept quiet. Only Vikarṇa, a younger Kaurava
brother, got up and objected saying, “Draupadī is married to all the Pāṇdavas. But Yudhishthira did not
take the permission of his four brothers
before staking her. Therefore she cannot
become a slave of Duryodhana. Draupadī has
done no wrong. It is a great sin to humiliate a
woman like this.” Everyone applauded Vikarņa
and criticized Shakuni.
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surrendered completely to Bhagawān Krishna in her mind, and appealed to His friendship. She thought
of Him in her mind with faith and devotion and asked him to protect her from public humiliation. And a
miracle occurred. As Dushāsana started pulling her clothes, he found that he was not able to disrobe
her. Her garments got stretched endlessly. He tried to disrobe her for a long time, but cloth kept
appearing miraculously and her Sari got extended till the pile of the unwound clothing taken off her
became a small mound! Dushāsana was tired but he failed to disrobe Draupadī.
Everyone understood that it was the Divine intervention of Krishna. The elders felt ashamed now that
they had not intervened to save her honor. They asked Duryodhana to see the Divine miracle, repent
and return everything that the Pāṇdavas had lost back to them. But instead, Duryodhana slapped his left
thigh and asked Draupadī to sit on it! In ancient Bhārata, this action meant that Duryodhana wanted
Draupadī to marry him because the right thigh of a father was reserved for his little daughter to sit.
FLASHBACK & INSIGHT: In the traditions of Hindus, two reasons are given as to why Krishna saved
Draupadī. The first story says that several years earlier, Krishna had injured his finger and He started
bleeding. Draupadī immediately tore off a piece of her Sari and wrapped it around His finger as a
bandage. This story teaches us that in return for a just a small offering, Bhagavān will save the honor of
His Bhaktas when they need His help. We do not need to bribe Bhagavān with lavish gifts.
The second story says that in her previous life, Draupadī was on the bank of a river where a holy man
was bathing. The river washed his clothes away. Looking at his helpless situation, Draupadī had torn a
piece of her cloth so that he could cover himself. The holy man blessed her for her kindness saying, “In
your next life, when someone tries to snatch your clothes, pray to Bhagavān Vishnu and He will save
you.” This story shows that a good karma never goes unrewarded. We get the reward of our good karma
either in this life or in the next.
The central message of this story from the Mahābhārata also is that whenever we are in deep trouble
and all our efforts to save ourselves fail, then we should remember Bhagavān and pray to Him to
come and help us.
FAST FORWARD: Bheema was so angered by this humiliation of Draupadī that he vowed to kill all the
100 sons of Dhritarāshtra. He kept his promise during the war. In fact, whenever someone from the
Pāṇdava army got a chance to kill one of the 100 Kauravas, they would spare him so that Bheema could
kill him and fulfill his vow. But when Bheema killed Vikarṇa, he wept, because he remembered how
Vikarṇa had tried to save Draupadī from humiliation.
2.7.2 The Vows of the Pāṇdavas and Draupadī & Dhritarāshtra’s Regret
Bheema could no longer control himself. He stood up and declared with a thundering voice, “With my
own hands, I will kill Dushāsana and will tear up his chest and drink blood straight from his heart. I will
wash Draupadī’s hair with his blood. And with my mace, I will break the left thigh of Duryodhana.”
Arjuna also got up vowed to kill Karṇa. Sahadeva swore that he will kill Shakuni while Nakula vowed to
kill Shakuni’s son. Yudhishthira too was about to stand up and make a vow when suddenly his gaze fell
on Karṇa’s feet. He noticed that Karṇa’s feet were very similar to that of his own mother Kunti.
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Immediately, Yudhishthira’s anger evaporated and he kept quiet. Draupadī vowed that she will not tie
her hair again till Dushāsana, whose hands had pulled them open, was killed by Bheema.
Finally, King Dhritarāshtra was terrified by Krishna’s miracle and the vows of the Pāṇdavas. He called
Draupadī to his side and profusely apologized to her. Then he gave her for a wish. Draupadī requested,
“Release my husband Yudhishthira from slavery, so that my children are not called as ‘sons of a slave’.”
Dhritarāshtra was pleased and agreed. Then he asked her for another wish. Draupadī now asked that
the other four Pāṇdava brothers be freed as well.
King Dhritarāshtra agreed, and asked her to make a third wish. Draupadī replied, “My husbands are free.
I do not ask for anything more because I am not a beggar.” Dhritarāshtra then declared, “I cancel this
entire gambling match that happened today. Everything that belonged to the Pāṇdavas is given back to
them and they can return to Indraprastha with full honors.”
Everyone criticized the blind King Dhritarāshtra for not controlling his evil son Duryodhana sooner. In a
mass protest, the Brahmanas of the kingdom refused to perform the daily worship for the royal family of
Hastināpura and refused to show up at the royal palace when they were supposed to for conducting the
religious ceremonies. The Pāṇdavas left for Indraprastha.
But the Pāṇdavas had not even reached Indraprastha
yet that Duryodhana and Shakuni persuaded King
Dhritarāshtra again, “Look what you have done. We
had finally got the better of the Pāṇdavas, and you
have given it all back to them! Please call them back
for one more game. This time, we will decide the
winner with a single throw of dice. The loser will have
to go to the forest for 13 years of which the last year
will have to be spent in disguise. If the loser is found
and recognized in that last year, then he will have to
go to the forest for another 12 years.”
Gāndhārī asked her husband to control their evil son. But once again, King Dhritarāshtra gave in to his
evil son’s demands. A messenger was sent to the Pāṇdavas when they were on their way to
Indraprastha. Yudhishthira was asked to come back. Once again, Yudhishthira agreed to play another
game because he did not want to disobey his Uncle. The other Pāṇdava brothers tried to dissuade
Yudhishthira from agreeing to another game, but he thought that he will win this time!
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going to casinos, wasting money on lottery tickets and on other things whose success depends on chance
or luck and not on skill and hard work.
Kunti and Draupadī refused to enter the palace at Hastināpura this time and just waited outside. As
expected, Shakuni won and Yudhishthira lost. Therefore, the Pāṇdava brothers now prepared to spend
the next 13 years in the forest. They took off their jewels and garments and instead wore clothes made
of tree‐bark, just as the Rishis used to wear in those days. Arjuna sent a message to his wife Subhadrā
that she should go to Dwārakā with their son Abhimanyu for the next 13 years.
Vidura had left the palace of King Dhritarāshtra out of disgust and had been living in a simple home in
the city. He requested Kunti to stay in his home for the next 13 years because she was too old to live in
the forest for this long period of time. Kunti agreed and blessed the Pāṇdavas saying, “See the untied
hair of my daughter in law. Never forget how she was insulted in front of everyone. After 13 years, I
want you to come and get back your kingdom. Although I am not coming with you, my blessings will
always protect you.”
When the word of the departure of
the Pāṇdavas spread in the
kingdom, everyone was very angry
and upset with the royal family.
Many citizens decided to leave
their kingdom and follow the
Pāṇdavas to the forest. But, Yudhishthira persuaded them to return so that they can take care of his
elders Bheeshma, Dhritarāshtra, Vidura, Kunti and Gāndhārī.
At his persuasion, most of the people returned. But a few Brahmanas refused to return. They promised
to Yudhishthira that they will not be a burden on him in the forest. They will manage to arrange for their
own food. And they will make themselves useful by talking about Dharma to the Pāṇdavas for their
spiritual growth. Yudhishthira agreed to their request. The small group of people then headed to the
forest.
END OF SABHĀ PARVA
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BOOK THREE: VANA PARVA
The Book of Forest
This is the second longest of the 18 parts of the Mahābhārata and covers the first 12 years of the exile of
the Pāṇdavas in the forest. The Pāṇdavas with Draupadī and Dhaumya spent the first six years going
back and forth between Kāmyakavana and Dvaitavana, two forests with lakes by the same name in their
midst. Both of these forests were close to the river Sarasvatī. Kāmyakavana was very close to
Indraprastha, but Dvaitavana was much further in the West, close to the Thar Desert in NW India. In
Kāmyakavana, the Pāṇdavas could get regular news and visitors from their former homes; whereas in
Dvaitavana, they were able to spend some time alone with Mother Nature.
After the first five years of their stay in the two forests, Arjuna left the others to obtain divine weapons
from Shiva and the Devas. Then, the four brothers with Dhaumya and Draupadī spent these five years
travelling all over Bhārata for pilgrimage. Before embarking upon their pilgrimage, they persuaded all of
their followers to return to their respective homes. Arjuna joined them back at the end of the end of the
10th year. They all spent the 11th year together travelling to pilgrimage centers before finally settling
down in Dvaitavana and Kāmayakavana once again during the 12th year.
INSIGHT FROM VANA PARVA: During these 12 years, the Pāṇdavas did not waste their time feeling
depressed and disappointed with their bad luck. Instead, they met with several Rishis to learn about
Dharma, and also acquired new skills that will help them later in their war with the Kauravas. This
teaches us that whenever we are down and out in our life, we should not waste time simply brooding
over our bad luck. Instead, we should remain positive, and must continue learning new things to prepare
for a better future.
Yudhishthira felt that as a King, it was his duty to feed all the
Brahmanas and other well‐wishers who had left their homes
out of loyalty to the Pāṇdavas, and had followed them into
the forest. Dhaumya suggested that the Pāṇdavas should
pray to Sūrya, the Deva of the Sun who shines light on us and
sends rain to the earth so that food is produced. Yudhishthira
prayed to Sūrya, Who appeared with the ‘Akshaya‐Pātra’, a
divine vessel for cooking food. The Deva said, “Use this
copper pot for cooking. When Draupadī serves cooked food
from it to you or to anyone else, the food inside it will not get
over till she has eaten herself.”
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Therefore, every day, Draupadī would cook food in the vessel, feed the Pāṇdavas and Dhaumya and all
the guests, and finally herself. In this way, they never ran out of food. A continuous stream of visitors
from Indraprastha, Hastināpura and other places arrived daily to meet the Pāṇdavas and they all went
back after eating food that was served respectfully and lovingly by the Pāṇdavas.
King Dhritarāshtra knew in his heart that he had cheated the Pāṇdavas out of their kingdom. Vidura, his
step‐brother, was known to be truthful and fair. Therefore, the King went to see Vidura to get some
peace of mind. But instead of trying to find out the correct thing to do, he asked Vidura, “Tell me, how I
may make sure that the powerful Pāṇdavas never defeat us? How can Duryodhana win the hearts of the
people of Hastināpura?” Vidura said that he was
very angry with Dhritarāshtra and therefore takes
the side of Pāṇdavas. He scolded the King for not
stopping the cruel behavior of his son Duryodhana
and for being an accomplice in his son’s injustice
towards the Pāṇdavas. He said, “You should
return Indraprastha to the Pāṇdavas. If
Duryodhana does not agree to it, then take even
his share of the kingdom and give it to the
Pāṇdavas. Only then will justice be served.” King
Dhritarāshtra did not like what he heard, and he
was very rude to Vidura. He said, “Vidura, I think
that you no longer want the welfare of
Hastināpura. I do not need your advice and
services any more. You may go away and live
wherever you want, away from us.”
According to some Hindu traditions, when Vidura returned, he decided that he will no longer work for
King Dhritarāshtra and will not take any pay from the royal court. He moved out of the palace and
started living in a small home in Hastināpura. To feed himself and his family, he used the land around his
home to plant vegetables. As a result of this, Vidura was now completely independent of the Kuru
dynasty. He no longer depended on them for his income or food and could speak fearlessly what he
believed to be true. Kunti also continued to live with Vidura and his family.
INSIGHT FROM VIDURA’S BEHAVIOR: This decision of Vidura shows that he was a very dharmic
man. He gave up his life of luxury because he did not want to give up Dharma and truth. Very often, in
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our lives, we are dependent on evil people, and work for them. The fear of losing our wealth if we annoy
our employer can force us to support his evil acts. Therefore, we should try to keep distance from evil
people, and not become dependent on them for anything if we want to follow the path of Dharma. We
will see later how Bhagavān Krishna showed his appreciation for Vidura’s honesty in Fifth book (Udyoga
Parva) of the Mahābhārata.
3.3 Duryodhana’s Evil Plan, Rishi Vyasa’s advice and Rishi Maitreya’s Curse
Duryodhana was not pleased to learn that his father had called
Vidura back. He was worried that Vidura will eventually help the
Pāṇdavas win their kingdom back from him. Therefore, he plotted
with Karṇa to kill them while they were in the forest. But just
before they were about to go to the forest with their soldiers to kill
the Pāṇdavas, Rishi Veda Vyāsa appeared in Hastināpura and
warned Duryodhana against doing any harm to the Pāṇdavas.
Duryodhana therefore dropped his evil idea, but only temporarily.
After Rishi Veda Vyasa had convinced Duryodhana to turn back
from the forest where the Pandavas were living, he decided to give
good sense to King Dhritarashtra. Vyasa then narrated the
following story to King Dhritarashtra –
“Long ago, Surabhi, who is the Mother of all cows and bulls on this earth,
10
went to Indra in heaven. She wept in front of Indra saying, “King of Devas, look at that weak bull, my son below
on the earth. He is pulling a plough with another son of mine, a stronger bull. A farmer is beating him with a stick,
and twisting his tail because he is too weak to pull it along with my stronger son.” Indra said, “There are thousands
of sons of yours who are pulling carts and ploughs for different people on the earth. Then why do you cry only for
that weak son?” The Mother Cow Kamadhenu replied, “My Lord, I know that my stronger sons will be able to do
their work without any pain. They can take care of
themselves. You are correct that they are all my own
children. But the heart of the mother always weeps,
and gets filled with love for her weakest children. And
this is the reason why I cry for that weak bull.”
10
Indra is the King of all Devas in Heaven.
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only five iin number. Th he Kauravas w were already enjoying livinng in the Kinggdom since th heir birth, wh
hereas
the Pandaavas suffered d a lot in theiir childhood. Even now, bbecause of yo our partiality,, the Pandavaas are
roaming like beggars in n a forest. Their clothes arre torn, and thhey have barely enough to o eat. And yet, you
still love only the pow
werful and rich
r Kauravass as your so ns. Why doees not your heart melt aat the
suffering of the Pandavas? Don’t you have an ny compassioon in your h
heart? Wheree is your sennse of
justice?”
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of 210
3.5 Draupadī’s teaching to Yudhishthira about Forgiveness
Close to Kāmyakavana but further west from Indraprastha lay the beautiful forest of Dvaitavana. In that
forest lived many Rishis. With a desire to meet them, the Pāṇdavas decided to move to Dvaitavana.
Yudhishthira persuaded their followers from Hastināpura to return to their homes. Only a few
Brahmanas stayed with them longer.
One evening, Draupadī was very angry with Yudhishthira for her insult at Hastināpura and her current
hardships. She thought that Yudhishthira behaved foolishly in losing his entire kingdom and causing all
of them to suffer in the forest. In her opinion, Yudhishthira should have never forgiven Duryodhana and
Dushāsana for their wickedness so easily. Therefore, she said the following words to Yudhishthira about
forgiveness:
“Let me tell you when you should be patient with people who have done something bad to you. If
someone who has previously done good to you now does a not too great harm to you, then forgive him
in consideration of his earlier favor (but if he does a great harm to you, then do not forgive him). Wrong
doers who commit a wrong because they did not realize that their act was bad should be forgiven,
because it is not always easy to find guidance on what is wrong and what is correct. However, offenders
who do a wrong with full knowledge and understanding but pretend to have done it unknowingly are
hypocrites and should be punished, even if their offence was small. The first offence of the wrong‐doer
should be forgiven, but the second one, even if it is small, should be punished. If someone does a wrong
in ignorance, he should be forgiven but only after it is determined that the wrong‐doer did it out of
ignorance. In general, it is better to be gentle than harsh because the gentle can overcome the hard
hearted, because nothing is impossible to achieve for a gentle person and because gentleness is more
powerful than harshness. One should decide on whether to punish or forgive after looking into one’s own
strengths and weaknesses, and after considering the time and place. Any action taken at the wrong time
or place will fail, therefore wait for the correct place and time before acting. Sometimes, we may have to
forgive the culprit for the fear of making the general public very angry.” Mahabharata. Vana Parva,
chapter 29.
Yudhishthira replied, “I agree to what you say. But, I accepted the conditions of the game of dice. Now,
it is my duty to keep my word and stay in the forest for 12 years, and then in disguise in the 13th year.
Therefore, I cannot fight with the Kauravas till then. But, once this period of 13 years is over, no one can
stop me from getting my kingdom back. If Duryodhana refuses to give it back to me then, you will not
see the same Yudhishthira that you are seeing now. I will not stay silent then and I will fight for my
rights.”
His answer satisfied Draupadī. After that day, she never complained to him again.
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3.6 The Faith (Shraddhā) and Devotion (Bhakti) of Arjuna in Bhagavān Shiva
When the Pāṇdavas were exiled in a forest, their rule was that they never ate any food that day till
Arjuna had worshipped Shiva. One day as they were roaming in the forest, they could not find any
Shivalinga to worship. Bhīma was feeling really hungry. Therefore, he just took a bowl, filled it with black
soil and then inverted the heap of the soil on the ground. Calling Arjuna he said, “Brother, here is your
Shivalinga. Now worship it so that we can
eat our food.”
INSIGHT FROM THIS STORY: This Shivalinga that got created miraculously is today worshipped in
the Bhīmanātha Mahādeva temple in India. Many people think that they can bribe Bhagavān by
donating large sums of money even if it has been earned by wrong means. Some people also think that
they can make a big show of their worship and please Him, or say long prayers and do expensive rituals
for making Him happy. But this story shows that Bhagavān does not really care our money or our long
prayers, or how much we donate to Mandirs. He only cares for the love and faith that we have in our
heart for Him. Arjuna was living in poverty in the forest with his brothers, but his heart was full of
Shraddhā (faith) and Bhakti (love) towards Bhagavān. Because of this reason, even the heap of black clay
that Bheema had made to fool Arjuna got transformed into a real Shiva Linga. This is the lesson we learn
from this story.
3.7 Arjuna goes to get Divine Weapons from Shiva and Indra
Several Rishis like Markandeya and Baka Dalbhya came to see the Pāṇdavas in the Dvaitavana. After
they had lived in the Dvaitavana for five years, Rishi Veda Vyāsa came to see them. He advised that
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Arjuna should go to the Himalayas to get divine weapons from the Devas so that they can match the
power of the Kauravas. He also said that the Pāṇdavas should return to Kāmyakavana because they had
already stayed in Dvaitavana for five years now, and their long stay had been hurting the wild‐life of that
region. Therefore, the Pāṇdavas now travelled upstream on the Sarasvatī in the east direction. When
they reached the Kāmyakavana, Arjuna took leave of them and went north towards the Himayalas.
INSIGHT FROM ARJUNA’S DEPATURE: Once again we see how Arjuna decided to use his time
constructively and learn some new skills, and the science and art of using more advanced weapons. This
knowledge and the possession of Divine weapons by Arjuna was one of the main reasons why the
Pāṇdavas were able to defeat the Kauravas during the war. Arjuna could have just stayed with his family
during the exile, but he left them for several years and used that time to learn special skills in the art of
war.
Arjuna went to the interior of the Himalayas and performed great austerities and worship to please
Bhagavān Shiva. One day, Arjuna saw a Himalayan tribal hunter (Kirāta) with his wife walking towards
him. At the same, a wild boar suddenly appeared and advanced menacingly between Arjuna and the
couple.
Arjuna took aim to shoot his arrows at the boar. But the Kirāta shouted, “Stop, I have taken aim with my
bow and arrow at the boar first. It is my prey.” But, Arjuna did not listen and shot at the boar too. The
arrows from the Kirāta as well as from Arjuna pierced the boar at the same time. Now, both claimed
that the prey was theirs.
A verbal argument started, and finally, Arjuna started fighting with the Kirāta over the possession of the
boar. Surprisingly, the unmatched warrior Arjuna found that the Kirāta was able to defeat him in every
way of warfare – archery, swordsmanship and the use of missiles. The Kirāta seemed undefeatable. He
even snatched the Gānḍīva, Arjuna’s bow, from him. Worried, Arjuna made a clay Shivalinga and started
praying to Shiva to grant him more strength. He placed a garland of flowers on the Shivalinga.
But when he turned around, he was
surprised to see that the garland
that he had placed on the Shivalinga
adorned the neck of the hunter!
Arjuna immediately realized that
this Kirāta hunter was none other
than Shiva. He prostrated at the feet
of Shiva and asked for forgiveness.
Shiva said that he was merely
testing Arjuna. He returned the
Gānḍīva and also gave him a divine
weapon, the Pāshupatāstra.
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After being blessed with that
divine missile, Arjuna now
proceeded to heaven to meet
Indra. He spent five years in
heaven and received several
divine weapons. There, he also
learned music and dance from
Chitrasena, the best expert in
these arts. These skills would
prove valuable for Arjuna in the
13th year of the exile of
Pāṇdavas.
Almost ten years had passed in exile, and five since Arjuna had left. The Pāṇdavas and Draupadī were
now really missing Arjuna, and wondered if he were alive and safe. Rishi Lomasha arrived and informed
them that Arjuna was happy in heaven and was on his way back to be re‐united to the Pāṇdavas. He
advised them to go on a pilgrimage all over India, and said that Arjuna will join them later in the
Himalayas. Rishi Nārada too arrived and confirmed what Rishi Lomasha had said, and advised them to
leave Kāmyakavana for a long pilgrimage.
Therefore, the four Pāṇdavas, Draupadī, Dhaumya and Rishi Lomasha then set out to visit the holy
places of Bhārata. On the way, Rishi Lomasha narrated the ancient history of these places through the
stories of Rishi Agastya, Rishyashringa, Ashtāvakra, the Princess Sukanyā and other great souls who had
lived there. He also narrated many other stories with teachings which helped the Pāṇdavas in their life.
One of these stories is given below:
3.8.1 There are no short‐cuts in Life. We must work hard to succeed.
Sage Bharadvāja and his son Yavakrīta were neighbors of Sage Raibhya and his sons. The latter were all
great scholars. Many people travelled long distances to study under Raibhya and his children. This made
Yavakrīta jealous. But he did not like to study. So, he started praying to Lord Indra. Pleased with Yavakrīta’s
penance, Lord Indra appeared in front of him and offered him a boon. Yavakrīta asked that he become a
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great scholar, so that people should come to
study under him, just as they went to study
under Raibhya and his scholarly sons.
But Indra replied, “If you want to become
knowledgeable, you should focus on your
studies, rather than trying to please me and
get the boon of wisdom from me.”
But Yavakrīta would not listen. He resumed
his austerities and penance, hoping that Indra
would eventually get impressed and bless
him with knowledge. One day, Yavakrīta went
to the River Ganga to take a bath, when he
noticed an old man throwing handfuls of sand
into the river current. When Yavakrīta asked
him the reason for doing so, the old man said,
“People have a difficulty crossing the river.
Therefore, I am constructing a bridge across it by throwing sand into the water.”
Yavakrīta was amused, and said, “But you cannot construct a bridge this way because the water will keep
washing away the sand that you throw. Instead, you need to work harder and put in more effort and
materials to construct the bridge.” The old man replied, “If you can become a scholar without studying, I
too can construct a bridge with just handfuls of sand.”
Yavakrīta realized that it was Lord Indra who came disguised as the old man to teach him that worship
alone cannot result in scholarship. He therefore apologized to Lord Indra and started studying diligently.
INSIGHT FROM THE STORY: The story shows that there are no short cuts to success in life. Success results
from persistence and hard work. Not studying for exams and instead praying for a miracle to happen
does not result in good grades!
The Pāṇdavas then started walking up the Himalaya Mountains in search of Arjuna. Bheema summoned
his son Ghatotkacha who lived nearby. With the help of Ghatotkacha and his other friends, the group
was able to cross over the mountains to reach Mount Kailash where Bhagavān Shiva resided. After that,
they reached the holy Nara‐Nārāyaṇa Āshrama on their way to the Gandhamādana mountain.
One day, a breeze from the North‐east direction blew a fragrant flower called the ‘saugandhikā’ to
Draupadi. She asked Bheema if he could get some more of these flowers for her. Bheema of course
agreed, and marched triumphantly into the forest in the North‐east direction to look for them. On his
way, he was attacked by numerous ferocious wild beasts but he was able to overpower all of them.
Scared, the animals ran in all directions, creating a lot of commotion in the forest.
Hanuman, who was present there meditating upon Bhagavān Rama, got disturbed and decided to teach
Bheema a lesson. He lay directly in the path of Bheema and refused to move away. Bheema did not
recognize who the giant old monkey was, and asked him rudely to get out of his way. Hanuman said,
‘Why don’t you jump over me?” Bheema said, “Jumping over others is disrespectful to the Bhagavān
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residing in them.” Then Hanuman replied, “I am old
and too tired to move myself. Why don’t you just
move my tail to the side and continue with your
journey?
Bheema tried to push the tail with his foot rudely, but
it was too heavy for him. So he tried to lift it with one
hand and then with two. But Bheema, the strongest
man in the world, could not even lift the tail of the
monkey! Now he fell at the feet of the monkey and
requested him to reveal his identity. Hanuman then
showed Bheema his true form and instructed him not
to be proud of his strength. Both Hanuman and
Bheema were born as a result of the blessings of
Devatā Vāyu. This made Hanuman the elder brother of
Bheema.
INSIGHT FROM THE STORY: This story shows that we should not be proud for three reasons: First, a
proud person over‐estimates his own abilities and strengths and underestimates those of others. Second,
no matter how strong and capable we are, there will always be someone who is superior to us. And
finally, we must never forget that the strongest and the most able person is none other than Bhagavān,
and not we.
When Bheema did not return for a long time, everyone got worried. Yudhishthira with Draupadi and
Ghatotkacha went in the direction that Bheema went and found him collecting flowers in the garden.
They all returned to the Nara‐Nārāyaṇa Āshrama (also called the Badari Āshrama). To everyone’s joy,
Arjuna soon joined them there.
Re‐united, they all spent the last 2 years in the forest together. Now, 10 years of their exile had passed
(and the eleventh started) after Arjuna returned and the time to reclaim their kingdom drew closer. The
Pāṇdavas decided to return to the Kāmyakavana after doing one more year of pilgrimage. There, Krishna
visited them again and consoled Draupadi that her five children, as well Subhadrā and Abhimanyu were
doing well in Dwārakā. He also confirmed his support for the Pāṇdavas in case of a war. Rishi
Markandeya and Rishi Narada also arrived to see the Pāṇdavas.
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Rishi Markandeya narrated numerous episodes to Yudhishthira like an abridged version of the
Ramayana, the story of Satyavāna and Sāvitri and several other educational parables. One of these
parables is given below:
3.11 The Samnyasin learns from the devoted Housewife, and Dharmavyādha – the Righteous
Meat‐seller
A young Brahmana boy Kaushika living with his elderly parents suddenly decided to become an ascetic to
follow the path of spirituality. His parents begged him not to leave them because they were old, he was
their only child and therefore they were completely dependent on him. But the boy would have none of
his parents’ wailings and abandoned them without any pity.
One day, as he was walking towards the
village, some bird droppings landed on
his body. He looked up and saw a crane
sitting on the branches of a tree above
his head. He was so annoyed with the
bird that he gave it an angry look. And
lo, the bird caught fire and was burnt to
ashes.
Kaushika was amazed. Apparently, he had acquired great spiritual powers because of meditating
regularly. He felt very proud and happy, and thought that the bird deserved being burned to death
because it had dared to drop its dirty shit on him.
Kaushika then approached a home in the village to beg for some food. The lady of the house called from
inside and requested him to wait for a few minutes till she completed serving her husband inside the
house. The boy waited, and waited, but the lady did not come out. He got angry and thought in his mind –
“How dare she keep a great man like me waiting outside for such a long time? Does she not know that I
can curse her and burn her to death by my anger?” He was just about to say a curse against her that she
called from inside the house – “O Brahmana boy, I am not like that poor crane which can be burned to
ashes just by your anger. Please wait because I must complete serving my husband before I come out to
give you food.”
Kaushika was shocked. How could the lady have read his mind? He had not said anything to anyone. She
had not even seen him so far and yet knew what he had been thinking. Finally, she came out with food
and apologized for the delay, saying that it was her duty to serve her husband before anyone else, and
had to therefore keep the boy waiting.
He could not help asking the lady as to how she could read his mind, whereas he had taken several years
to acquire spiritual powers. The lady answered – “I am a simple housewife and am totally illiterate. I just
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know that it is my duty to serve my husband and other family members with devotion. This is my way of
worship. Beyond that, I do not know any other spiritual truth. But if you want to learn more about
spiritual truths, you should go to Mithilāpuri. There lives a butcher named Dharmavyādha. He has a meat
shop in one of the streets of that town, and may be able to teach you spiritual wisdom.”
Kaushika became very excited and left for Mithilāpuri immediately. He asked several people about the
butcher and eventually reached the meat shop. He was appalled when he reached that place. It was
stinking and dirty. The boy nevertheless introduced himself to Dharmavyādha who said – “Please give me
some time to serve all my customers. When I am done with them, we can go home and then you ask me
questions about spiritual wisdom.” So, the boy sat waiting there. He was quite disgusted to see the
butcher chop meat for his customers. There was so much blood, meet and foul smell in that area. The boy
wondered – “Why did that lady send me all this way to this butcher. How could he possibly know anything
about spirituality?”
In the evening, when the work was done, the Kaushika followed the butcher to his home, where the
butcher lived with his aged parents. The butcher offered a seat respectfully to the boy, from where he
watched the butcher serve fruits, milk and water to his elderly parents with great love and respect. After
he had served his parents, he came to the boy and the two started discussing philosophy and spiritual
wisdom. The boy was surprised to see that the butcher was so intelligent and wise and had a great deal of
spiritual knowledge.
He realized that he was a fool to neglect his responsibilities towards his old parents and go to the forest
thinking that he would become spiritually wise. He had become proud of his individual achievements, but
in reality, these achievements were nothing compared to the spiritual powers of the humble housewife or
the butcher. The butcher and the lady did not neglect their duties but served their husband and parents
faithfully and with love, day after day, worshipping God in their minds. They worked without any
expectation of a reward from their family members, because they thought they must carry out their
Dharma or duties automatically. This had automatically resulted in them becoming spiritually enlightened
through the path of Karma Yoga taught in the Gita.
The Brahman boy Kaushika then returned to his aged parents to serve them dutifully. In the course of
time, he married and raised a family. When he was old, his parents had passed away, and his children
grown up and settled, he himself took Samnyāsa (became an ascetic) and eventually attained Moksha.11
INSIGHT FROM THE STORY: The moral of the story is that we must never neglect our duties towards our
family members and our friends just for the sake of advancing ourselves personally. It is good to advance
spiritually and meditate; and it is also good to work hard and focus on advancing our career. But all
these pursuits are of no use if they make us neglect our duties towards our parents, spouse, children,
siblings, friends, neighbors and our loved ones.
11
This last detail is given in the Matsya Purāṇa.
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3.11 The Twelfth Year of Exile
Spending the 11th year visiting the pilgrimage centers along the Sarasvati River and in Kāmyakavana, the
Pāṇdavas now arrived at the Dvaitavana to spend the last year in forest before they assumed a disguised
form. Numerous interesting things happened in the life of the Pāṇdavas in the 12th year of their exile.
3.11.1 Duryodhana tries to humiliate the Pāṇdavas in Dvaitavana
One day, a Brahmana who had met the Pāṇdavas in the forest arrived at Hastināpura. He told King
Dhritarāshtra how the Pāṇdavas were suffering in the forest with very little food to eat, and hardly any
clothes to wear. Dhritarāshtra felt very guilty, but he was also scared that Arjuna now had powerful
weapons with which he could kill the Kauravas. When Shakuni, Dushāsana and Karṇa heard about the
suffering of Pāṇdavas, they took Duryodhana aside and said to him, “Let us go and tease the Pāṇdavas.
We will show off our wealth and riches and make fun of their poor condition.” Duryodhana agreed to
this evil proposal.
DID YOU KNOW? The Mahābhārata often describes how the evil group of these four individuals
(Duryodhana, Dushāsana, Shakuni and Karṇa) got together to make evil plans all the time. Due to this, a
phrase is used in India to describe any group of evil people – ‘Chandāla Chaukadī’ which literally means
the ‘the gang of evil four.’
He went and told his father, “The royal cattle have gone towards Dvaitavana to graze. We should go
there and take a stock of whether they are healthy and growing in number. Please permit us to go there
for this task.”
Dhritarāshtra did not suspect the real reason for Duryodhana’s request, and he gave his permission.
Duryodhana and his friend Karṇa as well as several Kaurava soldiers now left for Dvaitavana with all
their treasure, weapons, soldiers, expensive clothing and jewels, horses, exotic foods etc., and camped
close to the dwelling of the Pāṇdavas. They partied for days, and made a lot of noise with their
celebrations and music to tease the Pāṇdavas. They made fun of the Pāṇdavas whenever they got a
chance. Even the wives of Kauravas gave mean looks to Draupadī.
One day, Duryodhana and his entire group decided to have a picnic on the banks of a lake in the forest.
This lake was also called the Dvaitavana lake. Chitrasena (the Gandharva who had taught dance to
Arjuna in heaven) also came with his queens and servants to rest on the banks of the lake at the same
time. He was disturbed by the noise made by Duryodhana’s group. Therefore, he asked Duryodhana to
go away from the area so that he could enjoy the lake in peace. But the arrogant Duryodhana did not
agree, and a war broke out.
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Chitrasena and his men easily defeated Karṇa who fled for his life, leaving Duryodhana alone. Most of
the Kaurava army also became scared and fled. And finally, even Duryodhana and his Queens were
captured by Chitrasena’s men. Some of Duryodhana’s soldiers were able to reach the camp of the
Pāṇdavas and told them all that had happened.
Bheema was very happy to hear this and said, “Serves him right. Let Chitrasena take Duryodhana as a
prisoner to his own kingdom.” But Yudhishthira disagreed with Bheema and said, “When we fight with
our cousins, they are 100 and we are five quarrelling with each other. But after all, we are one big
family. Therefore, when an outsider attacks the Kauravas, we should fight that enemy as one big family
of 105 brothers.”
INSIGHT FROM YUDHISHTHIRA’S TEACHING TO BHEEMA
We often have disagreements and disputes with our friends, family members and with our countrymen.
But this does not mean that we become happy when they are in trouble. In these times, we should help
them and fight against our common enemy. As another example, in a democracy, people vote for
different political party, but only one party wins the elections and its leader becomes the President or the
Prime Minister. After elections, we should support that leader even if we had voted for someone else.
Yudhishthira ordered Arjuna and Bheema to fight the Gandharvas and get their cousins released. Soon
after the fight started, Arjuna and Chitrasena came face to face and immediately recognized each other.
Chitrasena regarded Arjuna as his friend, and Arjuna treated Chitrasena as his Guru. The two hugged
each other. Yudhishthira then requested Chitrasena to release Duryodhana and all of his Queens and
others respectfully. In fact, Yudhishthira thanked Chitrasena for not killing the Kauravas. Chitrasena then
told Yudhishthira the real reason why Duryodhana had come to Dvaitavana. Hearing this, Yudhishthira
said to Duryodhana, “I am freeing you because you are my brother. But do not try to do these childish
things again.”
Duryodhana now left for Hastināpura but he felt very humiliated. He had come to humiliate Pāṇdavas in
the forest, but instead he was the one who got defeated and imprisoned by Chitrasena. And even worse,
it was the Pāṇdavas whom he thought of
as weak and poor, who got him
released.
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3.11.2 Krishna eats a single morsel of Food
Despite the humiliation at Dvaitavana, Duryodhana did not learn anything. He still looked for an
opportunity to harm the Pāṇdavas. One day, Rishi Durvāsā
arrived at Hastināpura. Duryodhana served the Rishi diligently
because he was known to be very short‐tempered.
Rishi Durvāsā granted the wish, and arrived at the doorstep of the Pāṇdavas with his thousands of
students after Draupadī had finished
eating her meal. The Akshaya‐Pātra
which multiplied food was now empty.
When Rishi Durvāsā made a request for
food, Draupadi could not refuse the
respected Rishi. But knowing his quick
temper, she was terrified. She did not
know how she could get enough food to
feed them all. Draupadi was worried that
if she turned him away without feeding
him, he would curse her and her family.
As a result of the curse, some harm will
come their way.
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Krishna to come and help her. In a minute, Krishna appeared. But surprisingly, he too asked Draupadi to
feed him lunch as soon as he came in! Draupadi told him that she had no food left, and she had actually
prayed to him so that he could help her in feeding Sage Durvāsā and his students. Krishna said,
“Draupadi, you have not run out of food. Let us go and look into the magical cooking vessel that you
have.” When they went into the kitchen, Lord Krishna said – “Look, there is a green leafy vegetable
piece stuck in there. So why do you say that there is no food left?” Draupadi replied – “But this is just a
small piece of vegetable. How can we feed so many people with it?”
Krishna smiled. He picked that piece of vegetable and popped it into his mouth. Krishna then said to
Bheema, “Please go and invite Rishi Durvāsā and let him know that the food is ready.” Bheema did as he
was told, because he believed completely that Krishna will save the Pāṇdavas. But Rishi Durvāsā said to
Bheema, “As soon as I and my students took a dip in the river, we felt as if we had eaten a very hearty
meal. Our stomachs feel full and bloated and everyone is burping. Please tell Draupadi that we apologize
for not being able to come and eat the meal that she might have cooked for us.” Saying this, Durvāsā
and his students sheepishly left the place.
INSIGHT FROM THE STORY:
This story narrates two things – one is that the mere wish of Bhagavān can accomplish all of our tasks.
Bhagavān does not need anything from this Universe to grant our wishes. He can make everything
happen by his mere thought, or ‘samkalpa’.
The second important teaching that Krishna gave to us was that we must not waste any food.
Krishna told Draupadi, “Never waste a single grain of food. Food is a blessing from Bhagavān. Even if you
have a single grain of food left, do not waste it. Eat it after offering to God and He will nourish your body
and bless you abundantly!
DISCUSSION
A) Give 3 examples of wastage of food that we encounter in our lives every day:
1. ______________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________
B) Give 3 choices that you can make in your life to reduce or stop wastage of food in your own life:
1. ______________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________
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3.11.3 Jayadratha tries to Kidnap Draupadi
Recall that Jayadratha was the husband of
Dushalā, the only sister of the Kauravas, and the
cousin of Pāṇdavas. One day, the Pāṇdavas went
on a trip in the forest and left their priest
Dhaumya to take care of Draupadi. By a
coincidence, Jayadratha was on his way to the
kingdom of Shālva to marry someone else when
he happened to pass by the home of the
Pāṇdavas in the forest. When Draupadi saw him,
she welcomed him as he was her brother in law,
and offered him food. Impressed by her beauty,
Jayadratha instead said to her, “You are a very
beautiful woman. Anyone will gladly marry you.
Come with me and become my wife. You will
become the queen of Sindhu Kingdom.”
Draupadi was shocked to hear these words and she started running away. But Jayadratha forcibly picked
her up and threw her in his chariot. Then, he started driving his chariot at full speed away to kidnap
Draupadi. Dhaumya rushed out of his hut and asked Jayadratha angrily not to do this evil act. But
Jayadratha did not listen, and Dhaumya was not strong enough to fight back Jayadratha.
When the Pāṇdavas returned, Dhaumya told them about how Jayadratha had misbehaved with
Draupadi and had kidnapped her. The Pāṇdavas were furious and they chased Jayadratha and soon
found him trying to run away on his chariot. A fight happened and Jayadratha was defeated. The
Pāṇdavas really wanted to kill
him, but they spared him because
he was the husband of their own
cousin sister. To humiliate him
however, Bheema cut off his hair,
leaving only five locks of hair on
his head. These five locks meant
that his life had been spared by
the five Pāṇdavas.
Jayadratha felt too ashamed to go
to Shalva kingdom or return to his
own country in that condition.
But, instead of realizing his
mistake, Jayadratha decided to
take revenge for his humiliation.
He went deeper into the forest
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and started meditating
on Bhagavān Shiva.
Pleased with his
devotion, Shiva granted
him a wish. Jayadratha
asked for the
Pāshupata missile so
that he could kill the
Pāṇdavas.
3.11.4 The Yaksha Prashna: Questions of the Yaksha
One day, a Brahmana came to the Pāṇdavas and said, “I had chopped some sacred wood for use in my
Vedic yajnas. But a deer came by and ran away with them. Please retrieve them for me so that I can
completely my yajna.”
The Pāṇdavas chased the deer for a long time, but were unable to locate it. After some time, they were
extremely tired and thirsty and sat under a tree to rest. Yudhishthira asked Nakula to fetch some water
for everyone. Nakula found a lake at a short distance and decided to get some water from it. But as he
was about to drink, a voice called out from the lake, “Beware, you cannot drink any water from my lake
until you answer my questions. If you do not follow this command, you will die.” Nakula did not listen to
the voice. As soon as he had gulped a little
water, he fell dead.
After a while, when Nakula did not return,
Yudhishthira got worried and sent
Sahadeva. But Sahadeva also heard the
same voice and did not pay heed to the
command that he should first answer the
questions. Therefore, Sahadeva too fell
dead. In the same way, Bheema and
Page 72 of 210
Arjuna were also sent and they do fell dead.
Finally, Yudhishthira went to the pond and was shocked to see all his brothers lying dead on the shore.
As he went close to drink some water, he heard that voice again. Yudhishthira noticed that it was a
crane that was speaking in a human voice. “Who are you” asked Yudhishthira? The crane replied that he
was a Yaksha (a semi‐divine being between humans and Devatās) and then appeared in his true form.
Yudhishthira then offered to give answers to the questions that the Yaksha would put to him. These
questions and Yudhishthira’s answers explain the important teachings of Hindu Dharma in a very nice
manner. We reproduce some of the questions and Yudhishthira responses to them:
Question: How does a person become learned?
Reply: A study of the holy books makes one learned.
Question: Who is more important than the earth?
Reply: One’s mother is more
important than the earth.
Question: Who is more important
than the heaven?
Reply: One’s father is more important
than the heaven.
Question: What are more numerous
than the blades of grass on this
earth?
Reply: The thoughts in our mind are
more numerous than the blades of
grass on this earth.
Question: What is faster than the
wind?
Reply: Mind is faster than the wind (because it can think very fast).
Question: What makes one a Brahmana?
Reply: Good conduct makes one a Brahmana.
Question: Which is the greatest virtue?
Reply: Compassion towards others is the greatest virtue.
Question: What is the greatest wonder in the world?
Reply: Every day, we see people die in front of our own eyes. And yet, most people think that they will
never die. Therefore, they do not plan for their life after death and instead spend all their life in enjoying
temporary pleasures of this world.
Page 73 of 210
Question: Who is a Rishi?
Reply: One who looks after the well‐being of all creatures.
Question: Who is an evil person?
Reply: He who is cruel towards others.
Question: Who is the greatest enemy?
Reply: Anger.
Question: Which disease has no cure?
Reply: Greed.
Question: What makes a man great, and who is man’s true friend?
Reply: Meditation makes a man great, and patience is his true friend.
Question: What lasts forever?
Reply: Friendship with good people lasts forever.
Question: Who is dead even though he breathes and is respected a lot?
Reply: A person is considered dead even if he breathes and is respected a lot if that person does not
share his wealth and food with the Devatās, with his guests, with his family and with his elders.
Question: Who goes to Hell?
Reply: A person who has money but does not share it with his family, or with the poor, or who promises
help to a needy person and then refuses to give help – all these people live in hell for a very long time.
Question: What results in happiness and who goes to heaven?
Reply: Good character leads to happiness and a truthful person goes to heaven.
Question: What is like a person’s own Atman (soul) and who is his truest friend?
Reply: The son or daughter is like one’s own Atman and the wife is a man’s truest friend.
The Yaksha was very pleased with the replies to his questions. He said, “You can drink water from my
pond. Also, I will make one of your dead brothers alive. Tell me, which one do you want me to make
alive again?”
Yudhishthira requested for Nakula to be revived from death. The Yaksha was surprised and asked, “Why
did you not ask for a warrior like Bheema or Arjuna instead?” Yudhishthira said, “I am the son of Kunti
and so are Bheema and Arjuna. To be fair, one son of Madri must also live. This is why I requested for
Nakula to be made alive.”
The Yaksha was so pleased with Yudhishthira’s fairness and honesty that he made all his 4 brothers
alive. He also revealed his true form as Dharmarāja, the father of Yudhishthira (because Yudhishthira
was born to Kunti with Dharmaraja’s blessing)! Then, Yaksha granted two more wishes to Yudhishthira.
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With the first wish, Yudhishthira asked for the sacred logs of wood that the Brahmana had lost, so that
he could complete the Yajna. The second wish asked for by Yudhishthira was that the Pāṇdavas should
not get recognized in the thirteenth year of their exile from Indraprastha. The Yaksha said, “I advise you
to go to the Matsya kingdom and get different jobs in the palace of King Virāta. Then no one will be able
to find you.”
Several years ago, after Bheema had made fun of Karṇa for being a person of low birth during their
graduation contest, Karṇa had taken a vow. Every day at mid‐day, when Sūrya was at its peak, Karṇa
would offer a Pūjā to the sun. He would ask the sun for strength for defeating the Pāṇdavas, especially
for defeating Arjuna. After his worship, he gave anything that was asked of him by needy people.
Several stories are narrated in the Hindu tradition about the charity of Karṇa. Once, a poor Brahmana
came to Karṇa and said, “King of Anga, my wife has just passed away. I am a very poor man and do not
have the money to buy wood to cremate her body. I request you to donate some wood from your
warehouse to me.”
Karṇa checked and found out that unfortunately, he had no wood left in his royal warehouse. The poor
man’s wife had to be cremated before the sunset per the Hindu tradition. Suddenly, it came to Karṇa’s
mind that his own palace was constructed out the very fragrant and expensive sandalwood (called
‘chandan’). Therefore, he ordered that a section of the palace should be hacked down immediately and
the wood be donated to the Brahmana!
One year before the Mahābhārata war, Indra, the father of Arjuna, got worried that Karṇa might kill his
son. Therefore, he decided to disguise himself as a Brahmana, and ask for the protective armor and the
divine earrings on Karṇa’s
body. The night before
Indra was to meet Karṇa in
disguise, Sūrya appeared
to Karṇa in his dream and
said, “My dear son, I know
that you have vowed to
give in alms anything that
is asked of you after your
afternoon Pūjā to me. But
beware – Indra will come
to you disguised as a
Brahmana, and he will ask
for your protective armor
and the divine earrings
that protect you from all
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assaults.” But Karṇa replied to him, “I will not give up my vow. If someone asks me for anything, I will
give it to him.”
Indra was very pleased at the sacrifice of Karṇa. He now appeared in his true form to Karṇa and said,
“My son, you did not hesitate to cause yourself a lot of injury in giving these two things to me. Also, you
knew who I was and why I had asked you for these very two items. And yet, you did not give up your
vow of charity. I am very pleased with you. I will heal your wounds right now. Ask me for another boon.”
Karṇa said, “I want your Shakti (powerful weapon).” Indra gladly agreed, but said, “Remember, that you
can use it only once. After you have used it, it will return to me.” Karṇa kept that Shakti with him to kill
Arjuna when he went to war with him in the future.
FAST FORWARD: We will see later how Karṇa was not able to use his Shakti against Arjuna during the
Mahābhārata war. Even at his deathbed, Karṇa lived up to his reputation of being the greatest giver.
Pleased with his generosity, Krishna then appeared to him in His true form and blessed Karṇa.
END OF THE VANA PARVA
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BOOK FOUR – VIRĀTA PARVA
(THE YEAR IN DISGUISE)
In the thirteenth year of their exile, the Pāṇdavas had to take on a disguise and remain hidden from the
Kauravas. They decided to spend this year in the Matsya kingdom which was ruled by King Virāta,
exactly has the Yaksha had advised. Most of the power in that kingdom was in the hands of Keechaka
and other brothers of Queen Sudeshṇā. These brothers of the Queen lived in Matsya itself.
TRIVIA: The Matsya kingdom is in the region that is today occupied by the cities of Jaipur and Alwar in
Northwestern India. Even today, there is a town called Bairāt, close to Jaipur, and it is said to be the
same town where King Virāta had his palace. See Appendix A for the location of all these Kingdoms.
Dhaumya and others who were with the Pāṇdavas did not have to disguise themselves and decided to
go to the Panchāla kingdom of Drupada for another year. The Pāṇdavas requested Rishi Dhaumya not to
reveal their whereabouts even to King Drupada. But before Dhaumya said goodbye to the Pāṇdavas, he
gave them the following suggestions to be followed in Matsya so that people do not become suspicious
of them:
1. The Pāṇdavas and Draupadi should not be seen with each other too much. They should not talk
a lot to each other. This will make people believe that they do not know each other.
2. They should keep all their conversation with others to a minimum.
3. They should give advice to King Virāta only when he asks for it.
4. They should praise King Virāta at the right occasion.
5. They should not go far away from the King without informing him and not do any action without
his knowledge. This way, the Pāṇdavas will gain King Virāta’s trust.
When someone asked them what they were doing, they replied, “It is the corpse of our mother who
died at the age of 180 years. Our family custom is that when a person lives that long, he or she is not
cremated. Instead, their dead body is wrapped up and placed on a tree.”
People in that area started avoiding that tree thinking that their corpse was haunted and the ghost can
attack them.
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4.2 The Pāṇdavas arrive at the court of King Virāta
Yudhishthira said that his name was Kanka and he was a good
advisor and player of dice. Therefore, King Virāta asked him to
keep him entertained by playing dice, and teaching him
religious scriptures. Bheema took on the name of Ballava, an
excellent cook and wrestler. Therefore, King Virāta gave him a
job as a cook in the royal kitchen.
Arjuna had transformed into a woman because of the curse of
Urvashi. He had learned the art of dancing and singing from
Chitrasena. Therefore, he disguised himself as Brihannalā and
was appointed to teach dancing to Princess Uttarā. Nakula
introduced himself as Granthika, who was very knowledgeable
in horses. He was appointed as the caretaker of Virāta’s
horses. Sahadeva said that his name was Tantripāla and that
he was experienced in looking after cows. Therefore, he was
asked to look after the cows in royal cowsheds.
Draupadi took on the name Sairandhrī and said that she used
to be a maid in the court of Indraprastha. She claimed to be an
expert in making perfumes and dressing hair into beautiful styles. Therefore, Queen Sudeshṇā hired her
as a maid to do these activities.
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Pāṇdava New name Role in Virāta’s kingdom Code name
Yudhishthira Kanka Play dice with King Virāta and advise him Jaya
Bheema Ballava Cooking in the royal kitchen Jayanta
Arjuna Brihannalā Teach music and dance to Princess Uttarā Vijaya
Nakula Granthika Look after royal horse stables Jayatsena
Sahadeva Tantripāla Look after royal cows Jayadvala
Draupadi Sairandhrī Maid of Queen Sudeshnā, her hair dresser, Mālinī
garland maker, companion and garland maker.
4.3 Keechaka loses his life for harassing Draupadi
Almost ten months passed quietly without any major incident. One day, Keechaka, the brother of Queen
Sudeshṇā, noticed that Sairandhrī was a very beautiful woman. He started troubling Sairandhrī with
words like, “You are so beautiful. Marry me and I will
make you my Queen. Why do you want to live as
someone else’s maid?” Draupadī got very annoyed and
told him that she was already married although her
husband was not present in the Matsya Kingdom at that
time. But this still did not stop Keechaka from troubling
her. Sairandhrī complained to Queen Sudeshṇā. But, the
Queen just ignored her complaint because she did not
want to displease her brother.
In fact, the Queen asked Sairandhrī one day to go to the
apartment of Keechaka for an errand. As expected,
Keechaka was waiting for her. As soon as Sairandhrī
arrived, he started misbehaving with her. Draupadī freed
herself from the arms of Keechaka and ran towards the
court of King Virāta. At that time, Ballava (Bheema) and
Kanka (Yudhishthira) were also there. Keechaka soon
came running after her and kicked her several times in
anger in front of everyone!
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Sairandhrī begged the King to protect her from Virāta, but he
was scared of Keechaka who was very powerful. He just gave
lame excuses for why he did not punish Keechaka for his
behavior. But even her own husbands who were there did not
come to her defense. They kept quiet thinking that if they start
fighting Keechaka and kill him, everyone will discover their real
identity because only Bheema was powerful enough to kill
Keechaka.
Draupadī felt very hurt at the silence of her husbands. She had
no one else to turn to for help. Therefore, she just left the
court with tears in her eyes.
That night, she approached Bheema and said, “If you do not kill
Keechaka, I will commit suicide. I do not care about whether
someone finds out our disguise or not. How can my husbands
keep quiet when I, their wife, is being insulted and beaten up
in front of everyone?” Bheema then promised to take revenge
for Keechaka’s behavior, and he worked out a secret plan with Draupadī to kill him.
The next morning, when the word of Keechaka’s death spread, everyone got very scared because
Keechaka was a very powerful man. Queen Sudeshṇā and her other brothers had the suspicion that
Sairandhrī must have had something to do with Keechaka’s death. Therefore, they forcibly tied her with
the body of Keechaka and started walking towards the crematorium, to burn her alive with him!
Sairandhrī cried for help and Ballava (Bheema) heard it. Immediately, he disguised himself as a demon
and attacked the funeral procession. He killed the remaining brothers of Keechaka as well, and freed
Sairandhrī.
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Now, King Virāta and Queen Sudeshṇā really got scared of Sairandhrī because she appeared to have
some very strong people defending her. As long as Keechaka and her brothers were alive, no one had
dared to attack the Matsya kingdom. But now, some people who knew Sairandhrī had killed them all!
Queen Sudeshṇā thought that as Sairandhrī was very beautiful, some other men in their kingdom may
try to harass her. This will then lead to more killings. Therefore, she begged her maid Sairandhrī to go to
some other place as soon as possible. But Sairandhrī requested that she be allowed to stay for about
two more weeks, after which, she will leave on her own.
4.4 The Kauravas try to uncover the disguise of the Pāṇdavas
The news of how Keechaka and his brothers were killed soon reached Hastināpura. Duryodhana had
already placed his spies in all the kingdoms of Bhārata to give him any news of the Pāṇdavas so that he
could find them in the 13th year, and then send them back to the forest for 12 more years. After hearing
this big news from Matsya, Duryodhana was now sure that Ballava was none other than Bheema, and
that he had killed Keechaka to defend Draupadi herself.
Duryodhana thought that if the armies of Hastināpura and that of the friendly kingdom of Trigarta were
to attack the kingdom of Matsya at the same time, then King Virāta would get defeated easily. To help
Virāta, the Pāṇdavas will offer to help and then their disguise will be found out. Trigarta was a kingdom
located south of Matsya, whereas the Kaurava kingdom was on the northeast direction of Matsya.
King Virāta owned giant herds of cattle which included several hundred thousand cows. Duryodhana’s
plan was that his friend King Susharmā of Trigarta will suddenly invade Matsya from the south and
capture Virāta’s cattle herd. King Virāta will be forced to take his army in the south direction to fight the
Trigarta soldiers. While Virāta and his army went south, Duryodhana will invade the Matsya kingdom
from the north the following day. As there will be no army left in the capital (because the king and the
soldiers had all gone south), the Kaurava army will easily occupy the Matsya kingdom and all their cattle
herds in the north. The plan worked out very well. King Virāta was busy fighting Trigarta warriors in the
south. King Susharmā’s soldiers managed to capture King Virāta. When the news reached the palace,
Kanka (Yudhishthira) asked Ballava (Bheema) to rush south and get the king freed. Ballava fought very
bravely and was able to get King Virāta freed from captivity.
Meanwhile, the Kauravas invaded from the north and captured 60,000 cows belonging to King Virāta.
Prince Uttara was the only warrior in the capital at that time, but he could not have fought alone.
Surprisingly his sister’s dance teacher Brihannalā (Arjuna) came forward and said, “Do not worry Prince.
I am a good chariot driver and I will help you win the battle against Kauravas.” Everyone laughed at this,
but the Prince had no other choice.
4.5 Brihannalā reveals her identity as
Arjuna to Prince Uttara
But when Prince Uttara saw the army of the
Kauravas, he panicked and jumped out of the chariot
and started running away. Brihannalā ran after him
and said, “Do not run like a coward. I will get you the
weapons of none other than Arjuna. With their help,
you will easily defeat any army.” Then, he took the
chariot to the tree and got down the so‐called
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corpse. Prince Uttara was shocked to see them and
asked Brihannalā, “Tell, who you are really?” She
replied, “I am no other than Arjuna. Come now,
become my charioteer and together we will defeat the
army of Hastināpura.”
Taking his position as the warrior in the chariot,
Brihannalā (Arjuna) blew his conch shell called
Devadatta, and took up his divine bow – the Gānḍīva.
Bheeshma and Droṇāchārya immediately recognized
the sound of Arjuna’s conch shell. But Karṇa said, “I do
not care if it is Arjuna. I will defeat him easily.”
Duryodhana said, “Good if it is Arjuna. So we have
finally discovered their disguise. We are now sure who
these new servants of King Virāta are. They are none
other than the Pāṇdavas and Draupadi!”
But Bheeshma replied, “Do not become happy so fast Duryodhana. Perhaps you do not realize that the
thirteenth year got completed yesterday. The Pāṇdavas have now fulfilled their terms of the exile. Your
discovery came a day too late. Therefore, you will have to return their kingdom now! I am worried about
your safety Duryodhana. Therefore, I advise you to focus on driving the cattle towards Hastināpura.
Arjuna will try to follow you but all of us will block his way and prevent him from reaching you.”
Arjuna realized what was happening and he asked Prince Uttara to rush his chariot towards Duryodhana.
As expected, Bheeshma, Droṇa, Karṇa, Kripa, Ashvathhāmā and their soldiers blocked Arjuna’s chariot. A
deadly war started. Arjuna was easily able to defeat Karṇa, who had to flee for his life.
Arjuna released a special missile which put all the entire Kaurava army to sleep. Then, he went to the
chariots of the Kaurava
leaders, and took their
upper garments (which in
ancient Bhārata meant
that the new owner of
these garments won the
contest of the war).
Arjuna and Uttara then
drove the 60,000 cows
back to the Matsya
kingdom with the help of
their soldiers.
King Virāta however got
the news that it was the
bravery of Prince Uttara
that had saved his
cowherds from theft. The
King became really happy and announced, “The Kauravas are the most powerful kingdom in Bhārata. My
son managed to defeat their entire army. I want to celebrate his bravery and victory. Decorate the
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entire city, and line up maids and my ministers to welcome him in a grand manner.” But Kanka, who was
playing dice with the king at that time, said, “It was not Prince Uttara, but Brihannalā who won the
battle for the Matsya kingdom.” Virāta laughed and said, “Come on Kanka, how can a dancer fight and
win a war?” But Kanka insisted that their victory was because of Brihannalā.
This infuriated King Virāta so much that he threw the dice in his hands in anger at Kanka saying, “How
dare you compare Prince Uttara with a lowly dancer?” The dice hit Kanka’s face, and he started bleeding
from several spots. Sairandhrī rushed with a bowl and started collecting the blood drops in it. To the
surprise of King Virāta, she said, “Dear King, you do not know that Kanka is a very holy and a very
learned man. If his blood falls on your kingdom’s soils, the Devatās will be very angry with you. They will
punish you by stopping rains, causing earthquakes and many other natural disasters.”
4.6 King Virāta learns about the true identity of his Servants
Soon, King Virāta discovered that his six servants were none other than the five Pāṇdava brothers and
their wife Draupadi. He felt very embarrassed and scared and said, “You five Pāṇdava Princess are the
noblest royalty in Bhārata. King Yudhishthira was the emperor of the entire land. And Draupadi was not
only your chief queen, but also the Princess of Panchāla, which is the second greatest kingdom in
Bhārata. I did not know this. But now I am really very sorry that I treated great people like you as if you
were my servants. Please forgive me. I am offering you my entire kingdom.” Queen Sudeshṇā also
begged Sairandhrī for her forgiveness.
But Yudhishthira forgave him because it was not King Virāta’s fault who did not really know the true
identity of his servants. He refused to take King Virāta’s kingdom but said, “We might have to fight a war
with the Kauravas soon to regain our own kingdom. I want your support and help in this war.”
4.7 Princess Uttarā marries the Pāṇdava Prince Abhimanyu
King Virāta agreed immediately. Moreover, the two families decided that Princess Uttarā, the dance
student of Arjuna, will marry Arjuna’s son Abhimanyu. A
message was sent to Dwārakā where Abhimanyu and his mother
Subhadrā had lived with their Uncles Krishna and Balarāma
during the last thirteen years.
A grand wedding ceremony was organized. Krishna, Balarāma,
and several great warriors like Sātyaki came from Dwārakā with
Prince Abhimanyu and Subhadrā. King Drupad, the father of
Draupadi and the King of Kashi also arrived for the wedding. It
was a joyous occasion.
The celebrations lasted for a month. With this marriage, the
Pāṇdavas were assured of the support of the armies of King
Virāta in their war with the Kauravas.
After the wedding, the Pāṇdavas and their families started living
in a village named Upaplavya inside the Matsya kingdom.
END OF VIRĀTA PARVA
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BOOKK FIVE: UDYOG
GA PARVA
(T
THE BOO
OK OF EEFFORTT TOWA
ARDS W
WAR & P
PEACE)
The Fifth book is called ‘Udyoga Paarva’ or the b book of ‘efforrt’ (Udyoga) b because it deescribes the eefforts
of the Kauravas and P Pāṇdavas to cconvince diffe erent Kings oof Bhārata to support them in the warr. This
book alsoo describes th
he effort of Krishna
K to briing about pe ace through a fair agreem
ment betweeen the
two sidess. The Udyogaa Parva is alsso famous be ecause it incluudes two beaautiful holy b books – the VVidura
Gita (also
o called the Vidura‐prajāg
V gara), and th
he Sanatsujāttīyam. In thee former, Vid dura teaches good
values of life to King DDhritarāshtra.. In the latterr, Rishi Sanatssujāta gives aa beautiful sp piritual messaage to
Dhritarāsh htra. Unfortu unately, neith her of these two teachingss has any possitive effect o on the King and he
does not ttry hard enou ugh to stop Duryodhana frrom declaringg a war againsst the Pāṇdavvas.
5.1 The
e meeting in King Virāta’s Court
Afterr the weddingg of Abhiman nyu, a meeting was
held in the courtt of King Virrāta. Krishna said,
“The period of 113 years is o over and now w the
Pāṇddavas should get their kiingdom backk. The
Kauraavas have infflicted all kin
nds of humiliaations
on t he Pāṇdavass. At this po oint of time,, it is
impoortant that wee should find out Duryodh hana’s
true intentions aabout wheth her he will rreturn
their kingdom or not. I suggeest that we send a
messsenger from h here to Hastin nāpura.” Balaarāma
howeever supportted Duryodh hana but Sāātyaki
criticcized him and sided with K Krishna.
King Drup
pada also sugggested, “Lett my priest go
g to Hastināāpura with o
our message that the Kau
uravas
should now return the kingdom of Pāṇdavaas to them. Meanwhile, we should quickly send d our
messenge ers to the Kinngs of Bhāratta and ask them to suppoort the Pāṇdaavas if they h have to fight a war
against th
he Kauravas.”” Krishna agre eed to the prroposal, and tthen He left ffor Dwārakā. Meanwhile, Kings
Virāta and
d Drupada alsso sent their m messengers tto various kin gdoms to gett their help fo
or the Pāṇdavvas.
5.2 Arjjuna & Du
uryodhan
na Seek K
Krishna’s Help
Arjuna ru
ushed to Dwāārakā to get the help of Krishna. Wheen Duryodhaana learned aabout this, he too
rushed too Dwārakā to seek Krishna’’s help.
DID YOU KNOW? Arjuna was a greeat friend of K Krishna and wwas the husbaand of His steep‐sister Subhhadrā.
In additio
on, they were first cousins because Kun
nti was the sis
ister of Vasuddeva, the fathher of Krishna
a. But
on the othher hand, Durryodhana had d married his daughter Lakkshmaṇā to KKrishna’s son Sāmba. Therrefore,
it was nott certain whom
m Krishna wo ould help becaause He was related to booth the sides. Neither Arjun
na nor
of 210
Page 84 o
Duryodhana wanted to take Krishna’s help for granted. This is why both of them went to Dwārakā to
meet Him.
Both of them happened to reach Krishna’s room at the same time. Krishna was resting on his bed, and
they decided to wait for him to wake up. Duryodhana rushed into his room first and took the chair that
was placed close to Krishna’s head. Arjuna merely stood at the foot of the bed, with his hands folded in
prayer.
When Krishna woke up, His gaze first fell on Arjuna, was standing at His feet. “What brings you here my
friend?” asked Krishna. Duryodhana immediately interrupted, “I came here first. Therefore, my wish
should be granted before you fulfill Arjuna’s request. We have both arrived to seek your help in the
war.”
Krishna said, “Look, I have decided that I will not lift any weapon during the war, and I will not fight.
Therefore, you both have a choice – one of you can ask for my mighty Nārāyaṇī army. The other will get
only Me. But, I saw Arjuna first,
and moreover he is the younger
one of you two. Therefore, he gets
the first choice.”
Duryodhana was upset, but he had
no choice. He was worried that
Arjuna would ask for the army and
hoped in his heart that Arjuna
does not do that. But to his
surprise, Arjuna said, “Bhagavān, I
have always wanted you to be my
charioteer. Therefore, I request
you alone to be our guide. I have
enough weapons to fight the war.
But what I really want to win the war are your guidance, blessings and grace!”
Duryodhana heaved a sigh of relief. “What a fool Arjuna is,” he thought. He left the room with Krishna’s
promise that His entire army (called ‘Nārāyaṇī’) will support the Kauravas against the Pāṇdavas. When
Duryodhana left, Krishna asked Arjuna, “My friend, don’t you think that you did a mistake. What is the
use of me, when I am not even going to pick up any weapon?”
Arjuna smiled, “I know that you can destroy the entire army of Kauravas by your mere thought. What
was lacking on our side was your blessing and grace. And therefore, I asked for you.” Arjuna then
returned to Upaplavya with the good news.
This episode of the Mahābhārata teaches us a lot. Let us discuss the lessons that we can learn from the
behavior of Krishna, Arjuna and Duryodhana:
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No. Detail of the story Lesson learned / Behavior exhibited
1 Although Duryodhana arrived first and
could have chosen to wait at His feet
for Krishna to wake up, he
immediately went and sat on the stool
next to Krishna’s head.
2 Although Duryodhana had arrived
earlier, Krishna’s gaze fell first on
Arjuna.
3 Krishna said that he will not lift any
weapon, nor will he fight anyone’s
war.
4 Although Duryodhana had come first,
Krishna gave the first choice to Arjuna.
5 Arjuna rejected the vast army of
Krishna, and chose only Krishna
instead.
6 Duryodhana was happy that Arjuna
made the ‘wrong’ choice.
7 Arjuna asked Krishna to be his
charioteer.
8 Arjuna said Krishna could destroy
entire armies by His mere will.
9 Arjuna asked only for Bhagavān’s
guidance and blessings. He said that
the weapons that he had obtained
from Shiva etc., were enough for him
to fight.
Duryodhana was the favorite student of Balarāma. Krishna was worried that Balarāma might decide to
fight for the Kauravas due to this. But instead, Balarāma said, “Duryodhana, both the Kauravas as well as
the Pāṇdavas are related to us. I had asked Krishna also to stay neutral in this war, but the Pāṇdavas and
especially Arjuna are very dear to him. Now that Krishna is on the side of the Pāṇdavas, I surely cannot
fight on your side against my own brother. During the meeting we had in the court of King Virāta, I did
speak in your favor. I have therefore done my duty towards you. Now I want that you should fight the
war following all the rules of Dharma. I will meanwhile go on a pilgrimage along the banks of the
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Sarasvati River.” Balarāma returned from his pilgrimage and came to Kurukshetra later only towards the
very end of the 18th day of the war.
After getting the one Akshauhiṇī strong Nārāyaṇī army of Krishna, Duryodhana then went to see
Kritavarmā, another Yādava chief, and got another Akshauhiṇī of army from him.12 The trip to Dwārakā
therefore appeared very successful to Duryodhana, who then returned to Hastināpura.
5.3 Shalya is tricked by Duryodhana
Shalya, the King of Madra and the brother of Mādrī (who was the mother of Nakula and Sahadeva) got
the message for help from the Pāṇdavas. He started marching towards Upaplavya with his soldiers.
Shalya had a huge army of one Akshauhiṇī. As they all travelled toward Upaplavya, Duryodhana played a
trick. He constructed huge halls on the entire route to feed and entertain Shalya and his soldiers on their
way with a view to impress him.
Shalya just assumed that his nephews, the Pāṇdavas had made these arrangements for him. Pleased
with the service he received, Shalya remarked, “Whosoever has made these arrangements for me will
get a boon from me.” Duryodhana came forward and said, “I am the one who did all this for you. I seek
your help in my war against the Pāṇdavas!” Shalya felt that he had been tricked. But he had to keep his
word.
Shalya then travelled to Upaplavya and explained to Yudhishthira how he had been tricked to offer his
support to the Kauravas. But
Yudhishthira said, “That is all right
Uncle. You must keep your word.”
Krishna intervened and said to
Shalya, “But please do us a favor.
When you become the charioteer
of Karṇa while he is fighting Arjuna,
make sure that you keep praising
Arjuna and criticizing Karṇa. This
will weaken the mind of Karṇa, and
Arjuna will therefore have a better
chance to win the war.”
Shalya agreed and left after blessing the Pāṇdavas that they will be victorious.
INSIGHT FROM THIS STORY: We should not accept free food or any other free favor without finding out
who the sponsor is and also the purpose behind his favor. When we take someone’s favor, we become
obliged to them and feel that we must also return the favor to them. And what if that other person is
evil, just as happened in this case?
12
One Akshauhiṇī – 21,870 chariots and chariot riders, 21870 elephants and riders, 65,610 horses and riders and
109,350 foot-soldiers (in the ratio 1:1:3:5).
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Another example illustrating this teaching from the Mahābhārata is that of Bheeshma. He was employed
by King Dhritarāshtra, and was therefore obliged to fight on the side of Kauravas. In contrast, Vidura
maintained his independence. He refused to live in the palace, and refused to take any salary from King
Dhritarāshtra. In fact, Vidura left the palace and lived in a small house in the city of Hastināpura. For
food, he grew vegetables in his yard. Due to this, Vidura was always able to speak truthfully what was in
his mind, without the fear of losing his job or his home.
The second lesson that we learn from this story is the importance of the power of the mind to get victory
or give defeat for our own success or failure. We cheer our sports teams during competitions to boost
their enthusiasm so that they win the game. We like to hear encouraging words from our friends and
family before we start any difficult task, like taking an exam in school. This helps us in performing better
in the examination.
The opposite can also happen. If someone keeps talking negative to us, criticizes us all the time, and
instead praises our competitor or enemy, then our mind becomes weak. Therefore, we will do poorly in
our exam or we will lose our game. We shall see later how Shalya keeps criticizing Karṇa during the war,
and praises Arjuna. This makes Karṇa feel weaker, and he is therefore not able to fight as well as he
could have. We should learn from these examples and keep ourselves away from people who are always
criticizing us and make fun of us. Making friends with these types of people is not good for our mind
because they influence us with their negative comments all the time.
5.5 Peace Message of Drupada’s Priest
Drupada’s priest meanwhile went to Hastināpura and made a strong case for peace and for the return of
Indraprastha to the Pāṇdavas at the court of King Dhritarāshtra. Karṇa interjected and said, “Tell the
Pāṇdavas that they should go back to the forest for 12 more years because we found out their identity
before the 13th year was over.” But Dhritarāshtra accepted the peace‐proposal and decided to send his
charioteer Sanjaya to Upaplavya with his own peace proposal.
5.6 Sanjaya’s Peace Message from King Dhritarāshtra
Sanjaya brought a shocking message from Dhritarāshtra that said, “I understand and appreciate the fact
that wrong was done to the Pāṇdavas, and that their kingdom might have been taken from them
through unfair means. But now, it has been 13 years since that happened. During all this time,
Duryodhana has been ruling the kingdom ably. King Dhritarāshtra fears that the refusal of Duryodhana
to return the western half to the Pāṇdavas can lead to a war. Many innocent people can lose their lives
in this war. The King believes that you Pāṇdavas are just and peace‐loving. Therefore, you must not do
anything which leads to a bloody and a devastating war. For the sake of preserving peace, you must
continue to spend the rest of their lives in the forest, living as Sadhus. Or you may move permanently to
Dwārakā and stay there with Krishna.”
Yudhishthira was very saddened when he got this deceptive message. It was quite clear to him now that
his Uncle King Dhritarāshtra was finding excuses for not doing justice to the Pāṇdavas. He regretted that
his own civil and gentlemanly behavior had caused the Kauravas to think that the Pāṇdavas were
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cowards, or that they were scared of war. Yudhishthira sent a firm message with Sanjaya that the
Pāṇdavas now wanted their kingdom back because they had fulfilled all the conditions of staying in the
forest for 12 years, and in disguise for 1 year.
Sanjaya knew in his mind that the Kauravas were wrong. When he reached Hastināpura, it was already
late in the evening. Although he should have gone straight to see King Dhritarāshtra who was eager to
meet him, Sanjaya snubbed him. He sent a message instead that he will see the King the following
morning only. He also said that the Kauravas had been unfair to the Pāṇdavas, and that he considered
King Dhritarāshtra responsible for all the injustices towards the Pāṇdavas.
5.7 The Teaching of Vidura to King Dhritarāshtra (Vidura Geetā)
Dhritarāshtra knew that Sanjaya was angry with him. Due to anxiety for the following morning, he could
not sleep at all that night. Finally, he sent a message that he wanted to meet Vidura. When Vidura
arrived, King Dhritarāshtra said, “I am very upset because Sanjaya refused to come and see me. I am
unable to sleep and am worried about the message that Sanjaya has brought for me. Therefore, I want
you to say words of wisdom to me. Explain to me the secrets of Dharma, and tell me how I can decide
the right from the wrong. Listening to your teachings will give me great peace.”
Vidura then gives a beautiful teaching to King Dhritarāshtra for several hours. His teaching is compiled in
a holy book called the Vidura Gita, which is included in the Mahābhārata. Let us read some verses from
the Vidura Gita below ‐
He listens to what others have to say with
patience, even though he understands
everything himself promptly. His actions
are based on understanding, not on mere
desires or infatuations or whims. Unless
requested, he does not comment on the
affairs of others – these are the primary
traits of a Pandit. 5.33.22
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over possessions that are destroyed or lost; and do not land into a state of self‐pity in times of
adversity. 5.33.23
He is called a Pandit who undertakes a task only after he has made a well‐thought decision to
pursue it, who does not stop in the middle of his task (before they are completed), who
undertakes his tasks with a purpose in mind (i.e., who does not waste time in useless activities),
and who is disciplined. 5.33.24
He is called a fool who, abandoning or neglecting his own possessions, runs after the
possessions of others, and who behaves dishonestly with his friend. 5.33.31
He is a fool who increases his work unnecessarily, who hesitates at all times and who
procrastinates in tasks that should be completed promptly. 5.33.34
He is said to be of a foolish mind and a depraved man who goes to other people’s homes even
when not invited, who talks too much even when not asked to speak, and who trusts unreliable
people. 5.33.35
That man is the greatest fool who faults others for defects that are present in his own
character, and who loses temper without possessing authority. 5.33.36
If you have been blessed with prosperity, then let the following always dwell in your home and
taken care by you – elderly relatives, a distressed person who hails from a good family, a poor
friend, and a sister who has no son. 5.33.59
Do not set your mind on objectives that are fulfilled through evil actions and by employing
inappropriate means. 5.34.6
A wise man must not let his mind grieve over tasks that are not fulfilled even when he had tried
all proper means and had worked really hard. 5.34.7
“What will I benefit by doing this task, what will I lose by not doing this task” – a man should
ascertain this before starting or abandoning various tasks. 5.34.19
Some tasks should not be pursued at any time because their inherent nature is such that they
do not bear fruit, and any effort expended in doing them goes waste. Therefore, we should
start our tasks at the right time to be successful. 5.34.20
One should learn useful things even from a lunatic, a useless talker or a child, just as gold is
extracted from stone. 5.34.30
A wise man should imbibe good explanations, good sayings and good deeds from wherever
possible without worrying who is saying or doing them. 5.34.31
Dharma is protected by truth, knowledge is protected by its application, beauty is protected by
cleaning and one’s family is protected by good conduct. 5.34.37
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That assembly of people is useless if it has no Elders. Those elders are of no use who do not
speak according to what Dharma teaches. That Dharma is false if it is not based on truth. And
that truth is no truth if it is mixed with a lie.”
5.8 The Teaching of Rishi Sanatsujāta to King Dhritarāshtra
Dhritarāshtra was still very scared that his sons will get killed in a war with the Pāṇdavas. He had
heard that a Rishi named Sanatsujāta taught that there is no death! At the request of
Dhritarāshtra, Vidura then went into meditation and requested the Rishi to come there.
King Dhritarāshtra and Vidura bowed to Rishi Sanatsujāta, and then the King asked the Rishi, “We
see people dying in front of us every day. But you say that death does not exist. Please explain the
meaning of your teaching to me.”
The Rishi replied, “People who are attached to worldly possessions and to their own body live in
fear all the time. They are afraid of losing them. Therefore they are afraid of death too. So, death
indeed exists for these weak minded people. But there is another type of people, who are not
attached to worldly pleasures, who are humble and simple, who always behave truthfully towards
others and who understand that they are the Atman (the soul) which never dies. For these wise
people, death does not exist. Therefore King, I urge you to give up your attachment for your sons,
and ask Duryodhana to give up his attachment for his kingdom. Otherwise, you will all die. But if
you concentrate more on better things like truth, justice, worship etc., then death cannot scare
you.”
King Dhritarāshtra felt satisfied with the answer of the Rishi, and he was happy for some time. But
even before morning came, he once again went back to his old ways. Once more his weak mind
forgot that his own son Duryodhana was evil; that he must control him and return the kingdom of
Pāṇdavas to them.
INSIGHT FROM THIS INCIDENT: Most of us know what is right and what is wrong. But even
then, we continue to do bad things because our mind is weak like that of Dhritarāshtra. To stop
the mind from doing wrong things, we should make the mind strong and disciplined. Bhagavān
Krishna teaches the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna before the start of the war so that his mind becomes
strong. Whosoever practices the teaching of Gita can strengthen his mind and stop it from doing
wrong things.
5.9 The Failure of Sanjaya’s Peace Mission
The next morning, all the elders of the Kuru kingdom gathered in the court of King Dhritarāshtra.
Duryodhana, Karṇa, Shakuni and Dushāsana also arrived. Sanjaya said, “Prince Duryodhana, give up the
path of injustice and return Indraprastha to the Pāṇdavas.” Bheeshma also agreed to what Sanjaya
advised. But Karṇa got up and said, “Respected Grandfather Bheeshma, you seem to love the Pāṇdavas
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more than Duryodhana and his brothers. Are you scared of fighting the Pāṇdavas? I alone can defeat
them single‐handedly!”
Karṇa’s rude comments made Bheeshma very angry and he said, “Karṇa, you should learn how to talk to
your elders. Just recently, you left Duryodhana alone when Chitrasena attacked your group at the
Dvaitavana Lake. You fled, and Prince Duryodhana was captured and humiliated by Chitrasena. Then you
were defeated by Arjuna in the Matsya kingdom, and fled again, leaving Duryodhana to fend for himself.
Therefore, stop boasting because you have never been able to defeat Arjuna. And now, he has deadly
weapons like the Pāshupata missile. Moreover, Parashurāma and another Brahmana have cursed you.
You and Shakuni have always encouraged Duryodhana to do the wrong thing. And when he gets into
trouble for this, you desert him and run away.” Karṇa got upset on hearing Bheeshma’s remarks and left
the court.
Sanjaya said, “Krishna is always fair. He always takes the side of Dharma. Therefore, I think that
Duryodhana should go to Krishna and get his advice.”
Duryodhana then said angrily,
“Forget their kingdom, I will
not even give them as much
land as can fit on a needle tip.
Moreover, Krishna always
sides with the Pāṇdavas. Why
should I insult myself by going
and talking to Krishna?” King
Dhritarāshtra reminded
Duryodhana that Bheema had
vowed to kill him as well as
Dushāsana. Then, he called
Gāndhārī and asked her to
convince Duryodhana to talk
to Krishna.
But Duryodhana refused to
listen even to his dear mother Gāndhārī. She became so upset at her son’s behavior that she said, “I am
really ashamed to be your mother. You are really a wretched person. Your father and I love you from our
heart and want you to be happy and alive. But you do not even want to listen to us. Why are you being
so obstinate?” The news that Duryodhana had refused to return the kingdom of Pāṇdavas reached
Upaplavya where the Pāṇdavas had camped.
5.10 Krishna’s Peace Mission
Yudhishthira approached Krishna and said, “I do not want war. I prefer peace but Duryodhana is not
willing to return our kingdom. I am willing to take just five villages, but he does not want to give
anything to us. Please suggest what I should do now.”
Krishna said that he would go to Hastināpura with a peace proposal and convince Duryodhana to be fair
to the Pāṇdavas. But Yudhishthira was worried that if Krishna goes there alone, the Kauravas might
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harm Him. Krishna smiled and said, “Do not worry. No one in Hastināpura can harm me.” Krishna
decided to go on a chariot filled with weapons, and driven by Sātyaki, a friend of Krishna and Arjuna, and
also a powerful warrior.
Just before Krishna left, Draupadi came to see Krishna with tears in her eyes. She said, “Look at my hair
Krishna. I have not tied them for the last thirteen years after Dushāsana dragged me by pulling my hair. I
and my husbands have suffered a
lot since I was insulted in front of
everyone. I want you to make sure
that I get justice.” Krishna promised
to her that she will get justice.
Sātyaki drove Krishna in a chariot to
Hastināpura. Duryodhana learned
from his spies that Krishna was on
his way to see them. King
Dhritarāshtra suggested to
everyone that Krishna should be
welcomed in a very grand manner
with precious gifts. But Vidura and
Bheeshma replied, “If you think
that you can impress Krishna with your wealth and a fake welcome, then you are mistaken. Krishna
always sides with Dharma, and you cannot bribe him to leave the Pāṇdavas and switch to your side.”
Duryodhana got very angry when he heard this and said, “Why should we welcome Krishna? Let us
imprison him when he arrives.” This really infuriated Bheeshma and he walked out of the court
immediately saying that only a fool can think that he can imprison Krishna.
As Krishna was on his way to Hastināpura, King Dhritarāshtra placed several men with food, water and
expensive presents at short distances so as to please Him. But Krishna refused to take anything from
them. When he arrived at Hastināpura, he immediately first went to Vidura’s home to see his aunt Kunti
who had lived there for the past 13 years. She had tears in her eyes and asked Him about Draupadi and
her sons. Krishna promised to her that he will make sure that they get justice.
5.11 Krishna prefers Vidura’s Vegetable over King Dhritarāshtra’s
Royal Feast (‘Vidura Sāga’)
Duryodhana sent an invitation to Krishna to eat a royal dinner with them at the palace. The Kauravas
thought that since they are powerful and rich, Krishna might get impressed by their royalty and power.
He might then agree to a deal that benefits only the Kauravas and does not get the Pāṇdavas anything.
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But Lord Krishna told the Kauravas – “I am the
messenger of Pāṇdavas. I cannot eat food with you till I
finish my work with you here in Hastināpura. We should
eat food at someone else’s place only when we are in
trouble or when they call us with love or respect. I am
not in trouble, and you do not love me or respect me.
So I cannot come.”
The second teaching of this story is that in the eyes of Bhagavān, we are great only if we are truthful. Not
necessarily if we are rich, handsome, powerful or famous.
5.12 Krishna’s at the Court of King Dhritarāshtra
In the court, Krishna said to King Dhritarāshtra, “Your majesty, Yudhishthira is a fair person. He does not
want war. He loves peace. He thinks of you as his own father. The Pāṇdavas have also satisfied all the
conditions of their thirteen year exile. Therefore, in all fairness, they should get their kingdom back.”
Dhritarāshtra replied, “I agree to what you have said. But my son just does not listen to me. Shakuni,
Karṇa and Dushāsana do not let Duryodhana listen to my advice. Why don’t you try to talk to him?”
Krishna turned towards Duryodhana and said, “Dear Prince, there are three types of people. The best
type desire for their good as well as the good of everyone else. The second type is selfish, and they care
only for their own good. Even if you are the second type of person, you should make peace with the
Pāṇdavas or they will defeat you and take even your half of the kingdom. The worst type of people is
those who listen to bad advice from evil minded friends and keep on doing one wrong thing after
another. Under the influence of Shakuni, Dushāsana and Karṇa, you have already done a lot of wrong to
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the Pāṇdavas. But it is not too late. Yudhishthira is very forgiving. He will forget the injustice done to him
even now if you return their kingdom to them. Moreover, your father really loves you. Why don’t you
respect his feelings? If you obey him, you will get his blessings. Please return the kingdom of Pāṇdavas
to them.”
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Karṇa, Shakuni and Dushāsana. The four decided that before King Dhritarāshtra arrests Duryodhana,
they should go to the court with their own men and imprison Krishna!
When the four arrived at the court with their men
and ordered the arrest of Krishna, everyone was
shocked! But Krishna merely smiled and said,
“Duryodhana thinks that I am all alone. All the Devas
are within me. If I want, I can single‐handedly
destroy all the Kaurava brothers and make
Yudhishthira the King of Hastināpura.”
Krishna then said to King Dhritarāshtra, “O King, your son is not only evil, but also foolish. A war will
happen now. And Duryodhana will get the blame for causing millions of death.” King Dhritarāshtra
became frightened and he tried to pacify Krishna. But He left the court to see Aunt Kunti before leaving
Hastināpura. King Dhritarāshtra tried to convince Duryodhana once again, reminding him how he was
not able to imprison Krishna, who is none other than Bhagavān. But Duryodhana said, “Krishna is no
Bhagavān. He is just a cheap magician!”
INSIGHT FROM KRISHNA’S PEACE MISSION: The 4 steps of solving conflicts
Hindu scriptures say that whenever there is a disagreement or a conflict between two groups, the
following 4 steps should be taken in order to bring about peace. Krishna followed these exact steps in his
peace mission.
1. Saama: First, we should try to make our adversary see reason. We should ask him to be fair with us.
Krishna started by telling King Dhritarāshtra that Yudhishthira was a fair person who respected him. He
had fulfilled all conditions of his exile. Therefore, he should get his kingdom back.
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2. Daana: If the adversary does not agree to give us our fair share, we should compromise. In other
words, we should give up a part of our fair share, and agree to take less. Krishna’s second step was the
suggestion that Duryodhana can keep most of the kingdom and give just 5 villages, or five houses in a
single village to the Pāṇdavas.
3. Bheda: If the first two steps do not work out, then we should try to divide our adversary or enemy so
that some of them come over to our side. Krishna too requested King Dhritarāshtra and other Kuru elders
to ignore Duryodhana or even imprison him if he does not agree to give anything to the Pāṇdavas.
4. Danda: Finally, if everything else fails, then we should punish the enemy by using force, threats, fines
etc. Krishna too left with the declaration that the Pāṇdavas will meet the Kauravas in the battlefield. The
Mahabharata war took place because of failure of the first three steps, and the Kauravas were punished
by the Pāṇdavas. Krishna guided the Pāṇdavas to a final victory over the Kauravas in that war.
This example shows how Krishna tried his utmost to prevent a war for the sake of Shānti, but when the
first three steps of conflict resolution failed, he directed Pāṇdavas to punish the Kauravas through a war
(Danda). It is important to follow these four steps in the correct order whenever there is a fight between
two people or groups. We should not jump directly to danda (war) because war always causes a lot of
death and destruction to both the winner as well as the loser.
5.13 Kunti’s Message for her Sons
Kunti wept when she learned that Krishna’s peace mission had failed. When Krishna asked her if she
wanted to send any message for her sons, she said, “Tell my sons that if they will not fight for their
rights, then I do not want to see their faces again. It is better to
live a short life full of bravery, fame and happiness than to live a
long and an ordinary life in which there is no happiness, bravery
or fame. My sons should not feel weak and discouraged. Instead,
they should hold their heads high and fight for their rights. In this
world, no one gets their rights without fighting for them. Tell
Yudhishthira that he will never regain his kingdom if he does not
fight for it. Remind him that my dear Draupadi suffered for no
fault of hers. My sons should see her loosened hair and take
revenge for all the insults that she had to face.”
5.14 Krishna meets Karṇa
Before leaving Hastināpura, Krishna met Karṇa and requested him to come on a chariot to a lonely place
outside the city. Karṇa agreed and Krishna said to him, “Karṇa, perhaps you do not know that your
mother is none other than Queen Kunti. In fact, you are her eldest son, and the elder brother of
Yudhishthira. Therefore, you should not support Duryodhana. You should fight on the side of Pāṇdavas.
When the Pāṇdavas will learn that you are their eldest brother, they will immediately offer to make you
the king of Indraprastha. And Draupadi will become your queen.”
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Karṇa was shocked by Krishna’s
statement that he was the eldest
son of Kunti. All of a sudden, his
hatred for the Pāṇdavas vanished.
He felt happy that he had now
found who his real family was. But
at the same time, he felt very hurt
that Kunti had abandoned him as a
child.
He replied, “I do not accept Kunti as
my mother because she left me as a
baby to die. I was brought up with
love by Adhiratha and Radha, and
they alone are my parents. I know
that the Kauravas will be defeated in the war. But I am loyal to my friend Duryodhana and I will fight for
him even if I have to lose my life. I have vowed to kill Arjuna, and therefore, I will fight on the side of the
Kauravas so that I can fulfill my vow. But please promise to me that you will not reveal to the Pāṇdavas
that I am their elder brother.”
Karṇa also said that even if the Pāṇdavas give their kingdom to him, he will gift it to Duryodhana
anyway. Therefore, the Pāṇdavas will once again be without any kingdom. For this reason too, it is
better that Krishna should not ask Karṇa to fight for the Pāṇdavas.
5.15 Kunti meets Karṇa
It was certain now that a war was going to happen between the Kauravas and the Pāṇdavas. Kunti was
worried that her own son Karṇa will fight and kill her other sons and his own brothers, the Pāṇdavas.
With a very heavy heart, she went to see Karṇa while he was doing his mid‐day worship of Sūrya.
When Karṇa finished his Pūjā, he saw Kunti and
bowed to her respectfully. Kunti said to him,
“Dear Karṇa, my son, perhaps you already
know that you are in fact the eldest Pāṇdava,
my eldest son. I feel very scared and sad to
think that you will be fighting and killing your
own brothers, or that they might kill you. I
know I was not fair to you. I abandoned you
just after you were born. But believe me, I have
felt guilty about what I did to you every day of
my life. I had never imagined that one day
because of my mistakes, my own children will be fighting to kill each other. My son, please leave
Duryodhana. Your younger brother Yudhishthira will gladly accept you as the King. All of your brothers
Page 98 of 210
and their children will honor you as the eldest brother and Uncle. Draupadi will marry you and we will
live happily thereafter as one big family.”
But Karṇa replied, “I know already that you are my mother. All my life, I have had just one wish, that my
real mother would see me and address me as ‘son.’ Today, you have fulfilled that desire of mine and I no
longer want to live any longer. But it is too late for me to switch sides in this war. Duryodhana has
always honored me as his closest friend. You had abandoned me to die, but I was lovingly raised by
Adhiratha and Rādhā. They are my real parents. All my life, I was insulted as the ‘son of a charioteer.’
You knew about it but you never came forward to call me as your son then. And now you have come
here only because you are worried that I might kill one of the five Pāṇdavas in the war. I cannot betray
Duryodhana now because all that I have in my life today is because of him and not because of you. I
know that Duryodhana has not been fair to my brothers. But he does not even listen to his own elders.
Then why will he change his mind if I tell him to return the kingdom to Yudhishthira? If you are worried
about the lives of your sons, then let me make this promise to you – In the war, I will not kill
Yudhishthira, Bheema, Nakula or Sahadeva. But I have sworn to kill Arjuna. Therefore, either he will kill
me or I will kill him. Whatever happens, you will still have 5 sons at the end. This is a son’s promise to his
mother.”
Kunti was heartbroken, and Karṇa too became very emotional. For the first and last time in their lives,
the mother and son embraced each other and
cried. They cried because now they knew how
much they loved each other, but at the same
time Karṇa was not able to fulfill the request of
his mother. Kunti then left Karṇa saying, “I
understand your situation my son. But I am
really grateful to you that you are going to spare
your four brothers even though I did not give
you the love of a mother, and even though they
have insulted you several times. But believe me
that I love you as my eldest son from the bottom
of my heart.”
5.16 Vidura leaves Hastināpura and goes on a Pilgrimage
Vidura still not give up his attempts to put some good sense into the head of King Dhritarāshtra and
Duryodhana. One day, as he was trying to convince the King to return the kingdom of Pāṇdavas,
Duryodhana became really angry. He insulted Vidura very rudely in front of everyone and said, “Vidura,
just because you are my so called Uncle does not mean that think of yourself as an important person in
my father’s royal court. Do not forget that after all, you are the son of a poor maid whereas my father
and I have royal mothers. You are a just lowly person. For many years, you have lived on our charity
because we have been generous to you. You have taken salary from us in the past just like a dog eats
the leftovers that his master throws to him. So do not try to act too important.”
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Vidura decidded that he ccould not takke any
more insultss. Once for aall, he left hiss bow
and quiver of arrows att the court, w which
meant that he was quittting his job aat the
royal palace.. Then, he weent on a pilgriimage
and returned only after the Mahābh hārata
war was oveer. Later on, h he returned to o help
the Pāṇdavas to rule Hastināpura after
they had woon the war an nd had defeatted all
the Kauravas. The detailss of his pilgriimage
in the com
mpany of Rishi Maitreyaa are
recorded in a holy book ccalled the Shrimad
Bhāgavata Purāṇa.
“I will sho
ow you how. IIf I fail, I will iimmolate myyself here andd now on a pyyre,” said Arju
una. So, he sttarted
shooting arrows after arrows and ssoon, a bridge of arrows aappeared on the ocean, eextending outt from
Rameshvaaram towardss Lanka!
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Thhe monkey aagreed and Arjuna consttructed one more
bridge from hiis arrows. Thee monkey staarted walking on it.
But unlike the previous tim mes, the bridge did not colllapse!
Thhe monkey w was none otther than Lo
ord Hanuman n who
co
ould increasee his bodily
y size at will. So, he bloated
himself into a giant. But the bridgee would stilll not
ollapse! Thenn, Hanuman sstarted jump
co ping on the bridge,
but it still stoood intact. Han
numan realizzed that the yyoung
man
m was nonne other than n Bhagavān Rama. Arjuna too
re
ealized that the young man was none other than
Bhagavān Krisshna. They b both prostratted at the yyoung
man’s feet, an
m d immediately, he took hiis real form as four
arrmed Bhagavvān Vishnu off whom both Rama and Krrishna
arre Avataras!
Vishnu said too them, “I caame here beecause Arjunaa was
being too vaiin, and becaause Hanumaan was being too
proud of his strength. Reemember that I am thee true
source of everyone’s strength!”
5.18 War
W Pre
eparation
ns in th
he Kauraava cam
mp and Bheeshm
ma’s
Condittions
The two armies
a starte
ed gathering in the plain of
o Kurukshet ra. They werre separated by river Hiraanvati,
which flowwed into the river Sarasvaati. (Hiranvati and Sarasvatti are both ho oly rivers). The Pāṇdava women
stayed back in Upaplavvya.
FA
AST FORW
WARD: Two thousand years later, a great
sa
aint named G Gaudapāda livved on the ba anks of this riiver in
Kuurukshetra. HHis student Goovindapāda m moved south tto live
onn the banks oof the Narmada river in ceentral India. TThere,
hee met Shhankara, w who became his stu udent.
Sh
hankarāchāryya later beecame one of the greeatest
phhilosophers off Hindu Dharrma (in the 7tth‐8th cent. CEE). His
phhilosophy is kknown as Advvaita Vedānta a and it teachhes us
Haryyana th
hat our soul is Divine, annd a part of
f Bhagavān. H Hindu
traadition believves that Gauddapādācharyya was the student
off none other than Veda VVyāsa, who co ontinued to llive in
Kuurukshetra foor several ccenturies eveen after thee war
beecause Bhagaavān Shiva haad granted him a very lon ng life
annd had asked him to stay inn that area.
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Duryodhana approached Bheeshma and begged him to be the Commander‐in‐Chief of the Kaurava
army. Bheeshma agreed on three conditions. First, he said that he will not kill any of the five Pāṇdava
brothers because he loved them and they were his own grandsons. However, to compensate for this, he
vowed to kill at least 10,000 soldiers in the Pāṇdava army every day. The second condition he had was
that he will not fight alongside Karṇa because Karṇa had always been rude to him. Moreover, he
bragged a lot that he will defeat the Pāṇdavas single‐handedly but had often run away from the
battlefield leaving him behind alone to defend himself. Therefore, Karṇa must stay off the battlefield.
Droṇāchārya too joined Bheeshma in insulting Karṇa. Duryodhana was shocked when he heard all this
because Karṇa was his best fighter. But Karṇa got very angry at these insults and said to Yudhishthira, “I
am sorry to see that Grandfather Bheeshma hates me a lot. I think he is jealous of my strength. Or
perhaps, both of them have become very old and their brains do not work properly now. I think we
should not listen to them. The reality is that these two men secretly side with the Pāṇdavas. That is the
reason why they want to create enmity between you and me. But anyway, I will fight only after
Bheeshma is killed and Droṇāchārya has withdrawn from the war.”
Duryodhana felt very upset on seeing his own military leaders insult each other. But there was nothing
that he could do about it.
DID YOU KNOW? Several people believe that the real reason why
Bheeshma did not want to fight alongside Karṇa was that he knew that
Karṇa was the real brother of Pāṇdavas. Therefore, he did not want
Karṇa to fight his own brothers as long as he could prevent it.
The civil war of Mahābhārata killed millions of people in Bhārata.
Almost 2000 years later, in the early 7th century CE, a Chinese traveler
named Hieun Tsang visited India. The Hindus showed him the site of
the war, and the traveler recorded in his diary that he could still see
bones scattered over the plain.
Third, Bheeshma also told Duryodhana that he will not fight against Prince Shikhandi because he was a
woman Ambā in his previous life. Therefore, the Kaurava army must try to keep Shikhandi away from
him during the war. Bheeshma had taken a vow that he will never fight a woman, or a warrior whose
name was that of a woman or who looked like a woman or even those who had been women earlier but
had changed their gender to become men.
5.19 War Preparations in the Pāṇdava Camp
Meanwhile in the Pāṇdava camp, Balarāma arrived and repeated his decision to stay out of the war.
Moreover, he said, “If I am here to watch the events of the war, I will not be able to stay neutral. I will
get tempted to take sides. Therefore, I will go on a pilgrimage along River Sarasvati.” Balarāma then set
out along the river till the sea coast where Sarasvati used to reach up to the ocean. By the time of the
Mahabharata war however, the river had mostly dried up although the dried river bed was still visible,
just as it can be seen today.
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King Rukmi of Bhojpur in Bihar (India) arrived with his one Akshauhiṇī army. He said to the Pāṇdavas, “I
see that you are nervous because your army is much smaller than that of the Kauravas. But do not
worry. With my help you can easily defeat them.” The Pāṇdavas did not like the rudeness of Rukmi and
said, “We are not scared and we will win the war with or without your help. Therefore, it is your wish
whether you want to be on our side or not. We do not need your support.”
Rukmi felt annoyed that he was snubbed and then went to Duryodhana and offered him help. But
Duryodhana said, “You are coming to me only because the Pāṇdavas have rejected you. I do not take
anything that has been rejected by others, especially if they are my enemies.” Rukmi then returned to
his Kingdom as a disappointed man.
FLASHBACK: Rukmi was the brother of Rukmini, who had eloped with Krishna to marry Him. Rukmi
wanted her to marry Shisupāla and therefore he fought a war with the Yādavas to bring his sister back.
But he lost the war. Ashamed of his defeat, he did not return to his father’s kingdom Vidarbha in central
India. Instead, he decided to settle down at a town called Bhojakata in Eastern India (modern town of
Bhojpur in Bihar, India) and founded a new kingdom there. When he heard that his old enemy Krishna
had sided with the Pāṇdavas, he thought that this was his chance to end his enmity with Krishna by
offering his support to the Pāṇdavas. But his arrogance annoyed the Pāṇdavas.
DID YOU KNOW?
The only other major kingdom in Bhārata that did not participate in the war was Kashmir in the northern
end of India because its King was a child at that time. This fact about Kashmir was noted by the historian
Kalhana in a work on Kashmiri history called ‘Rājataranginī’, that he wrote more than 2000 years after
the Mahabharata War. Interestingly, some kingdoms supported both the sides during the war. For
example, the Pandya King from Tamil Nadu in Southern India is said to have fed soldiers of both the
armies. Sahadeva, the King of Magadha and son of Jarāsandha fought on the side of Pāṇdavas but some
of his generals fought for the Kauravas.
5.20 The Strengths of the Two Armies
The Pāṇdava army comprised of seven Akshauhiṇīs whereas the Kaurava army had eleven Akshauhiṇīs.
Each Akshauhiṇī consists of the following four parts:
• 21870 chariots
• 21870 elephants
• 65610 horses
• 1,09,350 foot soldiers.
Therefore, for every chariot, there was 1 elephant, 3 horses and their riders, and 5 foot soldiers.
The Pāṇdavas chose Dhrishtadyumna, the Prince of the Panchāla, as their commander in chief. Their
army of seven Akshauhiṇīs was led by these seven commanders:
1. Dhrishtadyumna, the Prince of Panchāla.
2. Drupada, the King of Panchāla
3. Shikhandi, the Prince of Panchāla
4. Sātyaki, friend of Krishna and a great Yādava warrior
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5. Virāta, the King of Matsya
6. Bheema, the second Pāṇdava
7. Chekitāna, the King of Kekaya kingdom (in northern Pakistan today).
The Pāṇdavas were supported by many other Kings like those of Magadha, Chedi etc.
The commander‐in‐chief of the Kauravas was Bheeshma. The eleven Akshauhiṇīs of their army were led
by these 11 commanders:
1. Bheeshma, the grandfather of the Kauravas and the Pāṇdavas.
2. Kripāchārya, the teacher of the Kauravas and the Pāṇdavas
3. Droṇāchārya, the teacher of the Kauravas and the Pāṇdavas
4. Kritavarmā, the great Yādava warrior
5. Ashvatthāmā, the son of Droṇāchārya
6. Shalya, the King of Madra (in northern Pakistan), Uncle of Nakula and Sahadeva
7. Bhūrishravas, a Prince of Bāhlīka (today in northern Pakistan)
8. Shakuni, the Prince of Gandhāra (today in NW Pakistan)
9. Bāhlīka, King of Bāhlīka (today in northern Pakistan)
10. Jayadratha, the King of Sindhu (today the province of Sindh in South Eastern Pakistan)
11. Sudakshiṇa, the King of Kamboja (today in extreme northern part of Pakistan)
The Kauravas also had the support of Kings from the regions of Kalinga (modern Odisha), Vanga (modern
Bengal) and Prāgjyotisha (modern Assam) in eastern India, Koshala (region around Ayodhyā) and several
other kingdoms in Northern and Eastern India. See Appendix A for the location of these Kingdoms.
Class Exercise: Mark the location of Kingdoms supporting the Kauravas and Pāṇdavas on a map of
South Asia on the next page. What do you observe? What practical lesson do you learn from this?
END OF THE UDYOGA PARVA
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BHĀRATA
Geography of the Mahābhārata
Page 105 of 210
BOOK SIX – BHEESHMA PARVA
The sixth book of the Mahabharata named the Bheeshma Parva comprises of the first 10 days of the war
during which the Kaurava army was led by Bheeshma Pitāmaha. This Parva is famous for the fact that
the Bhagavad Gita forms chapters 23 – 40 of this book.
6.1 Sanjaya gets the Divine Vision
Before the war began, Rishi Veda Vyāsa
paid a visit to King Dhritarāshtra and
announced that the end of Kauravas
was near. He offered to grant eye‐sight
to the blind King so that he could see
the events of the war. But King
Dhritarāshtra declined, saying that he
would not be able to bear the death of
his sons, and the grief of his family
members. However, he was keen to
know the daily happenings of the
battlefield.
Therefore, Rishi Vyāsa gave the divine vision to Sanjaya so that he could narrate a detailed commentary
of the battle to the King. Sanjaya also got the boons that he will not be fatigued while narrating the
events, and that no weapons will harm him when he visits the battlefield personally. King Dhritarāshtra
and several others also moved out of Hastināpura and camped closed to the battlefield. Every day,
Sanjay went to the battlefield and was able to see all that
was going on. After the sunset, he returned to the King and
narrated that day’s events to King Dhritarāshtra, Gāndhārī
and others.
6.2 The Armies Face each other
As the two armies faced each other on the plains of
Kurukshetra, Krishna and Arjuna blew their conches named
Pānchajanya and Devadatta respectively to encourage the
Pāṇdava army. The thunderous sound of the conches
terrified the Kaurava warriors.
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Hanuman arrived and perched Himself on the flag of Arjuna’s chariot. He let out a loud roar that
terrified the Kaurava army. However, Hanumān decided not to see the war because he had already seen
the greatest war of all times – the battle between
Bhagavān Rama and the evil King of Lanka named
Ravana. This war is described in the Ramayana.
Yudhishthira urged his soldiers to fight bravely and to
follow all the rules of the war.
6.4 The Rules of the Mahābhārata War
The leaders of the two armies then met to make a list of the rules that they will follow while fighting
each other. Here are some of the rules:
1. Fighting will take place only from sunrise to sunset. As soon as the sun sets, the warriors will lay
down their arms and will return to their respective camps. After this time, the warriors should
also forget that they are each other’s enemies, and should interact with each other as friends.
2. Only equals can fight each other. A horse‐rider can only fight another horse‐rider (not a soldier
fighting on his own feet), an elephant‐rider should fight another elephant‐rider and so on.
3. The following fighters will not be attacked: Those who are running away from the battlefield,
those who are unarmed or frightened, and those who have surrendered.
4. The following non‐combatants shall not be attacked: the drum players, flag bearers, charioteers,
people who brought weapons to the warriors in the battleground, those who are nursing the
wounded and so on.
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5. Fighters will be attacked only from the front, and not from their back.
6. Women will not be attacked.
7. Animals will not be attacked, unless they pose a danger.
8. The bodies of the dead soldiers will be treated respectfully.
DID YOU KNOW? It took several thousand years for the rest of the world to catch up with these
civilized rules of war that were followed by the ancient Hindus. Unfortunately, even today, many
countries do not follow these rules.
6.5 Yudhishthira’s Worry & Arjuna’s Reply
Yudhishthira was a little nervous to face the Kaurava army because it was led by Bheeshma. “How will
we ever defeat them?” he asked.
Arjuna replied, “I had once heard Bheeshma himself say to Indra that a war is won not just by might, but
also by truth, Dharma, good Karma and kindness. He had also said that victory always belongs to that
side where Krishna is. Therefore do not worry. I know that we will win this war.”
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6.6 The
e Bhagavvad Gita: Bhagavāān Krishn
na’s Divin
ne Messagge to Arjuna
and to all of Us
Just beforre the battle war was abo
out to begin,, Arjuna requuested Krishnna to take hiss chariot to aa spot
between the two armies, so that h he could see tthe enemy cllearly. When he saw that his enemies were
none othe er than his co ousins, Uncless, teachers an nd other lovedd ones, Arjun na was suddenly overtaken n with
grief and guilt. HHe asked Krishna,
“How w can I kill myy own loved o ones?
I’d p
prefer to diee at their h hands,
ratheer than kill them. I do not want
our kkingdom backk. It is better tto live
the life of a beggaar than kill our own
relatiives and eld ders, as weell as
teachhers even tho ough our anger is
justified. I agree that Duryod dhana
was wwrong, and h he wants thiss war.
But w
we cannot bee as evil as h him. I
am so confused K Krishna, so p please
guidee me as to w
what is the co orrect
thingg to do.”
THE BHA
AGAVAD GITA – AN INTRODUC
CTION
The Nam me of the Scrip
pture:
The title o
of this belove
ed Hindu scrip
pture literally means “The Divine Song”” or the “The Song of the LLord”.
This holy book of Hindus preesents
an eternally reelevant diaalogue
betweeen a humaan representative
(Arjunna) and the SSupreme Bein ng (as
Krishnna). The Bhaggavad Gita is often
referrred to simply as the ‘Gita’ in
short. Many otherr Gitas exist iin the
Hinduu scriptural trradition, but when
the w
word ‘Gita’ iss used, it deenotes
our B
Bhagavad Gitta, because of its
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of 210
pre‐eminence over all the other Hindu Gita scriptures.
Importance of the Bhagavad Gita in Hinduism:
The Bhagavad Gita has been considered one of the most important scriptures of Hindus for over 2000
years. The scripture is almost universally regarded by Hindus as the epitome of all the spiritual teachings
of the Vedas and the Upanishads and is read by millions of Hindus for inspiration and solace to this day.
Many Hindus memorize all of its 700 verses, or at least selected chapters and verses to draw upon their
teachings and to teach others.
Gita and Other Scriptures:
The Bhagavad Gita forms chapters 23‐40 in the Bheeshma Parva – the 6th of the 18 books of the
Mahabharata. The Gita has 700 verses in the standard version of which 574 are spoken by Lord Krishna,
84 by Arjuna, 41 by Sanjaya and 1 by King Dhritarāshtra. The Gita has 18 chapters which have different
titles. In some manuscripts, there are additional 17 verses which do not however add anything new.
Translations and Commentaries:
The Gita is the second most translated scripture in the world, after the Bible. The oldest surviving
translation of the Gita is in Javanese, an Indonesian language. This translation covers less than 100
verses and is more than 1000 years old. Literally dozens of Hindu scholars and saints wrote their own
commentaries and explanations on the Bhagavad Gita in the last 1500 years or more. The oldest
commentary that survives is that of Adi Shankaracharya (~700 AD) but there were many older
commentaries that no longer exist. In our own times,
Mahatma Gandhi wrote an explanation on the Gita.
Literally hundreds of translations and beautiful
commentaries on the Gita in English, Hindi and many
other languages have appeared since 1750 CE.
Because of its importance in Hinduism, every
important Hindu thinker and philosopher feels the
need to write an explanation on this scripture from
his or her own perspective.
Many noteworthy Hindus as well as non‐Hindus have
found solutions to their problems through the Gita.
For example, Mahatma Gandhi once wrote – “I have
had no less share of great tragedies in my life. But
whenever I am in trouble, I rush to Mother Gita as a
child, and find a verse or a phrase here or there, that
provides an answer to my problem, and gives me
great comfort (paraphrased).”
The Teachings of Bhagavad Gita:
Hindu Dharma prescribes four goals of our human life: Artha (material wealth, security); Kāma (fulfilling
desires that make our senses and mind happy, sensual and aesthetic pleasures; success); Dharma
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(virtue, doing one’s duty, piety) and Moksha
(liberation from the continuous cycle of births
and deaths through spiritual enlightenment).
Dharma plays the most important role because
one must not pursue Artha and Kāma if they
violate the requirements of Dharma, and also
because Dharma provides the foundation on
which the edifice of spiritual enlightenment or
Moksha is constructed.
The four main paths to Moksha taught by the Gita are Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Dhyāna
Yoga. These paths are not mutually exclusive and we should combine elements from all, even while
focusing on 1 or 2 of them. The Gita recognizes the fact that different people have different abilities and
temperaments and therefore they may prefer focusing on 1 of the 4 approaches.
The path of KARMA YOGA states that all the sensations of our sense organs – such as pain, happiness,
sorrow, heat, cold etc., are temporary. Nothing lasts forever. Therefore, we should bear them with
patience, and not get infatuated with negative emotions, nor should we get attracted by worldly
temptations. Instead, we should continue to do our duty (Swadharma) at all times just because it ought
to be done, and without any desire of fruits resulting from doing them.
The path of BHAKTI YOGA is said to be the easiest path, accessible to all irrespective of our educational
background, social status or gender. It implies loving devotion to God through worship, and doing all our
duties with faith in Him and with a sense of surrender to His will.
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The path of DHYĀNA YOGA teaches that we should not focus all our attention on the external world,
because the Supreme Truth and Reality, which is our soul and God, are right within us. Therefore, we
should meditate on God, and should not waste our time in pursuing things that hamper meditation,
such as strong emotions, strong likes and dislikes etc.
It can be seen very easily that people with different temperaments will focus on one or the other paths
above. For example, emotional people would prefer the path of Bhakti, introverts and self‐reflective
people will prefer Dhyāna Yoga, intellectuals will prefer Jnana Yoga and action oriented people will
prefer Karma Yoga. However, there is no one who does not have some portion of intellectualism,
emotion, self‐reflection and action aspects in his behavior.
The Bhagavad Gita therefore describes these four paths but also teaches them in a way that spiritual
aspirants will follow elements of all these paths even when focusing on one of them. For example, a
Karma Yogi will benefit from practicing Dhyāna Yoga because it will help him bring his senses under the
discipline of his pure mind. He will understand the temporary nature of the physical sensations better if
he understands the path of Jnana Yoga to learn about the true nature of our body, our soul, God and
this universe. And devoting the fruits of his Karma to God will help him give up the desire for these
fruits. Similarly, the follower of Jnana Yoga will give a practical bent to his understanding of the nature
of the soul and the body if he actually experiences through Dhyāna Yoga. He will not lapse into evil ways
if he continues to do his duty towards others (Karma Yoga). And finally, he will not get enamored of dry
intellectualism alone if he combines his philosophical and theological insights with devotion and faith in
God.
The Gita strongly emphasizes the need to follow the path of Dharma as taught in our scriptures, and
continue doing all our required duties throughout our lives. Towards the end of the Gita, Lord Krishna
assures us that as long as we continue to do our duties without desire for fruits, as an offering for Him
and remembering Him, He will save us from all evil and also grant us Moksha.
THE BHAGAVAD‐GITA – A SUMMARY
Arjuna said to Lord Krishna:
Overcome by faint‐heartedness (a sinking feeling), confused
about my duty (Dharma), I ask you: Please tell me that
which is truly better for me. I am your student. Please teach
me, who has taken refuge in you. Gita 2.7
The Blessed Lord Krishna replied:
[GOD IS THE SUPREME BEING]
I am the final Destination (Goal), the Provider, the Master of
all, the Witness of everything, the Abode (in which the whole universe resides), worth seeking shelter of,
and the Friend of all. And I am the origin and the Dissolution, the Foundation of everything, the Resting
Place and the immortal cause of everything. Gita 9.18
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[OUR TRUE NATURE IS DIVINE]
An eternal portion of My own Self becomes the
soul of creatures in the world of living things. It
attracts the five senses and the mind as the sixth
(which lords over these senses) – all these six are
comprised of non‐living matter. Gita 15.7
[SEE THE DIVINE IN ALL CREATURES]
The wise see the same (Brahman) with an equal
eye, in a learned and humble brāhmaṇa, in a
cow, in an elephant, in a dog, and even in a dog
eater (outcast). Gita 5.18
[WE ARE THE ETERNAL SOUL, NOT THIS
PERISHABLE BODY]
The soul is never born and it does not ever die.
The soul is not something that exists at one time
and then vanishes the next. The soul is not
something that did not exist at one time and then
took birth and came into being subsequently. It is
unchanging, eternal and primeval and it is not destroyed when the body is destroyed. Gita 2.20
Weapons cannot cleave the soul, fire cannot burn it.
Water does not wet (or drown) it not does wind dry it.
Gita 2.23
[DOCTRINE OF REBIRTH – WE NEVER DIE]
Just as a human casts off worn out clothing and puts
on new, the soul too casts off old bodies and enters
into new ones. Gita 2.22
Just as the soul dwelling in the body passes through
childhood, youth and old age; in a similar manner, it
travels from one body to another. Therefore, the wise
do not get deluded over these changes. Gita 2.13
When the soul enters a body, it becomes the master
of that body. And when it leaves the body (at death),
it takes the mind and senses along with it, just as the
Page 113 of 210
wind takkes fragrancces from their sources (the
flowers). G
Gita 15.8
[GOD IS IMPARTIALL]
All beings are equal in my eyess. There is none
especiallyy hateful to me,
m nor one who is especcially
dear to me.
m But all those who worship
w me with
devotion a are in Me, an nd so am I in tthem. Gita 9.2
29
[THERE IS HO OPE FOR EVERYONE]
Even if a person of
o the vilestt conduct starts
s
worshippiing me with ssingle‐mindedd devotion, hee too
must be ccounted amon ngst the good
d, because hee has
resolved w
well. Gita 9.30
0
[WHOM D
DOES GOD LO
OVE?]
He who has no hatred for any living g being, who iis friendly andd also compaassionate insttead, who is ffree of
the feeling of ‘I’ and ‘‘mine’, even m
minded in pleeasure and p ain and everr forgiving an nd forbearing. Gita
12.13
He who iss alike to eneemy and friend, also to good or bad repputation; He who is the sa
ame in pleasu
ure or
pain, in heeat or cold an
nd who is freee from all atta
achments. Gitta 12.18
Page 114 o
of 210
[ LIVING ETHICCALLY AND SP PIRITUALLY]
Absence of fear, puritty of mind, stteadfastness in the
path of m
meditation, CCharity, contro ol over one’s sense
organs, performancee of Vedic sa acrifices, stu
udy of
Holy Scriiptures, austeerity and stra
aightforwardn ness…
Gita 16.11
Vigor annd energy, forrgiveness, forrtitude, cleanlliness,
absence of hatred annd no exaggeerated self‐op pinion
– These belong to thhe One who is born to acchieve
Wealth, O Bhāārata. Gita 16
Divine W 6.3
[LAW OFF KARMA, FREEEDOM IS OU UR TRUE DESTTINY]
Divine weealth leads to
t Freedom, whereas thee demoniac w wealth resultts in bondag
ge. Do not g
grieve,
because yyou are born n naturally with
h the divine w
wealth (and thherefore destiined for freed
dom). Gita 16 6.5
[CONTROL YO
[ OUR WANTS TTO ATTAIN PEEACE AND HA APPINESS]
He attain
ns peace into whom all deesires enter as
a waters ennters the oceean, which fillled from all sides,
remains uunmoved; butt not to him w who wants to have (more aand more) dessires. Gita 2.7 70
[PR
RACTICE MOD DERATION IN A ALL THINGS]
Meditatio
on (Yoga) beccomes the deestroyer of so orrow for himm whose foodd (eating habiits) and recreeation
are tempeerate, whose efforts and activities are controlled, aand whose slleep and wakking are regulated.
Gita 6.17
[ENGAGE WITH GOO
OD, DISENGA
AGE FROM EV
VIL]
Arjuna, without
w doubtt, the mind iss difficult to discipline
d beccause it is restless. But it can be restrrained
through constant
c enggagement in good things (abhyāsa) aand constantt detachmentt from bad tthings
(vairāgya)). Gita 6.35
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of 210
[SCRIPTURAL TEACHINGS SHOULD BE OUR GUIDE IN OUR ACTIONS]
Let scripture be the means by which you determine what should be done and what should not be done.
After knowing the commands of the scripture, it is your obligation to perform your duties while you live
in this world. Gita 16.24
[GOD SETS AN EXAMPLE THROUGH DIVINE INCARNATIONS]
Whenever there is a decline of Dharma and ascendancy of Adharma, I bring Myself into being, i.e., I
assume a physical body. Gita 4.7
To protect the virtuous, destroy the evil doers and to re‐establish the rule of Dharma, I come into being in
every age. Gita 4.8
[WE TOO SHOULD SET AN EXAMPLE FOR OTHERS]
Whatsoever a great man does, the same is done by others. Whatever standard he sets, the world
follows. Gita 3.21
[DO YOUR DUTY WITH A HIGHER PURPOSE]
The unlearned performs their duties from attachment to their work. Therefore, the wise and learned too
should perform their duties, but without any attachment and only with the desire to promote harmony
and welfare in the world. Gita 3.25
[BE STRONG, BELIEVE IN SELF‐HELP]
Let a man lift himself by himself; because we alone are our own friend and we are also our own enemy.
Gita 6.5
[DO YOUR DUTY SELFLESSLY, WITHOUT EXPECTING
REWARDS]
You have control over doing your duty alone, and
never on the fruit of your actions. Therefore, do not
live or do your duty that is merely motivated by fruits
of your actions. And do not let yourself get drawn
into the path of non‐action. Gita 2.47
[TAKE PRIDE IN WHATEVER YOU DO]
One should not give up the work suited to one’s
nature, though it may be defective, for all enterprises
are clouded by defects, just as fire is covered with
smoke. Gita 18.48
[ALL WORK IS IMPORTANT]
One’s duty, even if devoid of merit, is better than the
duty of another, well done. Doing action ordained by
one’s own nature, one does not incur any sin. Gita
18.47
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[CORRECT MENTAL ATTITUDE IN DOING OUR
DUTY]
Steadfast in Yoga, and abandoning attachments,
perform your actions and duties. Face all
accomplishments and failures with an even mind,
because yoga means evenness of mind. Gita 2.48
[WHEN WORK BECOMES WORSHIP]
[WE ARE INSTRUMENTS OF GOD]
The Lord resides in the hearts of all beings, causing
them to revolve (i.e., go about their tasks) through
his Māyā as if they were mounted on a machine.
Gita 18.61
[GOD’S PROMISE TO US]
Abandoning completely all duties (i.e., dedicating them to Me), seek refuge in Me alone. I will liberate
you from all evil, therefore do not grieve. Gita 18.66
[SPREAD THE GOOD WORD]
He who teaches this most exalted and supreme secret – this scripture (Gita) to My devotees, while having
the highest devotion to Me, will come to Me alone – let there be no doubt about this. Gita 18.68
Arjuna said:
O Lord! You are Imperishable, the Supreme
Being that we should seek to know. You are
the ultimate shelter of the entire universe.
You are the relentless protector of eternal
Dharma. I believe that You are that Being
Who has existed since eternity. Gita 11.18
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6.7 Yudhishthira Seeks Blessings from his Elders
Just when the war was about to start, everyone was
startled to see Yudhishthira get off his chariot and walk
towards the enemy camp without any weapons! The
arrogant Duryodhana thought that Yudhishthira had
perhaps come to surrender even before the battle had
started! Arjuna too got worried and thought that because
of his peace loving nature, Yudhishthira might put off the
war. But Krishna merely smiled because he knew what
Yudhishthira was up to. The both followed Yudhishthira till
he reached the chariot of Bheeshma. There, Yudhishthira
bowed to his grandfather and said, “Respected
Grandfather, we do not wish to fight you but have been
forced to do so by Duryodhana. I have come to seek your
permission to fight you, and your blessings so that we are
victorious.”
Yudhishthira then asked Bheeshma, “How may we defeat you in the battle? Bheema replied, “I cannot
be killed unless I myself wish to die. Remember however, that I will never fight any soldier who is or was
a woman.”
Then, Yudhishthira went and bowed to Drona, Kripāchārya and his Uncle Shalya. They were all very
happy with Yudhishthira’s noble behavior and blessed him to become victorious. Droṇa too informed
Yudhishthira that he cannot be defeated in the war, till he himself lays down his weapons. Then,
Yudhishthira returned to his army and the war began.
LESSON FROM YUDHISHTHIRA’S BEHAVIOR: Very often in our life, we get into conflicts with our
own friends and family members. But this does not mean that we forget our decency and good manners.
Just like Yudhishthira respected his elders even though they were fighting against him, we must always
continue to respect our elders even when we have a disagreement or dispute with them.
Yudhishthira then went and stood between the two armies and announced, “Before the war starts,
anyone who has changed his mind and does not want to fight can leave the battlefield. He will not be
harmed. And everyone is free to switch their sides if they wish.” Hardly anyone left the battlefield or
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switched sides. Yuyutsu, a son of King Dhritarāshtra from another wife (a maid), and half‐brother of the
Kauravas switched sides and moved over to the Pāṇdavas.
FAST FORWARD: Yuyutsu survived the war. When the Pāṇdavas won the war, Yuyutsu was given a
place of honor in the royal court. When they Pāṇdavas retired and left the kingdom for their grandson
Pareekshit to rule, they requested Yuyutsu to take care of Pareekshit.
6.8 The First Day of the War
On the first day of the war, Arjuna suggested that the Pāṇdava army be arranged in a battle formation
called the ‘Vajra’. This battle formation, which looked like a compact needle, was named after the sharp
weapon ‘Vajra’ that his father Indra had used to kill the Asura named Vritra. In contrast, the Kauravas
arranged their soldiers in the shape of a spread‐out fan. Bheema stood at the front end of the Vajra
formation, and Dushāsana guarded the vanguard of the Kaurava army.
The major battles on the first day were:
1. Between Bheeshma and Abhimanyu: The battle was so impressive that the Devas collected in
the skies to see the two warriors – one more than 100 years old, and the other less than 20,
fight each other bravely. The battle was inconclusive.
2. Between the Madra King Shalya and the sons of King Virāta: King Shalya killed Prince Uttara
which made his brother Prince Shveta furious. Shveta now attacked Shalya and almost killed
him. Just then, Bheeshma rushed to the defense of Shalya and killed Shveta with a sharp javelin.
King Virāta plunged into grief to see his sons killed.
Overall on the first day, the Pāṇdavas lost many soldiers
and Yudhishthira became very nervous. Krishna had to
visit the Pāṇdava camp and cheer Yudhishthira. Quite
clearly, the Kaurava army had the upper hand on the first
day of the war. But Krishna consoled Yudhishthira saying,
“Do not worry. We have Shikhandī and Dhrishtadyumna
on our side. It has been predicted that they will kill
Bheeshma and Droṇāchārya respectively.”
Also, it became very obvious that the Vajra battle
formation was not a good idea. Therefore, the Pāṇdavas
decided that they will arrange their soldiers in a different
battle formation the following day.
6.8.1 Krishna’s Gentleness toward the Birds
A beautiful tale is narrated in the oral Hindu tradition
demonstrating the gentleness that Krishna showed
towards lesser creatures. On one day of the Mahabharata
war, Krishna noticed that on a nearby hillock, there was a nest containing recently hatched baby birds.
The roaring sounds of the trumpets and the clang and clatter of weapons was terrifying the newborn
birds. Krishna took a giant metal bell that had fallen off the neck of a war elephant, and covered the nest
with it (leaving a hole for breathing). When the war was over, He went to the hillock and removed the
bell.
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6.9 The Second Day of the War
The Pāṇdavas decided to change their battle strategy. They chose the Krauñcha13 formation for their
army on the second day. At the head of that bird shaped formation, they placed Drupada to lead the
assault. Yudhishthira himself stood at the tail of that formation. The Kauravas too arranged their army in
a similar shape. The main events that occurred on the second day were:
1. Battle between Bheeshma and Arjuna: A great battle between Bheeshma and Arjuna, in which
their arrows injured each other. The Kauravas cheered Bheeshma which enraged Arjuna and he
slaughtered an entire battalion of the Kaurava army. Duryodhana became very annoyed at the
slaughter caused by Arjuna. He later went to Bheeshma’s camp and alleged that Bheeshma was
not fighting as well as he could, and was secretly trying to make sure that the Pāṇdavas won the
war. Duryodhana’s false allegation and rude insults really hurt Bheeshma.
2. Battle between Droṇāchārya and Dhrishtadyumna: Droṇāchārya fought with Dhrishtadyumna,
the supreme commander of the Pāṇdava army. Their battle was inconclusive. Remember that
the two were sworn enemies of each other, and Dhrishtadyumna had vowed to kill
Droņāchārya.
3. Between Sātyaki and Bheeshma: The King of Kalinga (modern state of Odisha) was attacked by
Bheema and Sātyaki and he was defeated in the
battle.14 Bheeshma rushed to assist the King of
Kalinga, but Sātyaki killed Bheeshma’s charioteer.
As a result, there was no one to control the horses
of Bheeshma’s chariot. Terrified, the horses started
pulling the chariot wildly in all the different
directions and Bheeshma was not able to fight
properly.
4. Between the sons of Arjuna and
Duryodhana: Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna, fought
with Lakshmana, the son of Duryodhana. All the
Devas assembled in the skies and praised the
fighting skills of the two brave and young warriors.
The net result of the second day was that the
Kaurava army lost a very large number of soldiers
due to which Duryodhana felt very dejected, whereas the Pāṇdavas felt very encouraged.
INSIGHT FROM THE FIRST TWO DAYS OF WAR: The battle formation selected by the Pāṇdavas did not
work for them even though it was Arjuna’s favorite. Therefore, they quickly changed their strategy and
adopted a new battle‐formation on the second day, and benefitted from it. In the same way, we should
be flexible in our life. We should give up things that do not work for us, and change to better ways.
13
Krauñcha is the Crane bird. This means that the Pandavas arranged their soldier’s in the shape of a
crane’s body that day.
14
Duryodhana had married Bhānumati, the Princess of Kalinga.
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6.10 The Third Day of the War
The Pāṇdavas now arranged their army in the form of
a crescent (ardha‐chandra) battle formation whereas
the Kauravas adopted the Garuda Vyūha (eagle
formation). Bheeshma placed himself at the head of
the bird, whereas Duryodhana put himself at the tail
of the Vyūha.
The major events of the third day of the war were:
1. Ghatotkacha fights bravely: Ghatotkacha, the
son of Bheema and Hidimbī, fought with great force
and killed thousands of soldiers of the Kaurava army.
2. Duryodhana is injured: An arrow shot by
Bheema pierced Duryodhana and he fainted. But
Duryodhana recovered after a short time and rushed
to Bheeshma again and yelled, “I want you to decide
whether you will fight for our victory or not. It appears
that you are trying to protect the Pāṇdavas and you
are therefore not fighting as well as you could.”
Bheeshma was hurt with these rude allegations and he
said, “I am trying to fight as well as I can.” To prove to Duryodhana that his really wanted the
Kauravas to win, Bheeshma now fought valiantly and attacked the Pāṇdava army will full vigor.
3. Krishna attacks Bheeshma:
The deadly assault of
Bheeshma demoralized the
Pāṇdava army. Krishna nudged
Arjuna to lead the charge and
protect his army. Arjuna
fought valiantly and shot at
the banner of Bheeshma’s
chariot, snapping it into two.
Then, with the next arrows, he
sliced Bheeshma’s bow into
two. The two warriors fought
with full strength and skill but
Arjuna was unable to get the
better of Bheeshma. Krishna
sensed that Arjuna was
hesitating to fight and kill
Bheeshma because he was his
grandfather. Krishna had taken
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a vow that he would not lift any weapons on the war. But seeing Arjuna not motivated enough
to fight Bheeshma, Krishna picked a chariot wheel lying on the ground and charged at Bheeshma
to attack and kill him. When Arjuna saw that Krishna was even willing to break His vow for his
sake, Arjuna felt very guilty and he tried to stop Krishna physically from attacking Bheeshma.
Meanwhile, when Bheeshma saw that Krishna Himself was advancing to kill him, he immediately
dropped his weapons and came down from his chariot, with his hands folded in worship.
Bheeshma did so because he knew that Krishna was an Avatāra of Bhagavān, and therefore
death at His hands would lead to Moksha. Arjuna begged Krishna to return to their chariot and
not break his vow. Arjuna then promised to fight with full vigor. For the rest of the day, Arjuna
fought furiously and inflicted a lot of damage on the Kaurava army, till the sunset stopped the
war for that day.
6.11 The Fourth Day of the War
Ghatotkacha was the hero of the fourth day of the war. The following were the major highlights of this
day of fighting:
1. Attack on Abhimanyu: In the morning, Duryodhana decided to distract Arjuna by asking several
warriors in the Kaurava army to attack Abhimanyu (the son of Arjuna) at the same time. But
Abhimanyu was more than a match for all these warriors and was able to fight them single‐
handedly. Soon, Dhrishtadyumna too arrived to help Abhimanyu.
2. Attack on Bheema: As Bheema too advanced to help Abhimanyu, Duryodhana let loose some
wild animals to trample Bheema to death. But with his mace, and with the help of his charioteer
Vishoka, Bheema moved around the battlefield killing the elephants. Bheema now seemed full
of fury and anger. He roamed around decimating
the Kaurava soldiers and their elephants. His
attack caused so much terror that the elephants
started running back and trampled the Kaurava
soldiers in panic.
3. Bheema kills 8 Kauravas: Suddenly,
Bheema saw Duryodhana with several of his
brothers at one place. Bheema took advantage of
the situation and immediately attacked them.
Very soon, he killed 8 of Dhritarāshtra’s sons!
4. Bheema is injured: King Bhagadatta of
North Eastern India came to the rescue of the
Kauravas. From the back of his massive elephant,
he hurled a javelin at Bheema and hit Bheema on
his chest. As a result of the pain and the impact,
Bheema fainted.
5. Devastation caused by Ghatotkacha: Seeing his father in that condition, Bheema’s son
Ghatotkacha became furious. He used his magical tricks and his great strength to cause a lot of
destruction in the Kaurava army. Within a short time, the Kaurava soldiers were on the run, and
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none of their leaders were able to face Ghatotkacha in the battle. Bheeshma and Droṇa
therefore decided to retreat even before the sunset.
Again that night, Duryodhana went to Bheeshma and Droṇa and asked why the Pāṇdavas were able to
defeat them. Bheeshma gave him the same reply as the previous night. He again asked Duryodhana to
stop the war and make peace with the Pāṇdavas. This will make Pāṇdavas and Bhagavān Krishna his
friends and allies, and he could rule as a powerful King from Hastināpura. But Duryodhana was in no
mood to listen to his grandfather. He was too proud and jealous of the Pāṇdavas to accept the
suggestion of Bheeshma.
6.12 The Fifth day of the War
The Pāṇdavas arranged their army in the form of a hawk (shyena‐vyūha) to pierce the Kaurava army.
The Kauravas arranged their army in the form of a fish (makara‐vyūha) so that they could withstand the
Pāṇdava attack.
Recalling the great destruction of his army the previous day, Duryodhana went to Droṇa and Bheeshma
and said, with great humility and sadness this time, “Respected teacher and grandfather, you two are
the greatest warriors in the world. And yet, the Pāṇdavas were able to cause a lot of damage to my army
yesterday. Please try your best to get me victory in this war.” Droṇa replied, “Duryodhana, you do not
understand. Our soldiers are loyal and we are great warriors too. But the Pāṇdavas are invincible. We
are doing our best even though we know that we cannot defeat the Pāṇdavas.” Despite this confession
of Droṇa, Duryodhana still did not want to stop the war and make peace with the Pāṇdavas.
Shikhandi fights Bheeshma: Initially that day, the Kaurava attack led by Bheeshma caused a great
destruction in the Pāṇdava army. Bheema decided to face Bheeshma and protect his army. Arjuna and
Shikhandi also came to Bheema’s help. Shikhandi was another son of King Drupada. It was known that
Shikhandi was a woman in his previous life.
Bheeshma had taken the vow that he will
never fight any woman. Even though
Shikhandi was a man in his present life,
Bheeshma withdrew as soon as he saw
Shikhandi. But Shikhandi kept shooting arrows
at Bheeshma. Seeing this, Droṇa rushed
forward to protect Bheeshma from Shikhandi
by shooting arrows at him. Shikhandi could
not face Droṇa and he withdrew.
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Afghanistan), who was a master swordsman. Sātyaki’s sons then rushed to their father’s defense when
they saw their father get seriously injured by Bhūrishrava’s sword. But Bhūrishravas was able to kill all
the ten sons of Sātyaki.
Maddened with grief, Sātyaki charged in his chariot at full speed, and rammed it against the chariot of
Bhūrishravas. Both the chariots were smashed into pieces. Bheema got worried that Sātyaki will also get
killed by Bhūrishravas. He rushed forward and immediately dragged away Sātyaki to a safe location.
The remainder of the day, Arjuna fought valiantly and killed thousands of Kaurava soldiers. For the first
time in the war, he also faced Ashvathhāmā, the son of his Guru Droṇāchārya. Arjuna did not want to
hurt his Guru’s son, and therefore slipped away. Instead, he directed his power and fury at the Kaurava
army. After sunset, the Pāṇdavas gave a rousing welcome to Arjuna for causing a lot of damage to the
Kauravas on that day of the war.
REWIND AND FAST FORWARD: King Somadatta, the father of Bhūrishravas, had been an enemy of
King Sini, the grandfather of Sātyaki. This enmity continued between the families in the next 2
generations and this is why Bhūrishravas and Sātyaki hated each other. On the 14th day of the war,
Sātyaki will kill Bhūrishravas unfairly.
6.13 The Sixth Day of the War
The Pāṇdavas organized their army in the Makara‐vyūha whereas the Kauravas arranged theirs in the
Krauñcha‐Vyūha. Right in the
morning, Bheema killed the
charioteer of Droṇa. This really
infuriated Droṇa. He took the reins
of his horses in his own hands, and
also started shooting arrows with
his other hand. In his anger, Droṇa
caused a lot of destruction in the
Pāṇdava army.
Bheema was looking for the sons of
Dhritarāshtra so that he could kill
them. Duryodhana asked several of
his brothers to attack Bheema at
the same time. They wanted to
take Bheema prisoner, whereas
Bheema wanted to kill them all.
Bheema became impatient with
the slow speed of his chariot. He
simply jumped off from the chariot
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and asked his charioteer Vishoka to stay at the same spot. Bheema then advanced towards the
Kauravas, killing their soldier’s, elephants, horses on the way.
Meanwhile, Dhrishtadyumna saw Bheema’s chariot empty from a distance. He thought that Bheema
had been killed and rushed towards Bheema’s chariot. He started weeping and asked Vishoka as to what
had happened. But, Vishoka told him that Bheema wanted to walk on barefoot and charge at the
Kauravas. Dhrishtadyumna noticed that the path that Bheema had taken was strewn with dead bodies.
He rushed in on his chariot and noted that several Kaurava brothers were shooting arrows from their
chariots at Bheema who was fighting on his feet.
Dhristhadyumna and Bheema fought like real heroes without any fear. Abhimanyu also arrived to help
the two, but Droṇa killed Dhrishtadyumna’s charioteer. Dhrishtadyumna then took shelter in the chariot
of Abhimanyu.
Meanwhile, a face to face battle started between Duryodhana and Bheema. Bheema inflicted several
injuries on Duryodhana with his arrows. Jayadratha, the King of Sindhu (and brother in law of
Duryodhana) immediately arrived and whisked away the badly injured Duryodhana in his own chariot.
That night, when Bheeshma heard that Duryodhana had been badly wounded, he arrived at
Duryodhana’s tent. There, Bheeshma lovingly applied medicines to his grandson’s wounds and tried to
make him more comfortable. Duryodhana was very dejected and broke down in front of Bheeshma. He
described how his arch‐enemy Bheema had defeated him, and that he will feel peaceful now only if the
Pāṇdavas were killed without delay.
6.14 The Seventh Day of the War
Bheeshma decided to adopt the Maṇdala‐Vyūha (circular formation) for the Kaurava army, with
Duryodhana at the center of that circle. The Pāṇdavas arranged their army again in the Vajra‐vyūha
(needle) formation to pierce that circle.
There were numerous battles on different fronts that day. In some, the Pāṇdavas lost their leaders,
whereas in others, the Kauravas lost their important warriors. But overall, Bheeshma caused a great
havoc and destruction in the Pāṇdava army on this day.
Droṇa killed the third son of King Virāta (his two sons were killed on the first day itself). A great battle
was also fought between Ghatotkacha, and King Bhagadatta who was seated on his famous massive
elephant. Ghatotkacha was not able to face Bhagadatta and retreated from the battlefield.
Bheeshma shot missiles to smash Yudhishthira’s chariot. Arjuna tried to rush to Yudhishthira’s defense
but his way was blocked by the Trigartas, the allies of Kauravas. Abhimanyu fought the brothers of
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Duryodhana single‐handedly and was about to kill some of them when he remembered the oath of his
uncle Bheema that he alone will kill all the Kauravas. Therefore, Abhimanyu let them go.
Soon, it was sunset and the battle stopped.
6.15 The Eighth Day of the War
On this day, Bheeshma arranged the Kaurava army in the ūrmi‐vyūha (resembling the waves of the
ocean) whereas the Pāṇdavas adopted a triangular battle formation. Yudhishthira ordered that his
entire army should attack Bheeshma. But Bheeshma fought all of them valiantly, killing numerous
Pāṇdava soldiers. Now, Bheema rushed against Bheeshma, killing his chariot horses. Seeing this,
Duryodhana asked his brothers to attack Bheema. But, Bheema fought furiously and killed 8 more
Kaurava brothers, bringing the total number of Kauravas killed by him to 16. This happened very early in
the day.
Seeing his brothers get killed, Duryodhana again complained to Bheeshma that he was being partial
towards Pāṇdavas and was not trying his best to defeat them. But Bheeshma replied, “You do not
understand that soon, we all ourselves will get killed by the Pāṇdavas because they are protected by
Krishna.”
The one big tragedy that stuck the Pāṇdava camp was the death of Irāvān, the son of Arjuna and
Princess Uloopi of Manipur. When Arjuna learned about the death of his son, he lamented to Krishna,
“Now I understand why my brother Yudhishthira did not want war at all. He had said that even five
villages would satisfy him in
place of the kingdom of
Indraprastha. What is the use
of winning the war if our loved
ones get killed?” Irāvān was
killed by Ālambusha, a demon
who fought on the side of the
Kauravas.
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Duryodhana asked Bheeshma to fight with Ghatotkacha and kill him. But Bheeshma sent King
Bhūrishravas instead. The Bāhlīka King and his elephant did not allow the Pāṇdavas to cause more
damage to the Kaurava army. But, later in the day, Bheema saw Duryodhana’s brothers once again and
killed 8 more of them, taking the total to 24 killed by him so far!
6.15.1 The Thoughtfulness of Krishna
According to oral traditions, Bheeshma also promised to Duryodhana that he will kill at least 1 Pāṇdava
on the following day. When the word reached the encampment of the Pāṇdavas, Draupadī grew really
worried for the safety of her husbands. She prayed to Krishna, who immediately appeared in front of her
and asked her to follow him in the dark to Bheeshma’s tent. As they were walking towards the camp,
Krishna said to her, “Draupadī, your shoes, to which some anklets are stitched, are making a lot of sound
and will wake up everyone. Why don’t you take them off here, and then enter that tent in front of us.
That tent belongs to Bheeshma.” Draupadi did as told and as soon as she entered the tent, she fell on
the feet of Bheeshma. It was dark, and Bheeshma did not realize who it was. He automatically blessed
the woman, “May you live a happy and long life with your husband.” Draupadi was elated, and she said,
“It is I, Draupadī, the wife of your grandchildren, the Pāṇdavas. I am happy that you have given me this
blessing because now I am sure that you will spare all the five Pāṇdavas!”
Bheeshma smiled and said, “I am sure it was Krishna’s idea that you should come and get my blessing, so
that I spare your husbands. But where is He?” Bheeshma lit up a lamp, and saw that Krishna was
standing at the entrance of the tent. But something was dangling from his shoulders. Draupadi looked
closely and was horrified, “Bhagavān, you should not have carried my shoes from the ground and slung
Page 127 of 210
oss your sho
them acro oulders! We worship
w you and thereforre, your act o
of picking my shoes with
h your
hands andd placing themm on your shooulders will take me to heell.”
6.16 The
e Ninth Dayy of the Waar
The Kauraavas realized that Shikhandi was trying to attack andd kill Bheeshma, but that Bheeshma did not
want to fiight him becaause he was aa woman in aa previous lifee. Therefore, on the ninth day, the Kau
uravas
decided too keep Shikhaandi engaged
d away from B Bheeshma so that Bheeshm ma can causee great devasttation
in the Pāṇ
ṇdava army.
of 210
Page 128 o
reminded Him of the vow that He
will not wield any weapons during
the war.
Arjuna realized his mistake that his
love for Bheeshma was causing a
lot of deaths of his own army’s
soldiers.
6.16.1 The Pāṇdavas ask Bheeshma for a way to kill Him
The great destruction caused by Bheeshma to their army really caused a panic in the Pāṇdava army. At
the advice of Krishna, the Pāṇdavas, led by Yudhishthira, went to the camp of Bheeshma during the
night. They bowed to him with respect and asked him how he could be killed. With a lot of love in his
heart, Bheeshma said to the Pāṇdavas, “As long as I am alive, you cannot defeat me. I have vowed that I
will never fight a woman. Although Shikhandi is a man, he was a woman in his previous life. Therefore
tomorrow, keep Shikhandi at the very front of the warriors that attack me, and shoot me with sharp
arrows. I will lay down my arms. Then Arjuna can take advantage of that and kill me with his arrows.”
When the Pāṇdavas returned to their camp, Arjuna cried and said, “When I was a child, I would climb on
Bheeshma’s lap with my dirty feet and spoil his clothes. I would address him as ‘Dad,’ but he would
always correct me and say, “I am not
your father, but your father’s father.”
How can I kill him who took care of
me in my childhood? Let him kill me
and our army, but I will not kill him.”
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6.17 The Tenth Day of the War: Bheeshma is Struck Down
The Pāṇdavas kept Shikhandi at the forefront of their army the next morning. Shikhandi challenged
Bheeshma to fight. But Bheeshma just avoided him and started killing the Pāṇdava army. Arjuna resisted
the attacks of Bheeshma, who soon got so disgusted of all the killing in the war that he went to
Yudhishthira and said, “The time has come now for your final attack. Ask your warriors to shoot sharp
arrows at me, with Shikhandi in the forefront.”
The Pāṇdavas did as told. Standing behind Shikhandi, Arjuna shot powerful arrows at Bheeshma,
destroying his chariot banner and hurting the charioteer. Bheeshma could not see Arjuna as he was
standing behind Shikhandi. Bheeshma told Dushāsana, who was standing beside him, “The arrows being
shot at me are swift and straight. They can only come from Arjuna’s bow. And only his arrows can cause
me hurt and kill me!” Saying this, Bheeshma stopped defending himself.
Within a short time, Bheeshma’s body was punctured by hundreds of arrows. With great pain, he fell off
his chariot. But so many
were the arrows passing
through his body that it did
not touch the ground at all.
The arrows served as a bed
that supported his body
above the ground.
As soon as the word spread
that Bheeshma had fallen
down with injuries, sadness
spread in both the armies.
Everyone stopped fighting
and the Kauravas, Pāṇdavas
and other leaders of the
two armies gathered around Bheeshma with tears in their eyes. They knew that Bheeshma, who had
protected Hastināpura for several decades, would leave them soon.
The souls of Rishis living in the Manasarovar Lake took the form of white swans and hovered around the
body of the great Kuru leader.
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Bheeshma asked for
a pillow to rest his
head, which was
hanging from his
body. Duryodhana
ordered his men to
fetch a silk pillow
for Bheeshma, but
he declined to take
it saying, “This
pillow is not
suitable for a
warrior like me.”
Arjuna knew exactly
what Bheeshma
wanted. He stuck
three arrows in the
ground and made a
pillow to rest Bheeshma’s head. Bheeshma smiled to see that Arjuna understood what type of pillow he
had asked for. Bheeshma said, “This is how a warrior should rest his head. I want to be left alone till
Makar Sankrānti when the Sun starts moving north. Then I will give up my life.”
Arjuna cried, “When I was a teenager, I would climb all over Grandpa Bheeshma’s clothes and dirty
them. Whenever I would call him ‘Father’, he would correct me and said, “I am older than your father
because I am your grandfather.” And look now – I have caused the death of my grandfather who raised
us as teenagers, educated us and made sure that we became worthy of the royal family of Kurukshetra.”
Duryodhana called several surgeons to treat Bheeshma, but he refused angrily saying, “Do not remove
these arrows from my body. Cremate my body with the arrows still in it.” Bheeshma once again urged
Duryodhana to give up fighting and return the kingdom of Pāṇdavas to them. But he refused.
6.18 Karṇa meets Bheeshma
That night, Karṇa went to see Bheeshma in secret and started weeping. He said, “Sir, perhaps you do not
know that I am your real grandson, because Queen Kunti is my mother.” But Bheeshma surprised him by
replying, “I have always known this secret dear Karṇa. That is the reason why I refused to fight the
Pāṇdavas if you too were in the battlefield on our side, because I did not want you to fight your own
brothers. I admire your good qualities. But I had often became angry with you, not because you were
raised by a humble charioteer, but because you have always encouraged and supported Duryodhana in
his evil deeds. Your teacher Parashurāma had always fought to save women from being insulted. But
you abused Draupadi and therefore insulted Parashurāma, who was my Guru as well. Moreover, you
have been very boastful of your military skills. You are in fact my eldest grandchild and I wanted you to
show a good behavior at all times. Please stop supporting Duryodhana, and help him to end this war.”
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But Karṇa wept bitterly and said, “Grandfather, I cannot betray Duryodhana at this moment. He trusts
me and regards me as his closest friend. If I ask him now to return the kingdom of Pāṇdavas to them, or
go over the side of Pāṇdavas, he will be heartbroken. In fact, he decided to fight this war only because
he trusts my military skills, and believes that he will win because of me.”
Bheeshma then requested, “If you must fight, then make sure that you follow all the rules, and fight well
like a brave soldier.” Karṇa then wept and bowed to his grandfather saying, “I will follow this command
of yours. But promise to me that you will not tell Duryodhana that I am the eldest Pāṇdava, or he will
lose all of his desire to live.”
Bheeshma agreed but said, “I will tell the truth about you to Duryodhana if you die before him, but not
while you are alive. I want Duryodhana to know how true your friendship was, and how much you loved
him.” Karṇa then hugged his grandfather, whose love he had never got in his life, and sobbed. Then he
left for the Kauravas camp.
6.19 Bheeshma Asks for Water
END OF BHEESHMA PARVA
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BOOK SEVEN: DROṆA PARVA
This book covers days 11‐15 of the war during which Droṇāchārya led the army of the Kauravas.
7.1 Eleventh Day of the War
After Bheeshma fell on the battlefield, Duryodhana
wanted his best friend Karṇa to lead the Kaurava army.
But Karṇa said to Duryodhana, “I know that you have full
faith in my military capabilities and that you really love me
as a friend. But I request you to give this honor to your
teacher Droṇāchārya because he is very well respected by
everyone and is more senior than I am. If you appoint me
as the commander in chief, a lot of people will get upset
and this will cause divisions in your army.”
7.1.1 Karṇa joins the War: Duryodhana agreed and went
to Droṇāchārya, requesting him to be the new
commander‐in‐chief. Droņāchārya accepted the position
on the condition that he will not kill Dhrishtadyumna.
Droņāchārya had earlier vowed that he will not fight if
Karṇa is on the battlefield. But now, he persuaded Karṇa
to forget about his oath and support his friend
Duryodhana by fighting the Pāṇdavas. Karṇa agreed, and this raised the enthusiasm in the Kaurava
army.
7.1.2 Plan to capture Yudhishthira: In appreciation of the honor given to him, Droṇāchārya agreed to
capture Yudhishthira provided Duryodhana does not kill his cousin brother. Duryodhana confirmed that
the only reason he wanted to capture Yudhishthira was so that he could defeat him once again in a
game of dice and send the Pāṇdavas back to the forest for another 12 years. Droṇāchārya replied, “I will
do so but you must keep Arjuna away from me. Arjuna is the best warrior in the Pāṇdava army. If he is
around Yudhishthira to protect him, then it will be impossible for me to capture him.” However, the
spies of Yudhishthira found about Duryodhana’s plan. Arjuna was furious to learn that once again, his
revered teacher Droṇāchārya had agreed to support Duryodhana in his devious plans. Yudhishthira
asked Arjuna not to leave his side during the battle on the next day.
The Kauravas arranged their army in the Shakata‐Vyūha (cart‐formation) because their intention was to
capture and take carry Yudhishthira. On the other hand, the Pāṇdavas arranged their army in the
Krauncha‐Vyūha (crane bird) because they wanted Yudhishthira to ‘fly away’ or escape whenever
Droņāchārya threatened to be near him.
7.1.3 Droṇāchārya starts breaking rules of the war: As long as Bheeshma was alive, the Kaurava army
had followed all the rules of the war. But the unscrupulous leadership of Droṇāchārya changed all that.
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Over the last 8 days of the war, we see that first the Kauravas broke one rule after the other. Following
this, the Pāṇdavas and Krishna also broke the rules and finally won the war.
On that day, Droņāchārya violated the rules of the war by indiscriminately killing large numbers of the
Pāṇdava army so that he could reach Yudhishthira. Droņāchārya noticed for some time that Arjuna was
not around Yudhishthira, and he made a dash to capture him. Droņāchārya was almost about to capture
Yudhishthira when suddenly, Krishna rushed Arjuna’s chariot towards Yudhishthira and prevented his
capture. Arjuna was successful in defeating his own teacher in that battle and Droņāchārya had to
retreat. Duryodhana was once again disappointed.
7.1.4 The Death Squad of Trigarta Warriors: The 11th day of the war ended and the two armies went
back to their camps. Some soldiers of the Trigarta kingdom now took a ‘fire‐oath’. Taking fire as the
witness, they took the oath that on the following days of the battle, they will either kill Arjuna or get
killed by him – but they would not retreat from the battlefield. In other words, they took the oath of
being suicide warriors on the following days of the war. We will see how the Trigarta Death Squad
harassed Arjuna a lot for the next several days.
7.2 The Twelfth Day of the War
Arjuna advised Yudhishthira that if Droņāchārya attacked when he was not around, then Yudhishthira
should not continue fighting with Droņāchārya. Instead, Yudhishthira should escape, because it was very
important the he is not captured.
The Trigarta suicide warriors intercepted Arjuna at the southern end of the battlefield but Arjuna fought
them furiously. At one point of time, the air in the battlefield became so clogged with dust and flying
arrows that Arjuna could not even see Krishna. Therefore, Arjuna decided to launch the Vāyavīya‐Astra
(Vāyu means wind). As a result, a strong gale started blowing and it blew away the dust and all the
arrows in his area. Even the Kaurava soldiers attacking him were swept away by the strong wind.
Meanwhile, Droņāchārya charged towards Yudhishthira. Not being able to face him after some time,
Yudhishthira withdrew from the battlefield and escaped. Meanwhile, King Bhagadatta of Prāgjyotisha
(modern Assam in India) mounted an attack on Bheema and others on his famous elephant. The
elephant broke the chariots of Bheema, Sātyaki and Abhimanyu. Bheema, who knew the science of
elephants got underneath the belly of the elephant and started tickling it. The elephant became very
excited and got out of control and started swirling wildly. King Bhagadatta was almost thrown out of
balance and in this confusion, Bheema fled.
Page 134 of 210
DID YOU KNOW? In ancient
India, Rishi Palakāpya wrote the
Hastyāyurveda which was a
book containing information on
how elephants should be fed,
treated if they fell sick or were
injured and how they should be
trained. In fact, till the 20th
century when modern science
spread across India, the
Hastyāyurveda was the most
advanced textbook on elephant
science in the whole world! This
Rishi lived in Assam, and his
book is available even today. In
a similar way, many scholars
and Rishis wrote books on
rearing horses, and these books
were called as the
Ashvāyurveda. The Pāndava
brother Nakula was a scholar in
rearing horses and a book of Ashvāyurveda said to have been written by him still exists.
A rumor spread that the elephant had crushed Bheema and Arjuna rushed to the scene. King Bhagadatta
launched the dreaded Vaishnava‐Astra at Arjuna. Everyone was terrified to see this happen. But
immediately, Krishna
stood up and took the
great missile on his
chest. The missile
changed into a garland
of lotus flowers that fell
around the neck of
Krishna. Arjuna was
surprised and asked
Krishna why He had
broken his vow that He
will not wield any
weapon, whereas now
He had taken the impact
of the Vaishnava‐Astra
upon Himself. Krishna
Page 135 of 210
explained
d that as He w
was the Avatāāra of Vishnu uly belonged tto Him, and it had
u, the Vaishnaava‐Astra tru
been give
en to King Bhaagadatta onlyy temporarily.. Therefore, H
He had merelyy taken it bacck.
Like a vorrtex in water, a Chakra‐Vyyūha formatio
on sucked in enemy warrriors but did not allow theem to
get out alive.
7.3 The Thirteenth Day of the
e War
As the day started, the e surviving Trrigarta suicide
e warriors aggain engaged Arjuna on th he southern side of
efield. Only 4
the battle 4 people on the
t Pāṇdava side knew hoow to penetrrate the Chakra‐vyūha: Arjuna,
Abhimanyyu, Krishna an nd Pradyumn na, the son off Krishna. Yuddhishthira had no idea how to deal witth the
situation because Arju una was engaaged elsewhe ere, and Kris hna had vow
wed that He w
will not fightt. And
Pradyumn na, the son off Krishna, wass not participating in the w war either.
Page 136 o
of 210
my mother waiting to o take birth, I understood
d whatever m
my father had
d spoken. Th
herefore, I caan get
inside thiss battle formaation, but do not know how to get out of it.”
Yudhiishthira was iimpressed wiith his
nepheew’s bravery and assured d him,
“Wheen you penetrate the Ch hakra‐
Vyūhaa, we will foollow you through
opening that you have creeated.
the o
In this way, we will protectt you
insidee it and allo
ow you to rreturn
from the Vyūha su uccessfully.”
Abhimmanyu chargeed into the Ch hakra‐
Vyūhaa. He seemed d like a posssessed
warrioor and no on
ne could stop p him.
Even as Droņāchārya tried d to
confroont him, Ab bhimanyu barged
into the labyriinth like battle
formaation. But ass soon as hee had
entered it, Jayadraatha rushed to seal
opening. The Pāṇdavas triied to
the o
breakk through tthe defensees of
Figure 6 T
The Chakravyuh
ha battle formattion Jayadratha, but the boon of Shiva
receivved by him m started acting!
None of the Pāṇdavas could defeatt him and entter the Chakraa‐Vyūha. Thee only two peersons, Krishn
na and
Arjuna, w
who could have defeated Jaayadratha, we
ere away faci ng the Trigarrta suicide waarriors.
7.3.1 The
e killing of b
brave Abhim
manyu: Oncee inside the C hakra‐Vyūha,, Abhimanyu fought like aa hero
and killed d several notaable warriors who attacked d him. Droņā chārya could
d not help praaising Abhimaanyu’s
fighting skkills and his p
praise really irritated Duryyodhana. The refore, he assked his evil bbrother Dushāsana
to fight Abhimanyu.
A But
B Abhimanyyu soon over‐powered Duushāsana with h his accurattely aimed arrrows.
He also brroke the bow w of Karṇa.
Even Duryyodhana wass not able to defeat Abhimanyu in thee battle. Now w, a one on one battle sttarted
between Abhimanyu, and Lakshm mana, the sonn of Duryodhhana. Abhimanyu killed LLakshmana, w which
made Durryodhana so aangry that he e ordered, “I wwant Abhimaanyu to be killed, even if ru ules of the waar are
broken.” Droņāchārya once again supported
s Duuryodhana’s evil intention ns. He told K
Karṇa, “Abhim
manyu
can be killed only if hiss armor and h his weapons aare destroyedd. Also, it is im
mpossible to defeat Abhim manyu
while he is facing yo
ou.” Taking these
t hints, many warrioors of the KKaurava now started attaacking
Abhimanyyu at the sam me time – this was the first violation oof the rules sset on the firsst day. Karṇaa then
broke the e second rule by sneaking up on Abhimanyu from beehind and cutt his bow. Kriitavarmā killeed the
horses puulling the chariot of Abhimanyu while e Kripāchāryya killed the two charioteeers managin ng his
chariot.
Page 137 o
of 210
Six mighty Kaurava warriors attacked Abhimanyu
at the same time. Abhimanyu turned towards
Droṇāchārya and said, “I am disgusted by the fact
that you have broken the rules of the war by
asking all these six warriors to attack me at the
same time.” Then he turned towards Karṇa and
said, “My father had often praised your bravery to
me. Perhaps did not know what an unscrupulous
warrior you are! I had hoped that after defeating
you all, I can return to my father and narrate to
him how I had fought off all of you. But it appears
that this is not going to happen. But I will not give
up, and will fight you evil people till I die, because
I am fighting for Dharma.”
The Kauravas then gathered around the corpse of Abhimanyu and celebrated wildly. Even the Pāṇdavas
trapped outside the Chakravyūha heard their shouts of victory and they immediately knew what
happened.
The cowardly and cruel murder of
Abhimanyu disgusted many
soldiers in both the armies.
Yuyutsu threw away his weapons
and withdrew from the war.
Yudhishthira was filled with grief.
He said, “It was my fault to have
allowed Abhimanyu to fight
today’s battle. I had promised to
him that I will lead the Pāṇdava
forces through the gap created by
him, but I could not break through
Page 138 of 210
the defenses of Jayadratha! It is because of me that Abhimanyu got killed today.”
7.3.2 Arjuna’s Oath: Meanwhile, Arjuna had eliminated the entire death squad of Trigarta. As he and
Krishna were returning to their camp, they stopped to say the evening prayers. When Arjuna entered
the camp, he remarked, “Why is everyone silent? Every evening, Abhimanyu greets me when I return
from the battle. Where is he today?”
Then Yudhishthira told Arjuna of how Jayadratha had prevented the Pāṇdavas from entering the Chakra‐
Vyūha and how Abhimanyu was attacked simultaneously by many warriors and then killed mercilessly,
after all the rules of the war had been broken. With tears in his eyes, Yudhishthira said, “I had assured
dear Abhimanyu that I will enter the Chakravyūha and come to his help. But I failed to protect him. I
hold myself guilty for his death.”
No one knew first‐hand what had exactly happened inside the Chakravyūha. Although Jayadratha
himself had not killed Abhimanyu, what Arjuna knew was that Jayadratha alone was responsible for
preventing the Pāṇdavas from entering the Chakravyūha to protect his son. Therefore, Arjuna blamed
Jayadratha for what had happened.
DID YOU KNOW? Even today in India, when someone lands into a very difficult and dangerous situation
from which he is unable to extricate himself, we say that “this person has got stuck in the Chakra‐
Vyūha.” The story of Abhimanyu learning the secret of this battle formation while still in his mother’s
womb seems somewhat incredible. But modern science does teach that what the pregnant mother hears
does have an effect on the child inside her. Hindus have
always believed that the behavior and diet of the pregnant
mother have an effect on the unborn child inside her. For this
reason, pregnant mothers are asked to listen to holy books,
do prayers frequently and only listen to or do pleasing things
so that the child inside her experiences good influences.
When Arjuna heard all the details of the cruelty with which
Abhimanyu was killed, he could not bear the sorrow and
fainted. When he revived, Krishna consoled him. Arjuna was
very angry now. With Agni (fire) as witness, he vowed, “If I
do not kill Jayadratha before sunset tomorrow, I will
immolate myself.”
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When the spies of Duryodhana reported to him
the vow of Arjuna, Jayadratha got very scared.
He wanted to give up fighting and leave for his
country Sindhu immediately. But Duryodhana
promised to protect him from all harm.
Droṇāchārya too said that he will protect
Jayadratha with all his strength.
On the following day therefore, the main goal of
the two armies was going to be very clear. The
Pāṇdava army will help Arjuna kill Jayadratha.
The Kaurava army will protect Jayadratha till the
sunset so that Arjuna cannot kill him before
sunset. Then, Arjuna will have to commit suicide.
This way, the Pāṇdavas will lose their greatest
warrior and it will become easier for the
Kauravas to win the war.
7.4 The Fourteenth Day of the War
Droņāchārya arranged the Kaurava army in a very complex formation. He placed Jayadratha somewhere
in the middle of the rear half of the army. Each end of this Vyūha was guarded by brave Kaurava
warriors like Duryodhana, Shalya and Droṇāchārya. In this way, Jayadratha was well protected from all
sides in this way.
Arjuna easily defeated several warriors on many sides of the Kaurava army formation till he faced his
own teacher Droņāchārya. A long battle was fought between the teacher and his favorite student.
Krishna got worried and said to Arjuna, “Time is running out. Do not waste more time fighting your
teacher. Just bypass him and try to reach Jayadratha from another side.”
7.4.1 Attempt to kill Krishna: Arjuna agreed and Krishna turned the chariot in another direction. Now
Arjuna faced other warriors. One of these warriors named Shrutāyudha committed a great sin. He was
frustrated by the skill of Krishna in moving away the chariot whenever he wanted to strike Arjuna.
Therefore, he decided to kill Krishna Himself! As everyone watched in horror, Shrutāyudha hurled his
mace at Krishna. The mace flew through the air and gently touched Krishna’s shoulder. And then a
miracle happened that stunned everyone who saw it – immediately after touching the shoulder of
Krishna, the mace just turned around like a boomerang. Then, the mace hit Shrutāyudha and killed him!
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7.4.2 Duryodhana’s Magical
Armor: Arjuna was advancing
rapidly towards Jayadratha.
Duryodhana got worried and he
asked Droṇāchārya to do
something. The Guru gave a
magical armor to protect
Duryodhana. No weapon could
pierce this armor. Arjuna
however tried to break the
armor by hurling a special
weapon named Mānavāstra,
but Ashvatthāmā destroyed
that weapon. Arjuna then shot
several arrows that cut open the joints of the armor. As a result, the Armor became lose on
Duryodhana’s body, and Duryodhana had to flee from there.
7.4.3 Death of Vikarṇa, Karṇa spares Bheema: Now, eight Kaurava warriors like Karṇa, Shalya, and
Bhūrishravas attacked Arjuna at the same time. Krishna blew his conch shell. Yudhishthira and Sātyaki
recognized the sound of the Pānchajanya. But when it was not followed by the twang of Arjuna’s bow,
Yudhishthira feared that Arjuna needed help. Therefore, he asked Sātyaki to go and help Arjuna. Sātyaki
rushed towards Arjuna, and fought several Kaurava warriors. He was almost about to kill Dushāsana
when he remembered the vow of Bheema. Therefore, he spared Dushāsana.
When Yudhishthira did not see Arjuna or Sātyaki, he got worried and asked Bheema to go and help
them. Bheema charged his chariot straight into that of Droņāchārya, destroying it completely. When he
saw Arjuna from a distance, he roared loudly and Yudhishthira understood that Arjuna was well and
alive. Now, Bheema and Sātyaki started fighting together against the Kaurava army so that they get
distracted away from Arjuna.
Bhīma killed 32 Kauravas on that day. The last Kaurava killed by Bhīma that day was Vikarṇa. Bhīma
remembered how Vikarṇa was the only Kaurava who had supported Draupadi when she was being
dragged to the royal court of Hastināpura, and therefore he wept in grief. As Bhīma fought Karṇa, the
latter overpowered him. Karṇa however did not kill Bheema because of the promise that he had given to
his mother Kunti.
The horses of Arjuna’s chariot had become very tired. Krishna halted the chariot and asked Arjuna to
create a pool of water by shooting his arrow into the earth, and a shed for the horses with his arrows so
that they are not hurt by enemy arrows. Then, Krishna massaged the horses, and calmed them with
water. Once they were refreshed, he had Arjuna sit back on the chariot and they started charging
towards Jayadratha.
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7.4.4 Death of Bhūrishravas: A duel now started between Sātyaki and Bhūrishravas. Sātyaki was tired
fighting several warriors. Bhūrishravas gave Sātyaki a blow, who fell down on the ground. Taking
advantage of the situation, Bhūrishravas broke the rules of the war. He kicked Sātyaki on his chest and
grabbed his hair in his left hand. He took a sword in his right arm and raised it, to behead Sātyaki.
Krishna saw this, and demanded that Arjuna help his student Sātyaki at once.
Arjuna immediately shot an arrow, and cut off Bhūrishravas’ right arm. Bhūrishravas said, “That was not
fair Arjuna. Shame on you for cutting my arm when I was not even fighting you.” Arjuna replied, “Do not
talk about rules to me. You were not supposed to attack Sātyaki when he had fallen on the ground. And
do not forget how your army killed my son unfairly.” Bhūrishravas realized that Arjuna was correct. He
was himself disgusted with the war. Therefore, he sat down in great pain, and decided to die in
meditation.
Meanwhile, Sātyaki revived and got up. As everyone watched in horror, he picked up a sword and
rushed at Bhūrishravas. Arjuna shouted at him to stop and rushed out of his chariot with Krishna to hold
his arm. But they are a few seconds too late and Sātyaki cut off the head of Bhūrishravas. Because of this
act, members of both the armies criticized Sātyaki and Arjuna regretted that he was not fast enough to
stop him.
7.4.5 Arjuna kills Jayadratha: Sātyaki then distracted Karṇa and drew him away from Arjuna. There
was no great warrior to protect Jayadratha from Arjuna now. But time was running out. Krishna realized
that Arjuna would not be able to kill Jayadratha before the sunset. Therefore, he hurled his Sudarshana
Chakra (Discus) and covered the sun by his miraculous power. It was dark all over, and everyone thought
that the sun had set. The Kaurava army heaved a sigh of relief. They were now overjoyed that Arjuna
had failed to fulfill his vow of killing Jayadratha before the sunset. Therefore, he will now have to
immolate himself. Jayadratha got up on his chariot and laughed in happiness, pointing to the sky.
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Flashback: Remember that Arjuna had learned the art of shooting at his target in the dark merely by
hearing its sound as a child? It is this skill that Arjuna now employed to shoot Jayadratha in the dark by
merely hearing his laughter! This incident teaches us that we must never waste any time in our lives. We
should use every free time we have to learn something useful because what we learn then might even
save our life in future.
Before Jayadratha’s head could fall
to the ground, Krishna exhorted
Arjuna, “Quick Arjuna! Shoot a
series of arrows while chanting
mantras so that the head of
Jayadratha does not fall on the
ground. I want these arrows to
take his head out of the battlefield
and fall on the lap of
Vriddhakshatra, who is
worshipping in the forests in the
outskirts of our battlefield.”
Arjuna did as told and the head fell
on the lap of Vriddhakshatra who
had just completed his sunset
worship (Sandhyā worship). As soon as Vriddhakshatra got up startled, the head fell on the ground.
Instantaneously, Vriddhakshatra burst into a ball of flames with a loud explosion that was heard by the
warriors on the battlefield of Kurukshetra!
Arjuna than chanted more mantras and the Pāshupata missile returned to him with a cool and fragrant
breeze. The Sudarshana Chakra of Krishna then moved away and returned to Krishna. The sun now
shone as brightly as before, and the Kauravas realized that they had been fooled by the power of
Krishna.
FLASHBACK: Vriddhakshatra was a very noble king himself. When Jayadratha had been born, a Rishi
had predicted that a great warrior will behead him and cause his death. Worried, Vriddhakshatra had
cursed that whosoever caused his son’s head to fall on the ground will die and his own head will split into
a thousand pieces.
7.4.6 The Death of Ghatotkacha: The war continued that day. Droņāchārya refused to stop the war
even at sunset time because he was very angry at the death of Jayadratha. He had failed to keep his
promise to Duryodhana that he will protect Jayadratha. Several other important warriors died on both
sides.
Arjuna wanted to fight Karṇa but Krishna convinced him to allow Ghatotkacha to fight Karṇa. In the
great battle, Ghatotkacha started killing hundreds of Kaurava soldiers. Then, he killed the horses of
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Karṇa’s chariot, forcing him to fight from the ground. Looking at the destruction of his army,
Duryodhana begged Karṇa, “Our entire army is getting destroyed. We cannot let this happen for a long
time. Use your Shakti missile and kill Ghatotkacha.”
Karṇa had saved the Shakti missile to kill Arjuna. But when Duryodhana begged him several times to use
it, Karṇa aimed the missile at Ghatotkacha. The missile pierced Ghatotkacha’s heart and he started to
fall to the ground. Duryodhana smiled in happiness because the favorite son of Bheema, his most hated
enemy, had been killed. Duryodhana thought that he had saved his army from destruction by ordering
Karṇa to kill Ghatotkacha with his Shakti missile. But Krishna smiled, because now Arjuna was safe, and a
bigger destruction was in store for the Kauravas!
Ghatotkacha begged to Krishna, “Pease tell me where my father Bheema is, so that I can fall at his feet
while dying. But Krishna said, “Dear son, please let not your death go waste. Expand the size of your
body as much as you can, and fall on the Kaurava army.” Ghatotkacha obeyed. Expanding his dying body
to the maximum possible size by his magical powers, he fell on the side of the Kauravas and crushed one
entire Akshauhiṇī of their army to death!” Duryodhana was now drowned in even greater sorrow!
The Pāṇdavas were filled with grief, because Ghatotkacha was the eldest and their favorite child.
Yudhishthira especially cried a lot, remembering how he used to play with him when Ghatotkacha was a
little kid. Even in his death, Ghatotkacha had inflicted a heavy damage on their enemy.
7.4.7 Fighting continues in the night: The soldiers continued to fight well into the midnight because
Droņāchārya would not stop fighting. Like a madman, he went around killing thousands of soldiers in the
Pāṇdava army. Because of darkness, the soldiers could not even see whom they were fighting against.
Therefore, Duryodhana as well as Arjuna arranged for lamps to be carried on their elephants, chariots
and horses to have light.
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Finally, Arjuna shouted out to both the armies that they should now take rest. Everyone liked the idea.
The soldiers were so tired that they went to sleep on the battlefield itself. Some slept on their
horsebacks, others on chariots and the rest even on the ground.
7.5 The Fifteenth Day of the War
7.5.1 Duryodhana insults Droņāchārya: On that morning, the moon arose in the east before the sun
did. Therefore, there was light in the sky even before the sunrise. The soldiers had barely slept the
previous night and they were very
tired. And yet, they were ordered to
start fighting.
Duryodhana then divided his surviving army into two divisions. He decided that one of these divisions
will be led by him, and only the other half will be led by Droņāchārya. This decision indicated that
Duryodhana no longer trusted his own commander‐in‐chief.
Droņāchārya felt very hurt at Duryodhana’s decision. He now remembered his whole life in the service
of Hastināpura. He had left his own village because of poverty, and had taught the Kauravas and
Pāṇdavas for the sake of becoming rich, and for taking revenge against King Drupada. But unfortunately,
he had become involved in this fight among the family members of Hastināpura. His greed for the sake
of his son Ashvatthāmā had forced him to side with Duryodhana many times. Droṇāchārya’s heart was
filled with sadness and guilt. He wished that his life would soon come to an end.
7.5.2 Battle between Sātyaki and Duryodhana: These two warriors were great friends in their
childhood days when they were learning military sciences from Balarāma and Droņāchārya. But
unfortunately, they were forced today to fight each other as enemies because of greed and anger.
Everyone watched the two brave warriors fight each other to death. As Sātyaki and Duryodhana
remembered their childhood friendship, their eyes were filled with tears and they cursed their bad luck
for making them enemies after several years of friendship. Sātyaki defeated Duryodhana in the fight, but
spared his life, remembering that Bheema had vowed to kill Duryodhana. Then, he left Duryodhana and
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sped away on his chariot swiftly, with tears trickling from his eyes. For the rest of the war, Sātyaki
decided that he will not face his old friend Duryodhana.
7.5.3 Droņāchārya’s
Fury: Upset by the fact
that he had not been able
to protect Jayadratha the
previous day, and that
Duryodhana had called
him a traitor, Droņāchārya
now decided to finish the
Pāṇdava army once for all.
He fought like a lion that
attacks and kills weak and
helpless deer. In the first
half of the day itself, he
killed King Drupada, the
father of Draupadi; King
Virāta, the king of Matsya
and the father in law of
Abhimanyu; and also three
grandsons of Drupada.
And then, he started attacking helpless soldiers against the rules of the war, and started killing them in
thousands using powerful weapons.
Prince Dhristhadyumna (the son of Drupada and brother of Draupadi) was extremely angry to see his
father as well as children killed by Droņāchārya. He vowed that he will kill Droņāchārya before the
sunset, and will fulfill the prediction that the Guru will lose his life at his hands alone!
Krishna was worried at the slaughter of the Pāṇdava army by Droņāchārya and said to Arjuna, “If
Droņāchārya is not killed now and is allowed to fight in the afternoon, we will not have a single soldier
left alive by sunset. We must kill him as soon as possible. He is using his divine weapons even against the
ordinary soldiers. This is very cruel and is totally against the time‐honored traditions of warfare.”
7.5.4 The Death of Droņāchārya: Krishna then approached the Pāṇdava brothers and suggested a
plan to kill Droņāchārya, “No one can defeat your Guru today or at any time unless he lays down his
arms. We will have to think of a plan which causes him to give up his weapons. Bheema can kill the
elephant named Ashvathhāma in our army. Then, we should spread the word that ‘Ashvatthāmā has
been killed.’ As Droņāchārya loves his son whose name is also Ashvatthāmā, he will think that his own
son has been killed. In grief, he will lay down his weapons. At that moment, someone can attack and kill
him.”
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Yudhishthira agreed to the plan with hesitation. But Arjuna did not accept Krishna’s suggestion because
he loved his Guru, and because it was not fair to lie to kill Droņāchārya. But Krishna argued, “Look, you
Pāṇdavas have followed Dharma in your entire life. You are fighting this war too only for the sake of
Dharma. On the other hand, Droņāchārya is fighting on the side of Adharma (evil and unrighteousness).
Sometimes you have to plant a bush of thorns around a flowering plant, to stop beasts from coming to
the plant and eat up its flowers. In the same way, it is sometimes necessary to use alternative means to
protect Dharma against attacks by evil people. When your goal is noble, and you have to protect
Dharma, do not hesitate to use incorrect means to win if you are left with no other choice. If you have a
choice, then of course we should stick to the right means. But in this case, you have other choice to
defeat Droņāchārya.”
Yudhishthira agreed to Krishna’s logic with some reluctance. According to the plan, Bheema killed their
elephant whose name was
Ashvatthāmā, and then the
Pāṇdava army announced
loudly, “Ashvatthāmā is
dead!” The message was
even sent to Droņāchārya.
Droņāchārya now felt confused, and he approached Yudhishthira and asked, “You always speak the
truth. Tell me, is my son Ashvatthāmā truly dead?” Yudhishthira answered, “Yes, Ashvatthāmā is dead,
but it was either a man or an elephant of that name.” But, Yudhishthira said the words ‘Yes,
Ashvatthāmā is dead,’ loudly, whereas, he said the remaining words so softly that they were drowned
by the sound of Pānchajanya, the conch shell that Krishna blew loudly at that very moment. Therefore,
the Guru only heard that his son was dead.
Prior to this incident, Yudhishthira’s chariot wheels always levitated a few inches above the ground. But
after he spoke the first lie of his life, the wheels came down to the ground with a thud.
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FAST FORWARD: When Yudhishthira died, he had to visit hell for a short time, because of this lie that
he had spoken. However, the punishment that he received for being a part of a lie that caused Droṇa’s
death was very mild. The reason was that Yudhishthira was on the side of Dharma, and he had spoken
the lie so that Dharma wins.
Droņāchārya was now drowned in sorrow. He saw Dhrishtadyumna approaching him. Bheema too
approached Droņāchārya and said to him, “Gurudeva, after spending your life in poverty, you decided to
earn a lot of wealth so that your only son Ashvatthāmā could live a life of luxury. Your greed for money
made you ignore all the evil actions of Duryodhana. You know that we are fighting for Dharma. Now you
want to kill us and defeat us so that Duryodhana gives you even more money for your son. But your son
is now dead. So what are you fighting for any longer? For the sake of your son, you have committed
several crimes and have killed helpless soldiers in thousands with powerful weapons. But your son is
now dead. There is no one left to inherit your wealth! When will you stop your killing? Ahimsā is the
highest Dharma for a Brahmana. But if Brahmanas like you give up Ahimsā and become cruel, then how
will other people learn to
practice their Dharma?”
Arjuna was very upset with Krishna and Dhrishtadyumna for having killed his Guru in this manner. But
soon, another danger faced them.
7.5.5 Ashvatthāmā hurls the Nārāyaṇa Missile: It was now Ashvatthāmā’s turn to get very angry when
he heard how his father had been beheaded against all the rules of the war. He now hurled the
Nārāyaṇa Missile towards the Pāṇdava army. The missile created a dark cloud from which emerged
thousands of sharp arrows with burning tips, and blazing discs which started killing soldiers in large
numbers. But once again, Krishna, who knew the secret of this weapon, came to the rescue of the
Pāṇdavas. He ordered everyone in the Pāṇdava army to lay down their weapons, bow down to the
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ground and offer theeir respects to this
eapon. When
divine we n the Pāṇdavvas and
their soldiers prostrate
ed on the gro ound in
respect, the dangerouss cloud blew away.
Angered aat the failure of his weapoons, Ashvatth
hāmā hurled oother divine weapons at A Arjuna but thhey all
failed. Ashvatthāmā became very d disheartened. He could noot understan nd why his divine weapon ns had
become ineffective to
oday. Veda Vyāsa
V ed before Asshvatthāmā aand advised him, “No one can
appeare
defeat Arjjuna and Krishna, becausee they were th
he great Rish is Nara and N
Nārāyaṇa in thheir previouss lives,
and are parts of Bhagaavān Vishnu HHimself.”
The next ggreat battle w
was fought beetween Yudh hishthira and Duryodhana.. Yudhishthiraa threw a speear on
Duryodhaana, hitting thhe armor on his chest. Du
uryodhana feell down uncoonscious. Krittavarmā rush hed to
carry him away in a chariot. After he recovered, Duryodhana returned to ffight.
With the death of Dro he Kaurava army became very demoraalized. They thought thatt their
oņācharya, th
defeat waas certain. But one thing m made the heart of Duryodhhana happy –– now he could declare hiss dear
friend Karrṇa as the Co ommander‐in‐Chief of his army. Till thee sunset, Duryodhana kep pt encouragin ng his
soldiers to
o fight till it w
was time to withdraw for the next day’ss battles.
END
D OF D
DROṆA PARVA
A
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of 210
BOOK EIGHT: KARNA PARVA
This Parva covers days 16‐17 of the war during which Karṇa led the Kaurava armies, and ends with the
death of Karṇa.
8.1 Day 16 of the War
After Karṇa was declared as the Commander‐in‐chief of the Kaurava army, Yudhishthira said to Arjuna,
“Most of their main warriors have died and the Kaurava army is very demoralized. All that you have to
do now is kill Karṇa. Then victory will be ours.”
8.1.1 Karṇa spares Nakula: Nakula led the charge against Karṇa but soon, he had to run away from
Karṇa’s arrows. Nakula was surprised to see that Karṇa did not kill him and just allowed him to go away!
Unknown to Nakula, Karṇa spared him because he had given a promise to their mother Kunti that he will
not kill any Pāṇdava except Arjuna.
There were no major incidents on this day of the war. Duryodhana had hoped that Karṇa would kill large
numbers of Pāṇdava soldiers, or even the Pāṇdava brothers themselves. But instead, the Pāṇdavas killed
thousands of soldiers fighting for Duryodhana. The Pāṇdavas kept fighting and killing large numbers of
Kaurava soldiers till it was dark and the battles were stopped till the next morning.
Several army leaders started complaining to Duryodhana that he was not a good army leader. They also
pointed out that he had let Nakula go free even though he could have killed him easily. But Duryodhana
refused to listen to any criticism of Karṇa because he trusted his friend completely. Duryodhana had
often become angry at Bheeshma and Droṇāchārya at their failures but he did not get angry at Karṇa at
all.
8.1.2 Shalya becomes Karṇa’s Charioteer: That night, the two friends met and Karṇa promised to
Duryodhana, “Tomorrow, either I will kill Arjuna or he will kill me. Both Arjuna and I have the same
weapons. In fact, I have some better ones. But the one big disadvantage that I have is that Arjuna is
protected by Hanumān on his flag mast, and his divine chariot is driven by Krishna. On our side, we have
an equally great charioteer King Shalya. I can win the battle against Arjuna if Shalya agrees to drive my
chariot tomorrow.”
But when Duryodhana went to speak to Shalya about this, Shalya became very angry. He said, “How
dare you ask me to be the driver of Karṇa’s chariot. It is I who am a great King, whereas he is the son of a
charioteer. He should be driving my chariot, and not the other way around. I consider your request as an
insult.”
Duryodhana was a very manipulative person. He started praising Shalya with these words, “I am
requesting you with my folded hands, because I know that you are a greater warrior than even Krishna,
Arjuna and Karṇa. My friend Karṇa has vowed to kill Arjuna but he is protected by Krishna as his
charioteer. I have no doubt that you are a far better charioteer than Krishna. Therefore, with your help,
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Karṇa will easily kill Krishna, and the two of you will become famous all over the world for your
bravery!”
Shalya felt very flattered by Duryodhana’s praise and he agreed to become Karṇa’s charioteer the next
day.
That night, Karṇa could not sleep well. He knew that this might be the last night of his life. He
remembered his childhood when no one was willing to accept him as a great warrior just because he
was the son of a charioteer. He remembered how his own mother had betrayed him. He remembered
the love the Duryodhana had given to him. Karṇa decided that he will get rid of all the mental pain in his
life by fighting the most important battle in his life on the following day.
8.2 Day 17 of the War
8.2.1 Karṇa spares Yudhishthira: The Pāṇdavas had learned through their spies that Karṇa’s
charioteer was going to be Shalya and that he had vowed to kill Arjuna that day. The first battle was
between Karṇa and Yudhishthira. Within a short time, Karṇa defeated Sātyaki and others who were
defending Yudhishthira. Then he broke the bow of Yudhishthira, destroyed the banner of his chariot and
even cut open his armor. Then with a sarcastic smile, Karṇa touched Yudhishthira with the tip of his bow
to say that he now had the power to kill Yudhishthira.
But again to the surprise of everyone, Karṇa let go Yudhishthira after saying the following insulting
words, “Yudhishthira, you can never defeat me in a battle. Stop fighting and go away. Or stand behind
Arjuna so that he can defend you.” Yudhishthira was wounded and he felt very humiliated. Therefore,
he decided to go back to his camp for some time.
When Bheema heard that his elder brother had been humiliated by Karṇa, he became mad with anger.
He charged at Karṇa who could not stand Bheema’s attack and fell down unconscious. Bheema then
charged at the chariot of Karṇa and pulled out his tongue to cut it with a knife. But Shalya stopped him
saying, “Leave him alone. Remember that it is your brother
Arjuna who has promised to kill Karṇa.” Shalya then rushed
away Karṇa back to their camp for recovery and rest.
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Now, Arjuna had vowed that he will kill anyone who criticizes his Gānḍīva bow. He rushed towards
Yudhishthira with his sword to kill him. But Krishna stopped him forcibly and said, “Do not behave like a
fool Arjuna. Yudhishthira was very tired and therefore got angry. He did not really mean to criticize your
bow.” But Arjuna said, “I took a vow that I will kill anyone who criticizes my vow. And now, I must
follow my vow.”
Krishna replied, “If your vow leads to anger, greed, ignorance, violence and other evil things, then there
is no need to follow it. We should practice our vow only if it leads to happiness and progress. Let me tell
you a story to explain my teaching.” Krishna then narrates the following story‐
There was a Brahmana named Kaushika who took a vow of speaking truth at all the times. The
Brahmana constructed a hut on the banks of Ganga, and spent all his time praying and practicing
meditation. He never spoke a single lie, and becomes famous as a saint who always speaks the
truth.
One day, a band of bandits came to his home, chasing a group of innocent people who were
trying to escape bandits and had passed by Kaushika’s home. The bandits said to Kaushika – “You
never speak a lie. Therefore tell us – in which direction have the people we are chasing gone?”
Kaushika knew that if he spoke the truth, the bandits will find the innocent fleeing people, and
they will rob and kill them. But he thought that he must speak untruthfully because he had taken
a vow to speak the truth always. Therefore, upon being asked as to whereabouts of these
innocent people fleeing the bandings, Kaushika tells the bandits which direction the people went.
As a result the bandits captured the innocent victims and killed them.
This ‘truthful’ Kaushika was a fool, as one ignorant of Dharma who misused his vow of speaking
truth always to cause harm to innocent people; and as a result of speaking this ‘truth’, Kaushika
went to Hell.
INSIGHT FROM THE STORY: The story illustrates the Hindu teaching that we must not speak that truth
which causes harm. The relevant verse from Hindu scriptures is:
“satyam bruuyaat priyam bruuyaanna bruuyaatsatyamapriyam |
priyam cha naanritam bruuyaadesha dharmah sanaatanah ||” Manusmriti 4.138
Speak that truth which is also beneficial (and pleasing or causing happiness); Do not speak that truth
that is not beneficial (and only causes pain and injury); Do not also speak a lie merely for the sake of
pleasing (e.g., flattery) – this is the eternal Dharma.
An example of truth that must not be spoken because they cause hurt and pain are addressing a blind
person as, “Hey you blind man, come here!” Hindu scriptures say that we should speak a lie if it saves
someone’s life or marriage or if it prevents someone from losing his entire wealth.
When Arjuna heard the teaching of Krishna on how we should speak the truth, he felt very ashamed. He
apologized to Yudhishthira, and then went out with Krishna again to fight Karṇa. Now Arjuna vowed that
he will definitely kill Karṇa before the battle ends that day. Numerous warriors from both sides gathered
to protect Arjuna as well as Karṇa.
8.2.3 Bheema kills Dushāsana: Dushāsana was that evil brother of Duryodhana who had tried to
disrobe Draupadi after the first gambling game. Bheema had vowed at that time that he will kill
Dushāsana, rip open his chest and drink his blood. In the afternoon of the 17th day, Bheema and
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Dushāsana started fighting each other with a
mace. After a tough fight, Bheema fell him to the
ground, and sat on his chest. He now remembered
how Dushāsana had humiliated Draupadi, and
how he had tried to drown him in a river before
that.
Bheema then shouted, “Do you remember how
you dragged Draupadi by her hair and tried to
disrobe her in front of everyone? I had made a
vow at that time, and I am going to fulfill it now.
Duryodhana, come here and try to save your
brother if you can.” As everyone watched in
horror, Bheema cut off his right arm with which
he had dragged Draupadi by her hair. Then, he
tore open Dushāsana’s chest and pulled out his
heart. A stream of blood started flowing from it
and Bheema gathered it in his palms and then
pretended to take it in his mouth. The Kaurava
soldiers were so terrified that they started running
away from the battlefield saying, “Only a demon
can drink human blood. Therefore, Bheema is a
demon, not a human being.”
FAST FORWARD: After the war was over, Gāndhārī said that she was disgusted with how Bheema
drank her son’s blood. Bheema then defended himself by saying, “I had vowed to drink Dushāsana’s
blood. But I did not really drink even one drop.” But anyway, this incident shows that Bheema hated
Dushāsana a lot because he had pulled Draupadi by her hair and had tried to pull her clothes in front of
everyone.
Karṇa expressed his disgust at Bheema’s barbarian behavior and seemed to faint at the sight. Shalya
drove him away immediately. Duryodhana felt very upset at the death of his favorite brother.
8.2.4 Shalya helps Arjuna kill Karṇa: As Karṇa and Arjuna fought with each other, Krishna kept
encouraging Arjuna. He said, “My friend, I know you are the most powerful warrior on this earth.
Therefore, do not lose courage. Keep fighting carefully and with full enthusiasm. You will definitely
defeat Karṇa.”
On the other hand, Shalya kept saying negative things to Karṇa like, “Arjuna is a better warrior than you
are. Do not be a fool to think that you can defeat him. It would be better if you do not fight against
Arjuna because you are no match for him.” Shalya kept criticizing Karṇa because of the promise that he
had given to Krishna before the war had started. Due to these negative remarks of Shalya, Karṇa felt
hurt. He felt weaker and less enthusiastic.
8.2.5 Arjuna kills Vrishasena, the son of Karṇa: Karṇa’s son Vrishasena now fought valiantly to
defend his father. Arjuna charged at him and killed him. He shouted to Karṇa saying, “Remember how
you had killed my son Abhimanyu treacherously?” Karṇa was furious to see his son get killed by Arjuna.
Ashvatthāmā rushed to Duryodhana and begged, “Don’t you see that millions have been killed in this
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war already? Everyone’s brothers, sons, fathers and other relatives are dying. Please stop this war now.”
But Duryodhana merely said, “I will fight till the end. There can be no peace between me and the
Pāṇdavas now.”
8.2.6 Arjuna Kills Karṇa : Now a duel started between Karṇa and Arjuna. They both hurled all
types of divine weapons on each other. When Arjuna hurled a missile, Karṇa would launch a counter‐
missile to stop and destroy it. And
when Karṇa launched a deadly
weapon, Arjuna did the same. The
Devas appeared in the sky to see this
magnificent battle between the two
heroes. Karṇa shot his arrows and
broke the bow of Arjuna 11 times.
But every time, Arjuna quickly pulled
out a new bow from his chariot and
started shooting more arrows. Even
Karṇa admired how quick Arjuna was
in replacing his bows.
To the surprise of everyone however, Bhagavān Krishna immediately pressed the chariot down with so
much force that even the horses had to bend their knees. Arjuna too moved down by 5 inches due to
this. Karṇa’s missile missed its aim. It did not cut his neck or his head, but only knocked off Arjuna’s
crown. Arjuna tied his hair with a white scarf and continued to fight. Karṇa was disappointed that his
prized weapon had gone waste. Krishna then raised the chariot to its normal level again with his hands.
Arjuna had been very close to death, and became a little nervous.
Suddenly, Karṇa’s chariot got stuck in the mud. Karṇa requested Shalya to get down and free the stuck
wheel. But King Shalya refused and said, “I am a King. It is not my job to free anyone’s chariot stuck in
the mud.” Karṇa had no choice but to get down himself and get the wheel out of the muddy hole.
FLASHBACK: The curse of the Brahmana whose cow had been killed by Karṇa now came into play. Just
as the cow had been stuck in the mud when Karṇa shot it dead, his own chariot now got stuck in mud.
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The brutal murder of His nephew Abhimanyu flashed in the eyes of Krishna. With tears as well as anger
in his eyes, Krishna said to Arjuna, “Arjuna, now is your chance to kill him. The war is almost over and it
is certain that Kauravas will die. End the war sooner and save the lives of soldiers who are still alive.
Come on, take aim at his neck and kill Karṇa.”
When Karṇa heard this, he shouted back and said, “You cannot attack a warrior who is not able to fight.
My chariot wheel is stuck. It is against the rules of war to try to kill me at this time.” But Krishna replied,
“Evil people talk about rules only when it is convenient for them. Where was your Dharma when
Shakuni was cheating in the game of dice with Yudhishthira? You knew about it and yet you kept quiet.
Where was your Dharma when your friends dragged Draupadi to the court and humiliated her? Instead
of stopping them, you actually joined them and abused her too. In fact, you asked her to choose another
husband! You have always instigated Duryodhana in his evil actions against the Pāṇdavas even when
they were in the forest. Where was your Dharma when half a dozen warriors attacked Abhimanyu at the
same time and killed him? Did you not also join them to kill him? You are the one who came from
behind to cut his bow into two pieces. So do not talk about Dharma now. Those who do not follow the
rules cannot expect that others will treat them according to the rules.”
To protect himself, Karṇa decided to hurl the Brahmāstra missile at Arjuna. But all of a sudden, he was
not able to recall the mantras needed for shooting that weapon.
FLASHBACK: The curse of Parashurāma now came into play. Karṇa forget how to use his weapons to
save his life, just when he needed it the most!
Looking at Arjuna, Krishna commanded, “Do not waste any more time Arjuna. Shoot a deadly arrow at
him and kill him before he gets back on the chariot.” Arjuna did as he was told. His arrow stuck Karṇa’s
throat and blood gushed out of his neck. For several moments, his body stood erect in that state, and
then he fell down.
The Pāṇdava army cheered and celebrated. The Kauravas became very scared, sad and desperate now
because their last great warrior had died.
8.2.7 Krishna Blesses Karṇa and Reveals His Vishwaroopa to him: As Karṇa lay dying
on the ground, Bhagavān Krishna said to Arjuna, “Look at Karṇa carefully my friend. There has been not
been and will never be a greater giver of charity than Karṇa.” Krishna then transformed Himself into a
Brahmana and approached Karṇa to show the greatness of Karṇa to Arjuna.
The Brahmana said to Karṇa, “King, I am so unlucky that you are dying. While you were alive, you never
refused any request for gifts from anyone. Now who will take care of a poor Brahmana like me?” Karṇa
replied, “Do not worry as long as my body has still some life in it. I will break my tooth with a stone. It
has a gold crown on it. Sell the gold and feed your family.” But the Brahmana refused to take it, saying,
“This gold is impure, because your blood is on it.”
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Karṇa then mustered all his strength one last time, and
shot an arrow deep into the earth. The holy water from
Ganga started spouting from the ground. Karṇa purified
the tooth with that water and the Brahmana accepted
it gratefully.”
DISCUSSION ON THE LIFE OF KARṆA:
Why did Karṇa suffer despite having many good qualities?
The Hindu tradition greatly honors Karṇa. Even today, many Hindus chose his name for their sons. Karṇa was brave
and very loyal to Duryodhana. For these qualities, Duryodhana made him the King of Anga, and trusted him deeply.
At the same time however, Karṇa did betray Duryodhana at least twice – Once in the fight with Chitrasena in
Dvaitavana, and the second time in the Matsya kingdom. Both times, he fled, leaving behind Duryodhana to defend
himself alone.
Life was unfair to Karṇa. He was abandoned by his own mother. Although he was a Prince, he was insulted as ‘son
of a charioteer’ every time he wanted to do something big. No one was as great a giver as Karṇa, and he was also a
great Bhakta of Sūrya Devatā. So loyal he was to Duryodhana that he preferred to fight on his side instead of
fighting for his own brothers, the Pāṇdavas, and become the King of Hastināpura himself. He felt really grateful to
Duryodhana, who alone had always treated him with respect. He even refused to listen to Krishna, and his own
mother when they requested him to switch sides.
But at the same time, his blind love for Duryodhana made him ignore all the bad qualities and evil actions of his
friend. He joined Duryodhana in abusing Draupadi and in robbing the Pāṇdavas of their kingdom. Then, he incited
Duryodhana to go to Dvaitavana and tease the Pāṇdavas and Draupadi. He also did not allow Duryodhana to
return the kingdom of Pāṇdavas to them after the 13 year exile. He was rude to Bheeshma and other elders in the
palace of Hastināpura. And finally, he joined at least 5 other Kaurava leaders to kill Abhimanyu unfairly. In short, he
preferred to place his loyalty to Duryodhana above his loyalty to Dharma ‐ and this is why Karṇa suffered.
Life is not fair to many of us. But this does not mean that we use the injustices done to us as an excuse, and start
doing Adharmic acts. Also, just because one person has hurt us does not mean that we take out our anger on
another, totally unrelated person. It was Kunti who had abandoned Karṇa, but that did not mean that he should
have been unjust to the Pāṇdavas. And just because Draupadi had refused to marry him (she said that she will not
marry the son of a charioteer) does not justify the fact that he abused her in front of many people after the dice
game. The Pāṇdavas paid for their mistakes by having to spend 13 years in the forest. And Karṇa paid for his sins by
getting killed by Arjuna at the end.
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The Hindu tradition records a third reason why Karṇa died – he was the evil King Sahasrabāhu in his previous life.
Due to the bad Karma in his past life, he had to suffer in his present life.
Therefore, from Karṇa’s life, we should learn to be charitable and loyal to our friends just as he was. But the other
lessons that we should learn from his death are:
1. We should not support evil people blindly all the time even if they have helped us in the past, and are our friends.
Our first loyalty should be towards Dharma, and only then towards others.
2. Second, life is not always fair. But just because someone has been unfair to us does not mean that we should use
this as an excuse and commit crimes against others. For example, just because someone was beaten up a lot in his
childhood does not mean that he should also beat our his kids when he grows up and becomes a father. We should
try to keep our suffering to ourselves and not multiply it by being unjust to others.
3. The third lesson we learn is that no matter how many good qualities we have, we have to suffer the
consequences of our bad Karma. Good Karma do not cancel out bad Karma, and bad Karma do not cancel out good
Karma.
8.2.8 Duryodhana learns the secret of Karṇa: Duryodhana was heartbroken to learn of the
death of his dearest friend. He wept bitterly and asked his forces to withdraw for the rest of the day,
even though it was just a little past afternoon.
That night, he went to his grandfather Bheeshma and cried like a helpless child. Bheeshma then told
Duryodhana that his best friend was actually the eldest Pāṇdava brother. Duryodhana was shocked, and
he asked, “Did Karṇa know that he was fighting his own brothers?” Bheeshma said, “Yes. But he did not
want to betray you, his closest friend. I want you to know that his friendship towards you was true and
that he really loved you as a friend from the bottom of his heart.”
Duryodhana felt that his whole world crashed in front of him. He now realized that his friend Karṇa was
even more precious than he had thought. He was so heartbroken that he could not sleep that night.
Duryodhana vowed that he will not let the sacrifice of his friend go waste. He will try to fight the war to
the best of his ability and defeat the Pāṇdavas.
END OF THE KARNA PARVA
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BOOK NINE: SHALYA PARVA
This book covers the 18th day of the War and the events after that.
Day 18 of the War
It was the 18th day of the war and Shalya was chosen to lead the Kaurava army. Although the Kauravas
had lost most of their leaders, their army was still larger than that of the Pāṇdavas.
9.1 The Death of Shalya: Krishna suggested that Shalya could be killed only by Yudhishthira and no
one else. A duel took place between Yudhishthira and his uncle Shalya. Everyone was surprised to see
how ferociously a gentle and forgiving person like Yudhishthira fought. Perhaps, Yudhishthira just
wanted to end the war as soon as he could, after seeing the bloodshed on the last previous days. At the
end, he threw a dart with a diamond tip, which pierced threw the heart of Shalya and killed him. This
dart was a Divine weapon that had been created originally for Bhagavān Shiva.
9.2 All the brothers of Duryodhana are killed: Seeing their 4th Commander‐in‐Chief killed, the
Kaurava army fled helter‐skelter. Duryodhana said inspiring words to them to keep fighting. He himself
set an example by jumping right in the middle of the Pāṇdava army to kill their soldiers. Unfortunately
for him, Bheema shot an arrow and killed Sudarshana, the last surviving brother of Duryodhana.
9.3 The Death of Shakuni: One of the main masterminds of Duryodhana’s wicked deeds was Shakuni.
Even on the last day, Shakuni did not stop with his
dirty tricks. Sometimes, he would pretend to
withdraw and then attack the Pāṇdava army
suddenly. At another time, he saw that the
Pāṇdavas were leading the army from the front
and therefore the rear side of their army was not
defended. Therefore he attacked the Pāṇdava
army from the back. He fought a deadly duel with
Nakula and his twin brother Sahadeva swiftly
came to his rescue. Sahadeva finally fulfilled his
vow and beheaded Shakuni with an arrow that
had a sword shaped tip. Nakula and Sahadeva also killed the remaining sons of Shakuni. The Pāṇdavas
wanted to end the war as soon as they could. Therefore, they fought valiantly and destroyed the entire
army of the Kauravas.
Finally, all the five Pāṇdavas had killed important enemy, with Yudhishthira killing their last leader.
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9.4 Duryodhana hides inside the Dvaipāyana
Lake: Duryodhana now looked around and
discovered that only 4 people had survived in his
army – he himself, Ashvatthāmā, Kritavarmā and
Kripāchārya. For the first time, he was afraid. He
sent this message through Sanjaya to his parents,
“Your son sends you his regards. He does not want
to live long anymore. I
know that I have caused
you a lot of problems
because of my behavior. I am sorry for all that.” Then, he took his mace, the
only weapon that had survived, and hid under the waters of a lake named
Dvaipāyana to cool his body and to hide from the Pāṇdavas. Duryodhana had
mastered the art of staying under the water for a long time.
Ashvatthāmā, Kritavarmā and Kripāchārya located Duryodhana with the help
of Sanjaya and asked him to come out and fight. But Duryodhana replied, “I
do not have the strength to fight the Pāṇdavas anymore. And I want to cool
my limbs because my body is burning with fever. I will come out of the lake
tomorrow to fight them.” A hunter nearby heard their conversation. In the hope of getting a reward, he
immediately went and told the Pāṇdavas the location of Duryodhana’s hideout.
9.5 Gāndhārī’s Blessing to Duryodhana: Before and during the war, Duryodhana would ask Gāndhārī
to bless him for his victory because her words always came true. But she would bless him only with
these words, “Where there is Dharma, there is victory (‘Yato Dharmastato Vijaya’).” Duryodhana knew
in his heart that he was fighting on the side of Adharma and therefore grew worried that his enemies,
the Pāṇdavas, will win the war. One day, he had asked Gāndhārī, “Why don’t you say instead, ‘May my
sons win this war?’” But Gāndhārī refused to change the words of her blessing.
When she and her husband learned that Duryodhana was their only son alive, he said to her, “He may
have done a lot of evil actions. But after all, he is still our son. It is our duty to protect him from all
harm.” The Queen’s heart melted and she sent the message to Duryodhana saying, “I have never
blessed Duryodhana that he should win the war. He should take a bath and come to me without any
clothes on him. Throughout my life, I have prayed to Shiva, and have served my husband by keeping a
piece of cloth tied over my eyes. When Duryodhana comes to me, I will take off the covering from eyes
for the first time. The power of all the spiritual energy that I have gathered in these several years will fall
on his body and make it so strong that no weapon will be able to hurt my son.”
Krishna, who knew everything, decided to prevent this from happening. When Duryodhana was going to
see his mother, Krishna suddenly appeared in front of him. He said to Duryodhana, “I know she is your
mother. But you are a grown up man. How can you go in front of your mother without any clothing on
you? Aren’t you ashamed to do that?”
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Duryodhana saw
some sense in what
Krishna said. He
covered his thighs
with banana leaves
and appeared before
Gāndhārī. The Queen
took off her blindfold
and the powerful rays
from her eyes made
every part of
Duryodhana’s body
hard and invincible.
But she was
disappointed to see
that Duryodhana had
put on a covering of leaves on his thighs. She said, “I wish you had not listened to Krishna. Now, you will
meet your death if someone breaks your thighs. It is true that no one can change what Krishna has
decided to do! If he has willed your death, then I cannot save you.”
9.6 Duryodhana’s Death: Duryodhana realized that Krishna had tricked him. But it was too late to do
anything now. He hid back in the lake. Soon thereafter, Yudhishthira arrived with his brothers and
Krishna and called out to Duryodhana. He said, “Do not hide like a coward. Come out and fight us.”
Duryodhana replied, “I am not hiding from anyone. I am just cooling my body. I have no interest left in
ruling my kingdom because all of my near and dear ones have died. Therefore, I am gifting my kingdom
to you.”
Yudhishthira replied, “You cannot gift something that does not belong to you. You have already lost the
war. Do not behave like a coward. We are warriors, and we do not accept any gifts from others. We will
take our kingdom back from you after defeating you and killing you.”
Duryodhana was hurt by Yudhishthira’s reply. He came out of the water and said, “I am ready to fight
you and defeat all of you. But I am tired and injured. Therefore, I will fight you all one by one.”
Yudhishthira replied, “Your entire army has been destroyed. Therefore, I will have mercy on you. I will
allow you to choose which one of us you want to fight, and whatever weapon you’d like to use. And if
you win, the kingdom is yours.”
Krishna was annoyed when he heard Yudhishthira’s offer of choices to Duryodhana. He said, “Being kind
does not mean that you become foolish. We have fought a hard war in the last 18 days. Do you now
want to risk all that we have won by your offer to Duryodhana? What if he chooses to fight the weakest
of your brothers with a weapon of his own choice? Several years ago, you had gambled away your
kingdom. And now, you are treating this war also as a game of dice in which luck is more important than
bravery and skill. All these 13 years, Duryodhana has been practicing the art of fighting with the mace.
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Duryodhana has lost everything and therefore he has nothing more to lose now. He will try his best now
to win by taking advantage of the conditions set by you. One should always fear the last surviving traces
of an enemy that is totally defeated and has nothing more left to lose. Because the surviving enemy is
very determined to cause as much harm as he can before he dies, just as a surviving spark can re‐ignite a
forest.”
Luckily however, Duryodhana did not take unfair advantage of Yudhishthira’s offer. He knew that no one
could defeat him in a mace duel, not even Bheema. Therefore he said, “I choose to fight with my mace.
And whichever of you five brothers want to fight with me can step forward.” Bheema stepped forward.
At that moment, their Guru Balarāma after his 42 day long pilgrimage arrived to see his two best
students show their skills at mace‐dueling. He suggested that they carry out the duel at the nearby
Sāmantapanchaka Lake. This lake was very holy and it was believed that a warrior who died on its banks
went to heaven. Therefore, the Pāṇdavas, Duryodhana, Krishna and Balarāma moved from the
Dvaipāyana Lake to the
Sāmantapanchaka Lake
which was at a very
short distance.
Duryodhana fell down, writhing in pain. He knew that his end was near. Bheema was so angry that he
started pushing Duryodhana’s head with his feet very roughly and kicked Duryodhana’s chest. This
angered everyone gathered and Krishna asked Yudhishthira to command Bheema to behave in a
civilized manner. When Yudhishthira did not do Krishna said, “It is not acceptable to humiliate a fallen
enemy. We must never mutilate or torture the bodies of soldiers who are dying or dead, even if they are
our enemies. And Duryodhana is in fact your elder brother and you must never forget this fact.”
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INSIGHT FROM KRISHNA’S SCOLDING OF BHEEMA: Hindu Dharma forbids military torture or mutilation
of the bodies of enemy soldiers. These rules are followed by the armies of Hindu countries like India and
Nepal even today. Unfortunately, the armies of other countries against whom India has fought do not
always follow the rules of civilized warfare. Very often, Hindu soldiers captured by other countries are
subjected to horrific torture by non‐Hindus. But we Hindus must never do these things to others.
Balarāma was so angry with Bheema for having killed Duryodhana with a foul blow that he picked up his
ploughshare (his weapon) and rushed to kill Bheema with it. He said, “Duryodhana was my favorite
student, but Bheema was my
student too. I did not teach
either of them to fight using
wrong tactics.” Krishna
immediately leaped forward and
stopped Balarāma forcibly. He
tried to calm Balarāma with
these words, “Brother,
Duryodhana had slapped his left
thigh to insult Draupadi and the
Pāṇdavas in front of everyone.
Was that civilized behavior? You
never showed your anger
towards your favorite student
after that. Bheema had taken a
vow to break Duryodhana’s
thighs for this insult to Draupadi.
Rishi Maitreya had also cursed
Duryodhana that he will die by a blow to his thighs. The words of Rishis must come true. And how can
you forget that he had tried to kill the Pāṇdavas using wrong means several times, and that he snatched
their kingdom with the help of his crooked Uncle Shakuni? In fact, it is Duryodhana who is responsible
for millions of deaths in the war. Those who live by the laws of the jungle finally die by the laws of the
jungle.”
Balarāma did not agree to what Krishna said, but he had no answer to Krishna’s arguments. Therefore,
Balarāma just mounted his chariot and left for Dwārakā. Krishna also expressed his unhappiness to
Yudhishthira that Bheema had insulted Duryodhana by jumping on his body and pushing around his
head with his foot.
9.7 Duryodhana’s anger at Krishna and the Pāṇdavas: Duryodhana was now dying and he let out
his anger at Krishna for leading the Pāṇdavas to victory. He said, “Krishna, the Pāṇdavas have won this
war not because they were better warriors, but because of your ugly tricks. You killed Bheeshma,
Jayadratha, Droņāchārya, Karṇa and many others who fought for me using dirty tricks and by breaking
the rules of the war. And now, you are the one who hinted to Arjuna to slap his thighs. It was only after
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seeing Arjuna’s action that Bheema made this unfair blow with his mace and broke my thighs. I have
absolutely no respect for you.”
Krishna replied, “When evil people like you get the punishment of their own bad actions, they still do
not accept that it was their own mistakes which brought their downfall. You tried to poison Bheema and
had him thrown into the river. Then you tried to burn them and even your Aunt Kunti alive in the palace
made of flammable materials. After that, you cheated them out of their kingdom with the help of your
crooked Uncle Shakuni. And worst, you insulted Draupadi in the front of many people. Your evil actions
did not end even there. You tried to kill the Pāṇdavas in the forest but were stopped by Rishi Veda
Vyāsa. Then, you tried to humiliate them in the Dvaitavana Lake. But even then, Yudhishthira freed you
from the captivity of Chitrasena. Then you deliberately sent Rishi Durvāsā to the Pāṇdavas so that he
curses them. Your brother in law Jayadratha once again tried to insult Draupadi and kidnapped her. He
lost his life because of this crime. The Pāṇdavas fulfilled all their conditions of exile but you refused to
return their kingdom to them. It is because of your greed and jealousy that this war happened. You used
foul means to win King Shalya over to your side. And even in the war, it was you and your supporters
who first broke the rules. Abhimanyu was killed in the most unfair manner. All these and many other
bad Karma by you have today put you in the condition that you are. So take responsibility for what you
have done instead of blaming others for your problems. And stop defending your friends like Karṇa who
supported you in every evil action. He too died because of his own evil deeds. And Droṇa and Bheeshma
died because of you. Had you returned the kingdom of the Pāṇdavas, or had they refused to fight for
you, they would be living today. You are a wicked man, and it is for this reason that you have met your
death in this battlefield.”
But Duryodhana simply refused to acknowledge his faults. Even on his deathbed, he was unrepentant
and full of selfish pride. As the Pāṇdavas were leaving with Krishna, he shouted back, “All my life, I have
lived with my head held high. Whenever my enemies have opposed me, I had crushed their heads. I
gave charity to everyone in my kingdom. I ruled my kingdom well. I fought bravely and never fled from
my enemies. Now I am dying the death of a brave warrior. For my sake, all these millions died in the war
fighting on my side. And now when I die, I will go straight to heaven. And what will you get? Just a
kingdom in which there are hardly any people left because most have been killed in the war, a kingdom
full of little orphan kids and crying widows. There is no wealth left. Your own family members and
friends are dead, whereas I will meet mine in heaven. I am dying with pride but you will live in shame
and in sorrow for the rest of your lives. So tell me, whose life was better? Your life or mine? Obviously, I
have lived a better life than you. And now I am dying a better death than you will.”
Krishna advised the Pāṇdavas to keep quiet and leave Duryodhana alone because he was dying and
there was no purpose in arguing with him and hurting him more. But some of the things that
Duryodhana had said were true indeed. Therefore, they stood by the Sāmantapanchaka Lake with their
heads bowed in shame. Krishna said to them, “There are times when evil forces become very powerful.
It then becomes impossible to defeat them using fair means. In the past, even the Devatās have used
cunning means to defeat the evil Asuras. We were fighting for Dharma and our enemy was more
powerful than us. Therefore, we had no option but to break the rules after they had started to do so.”
The Pāṇdavas agreed to what Krishna said, and they left that place cheerfully.
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INSIGHTS FROM THE EXCHANGE BETWEEN KRISHNA AND DURYODHANA: Krishna shows that
many of us wrongly blame others for our problems. This is not the right thing to do. Most of the times,
we are ourselves responsible for the troubles in our life. We should accept our mistakes and try to correct
them. Otherwise, we will continue to repeat our mistakes and get into bigger troubles. Duryodhana was
a very greedy and jealous person. Because of his pride, he could never accept his mistakes and therefore
he never corrected his faults. He did have a few good qualities. But he practiced them only because they
made him feel proud and because he had selfish reasons. For example, he took care of people in his
kingdom only so that he feels good and so that they forget the Pāṇdavas and do not support them when
the return 13 years later to get their kingdom back from him. Moreover, Duryodhana always liked to
boast, “I did that, I did this,”because it was all about him. He was selfish and egotistic. On the other
hand, the Pandavas, with the exception of Bheema sometimes, did not keep talking about ‘I, me, mine.”
The second lesson we learn from this exchange is that no one really wins in a war. Even the side that wins
actually loses a lot of their soldiers. Many women are widowed and children are orphaned. And yet, war
is a necessary evil on this earth. If the good people do not defend Dharma and surrender everything for
the sake of peace, then the followers of Adharma will not let anyone live in happiness.
9.8 Krishna as the Savior of the Pāṇdavas: According to the rules of the war, the Pāṇdavas and
Krishna went to the tents of the Kaurava army to spend the night
there and take possession of the Kaurava treasury. This meant to
show the world that the Pāṇdavas now face no danger from the
Kaurava army and could even sleep without any fear in the
Kaurava camp.
When the chariot of Arjuna reached the Kaurava camp, Krishna
asked Arjuna to take his bow and other weapons, get off from the
chariot and walk away to some distance. When Arjuna did this,
Hanuman immediately flew off from the flag of the chariot and
disappeared. Then, Krishna got off and walked towards Arjuna.
Immediately, the chariot burst into flames and exploded as the
Pāṇdavas looked in shock! Yudhishthira asked Krishna as to why
this happened. Krishna explained, “During the war, the chariot had
been hit by many missiles and it should have exploded several
days ago. But my presence kept it intact. Now the war is over, and
we do not need it anymore. Therefore, I have allowed it to get destroyed.” Yudhishthira then bowed to
Krishna with respect and said, “We owe our victory to you Krishna. If you had not been there to look
after us, we would have lost our lives a long time ago.”
INSIGHT FROM THIS INCIDENT: Think of the numerous times that you were in great danger but
escaped unharmed. It was Bhagavān who was watching over you and protecting you. We take many
things in our life for granted, or say that it was our ‘good luck.’ But in reality, it is Bhagavān who saves us
or leaves us. Therefore, whenever we happy or lucky, we should thank Bhagavān. And whenever we are
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‘unlucky’ or unhappy, we should try our best (just like the Pāṇdavas did) and pray to Bhagavān to guide
us.
9.9 Krishna visits Hastināpura: Queen Gāndhārī and other ladies had left for Hastināpura.
Yudhishthira was worried that Gāndhārī might curse the Pāṇdavas in her anger. Therefore, upon his
request, Krishna rushed to Hastināpura to console King Dhritarāshtra and Queen Gāndhārī. He wept
with them to share their sorrows. He explained how the Pāṇdavas had tried everything to prevent this
war and that they were also very sad on the death of their cousins. Krishna also assured them that King
Yudhishthira had a lot of respect for them and that he will come soon to get their blessings. The old
couple felt a little better when they were consoled by Krishna.
It was already night, and the war was over. But Duryodhana did not want to die without causing as much
harm as possible to the Pāṇdavas.
END OF SHALYA PARVA
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Book Ten ‐ SAUPTIKA PARVA: The Book of Sleep
10.1 Ashvatthāmā’s Murder Plan
The three survivors decided to spend their night below a banyan tree close to the battlefield. Suddenly
Ashvatthāmā, who was awake, saw an owl swoop down and kill some crows which were sleeping. The
crows did not even realize that they were attacked till it was too late. This gave an idea to Ashvatthāmā.
Ashvatthāmā suggested that they should quietly go into the Pāṇdava camp during the night when
everyone was sleeping, and then kill them without any mercy. The other two opposed this plan, saying
that it is against all the rules of war. Kripāchārya argued that a person who is wise should listen to what
his elders and friends suggest to him. But Ashvatthāmā refused to listen to them and they had no choice
but to support him because he was now their commander‐in‐chief.
Draupadi had five sons, one from each of the five Pāṇdava brothers. Ashvatthāmā slipped into their
tents and killed all of them in the darkness of the night. He also killed Dhrishtadyumna brutally by
kicking him mercilessly. Kripāchārya also set the tents on fire. Meanwhile, Kripāchārya and Kritavarmā
guarded the gates of
the entire area
inside which the
tents were located.
As the sound of the
killing woke up
others, they ran out
in confusion to
escape. But at the
gates of the area,
Kripāchārya and
Kritavarmā
slaughtered the
fleeing people as
they were running out.
After killing the sons of Draupadi, Dhrishtadyumna and many other warriors in the Pāṇdava army,
Ashvatthāmā rushed to Duryodhana to convey him the good news. Duryodhana felt happy, and then he
died.
10.2 Ashvatthāmā is punished to have a long miserable Life
When all this happened, the Pāṇdavas were away in the Kaurava camp. Next morning, when they
learned about the death of the five sons of Draupadi, they all broke down with grief. Draupadi said, “I
can never forgive Ashvatthāmā for killing all of my sons. I want him to be punished. Ashvatthāmā is
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protected by a gem given to him by his father Droņāchārya. This gem protects him from all harm. I
would like that gem to be taken from him, and given to my husband King Yudhishthira.”
And that is what he did. Uttarā, the wife of Abhimanyu was pregnant, and the effect of the weapon of
Ashvatthāmā caused the unborn child to die. Krishna was furious that Ashvatthāmā should have killed
an innocent and unborn child, and he promised to the Pāṇdavas that he would bring the dead baby back
to life, once it was born.
As a punishment to Ashvatthāmā, Krishna took his gem and gave it to Draupadi, who later gave it to
Yudhishthira so that he could place it in his crown. Krishna also cursed Ashvatthāmā that he would get
numerous painful diseases but he will not die. Instead, He said, Ashvatthāmā will live for 3000 years and
suffer from pain because of his evil act of killing an unborn child. Krishna said, “While you go around
from one place to another, people will look at you in disgust for your despicable act, and will take pity
on you.” This was the only time that Krishna had cursed someone.
DID YOU KNOW? Even today in India, when a poor person suffering from a dreadful disease goes
around begging, he sometimes calls out, “Please have pity on this Ashvatthāmā.” Abortion or killing of a
baby before it is born is considered one of the greatest sins in Hindu Dharma.
END OF SAUPTIKA PARVA
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Book Eleven ‐ STREE PARVA: The Book of Women
11.1 The Families of the Warriors Grieve
When Dhritarāshtra learned about the death of his dearest son Duryodhana, he became very upset. He
blamed himself for not controlling his son, but said, “I must have done something wrong in my previous
life, or perhaps it was just bad luck.” Sanjaya and Vidura scolded Dhritarāshtra and said, “Don’t blame
your luck or your previous lives for the
destruction of the war. It was completely
your fault because you refused to put sense
in Duryodhana’s mind. You knew that your
son was wrong, but you did not stop him.”
11.2 Dhritarāshtra and Gāndhārī forgive the Pāṇdavas
The Pāṇdavas respectfully bowed
to the old couple, who silently
accepted their respects. But in his
heart, Dhritarāshtra was still full
of hatred for Bheema, because
Bheema had killed his favorite
son Duryodhana by unfair means.
When Bheema came forward to
greet Dhritarāshtra, the latter
indicated that he wanted to
embrace Bheema.
But Krishna had read the mind of
Dhritarāshtra, and immediately
placed an iron statue of Bheema in his embrace. Duryodhana had used this statue to motivate himself
during his mace‐fight practices. Knowing what Dhritarāshtra was planning to do to Bheema, Krishna had
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brought the statue with him from Hastināpura. Thinking of the statue to be Bheema, and full of anger
and hatred for Bheema, Dhritarāshtra crushed the statue with his powerful might. As King Dhritarāshtra
had applied a lot of force, he coughed blood. Then he broke down crying saying, “O Bheema, I could not
forgive you and had to kill you.”
Due to Krishna’s observant eye, the life of Bheema had been saved. Krishna then scolded Dhritarāshtra
and said, “Why do you blame Bheema for
your son’s death? Don’t you remember
how Duryodhana had humiliated Draupadi
in front the entire royal court? Don’t you
remember how Duryodhana cheated the
Pāṇdavas out of their kingdom, and did not
let them live peacefully even in the forest.
Duryodhana made several attempts to kill
the Pāṇdavas for no fault of theirs.
Therefore, Duryodhana deserved his
death.”
Krishna then told Dhritarāshtra that he had only crushed a statue of Bheema, and not Bheema himself.
Dhritarāshtra thanked Krishna for this, and then embraced King Yudhishthira and his other brothers
lovingly.
Then the Pāṇdava brothers and Krishna went to see Queen Gāndhārī. Rishi Veda Vyāsa feared that she
might curse the Pandavas. Therefore, he immediately appeared in front of her and reminded her of her
own blessing to Duryodhana, “Did you not bless him saying ‘Victory is where Dharma is?’ Those very
blessings have come true because Yudhishthira and his brothers were on the side of Dharma. And do
not forget that the Pāṇdavas are also like your own children.”
Gāndhārī now turned her anger at Bheema, “How cruel you were towards Duryodhana. You killed him
unfairly. And you behaved like a barbarian by drinking the blood of Dushāsana.” Bheema asked for
forgiveness and just said, “Mother, I had to fulfill my vows. And I assured you that I did not drink any
blood. I just took it in my hands and pretended to drink it.” Gāndhārī now looked angrily at Yudhishthira
who said, “Mother, I will gladly take your curse. I am truly sorry.” He touched her feet, but she turned
her face away. Gāndhārī’s eyes had swollen because of constant crying. This pushed her blindfold away
a bit and she saw the toe‐nails of Yudhishthira. Her angry gaze immediately burned his toenails. She
wanted to curse him, but she remembered what Veda Vyāsa had said, and therefore forgave him. When
Arjuna saw how Yudhishthira’s toe‐nail had got burned by her glance, he got scared and hid behind
Krishna. Gāndhārī heard the footsteps of Arjuna. Realizing that her anger was not going to bring her sons
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back to life, and that the Pāṇdava brothers
were standing in front of her respectfully
and fearfully, she calmed down.
11.3 Gāndhārī curses Krishna
Then, she turned to Krishna and cursed Him,
“Krishna, they say that you are an Avatāra of
Bhagavān Vishnu. Then, why did you not
stop this horrible war? Don’t you think you
are responsible for this destruction in
Bhārata? Your mother Devakī lost 8 children,
and I have lost a 100. She alone can
understand the pain in my heart. Therefore, I
curse you, that 36 years from now, all of your own Yādava people will kill each other. I curse you, that
you will also see them die in front of your eyes, and will be left lonely just as I and my husband have
been left lonely! And you too will face death
when you are alone, and there is no one beside
you.”
Krishna merely bowed His head and said, “Aunt,
the fact is that you did not try enough to restrain
your son. But nevertheless, I will accept your
curse with grace. My clansmen, the Vrishnis, are
predicted to become very evil and very powerful.
No one but I could have killed them to save the
people of this earth from their atrocities. Now,
your curse has freed me from this responsibility.
The Vrishnis will kill themselves, due to your
curse. But I have one thing to beg of you. If you
wish, please curse me as much as you wish. But
please forgive the Pāṇdavas and do not curse
them because they have already suffered a lot in
their lives.”
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Even though Krishna could have chosen to make the curse of Gāndhārī not work at all, he accepted the
curse of a grieving mother with a smile and with respect.
Gāndhārī then embraced Draupadi and wept, and said to her, “I have no ill‐will towards you my
daughter. You too have lost all your children like I have. I know that you understand my grief, just as I
understand yours. Come, let us all women who have lost our children and other family members
support each other in this sad time.”
The dead were then cremated on the banks of the Ganga with the ceremonies described in the Vedas.
11.4 Queen Kunti’s Reveals the Secret of Karṇa
Queen Kunti had not met her sons since they had gone to exile more than 13 years back. Vidura had
kept her informed of the progress in their lives. But when she met them, she broke down and wept with
joy.
For several days, Karṇa’s body lay uncared for in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. His sons had also been
killed and his parents had died before the war. He had no other relatives to perform his funeral
ceremonies. His widowed wife wept inconsolably next to him. The Pāṇdavas were done with the funeral
ceremonies of everyone in their family who had been killed in the war. Yudhishthira then asked, “I
suppose we have performed the sacred ceremonies for all of our family members who had died. Did we
forget anyone?”
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got angry with Karṇa, I would think of his feet, and then my anger would go away. Tell us mother, did
Karṇa himself know that we were his younger brothers?”
Kunti replied, “Yes, my son. He had sworn me to secrecy because he wanted to stay loyal to his best
friend Duryodhana. He knew that he might die at the hands of Arjuna. He also promised me that he will
spare all of your lives except that of Arjuna.”
This revelation was another shock to the Pāṇdavas. Everything now made sense. During the war, Karṇa
had an opportunity to kill Yudhishthira, Bheema, Nakula and Sahadeva one by one! But every time, he
would let them go free without any explanation. Indeed, he had kept his word given to his own mother
Kunti, that he will spare the lives of four of his five younger brothers. The Pāṇdavas were now filled with
great regard for Karṇa, whom they never knew to be one of them – and their own eldest brother.
Yudhishthira was greatly grieved, and Arjuna felt very guilty that he had killed his own eldest brother.
Yudhishthira said to his mother, “You did not tell anyone about Karṇa because you were ashamed of
your own reputation. But because of you, my brother Karṇa suffered his entire life. And because of you,
he died at the hands of his own younger brother Arjuna.”
This grief for causing the death of their own brother, and anger at their mother for having hidden this
secret changed the lives of Pāṇdavas completely. For the rest of their lives, their relationship with their
mother continued to be one of love and respect, but they always felt a little hurt in their hearts that
their mother had betrayed them.
INSIGHT FROM KUNTI’S SECRET: Sometimes, we do not speak out the truth because we are scared of
losing our reputation, our money, our life or something else. But our silence can lead to a lot of pain to
an innocent person. We should not speak lies. But we must also not feel scared from speaking a truth
that can help someone else. Therefore, it is wrong to remain silent when speaking the truth can benefit
another person, and save his life, his family or his property.
END OF STREE PARVA
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Books 12 & 13: SHĀNTI PARVA (The Book of Peace) and
ANUSHĀSANA PARVA (The follow up Instruction)
These two books have almost 25,000 verses and form around 25% of the Mahābhārata. Most of them
are beautiful teachings that Bheeshma gave to Yudhishthira and the other Pāṇdavas before he died.
Some additional teachings were also given by Rishis like Brihaspati, and also by Bhagavān Krishna. These
teachings cover the following topics: The duties of Kings, duties at the time of difficulty, ways of
reaching Bhagavān, Charity, and the qualities of good and bad people and so on. Bheeshma and others
narrated dozens of stories to explain these teachings to the Pāṇdavas. We will read only a little about
these teachings, because they are very difficult to write down in a short form.
12.1 Yudhishthira’s Coronation
Yudhishthira was so deeply pained for
having caused the death of his own
brother as well as that of millions of
other soldiers (including his other family
members) that he lost all interest in
becoming the king of Hastināpura. He
said, “I prefer to become a Samnyāsin
and want to retire to the forest where I
can spend the rest of my life meditating
and worshipping. This world is a very
sad and a cruel place. While living in the
world as a King, my mind will never be at peace, and I will never be happy. I wish I had listened to the
message brought by Sanjaya when we had camped at
Upaplavya. For the sake of peace, I should have just allowed
Duryodhana to continue as the king of Hastināpura. We had
already lived 12 years in a forest. So what harm would have
resulted had we spent the rest of our lives in the forest as
well? At least it would have prevented the killing that
happened in the war.”
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That alone will give you the peace and happiness that you want to get.”
Krishna also said to Yudhishthira, “Wise people do not continue to grieve over what has happened in the
past. Look ahead into the future because no one can change what has already happened. The people of
your kingdom need you and you have a responsibility to lead them to a better and a happier future. You
cannot forget your duty and run away from this world, because there are many who depend on you.
What will happen to them if you do not look after them?”
For a month, Veda Vyāsa and Rishi Nārada helped Yudhishthira overcome the pain in his heart. Draupadi
and his brothers also talked to him and convinced him to become the Emperor of Bhārata. Finally,
Yudhishthira agreed, and he was
crowned as the King. Dhaumya
placed the crown on his head.
Sanjaya was made in charge of his
treasury, and Vidura was the
defense minister. Yudhishthira
ordered the construction of several
ponds and centers for feeding the
poor in the memory of the soldiers
who had lost their lives in the war.
He made arrangements for looking
after the widows and orphans. And
he announced to all his people,
“King Dhritarāshtra is my father, and
my Bhagavān. Everyone who wants
to make me happy should listen to
his wishes. I live for him alone, and it is a great honor for me to serve him every day.” Everyone praised
Yudhishthira for his kindness and for his forgiveness.
12.2 Yudhishthira’s Sadness and Krishna’s Advice to him
Krishna was worried that with the death of Bheeshma, the world will lose the great amount of wisdom
and knowledge that he had. He said to King Yudhishthira, “I want you to go to Bheeshma, and ask him to
teach you to all the wisdom that he has, before he decides to leave his body and die.” They all
approached Bheeshma but he said that his pain from the wounds did not make it comfortable for him to
speak much, and his mind was unable to think clearly. At this Krishna used his Yogic powers and
Bheeshma then felt comfortable enough to answer Yudhishthira’s questions. His pains disappeared and
his mind became clear so that he could remember everything that he had learned in his long life. Krishna
also blessed Bheeshma that he will not feel any thirst or hunger till his death. Many Rishis gathered at
the spot to listen to Bheeshma’s wisdom before his Ātman left his body.
Initially, Yudhishthira hesitated to come in front of Bheeshma because he felt guilty for causing his
death. But Bheeshma smiled and said, “I had myself told you how Arjuna should kill me. I was my own
wish to die because I was disgusted with what I was doing. I had no choice but to support the kingdom
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of Hastināpura and its King. Yudhishthira should not get scared of me. I am his grandfather and I will
never bear a grudge against him even if he had done me wrong. And in this case, the Pāṇdavas were on
the side of Dharma.”
12.2.1 Draupadī’s Laughter: While they were listening to his instructive words, a thought suddenly
crossed Draupadī’s mind and she started laughing loudly. Everyone got distracted and thought that it
was quite rude of Draupadi to start laughing loudly when they were all listening to serious advice on
Dharma from Bheeshma, who was himself such a respected and elderly person.
But Bheeshma understood that Draupadi must have an important reason to laugh, and asked her to
explain to everyone the cause of her laughter. Draupadi then said to Bheeshma, “I laughed because I
thought it was really funny that you should teach Dharma to Pāṇdavas, who are very virtuous and
dutiful themselves. You never taught Dharma to evil Duryodhana when he tried to kill the Pāṇdavas. You
never tried to teach Dharma to Duryodhana when he cheated in the game of dice and snatched our
kingdom, forcing us to live in the forest. When the Kauravas tried to disrobe me in front of everyone,
you never tried to stop them by teaching them about Dharma. It is therefore hypocritical now that you
should teach the meaning of Dharma and Moksha to my husbands.”
The Pāṇdavas were aghast that their wife should be so rude so as to question the character of their
grandfather, who was so well respected by everyone. But Bheeshma intervened and asked the Pāṇdavas
not to get angry. He said – “Draupadi has indeed raised the correct doubts about my wrong behavior.
And the answer to her question will be especially relevant in the Kaliyuga, when Dharma will decline and
Adharma will become stronger. Draupadi is correct in alleging that I did not stop Duryodhana from doing
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evil when I indeed should have. This is because I was working for him, he was my King, and I was
dependent on him for my livelihood and food. Therefore, I could never gather the courage to stop him
from treading the path of Adharma. But after Arjuna’s arrows hit me and drained my blood, bringing me
close to death, all the food and luxuries that I had enjoyed under Duryodhana have now become
irrelevant and I have realized my folly. Therefore, now I shall instruct about Dharma so that people
should learn from my example, and never side with Adharma for the sake of protecting their livelihood.”
INSIGHT FROM THE STORY: The story teaches us that when we earn our food and salary by serving
dishonest and evil people, or by working for businesses that have unfair, discriminatory practices or
which produce substandard products, we might be forced to compromise our own honesty and fairness
from time to time. This is because while serving such people or employers, we cannot criticize their
wrong practices fearlessly for the danger of losing our own jobs and livelihood. Life often offers choices,
and as far as possible, we should try to disassociate ourselves from dependence on evil people so that we
can practice Dharma more easily. This might involve some sacrifices (such as getting a lower salary); but
that is still better than eventually coming to complete ruin because of supporting people who follow
Adharma.
12.3 Bheeshma’s Teachings on the Duties of a King
The first topic that Bheeshma teaches Yudhishthira is the duty of a King. Bheeshma said, “In this world,
most people have greed, jealousy, hunger for power and other evils as a part of their character.
Sometimes, due to these evils, people start fighting, and the strong man crushes the weaker one. And
therefore, it is important to have a King who will protect the weak. The King himself must be a strong
person, and must not be scared of giving a stern punishment to evil‐doers in his country, no matter how
strong these evil doers are. When a strong King maintains law and order in his country, everyone is
happy and lives without fear. They are able to do their work with freedom due to which the country
becomes rich and prosperous.
The King should be blind to all his personal relationships towards his family and friends. He must not
favor any person or hate
another person. He should not
over‐tax his people. A garland
maker picks flowers from many
different kinds of plants to make
a wonderful bouquet, whereas a
coal‐maker just burns down
everything to make charcoal.
The King should be like the
garland maker. He should love
everyone in his Kingdom,
irrespective of their mother‐
tongue, customs, beliefs and
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other differences. And he should build a beautiful and a harmonious nation combining the diverse skills
and abilities of everyone, rather than forcing his own views on everyone.
If he has to wage a war to defend his kingdom, the King should not hesitate to fight. But he should make
sure that his soldiers do not hurt unarmed, the sick, the disabled, women, elderly, children and other
weak people.
To succeed, the King should adapt himself as the situation changes. He should give up laziness and work
hard. If his kingdom falls upon bad times, the King should not lose hope. Nothing is permanent in this
world, and bad times are always followed by good times.
The chief duty of the King is to protect his people, and to make sure that everyone follows Dharma. And
Dharma is that which brings happiness to everyone. If there are rules from the past that now hurt
people, then these rules should be changed. To decide what is right and what is wrong, we should look
at everything from many different angles. We should not rely on just one person or one book to decide
what is right and what is wrong.
To succeed in life and to make sure that we do not get into trouble, two things are very important. The
first is that we should not procrastinate. In other words, we should try to do our work quickly instead of
delaying it. The second important thing is that we should plan our work. We should not do our work
haphazardly without planning it.
12.4 Bheeshma’s Teaching on Duties at the Time of Difficulty
Bheeshma said, “Yudhishthira, when you are in trouble, never lose hope. Remember that good times
always follow bad times. Therefore, be patient and keep trying to fight your difficulties. When a country
is attacked by an enemy, everyone in the country should unite.
People must not think. “I am a Brahmana and therefore I cannot fight. I am a Shudra (laborer) and
therefore it is not my job to fight.” Instead, everyone should contribute whatever they can to fight their
enemy.
12.5 Bheeshma’s Teaching on Ways of Reaching Bhagavān
While falling, walking, eating, while doing any activity, when you are up or down, in whichever land and
in whichever direction, you should feel the presence of God alone at all times.
The Light of Consciousness exists within us, and not anywhere else. That Light exists uniformly within all
living creatures. Anyone can experience that Light himself within him by controlling one’s mind (i.e.,
through meditation).
Remember that we people living in the world are like sticks of wood floating in an ocean. Two or more
sticks come together for some time, but then they are bound to separate and go their own ways. They
may or may not come together again. In the same way, all relationships are temporary. They last one
lifetime or even less than that, and we can only hope to be together again in the future.
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13.1 Bheeshma’s Teachings on Dharma
All tasks remain incomplete when death pulls us towards itself. Therefore one should become devoted
to Dharma in one’s young age itself, because no one knows how long this life will last. Where there is
truth, there is Dharma; where there is Dharma, there is light; and where there is light, there is
happiness. Conversely, where there is falsehood, there is Adharma; where there is Adharma, there is
darkness; and where there is darkness, there is sorrow.
Whenever an elderly person visits you, bow to them offer them a seat and then offer service to them
with folded hands. And when they are leaving, follow them to a short distance to see them off.
Do not hurt anyone’s heart, do not utter words of cruelty, do not put down others and do not speak
harsh words that cause turmoil in their minds. These types of speech takes the speaker to hell, therefore
do not speak this way.
There is nothing more precious in this world than one’s own life. Therefore, just as we expect others to
be kind towards us, so also we too should be kind
towards everyone else.
He who gets joy in beating and killing non‐violent animals will never get happiness in the next world. It is
better to be a vegetarian than to kill and eat innocent animals.
Everyone gets the fruit of their good and bad karma. Just as a calf finds its mother in a group of
thousands of cow, the Karma done by a person always finds its doer, and comes back to him as the fruit.
Just as flowers and fruit appear on trees only in the correct season, similarly actions that are done by a
person give their results only at the correct time.
One must give up three sins of the body, four sins of speech and three sins of the mind. These three sins
of the body are: killing others, stealing, and having illicit relationships with others. The four sins of
speech are speaking lies, saying harsh words, speaking nonsense and gossiping. The three sins of the
mind are being greedy of someone else’s possessions, bearing ill‐feeling towards others, and believing
that it is luck and not hard work that gives good or bad things in life.
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Yudhishthira asked, “Which is the holiest place where one should go for a purifying dip?” Bheeshma
replied, “Your own mind if it is full of truth and faith is the holiest pilgrimage place. By taking a dip in it,
you get gifts like Ahimsā, kindness, peace, freedom from greed etc.”
13.1.1 The Golden Rule of Dharma: Yudhishthira asked his grandfather, “How can I decide what is
right and what is wrong?”
Bheeshma replied, “There is a simple rule to decide whether you are doing the right thing or not. Just do
not do to others that you would not like them to do to you. For example, you do not like others getting
angry at you. You do not like it when others steal your things. Therefore you should also not get angry
with others, and should not steal things belonging to others.”
Rishis Narada and Brihaspati also gave advice to the Pāṇdavas on all these matters. Krishna also taught
them about the importance of giving different objects in charity to needy persons.
13.2 Krishna’s Instruction on giving Food in Charity
Shri Krishna said to King Yudhishthira: “One who wishes his own well‐being in this life and in the life
after death should offer food to all those who are hungry. Give food at the right time, at the right place,
to the right person and to the limits of one’s capacity even if it causes some inconvenience to one’s own
family. Finding an elder, a child, a tired and hungry traveler or a respectable visitor at his door, the
householder should invite him and feed him with hospitality, grace, respect and joy. Do not judge a
person from his learning or lineage if he shows up at your door. Feed with reverence anyone who comes
hungry to your home, be he an outcaste or an uncivilized person who eats dog‐meat. He who shuts the
door to a hungry visitor and enjoys food alone will find that the doors of heaven will be shut upon him.
The giver of food is the giver of life. To desire your good, give food, give food, give food.”
13.3 The Shiva and Vishnu Sahasranāma Hymns
Upon Bheeshma’s request Krishna then taught to the
Pāṇdavas the Shiva‐Sahasranāma hymn which contains
1000 names of Bhagavān Shiva. Bheeshma then taught the
Pāṇdavas the Vishnu‐Sahasranāma hymn containing 1000
names of Bhagavān Vishnu.
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13.4 The Moksha of Bheeshma
When the teachings were over, the Pāṇdavas took leave of their grandfather and returned to
Hastināpura. Finally, 68 days after the war had started,
the Sun started moving north again from the Tropic of
Capricorn.
King Dhritarāshtra, the Pāṇdavas and Krishna went back
to Bheeshma who lay on his bed of arrows. Bheeshma
asked Dhritarāshtra to treat the Pāṇdavas as his own
sons.
Now Bheeshma wanted to die. He worshipped Bhagavān
Krishna with flowers, Who then showed him His divine
form. Bheeshma then went into deep meditation. His
wounds started disappearing on their own, till his Atman
(soul) left his body and flew into the sky like a shooting
star.
After Bheeshma passed away, the Pāṇdavas performed his funeral ceremonies and immersed his ashes
in the Ganga River.
END OF BHEESHMA AND ANUSHĀSANA PARVAS
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Book Fourteen: Āshvamedhika Parva
14.1 Yudhishthira Gita & Anugita
After the funeral ceremonies of Bheeshma were over, King Yudhishthira once again felt very sad. Rishi
Veda Vyāsa suggested to him, “If you think that you have done a great sin by killing your relatives and
friends, then you can make up for that by giving charity, by performing meditation or by arranging
Yajnas (Vedic worship ceremonies). I think you should do the Ashvamedha Yajna. Doing this Yajna will
free you of all your sins and will bring happiness to your mind.”
14.1.1 The Battle against the Mind: Krishna consoled him again and said, “Why do you keep feeling
guilty and sad again and again? You have won the war against the Kauravas with the help of your
supporters. But now you must fight the battle within your mind. In this battle, no one can help you. You
alone can fight the sadness and guilty feelings in your mind. It is very important for you to win this
second battle. If your mind is sad, then everything outside in the world will appear sad to you. And if
your mind is happy from within, then everything outside will look happy. Therefore, be brave and
cheerful, and rule your kingdom with justice. The people of your kingdom need you. You cannot appear
sad and guilty in front of them. And remember one more important thing – the word ‘mine’ is the root
of all evils and the two words ‘not mine’ can lead to all kinds of happiness. When our mind is full of
greed and pride, we become unhappy. But when we like to share our belongings and we do work to
make others happy, then our own mind becomes full of happiness. Therefore, please listen to Rishi Veda
Vyāsa’s advice and do the Ashvamedha Yajna. Give your wealth in charity to the needy and to the
Brahmanas. You will then surely feel much better.”
This message of Krishna to Yudhishthira is sometimes called the Yudhishthira Gita. King Yudhishthira
agreed to this suggestion of doing the Ashvamedha Yajna and he started collecting money to perform
this grand worship. Krishna spent the next few days enjoying the company of Arjuna in Hastināpura.
14.1.2 The Anugita: After a few days, Krishna told Arjuna, “I know that King Yudhishthira has a lot of
love for me. But I have not seen my own elders for a long time. Therefore, I wish to return to Dwārakā.
Please convince him to give me
permission to return to my own city.”
Arjuna was very sad to hear that Krishna
was going to leave him. He requested
Krishna to explain him the teachings of
the Bhagavad Gita once again. Krishna
agreed, and this third Gita is known as the
Anugita.
In the Anugita, Krishna explained in
greater details all those topics that he had
mentioned only briefly in the Bhagavad
Gita. For example, Krishna gave more
details about Yoga, the four stages of
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human life, the process by which we are reborn, about bad eating habits and so on.
Before Krishna left for Dwārakā, he promised to the Pāṇdavas that he will come before they started
their Ashvamedha Yajna.
14.2 Krishna teaches Rishi Uttanka to see Bhagavān in Everyone
On his way to Dwārakā, Krishna met Rishi Uttanka, who had just come out of a long meditation and did
not know what had happened for a long time in the world. The Rishi asked Krishna, “How are the
Kauravas and the Pāṇdavas doing? I was in meditation for a long time and therefore I do not have the
latest news about them.” Krishna then relayed to him the tragic news of how the war had killed all the
Kauravas except Yuyutsu (who had sided with the Pāṇdavas).
Rishi Uttanka became very angry with Krishna
on hearing the news because he thought that
Krishna could have prevented the war, if He
had really wanted to. He threatened to curse
Krishna and blamed Him for the death of
Kauravas. But, Krishna explained to him
patiently how He had tried and tried to bring
peace between the two families without
success.
When Rishi Uttanka heard these details, he
repented for being angry with Lord Krishna
unnecessarily. Krishna forgave the Rishi for his
arrogance, and instead asked the Rishi if he
wanted a boon from Him. Now, Rishi Uttanka
lived in a desert region between Hastināpura
and Dwārakā. Therefore, he requested,
“Bhagavān, this place has a scarcity of water.
Please make water available whenever I feel
thirsty.” Lord Krishna replied, “Whenever you
are thirsty, remember Me, and you will get
water immediately.” Then, He departed for
Dwārakā.
One day, when Rishi Uttanka was travelling through the desert, he felt thirsty and therefore
remembered Krishna. Immediately, a Chaṇdāla (a barbarian man) accompanied with two ferocious dogs
appeared. The Chaṇdāla had a pot filled with water, and he offered to quench the Rishi’s thirst. But the
arrogant Rishi thought that the Chaṇdāla was not worthy enough to offer water to him, and therefore
he stepped back instead of accepting the water. The Rishi thought that Krishna had played a cheap joke
on him by sending such a lowly person to quench his thirst, and started criticizing Krishna instead.
Immediately, the Chaṇdāla and his two dogs disappeared and instead, Krishna appeared.
The Rishi said, “Bhagavān! Why did you send that lowly Chaṇdāla to quench my thirst? How can an
ascetic accept water from such a person?” Krishna replied, “A Rishi sees all creatures without prejudice,
with the same eye. You have practiced so many spiritual austerities, and have practiced meditation for a
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very long time. Therefore, it was unbecoming of you to have scorned someone because he was a
Chaṇdāla. But you turned him away, and as a result, you remained thirsty. In reality, the Chaṇdāla was
Indra, the King of Devas in heaven, and he had come with the nectar of immortality in his leather bag
instead of water. But you judged him by his appearance, forgetting that the same Ātman resides in him
as it does in you.”
Hearing this, the Rishi was greatly repentant and asked for forgiveness. He begged Krishna that there
should be rain in the desert to quench the thirst of all creatures. Lord Krishna granted his wish. To this
day, the clouds that rain water in the Indian desert are called Uttanka clouds.
MESSAGE OF THIS INCIDENT: The story shows that God resides in everyone, and therefore we
should not disrespect anyone just on the basis of superficial appearances. Krishna says the same thing to
Arjuna in the Gita – “The wise see the same (Supreme Lord) with an equal eye, in a learned and humble
Brahmaṇa, in a cow, in an elephant, in a dog, and even in a dog eater (outcast)”. Gita 5.18
14.3 Yudhishthira gets the Treasure of King Marutta
The Pāṇdavas started preparations for the Ashvamedha Yajna, which used to be a national celebration
in ancient Bhārata. Due to the war, Yudhishthira had no treasure or money left to conduct this
ceremony. Therefore, the Rishis disclosed to him the location of a vast treasure that had been buried in
ancient times by King Marutta in the Himalaya mountains. King Yudhishthira got this treasure dug out by
sending his troops under the command of Arjuna and brought it to Hastināpura.
14.4 Krishna Revives the dead child Pareekshit
Krishna came to Hastināpura a month before Arjuna returned
with the treasure because Uttarā, the wife of Abhimanyu,
was due to give birth to the only surviving descendant of the
Pāṇdavas. Soon after the child was born, the women inside
the birth‐chamber started crying because the child was born
dead.
Kunti rushed out with tears and urged Krishna to fulfill his
promise that He will save the child from the effects of
Ashvatthāmā’s Brahmashiras weapon. Krishna rushed inside
the birth chamber. He took the child in his arms lovingly and
said, “If I have always followed the path of truth in my life,
then may this child come back to life. May the fruit of all my
good Karma get transferred to this baby.”
A miracle happened. The room was filled with white light. The
child came alive and he started crying. The baby was named
‘Pareekshit’ and he inherited the throne of Hastināpura 36 years later after the Pāṇdavas retired.
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FAST FORWARD: The Bhāgavata Purāņa, a very famous Hindu scripture, was revealed by Shukadeva to
King Pareekshit upon the latter’s deathbed.
14.5 The Ashvamedha Yajna
With the arrival of the treasure, preparations began in full swing for the Ashvamedha Yajna. According
to the customs of doing this Yajna, a white horse was chosen and then allowed to wander wherever it
wanted for one year. The army of the kingdom led by Arjuna followed the horse wherever it went. Any
kingdom that allowed the horse to pass through its land had to accept King Yudhishthira as their
emperor. Most kingdoms easily accepted Yudhishthira as their emperor. But a few did not, and Arjuna
fought against them and defeated them. These kingdoms were mainly those that had sided with
Duryodhana in the Mahabharata war and now Arjuna defeated them once more. After one year, the
horse was brought back to Hastināpura and made ready for the Ashvamedha Yajna.
Throughout this year, Krishna remained with Yudhishthira and helped him prepare for the ceremonies of
the Ashvamedha Yajna. However, according to the version of Rishi Jaimini (called the Jaiminiya
Ashvamedha), Krishna also accompanied Arjuna with the horse, and helped Arjuna defeat the Kings who
had dared to capture and stop the white horse. After the return of the horse, Rishi Veda Vyāsa and his
disciple Rishi Yajnavalkya started the religious ceremonies.
As long as the Yajna lasted, Yudhishthira gave away vast amounts of food, clothing, land, gold and other
forms of wealth to the Brahmanas, to the poor, the needy and even to anyone who had arrived to
participate in the Yajna. Kings from all over Bhārata too attended and they accepted Yudhishthira as
their Emperor.
Several Pundits and Rishis gathered in Hastināpura and they discussed the teachings of Hindu scriptures.
Emperor Yudhishthira now finally felt better, and gave up all his sorrow and guilt.
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14.6 King Yudhishthira learns that Good Tasks should never be postponed
Once, a group of needy persons came very late in the day to the royal court. King Yudhishthira said to
them, “It is already very late today. Please come back tomorrow morning. I will surely give you
something in charity.” When Bheema heard this, he got up and said, “Let us celebrate! Our elder
brother is sure that he will be alive tomorrow.”
When King Yudhishthira heard Bheema, he felt a bit ashamed and immediately gave some charity to the
needy people. Bheema had made Yudhishthira realize that we can never be sure if we will live for even
one more day in our life. Therefore, we must never postpone doing good things for even a single day.
INSIGHT FROM THIS STORY: Hindu scriptures have many verses that tell us that we should not postpone
the performance of good deeds. A few verses are given below‐
This body and one’s wealth do not last forever, because death is always at hand. Therefore, instead of hoarding wealth, one
should accumulate Dharma (virtue). Vyasa Smriti 4.19
Some do not have the generosity to give a bite or even half a bite of food to a needy person because of the excuse that he will
donate only when he gets more money in future, but is there any surety about the time or the amount of wealth that one will
get in future? Vyasa Smriti 4.23
Tomorrow’s tasks should be done today, and afternoon’s tasks in the morning; for death will not wait for anyone whether the
person has completed his task or not. Vishnu Dharma Sutra 20.41
14.7 Krishna explains the harm of excessive charity to Yudhishthira
During the ceremony, King Yudhishthira gave a
lot of money by way of charity to the Brahmanas,
and all other members of his society. Every day
while the ceremony was on, thousands of people
came to eat in the feast organized by him for
free.
When King Bali ended his meditation, he noticed
the arrival of his guests and bowed to Krishna, asking him to introduce the other guest to him. Krishna
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said – “King Bali, this is King Yudhishthira of Hastināpura. He is a very generous king who feeds
thousands of Brahmanas, soldiers, farmers and others every day.”
Upon hearing this, King Bali suddenly looked horrified and he said – “Forgive me Bhagavān, but I do not
want to hear any praise of King Yudhishthira. I do not think he is doing a good deed by distributing
money for free and giving food to thousands of people every day without any reason. If even the
learned and wise Brahmanas in his kingdom become dependent on him for free food, then I am scared
to think of the condition of other sections of his society. They too will become lazy. I also wonder if
there are a lot of people in his kingdom who are poor because all of them seem to need charity from the
King. If his people were all well‐off, then why would they come to eat free food at his palace?”
Lord Krishna smiled, because King Yudhishthira had learned his lesson. He said to King Yudhishthira –
“One gives medicine to a person only when he is sick. Likewise, money and food should be given only to
the poor, not to the rich. We should certainly help those who are sick and poor. But we should not just
give food and money to people for free all the time because then they will become lazy and will stop
working. Everyone must earn their own bread instead of expecting free money or food without putting
in any effort.”
14.8 The Golden Mongoose
One day, there appeared a strange mongoose at the site of the Yajna. Half the body of that mongoose
was golden in color, and the other half was normal brown. And to even greater surprise, the mongoose
said in a human voice – “This charity of this Ashvamedha is definitely not as great as the gift of that
Brahmana in Kurukshetra.”
Everyone was surprised on hearing this, because the
King had spent a lot of money in his own Ashvamedha
ceremony, and had donated a lot of food and money.
They asked the mongoose to explain his statement.
The mongoose then narrated this story –
“Long, long ago, there lived a poor Brahmana with his
wife, son and his pregnant daughter in law in
Kurukshetra. One year, the land was stuck with a
terrible famine and there was no food for anyone to
eat. The poor Brahmana somehow got just enough
flour to make four Rotis. As they all started to eat one
Roti each, a hungry beggar appeared at the doorstep
and asked for food in a very piteous voice. The
Brahmana, though hungry himself, offered his Roti to
the beggar. But the beggar’s hunger was not satisfied
and he requested for some more food.
The Brahmana’s wife thought that it is the duty of a
good woman to support her husband and help him in
following Dharma. Therefore, she too gave her Roti to the beggar. But the beggar’s hunger was still not
satisfied. Now, the Brahmana’s son gave his Roti to the beggar, saying that a good son must always
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support his parents in practicing Dharma. Even after eating three Rotis, the beggar was still not satisfied
and asked if he could have some more food. Now, the pregnant daughter in law came forward, offering
him her own Roti. The Brahmana protested and said that she could not give her food because she was
pregnant and therefore must take care of the baby inside her. But the daughter in law said that
according to the Vedas, we should see God in our guests, and therefore guests must be served. She
argued that her unborn child will also get the benefit of her charity to the beggar, and therefore she will
give her own share of food to the beggar.
As soon as she gave the Roti to the beggar, his hunger got satisfied. But all the four family members,
tired and weak from hunger, almost fell dead. A miracle happened however. The beggar was none other
than the Lord of Dharma in disguise. Pleased with the generosity of the Brahmana and his family for
giving all of their food even though they were themselves dying of hunger, he brought all of them back
to life and took all of them to Heaven in a divine chariot.”
The mongoose then said – “I happened to be in the kitchen of that Brahmana, watching all this. I rolled
on the floor of the kitchen. The particles of flour that the kind Brahmana had used to make the Rotis
rubbed against my skin and turned it golden. But there were only enough particles of food to make only
half of my skin golden. I also ate a few bits of the food and this gave me the power to speak in human
voice. Since then, I have been roaming all over the world to find someone who is as kind and generous
as that Brahmana and his family, so that I can rub the other half of my body against their food and turn
my entire body golden. Unfortunately, I still have not found someone as great as that Brahmana of
Kurukshetra and his family.”
Upon hearing this, King Yudhishthira and his brothers were humbled. Even though they had given away
millions in charity, they gave all this money from the billions that they had from the treasure of King
Marutta. Whereas, that poor Brahmana and his family had given all the food they had quietly and
without complaining, even though they were themselves dying of hunger. The Pāṇdava brothers
realized that that charity is greatest in which we give away something that is irreplaceable and unique,
something that is really dear to us. Not just something that we have extra with us.
Insight from the Story: Donating food does not mean just giving our extra food to a hungry person.
True charity is giving to someone a thing that is very dear and precious to us. Rich people should donate
a higher percentage of their income than poor people to earn the same amount of good Karma.
14.9 Krishna leaves Hastināpura forever: The Bhakti of Kunti
Now Krishna was sure that the Pāṇdavas had nothing to worry about in the future. Krishna had fulfilled
his task in Hastināpura. Now he could return to Dwārakā and do other things. Therefore, he took leave
of King Yudhishthira and sat on a chariot to return to Dwārakā.
The people of Hastināpura came out to see Him and to offer his respects to Him before He left. Queen
Kunti knew that this was the last time that she will be seeing her beloved nephew Krishna, who was the
Lord of the Universe.
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She became veryy sad and said d, “Now that our bad timees are
gonee and I am w worried that yyou will neveer see us aga ain. In
the past, we hadd to face onne difficulty a after anotherr. But
everry time wheen we weree in troublee, you appeared
immmediately to hhelp us. Mayy we keep ffacing all kin nds of
difficculties in ourr life in futurre too, so th
hat I am forcced to
remeember you evvery momentt, and you aree forced to ap ppear
in frront of us to take away our sorrows! W What is the u use of
thatt happiness w which makes uus forget our B Bhagavān!”
Krish
hna was mov ed by the devvotion of Kun
nti.
Although Krishnaa left to Hastināpura forevver, his good work
did n
not stop. Thee Mahābhāratta records on nly those actio ons of
Krish
hna that hadd some effectt on the livess of the Pāṇd davas.
The rest of his liffe is describeed in other h
holy books likke the
Gargga Samhitā, SShrimad Bhāggavata Purāṇ ṇa and Harivaamsha
Purāāṇa.
END
D OF TH
HE ĀSH
HVAMEEDHIKA
A PARV
VA
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of 210
Book Fifteen: Āshramavāsika Parva
15.1 Yudhishthira’s Love and Respect for Dhritarāshtra and Gāndhārī
Even though the blind love that Dhritarāshtra had for Duryodhana led to immense hardship for the
Pāṇdavas, King Yudhishthira completely forgave the old couple. He had them housed comfortably in the
palace, and gave orders that all of their desires should be fulfilled. Yudhishthira met them regularly to
serve them and say kind words to them. He provided them with unlimited wealth and other items to
continue doing worship and charity (through the Shrāddha ceremonies) for the sake of their dead sons,
the Kauravas. He also told his brothers that that they should remember only the good qualities of
people who were dead.
Emperor Yudhishthira also ordered that whosoever obeyed the commands of Dhritarāshtra and
Gāndhārī would be dear to him, and he who did not listen to them would earn his enmity and wrath.
The old couple lived happily with the King, and got the happiness that their own sons Duryodhana and
his brothers had never given to them. But, they were not very happy with the behavior of Bhīma, who
did not follow the command of Yudhishthira will full grace. Whenever an opportunity presented, he
would do unkind things like boasting how he had killed Duryodhana and other sons of the couple. He
would say these words within the hearing distance of the old couple, causing them a lot of pain.
Yudhishthira and Arjuna never came to know about it, but Sahadeva and Nakula found out about it. But,
the latter never told Yudhishthira and Arjuna, due to which Bhīma’s sarcastic taunts continued.
Although Dhritarāshtra and Gāndhārī were happy with how the Pāṇdavas (except Bhīma) had treated
them despite their own behavior towards them in the past, a nagging guilt continued to haunt the old
couple. They realized that they should have tried harder to restrain their son Duryodhana. To
compensate for their own complicity in the crimes of Duryodhana, they secretly slept on the floor and
not on the comfortable beds provided to them. And moreover, they also ate only a small portion of their
food, and gave the rest away. As a result of this, the couple grew weaker and weaker.
15.2 The Repentance of Dhritarāshtra
Fifteen years passed in this manner. One day, Dhritarāshtra called the Pāṇdavas and the people and
Hastināpura to announce that they were now very old. Therefore, they wanted to work their way
towards Moksha. In other words, they now wanted to spend the rest of their days in the journey to
meet Bhagavān. With folded hands, he also asked all the people to forgive them for all the bad deeds
that they had done themselves or through Duryodhana in the past. Therefore, they asked for everyone’s
permission to leave Hastināpura, and go to an Āshrama in the forest to spend time in worship. Bhīma
could not conceal his happiness that they couple were leaving them because he still hated them for
having spoiled Duryodhana. But Arjuna noticed Bhīma’s behavior and scolded him, saying, “Those who
want to follow Dharma should remember only the good deeds of others, not their bad deeds.”
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Everyone was aghast w when they he eard the decission of the coouple to leavee them. A rep presentative o
of the
onsoled them
citizens co m saying that it was not th
heir fault, andd it was all a matter of chance. Yudhishhthira
too begge ed them not tto leave Hastināpura, but tthe King and Queen who w were filled w
with remorse wwould
not agreee. Dhritarāshtra also gave llessons on po
olitics and hoow to treat hiss subjects to Yudhishthira, who
promised to obey his laast teaching.
15.3 Virttuous Kuntti, Vidura an
nd Sanjaya
When the ey were about to leave forr the forest, K Kunti and Viduura also insistted on accom mpanying them m and
so did Sannjaya. The Pāṇdavas starte ed weeping seeing their m mother go. Yu udhishthira saaid to her, “D Do you
remembe er mother how w you broughht us children to Hastināpuura after our father had paassed away so o that
we could live like Princces? And it was you who sent us the m essage through Krishna th hat we should d fight
the Kauraavas to get our kingdom back.
b Most of
o your life, yyou have sufffered a lot to oo. So why do you
want to leeave us behin nd now and go o to live a harrd life in the fforest when yyou are so old d?”
Kunti replied, “A moth her never looks at her own n comfort. Al l that I did w was for the haappiness of yo ou all,
my childrenn. Whateverr happiness that your ffather
Pāņdu gave to me was en nough for mee in this life. N Now, I
want to servve King Dhrittarāshtra and d Queen Gāndhārī,
who are eldder to me. YYudhishthira,, take care o of my
favorite sonn Sahadeva aand make su ure that Draupadi
never has aany other sorrrow in her liife. I feel so guilty
for having aabandoned Kaarṇa, due to which he sufffered
All my life, I have not been able to fo
all his life. A orgive
myself for bbeing so unfaair to Karṇa. Now, it is tim me for
me to devotte myself to B Bhagavān.”
King Dhritarrāshtra and Q Queen Gāndhāārī too asked Kunti
to stay backk with her so ons, but she d did not agreee, and
followed theem to the forrest. Sanjaya ttoo followed them
to the foreest. On theiir way to the forest, V Vidura
stopped cloose to Kurukshetra to perform ssevere
austerities ((tapasyā) and d gave up hiss life in a staate of
meditation. When he gavve up his life, Yudhishthira was
present. Viddura transferrred all of his sspiritual powers to
King Yudhhishthira.
15.4 Ved
da Vyāsa’s Compassio
on
Then, the Pāṇdavas retturn to Hastin nāpura and th
heir elders m oved on furth her north and d settled dow wn in a
ose to the modern
forest clo m city of
o Haridwar. Rishi Veda Vyāsa arriveed to see theem all beforre the
Pāṇdavas left. Using his spiritual poowers, Vyāsa called the Āttmans (souls) of all the peo ople who had d died
in the Kurrukshetra war to appear o on top of the water of the Ganga River.. Dhritarāshtrra, Gāndhārī, Kunti
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and others became happy to learn from them that even though they died violently, they were now
happy and living in Swarga (heaven).
15.5 The End of Dhritarāshtra, Gāndhārī, Kunti and Sanjaya
A few years later, Rishi
Nārada arrived in Hastināpura
to give the sad news that a
forest fire had broken out and
killed the elders. He narrated
that when the fire had broken
out, Gāndhārī had urged the
King, “We are old now, and
this is the best way for us to
atone for our pāpa. It was our
attachment to Duryodhana
that caused millions of death.
Let us allow the fire to
consume our body and release
our Ātman.” In repentance,
the old couple as well as Kunti
had committed suicide.
While they were dying, King
Dhritarāshtra had urged
Sanjaya to escape and go
further into the forest. Sanjaya
moved on to greater heights in
the Himalayas, where he
finally gave up his life.
The Pāṇdavas were greatly
grieved. They rushed to
Haridwar, located the
Āshrama in the forest where their elders had lived, and found the charred remains of their bodies. Then,
they arranged for a decent funeral for them, and finally the ashes were consigned to the Ganga river, as
is the Hindu custom even today.
END OF THE ĀSHRAMAVĀSIKA PARVA
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Book Sixteen ‐Mausala Parva: The Book of the Iron Club
16.1 The Rude prank of the Yadavas towards the Rishis
Thirty six years had passed since the war of the Mahabharata. The kingdom of Dwārakā had become
very prosperous. Unfortunately, the people of that
place became very arrogant and materialistic, and
they forgot all their Dharmic values.
Krishna’s own son Sāmba turned out to be a brat. He
resembled his extremely handsome father closely,
and misused this fact to fool people. Once, Krishna
got infuriated with his behavior and cursed him to get
leprosy all over his face. Later on, Krishna relented,
and advised Sāmba to worship the Sūrya Devatā to
cure him of his disease.15 Once cured, Sāmba
returned to his evil ways. One day, led by Sāmba who
was dressed as a woman and had a pillow concealed
around his waist, a group of ill‐mannered youth went
to some Rishis. They put the question to the Rishis,
“You know everything, O Rishis. Can you predict
whether
the child
in her is a
boy or a girl?”
The Rishis were not amused and they cursed them and said,
“He will give birth to an iron club which will destroy your
entire race of people in Dwārakā!” And indeed, Sāmba gave
birth to an iron club the next day! Till then, the civilization in
Bhārata had mostly used copper and bronze, and people had
just started using iron, which is a much stronger material.
King Ugrasena of Dwārakā was very upset when he heard of
the rude behavior of the youth towards the Rishis. He
ordered that the iron mace be ground into fine powder
(except for a small sharp piece that could not be ground) and
thrown it into the ocean.
15
The place where Sāmba had worshipped Sūrya Deva was marked by the Bhaskara Mandir in the city
of Multan. This Mandir was destroyed by the local Sultans of the Fatimid dynasty in the late 10th cent. and
a mosque was constructed in its place.
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16.2 Destruction of the
Yadavas
Unfortunately, the powder got
washed ashore, and a special type of
grass started growing there.
Someone found that when that grass
was processed, it gave an alcoholic
drink. The Yādavas, Vrishnis and
other peoples of Dwārakā had
become very rich. Now they also got
into the habit of taking alcoholic
drinks. They would get so intoxicated
that they had no sense of what was
right and what was wrong. Street
fights became common. Drunken young men would abuse women and Rishis and even kill each other.
The curse of Gāndhārī and the Rishis had started working. In one of these fights, even the sons of
Krishna as well as Sātyaki and Kritavarmā got killed.
16.3 Krishna returns to Vaikuntha, the Abode of Bhagavān Vishnu
Krishna and Balarāma decided that their time on this earth was now over. Balarāma went to the sea
coast and went into deep meditation. His soul left his body and returned to Vaikuntha to merge back
with Sheshanāga.16
Krishna then called his charioteer Dāruka and said to him, “Within a few days, my city of Dwārakā will be
swallowed by the ocean. Therefore, I want you to rush to
Hastināpura and ask my dearest friend Arjuna to come here
immediately with an army. He should rescue the surviving
women, children, old men and with whatever men are left after
the civil war going on here. As soon as they leave the island, it
will go under into the ocean. Arjuna should then escort them
carefully to Hastināpura, and settle the survivors there.”
Dāruka rushed to Hastināpura as told. Meanwhile, Krishna wore
his yellow clothes and went to a forest close to Dwārakā. As he
sat under a tree, a hunter mistook his ankle for the mouth of a
deer and shot an arrow. The arrow hit Krishna. When the hunter
realized his mistake, he rushed and apologized to Krishna, who
immediately forgave him.
Interestingly, the piece of the club that could not be ground had
16
Balarāma is considered an Avatāra of Sheshanāga, the hooded snake on which Vishnu reclines.
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washed ashore where the hunter had found it. He
used it to make that fatal arrow that hit Krishna.
Krishna’s earthly body was no more, but His Soul
arose with a brilliant light towards heavens where all
the Devas received it with great honor. Then, Krishna’s
soul merged with Bhagavān Vishnu in Vaikuntha.
16.4 Arjuna arrives at Dwārakā
Arjuna rushed to Dwārakā and was greatly grieved to learn that his best friend Krishna was no more. He
had people locate the bodies of Balarāma and Krishna for cremation. He took Krishna’s body to a spot
on the seashore that Krishna had really liked to visit, and got it cremated there. Then, Arjuna started
gathering all the people of Dwārakā and started marching back towards Hastināpura with all the food,
treasures and belongings that they could take along. Just as they had left the island of Dwārakā, a huge
earthquake occurred, and
practically the entire city
was swallowed by the
ocean!
DID YOU KNOW?
Krishna’s grandson returned a
few years later, and
constructed a Mandir at the
site of the portion of the
palace of Krishna which had
not sunk. This Mandir, called
the Dwarakadheesh Temple,
was expanded and rebuilt in
many times and the present
structure is from the 16th
century. It is one of the four
holiest places that devout
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Hindus who worship Vishnu visit even today. The other three are Puri in east India, Rameshwaram in S India and
Badrinath in N India.
Recently, marine archaeologists who carry out research on sunken cities and other human habitations have actually
found the remains of a large city off the coast of Gujarat in India, exactly where we Hindus believe that the city that
sank into the ocean had existed. The objects found there have been dated scientifically to be around 3500 years old.
This lends scientific support to the Hindu tradition about Krishna’s Dwārakā having existed there before going
under the ocean at exactly that time!
16.5 Arjuna is defeated by a band of robbers & Advice from Veda Vyāsa
The entire caravan of people led by Arjuna started marching on towards north along the bed of the
dried up river Sarasvati. When they had reached the region of Panchanad (today in south west Punjab in
Pakistan), a group of barbarian nomads called Abhīras attached the caravan with nothing more than
wooden sticks. Arjuna and other warriors tried to fight the robbers with their divine weapons but
surprisingly, none of their divine weapons had any effect anymore! The robbers were able to overpower
the caravan led by Arjuna with little more than sticks and a few horses! They kidnapped many women
and scampered off.
Did you Know? The Abhīras were probably recent immigrants from Central Asia who settled in that area on the
ruins of the cities of the Harappan civilization that had been decaying for a few centuries and was on its last leg. In
the 4th cent CE, when Alexander, the Macedonian Greek Emperor invaded India, the writers accompanying him
noticed a people named ‘Abhiroi’ exactly where the Mahabharata places them. Then, in the next few centuries, the
Abhīras were pushed further east into Northern India by fresh invaders from Central Asia. And so, they are found
even today (and are called ‘Abhīr’) all over north India. They still raise cattle and have skills in horse rearing. In all
these centuries however, a wonderful transformation took pace. The same Abhīras who had attacked the survivors
of Krishna’s kingdom became great devotees of Krishna, and are His devotees to this day.
Back in Hastināpura, Arjuna settled the survivors in various parts of their kingdom. But thoroughly
disheartened and humiliated by the defeat by Abhiras, he went to Rishi Veda Vyāsa for some counseling.
The great Rishi advised and consoled Arjuna with these words, “Everything changes with time. Nothing
is permanent in this world. Krishna was the Avatāra of Bhagavān Vishnu, and he had the power to
overturn the curse of Gāndhārī and save his kingdom’s citizens. But He did not disturb the natural course
of events because He had accomplished what He had come to the earth for. It is Bhagavān’s will that we
understand that change is the only permanent thing in this world. The fact that you who had defeated
mighty enemies in the past were defeated by petty robbers armed just with sticks shows that Bhagavān
is the only source of our power and happiness. When he leaves us, nothing can save us from defeat. You
and your brothers too have fulfilled the purpose of your lives. It is time for you to now devote yourself
towards things which will take you closer to Bhagavān.”
Arjuna took Veda Vyāsa’s words to his heart, and went to King Yudhishthira with the message.
END OF MAUSALA PARVA
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Book Seventeen ‐Mahāprasthānika Parva:
The Great Journey of the Pandavas towards Heaven
17.1 The Pandavas leave Hastināpura for the last journey
When Yudhishthira heard about the demise of Krishna, the destruction of Dwārakā and the attack of
Abhiras, he was plunged in grief. He gathered all the brothers and they decided to go to the Himalayas
so that they can be closer to heaven. All their subjects in the kingdom wept but the brothers would not
change their decision.
They then declared Pareekshit, the son of Abhimanyu (who was the son of Arjuna) as the king of
Hastināpura, and placed him under the guardianship of Yuyutsu and the aged Guru Kripāchārya. The
brothers, accompanied by Draupadi, then did a circumambulation (parikramā) of the entire land of
Bhārata as a pilgrimage.
FAST FORWARD: The great scripture of Hindus called the Shrimad Bhāgavata Purāņa was recited first
to Emperor Pareekshit by Rishi Shukadeva, who was the son of Veda Vyāsa. The Mahābhārata was
recited in public for the first time to Pareekshit’s son, Emperor Janamejaya by Rishi Vaishampāyana, the
student of Veda Vyāsa. A few generations after them, the city of Hastināpura was destroyed due to
massive flooding in the Ganga river and the capital was moved to another location. The Buddhist
scripture Anuguttara Nikāya, which describes the society of India at the time of Buddha (6th cent. BCE)
says that the region around Indraprastha (modern Delhi) was still ruled by the descendants of Emperor
Yudhishthira. Although by then the Kingdom had become a very small one, the King of Indraprastha was
highly respected because of his ancestors, and his kingdom was famous for scholars of the Vedas and
other Hindu scriptures. Even later, around 630 CE, a Chinese traveler toured the region and he was
pointed out the town of Kurukshetra as the site of the Mahābhārata war by locals. The traveler, whose
name was Hiuen Tsang, wrote in his book that he could still see some bones of humans scattered on the
ground here and there!
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that the ocean had caused to Dwārakā. Finally, they moved up north again towards the Himalayas. Then,
they started ascending the Himalayas. All along, a small black dog had been following.
17.2 The Death of Draupadi and the 4 younger Pandavas
As they were walking up towards the highest peaks of the mountain, Draupadi could not take the
journey anymore, and she dropped dead. Bhīma asked Yudhishthira, “For what sin did Draupadi drop
dead and not come with us all the way to heaven?” Yudhishthira replied, “She died because she always
favored Arjuna over others, as he was the wealth winner.”
After they had walked a little further, Sahadeva fell dead. Bhīma asked, “Brother, Sahadeva had always
served us diligently with all respect. So what caused his death?” Yudhishthira replied. “Sahadeva could
not make it to heaven because he thought that no one was as wise as him.”
Further up the mountain, Nakula fell down dead. Bhīma again asked, “This brother of ours was the
handsomest man in the world and he followed Dharma sincerely. What caused his death?” Yudhishthira
replied, “He failed to reach heaven because he was too proud of his beauty.”
When Arjuna also fell down dead, Bhīma asked, “Arjuna never said lies even jokingly. So why should he
fall dead to the ground instead of accompanying us to heaven?” Yudhishthira replied, “Arjuna was too
boastful of his military skills. Often, he boasted that he will defeat his enemy within a day. But did that
always happen? Therefore, one should never boast about their strength.”
Finally, Bhīma himself fell down, dead. As he was dying, he asked, “What has caused my death?”
Yudhishthira replied, “
Yudhishthira answered, “You were not able to climb to the heaven with me and fell off the mountain
path because you were too proud of your physical strength, and because you ate too much food.”
17.3 The Test of Yudhishthira
Eventually, only Yudhishthira and the dog following them reached the top of the Himalayas There, a
chariot was waiting to take him to heaven. Indra, the King of Devas, invited Yudhishthira to sit on the
chariot and fly with him to heaven. But Yudhishthira said, “I will not go without my brothers and our
dear wife Draupadi.” Indra replied, “Do not worry. Their souls have left the body and are already in
heaven.”
Then Yudhishthira said, “I will go to heaven only if this dog is allowed to come along with me.” Indra
laughed and said, “That is impossible. You left your own wife and brothers dead and now will refuse to
come to heaven with the dog! I cannot permit you to bring the dog along.”
But Yudhishthira was firm and he said, “I left my brothers and Draupadi because they had died and there
was nothing that I could have done to revive them. As long as they had lived, I did not leave them.
Friendship or enmity with the dead has no meaning. But this dog is alive and he has been my companion
all along faithfully. Therefore, I cannot even imagine of leaving him here.”
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When he had uttered these words, a
miracle happened. The dog transformed
itself to his true form – Yama, the King
of Dharma.
Yama blessed Yudhishthira and said, “So
steadfast are you to Dharma that you
are willing to leave heaven for the sake
of a dog. This is the second test that you
have passed. The first one was when I
had asked you questions in the form of a
Yaksha. You will surely go to heaven in
your own body.”
As he said these words, the chariot of
Indra arose in the skies and Yudhishthira
reached heaven.
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Bookk Eighte
een ‐ SV
VARGĀR ROHAŅA A PARV
VA:
Th
he Asceent to H
Heaven
18..1 The Law
w of Karm
ma
When Yudhisshthira reaached
heaaven, he was unable to fin nd his
brothers and wiffe. Instead, he was
shoocked to ffind Duryod dhana
seatted comfortaably on a th
hrone,
enjooying all tthe rewards of
heaaven. Upon asking, he was told
thatt his brothers are in hell!
Yuddhishthira beecame upsett and
said
d, “What ggood deedss did
Durryodhana do to deserve a place
in h
heaven?”
Rishhi Narada, wwho was prresent
there said, “Yudhishtthira, in heaven, all enm mity and hattred must sttop. So do not get upsset at
Duryodhaana coming to o heaven. Go and greet
him. He is here beccause he die ed in the
battlefieldd like a true warrior. By dying the
death of aa Kshatriya, h he deserved to o come to
heaven, aand that is wh hy he is here.””
Yudhishth hira said, “I refuse to acccept this
answer. My brotherrs, and many other
warriors who were also killed d in the
battlefieldd, including my respected d brother
Karṇa, are e not here. I jjust want to ggo to that
place whe ere they are. I am not inte erested in
living in heaven with h Duryodhan na. Please
take me to my loved ones.”
Therefore e, Yudhishthirra was now ttaken to a
horrible place,
p the hell, where peoople were
undergoin ng different ttypes of tortu ure. There
was darkness, heat, stench, worm ms, and all
kinds of ugly and horrific sce enes. But
Yudhishth hira was not able to find d his dear
ones even n there. He aasked the age ent of the
Devas wh ho had brough ht him there,, “I do not
see my looved ones he ere either!” Suddenly,
voices cam me from arou und him, “I am m Karṇa, I
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of 210
am Arjuna, and I am Kunti. I am Draupadi. Please do not leave us. Just the fact that you are present here
makes these tortures a little easier for us to bear!”
When Yudhishthira heard the pleas of his loved ones, he was filled with compassion. He told the agent
of Devas, “I do not wish to go back to heaven. Just leave me here forever or as long as everyone I love is
here.” And then, filled with sadness and bitterness, Yudhishthira said, “What kind of Dharma is this? I do
not want anything to do with the Vedas, Dharma, and Devas or with any Rishis. I do not think that
anyone of them is fair. My noble brothers, mother, wife, and children – they were not worse than
Duryodhana. Therefore, I chose to stay here with them forever.”
Just as he had spoken these words, a miracle happened. Yama, the King of Dharma, and Indra, the King
of Devas appeared and bowed to Yudhishthira. Yama said, “This was the third test I gave to you and you
have passed it as well. What you just saw was just an illusion.”
And in a flash, all the scenes of torture disappeared and in its place, Yudhishthira saw the delights of
heaven. He saw his wife, mother, children and brothers happy and cheerful. He got confused. Indra then
explained, “Every person has 1 heap of good actions and 1 heap of bad actions. The person first reaps
the fruit of the smaller heap. If he has only a few good deeds in his account, he will first go to heaven for
a short time, and then he will go to hell for a longer time. But if a person has done only a few bad
actions, then he first goes to hell for a short time and then to heaven. You went to hell for a short time
for two reasons – First, you had lied and caused the death of Droņāchārya. And second, every King must
go to hell for some time. This is because the King takes taxes from his people, and it becomes his duty to
make sure that everyone in his kingdom does good deeds. If any of his subjects does bad deeds, the King
is partially responsible for that, and therefore he has to take a trip to hell.”
Indra further said, “Your deeds as well as the deeds of your loved ones are mainly pure and good.
Therefore you will all go to heaven and to even superior worlds after that. Whereas, Duryodhana will
spend some time in heaven and then go for a long time to hell.”
Indra’s reply satisfied Yudhishthira and he heaved a sigh of relief. Once again, he was united with his
parents, children, wives, brothers and their families, with Bheeshma and everyone he had dearly loved.
But no one can live even in heaven permanently, and after the fruit of their deeds were used up, they
were reborn elsewhere.
With this ends the beautiful story of the Mahābhārāta.
18.2 The Central Message of the Mahābhārata
The great Rishi Veda Vyāsa then composed the following four verses to summarize the message of the
Mahābhārāta, and dictated them to Ganesha,
“Thousands of parents and hundreds of other family members take birth and
they leave us; and many more will do so in the future. ||1||
There are thousands of occasions of happiness, and hundreds of causes of
sorrow. But all of them bother only fools, because the wise are not affected by
temporary happiness or sorrows of this world. || 2 ||
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With my arm
W s raised, I deeclare loudlyy, but no onee pays attenntion to me –– “Success
(w
wealth) as w
well as Pleasu ure all arise from Dharm ma. Then whhy don’t peop ple follow
th
he path of Dharma?” || 3 ||
One must nev
O ver give up D Dharma for the sake of f pleasure, foor fear, greeed or even
to
o save one’s life. This is b
because hap ppiness and sadness connstantly com me and go,
but Dharma is eternal. And
A becausee the body iis perishablee, but the sooul which
makes it alive
m e is imperishable.|| 4 ||”
These four
f versess are calleed the ‘Bhā
ārata Sāviitri” or th
he Gayatrii Mantra ffrom
the Ma ahābhārata a. Whosoeever readss these verrses and p practices ttheir teach
hing
will deffinitely go to Bhagav vān and get every h
happiness iin life!
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of 210
APPENDIX I: Kingdoms of Bhārata during Mahābhārata
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APPENDIX II: Kuru Dynasty
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APPENDIX III
The Good and Bad Qualities and Deeds of the Major Characters
in the Mahābhārata
1. BHEESHMA
Good Qualities/Deeds Bad Qualities/Deeds
Sacrificed his own family life for the sake of his father King Shantanu. Because of him, the life of Amba got
ruined. He should have broken his vow
for her sake.
Always obeyed his vow to Satyavati’s father, and never broke his
promises. Kept quiet when Draupadi was being
Always guarded the throne of Hastinapura unselfishly. humiliated in the royal court.
Made sure that Dhritarashtra, Pandu and their children got educated
well.
Very devoted to Bhagavān Krishna. He was very inflexible about not
Very learned scholar of Hindu philosophies and spirituality. breaking his oath. When he saw that
Persuaded Duryodhana many times to return the kingdom of Pandavas the kingdom of Hastināpura was not
to them and prevent the war. being handled properly by
A very brave and principled warrior who ensured that the rules of the Dhritarāshtra and Duryodhana, he
war are followed as long as he was the commander‐in‐chief of the should have taken over it.
Kaurava army.
2. DHRITARĀSHTRA
Good Qualities/Deeds Bad Qualities/Deeds
Sometimes, he felt guilty Had a blind love for his evil sons, especially for Duryodhana. Did not try hard
about his actions and tried enough to prevent Duryodhana from being unjust to the Pandavas and to Draupadi.
to make amends for his bad Always blamed his fate for the bad turn of events. Never took responsibility for his
karma. For example, he actions. He felt guilty several times, but still did not try to overcome his attachment
granted Draupadi 3 boons to his evil son Duryodhana. He knew the difference between right and wrong, but
after the first game of dice. his mind was not strong enough and he kept taking wrong decisions due to his
Draupadi used these boons attachment for Duryodhana. He kept quiet during the two dice games.
to her husbands. Colluded with his sons to burn the Pandavas and Kunti alive in the lac palace.
Dhritarāshtra also After Pandu died, he made no effort to call Kunti and the Pandavas back to the
overturned the outcome of palace.
the first dice game out of Even after the Pandavas fulfilled the conditions of their 13 year exile, he sent a
shame for the insult to message through Sanjaya that they should go back to the forest for the sake of
Draupadi. peace.
Towards the end of his life, Tried to kill Bheema in anger after the war but instead crushed an idol of him due
he truly regretted his to Krishna’s intervention.
mistakes and started At times, he was not willing to listen to good advice. Therefore, Vidura left the
treating the Pandavas as his palace to reside with the Pandavas in Kāmyakavana. But soon, Dhritarāshtra’s felt
own children. He repented guilty for doing this and therefore he called Vidura back.
for his sins by giving up his He was an escapist who lived in constant denial. He knew that his sons would get
body in the forest fire. killed by the Pandavas. But even then, he kept hoping for a positive outcome of the
war.
Had an illegitimate son Yuyutsu from another woman who was not his wife.
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3. GANDHARI
Good Qualities/Deeds Bad Qualities/Deeds
Great devotee of Bhagavān Shiva. She was a bit jealous of Kunti. When she
Very devoted to her husband and children. She chose to cover her learned that Kunti had her first child
eyes with a blindfold out of love for her husband who was born Yudhishthira, she kicked her own pregnant
blind. belly in frustration, and this caused her own
child to be still‐born.
Her words always came true because of her spiritual powers. She She was about to curse the Pandavas after
always blessed her own son with the words, “yato dharmah tato the war, but was stopped from doing so
vijaya” (where there is Dharma, there is victory), and never by luckily by the interventions of Krishna and
saying, “may you be victorious.” Veda Vyāsa. Nevertheless, her angry glance
Tried her best to reform her son Duryodhana but was burned the toe of Yudhishthira, and she
unsuccessful because her husband was a weak man. cursed Krishna.
Consoled Kunti, Draupadi and other women after the war,
because she understood how it feels for a mother to lose her
children.
4. KUNTI
Good Qualities/Deeds Bad Qualities/Deeds
Very impartial between her sons and those of Madri. Her step‐son, Sahadeva, was She abandoned Karṇa as an
in fact her favorite child. infant. This led to many
A very strong woman who always enhanced the courage of her sons whenever they tragic consequences later.
were in difficult situations. She was the one who inspired them to fight for their Even when she should have
rights and regain their kingdom. spoken up and said the
Understood the pain of Draupadi, and always spoke in her support. truth about being his
Very devoted to Bhagavān Krishna – an ideal for all Bhaktas. mother (e.g. during the
She was very respectful towards her elders including King Dhritarāshtra and Queen graduation contest of the
Gāndhārī and because of this, she chose to follow them to the forest in their old Pandavas and Kauravas),
age so that she could serve them and guide her sister in law on spiritual matters. she kept quiet.
She taught good values to her children. E.g., in the Ekachakrā city, she repaid the
debt of their Brahmana hosts by offering to send Bheema to fight Bakāsura.
5. DRONA
Good Qualities/Deeds Bad Qualities/Deeds
An excellent master and teacher of Unfairly asked Ekalavya to cut off his thumb just so that he could keep his
military science. promise to Arjuna.
Very devoted to the royal family of Rejected Karṇa as a student because he wanted only rich students who
Hastināpura. He chose to remain could pay him a lot of money.
there with the Kauravas even after Did not utter a word of protest when Shakuni was cheating in the game
winning half of the Panchāla kingdom. of dice, or when Draupadi was being humiliated.
Instead of ruling it himself, he asked Despite knowing that Duryodhana was evil, he sided with him during the
Ashvatthāmā to rule it and himself Mahābhārata war.
stayed back in Hastināpura. Participated in the unfair killing of Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna. It was
his idea that several Maharathīs should surround and attack Abhimanyu
at the same time.
Broke the rules of the Mahābhārata war, and did not stop the war even at
sunset on the 14th day of the war.
Tried to reason with Duryodhana that Used deadly weapons even on helpless and ordinary soldiers of the
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he should return the kingdom of Pāndava army on the 15th day of the war.
Pandavas to them. During the war Colluded with Duryodhana and tried to capture Yudhishthira during the
too, he tried to convince Duryodhana war so that Yudhishthira is forced to lose his kingdom once again by
to stop the war and prevent the killing playing a game of dice.
of many innocent people. For the sake of his son Ashvatthāmā, he could make several compromises
with truth.
6. KARNA
Good Qualities/Deeds Bad Qualities/Deeds
Extremely loyal to his friend Duryodhana even Due to his loyalty to Duryodhana, he often over‐looked his
when asked by Kunti and Krishna to side with friend’s evil deeds. In fact, he often instigated Duryodhana to
his brothers – the Pandavas. Grateful to commit evil deeds, along with Shakuni.
Duryodhana for elevating him from a humble
charioteer’s son to the King of Anga.
Very large‐hearted and gave a lot of charity to Fled the battlefield leaving Duryodhana high and dry when the
whosoever asked him, even if that brought Gandharva Chitrasena defeated and captured Duryodhana.
him hardship.
Promised to Kunti that he would spare all of Made obscene remarks against Draupadi when she was being
her sons except Arjuna. He kept his word and dragged to the royal court.
spared the lives of Nakula, Bheema and Fled from the battle of the Matsya kingdom leaving Duryodhana
Yudhishthira. behind, when Arjuna defeated the army of Hastināpura.
Colluded with the leaders of Kaurava army to surround and kill
Abhimanyu unfairly. He cut off Abhimanyu’s bow from behind
with his arrow.
Very devoted to Sūrya Devatā. Had an undying hatred for Arjuna, which often clouded his better
judgment.
Never misused his weapons. He would have He was extremely rude to Bheeshma, Drona and Shalya due to
surely killed Arjuna by using his snake‐missile which the first two wanted him off the battleground till they were
twice, but he refused to use it the second alive.
time. Over‐confident of his military abilities. Refused to listen to his
charioteer Shalya and therefore missed his aim when he shot his
missile at Arjuna to kill him.
7. YUDHISHTHIRA
Good Qualities/Deeds Bad Qualities/Deeds
Very truthful and trustworthy. Addicted to gambling.
Practiced what he preached. Sometimes he was just too nice and did
not oppose the injustices done by others
to him and to his family.
Very forgiving. Did not get angry. Spoke a half‐truth to kill Droṇāchārya.
A very charitable King and a just ruler. Did not stop Bheema enough from
abusing the fallen body of Duryodhana.
Peace loving, did not want the war to happen. For the sake of being truthful and
Kept his promises. forgiving, he often acted foolishly, which
Very knowledgeable in Dharma. caused a lot of hurt to Draupadi, Kunti
Very loyal to those who followed him and gave him company. Even at and his brothers. He offered Duryodhana
the end, he refused to enter heaven without the dog that followed a chance to fight a Pandava of his choice
him over the mountains. with a weapon that Duryodhana wanted
Always very respectful towards his elders like Bheeshma, to fight with.
Dhritarāshtra and Gāndhārī.
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Always remained loving towards Duryodhana even when he tried to
hurt him. E.g. he requested Gandharva Chitrasena to free Duryodhana
at Dvaitavana when he could have just let Chitrasena kill him.
8. DURYODHANA
Good Bad Qualities/Deeds
Qualities/Deeds
A very brave warrior Very arrogant and egotistic who did not listen to the advice of his elders and teachers.
who never turned his He was often very rude to Bheeshma and Droṇāchārya before and during the war.
back in the battlefield, Instead of listening to them, he paid attention only to his evil supporters like Shakuni,
and always encouraged Dushāsana and Karṇa.
his soldiers to fight Elevated Karna to the post of a King just to spite the Pandavas.
bravely. Tried to kill Bheema by poisoning his food and drowning him. Made several other
unsuccessful attempts to kill them again but the plans were leaked beforehand to the
Pandavas by their sympathisizers.
Very loving and trusting Tried to kill the Pandavas and Kunti by having them stay in the Palace of Lac.
of Karna. Cheated in the game of dice – or rather allowed Shakuni to play on his behalf knowing
well that he was going cheat.
Ordered his brother Dushasana to drag Draupadi to the court and disrobe her. Bared his
left thigh and asked her to sit on it in a very inappropriate manner even after the
miracle.
A good king to his Initially gave a barren part of his kingdom to the Pandavas. When they turned it into a
people. prosperous country, he grew jealous. He was extremely jealous of the Pandavas which is
what caused his downfall.
On the last day of his He planned to kill the Pandavas in the forest but was stopped in time by Veda Vyāsa.
life, he did not take Went to Dvaitavana with his wives, friends and servants just to tease the Pandavas.
advantage of Sent Rishi Durvāsā to curse the Pandavas.
Yudhishthira’s offer to Attacked the Matsya kingdom with an evil intent.
pick and fight a Even though the Pandavas fulfilled the conditions of their 13 year exile, he refused to
Pandava of his choice. return their kingdom to them. He refused to listen to his elders’ request to be fair to the
Instead, he chose to Pandavas. He even tried to imprison Krishna when He came as a peace messenger.
fight Bheema, the most He placed more faith in armies, than in truth and in Bhagavān.
formidable opponent in Won over the support of Shalya by a trick. Later, he manipulated Shalya by flattery to
a mace‐duel. make him Karṇa’s charioteer.
Participated in unfair war tactics to kill Abhimanyu.
Remained unrepentant till his very death. Never accepted his mistakes and believed in
‘might is right.’
9. BHEEMA
Good Qualities/Deeds Bad Qualities/Deeds
Very strong physically. A good mace Glutton. Ate too much.
fighter. Got angry very fast.
Listened to the advice of his elder Sometimes arrogant and proud of his strength.
brother Yudhishthira.
All Pandavas could depend on him to Used unfair tactics at the instigation of Arjuna and Krishna to kill
protect them when needed. Duryodhana.
Very brave and killed several demons Taunted the old couple Dhritarāshtra and Gāndhārī even in their old age.
like Bakāsura, Krimira, Hidimba. This caused them to leave the palace and retire to the forest.
Draupadi could rely on him for Not very forgiving. Advised Yudhishthira that they should let Chitrasena
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avenging insults made by others to kill Duryodhana in Dvaitavana.
her. A bully in his childhood who harassed Duryodhana and other Kauravas.
Insulted Karṇa during the graduation contest because he was not a royal
Prince.
10. ARJUNA
Good Qualities/Deeds Bad Qualities/Deeds
Very good student – focused, regular in practice, did not waste any time. Very Took extreme oaths like “I will
respectful towards teachers. immolate myself if I do not kill
The best archer of his time. The best warrior on the side of the Pandavas. Jayadratha by tomorrow sunset”
A very good human being, kind, forgiving, sensitive and compassionate. His frequently. Sometimes over‐
grief on seeing his near and dear ones in the enemy army led to Krishna reveal confident and boastful of his
the Bhagavad Gita. military skills.
Calmed down Bheema several times. Urged him to be kind to Dhritarāshtra and
Gāndhārī in their old age.
Devoted to Krishna as a dear friend.
11. DRAUPADI
Good Qualities/Deeds Bad Qualities/Deeds
A strong woman who did not take injustice without Partial towards Arjuna.
protests. Had a lot of self‐respect.
Spoke boldly to her husbands and questioned their Sharp tongued. She spurned Karṇa in her Swayamvara, due
actions and views when she disagreed with them. to which he always nursed a grudge against her.
Very determined woman who did not tie her hair When Duryodhana came to the palace of Pandavas in
for years, till her insult was avenged. Indraprastha, she laughed at him when he fell into a pool of
water.
Very knowledgeable in Dharma and debated with
Yudhishthira on questions of forgiveness.
Very loyal to her husbands. She followed them in
every good and bad situation in their lives.
Constantly encouraged her husbands to fight for
their rights and against injustice.
Very hospitable host who served all visitors with
food with love and without any complaints.
12. NAKULA
Good Qualities/Deeds Bad Qualities/Deeds
He was very handsome. He was proud of his looks.
Extremely knowledgeable in astrology and in the science of
horses and Ayurveda.
13. SAHADEVA
Good Qualities/Deeds Bad Qualities/Deeds
Considered a very learned and wise man. Proud of his wisdom and knowledge.
Very good singer.
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Appendix IV: Themes in the Mahābhārata
THEME BOOK SECTION THEME BOOK SECTION
Alcoholism Jealousy 1.11; 1.13; 2.5; 2.6; 3.11.1;
16.2 3.11.2
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
A select list of printed and online material consulted
Original Texts and Translations
Sukthankar, Vishnu et al. Critical Edition of the Mahabhārata. Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute: Pune
Mahabharata and Harivamsha. North Indian (Vulgate) text and verse by verse translation into Hindi published by
the Geeta Press (Gorakhpur) in 7 volumes.
Verse by verse Hindi translation of the BORI Critical edition published by Pandit Damodar Satavalekar, Swadhyaya
Mandala (Pardi, District Valsad, Gujarat).
Numerous English translations of the Mahabharata including those by J A B van Buitenen & K M Ganguli.
For the Bhagavad Gita, Shrimad Bhagavatam and Other Puranas – Several editions and translations were
consulted.
Secondary Works
Abhishekhi, Janaki. Tales and Teachings of the Mahabharata. Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan: Mumbai
Bhanot, T Raj. 2009. Saint Vyasa’s Mahabharata. Dreamland Publications: New Delhi
Chakravarty, Bishnupada. 2007. The Penguin Companion to the Mahābhārata. Penguin Books: New Delhi
Chaturvedi, Badrinath. 2006. The Mahabharata – An Enquiry in the Human Condition. Orient Longman: Hyderabad
Dange, Sadashiv Ambadas. 1997. Myths from the Mahābhārata (vol. 3). Aryan Books International: New Delhi
Geraets, Wil. 2011. The Wisdom Teachings of Harish Johari on the Mahabharata. Destiny Books. Rochester
(Vermont)
Gokhale, Namita. 2009. The Puffin Mahabharata. Puffin Books: New Delhi
Illustrated Mahabharata for Children. Vasan Publications: Bangalore (author and year not stated in the book)
Mahabharata for Children, Junior Class Handbook Part I and II. Chinmaya Publications. Langhorne (Pennsylvania)
Pattanaik, Devdut. 2010. An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata. Penguin Books: New Delhi
Smith, John D. 2009. The Mahabharata, an Abridged Translation. Penguin Books: London
Swami Jyotirmayananda. 1976. Yoga Stories and Parables. Published by Swami Lalitananda: Miami (USA)
Swami Raghaveshananda. 2007. Mahabharata for Children (vols. 1‐5). Sri Ramakrishna Math. Mylapore (Madras)
Swamini Pramananda Saraswati and Sri Dhira Chaitanya. 2004. Mahabharata (Pūrṇavidyā Vedic Heritage Teaching
Series, Vol. I Part 5). Sri Gangadhareswar Trust: Rishikesh
Verma, Ram Lal. 1998. Inspiring Tales from the Mahābhārata. Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan: New Delhi
Yato Dharmah Tato Jayah. 2009. Grade 8 Bala Vihar Teachers’ Handbook. Chinmaya Mission West: Piercy
(California)
Sources of Illustrations
Illustrations are taken from the books listed above and from numerous websites (that often already reproduce
illustrations from these books). Appendix II and the greatest number of illustrations are from Bhanot (2009).
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