Duryodhan
cancer of Kuru-kula
Duryodhan – He was in it to win !!
War or game of dice. He was in it to
win !!
He wanted to win at any cost - ANY COST - because he was in it to
win !!
But hatred is its own poison. He was so consumed by it, he could not think of anything other than how to humiliate or deprive Pandavas of anything they had. Even if he had something equally good or better, he had to have whatever the Pandavas had. Even when Pandavas were reduced to penury, he wanted to hurt them by showing off his wealth during Ghosh Yatra. It seems very childish, yet, don't see that even now in some people around us?
Duryodhan had the advantage over Pandavas in that his own father was the incumbent king of Hastinapur. Unlike the Pandavas, his father could extend to him the use of entire machinery of the state to achieve his aims. It was because Dhrutarastra was on the throne, that Krupacharya, Drona and Bhishma fought on Duryodhan’s side as well as the vast army of the Kuru kingdom.
He was also fortunate enough to have 99 brothers who gave
him blind allegiance.
He also had friends like Karna, Ashwasthama
and Jayadratha who worked hard to please him.
He was so desperate to rid himself of the
Pandavas, he was willing to sink to any depth to achieve his
aim. When you are willing to do something at “any
cost”, you do not think through all the steps. By not thinking clearly, you often end up paying way over
the odds to achieve your aim.
Over the years, Duryodhan tried to kill the Pandavas several times. He deprived them of their rights at every opportunity by claiming that it was his right that they were snatching away. Just by being alive, they were causing him pain ! His hate was so all-consuming that he could not enjoy the family, fortune or power that he had. Though he lived more comfortably than the Pandavas, he did not sleep easy as his hate for the Pandavas kept him awake till early hours of the night.
Duryodhan’s murderous streak showed up early in his life. He poisoned Bheema twice and burnt the palace where the Pandavas lived at a very early stage in his life. His only thoughts of happiness were to see the Pandavas annihilated and their memories forgotten. Even after their supposed “death” in Varanavat, if anyone mentioned them, he used to get agitated. Such was the depth of his hatred for the Pandavas. Pandavas were aware of who was behind their assassination attempts and as any hot blooded young people would, they vowed revenge. However, until their marriage to Drupadi, they did not have the means to achieve their aims. Through Drupadi, they had the backing of other royal families that would stand behind them and support them in their demand for rights to the Kuru kingdom.
Draupadi was yet another reason for Duryodhan to hate the Pandavas. Not only was she beautiful and haughty, Duryodhan had failed to win her at the svayamvar. One of the reasons why Duryodhan was particularly vicious towards her post gambling session, was that he wanted her to feel the humiliation he felt during her svayamvar. It was his opportunity to insult the Pandavas and Drupadi in open court. After being “lost” at the fateful game of dice, Duryodhan asked Drupadi to choose any one of the Kauravas as her new master. He even exposed his naked thigh for her to sit on in open court. This to a mother of five young men, Empress of Indraprastha and wife of his own elder brother. Sadly, at no point did he apologise or feel shame for his shameless action. Infact, he taunted the Pandavas on the eve of the battle by sending them a barbed message to remind them of all the posionous incidences in their lives and asked them to prove their manhood by seeking revenge or die !
Duryodhan wasn’t satisfied with having humiliated the Pandavas or having paupered them by foul means. Even during their exile, he was desperate to humiliate them at every opportunity. He held a yagna of his own to rival the yagna of Yudhisthir. He sent Durvasa with his 10,000 disciples to cause Yudhisthir untold grief. He came to gloat on their misery whilst pretending to supervise the annual muster of cows. When all these attempts fell flat on their face, it only infuriated him. Loosing to Chitrarath and gandharva army was nothing in comparison to the pain of being rescued by Bhima and Arjun ! But true to his ungrateful nature, Yudhisthir’s milk of kindness only ever produced more venom of hate in Duryodhan. At no point did Duryodhan think to thank Yudhisthir for his rescue, instead, it made him ever more eager to get rid of Pandavas – FOREVER !
Childhood games of “hide and seek” transformed into a deadly game in the 13th year of Pandavas exile. Despite loosing the Matsya war, Duryodhan refused to hear that Pandavas had completed their 13th year and they had the right to regain their empire. He refused all peaceful overtures and clearly said that he would not part with even a needle point size of their ancestral lands.
Even during the battle, Duryodhan sounds like a whiny little brat, running from one general to another, one king to another, complaining about what they were not doing, but doing very little himself. Having lost all his friends, family and vast army, Duryodhan ran away like a curred dog, hiding in a lake. When forced to come out, he chose to battle with Bhim to avenge himself on the one person he hated the most in the whole world.
Having tormented the Pandavas –
physically, verbally and mentally, all his life, Duryodhan
expected to continue to do that forever.
Having cheated, lied and schemed against the Pandavas
all his life, Duryodhan expected to continue to do
that forever.
Having always had his way, Duryodhan expected to have
his way again, and forever.
When Bhima struck Duryodhan on the thigh, Duryodhan was shocked ! He was so used to cheating others, he never expected others to cheat him. As an arrogant prince, he never knew the pain of being cheated. Duryodhan’s shock was compounded by the fact that he was unable to get up or continue the fight. When Bhima kicked his head, it was the ultimate insult. He had never suffered such humiliation at the hands of his enemy. Duryodhan was not used to the feeling of being utterly abandoned either. Till date he had his friends, family, servants and well wishers around him. At his end, as he lay dying, he was attended by vultures and jackals who were waiting for him to become weak enough for them to eat him alive.
Not satisfied at having lied, cheated and abused every trust that was put upon him as the eldest Kaurava, Duryodhan went out of his way to cause more death and mayhem as he lay bloodied and broken. Even as he lay dying, like a deadly cobra, Duryodhan poured poison till the last moment. Not happy with having caused the death of millions, he implored his last three friends to take revenge and kill the rest of the Pandava army. His blood lust inspired Ashwashthama to murder sleeping soldiers. Having wiped out generations of kshatriyas, Duryodhan died satisfied that his enemies would inherit a kingdom bereft of its youth, beauty, wealth and joy. In his twisted mind, he was happy that he had enjoyed everything life had to offer and as he lay dying, he had deliberately ruined it all – ALL – for the Pandavas by having made sure that their children and relatives were now dead as well.
Duryodhan blamed everyone for his
failures. Everyone
except himself.
He blamed his
father for being blind, thus jeopardising clear succession.
He blamed uncle Vidur
for daring to say this child should be put away or killed to save the
clan.
He blamed the Pandavas
for just existing – their mere existence was painful reminder that there were
others who had legitimate rights to the throne beside him.
He blamed his gurus for not teaching him as
much as they taught the Pandavas.
He blamed the social structure – which gave
him his unquestioned place in society – for humiliating his friend Karna.
He blamed the
elders, sages, brahmins, rishis and grandsire Vyasa
for siding with the Pandavas.
Above all, he blamed “fate” for being against
him in letting Pandavas survive his various murderous
attempts.
Duryodhan failed himself and his
family miserably. He had such a
comfortable life, there was no need for him to shut
out others from having their place in the sun.
His all consuming hate ruined any family peace that was possible in the
Kuru clan. From a
family that was facing extinction due to lack of heirs, Kurus had 105 princes who had sufficient resources to live in peace with each
other and indeed, conquer all territories before them. However, because of Duryodhan’s
greed and avarice, power that could have conquered the world and created a new Empire
in
Sadly, as Vidur had
predicted, the cancer of Duryodhan ate away at the
Kuru clan and nearly destroyed it.
For this reason, even 1000s of years after that terrible war, no one ever names
their child "duryodhan".
Return to Index
Return to
Mahabharta Index
Return to ShriNathji's Haveli
© Bhagwat Shah
[email protected]