From the above list, I consider it a tie b/w Bheeshma, Karna & Draupadi. I'd add the Pandavas to the list as well.
Aside from the 36 years that they ruled Indraprastha (not Hastinapur), they never found happiness in their lives. All the time, there were either plots against them, or they were in exile, 1 year of disguise and then the war.
And the war - even some of their close ones, like Shalya, who was to fight on their side, got tricked into switching sides. And they lost everybody who fought for them - it was such a pyrrhic victory that Yudisthir was in no mood to accept the crown after the war. None of their sons survived, Uttara's pregnancy was in danger. In the 36 years that they ruled Hastinapur, their wives were miserable, having lost all their sons. The Pandavas too - they had lost all their allies - Drupada, Virata, Dhrishtaketu, Sahadev of Magadha, and so on. So I'd bunch the Pandavas along w/ Draupadi in all this, except Yudisthir, who subjected them to that lifelong torture 😡
I'd bunch the Pandava womenfolk as well - Draupadi, Subhadra, Karenamati, et al. Uttara too, for the reasons above. Had Virata not given her in marriage just then, she could have found a living husband after the war.
Karna too - the mistake was his mothers, but all the suffering that ensued as a result was his, not hers. Actually, he lived a largely luxurious life, but all the curses that he endured was partly self inflicted - due to his obsession w/ Arjun, who he should have just ignored, but also due to Kunti. She should have been thrown in the dungeons after the war.
I wouldn't say Bheeshma, since his misery was largely self-inflicted as a result of making impulsive boons. Gandhari too - it was her decision to blindfold herself to be more compatible w/ her husband, rather than take responsibility for raising her sons.
Edited by .Vrish. - 11 years ago
