Bits of life

J-30 Words-2000

When Pandu was getting ready to depart for the forest life, both his wives, Kunti and Madri followed him. They did not want to live apart from their husband. So once again Pandu returned to the forest life, but now for a different cause. He once again invited his elder brother Dhratarashtra to the throne and gave him his throne. When the kingdom of Hastinapur. Bhishma had suggested that Pandu must retire to some resort and should give an interim for his activities of conquering and ruling. Pandu had agreed to do so with some persuasion. He suggested that in his absence, his elder brother Dhratarashtra should be the king and he should wear the crown and be the head of the state. Dhratarashtra was a happy man to do this. He felt joyous like a little boy when he got to wear the crown of Hastinapur.

Pandu went to a forest resort with his wives, Kunti and Madri. They started spending their time happily in the forest with sports such horse riding and hunting. After some time, Pandu became a little bored with no active engagements of the state. Once, Madri planned a horse riding trip into the forest. Kunti refused to go, but instead stay at home and supervise cooking.

The royal couple went to the ashram of rishi Kindan. The sage invited them in and his wife offered fruits to them. Madri and Pandu ate one each and Madri selected one for Kunti. After a little while the couple left the hermitage of Kindan. After a few days, rishi Kindan visited the royal family at the resort. He was warmly greeted and invited into the resort by Pandu and his two wives. He was offered food and water and other things that a householder would offer to a rishi. Before going away from the resort, the rishi blessed Kunti and Madri to have great children.

In the forest resort the husband and his two wives were enjoying their holiday. Once rishi Kindan visited them and blessed them. He asked the wives to choose a boon each, which he would grant. Madri asked on behalf of both for children. She said she would like two for herself and three for Kunti. She considered the fact that Kunti was the older one between the two of them. The sage was pleased to grant them the boons.

One day, when the family in the forest resort was about to have their lunch, they heard a tiger roaring nearby. Pandu got up and took his bow and arrow and rode into the forest. He spotted he big cat roaming around and took his aim. Rishi Kindan and his wife took the forms of deer and doe and were engaged in sexual play. The aim that Pandu took went in their direction and unfortunately the arrow pierced through the heart of the doe. Rishi Kindan’s wife was killed in the accident. The rishi was in rage and he cursed Pandu. The curse was that as and when Pandu tried to unite with any of his two wives he would die. This was tragic part of the story of Pandu.

He returned to the resort depressed and in deep regret for what had happened. He never intended to do what was done. For no fault of his, he came to suffer a fate worse than death. His wives Kunti and Madri regretted the whole episode and tried to console a stunned Pandu.

Here in Hastinapur, Satyavati wanted Pandu and his two wives to come back to the palace. She called for Bhishma and asked him to send word to Pandu to come back to the capital. When Bhishma was about to do so, she asked him to tell Dhratarashtra to do the same. She did it because protocol demanded so. It would be proper only if Dhratarashtra did so, for he was occupying the throne of Hastinapur at that time.

When Dhratarashtra was told to call Pandu from the forest resort, he took his time and said to Bhishma whether his brother Pandu had enough of relaxation. Although he was not willing to part with the crown, Dhratarashtra had to do the bidding of Bhishma because it would be the right thing to do. Otherwise, he would be accused of being greedy and possessive of the crown and the authority it gave.

However, they returned to Hastinapur and Pandu was back on the throne much to the chagrin of Dhratarashtra. But things took another turn which was not expected. After much debate within himself, Pandu concluded that there must be punishment for what had happened in the forest. So he punished himself by banishing himself from the activities of the state to the forest and a life of a sage. Kunti and Madri accompanied him. For the queen mother Satyavati, it was a great blow. She wanted Pandu on the throne and not Dhratarashtra. Things did not happen the way she wanted. She and the wives of her sons much mourned the fact that Pandu was going away to the forest.

Pandu left Hastinapur with Kunti and Madri, the whole Hastinapur gathered at the palace and bid good bye to him.

Pandu and his wives started living in the forest. Pandu was engaged in spiritual activities and worship of various deities. A puja was just completed and the five priests who performed it were going on the sky path towards heaven. Pandu wanted to go with them. They refused him to go along. The reason they said was that he was neither a sage because he had not renounced the life of a householder nor a complete householder because he did not have any children.

Pandu became sad and contemplative. Kunti asked him why he was so depressed. He told the wives of the curse he got from rishi Kindan while they stayed at their forest resort. He told them that he could never have children with him because of the curse. The curse had prevented him from having sex with the wives if he tried to do that he would die. Then Kunti remembered her mantra which she got from sage Durvasa which allowed her to pray to any god she wished and have child from him. Pandu was happy to hear of this news and he persuaded Kunti to beget a child from Yama dharma raja, the god of justice and death. Kunti went to solitary place in the forest and prayed to Yama and she got a child from him. They named the child, Dharmaraja. In this way, she had a child from praying to the god of wind and named him Bhima because he was extremely strong. The god of deities named Indra granted a child named Arjuna. Then she prayed to the twin deities named Ashwini gods and had twins for Madri whom she named as Nakula and Sahadeva.

At the same time when Pandu was having his children through Kunti’s rare gift of her mantra, in another place called Mathura, Devaki had a child named Krishna in the prison of the king Kamsa.

Krishana’s story:

There was once a king ruling the kingdom of Mathura. His name was Ugrasena. He had a son and a daughter. The son was Kamsa and the daughter was Devaki.

They had opposite qualities. While Kamsa was of demonic nature Devaki was a good soul. Devaki grew up to be a proper princess and soon attained marriageable age. Ugrasena was thinking of giving his daughter in marriage to Vasudeva of the yadava tribe. Kamsa went on conquering lands and countries and attached them to Mathura. On the way back he met king of Magadha, named Jarasandha and they both are of same nature. Both had the desire to behave without moral considerations and humane qualities. Jarasandha egged on Kamsa to become the king of Mathura and enjoy the kingdom as he wished.

The commoners of Mathura met the king and told him of the various bad things that Kamsa and his soldiers were doing to them. They complained that their wives and daughters were no longer safe in their houses. They were looted and beaten if they raised their voices in rebellion against the terrorist activities that they were subjected to.

Kamsa on return from his conquests came directly to his father Ugrasena without observing the protocol. Priding on his conquests and strength, Kamsa told his father that he was no longer fit to be the king of the country. So he should abandon his crown and let the son wear it. Ugrasena was shocked by the behavior of Kamsa and said it was not the way he should behave with his father.

Kamsa told his father to remove the crown from his head and place it on his own. He also asked him whether he should do it or he would do it himself. Ugrasena said that he would do it himself and brought it down. And then, Kamsa ordered his guard to arrest him and put him in the darkest of the cells of his prison. Still in shock Ugrasena was walked to the prison.

The next day, Kamsa once again insulted his father by going to the prison and telling him that he was unworthy of the crown because he was weak, and inefficient. Ugrasena could do nothing except to swallow his son’s words and kept to prison.

Kamsa wanted his sister Devaki to marry Vasudeva as settled by their father Ugrasena. An auspicious day was selected for the marriage. On the day of their marriage, as Kamsa and his sister Devaki along with the bridegroom Vasudeva were going to the wedding venue, a rishi accosted them and told Kamsa that he would be killed by the eighth child of Devaki. He repeated the fact that he would definitely be killed and that would mark the end of his unruly regime in Mathura. Kamsa tried to make light of the matter but the rishi insisted about the news and said that the whole nature would reverberate with the fact that a savior would be born as the eighth child of Devaki and Vasudeva.

Kamsa took note of the whole thing as something serious and he immediately put Devaki and Vasudeva in prison. They led their lives there and had children. The moment Devaki gave birth to a child, the news would reach Kamsa. He would come quickly and dashed the child against the jail wall. In this manner he killed seven children born to Devaki. He waited anxiously for the eighth child. On that stormy night, Devaki gave birth to a boy child. As Vasudeva and Devaki were wondering what to do with the infant, they heard voice from the sky telling Vasudeva to take the child to the other shore of Yamuna and convey the child to the house of Nanda, a man belonging to the Yadava tribe. Now the question was how to get out of the prison. As Vasudeva walked to the bars of the prison, the doors opened and the guards fell asleep. Vasudeva walked out without anyone stopping him.

Vasudeva wrapped the child securely in a warm cloth and carried him on his head in a basket. It was raining and thundering like never before. River Yamuna appeared to be in spate. Vasudeva had faith that he would cross the river without a problem. Just as he believed, he could walk through the river with ease and reached the other shore of the Yamuna.

Vasudeva walked to the house of Nanda who was waiting for him. His wife Yashoda too gave birth to a girl child. Nanda exchanged the children and took the girl child to the waiting Vasudeva. Vasudeva returned to the prison cell and placed the girl in Devaki’s hands. Next morning news reached Kamsa that his sister Devaki had given birth to a girl child. He ridiculed the prophecy made by the unseen voice. Rishi said Devaki’s child was growing elsewhere.