Mahabharata Characters 24 – Yudhisthira 02 – The world’s king glorifies the supreme king

This talk is a part of the “Fascinating Mahabharata Characters” series. To know more about this course, please visit: bhakticourses.com

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Welcome back to the Mahabharata Characters series.
We are discussing about Yudhisthira Maharaj and his desire to perform the Rajasuya Yajna. So, when Yudhisthira Maharaj desired in this way, he decided to consult Krishna and Narada Muni acting as a transcendental messenger went to Dwarka. At that time, in Dwarka, messengers had come from the kings who had been imprisoned by Jarasandha and they had asked for help in being released.
We will discuss this pastime of Jarasandha in detail when we talk about Bhima. But here, at that same time, Narada Muni brought the news that Yudhisthira Maharaj was considering performing Rajasuya Yajna. So, Krishna thought about it and taking advice from Uddhava, who said that you can kill two birds with one arrow.
If we can overpower Jarasandha, then the kings will also be released and Yudhisthira Maharaj’s Rajasuya Yajna will also be facilitated because he will have to kill Jarasandha, overpower and kill him. So, then Lord Krishna went there and then they made a plan because Jarasandha had such tremendous army. So, rather than having a conflict between the armies, which would result in huge amount of bloodshed, he could be challenged for a single conflict.
But as Krishna described his plan and Yudhisthira Maharaj heard about the formidable prowess of Jarasandha, Yudhisthira Maharaj became apprehensive and he said, O Krishna, I will forsake the desire to perform the Rajasuya Yajna. I cannot risk you or any of the Pandavas for the sake of some sacrifice. Let us forget this Yajna.
So, when Bhima and Arjuna heard this, they said, O king, these are not the words of a Kshatriya. A Kshatriya has to fight and establish dharma and do good to the world. We will definitely go.
And then they went and they defeated and came back. Then after, Jarasandha was a major obstacle. Along with that, the other kings also had to be overpowered.
So, Yudhisthira Maharaj was so virtuous and although his four brothers were also extremely powerful, still he was their undisputed leader and that was not just because he was the eldest. Yes, he was the eldest, but he was also so mature, so virtuous, so kind, so considerate, so selfless in many ways. So, they all desired to serve him and they decided to go in four different directions.
So, Arjuna went towards the north, Bhima went towards the east, Sahadeva went towards the south and Nakula went towards the west. And they all fought on behalf of their brother. So, when Arjuna went to the north, he fought with Bhagadatta, a very powerful king who had a mighty elephant and who would play a major role in the Mahabharata war.
Then he defeated him and then he went to Shishupala also over there. And Shishupala, although he was envious of Krishna, he respected the Kurus as powerful and virtuous kings. And what do you have in your mind? When he told about Arjuna’s sacrifice that Yudhishthira Mahajan was ready to perform, then he said, I will come and offer tributes.
And then he went right up to the northern regions and whoever opposed him, he defeated them. He went up to the Himalayas towards the celestial regions. And there, even those, so the Himalayas are at one level connected in a mystical sense to the higher regions of the cosmos.
Just as in physics, there is a concept of space-time wormholes by which people can jump space-time and go from one part of the universe to a very distant part of the universe through a small hole. Like if the earth is round, then one has to go from one part to the other part, one has to go round the earth, but a worm can burrow through the earth and go. So, like that, in science, in physics also, there is the idea that there are ways which are not similar to the ordinary ways of travel, which involve cutting through spaces.
So, places which are very far away can be very close to each other because of certain peculiarities of space-time. So, like that, in a somewhat similar sense, there are certain areas of the earth which are connected mystically with certain areas of the heavens. So, Himalayas there on the earth and Himalayas there on the heaven also.
And those who go to the Himalayas here, they can, if they have the appropriate virtue, rise from this heaven to the higher heaven, from this Himalayas to the higher Himalayas, which are in the heavenly regions. And there are heavenly inhabitants who reside over there. And when Arjuna went right up to them and the guards over there said that, Arjuna, you cannot come over here because this is not the abode of the humans.
So, Arjuna, when he told them that about his servant Yudhishthira wanting to perform the duty of collecting tributes for him, they said that, yes, we will happily give tributes. We know that you brothers are great servants of the Supreme Lord and we will give tributes and we will also come for the sacrifice. This way, Arjuna returned victoriously, spreading the glories of Yudhishthira all the way in the north.
Bhima went towards the east and he fought with many kings. Drupada welcomed him, Panchalas. And then the Matsyas fought.
Although they had no enmity, but they were Kshatriyas and they fought with him. And then there was the Angadesh, which is ruled by Karna. Karna put up a fierce fight, but Bhima overpowered him.
And in this way, overpowering many different kings, Bhima also brought glory for his eldest brother. Defeating everyone else, he came back ready with the eastern direction conquered. So, they went towards the south and in the south, there was the kingdom of the Vanaras.
There was Mahinda and Dvividha who were there. And these were from Ramlila, who are still here. And they were the rulers and they were not ready.
So, Sahadev fought with them and Sahadev overpowered them. Extremely powerful warrior Sahadev. Nakul and Sahadev often are somewhat in the shadows of their more famous elder brother, three elder brothers, Yudhishthira, Arjuna and Bhima.
But they were also extraordinary warriors in their own right. And here, Sahadev went around and he conquered one full direction. And as he went further south, there was a king who was protected.
The king of Mahishmati was protected by Agnadev because Agnadev was his Ishtadev. So, he had a beautiful daughter and Agnadev had become attracted to the daughter. When they had married, at that time, Agnadev had said, I will always protect the kingdom of my father-in-law.
And when Sahadev went there, he found that suddenly, his whole army was as if on fire and they just could not do anything. They were fighting and they had almost overpowered the enemy. But suddenly, there was fire everywhere and they couldn’t do anything.
And then, Sahadev knowing that this was the result of Agnadev, he offered his prayers to Agnadev. Oh great God, please, Yudhishthira Maharaj is virtuous. Do not obstruct his sacrifice.
Please assist us so that we can do this act of dharma and virtue. Please bless us. Please do not destroy or impede Yudhishthira Maharaj’s great virtuous activity.
So, here also, all of them were conscious that we are not conquering for our own glory. It is for Yudhishthira’s glory. So, the fact that Yudhishthira Maharaj could attract the devotion, the dedication, the respect of all his brothers who were themselves illustrious people, extraordinarily so, that speaks volumes to the glory of Yudhishthira.
And when Agnadev heard this, he immediately appeared and the fire disappeared. And he told the king of Mahishmati, please offer tributes to Yudhishthira. And in this way, Sahadev conquered.
Southern direction also. Nakula went in the west. And there are many tribes and many kingdoms who opposed.
But Nakula was victorious. And in this way, Yudhishthira Maharaj’s glory was spread in all the directions. And then all of them came back.
Then the time for Rajasthi sacrifice was ready. So, Yudhishthira Maharaj also sent the message to Hastinapur. Now, he was the ruler of Indraprastha.
And Dhritarashtra had also blessed because after all, this was the Kuru lineage going on. And the Kuru empire was being solidified. And it was the Kuru king who was going to be glorified.
So, he was happy. And Bhishma, Drona, all the elders came there. They were overjoyed to see the huge festivities that were ready for the Rajasthi sacrifice.
Vyasadev himself was going to be the chief officiating officer, chief priest. And rishis like Ghaumya, Paila and many other rishis, very great souls, were going to be right with Vyasadev working under him. Ghaumya had become the priest of the Pandavas when they had been in exile.
At that time, not exactly in exile, they had been in forest. They had not officially been exiled, but they were hiding. And just before they won the hand of Draupadi, they had an encounter with Gandharva, Angarparan.
We will discuss about him when we talk about Arjuna. So, when he was departing, he said that those who are blessed by a Brahmin priest’s counsel, they will always be successful. So, seek a Brahmin priest.
And as the Pandavas were going, they came to know that the great rishi Ghaumya was in the vicinity. So, they went and offered obeisances to him. At this time, it was not known that they were Kshatriyas.
Although they were dressed like Brahmanas, still they requested Ghaumya rishi, please become our priest. And Ghaumya rishi, he saw that they were having the marks of devotion to Vishnu. And Vishnu was his ishtadevata also.
And he happily consented, seeing their disposition and their power and their cultured carriage and behavior. So, Ghaumya rishi had been by their side since then. And he worked diligently under Vyasate.
All the arrangements were made. And all the elders who had come, they all were eager to assist in the sacrifice. So, the overall management of the sacrifice was divided among Bhishma and Drona.
And Krishna chose the humble post of washing the feet of all the Brahmins who would come. Actually, thousands and thousands of Brahmin would come and Yudhishthira Maharaj would give huge amounts of charity. Many kings had come and palaces had been constructed for their residents.
And Ashwatthama took care of the overall hospitality of the Brahmins attending to them. So, Duryodhana was made in charge of receiving the gifts. Vidura was overall in charge of the treasury.
And Dushyasana was made in charge of serving the food. And in this way, both the branches of the Kuru dynasty and several generations of the Kuru dynasty all cooperated in performing this glorious sacrifice. Yudhishthira was the pride of the whole Kuru dynasty.
And as the sacrifice progressed towards its last date, there was a massive festival spread over several days. As it came towards the last day, Yudhishthira Maharaj took the bath with Draupadi. So, Draupadi’s hair were beautifully decorated, sanctified.
And then they were bathed, the abhishek was performed with the sanctified water, as was the abhishek of Yudhishthira Maharaj. And they were coronated the king. He was coronated as the emperor.
And then the brahmins extracted the juice from the soma tree. And they said, this will be distributed to the important personalities, beginning with the most important person. As they were all discussing, Yudhishthira, who would be that person? Oh king, you decide this.
Yudhishthira turned and he asked Bhishma. There are the devatas, Shiva, Indra, Brahma, all of them are present. Actually, this is such an extraordinary rare sacrifice that not only is it rare for the kings on the earth, it is rare, it is so rare that even the devatas come to be a part of it.
So, when they came in this way, they were all there and Bhishma said, yes, they are all the great gods, but it is Krishna who is the highest and he should be declared as the agra purush, recipient of the agra puja. So, Yudhishthira was delighted and Sahadev seconded it and Sahadev, on behalf of everyone, announced it. And everybody cheered except for Shishupal.
And Shishupal got angry and he started blaspheming. He said, we thought that Yudhishthira was virtuous and that’s why we came to offer tributes. But he is so foolish that he is offering the agra puja to a person whose varna is not known, a person who is a coward, ran away from Mathura when Jarasandh came to attack and who has taken refuge in the ocean.
Actually, both these acts were acts of glory. Krishna had defeated Jarasandh many, many times and his building a palace on Sah, almost in the ocean, was an extraordinary act. It was an act of extraordinary architecture and formidable protection which had been provided by that.
But Shishupal twisted it around and he went on a litany of blasphemy for Krishna. And then when Bhishma defended Krishna, then he started blaspheming Bhishma also. And he said, you people call you very virtuous and glorious because you have taken a vow of celibacy.
Actually, you are impotent. And that’s why to hide that, you took a vow of celibacy. Bhima, when he heard that grievous insult being heard, let his grandsire, he blazed up to destroy Shishupal.
And Bhishma touched his head and said, calm down. As long as Keshava wants, he will roar. Then he will finish him.
Yudhishthira Maharaj became anxious. Shishupal had taken unsheathed his sword and there were several other kings who were there with him. And now, if blood is spilled during the sacrifice, then the sacrifice becomes null and void.
It becomes ineffectual. And Yudhishthira said, oh, let this sacrifice not be spoiled. Shishupal is becoming more and more insane, uttering blasphemies.
And Krishna had blessed Shishupal’s mother. And Krishna spoke about his blessing. When he was born, he was born with extra hands and extra head.
He had four hands and extra heads. So, it was told that then whoever would be the cause of his death, when that person would take him on his lap, the extra hands and head would fall off. And then I came to their palace and I took him, his head fell off.
So, at that time, his mother became frantic and she begged to me, please do not kill him. So, knowing that it was the will of destiny, she then begged, please spare him, spare him. So, I told her that if he does not blaspheme me for hundred times, I’ll spare him.
Today, the count of hundred has passed. Shishupal would always blaspheme Krishna, but he would check himself. Today, he was so carried away in anger.
The nature of envy is such that one cannot tolerate the glory of others. And therefore, he surpassed the count of hundred. And then he forgot to count, but Krishna was counting.
Krishna sent his Sudarshan Chakra and cut off the head. And Shishupal fell dead. It was a bloodless amputation.
And the other kings who were supporting him slunk away in fear, not wanting to be dying similarly. And finally, after things had calmed down, the sacrifice was completed. And Krishna was celebrated as the Agra Purush.
With tears coming from his eyes, he said, O Krishna, all this has been performed for Your glorification alone. You are our Lord. You are our master.
You are the master of all the worlds and we are Your servants. It is You whom we want to glorify and whatever glory has come to us, it is ultimately meant for You. So, in this world, people do not directly understand the glory of Krishna.
That’s why the devotees want to glorify Krishna in wonderful ways and do things which are extraordinary, very, very difficult to do. And by doing that, and people see those things being done and when they understand, these are done for the Supreme Lord and by that the Lord’s glory is established. So, in the Vedic tradition, the kings would often take religious pride in building magnificent temples for the Lord.
Often the temples would be bigger than the temples, bigger than their own palaces. The idea is, everybody knows the king is a big person, but bigger than the king is the king of all kings, the Supreme Lord. So, when people see a huge palace of a king and then they see the giant temple and they understand, okay, the person residing here is so big, but the person residing here, how big this must be.
So, like that, the glory of the Lord for people who are materially conscious, who are not spiritually adept to understand the glory, to communicate the glory to them, the Lord has to be glorified at the material level also. So, Yudhishthira Maharaj, in this way, he set the world in the path of dharma, not only by bringing about dharmic administration all over the world, but by establishing the supreme glory of Krishna. And tears came up from his eyes and Krishna, seeing the devotion of Yudhishthira, he said, O king, you have truly and rightly been crowned as the emperor and I am forever your servant.
In age, Yudhishthira is elder to Krishna. So, Krishna always played a somewhat subordinate role. We would respectfully refer to him as the king.
Arjuna and Krishna are more or less equal in age and they are equal friends. Of course, nobody is equal to the Supreme Lord. Krishna is asamoordhva.
But he would deal with people according to their designation, according to the way they were related with him in his leela. So, then as Yudhishthira went to Vyasadeva and he offered his gratitude, offered his obeisances and sought his blessings, Vyasadeva’s grave. He said, O, the sacrifice is glorious.
Great is the merit that you have attained by this sacrifice. Still, after 13 years, there will be a war and in that war, the Kshatriyas of the world will be destroyed and that war will be fought to establish you as the king of the world. And as they spoke these words and left, Yudhishthira became extremely grave.
He thought deeply and he took a pledge. He did not want any destruction to happen and he said, Now, I take a vow henceforth to avoid all possible causes for conflict and war. He said, often conflicts are caused because of harsh words.
So, I will not speak harsh words. And you see that in the gambling match, although he had reasons to become angry, he did not speak harsh words. And he said, often conflicts are caused by partiality.
So, he said, I will see my own sons and the sons of others equally. He said, wars are caused by disobedience. He said, I will always obey my elders and in this way, I will endeavour the best to avoid war.
Little did Yudhishthira know that this very vow which he had taken in all good intention to obey his elders would become the cause of his undoing and Dhritharashtra would serve him for a fateful and disastrous gambling match. How that unfolded, we will discuss in our next session. Thank you.
Hare Krishna.