Only Krishna saves - Pandava Bandho

    Krishna keeps saving the Pandavas repeatedly. We saw in Only Krishna saves – so many saves in a day, how Krishna pulled out the Pandavas from certain death at least four times in a single day. We have seen throughout the different episodes of Only Krishna saves series that Krishna is the Pandava Bandho. This grace is not limited only to the Pandavas, but also manifests in our daily lives. Being not cognizant, we fail to realize this wondrous occurrence. If we train our minds to realize this subtlety, our awe for this divine force, that is constantly guiding us towards our spiritual growth, increases. We turn our attention to one of the smallest Parvas in the Mahabharata – Stri Parva. We find the following series of incidents that happen in a short span of time that gives the powerful hand of Krishna that keeps protecting Dharma, even when least expected.

Storytime:

            The Mahabharata war wiped out eighteen akshauhinis. There was grief in both camps – Pandavas and Kauravas. There was no victor as loss and misery overwhelmed everywhere. Dhritarashtra was in a state of deep sorrow with strong traces of guilt. He remembered how Krishna pleaded for only five villages to restore peace. Bhishma, Drona, Vidura, Vyasa and many sages advised the path of peace, which he had ignored due to his arrogance that was fueled by extreme selfishness. His mind was clouded by dreams of son’s victory due to his attachment. When the delusion was replaced with the reality of extreme destruction all around, the shock was unbearable. Dhritarashtra found solace in the words of Vidura. Later he met the only three surviving warriors on his side, who shared the brave deeds of his army. Eventually Aswattama returned to Vyasa’s ashrama, Kritavarma back to Dwaraka and Kripa returned to Hastinapura along with Dhritarashtra.

Saving Bhima: Having obtained the intelligence of Dhritarashtra’s presence in Hastinapura, Yudhishtra proceeded to meet him, along with his brothers, Krishna, Yuyudhana (Satyaki) and Yuyutsu. They were followed by Draupadi and all the bereaving women. They beheld the women from Hastinapura, who in their deep sorrow raised questions to Yudhishtra, if his heart is now calm after the deaths of Bhishma, Drona and the thousands of warriors. They questioned what was the use of such a victory and throne.

    Yudhishtra went and fell at his uncle’s feet. A reluctant Dhritarashtra embraced him and spoke few words of comfort. But his heart was seething in rage, as he eagerly sought out Bhima, the war hero who had hunted each of his hundred sons in a sea of army and killed them. Krishna understood the darkness in the ruler’s heart and dragged Bhima away, who was about to step in. Instead, Krishna presented the iron statue of similar features, which was typically used by Duryodhana for training his mace. Seizing both the arms of the statue, the grief fueled by extreme wrath, Dhritarashtra, who was endowed with extreme strength, reduced it to pieces. In the process, the crumbling statue hurt his chest and began to vomit blood and fell down. Sanjaya lifted him up and began to comfort him. Regaining composure, Dhritarashtra’s guilty mind came back to composure and lament the demise of Bhima. Krishna intervened and informed him of the truth and how his used the contrivance to snatch Bhima from the jaws of certain death. Krishna pleaded Dhritarashtra to accept the reality.

    Krishna reminded that Dhritarashtra must learn to introspect and respect the guidance given by Mahatmas. Dhritarashtra apologized that his parental attachment had made him lose his righteousness. He thanked Krishna for saving Bhima and went on to embrace all the other Pandavas.

Gandhari’s rage: Being a great tapasvini, the greatest danger came from Gandhari, who was in grave distress. Her mind was completely in deep sorrow which threatened to explode as a volcanic outrage. As her mind was rooted in dharma, this expression as rage would have disastrous consequences. The arrival of the Pandavas was accentuating this grave possibility. There were three waves of threats that emanated from Gandhari. Vyasa, who is also celebrated as Narayana’s avatara understood the dark possibilities. He made his sudden appearance there. A Rishi is always intent on the greater benefit of all creatures. As the thoughts were welling up to express in the form of a curse from Gandhari, Vyasa interjected and pleaded Gandhari not to utter a curse, though she might feel justified. He reminded her to re-purpose her thoughts on forgiveness. Vyasa reminded that how Gandhari’s mind was deep-rooted in Dharma that even Duryodhana seeking victory as a blessing was always responded with “Let victory be where Dharma is”, by Gandhari. Vyasa reminded that a powerful tapasvini like her can never utter words in vain.

    Vyasa reminded that the Pandavas were able to come out of this dreaded war only by taking shelter under Dharma. Being an ardent practitioner of Dharma and who expressed it proactively through forgiveness, Gandhari must subdue her anger and restore dharmic thoughts. Vyasa’s timely intervention (another form of the same Narayana) proved very effective in quelling the rage. With a balanced mind, Gandhari realized that her role was no different than Kunti, when it came to the Pandavas in protecting them. She recollected that the Kaurava side succumbed to arrogance and pride and there was no fault on the Pandavas.

Gandhari’s resentment: As Gandhari recalled the deaths of her sons at the hands of Bhima, her thoughts centered on Bhima’s action around the death of Duryodhana. The trembling Bhima acknowledged that Duryodhana was invincible in battle. Yet he used unrighteous means to dethrone Yudhishtra, which had to be countered by any means. He openly sought her forgiveness for violating the rules of the war, which he pointed out was done out of fear of his own life. He reminded of all the hostilities Duryodhana had unleashed. He sought justice for the horrible abuse of Draupadi and how the Pandavas patiently suffered, only due to the dharma minded Yudhishtra. Even though they finished the terms of the game, devoid of wrath, they were still denied justice.

    Gandhari’s mind was accepting the honest utterance of Bhima about her son’s invincibility in a fair mace fight. But her mind raced to the fact when Vrishasena, Karna’s son, on day seventeen summarily defeated Nakula and shortly thereafter Bhima attacked Duhshasana and killed him. Having done that he quaffed the blood (though according to his earlier pledge). Gandhari asked when it was his own brother, how could such a ghastly act be tenable. Bhima reported that he merely passed the blood against his lips to keep up his kshatriya vow. The words uttered when Draupadi was abused must be held per Kshatra dharma. Also the morale of the Pandava army was sagging with Vrishasena’s victory of Nakula. To restore the balance and focus to his side, he had to do a terrible deed to restore hopes. Shortly thereafter, Arjuna killed Vrishasena even though within the protective grasp of Karna as Arjuna wanted to give the taste of the bitter situation caused by Abhimanyu’s death.

    Gandhari lamented why Bhima had to kill all her hundred sons and leave the blind couple hopeless. Their deaths also seem to be tainted with adharmic means (though her mind did not realize it was mere karmaphala). Her mind was unable to digest that not one son survived Bhima’s vow.

Yudhishtra in Gandhari’s crosshair: As her mind began to accept the reality and the responses of Bhima who was equally rooted in Dharma, she inquired about Yudhishtra. The trembling King with folded hands and soft voice filled with deep sorrow came forward and addressed her. He acknowledged that he alone was responsible for this universal destruction and was certainly qualified for her curse. Yudhishtra was still overwhelmed at the carnage, yet was afraid of Gandhari’s words. Perceptive of Yudhishtra’s mind, Gandhari uttered nothing and her response were mere long sighs. The Dharma centered Gandhari, who always wore a eyefold, gazed through the folds of the cloth and her gaze fell upon Yudhishtra’s toes. As Yudhishtra was about to fall at her feet, she gazed the tip of his toe and the nails became sore. Seeing this frightening scenario, the trembling Arjuna hid behind Krishna. As the wave of anger crossed the heart of Gandhari, she began to affectionately look at the Pandavas with motherly love.

    Kunti saw her children after a long time, now expressed her love as tears, seeing not only the deaths caused due to the war, but also the wounds on the Pandavas bodies. She embraced each one and finally broke down as she hugged Draupadi, who also had lost everything from her father, brothers and sons. Gandhari stepped in to comfort Draupadi by reminding that they shared a similar plight and that they need to hold on to dharma and courage. She lamented that was the price of ignoring Vidura and Krishna’s pleas for peace; the end result was only complete destruction.

Gandhari curses Krishna: Blessed by Vyasa, Gandhari was able to get a vision to Kurukshetra and witness the carnage. She was able to see the thousands of scattered bodies and the wild animals feasting on the flesh. Then at Vyasa’s comand, Dhritarashtra, Yudhishtra followed by the women and rest visited the battlefield. The horrific scene of thousands of dead warriors appeared more gruesome with the feasting jackals, vultures, dogs, raven and other animals. Gandhari repeatedly addressed Krishna as her mind was moved deeply at the sight of different warrior’s body. Seeing multiple generations dead in the battlefield evoked intense pain in the heart of Gandhari. Though others were deeply distressed, it was she who could address her thoughts repeatedly to Krishna.

    As she came near each dead son or grandson, her lamentations grew louder as she recalled the good times she had with them. As her emotions were cresting with each son, seeing other dead warriors, she lamented how such strong men have failed in the mission to protect her children. The battlefield was not fair to anyone and it swallowed everyone’s lives. Recalling the bravery and the might of each warrior like Bhishma, Drona, Karna and numerous others on her side, it seemed like an impossible feat that only the Pandavas came out of this firestorm unscathed. The grief blinded Gandhari’s senses and it morphed into wrath. She felt increasingly convinced in her heart that it was entirely Krishna’s fault.

    She burst her emotions vociferously at Krishna. She knew when Krishna returned to Upaplavya after his desperate attempt to make peace that complete destruction was imminent. Vyasa and Vidura advised her to cease her affections towards her sons, as they were a lost cause. Deprived of her senses, Gandhari fell to the ground only to rise up with renewed anger against Krishna. As her mind weighed on the complete destruction, she could only fault Keshava. She realized if Krishna wanted he could have given up the indifference and prevented this absolute annihilation. She invoked her Pativrata and her taposadhana shakti to curse Krishna. After thirty six years, she cursed that Krishna will be indifferent and watch the self destruction of his kinsmen, sons and relatives. The women of his clan will be reduced to the same pitiable state as the Bharatas. Krishna with a faint smile acknowledged that the Vrishnis are unbeatable even at the hands of Devas or manavas and only he alone had to power to destroy them. Therefore they will fall at each others’ hands. The calm statement of Krishna left the Pandavas stupefied and hopeless. Krishna reminded Gandhari of the evil actions of Duryodhana, which were ignored due to the parental attachment. He reminded that by grieving for the lost and dead, one only compounds the misery and makes it two-fold. Though Gandhari’s heart was agitated, she remained silent even as Yudhishtra and Dhritarashtra proceeded with the funeral of the fallen warriors.

Practical applications:

Be perceptive/alert: Krishna repeatedly demonstrates the importance of being alert and perceptive to the surroundings. He was quick to spot the dark thoughts emanating in Dhritarashtra regarding Bhima. He quickly substituted the iron statue instead of Bhima, which was reduced to pieces, owing to Dhritarashtra’s tremendous strength and anger. Vyasa demonstrated a similar ability, being an avatara of Narayana. When Gandhari was buried in grief and it began emanating as a curse, he appeared there in time to protect the Pandavas.Earlier in Only Krishna saves – so many saves in a day we saw the same pattern when Krishna quickly ended his Hastinapura visit to console Dhritarashtra and Gandhari as he sensed Aswattama’s evil plans. Being alert and sensitive to others help us to anticipate other’s actions or reactions better. The adage “forewarned is forearmed” is very apt in this context. It also helps us to empathize with others and help us have better relationships.

Be fair at all times: Gandhari when appealed by Vyasa to not get carried away with her anger and to curse the Pandavas, pauses and lets her anger be diluted against Bhima in the form of few questions. Bhima who was fair even though he did terrible deeds during the war, was able to point out that he never violated Dharma. Acknowledging Duryodhana’s superiority calmed her agitated mind. His act of touching his lips with Dushshasana’s blood had to be explained in detail and that was possible only because Krishna warned Bhima not to accidentally sip the asuric blood. Listening to Krishna and being fair though he had to fulfil a terrible vow, saved him from Gandhari’s curse. It is imperative to slow down a tad and let our Buddhi and Dharma guide our actions, rather than an emotion driven mind.

Anger and spirituality correlation: A normal person blinded by anger may wreck himself or those immediately around in rage. The post realization of actions done in anger is always guilt and shame. Dhritarashtra pointed his anger towards Bhima and crushed the iron statue without realizing the switch. But a Sadhu or Tapasvi who normally keeps their senses under their control, when provoked, it is very difficult to bear such an anger. That is why we see Yudhishtra fear her words so much that he sent Krishna as an emissary to inform about the events of the war and pacify her. Despite this, mere sight of Bhima invokes her rage. Bhima’s timely humility, hiding his blunt bravado form, calmed Gandhari, whose seething anger burnt the toes of Yudhistra though she did not intend to hurt him. It finally crested again, when seeing complete destruction of the Kuru vamsha owing to Krishna’s indifference. Spiritual person’s anger is far more powerful than a physical expression of anger with mere body, mind or intellect.

Divine protection in many forms: Krishna ensures his constant proactive presence with the Pandavas to ensure their wellbeing. We also see numerous times when Vyasa appears suddenly to change the direction of the discourse or offer his advice. Bhagawan also constantly remains in our life not as mere witness, but also as a guide. Only a Saatvic buddhi can tap into this wisdom. We see Gandhari was successfully able to, even though she was on the verge of verbalizing a curse. Our Sattva guna is the bridge to this divinity, hence the importance given to make it predominant by replacing the rajas and tamas.

Forgiveness: We analyzed this in great depth in Forgiveness – one of Mahabharata’s central themes.

Best way to break emotional (anger) cycle: There are two levels to breaking this emotional cycle. The one that concerns majority of us will involve elevating our mind that is mired with a singular idea of its (modified) desire with buddhi. If the emotions have not overwhelmed us, this may work. But once a person is on the threshold of breaking the norms, if a person is habituated to abiding in dharma, just like Vyasa’s advice was pointed, the dharmic person may be receptive. Yet a deeply dharmic person like Gandhari when facing grief that rages as wrath, she points it towards Krishna. Having a personal connection with Bhagawan ensures that anyone can have this safety release mechanism.

    Dharma is repeatedly seen as the sole savior of the Pandavas. Dharma cemented Krishna’s permanent presence with the Pandavas. Dharma also gave the courage to Draupadi, Kunti, Gandhari and the rest to overcome the indescribable grief. Dharma alone gave the strength to Bhima to face Gandhari’s pointed questions. Dharma is the sole refuge for the Jivas to overcome their basal vasanas. Dharma alone uplifts our emotional mind to Bhagawan’s lotus feet. Let us commit to understanding, following, upholding and protecting Dharma at all times and at all costs. May Bhagawan keep our Buddhi rooted in Dharma.

ॐ तत् सत