Vatsalya Rasa – The blind love of Dhritarashtra

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Read this post about an introduction to the Rasas.

Read this post for the shringara rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Ganga and her love

Read this post for the hasya rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Draupadi and her laughter

Read this post for the raudra rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Amba and her anger

Read this post for the karunya  rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Chitrasena and Duryodhana

Read this post for the bibhatsa rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – The effect of Vyasa on Ambika and Ambalika

Read this post for the bhayanaka rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Hidimba and his hideous Asura form

Read this post for the santha rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Yudhisthira and his attempts for peace

Read this post for the bhakti  rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Krishna and the Vishwaroopa

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My earlier post [Link to post] detailed how Dhritarashtra was born blind as his mother closed her eyes during her union with Veda Vyasa. To compensate for his blindness Dhritarashtra was granted with the strength of 10,000 elephants by Veda Vyasa.

After the events of the Kurukshetra war where he lost all his sons with the exception of Yuyutsu, Dhritarashtra was both sad and angered at the turn of events despite the fact that he knew fully well that his sons had grievously wronged their Pandava cousins. Therefore, when the Pandavas came to seek his blessing before ascending the throne of Hastinapura, he was in an extremely agitated and conflicted state of mind. And when he proceeded to embrace all the Pandavas one by one, his grief and rage overcame him completely.

Sensing his mind, the wise Krishna moved Bhima aside and instead pushed an iron statue of Bhima into Dhritarashtra’s embrace. When he embraced the statue, the thought that Bhima was responsible for the death of all his sons completely clouded Dhritarashtra’s senses and he embraced it with such strength that the statue was completely crushed to powder.

A moment later when he composed himself, Dhritarashtra was shocked at his own action and anger and regretted believing himself to have killed one of his own nephews. It was only after Krishna told him how he had only crushed an iron statue did the blind king come back to his senses.

This incident from the Mahabharata is a clear example of the display of vatsalya rasa, parental love and affection that the blind king had for his sons even though he clearly knew that they were in the wrong.

Bhakti rasa – Krishna and the Viswaroopa

Image courtesy : devdutt.com

Read this post about an introduction to the Rasas.

Read this post for the shringara rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Ganga and her love

Read this post for the hasya rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Draupadi and her laughter

Read this post for the raudra rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Amba and her anger

Read this post for the karunya  rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Chitrasena and Duryodhana

Read this post for the bibhatsa rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – The effect of Vyasa on Ambika and Ambalika

Read this post for the bhayanaka rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Hidimba and his hideous Asura form

Read this post for the santha rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Yudhisthira and his attempts for peace

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At the beginning of the Kurukshetra war, faced with the dilemma of the inevitability of raising arms and spilling the blood of his relative, cousins and kinsmen, Arjuna is filled with despair and is completely despondent at the helplessness of his situation. So much so, that he even neglects his duty as a Kshatriya warrior and drops his weapons in his chariot and steadfastly refuses to pick them up and prepare for the war.

At this juncture, Krishna counsels Arjuna about his duties as a warrior and a Kshatriya prince, elaborating on a variety of philosophical concepts. To convince Arjuna of his words, Krishna also reveals his true divine form, his Viswaroopa to him. Arjuna experiences the vision of the Viswaroopa with divine vision endowed to him by Krishna.

Some descriptions of the Viswaroopa are thus – He has innumerable forms, eyes, faces, mouths and arms. All creatures of the universe are part of Him. He is the infinite universe, without a beginning or an end. He contains peaceful as well as wrathful forms.

Another description of the Viswaroopa goes thus – In this form, Krishna no longer looks familiar. He is neither cowherd nor charioteer.  He is a magnificent being with countless legs and countless arms and countless heads, breathing fire, containing within himself all the things that exist – all the worlds, all the animate beings and inanimate objects. It is an awe inspiring sight. Containing everything that Arjuna imagined and also everything that was beyond Arjuna’s imagination.

Despite multiple descriptions of the Viswaroopa, one thing is for certain, Arjuna was so dazzled by the brilliance and the magnificence of this particular form of Krishna that all his doubts, fears and hesitation was immediately put to rest and he picked up his weapons and prepared for combat. The Viswaroopa convinced him that performance of one’s duty was of paramount importance. Arjuna was so overcome with faith, devotion and confidence in Krishna that all his doubts were assuaged immediately.

Thus, the episode with the Viswaroopa is a clear allusion to the bhakti rasa in the Mahabharata.

Santha rasa – Yudhisthira and his attempts for peace

Image courtesy: wikipedia

Read this post about an introduction to the Rasas.

Read this post for the shringara rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Ganga and her love

Read this post for the hasya rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Draupadi and her laughter

Read this post for the raudra rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Amba and her anger

Read this post for the karunya  rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Chitrasena and Duryodhana

Read this post for the bibhatsa rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – The effect of Vyasa on Ambika and Ambalika

Read this post for the bhayanaka rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Hidimba and his hideous Asura form

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After the Pandava brothers completed their exile of 12 yrs and the 13^th year in disguise evading all attempts by the Kauravas in trying to find out where they were during this year, they came out of exile and temporarily settled down in Upalavya. From there Yudhisthira send out emissaries to summon all his friends, relatives and brethren, to which almost all responded and arrived.

Addressing the gathering, Krishna spoke and reminded the people present as to how Duryodhana and Shakuni had cheated Yudhisthira at the game of dice and sent the Pandava brothers to exile for the past 13 yrs. He went on to state that Yudhisthira did not want to spill the blood of his cousins and wanted only what was rightfully his share of the kingdom. Despite the fact that the Kauravas had treated them wrongly and had cheated them out of their rights, the Pandavas were magnanimous to treat their cousins with ‘dharma’ and did not hold any grudges against them. He then went on to state that it was the intention of Yudhisthira to send an envoy of peace to the Kauravas to ask for their rightful share of the kingdom.

However, despite multiple attempts by the Pandavas to find a peaceful solution to the issue, Duryodhana refused to budge from his position. He steadfastly refused to recognize the right of the Pandavas to the kingdom and even went to the extent of declaring in open court that the Pandavas will not receive a needle-point of territory from him. Even after this declaration, Yudhisthira maintained his calm despite protests from his own brothers, kinsmen and other friends, and sent Krishna as an envoy of peace to convince Duryodhana of the mistake of his actions.

Thus, despite being cheated by the Kauravas out of his share of the kingdom, despite the fact that Duryodhana and his brothers had humiliated him and his brothers, despite the fact that they had tried to disrobe his wife in open court, Yudhisthira maintained his efforts to find a peaceful solution to this issue. This is a classic example of the santha rasa being referred to in the Mahabharata.

Bhayanaka Rasa – Hidimba and his hideous asura form

Image courtesy : devdutt.com

Read this post about an introduction to the Rasas.

Read this post for the shringara rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Ganga and her love

Read this post for the hasya rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Draupadi and her laughter

Read this post for the raudra rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Amba and her anger

Read this post for the karunya  rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Chitrasena and Duryodhana

Read this post for the bibhatsa rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – The effect of Vyasa on Ambika and Ambalika

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After escaping from the devious designs of Duryodhana to burn the Pandavas alive in the house of lac, the brothers entered into a forest which was the domain of an asura called Hidimba.

Given that the Pandavas were very tired, they went to sleep with Bhima standing guard over them. When Hidimba smelt the humans, he was excited as it had been quite a while since he had humans for food. He called his sister Hidimbi and asked her to lure the humans into her trap and lead them to her. Bidding to do her brother’s instructions, Hidimbi used her asura powers and transformed herself into a beautiful woman and set out to lure the Pandavas into her trap. However, when she laid her eyes on Bhima, she immediately fell in love with him.

She approached him and tried seducing him with her looks to no avail. Bhima was so uninterested that he initially didn’t even want to have a conversation with her. However, when Hidimbi revealed the true purpose of her approaching Bhima and also told him as to how her brother HIdimba planned to kill and eat him, his brothers and his mother, this enraged Bhima.

In the meantime, irritated by his sister’s delay in bringing the humans to him, Hidimba himself approached the Pandavas. When he saw Bhima and Hidimbi engaged in conversation, Hidimba was besides himself with anger. He willed himself to assume his most demoniac form using his formidable asura powers and attacked Bhima. By some accounts, in this form, he was more than 12 ft tall and reasonably wide as well making for an extremely scary sight for any normal human being.

In the fierce battle that ensued, Bhima managed to kill Hidimba and save himself and his family from his clutches. He then went on to marry Hidimbi who gave birth to Ghatotkacha as a result of their union.

Thus, the bhayanaka rasa finds mention in the Mahabharata in the asura form of Hidimba who was slain by Bhima.

Bibhatsa Rasa – The effect of Vyasa on Ambika and Ambalika

Image courtesy : Devdutt Pattanaik

Read this post about an introduction to the Rasas.

Read this post for the shringara rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Ganga and her love

Read this post for the hasya rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Draupadi and her laughter

Read this post for the raudra rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Amba and her anger

Read this post for the karunya  rasa referred to in the Mahabharata – Chitrasena and Duryodhana

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Read this earlier post of mine [Link to post] to understand how Bhishma intervened in the swayamvara of Amba, Ambika and Ambalika and rode away with all three princesses with the intention of getting them married to Vichitravirya.

On learning that Amba was already in love with King Salva, Vichitravirya married Amba and Ambika. However, shortly after his marriage he succumbed to tuberculosis and died before he could beget any heirs with either of his wives.

Dismayed by the fact that Vichitravirya had died without an heir to the throne, Satyavati asked Bhishma to beget the next generation of Kurus through Vichitravirya’s wives, to which he declined citing his vow of remaining celibate for life. As a last option Satyavati instructed Bhishma to summon her son, Veda Vyasa who was born from her union with Sage Parashara.

When Vyasa came to Hastinapura, his mother Satyavati ordered him to go to the beds of Ambika and Ambalika and beget heirs to the Kaurava throne. Now Vyasa had been born with a dark complexion and years of penance and asceticism had taken its toll on his facial features as well which had become extremely rough and dark over the years.

As a result, when Vyasa went to Ambika’s bed, she closed her eyes partly due to Vyasa’s severe countenance and partly due to her own shyness. When Vyasa figured this out, he went and told Satyavati that Ambika’s child would be born blind as she closed her eyes when he went to her bed. The son that was thus born was then called Dhritarashtra.

As a result of this, Satyavati warned Ambalika to remain calm when Vyasa visited her. But despite this warning, Ambalika’s face went completely pale at the sight of Vyasa and thus, the son born of their union, Pandu, would suffer from anemia and would therefore be unable to rule the kingdom.

Thus, the bibhatsa rasa (disgust and aversion) makes an appearance in the Mahabharata in the form of Ambika and Ambalika’s reaction to Veda Vyasa’s face and his overall appearance which resulted in Dhritarashtra being born blind and Pandu being born anemic.