The Story so Far!

Kandhava Prastha was an affluent Kingdom on the banks of river and was ruled by a bold Kshatriya king Yayati. Yayati was cursed in his youth to suddenly become old, by his father-in-law, Asura guru Shukracharya, because his wife Devyani caught him red handed with the palace maid Sharmishtha. When Yayati prostrated on Shukracharya’s feet and apologized profusely, the Asuraguru relented and told him that he could regain his youth, if a young man was willing to exchange his youth for Yayati’s old age. The king had five sons and the elder four refused to help him despite being tempted by the offer of the kingdom. However the youngest son Puru embraced his father’s old age and gave away his youth. He ruled for many years as a wise and virtuous king. In ripeness of age, Yayati gave back Puru’s youth and got back his old self. Puru’s great grand son was Shantanu, who fell in love with a pretty stranger at the banks of river Ganges. This maiden of heavenly beauties was Goddess Ganga herself, who had to take birth as a mortal, because of Brahma’s curse. She remained with him as a wife for eight years and their last son was Bhishma a principal character of this epic. Many years later Shantanu fell in love with a fisher maiden Satyavathi and desired to marry her. The fisherwoman’s father was a crafty fellow who would not allow the union, unless Bhishma relinquished the throne and vowed not to marryBOOKS and beget descendants. It was a Bhishma (awesome) vow which earned him his name. He remained unmarried and acted as an uncle and godfather for Shantanu’s sons by the fisher maiden Satyavathi who was also a maiden, whose body emitted divine smells. Satyavathi bore two sons to Shantanu, Chitragandha and Vichitravirya. Chitragandha was killed in a duel with a Gandharva and Vichitravirya ascended the Throne. Bhishma, by now the grand uncle, hijacked the SwayamvaraDC of the daughters of Kashi Naresha and brought his daughters to Hastinapura to marry his nephew Vichitravirya. The two daughters of the Kashi king who married Vichitravirya were Ambika and Ambalika. The son born to Ambika was blind at birth and called Dritharashtra. Ambalika’s son was Pandu. Dharma was born as a human incarnate due to the curse of sage Mandavya as Vidura, the son of a palace maid in the Vichitravirya household. Drithrashtra married Gandhari, who was such a devout wife that she elected to tie a bandage around her eyes, so that she too perceived the world as her husband did. With the blessings of sage Durvasa, Gandhari gave birth to a hundred sons collectively called the Kauravas. Duryodhana was the eldest of the brothers.

10 The Story so Far!

Ekachakra was called thus, because a dangerous Asura named had attacked the city, and routed its forces. The defeated king had to run for his life, escaping in a chariot whose three wheels had been demolished by the terrible Rakshasa. The city of Ekachakra then reeled under the terror and tortures of the tyrant Bakasura. The residents were terrorized and sued peace with the Rakshasa. He promised to stop wanton destruction while the people agreed to look after his needs. Once a month, a bullock cart full of food would be driven to the mountain cave of Bakasura. He would gorge on the food, and finish his meal by eating the bullocks, and finally the man who drove up the cart. One unfortunate household contributed the victim each month. By an unfortunate coincidence, the Shankara, in whose house and her sons were staying, had to send someone from his household that month. Kunti volunteered to send instead. The strong Bhima effortlessly killed Bakasura and became a darling of the population. At this time, information arrived that Drupada, the king of Panchala, was conducting a grand Swayamvara for his lovely daughter Draupadi. Drupada, the mighty emperor of Panchala had been close to Drona as a young boy, when both studied in the same Gurukula. After Drupada ascended the throne, he became arrogant and did not treat Drona respectfully, when the latter had gone to visit him. Drona never forgot the insult and later avenged it with the help of his students,BOOKS the princes. Drupada was defeated and could not bear the humiliation. Though Drupada was terribly impressed with who had defeated him, and yet treated him with dignity, he was never able to forgive Drona. Drupada did auster penances to Brahma, and sought a boon that he would beget a son who would slay Drona and a daughter who would wed Arjuna. The son was named Drishtadyumna, and the daughter Draupadi. It was her Swayamvara, which was announced while the were in Ekachakra.DC Disguised in the Brahma garb, the five Pandavas left for Panchala, which was decked as a bride to welcome the valiant Kshatriya princess, who had expectantly arrived to participate in the Swayamvara ceremony. Drupada had placed a difficult test. The suitor had to string an immense bow, and shoot at the eye of a fish in the middle of a mechanical contraption, suspended from the ceiling. However the competitor had to aim only by looking at the shadow of the target in the small puddle on the floor. It was a difficult test indeed, and all the Kshatriya braves and princes failed dismally. Drupada then threw the competition open to the other visitors. Arjuna in the garb of a Brahmana won the contest, but not without some help from Indra’s spy Sadaroopaka. A few Kshtariya princes could not accept that a Brahmin lad could succeed, when

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Yudishtra was Dharmaraja or a king of ethics. He was thus true to his word, and gladly embraced the tortures, rigours and privations of the jungle life. The twelve years that the Pandavas spent in the jungles were full of hardships and troubles, but the five brothers and Draupadi had a lot of adventures in the jungle. The first of them was rescuing Duryodhana from the clutches of Gandharva Chitrasena. Karna and Duryodhana wanted to gloat over the Pandava miseries and decided to visit the forests for a purported hunting trip. The Pandavas had camped at a hermitage adjoining the dense forests where coincidentally a mighty Gandharva Chitrasena too had camped. Duryodhana’s soldiers picked up a quarrel with the Gandharva’s associates and in the final battle, Karna was defeated and had to escape in ignomy. Duryodhana was captured and tied like a common thief to the tree trunk. As the Gandharva whipped him, his loud screams echoed in the air. Though Bhima and Arjuna were pleased at their cousin’s predicament and discomfort, Yudishtra ordered them to go to their cousin’s aid. Chitrasena did not desire to fight Bhima and released Duryodhana whose pot of insults, humiliation and ignomy was full and overflowing. The Pandavas then moved southwards to the Vindhya Mountains and Dandakaranya forests. During the next twelve years, the PandavasBOOKS followed the route taken by Lord Rama during his vanavasa. During this time Hanuman Bhima’s elder brother, met him as a monkey and then blessed him by displaying his magnificent form in which he had jumped across the mighty ocean to Lanka. Arjuna was advised to travel North to Kailasha mountains, where a penance to Lord Shiva got him a divine Astra Pashupatha. Subsequently Arjuna received an invitation from his biological father Indra to visit the SwargaDC and receive an advanced training in Astras and Sastras. During this time, the celestial courtesan Oorvashi tried to seduce him, but Arjuna spurned her offer. An extremely annoyed Oorvashi cursed him with impotence, and once Indra intervened, modified the curse to remain effective only for one year! When Arjuna returned from his visit, he had become an unquestioned expert on the use of divine arms and ammunition. Towards the end of twelve years, the Pandavas faced a real crisis in which the four brothers, except Yudishtra succumbed to poisoned water from an enchanted pool. It was actually Lord Yama who was testing Yudishtra. Dharmaputra was able to answer all the complex questions put forth by the Yaksha and thus able to revive his dead brothers. The Yaksha then transformed himself to his true self of Yama and

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Balarama’s Advice

The Pandavas reached the lovely palace of the city of Upaplavya. After years of privations and poverty, it was indeed a joyous sensation to be back in the lap of luxury and comforts. It took them a few days to get settled. Once things were normal, Yudishtra gathered his brothers and Draupadi for a small family council to decide on the future course of their action. Yudishtra addressed Draupadi and his brothers. “We have come out of our ordeals. The time has come for us to reclaim our rights, But knowing the wickedness of Duryodhana, and anticipating the advice that he would get from the likes of Shakuni and Karna, I want to assess our friends and see to what extent would they support us against the Kauravas” Bhima who was impetuous said, BOOKS “Oh Brother! I have been counting hours and minutes. I have waited all along for this day. Now that we are freed from the bondage of our promise, I do not have any more patience left. When we know that we can not extract butter with a straight finger, we must bend it. Allow me a chance. I shall single handedly go to Hastinapura, kill the wicked Duryodhana and reclaim our kingdom” Nakula and SahadevaDC too were in a total agreement to Bhima’s sentiments. They said “There is a limit to everything. We have suffered enough. Even the tamest lamb when starved would become aggressive. If we endure any more, then we shall be labeled as cowards. Let not Bhima go alone. We will collect an army and invade our cousins.” Arjuna who was listening to the talks said, “We are not alone. Everyone who supports truth and Dharma and the right will be on our side. I think that before plunging into action, we must take council from our supporters and well wishers. I have an idea. We have to conduct a marriage between my son Abhimanyu and princess Uttara. Let us choose an auspicious date for the same. We shall invite all our supporters and well wishers for the wedding. Once the people have assembled, we will take their advice. We shall have

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Peace Negotiations

Yudishtra realised that Satyaki’s words were quite inflammatory. But heart of hearts, he agreed to the Yadava king’s statement. Balarama too was seething with anger at Satyaki’s words. But he controlled his temper and waited for him to continue. Satyaki thundered on. “Duryodhana and his associates are indeed diabolical and wicked. They occupy the kingdoms that rightfully belong to the sons of Pandu. I am not afraid of them. I shall challenge and defeat the villains in a fair battle, and win back Indraprastha for Dharmaraja. In my view, a righteous war can never be wrong. There is no wrong in slaying an enemy, who have snatched away what is rightfully ours. It is a sin to bow before a tyrant. I for one, do not expect any positive results from either talks or parleys. Even sending an emissary seems BOOKSto be a waste of time. If at all we send an envoy, it should be with a threat. Either they give back half the kingdom to Yudishtra, else we take it by force!” King Drupada of Panchala had a big smile on his face, as he heard Satyaki speak thus. He stood up in Satyaki’s support. He said “Satyaki is right and I fully support him. I do not think that Duryodhana will listen to reason. But I also agree with Lord that we must not plunge into a war, without exploring all avenues. We must start in earnest.DC We must prepare for a war that seems imminant. Let us send message to Shalya, Drishtakatu, Jayatsena, Kekya etc, but at the same time we must also send an envoy who is as intelligent as Balarama suggests. If by our good luck, Duryodhana and his brothers agree to part with what is rightfully ours, we will be able to avoid a war. But if they don’t listen, we will be well prepared, to take what belongs to us by might” Balarama, who heard this said, “I have already decided, I for one will stay neutral. In my opinion this problem, should be solved by negotiations alone. War hungry and frivolous Kshatriyas like Satyaki should be kept in check”

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Indra’s Arrogance S age Vyasa says that the policy of attempting to send emissaries for peace talk, but actually preparing for an attack is nothing new. The same technique was employed by Lord Indra, to destroy Vritra. The story of Indra and Vritra is quite an interesting one. Indra the king of Devas and the ruler of heavens, was once so drunk with power and arrogance, that he started considering himself superior to even the holy trinity. In this situation he forgot the manners and customs that the Devas should observe. Once Lord Brihaspati, the Guru of Devas, came to visit him. Despite the fact that the Devas owed their success to the Guru, Indra did not consider it necessary to get up from his bed, and welcome the guru. So drunk on power was he, that he totally disregarded the protocol and received Brihaspati in his inner chambers. He did not even bother to get up from his bed, and BOOKSreceived the Devaguru while lying down and reclining. Brihaspati had come to discuss certain important political issues. These issues were quite important for the welfare of the Devas. The time sage Brihaspati came to visit him, he was fully intoxicated with somarasa and was cuddling with a couple of apsaras in his bed. The sage was shown into his presence and Indra did not even have the courtesy and decency of offering the great Guru, a seat. Allowing Brihaspati to remain standingDC at the foot of his bed, in a languid and unconcerned manner, Indra addressed the Guru. “ What brings you here? Actually I was really busy with the apsaras. However I was told that you have some important work with me. Be quick and tell me what brings you here. I do not have much time to waste!.” Guru Brihaspati, who was a sage of great power, was shocked. He was the protector of gods and foremost in all branches of learning and was revered by Asuras and Devas alike. He could not believe, that Indra was treating him in such a disrespectful manner. He was so agitated and angry, that he forgot the real reason of his visit. He looked at Indra and said. “Oh Devaraja! What manners is this? What protocol is this? Instead of coming out of your

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Vritra T hat evening, Sukracharya went to the hermitage of Vishwaroopa the Guru of Devas. He was received with the respect due to a Brahmana, though Vishwaroopa was a bit surprised to get a visit from the leader of the opposite camp. After due protocol was observed, Vishwaroopa offered a seat to his opposite number and said. “Oh Guru Sukracharya! It is indeed a great honour to have your lotus feet grace my hermitage. Please tell me, what I can do for you!” Sukra gave a smile. The purpose of his visit had nothing to do with Vishwaroopa and having a talk with him. He only wanted to be seen entering the the hermitage of the Devaguru. He thus said in a round about way BOOKS “Oh Son of Twishta! Oh great Vedic scholar and heroic Brahmana! You do the whole Brahmin race proud by your wonderful achievements at such a young age. I have come to tell you a small thing. Your father is a Brahmana and your mother is an Asura. You have no lineage or connection with the Devas. Thus morally, you should be on the side of the Asuras and not the Devas. I have come with a proposal to you. Resign from your present position and come with me. I shall ensure that the AsurasDC give you a better post in their court. Being the son of an Asura maiden, you will get a greater love and respect amongst your own people than amongst Devas. Moreover Indra is so arrogant. He has already insulted his previous Guru Brihaspati. Before he insults you, I would advice you to come with me and join the asuras!” Vishwaroopa was a righteous person. He looked straight into Sukracharya’s eyes and said “Oh learned sage! You are my senior and should be teaching me the right things. And yet you advice me to do the wrong. It was the Devas who approached me first and offered me this exalted position, which I have accepted. It is now my responsibility to look after them. Thus your advice of abandoning the Devas at this juncture, is totally adharmic. Lord Indra might have had his own problems with Brihaspati. But as far as I am concerned, he has always treated me with a great respect.

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First Among Equals A s per their plan, Drupada’s Brahmana was sent to Hastinapura to start the peace process. Yudishtra collected his brothers and said, “Oh Brave, bold and noble brothers of mine! I have sent the Brahmana to Hastinapura. I hope that he is able to negotiate peace. Peace is what I desire. But as our elders advice, it may not be quite easy to secure peace. Duryodhana’s wickedness knows no limits. Despite a sane advice by Vidura, Drona and other palace elders, we do not know if he will listen. If war comes, we will have to depend on our allies. To us, Lord Krishna is the most important ally. I believe that victory will follow the side of Vaasudeva. Thus, I think that Arjuna should go to and ask for lord Krishna’s assistance. He must be made to give us a promise thatBOOKS he will fight on our side, if a war ensues between Dritharashtra’s sons and us” Arjuna replied “Oh king! I fully agree with you. Before our cousins get this idea, I shall reach Dwarka and get Krishna’s promise of assistance!” Mounting a fast chariot, Arjuna started towards the island kingdom of Dwarka where lord Krishna lived. In the meanwhile, the activities of the Pandavas was not a secret from Duryodhana and his associates. The spiesDC had carried the news to Duryodhana that a Brahmana envoy was on the way and that the Pandavas were seeking allies for a forthcoming battle. Karna addressed Duryodhana and said “Oh king! Our spies have got us the information that the Pandavas are sending Drupada’s Brahmana as an emissary of peace. At the same time they are preparing for a war too, by sending emissaries to collect as many allies as would support them” Duryodhana was quite irritated. He replied “What is this talk about peace, war and negotiations? What is there to negotiate? I don’t even understand the Pandavas. Yudishtra has willingly lost his kingdom to us. If they have indeed fulfilled the conditions of the wager, then all that they deserve is their unmolested freedom, which they

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