Why did Duryodhana put the clause of incognito stay in the Pandavas’ exile?
Answer Podcast
Transcript
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Hare Krishna. Why did Durvadhana want the Pandavas to hide incognito in the last year of their exile? Whereas, in a similar exile of Ram, there was no clause of incognito exile.
Answer? The situations are different. Durvadhana wanted to permanently grab power from the Kauravas and not only grab power from the Kauravas, he also wanted to humiliate the Kauravas and he wanted to have them poverty stricken, dispossessed, dishonored, humiliated forever. So, the last year of incognito exile was a wily clause that he put in there in the sentence by which he felt almost sure that people who were as celebrated as the Pandavas, it would be almost impossible for them to stay incognito.
And he was sure that if the Pandavas tried to stay also, he would find them stay incognito. He would find them and by finding them during that incognito stay phase, the clause was such that if they were found, they never again have to go for exile for 12 years with one more year of incognito stay after that. So, he felt that by using this clause of incognito stay and then making sure that he found the Pandavas during their incognito stay, he would be able to perpetually keep them in exile and perpetually and lifelong enjoy the kingdom that was theirs.
So, actually also when in the 13th year, the Pandavas went into incognito exile, he sent hundreds and thousands of spies all over to find out where the Pandavas were, but they could not find. So, the incognito exile clause was a very wily clause to perpetually hold on to the power to make a 13 year exile into a lifelong exile. Now, in the case of the Ramayana, this was not the intention.
Mantara, she poisoned Kaikeyi’s ears and she wanted that Kaikeyi’s son Bharata should become the king. But there was no animosity between Bharata and Ram, the way there was between Duryodhana and the Pandavas, or the Kauravas and Pandavas in general. And Mantara wanted that Ram be out of the kingdom for 14 years because she felt in 14 years, Bharata would rule with virtue and by ruling with virtue, Bharata would win over the courtiers, the citizens and then even if Ram came back, by popular support, Bharata could continue to be the king.
So, there was no envy of Ram specifically, there was just the desire for Bharata to be made into the king. So, that’s why there was no need to have Ram perpetually exiled and that’s why there was no need for an incognito exile clause in the exile sentence that was given to Ram. Thank you.
Hare Krishna.