Actually Balram was never pro Pandavas. Yes in Udyog Parva he did support their cause, but that seems more because he was sitting in their allies group and couldn't have said something completely reverse of the public sentiment there. Yet he too was in the anti war group (so were Yudhishtir n Nakul. Bheem/Arjun were mostly like whatever you decide), but Balram actually highlights that Yudhishtir had staked all, (implying that it wasn't completely their fault)
Unlike how we know today or how TV Serials show, Duryodhan wasn't out and out bad, it's just that being the loser, his bad qualities got over exposed and good qualities got hidden. He respected others, his elders, Brahmins and was a doting brother. As we can see in VanParava after Gowsha Yatra, when he decides to commit suicide, he proposes to hand over his kingship to Dusshashan (and not to Lakshman who certainly wouldn't have been a kid by then) and if you read the advice he gives to Dushy, it's only on how to respect his elders, how to be prompt for Brahmin support/pension, how to keep himself at last and citizens in foremost, how to be ready to even give his life for his friends n allies etc. Vyas himself states that he was a great king and citizens loved him(something which BRC turned into him spending on the citizens like fool)
Extrapolating this, he might have been a very dedicated and devoted student to Balram which made him fond of Duryodhan. Aside I do think Dury was a better mace fighter than Bheem. But his fondness actually became blind support that he didn't even try to chides Dury for the crimes of highest order that he committed including Murder of his cousins and of DyutSabha. He was actually even angry at Bheem for killing Dury by hitting below the belt
Strangely the only time he opposed Duryodhan openly was when Duryodhan was right. During the Samb instance. I don't know but this makes me feel he had some strange fascination for the molesters
Yes Balram was never shown to be eager for Dury Subhadra marriage. That narrative is introduced by TV serials to give some justification for Krishna's advice of abduction to Arjun. I respect Krishnaji the most and like Arjun, but Subhadra Haran has absolutely no excuse. I mean Arjun could still be excused, because men back then abducted girls, but a brother promoting, staging the abduction of his sister is completely unacceptable even by the standards of that era
After Mahabharata, most of the kingdoms had decimated and were only fraction of their pre war honour, it's only Yadavs who were still filled with glories and riches. Samb couldn't have dared to disrespect sages (just like Jarasangh or Duryodhan never did) otherwise. They had a feeling of invincibility, like no one could even bat an eye on them..
Andhaks issues with Vrishnis is something even I don't understand. They just were against them, you might be right they could have had some loyalty to Kansa. I think Krishna married Charumati with Bali just to reduce this distrust, but unfortunately even this alliance didn't help much.
Rest I agree Arjun did the best he could by distributing their areas
Edited by FlauntPessimism - 3 years agoThis is the chapter that SB seemingly didn't cover. And it's obvious why: the fact that they were totally muddled as to the chronological sequence would have become clear, since all this happened during the house of lac, which in the serial took place way before the Syamantaka gem events.
The ACK Syamantaka Gem had it that Satyajit had actually promised Satyabhama's hand to any one of these 3 - Akrura, Kritavarma and Satadhanva. So when he turned on them and offered her hand to Krishna instead, they didn't like it, and when Krishna and Balarama were away, they plotted. Satadhandva was given the job of stealing the jewel, and murdered Satyajit in the process. Satyabhama then fled to Hastinapur to get Krishna to get her father justice, while Satadhanva was refused help by either Kritavarma or Akrura. He then left the jewel w/ Akrura and fled, and when Krishna killed him, he didn't find it, and ultimately got it from Akrura, but told Akrura to keep it, and just give him its gold.
I'm not sure how much faith I put in ACK version of stories. They tended to dramatize certain events to make it more interesting for children.
Akrura being a devotee of Krishna wasn't made up by the show. It's actually from one of the popular texts. I feel like his character is sort of blackened in MB, but he actually is hailed as one of Krishna's greatest devotees, comparable to Uddhav, and he was also his political ally. Akrura played a great role in the Yadhavas eventually overthrowing Kamsa. He was the one who kept their faith alive during Kamsa's rule, and prevented them from being swayed by him.
The Lord, accompanied by Akrūra and Balarāma, drove the chariot with great speed towards the bank of the Yamunā. Simply by taking a bath in the Yamunā, anyone can diminish the reaction of his sinful activities. Both Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma took Their baths in the river and washed Their faces. After drinking the transparent crystal clear water of the Yamunā, They took Their seats again on the chariot. The chariot was standing underneath the shade of big trees, and both brothers sat down there. Akrūra then took Their permission to also take bath in the Yamunā. According to Vedic ritual, after taking bath in the river, one should stand at least half submerged and murmur the Gāyatrī mantra. While he was standing in the river, Akrūra suddenly saw both Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa within the water. He was surprised to see Them there because he was confident that They were sitting on the chariot. Confused, he immediately came out of the water and went to see where the boys were, and he was very surprised to see that They were sitting on the chariot as before. When he saw Them on the chariot, he began to wonder whether he saw Them in the water. He therefore went back to the river. This time he saw not only Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa there, but many of the demigods and all the Siddhas, Cāraṇas, and Gandharvas. They were all standing before the Lord, who was lying down. He also saw the Śeṣa Nāga with thousands of hoods. Lord Śeṣa Nāga was covered with bluish garments, and His necks were all white. The white necks of Śeṣa Nāga appeared exactly like snowcapped mountains. On the curved lap of Śeṣa Nāga, Akrūra saw Kṛṣṇa sitting very soberly, with four hands. His eyes were like the reddish petals of the lotus flower.
46 Akrura saw Balarama turned into Sesa Naga and Krishna turned into Maha Visnu in the water of the Yamuna River.
In other words, after returning, Akrūra saw Balarāma turned into Śeṣa Nāga and Kṛṣṇa turned into Mahā-Viṣṇu. He saw the fourhanded Supreme Personality of Godhead, smiling very beautifully. He was very pleasing to all and was looking towards everyone. He appeared beautiful with His raised nose, broad forehead, spread-up ears and reddish lips. His arms, reaching to the knees, were very strongly built. His shoulders were high, His chest very broad and shaped like the conchshell. His navel was very deep, and His abdomen was marked with three lines. His waist was broad and big, resembling the hips of a woman, and His thighs resembled the trunks of elephants. The other parts of His legs, the joints and lower extremities, were all very beautiful, the nails of His feet were dazzling, and His toes were as beautiful as the petals of the lotus flower. His helmet was decorated with very valuable jewels. There was a nice belt around the waist, and He wore a sacred thread across His broad chest. Bangles were on His hands and armlets on the upper portion of His arms. He wore bells on His ankles. He possessed dazzling beauty, and His palms were like the lotus flower. He was still more beautiful with different emblems of the Viṣṇu-mūrti, the conchshell, club, disc and lotus flower, which He held in His four hands. His chest was marked with the particular signs of Viṣṇu, and He wore fresh flower garlands. All in all, He was very beautiful to look at. Akrūra also saw His Lordship surrounded by intimate associates like the four Kumāras, Sanaka, Sanātana, Sananda and Sanatkumāra, and other associates like Sunanda and Nanda, as well as demigods like Brahmā and Lord Śiva. The nine great learned sages were there, and devotees like Prahlāda and Nārada were engaged in offering prayers to the Lord with clean hearts and pure words. After seeing the transcendental Personality of Godhead, Akrūra immediately became overwhelmed with great devotion, and all over his body there was transcendental shivering. Although for the moment he was bewildered, he retained his clear consciousness and bowed down his head before the Lord. With folded hands and faltering voice, he began to offer prayers to the Lord.
Edited by RamKiSeeta - 3 years agoAs for the Andhakas, they and the Vrishnis always butted heads, even before Kamsa. That's why the marriage of Devaki and Vasudev was proposed. The Yadava elders hoped that marrying two individuals from both factions would bring some peace between them, and while during Krishna's lifetime he made all efforts to maintain some semblance of peace, it all came apart towards the end of his life.
I'm not sure how much faith I put in ACK version of stories. They tended to dramatize certain events to make it more interesting for children.
That's fine, but the citation I gave from SB clearly described the murder of Satyajit, and there, Akrura and Kritavarma instigated Satadhandva to steal the jewel for himself. They may not have wanted it to got as far as the murder of Satyajit, but like Sherlock Holmes once noted, when a man embarks on a crime, he's morally responsible for any secondary crimes that may arise. It's also why Satyaki tossed that charge against Kritavarma in Mausala parva.
As for the Andhakas, they and the Vrishnis always butted heads, even before Kamsa. That's why the marriage of Devaki and Vasudev was proposed. The Yadava elders hoped that marrying two individuals from both factions would bring some peace between them, and while during Krishna's lifetime he made all efforts to maintain some semblance of peace, it all came apart towards the end of his life.
I don't see how that marriage could have saved the relationship b/w the Vrishnis and Andhakas, since it put the Vrishnis a step above the Andhakas. After Kansa's death, Ugrasena probably ruled just as long as they were all in Mathura, but once in Dwarka, power shifted to Krishna, and Ugrasena was just the figurehead.
Maybe Charumati was given to Kritavarma's son to try and tilt the balance the other way, but let's face it: Kritavarma's descendants were never gonna be the leader of all Yadavas the way Krishna was.
Akrura being a devotee of Krishna wasn't made up by the show. It's actually from one of the popular texts. I feel like his character is sort of blackened in MB, but he actually is hailed as one of Krishna's greatest devotees, comparable to Uddhav, and he was also his political ally. Akrura played a great role in the Yadhavas eventually overthrowing Kamsa. He was the one who kept their faith alive during Kamsa's rule, and prevented them from being swayed by him.
The texts that I cited about Akrura being in the plot to rob Satyajit was in Srimad Bhagvatam, not in the Mahabharat. The only times Akrura - referred to as Bubru - is mentioned in the MB is in Mausala Parva. The Yadavas had mostly been massacred, he was one of the only survivors and Krishna was giving him instructions on what to tell Arjun after going to Hastinapur. But then one of the flying pestles/maces hit Akrura on the head, killing him, so Krishna had to send Daruka instead.
Akrura is also indirectly referenced by Krishna when he's about to kill Sishupala: one of Sishupala's crimes was that he raped a bride of Akrura shortly after her wedding.
