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Duryodhama – 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, he had to have whatever the Pandavas had. It seems very childish, yet, do we not see that in adults around us too ?
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 use of the entire machinery of the state to achieve his aims. It was because Dhrutrastra 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 100 brothers who gave him blind allegiance.
His uncle Shakuni was forever plotting to help him deprive the Pandavas
of what little happiness they found.
He also had friends like Karna, Ashwasthama and Jayadratha who worked
hard to please him.
Yet, even with all these advantages, he wasn’t happy.
His only happiness was 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.
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 by simply being alive ! His hate was so all consuming that he could not enjoy the family, fortune or power that he did have. 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.
He was so desperate to rid himself of the Pandavas, he was willing to sink to any depth to achieve his aim. When you do something at “any cost”, you do not think it all through clearly and often end up paying way over the odds to achieve your aim.
Duryodhan’s murderous streak showed up early in his life. He poisoned Bheema and burnt the palace where the Pandavas lived at a very early stage in his life. Pandavas were aware of who was behind their assassination attempts and hence vowed revenge as any hot blooded young people would. However, until their marriage to Drupadi, they did not have the means to achieve their aims. Through Drupadi, they had the backing of royal families that would stand behind them and support them.
Draupadi was yet another reason for Duryodhan to hate the Pandavas. Not only was she beautiful and haughty, she had insulted him at her svayamvar by refusing to be accepted as a gift of Karna ! 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 to Drupadi 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.
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 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 now
had 106 princes who had sufficient resources to live in peace with each other
and indeed, conquer all territories before them.
However, internal bickering meant the power that could have conquered the
world and brought a true Empire to
Sadly, as Vidur had predicted, the cancer of Duryodhan ate away at the Kuru clan and destroyed it for good.
© Bhagwat Shahh
Bhagwat_s@Yahoo.com