PERSPECTIVE
MAHABHARATHAM BOOK 5 BHAGAVAT YANA PARVA GANGULY EDITION
Chap CXXVII Duryodhana speaks as if good:
SECTION CXXVII
"Vaisampayana said, 'Hearing in that assembly of the Kurus these words that
were disagreeable to him, Duryodhana replied unto the mighty-armed Kesava
of great fame, saying. *'It behoveth thee, O Kesava, to speak after
reflecting on all circumstances. Indeed, uttering such harsh words, thou,
without any reason, findest fault with me alone,* addressed regardfully as
thou always art by the sons of Pritha, O slayer of Madhu. *But dost thou
censure me*, having surveyed the strength and weakness (of both sides)?
Indeed, thyself and Kshattri, the King, the Preceptor, and the Grandsire*,
all reproach me* *alone and not any other monarch*. I, however, do not find
the least fault in myself. Yet all of you, including the (old) king
himself, hate me. O repressor of foes, I do not, even after reflection,
behold any grave fault in me, or even O Kesava, any fault however minute.
In the game at dice, O slayer of Madhu, that was joyfully accepted by them,
the Pandavas were vanquished and their kingdom was won by Sakuni. What
blame can be mine as regards that? On the other hand, O slayer of Madhu,
the wealth that was won from the Pandavas then, was ordered by me, to be
returned unto them. It cannot, again, O foremost of victors, be any fault
of ours that the invincible Pandavas, were defeated once again at dice and
had to go to the Woods. Imputing what fault to us, do they regard us as
their enemies? And, O Krishna, though (really) weak, why do the Pandavas
yet so cheerfully seek a quarrel with us, *as if they were strong?* What
have we done to them? For what injury (done to them) do the sons of Pandu,
along with the Srinjayas, seek to slaughter the sons of Dhritarashtra? We
shall not in consequence of any fierce deed, or (alarming) word (of
theirs), bow down to them in fear, deprived of our senses. We cannot bow
down to Indra himself, let alone the sons of Pandu. I do not, O Krishna,
see the man, observant of Kshatriya virtues, who can, O slayer of foes,
venture to conquer us in battle. Let alone the Pandavas, O slayer of Madhu,
the very gods are not competent to vanquish Bhishma, Kripa, Drona and
Karna, in battle. If, O Madhava, we are, in the observance of the *practices
of our order,* cut off with weapons in battle, when our end comes, even
that will lead us to heaven. Even this, O Janardana, is our highest duty as
Kshatriyas, viz., that we should lay ourselves down on the field of battle
on a bed of arrows. If, without bowing to our enemies, ours be the bed of
arrows in battle, that, O Madhava, will never grieve us. Who is there, born
in a noble race and conforming to Kshatriya practices, that would from fear
bow to an enemy, desirous only of saving his life? Those Kshatriyas that
desire their own good, accept regardfully this saying of Matanga, viz.,
that (as regards a Kshatriya), one should always keep himself erect, and
never bow down, for exertion alone is manliness; one should rather break at
the knots than bend. A person like me should only bow down to the Brahmanas
for the sake of piety, without regarding anybody else. (As regards persons
other than Brahmanas), one should, as long as one lives, act according to
Matanga's saying. Even this is the duty of Kshatriyas*; even this is ever
my opinion.* That share in the kingdom which was formerly given them by my
father shall never again, O Kesava, be obtainable by them as long as I
live. As long, O Janardana, as king Dhritarashtra liveth, both ourselves
and they, sheathing our weapons, O Madhava, should live in dependence on
him. Given away formerly from ignorance or fear, when I was a child and
dependent on others, the kingdom, O Janardana, incapable of being given
away again, shall not, O delighter of Vrishni's race, be obtainable by the
Pandavas. *At present, O Kesava of mighty arms, as long as I live, even
that much of our land which may be covered by the point of a sharp needle
shall not, O Madhava, be given by us unto the Pandavas.'"*
SECTION CXXVIII
"Vaisampayana said, 'Reflecting (for a moment), with eyes red in anger, he,
of Dasarha's race, addressing Duryodhana in that assembly of the Kurus,
then said these words, 'Wishest thou for a bed of heroes? Verily, thou
shalt have it, with thy counsellors. Wait (for a short while), a great
slaughter will ensue. Thou thinkest, O thou of little understanding, that
thou hast committed no offence against the Pandavas? Let the (assembled)
monarchs judge. Grieved at the prosperity of the high-souled Pandavas, thou
conspirest, O Bharata, with Suvala's son about the gambling match. O sire,
how could those virtuous, honest, and superior kinsmen of thine (otherwise)
engage in such a wicked act with the deceitful Sakuni? O thou that art
endued with great wisdom, gambling robs even the good of their
understanding, and as regards the wicked, disunion and dire consequence
spring from it. It was thou who hadst devised with thy wicked counsellors,
that terrible source of calamity in the form of the gambling match, without
consulting with persons of righteous behaviour. Who else is there, capable
of insulting a brother's wife in the way thou didst or of dragging her into
the assembly and addressing her in language thou hadst used towards
Draupadi? Of noble parentage, and endued with excellent behaviour, and
dearer to them than their very lives, the queen-consort of Pandu's sons was
treated even thus by thee. All the Kauravas know what words were addressed
in their assembly by Dussasana unto those chastisers of foes,--the sons of
Kunti,--when they were about to set out for the woods. Who is there capable
of behaving so wretchedly towards his own honest kinsmen, that are ever
engaged in the practice of virtue, that are untainted by avarice, and that
are always correct in their behaviour? *Language such as* becomes only
those that are heartless and despicable, was frequently repeated by Karna
and Dussasana and also by thee. Thou hadst taken great pains to burn to
death, at Varanavata, the sons of Pandu with their mother, while they were
children, although that effort of thine was not crowned with success. After
this, the Pandavas with their mother were obliged to live for a long while,
concealed in the town of Ekachakra in the abode of a Brahmana. With poison,
with snakes and cords, thou hadst, by every means, sought the destruction
of the Pandavas, although none of thy designs was successful. With such
feelings when thou hadst always acted towards them so deceitfully*, how
canst thou say that thou hast not offended against the high-souled
Pandavas? Thou art not, O sinful man*, willing to give them their paternal
share in the kingdom, although they are begging it of thee. Thou shalt have
to give it them, this, when divested of prosperity, thou shalt be laid
low. *Having,
like a heartless fellow, done innumerable wrongs *to the Pandavas and
behaved so deceitfully towards them, *thou seekest now to appear in a
different garb.* Though repeatedly solicited by thy parents, by *Bhishma*,
Drona, and Vidura, to make peace*, thou dost not yet, O king, make peace.*
Great is the advantage in peace, O king, both to thyself and Yudhishthira.
Peace, however, does not recommend itself to thee. To what else can it be
due, but to thy loss of understanding? *Transgressing the words of thy
friends, thou canst never attain to what is for thy benefit. Sinful and
disreputable is that act, which thou, O king, art about to do.'*
And seeing Duryodhana rise and leave the court in anger with his
brothers, Santanu's son*, Bhishma said, 'The enemies of that person, who,
abandoning both virtue and profit, followeth the impulses of wrath, rejoice
on beholding him plunged into distress at no distant date.* This wicked son
of Dhritarashtra, this one unacquainted with the true means (of
accomplishing his objects), this fool that is wrongly vain of his
sovereignty, obeyeth only the dictates of wrath and avarice. I see also, O
Janardana, that the hour of all those Kshatriyas is arrived, for all those
kings, from delusion, have with their counsellors followed Duryodhana.'
Hearing these words of Bhishma, the lotus-eyed hero of Dasarha's race,
possessed of great powers, addressing all those (that were still there)
headed by Bhishma and Drona, said, *'Even this is great transgression, of
which all the elders of the Kuru race are becoming guilty, for they do not
forcibly seize and bind this wicked king in the enjoyment of sovereignty*.
Ye chastiser of foes, I think the time hath come for doing this. If this is
done, it may still be productive of good. Listen to me, ye sinless ones.
The words I will speak will soon lead to beneficial results, if, indeed, ye
Bharatas, ye accept what I say in consequence of its recommending itself to
you. The wicked son, of ill-regulated soul, of the old Bhoja king, having
usurped his father's sovereignty during the latter's life-time, subjected
himself to death. Indeed, Kansa, the son of Ugrasena, abandoned by his
relatives, was slain by me in a great encounter, from desire of benefiting
my kinsmen. Ourselves with our kinsmen then, having paid due honours to
Ugrasena, the son of Ahuka, installed that extender of Bhoja's kingdom on
the throne. And all the Yadavas and Andhakas and the Vrishnis, abandoning a
single person, viz., Kansa for the sake of their whole race, have prospered
and obtained happiness. O king, when the gods and Asuras were arrayed for
battle and weapons were upraised for striking, the lord of all creatures,
Parameshthin said thus (something which applies to the case at hand).
Indeed, O Bharata, when the population of the worlds was divided into two
parties and was about to be slaughtered, the divine and holy Cause of the
universe, viz., the Creator, said, 'The Asuras and the Daityas with the
Danavas will be vanquished, and the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras and
other dwellers of heaven will be victorious. Indeed, the gods, and Asuras,
and human beings, and Gandharvas, and Snakes, and Rakshasas, will in rage
slaughter one another in this battle.' Thinking so, the Lord of all
creatures, Parameshthin, commanded Dharma, saying, 'Binding fast, the
Daityas and the Danavas, make them over to Varuna.' Thus addressed, Dharma,
at the command of Parameshthin, binding the Daityas and the Danavas, made
them over to Varuna. And Varuna, the Lord of the waters, having bound those
Danavas, with Dharma's noose, as also with his own, keepeth them within the
depths of the ocean, always guarding them carefully. Binding in the same
way Duryodhana and Karna and Sakuni, the son of Suvala, and Dussasana, make
them over to the Pandavas. For the sake of a family, an individual may be
sacrificed. For a village, a family may be sacrificed. For the sake of a
province, a village may be sacrificed. And lastly, for the sake of one's
self, the whole earth may be sacrificed. O monarch, binding Duryodhana
fast, make peace with the Pandavas*. O bull among Kshatriyas, let not the
whole Kshatriya race be slaughtered on thy account.'"*
*K Rajaram IRS 25524*
On Sun, 26 May 2024 at 08:21, 'gopala krishnan' via Thatha_Patty <
thatha_patty@googlegroups.com> wrote:
> Sir,
>
> I fully agree with first two lines.
>
> The third line I am not able to agree 100%. Animal qualities are with
> humans, with some,more *very bad animal qualities*. Hence we cannot be
> rich what we are in some person's hearts.
>
> Without telling our otherwise pleasant group has a few such members.
>
> Gopalakrishnan
>
> On Sunday, 26 May, 2024 at 01:51:13 pm IST, Rama <kaviran...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>
> *🌹Life Is A Continuous Challenge & An Unending Struggle.*
>
>
> *We R Not Rich By What Is In Our Pocket,*
> *But We R Rich By What We R In Others' Hearts!*
>
> Cheers
> Rama
>
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