Karunya Rasa – Chitrasena and Duryodhana

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

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When the Pandavas were in exile, Yudhisthira was performing the Rajarsi sacrifice with the help of some learned Brahmins on the shore of a lake in Dwaitavana. Duryodhana who happened to be passing by suddenly noticed the Pandavas on the lake shore and egged on by Karna decided to put on a show of his opulence and wealth to make the Pandavas jealous. He instructed his men to construct pleasure houses on the opposite shore of the lake. However, his men were prevented from doing so by a Gandharva king, Chitrasena who claimed the lake and its surrounding areas to be his.

Enraged by this interruption of his plans, Duryodhana attacked the Gandharva army with his own and suffered a humiliating defeat despite fighting valiantly and valorously. Duryodhana, his brothers and Karna were then taken prisoner by Chitrasena. Some of the soldiers who had escaped the Gandharva army fled to the other side of the lake and narrated what had happened to Yudhisthira and his brothers.

Upon hearing this, Arjuna and Bhima started laughing at the plight of their Kaurava cousins. Both of them were happy that their duties had become that much easier with Duryodhana and his brothers out of the way. In their opinion, Duryodhana got what he deserved as he surely had camped on the opposite side of the lake with evil intentions only.

To this, Yudhisthira intervened and told them that this was not the time for cruelty. He stated that it was the duty of family members to protect and uphold the honor and dignity of the family name. Despite the fact that the Kaurava cousins had treated him and his brothers shabbily, the fact remained that it was a family dispute and should not be used as a reason not to help them when they were in need of assistance. After all, all of them were Kuru princes and they were duty bound to defend the honor of their family name.

Saying so, Yudhisthira instructed Arjuna to battle the Gandharvas and free the Kauravas. Since he himself was bound by the sacred vows that he had taken before starting the Rajarsi sacrifice, he could not go into battle himself, but he was compassionate enough towards the Kauravas to send his brother to do the job.

Arjuna accompanied by Bhima and the twins, then attacked the Gandharva army and after a fierce battle managed to defeat the Gandharvas and free the Kauravas.

Thus, Duryodhana who had come to Dwaitavana to humiliate the Pandavas with his show of opulence and wealth had to go back to Hastinapura after being humiliated himself.

This incident is a clear case of Yudhisthira displaying compassion and kindness towards his sworn enemies, the Kauravas and is an example of the karunya rasa referred to in the Mahabharata. Despite the fact that he was duty bound to defend his family name, Yudhisthira could have easily avoided the same on some pretext or the other, but the fact that he chose not to displays his commitment to his duty and his compassionate nature.

If only you were here

“Oh Krishna, if only you were here!” thought Draupadi. “Draupadi, the daughter of King Drupada of Panchala, the sister of the brave Drishtadyumna, your favorite Sakhi, your friend, the wife of the five Pandavas, would not have been humiliated so.”

“You would never have allowed Yudhishtira to place me, his wife, as a wager in the game of dice.”

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Image courtesy: Google images search for ‘Draupadi’

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This post is an imagining of what would have passed Draupadi’s mind when the Kauravas summoned her to the court after the game of dice and informed her that since Yudhishtira had lost her as a wager, she was now the slave of the Kauravas and they could do with her as they pleased. And if one goes by popular legend, Krishna heard her thoughts, and he miraculously helped her when Duhshasana tried to disrobe her in the court, in full view of everyone present.

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Now, I will answer a question that many of us might have regarding this incident, why was Krishna not with the Pandavas during the game of dice.

Sometime earlier Krishna had killed Sishupala, his own cousin and foe, as part of his purpose as an avatar of Vishnu. Enraged by this, Salwa attacked Dwaraka to extract revenge for Sishupala’s death. Krishna therefore was busy fighting the armies of Salwa when Yudhishtira was invited for the game of dice by the Kauravas.

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This post has been written as a part of Write Tribe’s 100 words on a Saturday – 5 prompt which is put up every alternate Saturday.