Yudhisthir - I do because I must.

Warning: This is a long post.

The other day, a friend of mine told me how her mother responded when she discussed with her that Mahabharata ends with Yudhishthir achieving Swarga. (It was a surprise for my friend too unless I revealed it to her). The response of her mother was typical - What for? Gambling away his wife and kingdom?

This response that came as a question crossed my ears, stirred my mind and made me seek answers, recalling all that Yudhishthir did throughout his life; from attempting to balance the brotherhood of Kauravs and Pandavs during childhood to transforming the forest of Khandavaprastha to the heavenly city of Indraprastha, from controlling the reigns of an almost devastated Hastinapur to finally climbing the Himalayas leaving everything behind. After reading the epic and leaning about its characters, we usually come to the common conclusion that Yudhishthir was a mighty, truthful, righteous, kind king who gambled away his wife. Sure enough, it's a pity that Alanis Morissette forgot to include our Dharmaraj in "Ironic".

Yudhishir is that character of Mahabharata whose complexity lies in the utter simplicity and predictability of his conduct. Even the thought that somebody could be so compliant with his dharma that not a word left his mouth without righteous self-brainstorming seems fantastically impractical. Yet, that is what we know Yudhishthir for. The one who lived his life in adherence to the rule-books of the society, always saying and doing what the learned preached (except when he gambled away his wife). His brothers who, at times, disagreed with him, also followed him religiously in every step of his life. Collectively, the five Pandavs were considered to be the upholders of Dharma in the Dwapar Yug.

Then what went wrong? Why did he suffer so much throughout his life when he was trying to live his life the ideal way setting examples in righteousness for future generations? And why even after all this righteousness we still recall him as the king who gambled away his wife?

Throughout the epic, Yudhishthir has been referred to as an epitome of Dharma since he was born to Kunti by Dharma deva. His behaviour was expected to be a man of rectitude in all situations, whatever the cost maybe. At various points, when different characters are in dilemmas, he comes into the frame, quotes some scriptures and gets away after convincing people to do the right thing. That's a different thing what they did and what they didn't!

Some situations where the wisdom of Yudhishthir was noticed by all:

1. At the school of the Pandavas and the palace of Hastinapur, Yudhishthir was always the young boy who was more mature than any of his brothers (and at times his elders too). His being the eldest grandson of Vichitraveerya had almost enrooted in the minds of Bheeshma, Kripa and Vidhur that he should be the rightful heir.
2. When Dhritarashtra was faced with the dilemma of choosing his heir and was suggested by Vidhur to take the decision based on the prince's capabilities and not his parents, he proved his mettle by the sagacious decision-making that was approved by all the wise in the court.
3. Only the rat escapes the forest fire - The riddle by Vidhur to warn Pandavas about the house of lac was solved only by Yudhishthir and only after this the Pandavas could save themselves and their mother.
4. When Kunti ordered Arjun to share what he had won with his five brothers, the entire family went into the dharma-sankat of sharing the wife or obeying the mother. It was at this point when Yudhishthir quoted from the scriptures stories of the past where women had married multiple brothers in a family while upholding the traditions of the society. This ensured that the word of the mother was not broken and that Draupadi's chastity would not be questioned even if she married five brothers.
5. When Dhritarashtra offered him the barren half of Hastinapur (Khandavaprastha), he accepted it with free will, much to the chagrin of his younger brothers, but for the peace of the family at large. Even though he deserved the full kingdom, he did not yearn for anything more than what was offered.
6. After reuniting the small kingdoms of the Indian mainland, Yudhishthir's rajsuya yagya was conducted that established him as an independent monarch (or emperor, whichever word suits you more). 
7. After the gambling episode, while in exile the four younger Pandavas and their wife were infuriated and craving for revenge, it was only Yudhishthir who realized that the calamity had fallen upon them due to his own love for gambling and that he will not go for a massively destructing war just in order to avenge their humiliation. When the younger Pandavas suggested that after thirteen days they were technically allowed to go back to their kingdom according to the scriptures, Yudhishthir affirmed that he would not interpret the scriptures to his convenience. He would keep his word that he accepted at the time of gambling, howsoever long the suffering may be.
8. During the exile, when the gandharavas captured Duryodhan, Yudhishthir sent Bheema and Arjun to rescue him, keeping all the humiliation aside and considering Duryodhan to be their brother, whose protection he felt was the duty of the Pandavas.
9. When the four over-confident Pandavas did not answer Yaksha's questions and died as a result, only Yudhishthir displayed complete patience and wisdom by answering his questions. When asked to resurrect one of his brothers, he chose Nakul and not the powerful Arjun, in order to be fair to Nakul's mother, Madri. Yaksha (Dharma in disguise), finally resurrected the four Pandavas. The family was thus saved once again only for the wisdom of Yudhishthir.
10. After the exile, Yudhishthir came to terms that if Duryodhan kept his word and returned Indraprastha, no blood would flow. He would not wage a war only to avenge his humiliation. He kept the welfare of the family and people above the throne any day. It was only after Duryodhan's dogmatism left no option, that he went for the battle in Kurukshetra.
11. To the last day of the war, Yudhishthir was considerate towards the Kauravs and continued to propose that if Duryodhan kept his word even at the last moment, he would stop the war.
12. Yudhishthir followed the part of righterousness throughout his life which took him to the top of the Himalayas to the door of Swarga before he was confronted by the devas.

In spite of this, we do remember him as the king who gambled away his wife. After knowing the characteristics of Yudhishthir so well, let's consider the gambling episode again.

An ever-obedient son of the family is invited to a game of gamble by his elders, which by the Kshatriya code of that time could not be reverted by any king. Doesn't require much thinking as to what he had to do. During the game of gamble, the first rule was broken by Duryodhan to let Shakuni roll the dice, which should have been rolled by him. Yudhishthir had tried to oppose but on seeing the will of the elders did not leave the game in between to save the blind king from disgrace. What followed was a series of stakes in which he continued to lose everything from his personal possessions to his kingdom to his brothers and then himself. Throughout this game, though his personal fondness for gambling was there, he was also obliged to continue the game as there was no order from the blind king to stop it. It was disgraceful for a player to withdraw from the game on his own will while he was losing. And he could not have won under any circumstances as Shakuni's dice was loaded. Was Yudhishthir left with options?

After losing himself in the stake, Yudhishthir followed what his master Duryodhan ordered him to - stake Draupadi. And he did it. And we know what followed. Don't we?

This clearly indicates what happened was totally against Yudhishthir's will but he didn't raise voice as the code of conduct did not allow him to do so, being the Dharmaraaj that he was. Where did the fault actually lie then? Was it in his stick adherence to the code or in the code of conduct itself? Even when all the rules of the conduct were being followed, Draupadi was not saved from humiliation? So does the blame for this entirely fall on only this king who gambled away his wife? Is no one responsible for what happened after that? Was Yudhishthir the creator of the code or only an obsessed follower? Gurcharan das quoted, "Life is a dice game, with rules known to be deceptive; where the least experienced least adequate player is nevertheless pushed to the point of staking everything he has, with the certainty of losing." I somehow believe that it was absolutely true in Yudhishthir's case.

Throughout the epic, Yudhishthir had been trying to follow the path of the idealistic Ram by sticking to code. But while Ram had brothers who were willing to serve him whole-heartedly, Yudhishthir was faced with a set of cousins who had done everything in their capacity to harm him. Where Ram's actions reflect a strict adherence to the code that generates from the deep love in his heart, Yudhishthir's strict adherence is a result of his belief - I do because I must. He clinged to the correctness of the acts, not the consequences. He never let the suffering of his heart reflect in his actions.

However, after the thirteen-year exile, Yudhishthir transformed to a great extent. He realized that the line of total non-violence had been crossed and if the need be, weapons had to be wielded. The point of this would, still, not be his personal interests but the establishment of Dharma, by ensuring that a prince like Duryodhan who never kept his word never becomes the king.

Yudhishthir, who gambled away his life, did transform. What we want to remember him for is our choice.

MBA Revisited - The BCG Matrix of Kauravs and Pandavs

I have spent 2 precious years of my otherwise random life in a B-school. If I assume that I will live for 70 years in total, these 2 years form a good 2.857% of my lifetime. Then how is this 2.857% different from the remaining twenty-three “2 years” of my life? Well, they are. And in a great way. 

Passing out of a B-school has many advantages. We get an additional qualification, an enormous set of friends and people assume we know a lot. And we, at the same time, never feel like falsifying them. In fact, we go two steps ahead and bolster their belief by saying terms like “paradigm shift” and “brand equity”, and at times, both together in a sentence. Have you seen mere mortals talk like that? I am sure, not.

An MBA degree also means something more. It means that we have the right to say anything, state anything. All we have to do in order to get noticed is to write a research paper based on it, and if fortunate enough, develop our own (management) tools. These tools mater a lot – apart from fetching good scores, these validate our existence in the cruel professional jungle where there is the survival of the nerd(est).

Note: You might call me one by the end of the article.

The History of Management Science has seen many such tools, and one of the most predominantly discussed tools is the BCG Matrix devised by the Boston Consulting Group. It is based on the product life-cycle theory (…and here I am) and helps to determine what priorities should be given to the product portfolio of a business unit for sustained success.

I wonder, had Management Science existed back in Dwapar Yug, would Duryodhan have been able to use it to his advantage? Agreed, he never listened to anything sensible but this is no Bheeshm or Drona talking, this is Boston Consulting Group. But BCG did not exist then and neither did the BCG Matrix. Still, I wondered that if we could formulate the BCG Matrix for the respective Kaurav and Pandav armies, would there be some interesting revelation?

BCG Matrix, as I discussed above, helps to determine the priorities that should be given to the product portfolio of a business unit for a sustained success and it is based on the product-life cycle theory. I will give a very brief introduction here. For more on BCG matrix, please visit this link. 

Placing products in the BCG matrix results in 4 categories of portfolio for a company:

BCG Matrix

1. Stars (High Growth and High Market Share): Stars are business units that have a large market share in a fast growing industry. They may generate huge cash but since investments are huge too, the net cash flow is not quite boastful.
2. Cash Cows (Low Growth and High Market Share): Cash Cows generate good amount of cash (surprisingly, no milk) due to high market share but since the market is mature, the investment required should be less.
3. Question Marks (High Growth and Low Market Share): These are the SBUs with a high rate of market growth but somehow low market share. These require heavy investments to convert into stars or else they get converted into dogs.
4. Dogs (Low Growth and Low Market Share): In short, good for nothing. The earlier you get rid of them, the better it is for you.

One can say, Cash Cows are the most desirable as they give great returns with minimal investments (though they might not last very long). Then come the Stars that bring good returns and promise a positive future but require huge investments. The Question Marks need to be worked upon else one invests heavily and receives nothing in return. Dogs need to be get ridden of. 

From this you can conclude that Stars and Question Marks (High Growth) require high investments. They are similar to our warriors who required huge investments in terms of emotions or resources to sustain them on their respective sides. High Market Share is an advantage of that SBU, similar to the Martial Prowess of the warriors. 

Hence, the Kaurav / Pandav BCG Matrix can have the following dimensions:

X Axis: Martial Power

Y Axis: Resource or Emotion Investment

Of course, the Kaurav and Pandav armies were not on the path of manufacturing and marketing technically. If anything, it was a path of sheer destruction. But the battlefield of Kurukshetra is in many ways like the modern-day corporate battlefields called markets, where weapons represent products and great warriors represent Strategic Business Units (SBUs). Sounds like heavy stuff? Well then this is the power of a B-school.

Kaurav Army

The major warriors from Kaurav side were (in descending order of prowess):

• Bheeshm: Bheeshm would surely be classified as a cash cow. This has nothing to do with his white clothes, white chariot-flag or even the white beard. This is serious stuff. He is one character of the epic that I respect the most. So no jokes. He is a cash cow because he is the only warrior who was a reliable impeccable commander, was martially invincible and would die only when he would want. So much came with almost no emotional or resourceful investment from Duryodhan’s side. Certainly, a Cash Cow. Sure, he pledged not to harm the Pandavs but the harm he did to their army was no petty stuff. (High Martial Power – Low Investment).
• Drona: He was a Brahmin by birth hence fond of cows but perhaps not fond of becoming one. Was almost equally invincible like Bheeshm but there were huge investments in keeping the teacher into the kingdom. He threatened to leave the Kauravs a couple of times but to the efforts of the elderly. In fact, Duryodhan did not relish the pleasure of Indraprashta during the Pandav exile as it was administered by Dronacharya. Duryodhan and his brothers had to continually boost his ego and keep his son Ashwatthama pleased thereby calling for huge investments. If properly channelized, he could prove to be a disaster to the Pandavs (and he did). Drona is a Star. (High Martial Power – High Investment).
• Kripacharya: He too was a Brahman, maybe had his share of fee for teaching and was supremely powerful. Not much has been said about capriciousness of his mind, but considering he had grown up in Hastinapur and had been with Kauravs throughout, there was lesser chance he would have left them. Cash Cow. (High Martial Power – Low Investment).
• Ashwatthama: Almost as talented as the father, and as evil as Amrish Puri and Gulshan Grover combined, Ashwatthama needed to be pleased constantly by Duryodhan to sustain in the Kaurav camp. Also, his change of mind would affect Drona’s involvement too, Duryodhan left no stone unturned in keeping Ashwatthama to his side. Star. (High Martial Power – High Investment).
• Karna: Keeping Karna on the Kaurav side required one-time investment of Anga and continuous investment of emotions. Castigated by the Kuru elite and faculty heads constantly, the son of the Sun kept on striving constantly to make a mark for himself. Pacifying him required huge emotional investment from Duryodhan. (In fact, Karna's presence in the Kaurav camp displeased many from the older lot - Bheeshma, Kripa and Drona as they saw him as an ambitious son of a mere charioteer.) And all this investment was in expectation of a return, his loyalty and his archery skills. Karna was loyal towards Duryodhan but his weapons were not. Hence, it was false loyalty. Moreover, the burden of curse-couple almost confirmed his failure in advance. He did tackle Ghatotkach, but did nothing as compared to what was expected of him. Karna would be a Question Mark. (Low Martial Power – High Investment).
• Duryodhan: In his own army, Duryodhan was one hell of an interesting element. In past he had showered away huge riches of the Kurus to impress his subjects. Though he was a pro at mace-wielding, it was not of much use on the battlefield as compared to how Bheema used it. Though he yearned for the war the most, he contributed to it the least. Question Mark. (Low Martial Power – High Investment).
• Dushasan: There would be no reason why one would even think keeping Dushasan was an effort. The skills he brought to the battlefield went as unnoticed as went the Abhishek-Aishwarya starrer Umrao Jaan. Dushasan classifies as a Dog. (Did you have a doubt, anyway?). (Low Martial Power – Low Investment).
• Shalya: The extra-ordinary hospitality infrastructure deployed to keep this warrior-charioteer on the Kaurav side required huge investments. And for what? For the martial powers required to kill Uttar and charioteer skills to assist Karna, and we know how ‘well’ he did that. Shalya was a disaster deal. Question Mark. (Low Martial Power - High Investment).
• Jaydrath: This licentious brother-in-law of the Kauravs proved to be of some worth. All thanks to the boons that enabled him to cause Abhimanyu’s death. But certainly, he was nothing in comparison to the Kuru elderly. Investment was certainly huge. Didn’t you read he was the brother-in-law and that too of a licentious kind? Question Mark. (Low Martial Power – High Investment)

Bheeshm	Cash Cow
Drona	Star
Kripacharya	Cash Cow
Ashwatthama	Star
Karna	Question Mark
Duryodhan	Question Mark
Dushasan	Dog
Shalya	Question Mark
Jaydrath	Question Mark

The Kaurav BCG Matrix

Note: Just like you, I too was upset when Jaydrath did not qualify as a Dog.

Pandav Army

The major warriors from Pandav side were (in descending order of prowess):

• Arjun: This is perhaps the name that was the most used in those eighteen days, before and after. In terms of martial prowess, Arjun was the master-key for the Pandavs, a catastrophic nightmare for the Kauravs. Never losing his target, loaded with potent weapons and the fury to destroy all that came his way, graced by Hanuman on the chariot-flag and Krishna as the charioteer, Arjun’s martial power almost approached to infinity. And since the war was his, there was no investment question in picture. Arjun was a Cash Cow. (High Martial Power – Low Investment).
• Bheem: He was to mace, what Arjun was to bow. He was to Kauravs, what CIA is to terrorists. The 1000 elephant-powered Bheem was the Hulk of the Pandav avengers. He killed the 100 sons of Gandhari in the war single-handed and smashed thousands of soldiers and other warriors to death with a blow of his mace. This indignant Pandav was the most desperate to fight and avenge. I guess, investments in his case were tremendous as he probably ate away half the food of his army himself but he was to be the support till the end. Bheem was a Star. (High Martial Power - High Investment).
• Yudhishthir: His martial skills were never extra-ordinary, except for the spear, and so he was not so much of a worry for the Kauravs. In fact, special efforts were put in to safeguard him on the battlefield for he was the king of the Pandav side. But he was the string that held every warrior on the Pandav side together which makes him the most important of all other warriors. Yudhishtir was a Cow too. Oh, I mean Cash Cow (High Martial Power – Low Investment).
• Abhimanyu: This little 16-year old child who could not complete his Chakravyuh syllabus (exit portion) before entering into the war was otherwise almost equally matched in his archery skills to his father. He fought with complete will and played a crucial role in causing so much terror among the Kauravs that they were compelled to hack him 7-on-1. Abhimanyu too was a Cash Cow. (High Martial Power – Low Investment).
• Nakul / Sahadev (of course they can’t be enlisted separately): Except for Sahadev killing Shakuni, the twin sons of the Ashwini twins had no special achievements mentioned in their post-war resume. But that they survived by the end of the war does mean something. Does it not? Maybe they had some invisible factor that makes them a Cash Cow too. (High Martial 'whatever' Power – Low Investment).
• Ghatotkach: If he was anything, one will say he was an unexpected bonus. He participated in the war on his own will, killed millions when alive, made Karan sacrifice his Indra-shakti and again killed millions while dying. He is the largest Cash Cow BCG matrix would ever witness. I doubt if he will even fit in the matrix! (High Martial Power – Low Investment).
• Drupad: Though Mr. Panchala were fighting to avenge his insult, his daughter's insult and for umpteen other reasons best known to him, he did not leave any noticeable impact in the war. But his Panchala army was a great strength for the Pandav side which in total makes him a Cash Cow. (High Martial Power – Low Investment).
• Drishtadyumna: As compared to 4 commander-in-chiefs of Kauravs, Pandavs had only one. And it was this gentleman who was born out of fire to kill the Kaurav super-star. Not only was he sufficiently capable as a warrior he was also an astute general. He too participated in this quest for avenge with exhausting will. Cash Cow again. (High Martial Power – Low Investment).
• Krishna: And here comes the one who pledged not to use his martial prowess at all but whose involvement affected the course of the war from beginning to the end. The charioteer of Arjun enlightened him at the beginning of the war goading him to action, devised the way to defeat Bhishm, tackle Dronacharya, discover and kill Jayadrath, slay Karna and shatter Duryodhan. On many occasions, he intervened and saved Pandavs and their army with his divine protection. This charioteer and consultant of Arjun, is certainly a Cash Cow. (High Martial Power – Low Investment). 

Krishna is worshiped as a cowherd and classified as a Cash Cow in the BCG Matrix. Is BCG Matrix a divine invention or what?

Arjun	Cash Cow
Bheem	Star
Yudhishthir	Cash Cow
Abhimanyu	Cash Cow
Nakul / Sahadev	Cash Cow
Ghatotkach	Cash Cow
Dhrupad	Cash Cow
Drishtadyumna	Cash Cow
Krishna	Cash Cow

The Pandav BCG Matrix

Interesting Revelations:

• The Kaurav Warrior Portfolio is highly scattered over the BCG Matrix with very few reliable Cash Cows. On the contrary, the Pandav Warrior Portfolio has a dense Cash Cow quarter. Warriors on the Pandav side were clearly more aligned towards the organizational vision / mission / goal / objective ...... whatever!!
• The Question Marks need to be identified and transformed into Stars to ensure high growth and high returns later. The Kaurav Warrior Portfolio had four Question Marks that did not get transformed into Stars, let alone the Cash Cows. Huge investment with low return is of course a failed proposition for any business. Pandavs made no such mistake.
• Kauravs did nothing to get rid of the Dog in their portfolio. In fact, a Star had to jump out from another matrix to wipe it out. 

And we all know what the result of this war was. One might wonder, what if BCG had existed before the war, would the results have been any different?!

Disclaimer: In case you are a B-School student, please do not take inspiration from this blog for filling your answer-sheets. You might fail miserably, very much like the Kauravs.

Share it amongst yourselves!

“Share it amongst yourselves!” – A mother orders her five sons; with least realization, that this order would change the course of history of an entire nation. Along with history, this would also change the perception and mindset of people (especially men) towards women over generations and for centuries to come. This order, which came from a woman, made a princess a single wife of five warrior brothers. The mother, obviously, is Kunti, the Rakhi Gulzar of Mahabharata, and the five brothers are her five sons (post her marriage to the Kuru King – Pandu). The woman being commoditized by this order is the dark yet radiant beauty, Draupadi, the daughter of the King of Panchal, Dhrupad.

It so happened, that King Dhrupad had organized a swayamvar for his daughter Draupadi and had invited warriors from all over the country to participate (priests were allowed too, though nobody expected them to win in front of the famed warriors of the nation). In this contest, the one who would pierce the eye of the model of a fish rotating on the ceiling by looking into its reflection in the water below would win the Draupadi as his wife. Every man in the arena desired, yet only few could lift the bow, even few could string it but only one could actually hit the target. This “one” was none other than the famed archer, Arjun, the third son of Kunti and the favourite student of Drona. During this period, the Pandav princes were wandering through forests, disguised as priests. They sustained on alms that they gathered during the day.

The epic Mahabharata, which is 99.75% full of serious episodes and heart wrenching descriptions, has very less scope for humour. But poor Pandavs, of course being unaware of that, playfully told their mother that they were back with the day’s alms, alluding at Draupadi. Our dear Rakhi, almost in a reflex, ordered the five brothers to share it amongst themselves. The rest is history! Draupadi had to marry the five brothers and stay with each one for a year; starting with Yudhishthir, and repeating the cycle every five years. The same Draupadi became the queen of Indraprastha and led a life of luxury for years in the Palace of Indraprastha. The same Draupadi gave birth to five sons of the five Pandavs during this period. The same Draupadi was gambled in a treacherous game of dice and was lost. The same Draupadi was pulled with her hair and dragged to the court in one piece. The same Draupadi was disrobed in the court in front of her five husbands and elders of the family.

Vyas surely wanted to explore many aspects of the human character by putting such an intricate character into the epic. Draupadi’s entry is at the time when the seeds of war are being sown in the politics of Hastinapur. Her entry into the Kuru household serves as timely rain that would help the seeds grow into a giant tree that would shower its fruits in the form of blood on the land of Kurukshetra. If it was not for Krishna, one would always consider the Kurukshetra war only a war for Draupadi’s vengeance and not a war for Dharma.

Birth:

Though some versions say that Draupadi was a “free gift” that emerged from the sacrificial fire, along with her brother, others state that Dhrupad had demanded a daughter too who would marry into the Kuru household and bring it to ashes. (The TV saga queen of modern times, Ekta Kapoor, seems to have taken motivation for her vamps from the King of Panchal!) Whatever may be the true case, Draupadi did marry into the Kuru household and it did turn into ashes. But is she to be blamed for this entirely? I have my doubts.

Swayamvar:

What would one call a father who offers his daughter in marriage to the best archer, just because, he is the best archer? (This is like declaring all the IIT and IIM pass-outs of the country as the most eligible bachelors and jeevansathi.com asking only for your CVs.) It was not that Draupadi was forced to marry any winner against her will. She did reject Karna (because he was a charioteer’s son or because Krishna suggested her to do so is for one to wonder) who was a king and gave chance to a Brahmin (…in disguise, Arjun). But does it still justify Dhrupad’s act of making his daughter the trophy of a contest? (The condition was ultimately set by him, not Draupadi). And does the best archer prove to be the best husband? On reading the epic one would rather say, he proves to be the worst!

Note: Though he was defeated by Arjun, Dhrupad developed an extreme liking for his archery skills and designed a contest that, in his opinion, only Arjun could win.

Sharing:

Is sharing such a big virtue? So big, that a woman can be commoditized for its sake? That she can be compared to alms and distributed among brothers equally?

Kunti did put sharing in high regard. Maybe, for her sharing things was equivalent to sharing people (she had shared with Madari her sterile and celibate husband - Pandu and her boons for conceiving sons). But, did this give her the authority to decide on Draupadi’s part whether she was willing to be shared? Agreed, that she ordered out of ignorance and later expressed her repentance on making that statement, but what stopped her from taking her statement back? Was she the Salman Khan of Wanted who could not go back on her commitment? Or maybe, she did not want Draupadi to have a higher moral ground than her in the family - I have conceived sons from four, you conceive from five at least! Maybe, the saas-bahu ego clashes existed even then.

It is suggested that Kunti had seen the liking for Draupadi in the eyes of the five brothers and she feared that her marriage to only Arjun could create rift between the brothers. To avoid a conflict, she ordered them to share Draupadi. (Look sons, here is a wedding cake, cut it into five pieces). Perhaps, this was one of the reasons why even Yudhishthir did not protest against it as one would expect the epitome of righteousness to. The world would see him following his mother’s orders while he would actually be living his biggest fantasy.

Note: It is said that in her previous life, Draupadi had asked a husband who would be righteous, powerful, the best archer, beautiful / handsome and patient. Shiva offered her five husbands, each with one of the above mentioned qualities since one man could not have all these qualities. These, however, appear more as excuses to justify the ironical situation of Draupadi created by Kunti’s order.

Stake:

As if all that had happened before was less and Draupadi deserved still more. Already wronged by her mother-in-law, it was now her turn to be wronged by her husbands. (MS Word raised an objection when I used husbands instead of husband in this sentence. Perhaps, even Word does not approve of Draupadi’s situation that resulted from Kunti’s statement.)

Duryodhan had invited Yudhishthir to a game of gamble which he could not say no to. Shakuni promised Duryodhan that he would win each and every possession of Yudhishthir as Shakuni could never be defeated in dice. From staking his personal possessions to his chariot, from slaves to mistresses, Yudhishthir finally staked everything he had, including Indraprastha. Hold on, there is still more to come. He then staked his brothers one by one and lost each time. He then staked himself and lost again. And then something happened that would raise a question on Yudhishthir’s integrity and stain his reputation forever. He staked Draupadi. (How right was he in staking Draupadi and how wrong, is a different debate and I should take it sometime later.) 

Duryodhan, who had always envied the successful and loved-by-all Pandavs had also hated Draupadi as she had once called him blind son of a blind father, when he had fallen inside an illusionary water-pond in her palace. It was his day to avenge all the insult and insecurity he had ever gone through because of the Pandavs and their wife. He ordered for Draupadi to be dragged to the court and stripped naked in front of the kings and family. The five husbands, the elders of the family and the noblemen present in the court could do nothing more than gritting their teeth.

Note: In her time of crisis, it was Krishna who came to Draupadi's rescue and covered her with a celestial cloth while Dushasan was disrobing her. 

Was Draupadi actually Yudhishthir’s property that could be gambled away? If yes, did he have any right to put her at stake as he had already lost himself? If no, then how did he have any right to gamble her in the first place? These questions were raised in the court by her and the most venerable sages of that time were dumbfounded when asked to answer this. They still haunt every individual when he reads this epic.

But it does not end here! If for the time being, we assume, Yudhishthir had the right and he actually put Draupadi at stake and lost her (though it was Arjun who won her in the Swayamvar), was what followed after that justified? Just because Draupadi became his slave, did it give Duryodhan the right to offend and humiliate her limitlessly? Did a statement like, “Blind father, blind son!” touch such levels of discourteous behavior that to avenge it Draupadi had to be disrobed in public? If we say yes, then are we not inadvertently celebrating the animal within the men who avenge their unfulfilled love or minor insults through heinous crimes like molestation and rapes? Karna unabashedly blurted in the court that a woman who sleeps with five husbands is a whore and deserves no respect. If this were true, would Karna support Kunti’s similar humiliation too (who was married to Pandu but gave birth two four sons from four different gods?), especially on knowing that she was his mother? Does knowledge of somebody’s personal life (howsoever screwed it is) give one the right to violate the already unfortunate’s fundamental rights? I see it as an episode where Draupadi was wronged not only by her husbands, but also by her in-laws, uncles, the entire Kshatriya community; in fact, the entire society.

Note: Karna does repent his decision later and admits that out of over-confidence of the moment and irritation of getting rejected at Draupadi's swayamvar, he had misbehaved. But the damage had been done, and Draupadi did pay a price for it!

When one reads the story of Draupadi, one is indeed filled with surprise, concern and sympathy for her. Post the public humiliation episode, she spends thirteen years in exile longing for revenge. After the war, Bheem does avenge her humiliation but this comes at a loss her five sons and million others.

One wonders why a woman, who was born a princess, was immaculately beautiful and followed the orders of her elders religiously suffered this terrible fate. Was it her unparalleled sensuality that created troubles for her time and again? Did Vyas want to tell us that the desirable qualities of pulchritude if possessed in excess can also go against us? Did he want to direct our attention towards the deterioration of women's status in the society and that it happens not only because men dominate but also because the older women inadvertently create situations that females of future generations have to pay for (like Kunti creates for Draupadi)? Or did he just want us to realize that even the best of people might suffer the worst things for no fault of theirs? 

Did he want to bring to light the coward reticence of our so-called society that sets huge ideals but does little for the helpless at the hour of need? Had Draupadi not been a shared wife, would her fate have been different? If yes, then does this not mean that the evil Duryodhan inside every criminal only seeks an excuse to validate his howsoever ghastly actions against women? These are again some questions that Mahabharata poses with no clear answers. One can just wonder and introspect. But one thing is pretty well-known and I am sure Asaram would agree with it. At the time of getting disrobed, Draupadi did address Dushasan as her brother-in-law. He still went ahead. And he went ahead unashamedly!

Karna VS Arjun

It is certainly not the Salman – SRK starrer Karan Arjun that I am referring to. I am referring to the two sons of the Rakhi Gulzar of Mahabharat, Kunti; one who was born before her marriage to Pandu and one who was born after. The reason I have picked this topic for my writing is that every time one reads a different version of this epic, one’s opinion of the character and military prowess of the two brothers gets dented and painted (no offence to Abhijit Mukherjee). The reader gets emotionally attached to either of the two characters and insists on defending his / her favourite. However, like the countless other questions it raises, the Mahabaharata does not clearly answer even this, that who out of these two archer sons of Kunti was a better warrior. However, in the end Arjun does kill Karna. But does this make him a superior warrior? Let’s try to figure this out.

Background:

One should always be aware of the pros and cons of the boons and also trust the god (devata) or God (one of the three manifestations of the Almighty; Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) from whom he/she receives them. If the receiver doesn’t, the unexpected happens. This “unexpected” in Kunti’s case was a son born with celestial armor and earrings. As a result of extraordinary hospitality she had offered to him, Kunti had received a boon from Rishi Durvasa that enabled her to conceive a child (some versions say “a son”) from any god she summoned. I am sure Indra would have been elated at this gracious boon of Durvasa and would have started waiting for his turn. Anyways, a teen aged and unmarried Kunti, out of curiosity, summoned the Sun-god and after a series of censored events conceived a child. Though being a Kshatrani (woman of a Kshatriya caste), she wasn't probably as audacious as Preity Zinta of Kya Kehna and so abandoned the child in a wooden box in river Ganga. This box was discovered by the charioteer of the Hastinapur King Dhritarashtra, Adiratha, who raised this new born as his own son. This child grew up to be known as a master-archer called Karna.

After her marriage to Pandu, Kunti did not get many opportunities to conceive a child from her husband for different reasons stated. Some state that he was busy in wars and conquering kingdoms (D’oh), others state that he was sterile; some say that he abstained from touching Kunti fearing the curse of Rishi Kindam. (Rishi Kindam had cursed the already sterile and unfortunate Pandu that his moment of intimacy with his wife will be his moment of death as Pandu had hunted down Rishi Kindam and his wife while they were getting intimate in cervine form in a forest). So after years of celibacy on realizing that he might die childless, Pandu shared his concern with Kunti. Knowing her husband’s limitations (pre and post curse), Kunti suggested of conceiving sons through Durvasa’s boon. So began the process of summoning the gods one by one. Long story short, Indra finally got lucky and eventually Kunti and Pandu got a son named Arjun (third in line, after Yudhishthir from Dharma-god and Bheem from Wind-god).

Analyzing Karna and Arjun on the basis of skills of a warrior.

Training: (Karna = Arjuna)

Though raised by a charioteer, Karna always had this inexplicable urge to learn archery. Driven by his love for his son, his father, Adirath (Dhritrashtra’s charioteer) took him to Dronacharya and requested him to take Karna as disciple. However, Dronacharya did not accept Karna on the grounds that the school was meant only for Kshatriyas or royals and Karna was neither. Karna was thus denied mentor ship of an invincible fine teacher but only to receive it from some one much greater; sage Parshuram, the sixth avatar of Vishnu himself and also the teacher of Dronacharya himself. The epic states that Karna became Parshuram’s favourite student perfect in all martial arts and celestial weapons.

Note: Parshuram had agreed to train Karna only because he was made to believe Karna is a Brahmin (Parshuram is believed not to have mentored any Kshatriya, except for Bheeshm, because of his disliking for the ostentatious Kshatriya valour that went against humanity time and again). Later, when Parshuram devised that Karna’s veins overflow with strength of Kshatriya blood, he felt deceived and thus cursed Karna to forget his most important teaching (the use of Brahmastra – the weapon of Brahma) on the day he would require it the most.

Arjun, however, managed to get the training of Dronacharya much easily as he was recognized as a Kshatriya from the very beginning and his teacher could, thus, accept him as a student. Arjun’s dedication towards learning archery impressed Dronacharya greatly and he vowed to make Arjun the best archer on earth. Arjun learnt the skill of shooting at night (hence came to be known as Gurakesh), using the bow with both hands and conquering his sleep(...boy!). Pleased with his unconditional dedication for his teacher, Dronacharya also blessed Arjun with the mantra for the Brahmastra.

• Teachers: Equal
• Shooting skill: Both never missed a target, hence, equal.
• Celestial weapons: Equally matched

Note: Karna would forget the use of Brahmastra when he would require it the most as a result of Parshuram's curse. However, this does not make Arjun any better as the Brahmastra will not be used eventually between the two warriors.

Valour: (Karna = Arjun)

In this context, neither could beat the other one clearly. Both Karna and Arjun had displayed their valour and fearlessness at many instances. If Arjun had saved his teacher from a crocodile as a child, slain numerous demons in the forest and won many provinces, Karna too had displayed his valour and had proved his mettle during his Vijay-yatra.

Draupadi’s Swayamvar: (Karna < Arjuna)

There is no doubt in the fact that Karna was equally capable of piercing the fish’s eye like Arjun. Draupadi, however, did not allow Karna to contest for her hand. Some say it was on Krishna’s advice, some say she did not want to marry a charioteer’s son. Whatever may be the grounds, she did make the statement, “My varmala will not embellish the chest of a charioteer’s son.” So, Arjun got a chance and won Draupadi for marriage, only to share her later with her four brothers.

However, after this when the kings had decided on abducting Draupadi to throw her in a pyre and avenge their (so called) insult, there followed a brief conflict between Karna and Arjun where Arjun did beat Karna.

Note: This conflict does not have much relevance in terms of the military prowess as Arjuna was disguised as a Brahmin and Karna withdrew out of surprise.

Possessions: (Karna = Arjun)

Karna was blessed with the following possessions based on his birth and Karma:

• Celestial Armor and Earrings – They had the capability of resisting attack of any celestial weapon.
• Shiva’s bow (received from Parshuram) – An unbreakable bow with multiple strings from which hundreds of arrows could be shot in one go.

 Arjun was blessed with the following possessions:

• The bow “Gandiva”: Arjun received this bow from the Fire-god and it equaled Shiva’s bow in strength and capacity.
• Divine Chariot: Th Fire-god blessed Arjun with a divine chariot as well that could run faster than any other chariot and could be summoned by chanting a mantra.
• Celestial weapons: On his visit to Swarga, Arjun received many celestial weapons from his father, Indra.

Both Karna and Arjun possessed bows with equivalent capabilities. However, when one states incidents where Arjun beats Karna, like in the Virat war, one should keep in mind that Karna never carried Shiva’s bow (until the final day) and combated Arjun with an ordinary bow every time. Reason: unknown.

If Arjun received celestial weapons from his father, Indra, then Karna received celestial armor and earrings from Surya. These could resist all celestial weapons that Arjun possessed, making the both equal.

Arjun does possess a divine chariot that Karna doesn’t but since during a combat the chariots are supposed to be stationary and do not create any difference to the performance otherwise, Karna and Arjun are again equals in this context.

Note: Karna’s celestial armour and earrings were taken away by Indra when he came to Karna disguised as a priest. The generous Karna did not turn him away, in spite of knowing the repercussions of his generosity. However, Indra gifted him his “Shakti” that Karna would be able to use in war, but only once. 

The Final Day of War:

As of now, Karna and Arjun are equally matched with an exception of Brahmastra (that Arjun had but Karna did not). What then creates the difference that ultimately leads to Arjun's triumph and Karna's death? What are the reasons that Karna’s situation is so pathetically hopeless when compared to Arjun’s on the day of their final combat?

Krishna’s revealing of truth followed by Kunti’s emotional drama:

The master strategist of the Pandavs, in hope of averting the war, disclosed to Karna the secret of his birth and tried to bribe him with five brothers, Indraprastha and Draupadi. While Karna rejected Krishna’s proposal staying faithful to Duryodhan, he was much deeply struck by the fact that in the war he will have to fight his younger brothers and was hence rendered emotionally handicapped. He still requested Krishna to keep this a secret so that Pandavs would not be affected by this information while they fight. Later, Kunti met Karna and after a whole lot of emotional drama requested him to spare the lives of her sons. A grief-stricken Karna was highly disturbed on discovering that even at the eleventh hour his mother thought of well being of Pandavs but did not display a zilch of affection for him. He still promised Kunti that she will forever be known as mother of five sons. He will not harm the sons of Kunti, except for Arjun. 

Hence, on the day of final combat Karna was under a huge emotional pressure of killing his own younger brother and keeping the promise to his friend at the same time. Arjun, however, had no such pressure but was rather equipped with the strength of his hatred towards the son of the charioteer who had horrifyingly insulted his wife, Draupadi, in the court and had hacked his son, Abhimanyu, to death, unfairly, in the battlefield.

Note: Arjun was not in the best state of mind either as he had slayed down Bheeshm and had witnessed the unjust and brutal killing of his beloved teacher followed by the news of his sixteen year old son being hacked by the elite Kaurav warriors. But on the day of his combat with Karna, he was comparatively in a better state as he had risen above that grief for that moment. Krishna, in fact, had to remind him of these instances to goad him to shoot a disarmed Karna.

Shalya’s revenge:

Since Shalya had been duped into fighting for the Kaurav side, the Kshatriya code of conduct expected him to fight for Kauravs but his enmity for them made his heart side with the Pandavs. When Karna requested Shalya to become his charioteer, trying to honour him by comparing his charioteer skills with Krishna, Shalya took it as insult to his status as a king and a warrior. Shalya thus made a point that during the war he will bog down Karna by infesting him with fear for his opponent Arjun and his charioteer Krishna.

During the war, he constantly praised Arjun and Krishna while demeaning Karna and making him realize his lower status in the society and his limitations as a warrior. Karna was thus stripped of the most important armor of a warrior, confidence, while he was facing his younger brother on the day of final combat. Arjun, on the other hand, was under the divine protection of Krishna who bolstered his confidence every time he became apprehensive or was awed by Karna's extraordinary skills.

The effect of Curses:

Karna was burdened with two curses on the day of final combat. One, by Parshuram, would make him forget the mantra to be chanted to call the Brahmastra and the other one by a sage would push his chariot down into the earth at the most crucial moment of the war. Both these curses took effect on the final day and Karna could escape neither. When he requested Shalya to push the chariot out, he refused saying that it was below his dignity as a king. When he tried to summon the Brahmastra, he failed. Karna, thus, had to descend from his chariot to pull it out.

In spite of all these strengths and weaknesses of the two, the combat was equally matched. Still, when Karna was alighting from his chariot he had this hope that Arjun would resist from shooting till the time he is back on chariot as this was a code of war. He pleaded Arjun to stop his arrows until he pulled out the wheel. Krishna, however, did not want Arjun to wait. He goaded the reluctant Arjun to shoot at Karna while he was busy pulling out the chariot wheel. 

This makes one wonder: Why? Why did Krishna goad Arjun to kill a disarmed Karna? Did he fear that once Karna would return to his chariot it will take Arjun monumental effort to beat him? Maybe, Arjun would not be able to beat Karna at all. Maybe, he wanted Karna to realize that people who break the code of war (like Karna did in case of Abhimanyu), deserve to die by the same means. Maybe, he considered the wheel in Karna’s hand a logical equivalent to a weapon as Abhimanyu, in his dying moments, had fought with a wheel. Maybe, he wanted Karna to receive a death of honour, the honour that he had been deprived of throughout his life. (A warrior like Arjun, having to kill Karna when unarmed made Karna receive a warrior status almost equal to the mighty Bheeshm.) Maybe, he did not want to answer this question explicitly that who was a better warrior out of the two great sons of Kunti. Maybe, he just wanted us to ponder upon their situations and understand their contexts.