Bits of life

S-6 Words-2000

him very much.

After the father and son had decided to agree for the marriage of Rukmini with Shishupala, they informed Jarasandha about it. Jarasandha was happy that the plan he hatched to defeat Krishna started becoming a reality. After reaching his palace in Magadha, he sent a letter to the king of Chedi, Shishupala. Shishupala was ready to do the favor. He sent a reply expressing his willingness to marry Vidarbha princess Rukmini, daughter of Bhishmaka.

Rukmi, the older brother of Rukmini met her in her chambers and asked her to put the garland signifying her willingness to marry only on Shishupala during the swayamvara, where the bride was to choose her future husband. Shocked and grieved by the choice of Shishupala as her future husband, Rukmini wrote a letter to Krishna in which she expressed her love and her wish to marry only him.

Krishna got the letter sent by Rukmini through a poor Brahmin. He was much taken by the feelings and thoughts that Rukmini had expressed in it. He decided to make her his own.

On the day of the marriage, which was supposed to be with Shishupala, Rukmini was very much anxious to meet Krishna and make her dreams to become his better half. As tradition ruled, dressed as bride Rukmini arrives at the temple of Bhavani or Durga. She prayed to the goddess devotedly and sought her blessings for marriage with Krishna. As she came out of the sanctum sanctorum, she saw Krishna arriving in a well decorated chariot to fetch her to his kingdom of Dwaraka.

Rukmini was thrilled and happy to have Krishna in person to take her away. She puts the varamala or the garland to choose the future husband on Krishna. Thus Rukmini proved that true love would win despite impediments. We also are given a chance to observe that elopements did happen even in those days of pre-recorded history, but with a concrete reason.

Rukmini’s brother realized that something was happening at the temple of Durga, he immediately took off on a chariot ready fight if necessary. When he saw his sister standing beside Krishna on his white chariot, he became angry and disappointed that his best laid plans had collapsed. He began to put his skill of war into practice. But alas! Even before he used any of the weapons such as bow and arrow, lance or mace, Krishna aborted his efforts at the beginning itself. He broke all the arms of Rukmi and finally tied him up with long chains and made him disarmed in every way. Then he drove away with Rukmini by his side.

Return to Hastinapur and the feud authored by Shakuni-

Once the Pandavas grew up they shone like stars in the dark sky. They were also known for their righteous behavior. They were generous to a limit.

The Pandava princes had arrived in Hastinapur and proved their prowess and skill of war craft before a crowded audience. People cheered them and they loved Yudhishtar and wanted him to become the crown prince. But the mind of the old kind Dhratarashtra was obsessed with the thoughts of his own son Duryodhana to become the crown prince so he would get the throne after his demise. But Dhritarashtra knew that justice was to make Yudhishtar the next king and not his son because he was older than Duryodhana and was also more popular and moderate in his views and behavior. The sense of justice prevailing in Yudhishtar and Duryodhana was tested in the following manner.

Four people killed a man for some reason, which was not made clear. They were brought to court and justice was to be delivered for the crime. The king was the judge. So Bhishma asked the king to allow him to enjoin the duty of delivering justice to Duryodhana first.


Duryodhana said,


“What is there to think about it respected uncle? They have done a great wrong by killing a human being. My verdict would be to hang the culprits.”

Then Bhishma asked Yudhishtar to deliver justice.

Yudhishtar said,

“All the four people belong to different levels of physical and mental worth. The laborer who actually did the killing must be given the least punishment, because he was only obeying someone else’s orders. He was not thinking of whether he was doing the right or wrong thing. The one above him should be punished more by giving him a longer sentence to be imprisoned, because he knows what he was doing. The next one that is the man who gave the order should be in jail forever. Now the priest who was also part of the felony must be judged by his community of thinkers and devoted Brahmins.”

Bhishma, Drona and Kripa were pleased with Dharmaraja or Yudhishtar’s way of doing justice. Every one cannot be judged by the same measure. The judge should think of the kind of crime done, the kind of role performed the culprit and so on before giving him a punishment.

Everyone in the court was convinced that Yudhishtar was the right choice for the position of crown prince of Hastinapur. Even the commoners in the streets supported Dharmaraja and not Duryodhana. Unable to oppose the opinion of the majority, old king Dhritarashtra announced Dharmaraja as the crown prince of Hastinapur.

However, in his heart of hearts he went on wishing his son Duryodhana to become the mighty king of Hastinapur.
Duryodhana was beside himself with anger and jealousy at this outcome regarding the crown prince of Hastinapur. Egged on by his uncle Shakuni, he argued with his father that as the elder brother Dhritarashtra’ s son he should be the legitimate ascendant of the throne and not Dharmaraja who was the son of the younger brother, Pandu. He pleaded with his father though he was his son he was not blind and was in complete control of his senses. Dhritarashtra could only gnash his teeth in impotent fury at the Pandavas. Yudhishtar had become the crown prince with the blessings of Bhishma and other elders and teachers. Once Yudhishtar was crowned as prince, the Pandavas go on a victory tour to meet and greet other rulers which fall within the orbit of Hastinapur. During this period, Bhima the second brother of the Pandavas went to Dwaraka to learn more about the weapon mace and the way it should be used by Balarama, Krishna’s elder brother. The Pandavas were related to Krishna and Balarama through Kunti. Kunti was their maternal aunt.

The Pandava princes arrived in Hastinapur after successfully completing their victory tour. They presented themselves before the king Dhritarashtra with the wealth they brought from their foreign tours. This was an unexpected blow to Duryodhana and his uncle Shakuni. Duryodhana was deliberately emptying the treasury of Hastinapur to give monetary difficulties to Yudhishtar. He was trying to buy popularity by giving alms to the needy. Yet, the common people supported the eldest of the Pandavas in becoming the crown prince.

Now the four main architects planning for the fall of the Pandava princes were Duryodhana, his younger brother Dushasana, his trusted friend Karna and his ever cunning maternal uncle Shakuni. They met in Duryodhana’s chambers to plot against their arch rivals, the Pandava princes. They came up with the plan to kill the Pandavas. It was Shakuni who played the main role in bringing it into practical reality.

The plan was as following. Every year king Dhritarashtra paid a visit to a place called Varnavat to participate in a festival where people got a chance to meet their king and express their thoughts and feelings. This particular time Shakuni asked Duryodhana to request his father, the old kind Dhritarashtra to send Yudhishtar to Varnavat to pay homage and perform worship at the Shiva temple. Shakuni planned to call a man named Purochan to build a house of wax in Varnavat. It would be given to the Pandavas for their stay in Varnavat. The idea was to burn them alive during their stay. This was the master plan.

The work on the house of wax was completed. Purochan came to inform them of the same to Duryodhana and others. They were happy and asked him to rest in the guest house.

All this transpired before the Pandavas arrived in Hastinapur from their victory tour. In the assembled court of Hastinapur the Pandavas displayed the wealth they gained during their tour. After the words of praise and blessings were over, Dhritarashtra asked Dharmaraja to go to Varnavat to participate in the Shiva puja. This would enable him to meet and greet the people from close quarters, he added.

First, it was only Dharmaraja who was supposed to go to Varnavat. But later on the brothers decided on not to let him go alone. They suspected that there would be some foul play against him. So they came to the conclusion that all of them including their mother Kunti would go to Varnavat and have some fun together. Duryodhana was all politeness and affection for his cousins and their mother. Inside his heart and mind, he was jubilant because his uncle Shakuni’s plot to kill them was going to be a success and he would no more have rivals to compete for the position of the highest command in Hastinapur.

Man proposes and God disposes is a saying that came true with regard to the above destructive plan adopted by Duryodhana and his henchmen. Vidura, their uncle got the wind of the plot hatched by the four men, Duryodhana, Shakuni, Karna and Dushasana. Karna was however, not in favor of this plan. He, like a true warrior wanted a straight war and not evil feuds like the above. Whether he liked it or not he had to be a part of this circle of evil minds because he pledged unconditional support and loyalty to Duryodhana. Some people are born unlucky and none can change their destiny.

Duryodhan had given orders to Purochan to light the wax house in which Pandavas were staying with their mother on a moonless, dark night. This news reached Vidura through one of his trusted spies. But Vidura was already in the knowledge of the fact that the house in which Pandavas were asked to stay was made of wax, oil and other things that catch fire with ease. He suspected some foul play on the part of Duryodhana. Therefore, he appointed a man to dig a secret tunnel from the main room of the wax house. On completion, the tunnel would lead the Pandavas and their mother Kunti through the forest to some remote hamlet within the orbit of Hastinapur. now, with the news brought by his spy, Vidura knew of the exact day on which the wax house would be burnt. So, he had sent word to the laborer working on the tunnel to complete the work a day before that. That same night was fixed for the Pandavas to leave the wax house and escape through the tunnel to a far away destination.

Of the Pandavas, the second prince Bhima was extremely angry at Duryodhan for planning their downfall in the most villainous way. All of them were angry and shocked at the way their murder was planned.
When the tunnel was finished, the laborer came up and told the princes about the completion of the tunnel. It was done well before the appointed hour of escape thanks to his incessant, sincere and devoted work. He asked the princes to cover up the face of the tunnel. Soon after his departure, Arjuna and Bhima covered it with a carpet. They came to know that the wax house was surrounded by the spies of Duryodhana who were bribed by him. Their loyalties were switched from the welfare of Hastinapur to their selfish ends of becoming rich.
Finally, the day of the fire had arrived. In the thick of the night a line of soldiers with torches in their hands walked