Originally posted by: Sabhayata
Sir
the bold i didnt understand that part .Why would pandavas try to save the Nishadas wasn't it their plan to kill them in the first place?From what i understand in CE is that Yudhishtir says we need to leave six bodies here and then kunti plans this huge feast in which the Nishada come and they become drunk and after which they fall asleep when pandavas burn lakshagarah.So its not like pandvas choose not to save them it was more like a plan.Please let me know if there is something wrong in my understanding of this incident
Regarding Yudhishtir personally i would say that the above act i don't hold against him he did what he thought was the best way to save his family and i understand that it was a very human act .Actually personally what i feel is that people generally view yudhishtir as a saint who was always too good and too forgiving .Yes he was forgiving but he was not always saintly he was very very human at times and at least for me it makes his character interesting.There are many incidents where he didnt behave like a complete saint his ambitions are reflected
1)Lakshgarah incident has already been discussed even before the incident how he explains to Bhima what they need to do shows his political astuteness
2)Then his disappointment towards his mother when he comes to know she sent Bhima to Baksura to save a family.He doesn't approve of this act because he knows how important Bhima is if he wants to win back his kingdom
3)Again he shows his intelligence when he realized that all brother's are attracted to Draupadi and it may cause a problem for them in future hence they should all marry her
4)In vana parva when he admits that he continued to play in order to rob Duryodhan of HP
5)His message to Indradev regarding Karna after which Indra dev goes to ask Karna for his Kavach Kundal daan which again shows his strategic mind he very well realized that karna could be a roadblock in his victory
6)The when he intelligently asks Bhishma and rest of the elder's a way to defeat them via asking for a blessing right before the war
7)The again when he appoints shalya to demotivate Karna .An example of psychological warfare in dwapar yug
i feel other than krishna ji the only pandav who uses his mind the most in formulating strategies for their victory was Yudhishtir so all his above actions i do understand even appreciate but my issue with Yudhishtir's characterization comes when people view him more as boring character who was very saintly and could never think ill of others which isn't true .He was neither boring nor a saint and even he has many interesting layers to him.or example yes he was definitely ambitious and wanted to be king but he also knew when to control his ambition .He never wanted so much of destruction hence the peace proposal.
But since the general opinion of him is that of a saintly person which yes he was to some extend but then his very human actions often get ignored or swept under the rug which atleast for me is the most interesting thing about him
As for your first point, regarding possible pre-planning of the Nishadas' death, there again is some scope for variant interpretation of the text. The verses following the one of Yudhishthira's talk with his brothers (cited by me in the earlier post), tell us: 'Thereafter, by way of (supposed?) charity, Kunti offered food at night to some Brahmins. In that event, many other guests (including women) came. After finishing their food and drinks, and after having seen round the
jatugrha, they took leave of their hostess. But one Nishada woman with her five sons had come, as if sent along by their Time/death (
kaalacoditaa), and after gorging themselves to the full and drinking profusely to a state of utter inebriation, they sank into a death-like sleep in one corner of that house.' Now reasonably, one could perhaps give Kunti and the Pandavas the benefit of doubt here that the coming, gorging and drinking by the Nishada family was a fortuitous development, aided (like many other Mb developments) by their destiny. As for the second point, I entirely agree that Y was no 'saint'. He was only too human, with his share of human failings -- his feet of clay. But he had this exceptional 'negative capability' (refer Keats) of being led by his 'uncertainties' to learn, introspect, repent and improve. His appellation as 'Dharmaraja' is more in the sense of the exemplar/upholder of customs and traditions, which, being valued by the savants of the contemporaneous society, were hailed as correct conduct. As regards your other points in seriatim:
1) Yes, the
jatugrha escape bears testimony to Y's intelligence (or 'shrewdness', as you call it).
2) In the Ekachakraa (Bakaasura) discussion with Kunti, Y raises some valid doubts: whether it is right for a mother to risk a son's life, and whether it is prudent of Kunti to expose Bheema to the great risk, given his importance as the most powerful protector of the Pandavas and their cause of reclaiming the kingdom. It is to be noted that after Kunti gave her reasons (regarding the family's higher duty to help the woebegone Brahmin), Y indicated his whole-hearted assent. To Yudhishthira, his mother was
mahaaguru, and he never disobeyed her wise counsel.
3) Yes, sustaining the fraternal bonds would have been there in Y's mind, apart from a deep-seated resolve to respect the maternal injunction.
4) In the Vana-Parva, in reply to Bheema's words, Yudhishthira tells him: 'The reason I gladly accepted Duryodhana's challenge to dice was that I had the confidence to win his kingdom. But then, I encountered the clever chicanery of Shakuni who, playing as Duryodhana's representative, used his loaded magic dice to defeat me.' To my mind, a Kshatriya of the time felt honour-bound to accept a call to dice and then to play with the aim to win.
5) As regards the 'Kavacha-kundala' episode, I somehow do not recollect any message from Yudhishthira to Indra to steal Karna's in-born armour. The reference I find In the Vana-Parva is of the sage Lomasha informing Y of an assurance by Indra on Yudhishthira's 'great fear' of Karna -- a fear which Yudhishthira 'does not reveal to anyone'. Do correct me if there is any direct request from Y to Indra.
6) & 7) Yes, these stratagems (as also the half-lie to Drona) do not behove Yudhishthira. But then he had this schizophrenic change in mentality during the war, which perhaps can only be explained by his objective as a war-leader to win. But these surely added to the burden of his post-war guilt. He mourned and mourned thereafter, and as Christ said in his Sermon on the Mount: 'Blessed are they who mourn'.
Edited by abhijitbasu - 11 years ago
