DHRITA RAASHTRA! The blind prince!
His wife was Gaandhaari, the daughter of Subala. She blindfolded her eyes and served her husband devotedly. The prince had another wife, a daughter of a prostitute, who helped run the house. Since the eldest son was blind, Pandu was crowned the ruler. Vidura became a minister and offered wise counsel whenever needed. Pandu had two wives; Kunti the daughter of Shoorasena and Maadri, the princess of Madra Kingdom. Gaandhaari had a hundred sons. The other one had a virtuous son, Yuyutsu. Kunti had had a son from the Sun God before her marriage with Pandu.
KUNTI!
She was the daughter of Shoorasena and the adopted daughter of Kunti-bhoja!
Once she served Sage Durvaasa, who visited the king. Durvaasa was a Sage of high caliber; slightest mistake would provoke him to curse. His demands would be untimely and would need immediate attention. He was not an easy person too serve. He stayed for four months in the palace. The princess served him with utter devotion and humility. Even Durvaasa could not help feeling gratified. He blessed the girl with a boon. He gave her a Mantra. By reciting that Mantra any God whom she wished would unite with her. The immature girl received the Mantra like receiving a toy. How long could the toy remain untouched? She wanted to play with the Mantra. Lolling on the soft bed in the early morning, she looked at the rising Sun. He was so beautiful. She meditated on him and recited the Mantra. As if pulled by a rope he appeared before her. Seeing him in person, shining in a splendorous form, she trembled in fear. She offered him worship and requested him to go back. How could He? The Mantra forced him to unite with her. His passion was aroused by the power of the Mantra. He was helpless; was ready to curse even! Kunti submitted herself. The God promised her that her virginity would be preserved. She bore his son in her person. Only her personal maid knew of her condition. A child was born equal to the Sun in splendor. An armor and two ear- ornaments were attached to his person, like limbs. Kunti was reluctant to part from the child; but was forced to do so to preserve the honor of her family. The baby was placed in a specially prepared box. Kunti cried –“O what shall I do? My dear son! My life! How can I live without you? I am indeed an unfortunate soul! O mother! O Durga! Save me! O Mother! You are both formless and with form! You are the Supreme Queen of the Universe! You feed this child! O Mother of All! You are KAATYAAYINI! You bestow any boon desired by the devotee! O when will I see my dear son again? Like a wicked soul, I am discarding this beautiful baby born out of Sun God! I must have committed great sins in my past births. I did not worship the Mother of the Three Worlds! I did not worship the lotus-feet of the Spouse of Shiva! That is why this ill-fate has befallen me! After discarding you like this, I am going to spend my entire life remembering my sin! O son! Forgive your wicked mother!”
As she continued to weep uncontrollably, the maid took the box with the baby away from her and left it on the speeding waves of River Ganga. Kunti returned to the palace; a model of virtue and sacrifice; a mother who would do anything for her children; a strong willed woman! Her strength of character alone held her sons from following the path of Adharma! She was SHAKTI! She could bear any amount of pain; and pain never left her after that tragic event. Pain was her constant companion.
Marriage with a weak king; a rival queen to claim her husband’s love; widowhood; constant danger to life from the Kuru Princes; her daughter-in-law’s insult in the royal court; the separation from her sons for a long long time; finding her first son ready to kill her other five sons; battles; deaths; insults; ridicules! Pain indeed was her constant companion! But she faced all difficulties with courage. She had trust in GOD; in Dharma; in her own self! She never drowned in the ocean of the painful world. She was SHAKTI! She was powerful! She was a mother! The baby discarded by her, meanwhile was rescued by a charioteer named Radha. The child was named Karna, but grew up only as an ordinary person without status. He was a ‘sootaputra’, a driver’s son. And his unwed mother had married Pandu, the son of Vichitraveerya. Maadri, the Madra princess was the other wife of Pandu. But, fate intervened again.
Once, King Pandu went to the forest to hunt animals. He unknowingly shot a Sage who was mating with his wife in the form of a deer. The dying Sage cursed him to die, if he ever united with a woman. Depressed beyond control, the king renounced and went to the forest to live the life of penance, accompanied by his two wives. He spent his time in the company of great Sages and practiced severe penance. Once he happened to hear these words from the mouth of a reputed Sage.
“There is no redemption for a man without a son. Somehow a son should be acquired. These methods could be employed in getting a son. Have your own child; adopt the son of your daughter; get some other person to use your ‘Ksethra [wife], and get the son. Use another man’s Veerya; permit another man to have the
company of your wife in your presence. Marry a girl who has already a child in her womb. Get a son from uniting with a girl who is unmarried. Buy a son. Adopt any forsaken child as your son. Take the charity of a child from someone. All these sons have the right over the property and name. But the first one is the best. The next ones mentioned are considered lower in nature, in order.”
When Pandu consulted his wife and suggested to her to get a child by Niyoga, she mentioned to him about the Mantra she had received from the Sage Durvaasa. The king was overjoyed. He was thankful in his mind towards the Sage who had blessed his wife with such a boon and saved his family. So Kunti, with the permission of her husband, used the Mantra to get sons. By ‘union’ with Dharma raja or Yama, she begot Yudhistira, ‘one stable at wars’. By Vaayu, she got Vrikodara, ‘one hungry like a wolf’; by Indra she got Arjuna, the fair one. Maadri begged her husband and the elder sister to bless her with the Mantra. Pandu permitted her to use the Mantra only once. She called on the ‘Asvini Gods’, and had two sons- Nakula and Sahadeva; she was quite clever! Maadri was very pretty, young and a little careless in her behavior. Once Pandu saw her and felt his passion rising high. Unable to control himself, he embraced the protesting wife and fell down dead. Maadri also fell along with him, like a creeper falling along with a tree. She couldn’t forgive herself. She handed over her sons and to Kunti and entered the crematory fire set for her husband. The Sages who lived there took the orphaned Kunti and her five sons to Hastinaapura and left them to Bheeshma’s care. Kunti had a hard time proving the parentage of her sons. All knew about the curse given by the Sage to Pandu. But Kunti’s lustrous character was the proof of her purity. The Kuru Vamsha elders accepted her back into the family.
DRAUPADI
Draupadi, the daughter of King Drupada was a great Pati-vrata, a devoted wife. She was the wife of the five sons of Pandu. She had a son from each one of them.
Arjuna had another wife, Subhadra, the sister of Krishna Vaasudeva. Abhimanyu was the son of Arjuna by Subhadra. Abhimanyu died in the battle still young. Draupadi’s sons also were killed in the battle. Abhimanyu’s wife was the daughter of King Viraata. Her child was the only light left to continue the Kuru dynasty. This child in the womb was also attacked by an arrow. But, Krishna rescued it with his yogic power. The child was named Pareekshit; the one left over when all around him were dead.
A dead kingdom; dead bodies; widows; orphans; old women; old men; screams; weeping sounds; cursing voices; heart rending shouts; tears; a land destroyed by war; the five rulers drowned in their own tragedy! Blood flowed everywhere!
Dhritaraashtra and Gaandhaari were offered shelter by the sons of Pandu and were still respected and revered by the family members. Vidura was still offering Dharmic-consultation to the new kings to the best of his ability.
Kunti was again holding everyone’s moral up! She had seen all! What more could be worse? But, she held on. She trusted in the SUPREME SHAKTI. She was also a mother. She had the power to bear the pain.
DHRITARAASHTRA
The Blind king!
Blind to the insult rendered to the daughter-in-law of the family; deaf to the advice offered by Vidura; dumb in front of the accusing finger of Dharma; greedy for power; greedy for wealth; he led his children to the worst end possible. May such worlds cease to exist in this world ruled by PARASHAKTI!
Now the blind king was shamelessly holding on to his life at the abode of Paandavas. Yudhistira served him sincerely. Draupadi even now felt a little hesitant to come into the presence of the blind king. The ordeal she went through in the open court of the king still pricked her. Arjuna ignored him. The twin brothers just went through their duties without protest. Bheema had no sympathy for the old king. He missed no chance to insult the old man. Rather, he waited for opportunities to hurt the couple.
Eighteen years passed.
Arrows sharper than the sharpest arrows had fallen on the old king. Bheema’s words were unbearable. They echoed even in his dreams. “O you wicked old fool! I have killed all your sons in the battle-field. I have drunk the blood of Dusshaasana. Now you are living on crumbs thrown by us. You have no shame. You wait for the morsel of food like a dog or crow”.
Yudhishtira tried to console the king, calling Bheema an idiot. But, the comfort-loving old man also had his limits. He begged the son of Yama to permit him to go to the forest. He also begged for some wealth to perform some obituary services to his sons, as Bheema had never done anything for the after-life of his cousin brothers. Bheema was enraged. He again shot back hot words; “Old man! Now you want wealth to waste on your sons’ welfare? Even a blind idiot is humored here. What more foolishness can be there,
O you evil wretched man! Because of you, we suffered in the forest. Even Draupadi was brought forcibly to the court by ‘your grace’! O great soul! We lived as servants in the palace of king Viraata. If our elder brother was not a gambler, the destruction would not have happened. I was a cook there. Arjuna had to wear bangles. Dressed as a female, he taught dance and music! What more insult could be there than being a man in a woman’s garb? What could be worst than that? Bangles in the hand, which held the bow Gaandiva! When I remember the plaits on his hair and the collyrium on his eyes, I feel like strangling this old fool even now. I won’t rest in peace otherwise. O king, do you know that without asking permission, your son tried to burn us all in the wax house? And my dear old fool, I did not consult you before killing Keechaka, who was after my wife. I had pushed his neck and legs into his central body and made a bloody mass of him. I only regret that I did not do such a thing to your sons and his wives. O fool! Why did you free your sons from the clutches of Gandharvas? Now see what happened? They are dead now! The Gandharvas would have done it free of cost at that time. If I had any authority, I would not give you even a clay coin.” So saying, he left the assembly. Unfortunately or fortunately, he had no authority. Yudhishtira gave enough wealth to the old king to satisfy his whim. The old king went to the forest along with his wife Gaandhaari. Kunti and Vidura also followed him. Kunti could not be stopped from going to the forest. Paandavas were forced to escort all of them to the banks of the River Ganga. All the elders started living in the hermitage of the Sage Shatayupa.
Six years passed.
Yudhishtira was having bad dreams. He felt some evil in the air. He desired to see the elders living in the forest. All of them reached the hermitage in a hurry. Vidura was not to be seen. He was passing his time in contemplation in some solitary place. Nobody knew where he was. Yudhishtira went in search of him. On the second day, the king found him sitting in the banks of River Ganga. The king saluted him and announced himself. Vidura did not move. He was like a statue. Next moment, a lustrous light emanated out of Vidura’s face and entered the king’s face; for, both were the manifestations of Yama in parts. Yudhistira got ready to perform the crematory services for the old minister. He started collecting wood. But a voice from the heavens spoke saying that Vidura was a man of dispassion and did not need the obituary works. He went back and informed others of Vidura’s demise. He spent some days with his mother and others in the forest.
One day Naarada and Vyaasa arrived there. Many Sages also accompanied them. All the women-folk burst into tears on seeing them. They confided their own personal anxieties to the compassionate Sages. Kunti begged them to give a vision of her son Karna. Gaandhaari wanted to see Duryodhana. Subhadra wanted to see Abhimanyu. Vyaasa consented to their wish. He took all of them to the banks of River Ganga. Vyaasa completed his Praanaayaama and the evening worship and prayed to the Supreme Mother.
Salutations O Mother!
You are the Mother of all Creations.
You are both with form and without form.
You are the Support of Prakriti and Purusha.
You are the Queen of all Divinities.
You are the Supreme Brahman.
You are the Resident of the Splendorous Manidveepa.
When there existed not - the Creator, nor Brahma, nor Ishvara, nor Indra, nor Varuna, nor Kubera,
nor Yama, nor Agni, - then also You existed.
When there existed not- the five elements, nor their essences, nor the Mind, Intelligence or the Senses,
when the Sun and the Moon were not there, - You existed then.
Salutations O Mother!
All the created worlds exist in Your Consciousness.
All the Gunas, Lingas exist in Your Awareness.
All forms - male and females - exist in Your Mind.
You keep all these in You for eternal times.
You are in the state of ‘Formless Samadhi’ with all these existing in You eternally.
Yet You are free and act as You please!
These ‘existences’ do not affect Your real state of Bliss.
Even intelligent people do not know You in that state.
You are in Eternal Union with Your Spouse there.
You are in Eternal Bliss there.
You are in Eternal state of Love there.
You exist as One and also Two there.
You are both You and Your Spouse.
Yet You are both One in Love and Bliss.
You never separate from Your Spouse any time.
Your Union with Siva is the Cause of all the Creations.
Yet you both are not affected by their existence.
You both exist as One in Blissful Union.
You both exist as form and formless at the same time.
Your Existence is beyond the comprehension of the human minds.
These people are praying to me to show their dead relatives. I am not capable of such a feat.
Please O Mother, You kindly grant their wishes. Show them their dead kith and kin.”
A splendorous light rose immediately in front of them and all of them saw the dead ones in their present condition. And by Vyaasa’s Yogic Power, they were sent back again. After this event everybody returned to their respective abodes.
Sanjaya left for visiting all pilgrimage centers. On the third day a jungle fire arose killing the blind king,
his wife, Kunti and others. Thirty six years after the war, the Yaadava clan destroyed itself by the curse of a Brahmin. Balaraama discarded his body by Yoga. Krishna died by getting hit by an arrow of a hunter. Vasudeva also discarded his body when in contemplation of the Great Mother. All the eight wives of Krishna and Revati, the wife of Balaraama, entered the fire along with the dead spouses. Arjuna performed all obituary services to the dead souls. Floods destroyed the great city of the Yaadavas. The people who were left over went off to the city of Hastinaapura and took shelter under the Paandavas. But as Arjuna was taking these people including many wives of Krishna to the city, he was attacked by dacoits. Arjuna felt weak and could not fight the dacoits. He watched helplessly as the evil ones took away all the wealth from the travelers. He was shocked. He returned home crestfallen. He established Aniruddha’s son Vajra as the chief of the Yaadava clan. Later he went to Sage Vyaasa and expressed his anguish at his powerless state. Vyaasa consoled him and said that again when Krishna would be born on the Earth, in the next ‘Yuga’, he will also be born along with him and at that time he will have enough power. Yudhistira felt that it was time for him to return to the forests.
Pareekshit, the son of Uttaraa, had completed thirty eight years. The old Paandava king made him the next ruler and started his journey towards the Himalayas. His wife and his brothers accompanied him. After all the trouble they had taken to win back the kingdom, they ruled it only for a span of thirty eight years. They spent their last years in penance and gave up their bodies in due time. Pareekshit was a man of great character and ruled the kingdom following the footsteps of his elders. He tried his best to rebuild the ruins left after the terrifying war.
Sixty years passed.
Once he went to the forest-lands for hunting. In the course of hunting he had moved away from his own people and got lost in the huge jungle. Hungry and thirsty, he wandered for a long time searching for some shelter. Tired and exhausted, he at last saw a hermitage. A Sage was sitting under the tree lost in contemplation. The old Sage did not wake up though the king called him several times. Feeling insulted and offended, the king took a dead snake nearby and garlanded the Sage. The Sage still did not move. The king ate whatever was inside the hut and went off in anger.
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