Mahabharata characters 62 Duryodhana 1 The humiliator is humiliated

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 character series. We are now going to discuss about Duryodhana.
Duryodhana is the main antagonist, the main villain of the Mahabharata. Now, he has a sense of endowment right from his birth which engenders a sense of envy later. He is born in royalty and lives amidst affluence right from his birth and childhood.
And because Pandu has gone out and Pandu has also got been cursed that he will not be able to unite his wife. So he is not expected to have any children. And therefore, Duryodhana expects that he will be the king.
And then the Pandavas are born and Pandu dies and then the Pandavas come along with Kunti. And naturally, he starts feeling insecure, jealous. Now as far as virtues are concerned, the Pandavas defeat him hands down.
And as far as strength is concerned, Bhima defeats him hands down. So he feels upstaged by the turn of events. Now, as far as age is concerned, Duryodhana is born slightly later than Yudhishthira.
And that is why he, if next generation somebody is to become the king, it is Yudhishthira who will become the king. So he feels extremely envious and he, in order to try to somehow find the way to maintain his claim to the kingdom, he believes that the Pandavas birth is not authorized. He usually refers to the Pandavas as Kaunteya, sons of Kunti and Kaunteya because he refers to their birth through the gods.
And that way, he tries to cast aspersion on the authenticity of their being actually in the Kuru dynasty. Now, of course, this is just sore grapes are complained because the Nyoga was authorized practice. And in fact, Yudhishthira himself had been born by Nyoga.
And that Nyoga had not even been sanctioned by the husband. Nyoga means a wife uniting with some other respectable man for the purpose of continuing the dynasty. So now, Ambika and Ambalika, their husband Uchitraveerya had already died.
So that Nyoga was sanctioned by their mother Satyavati, mother-in-law. In the case of Pandu, he himself had sanctioned the Nyoga. So there is no question of actually doubting its authenticity or casting aspersions on it.
But somehow Duryodhana tried to do that and maintain his claim when the Pandavas became, especially Yudhishthira became extremely popular. And then at that time, it became clear that Yudhishthira would become the next king. And when he was appointed like this at that, he was appointed almost unofficially.
But it is almost like accepted by everyone that he would become the next king. So his envy became too much. And then he coupled with Shakuni.
And Shakuni, now he started giving him evil schemes. So now interestingly, is it that Shakuni perverted Duryodhana? Not exactly, because even before Shakuni came into playing an active role, it was Duryodhana himself who came up with the idea of poisoning Bhima. So later on, of course, the idea of sending them to Varanavarta and having them get burnt over there, that was hatched by Shakuni.
And Duryodhana gleefully accepted it. In fact, he would often fraud Shakuni to come up with schemes by which the Pandavas would succeed. The Pandavas would perish and he would succeed.
Now because he was the eldest, he also, his other brothers followed him. And he had 99 assistants out of which the Shastras was the most prominent, who were almost at his beck and call. Now, if we look at Duryodhana’s life, it is always centered on the negative, what one doesn’t have.
And the characteristic of envy is that one can never be satisfied, because always one is comparing with what one does not have. So now, when the plan to get the full kingdom failed, because the Pandavas survived, and then they won Draupadi and came back, then half the kingdom was given. At that time, he could have stayed satisfied, or he could have improved his half of the kingdom.
But he did not do anything. He just tried to rest on his laurels. And the Pandavas worked hard, and they turned Indraprastha, Khandaprastha to Indraprastha, got the Mayasabha, and did the Rajasuya.
And Duryodhana went there, and at that time, his envy became intolerable, when he saw the magnitude of the opulence of the Rajasuya sacrifice, the gift which had been given to him, and the extraordinariness of the Mayasabha. And what inflamed him further was that he himself fell prey to the maya of the Mayasabha. We know he slipped and fell in water, where it seemed to be like surface, but it turned out to be water.
He slipped and fell over there. And another place, he was walking along, and he thought it’s an open door, but actually it was a wall. And he walked in, and his head banged against the wall, and his head was spinning.
And the twins came there, and they said, okay, the door is this way. So now the Pandavas, they meant no malice. But when malice is one’s own heart, one sees malice immediately elsewhere.
So the Pandavas, whatever they did, and even Draupadi, what they did was playful. But here it became, because he had malice towards them, he assumed malice was there in their heart. And that’s why they are laughing at me.
And when he was going back at that time, he was clearly despondent. And Shakuni noticing it, enquired, and Duryodhana speaks the eternal predicament of an envious person. He said, how can a person who sees the prosperity of his enemy ever be happy? He says, how can I live, see how prosperous they are? And at that time, Shakuni decided that this was a right opportunity, and he reported his condition to Dhritarashtra.
And then Dhritarashtra was always weak minded. Duryodhana and Shakuni manipulated him and got them to come for the gambling match. And we discussed in detail how during the gambling match, Duryodhana was at his devilish worst.
And then after that, even when Duryodhana had got the Pandavas out of the forest, exiled them, impoverished them, humiliated them, still he was not satisfied. And he thought that let me flaunt my wealth before them. And we have discussed this story earlier.
But we’ll focus on Duryodhana’s mentality and his fate over here primarily. So he went with Karna, Shakuni, and his brothers and his queens and palace ladies to flaunt his wealth before them. But the Gandharvas were sent by Indra and they foiled Duryodhana’s plan.
They defeated him and arrested him. And Duryodhana was utterly humiliated. Actually, he had been left alone, Karna and Dushyasana, and everyone had fled seeing the power of the Gandharvas.
And thereafter, when Duryodhana was arrested, it was Bhima and Arjuna who came and defeated the Gandharvas and rescued Duryodhana. And thereafter, Yudhishthira, in a parental mode, he said, O child, do not be rash like this. Although Yudhishthira was told by the Gandharvas the intention with which Duryodhana had come there, still Yudhishthira remained forgiving.
But this was unbearable to Duryodhana. And when Duryodhana was released, he was bound in front of his own women, right in front of whom he had tried to flaunt his wealth. He had been dishonored in front of them.
Now, out of his Kshatriya pride, he told Arjuna, you have done me a favor. In the future, I will do some favor for you. And then he stiffly departed from there.
And the remaining troops had regrouped and they sat in their camp. Duryodhana was dejected completely, totally devastated. He felt as if this was a fate worse than death.
And he was lost in his thought. He looked around and he just couldn’t see any blackness, seeing his humiliation. And finally, at sunrise, Duryodhana came over there, Karna came over there.
And Karna said, Karna had fled because he had been severely wounded. And when he came back, knowing the close friendship of Karna and Duryodhana, nobody else told Karna about what transpired. So when Karna came and he saw Duryodhana sitting in his royal tent, so he said, oh Duryodhana, it’s amazing that you have defeated the Gandharvas, that you live and you are successful.
I was so mortally wounded that I had to leave the battlefield. But this feat that you have accomplished is unparalleled. I heard praising Duryodhana.
Duryodhana’s wounds inflamed further, not the physical wounds which were there, but the mental wounds which were even more painful. Those wounds inflamed further. And he stood looking down.
He said to Karna that, oh Karna, I am not angry with you because you do not know what has happened. And then he narrated the events. And he says, the Gandharvas defeated and imprisoned us.
And he told the whole story. Karna was aghast like Duryodhana. And then when Duryodhana finished speaking, his gloom increased.
And finally he said to Karna that, please go and fetch Dushasan. And Dushasan came over there. Karna said that, I who have been the glory of my friends and the terror of my enemies, I have been so terribly humiliated.
Now I have become the disgrace of my friends and I have become joy to my enemies. Those whom I had come to humiliate, I have been released by them, by their mercy. Death would have been preferable to such an ignominy.
Indeed, if I go back to the Kuru kingdom, what face will I show to Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, Ashwathama and others? He says, I cannot go back. Arrogant people like me always come to such terrible ends. So he turned to Dushasan and he said, oh Dushasan, you go and rule the world on my behalf.
I am going to sit here and pass to death. I will give up my body. I cannot live after having endured such a humiliation.
Oh brother, you are worthy of being the king. So go and rule. And just as Indra leads the celestials, lead the Kurus.
And both Karna and Dushasan were shocked to hear the words of Duryodhana. And Duryodhana, not paying any heed to their shock, he took off his royal robes, dressed himself in rags and sat down in a yogic posture to practice the prayavrata, that is a religious fast by giving up food and water till one dies. So now, when sometimes when it is done, when a person is weak and sick, and person wants to leave this world for religious merit, that’s different.
But here, what Duryodhana was doing was because of humiliation. It was almost like suicide. It was for all practical purposes, he was attempting suicide.
So now, Dushasan was shocked. Dushasan said that, oh king, oh brother, I cannot live without you. Just as Dushasan was also devoted to Duryodhana.
So he said, the sun may become cold, the earth may crack apart, the oceans may die, the sky may fall, but I cannot rule the world without you. There is no question of this. Please give up this determination and come with me.
Duryodhana did not pay any attention. Karna said, oh Duryodhana, the Pandavas are your subjects and it is the duty of the subjects to serve their king. So they have not done anything special.
They have simply done their duty as their subjects to you. Why do you get so, why are you so disturbed by this? Now, often people can interpret the reality whichever way they want to suit their purposes. This was what Karna was doing over here.
And then he further said that actually, the fortunes in war are always unpredictable. Sometimes one may win and sometimes one may lose despite being skilled and powerful. So one who gets too much carried up and down by the ups and downs of wars, such a person cannot be a steady and glorious warrior.
Shake aside this defeat and rise. Duryodhana paid no heed to his words. At that time Shakuni came over there.
And when Kripa, when Karna and Dushasan told Shakuni about his words, so about Duryodhana’s plan, Shakuni smirked and he said, oh Duryodhana, it is clear that you have never waited upon your elders nor have you done much virtue. Actually, Duryodhana prided himself on having done virtue, although his virtue was done primarily for the show, not because he was devoted to dharma, but because he wanted to have the reputation of being devoted to dharma. So now this, Shakuni was cunning, he wanted to goad Duryodhana.
And he said, otherwise you would not give in to such a show of emotion. So Shakuni continued and he said that just as if a pot after being made is not fired, is not heated properly, and when water is put into it, then all the water leaks out and the pot gets ruined and the water gets wasted. Similarly, since the person is not self-controlled, the emotions that come in, the emotions dissipate the way that person completely.
So he said, you must practice self-control, do not give in to such weak emotions. And now Shakuni started thinking and Duryodhana paid no attention. And he said further that, oh Duryodhana, no, you do not have to be afraid that you will feel foolish.
Shakuni realized that Duryodhana was feeling mortified and he decided to address that changing strategy. He said that, now is the time for you to act like a king. He says, go back to the Pandavas and be charitable and give them their half of the kingdom back.
That way, rather than they having done a favor to you, you will appear magnanimous and you will have done a favor to them. And when you do a favor to them thus, you will gain fame and virtue by it. Shakuni knew from the beginning that the Kauravas, Duryodhana, Karna and others were no match to the Pandavas, as far as military strength was concerned.
Therefore, he had recommended deceit. But now he felt that the time had come to an emergency with Duryodhana having taken this unexpected and dangerous vow, so self-destructively dangerous vow. So he said that, if the Pandavas cannot be overpowered even when, he thought like this, the Pandavas cannot be overpowered even when they are in the forest, then better that we cease hostility and we learn to live calmly and live peacefully.
So he thought this was a good opportunity. Be charitable to them and then now you can live peacefully. So Duryodhana paid no attention as if he had not heard anything.
When the three, when his three allies realized that he was not going to pay any attention, they turned and left. Dushyas, they were all dejected and Shakuni was agitated. Shakuni was elder to Duryodhana and he felt that Duryodhana was disobeying him.
And Duryodhana sat in meditation and another part of the universe, the Daityas and Danavas, they by their mystic powers realized what had happened. Now in the Mahabharata, the war is not just between Kauravas and Pandavas, it is between the higher celestial beings and the lower beings. When the lower beings are celestial in the sense that they are also more powerful than the earthly residents.
So both had, it is an eternal war that goes on between good and evil in this world and the evil try to usurp the forces of good. So the earth often gets caught in the crossfire between the good and the evil. So in order to take control of the earth, the evil Daityas and Danavas had penetrated on the earth through the wombs of earthly kings.
And similarly, the Devatas had also penetrated to counter their influence. So these Daityas and Danavas, Duryodhana was their representative on earth. He was going to be their instrument there for fulfilling their vicious schemes.
And seeing Duryodhana fasting like this, they became alarmed. The chanted mantras from the Atharva Veda and from the Upanishads and a strange effulgent goddess appeared from the fire in which they had been, they had been doing sacrifice in which they had been propitiating. And this goddess said, what shall I do for you? And being pleased, the head of the Daityas said that, Duryodhana is fasting on the earth.
Bring him here. And so be it, she said. And she left.
And immediately she went to the earth and then she took Duryodhana in a subtle body. His physical form remained over there, but his subtle body was transported. And he was brought in front of these Danavas.
And when Duryodhana soft sensed himself being taken out of his body, he was amazed to see what is happening. And then he was brought in the presence of these Danavas. They were all powerful, ferocious looking beings.
And they told him, why are you engaging in this suicidal course? Suicide is always sinful and it will take you to hell. You are meant to attain glory. Seeing that Duryodhana was not going to be, was not affected by this scriptural advice, the Danava started giving him more practical encouragement.
He says, you are born to be the king of the world. You are no ordinary person. We perform austerities to have you penetrate the earth.
You are the result of the, of a special blessing by Lord Shiva, Duryodhana. He says, we are going to empower you and you are going to rule the world by our grace. And he said, soon after this, there is going to be a war.
And actually the Pandavas, they are all going to die. And for dying, for their killing, we have made plans. He said, eventually when a great war will take place, at that time, we and our representatives will enter into the bodies of the warriors on your side.
And so Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, Ashwathama, they will all, because of being possessed by us, give up all morality and fight demoniacally, killing even those who are not meant to be killed, like children and old people. Actually, these people, they were never killed. Ashwathama, of course, killed sleeping people.
But here, the Dhanvas are basically saying, whatever is required to invoke, to revoke Duryodhana s determination to be killed and to trigger his determination to live and strive to keep the kingdom. So, as Duryodhana continued hearing, he said that, he said that actually that Arjuna is going to be killed by Karna. Karna is actually the soul of the demon Naraka who was killed by Vishnu.
In order to take revenge, he has appeared over here and he will kill Arjuna, his nemesis from previous life. And knowing this, Surya will try to, Indra will try to deprive Karna of his armour and his earrings. Now, even if that happens, if that happens and that renders Karna mortal, still, we have also sent many of our most powerful Rakshasas as warriors in the Samshipataka dynasty.
And if Karna doesn’t succeed in killing Arjuna, then these warriors will kill him. And you, king, have a body like thunderbolt and you will also pound and crush your enemies. You are meant to be the king of the world.
Do not give in to grief like this. As Duryodhana pondered their words, Dhanavas brought him close and they embraced him. And now, seeing that Duryodhana had become affected by their words and decided to change his mind, give up his determination to destroy his body by fasting, they told him to go back.
Go back and by our help, you will become the ruler of the world. These words, they handed him over to that strange goddess who was a carrier and she took him back. And Duryodhana felt himself mystically transported back into his body.
He looked around and quite some time had passed and Karna had come back again. Duryodhana was just looking around dazed. Was it all a dream? Was it all a hallucination? Was it real? He said he felt that no, whatever it was, it is something which is quite extraordinary.
Surely, Dhanavas are going to help me to win the war. Then surely I will be able to win. Dhanavas’ words will not go false.
Now, here those who are devoted have faith in the words of God and the saintly, the godly. But those who are demoniac have faith in the words of the demoniac. So he said, yes, they have promised it.
It will surely happen. And as Karna came and Karna said, O king, give up the determination to fast. You are meant to be the scourge of your enemies.
Rise and take the glory that is yours. I promise you that eventually when the war takes place, I will kill the Pandavas. Now, these words which Karna spoke reinforced Duryodhana’s conviction that, oh, the Daitis and Dhanavas are going to help me and surely I will be able to win the war.
And to the pleasant surprise of Dushyasana and Karna, Duryodhana said, so be it. And he got up, giving up his determination to fast. And at this point, they both became cheerful and they went back to the kingdom.
So as they were going back, Duryodhana decided that this was such a mysterious event, he decided not to share it with anyone. But he decided to act on their plans. If there was going to be a war, it was going to be helped.
But he would not stay passive. He would also work to gain help. And he started making allies from that time itself.
So because he was already in power and because he tried making allies from a long time, so that is how by the time the war was finalized, he had 11 Akshahunis, whereas the Pandavas had only 7 Akshahunis. So here, Duryodhana, the Mahabharata describes, shows the extraterrestrial nature of its storyline. And especially the battle that is happening, that is not just something which is between two earthly kingdoms.
They are there, but they are the primary setting. There are much bigger things happening, much bigger forces involved. And Duryodhana, of course, thought, I did not think that he was simply a puppet in the hands.
He thought that I am the doer and I will get the glory. And what I want to do, these Daityas will help me in it. And this way he made his resolve to fight once again.
Now, after that, as he started forming alliances, he also tried his best in 13th year to detect the Pandavas during the Argyathwas. But he could not. And that is why he has the scheme that maybe they are in Virat, because Kichak has been killed and that killing of reducing the victim to a pulp seems to be the handiwork of Bhima.
And that is why he made the strategy. We have discussed this whole story. And that time, eventually, when Arjuna came up, he strongly felt that the Pandavas have not completed the one year exile.
And that is why they have to go back again. Bhishma opposed and refuted him. But using this as an excuse that the Pandavas have not completed the Argyathwas.
When the messenger came from Drupada seeking peace and asking the Pandavas to return the kingdom, Duryodhana refused. And then Duryodhana tried to get the assistance of Krishna also. He got Krishna and Narayana and he felt quite satisfied.
That is the mentality of the demoniac. They think that if we have God’s resources, that is what matters. God’s resources are far more important than God.
We do not need God because what does God do? Things in this world, they are what matter. And this decisive blunder which he made, actually the life was a sequence of blunders, but this was in one sense the fatal blunder. Rather than choosing Krishna, we chose Krishna’s energy and that would eventually turn out to be the cause of his destruction.
How that unfolded, we will discuss in our next session. Thank you.