Yudhisthira vs Duryodhana: The Legitimacy of the Claim to Throne - Page 6

Surabhi, I agree with you! I always wondered why Duryodhan, even after winning Indraprastha and exiling the Pandavas for 13 years, was still not satisfied. He hated that people still supported them. He wanted both the kingdom and the support/love of his praja, but the people of Indraprastha were very pro-Pandavas and the people of Hastinapur were divided after seeing his treatment of Draupadi in the dice game, so he still wasn't satisfied.

If being a King was truly what Duryodhan wanted, he'd have worked hard for 13 years to develop Hastinapur and earn a good name for himself, but instead he spent it chasing the Pandavas, trying to attack them, getting humiliated in turn, and in the end, he never truly became King because he got killed in the war for his green and sins.

Yudhisthira was given a barren land for his kingdom, Khandavaprastha, and with his brothers' help he developed it and created a beautiful flourishing kingdom. Duryodhan was given an already flourishing kingdom but even with the help of 99 brothers did nothing to progress it.

That in itself proves the merit of both as King.

Originally posted by: RamKiSeeta

@FlauntPessimism,

We can go round and round discussing why Duryodhan was not eligible or why Yudi was, so I'm going to stop that discussion now, lol as we both made all our points.

But regarding Bharat being made Yuvraj, VR mentions that he was made Yuvraj only because Rama had no progeny yet. Once Luv Kush were born, they were referred to as the heirs of Ayodhya. If Bharat was still yuvraj, his sons would have been made King of Ayodhya after Rama, but Rama found different kingdoms for them.

Ramayan was more clear cut regarding inheritance laws. The eldest brother always inherited (hence why even Bharat refused the throne) regardless of merit (remember King Sagar's story and his sadistic son Asamanjas). The only time younger brother would inherit was if eldest brother did not have children. That is why Manthara tells Kaikeyi that if Bharat isn't made King, his children will never be made King and Kaikeyi's bloodline will cease to exist after her. Once Luv Kush were born, they were the yuvraj of Ayodhya and thus Kosala was divided in half since as twins, both had equal right over the kingdom.

Only the Kuru Vansh had such vague/subjective laws regarding inheritance. The war may never have happened if they were more clear cut lol.

I had said the same they left many loopholes and confusions so this entire confusion happened

About Ramayana might be then.

Although they say that Lahore and Kushpur(both in Pakistan) are the land Luv n Kush ruled

Aside they might have ascended because Bharath hi left earth along with Ramji

P.S. had eldest kid ascending the throne been law then Vashishth muni wouldn't have let Dashrath hi agree to Kaikeyiji's demand.

Her wishes could only be fulfilled because the king had the power to appoint his Yuvraj and not necessarily the eldest son

@Surabhi

As far as Yudhishtir is concerned I am not denying that he became a great king and he should have been made the Yuvraj since the beginning as I said had that not been the case Krishna ji would not have supported him

My only point was that the claim of Duryodhan could not simply rejected because he had his points in support of his claim and logical ones

At least till the Mahabharata war both had exhibited some stupidity and some effectivenes

Duryodhan does not have any logical point to claim at thrones

First just because is son of eldest brother it doesn't not make him eldest

Being eldest decided by time of birth

Though Gandhi become pregnant before kunti but duryodhan was born after yudhistar born

Like if suppose a woman is convinced with two fetus at same time

But who is eldest between between twins it is always decide by time of birth between twins not by time of concieve

So here though gandhari concieve before yudhistar born but

Concieve time does not determine who is eldest it is always time of birth between children decide who is eldest

Rest another for not duryodhan not becoming king we have discussed

Originally posted by: surabhi01

Duryodhan does not have any logical point to claim at thrones

First just because is son of eldest brother it doesn't not make him eldest

Being eldest decided by time of birth

Though Gandhi become pregnant before kunti but duryodhan was born after yudhistar born

Like if suppose a woman is convinced with two fetus at same time

But who is eldest between between twins it is always decide by time of birth between twins not by time of concieve

So here though gandhari concieve before yudhistar born but

Concieve time does not determine who is eldest it is always time of birth between children decide who is eldest

Rest another for not duryodhan not becoming king we have discussed

In case of twins both the kids are conceived at the same time so definitely the one born early is elder.

But here that isn't the case

Secondly as I said Kuru vansh had no law of eldest son becoming the king

Rest I have also detailed why Duryodhan did have his claim. You might find these points illogical but someone else might find Yudhishtir's claim illogical.

Duryodhan allowing nar bhakshi ( man eater) to eat human .innocent people would have never be at safe if duryodhan like prince become king

In king dom where man eater are friend of duryodhan then save kingdom from duryodhan like prince

Originally posted by: FlauntPessimism

Will respond to it in a while. The answer is a long one

Yeah please do :)

Originally posted by: AnkitaPurka66

Enjoyed all the points made here.

I also strongly think that it was not as one-sided as most people believe.

Duryodhana did have a strong claim to the throne.

Just to add one point, about the Vajra body thing, this was later addition.

In the original version, Duryodhana was simply better than Bhima in mace fighting and hence Bhima had to adopt unfair means ( hit him on the thighs) to win. Duryodhana did not have iron body or Gandhari any special power.

This folklore was probably added in later to justify the unfair killing.

It's 1 am almost. I will check tomorrow the KMG source. I am pretty sure that Vajra story is not there.

Alright, but then why was the "thigh" the point that led to his downfall? I mean unless the rest of the body is different, why is the thigh so special?

Originally posted by: FlauntPessimism

I had said the same they left many loopholes and confusions so this entire confusion happened

About Ramayana might be then.

Although they say that Lahore and Kushpur(both in Pakistan) are the land Luv n Kush ruled

Aside they might have ascended because Bharath hi left earth along with Ramji

P.S. had eldest kid ascending the throne been law then Vashishth muni wouldn't have let Dashrath hi agree to Kaikeyiji's demand.

Her wishes could only be fulfilled because the king had the power to appoint his Yuvraj and not necessarily the eldest son

Kosala was a huge kingdom. Luv ruled Uttar Kosala (which included present day pakistan) whereas Kush ruled Dakshin Kosala (which included Ayodhya among other cities). As the elder, Kush got the capital city of Kosala.

Eldest child being King was the law, but there were exceptions, especially when it came to boons given by the King. Still, the law was there and that is why Bharat argued with his mother that she could not use her boon to exile the eldest son when he had not committed any crime. Bharat did not agree with his mother's boons and rejected them. As for Vasishta muni, even he counseled Kaikeyi that her boons would bring about misery and death. He did not agree with the boons, but in the end of the day, he was the minister, not the King. Dashrath had ultimate power to overcome the law, BUT it came with consequences, as the people of Ayodhya did not support Bharat being King either. Even Dashrath agreed unhappily.

The law of eldest son was definitely a lot stricter in Treta yuga. Kaikeyi received a lot of backlash for wanting Bharat to be King, not only from the family but also from the praja. In the Kuru vansh, her request may not have mattered all that much.

Originally posted by: CaptainSpark

Yeah please do :)

Have done.

Please check