ABHIPRAI: Mahabharat

Showing posts with label Mahabharat. Show all posts

February 01, 2011

THE TALE OF THE MONKEY KING

LEGEND has it.....

VALI VADH

Ramayana – the epic journey of Lord Ram explores the tenets of human existence and the concept of Dharma. Over the ages, its central characters, namely Rama, Lakshman, Hanuman, Sita and Ravana - have become fundamental to the cultural consciousness of South Asians in general and Indians in particular. While the heroes and villains of this colossal epic have found their rightful places in the hearts and minds of Hindus since time immemorial, the significance of one character is generally overlooked and grossly underestimated. Like Karna in Mahabharata, Ramayana also refers to a brave warrior who was amongst the most powerful men in contemporary India but ended up being assassinated by Lord Rama on the battlefield as he aligned himself with Adharma. Vali, the Monkey king of Kishkindha is the tragic hero of Ramayana.

Vali, the son of Lord Indra and the elder brother of Sugriva was the Vanara (Ape) king of the ancient kingdom of Kishkindha which included the dense forests called Dandaka Forests that pretty much covered most of modern day South India. Legend has it that Vali participated in the Samudra Mantan on the side of the Devas and took Tara, an Apsara who rose from the churning of the milky ocean as his wife. While some other mythological sources describe Tara as the daughter of the monkey physician Sushena, she is unanimously admired for her beauty, wisdom and devotion to her husband. Tara gave birth to Vali’s son, Angadh, the crown prince of the kingdom who played a key role in the Rama’s war against Ravana.

The Ramayana hails Vali as invincible owing to the fact that he had received a boon according to which anyone who would fight the monkey king would lose half of the strength to him. The very fact is illustrated in a feud between him and the mighty Ravana, in which the former humbled the latter. Vali was an ardent worshipper of lord Shiva and Surya. It is believed that every day before dawn, Bali would go from the Eastern coast to the Western coast, from the Northern coast to the Southern coast to pay his homage to the Sun god. Moreover, the Puranas mention that after completing this mammoth task of paying respect to the Sun in all four directions, he used to return to his capital without feeling any tiredness.

It was on one such trip that the powerful warrior encountered the king of Lanka, who challenged him for a fight. In the clash of the titans that followed, Vali defeated his foe, tied him with his tail and took him around the world, thereby breaking his pride. Humbled, the mighty king of Lanka called for truce. It has been recorded that after this feud, the two concluded a peace treaty and became friends. The Puranas also mention of the battle between Vali and demon Dundhubi, who came in the form of a wild buffalo. As the brave Vali defeated the demon and hurled him in the sky, the blood from the dying animal defiled Sage Matanga’s ashram due to which the sage cursed Vali and the vanaras saying that whoever came near his ashram would fall down dead.

The bitterness between Vali and Sugriva, which ultimately led to the former’s death, began when the demon Mayavi, brother of Dundhubi, appeared on the gates of the city of Kishkindha and invited the king for the battle. As the ever ready Vali marched against Mayavi, he fled in terror and entered a deep cave. Vali entered the cave in pursuit of the demon, telling Sugriva to wait outside. Upon hearing demonic shouts in the cave and seeing blood oozing from its mouth, Sugriva concluded that his brother had been killed. With a heavy heart, Sugriva rolled a boulder to seal the cave's opening to prevent the demon from raiding Kishkindha, and assumed the reins of the kingdom. Vali, however, ultimately prevailed in his combat with the demon and returned home. Seeing Sugriva acting as king, he concluded that his brother had betrayed him. Though Sugriva humbly attempted to explain himself, Vali would not listen. As a result, Sugriva was ostracized from the kingdom. Vali forcibly took Sugriva's main wife, Ruma, and the brothers became bitter enemies.

It was during this time that Sugriva befriended his future minister, Hanuman and the exiled princes of Ayodhya – Rama and Lakshman. Like Sugriva’s wife Ruma, Sita, the princess of Ayodhya had been unlawfully held captive by Ravana. As such, the two princes faced with a set of identical problems decided to enter into a mutual agreement. Rama promised to help Sugriva to defeat Vali and regain his throne and his wife. In return the Vanara prince promised to help the lord in his conquest of Lanka. Next, the allies hatched a plan to topple Vali from the throne of Kishkindha.

In accordance of his vow of Vanavass, and to prevent direct combat with the monkey army, Rama asked Sugriva to challenge Vali for a fight outside the borders of Kishkindha. Tara’s plea asking Vali to refrain from battle against his younger brother, who had the Lord on his side, fell on deaf ears and the siblings turned foes charged towards each other. Meanwhile, Rama and Lakshman hid themselves in the vicinity. Although the brothers were evenly matched initially, Vali soon gained the upper hand. As the two looked identical, Rama found it difficult to take aim at Vali. As such Hanuman stepped in and placed a garland of flowers around Sugriva’s neck. The prince of Ayodhya took aim and drove an arrow straight into the monkey king’s heart.

Rama is regarded in Hindu mythology as Maryada Purushottam as he played the roles of a son, a husband, a brother, a student, a friend and a king to perfection. However the critics of Rama point two instances where he is said to have deviated from the principles of Dharma, one of them being the ‘cowardly’ manner in which he killed the Vanara king Vali. However, a close analysis of the events that unfolded during this time presents a complete picture and leads to a better understanding.

The Puranas clearly lay down that the younger brother must be treated as a son and must be forgiven even if he makes a mistake. In fact, not only had Vali banished his younger sibling from the kingdom, but also held is wife, who according to the laws of Dharma was Vali’s daughter-in-law, captive. Also, political reasons prevalent in ancient India compelled Rama to kill Vali. For him to rescue his wife, Rama needed the help of the Vanara Sena, and Sugriva agreed to help him once on the throne of Kishkindha. Besides, Rama could not expect such an offer from Vali who by then was on friendly terms with Ravana. And of course, so much bad blood had been spilled between the two brothers that all chances of a compromise were out of question. Thirdly, the fact remains that Vali was a vanar, an ape and Rama was a prince. It was customary in those days for royals to hunt animals stealthily. Lastly, the alliance between Rama and Sugriva was in the interest of the Vanaras. For the first time in the history, they were being given an opportunity to join the mainstream and be treated as equals with human beings.

As Vali lay on the ground in pain and agony, Rama and Lakshman came forward to meet him. Vali accused the prince of unethical behavior and questioned the motives behind such a cowardly and heinous act. However, Rama answered all his questions calmly and provided sufficient explanations for the manner in which he assassinated Vali. Realizing his mistake, Vali asked Rama for forgiveness and asked him and Sugriva to take care of Tara and Angadh. It is said that at the time of his death, Rama promised Vali to give him a chance to avenge his unjust murder. In fact the Monkey king does make an appearance, centuries later and avenges his death.

With the death of the mighty monkey king, Sugriva ascended the throne of Kishkindha. Tara, the widow of Vali became Sugriva’s queen and was consulted by him in all matters of administration. Angadh was elevated to the rank of the crown prince of the kingdom and was a key figure in the battle in the later years. He is particularly remembered for leading a diplomatic mission to Ravana, which concluded with him bringing back the demon king’s crown and placing it at the feet of the lord. Sugriva fulfilled his promise and helped Rama defeat Ravana and regain Sita.

The story of the great Monkey king does end here. Rama's slaying of Bali had a special significance. As the time passed on, the Rama Avatar of Lord Vishnu came to a conclusion and he reincarnated as Lord Krishna. Having killed his despotic uncle Kansa, he played the pivotal role in the victory of the Pandavas over the Kauravas. Legend has it that Gandhari, Duryodhana’s mother and a worshipper of Lord Vishnu was so shocked by her son’s death in front of Krishna that she cursed that he and all his followers would perish thirty-six years after the war. According to Puranic scriptures, as the Krishna avatar reached its climax, the curse of Gandhari came true and the people of Dwarka were overcome by a wild rage and there was total destruction of life and property. Some time later, Krishna’s elder brother, Balaram left for the heavens.

As the Lord, saddened by the events that unfolded in the recent past, sat beneath a tree in deep meditation, a hunter entered the forest. He mistook Krishna’s ankle for a deer and shot an arrow towards it. Alarmed by the cries of Krishna, the hunter approached him and realized his mistake. The hunter, named Jara was none other than vanara king Vali in his previous life. Thus as said by Lord Rama, the monkey king got his revenge and promise made to Vali at the time of his death was fulfilled. As Krishna left the mortal world, the Dwapar Yug came to an end. The mortal remains of Krishna were cremated by his friend Arjuna and soon the Arabian Sea engulfed the city of Dwarka.

The story of monkey king Vali is a lesson for everyone. It is a classic tale in which a man blessed with immense talent and endowed with the invincible powers sinks into the oblivion as he chooses the path of Adharma. In spite of having the wise Tara as his companion, and being gifted with enviable physical strength, he fell prey to his anger which ultimately sealed his fate on the battlefield. On the contrary, Sugriva, though not as strong as his elder brother, is revered for being on the moral high ground in his battle with Vali. The story of Vali and Sugriva teaches us that the strength of an individual is not measured in terms of his physical prowess but in terms of his adherence to the laws of Dharma.

February 05, 2010

KARNA AND THE THREE CURSES

The Mahabharat which is the longest epic in the world, speaks of a time in ancient India when the rulers of the sub continent's innumerable kingdoms allied themselves with the two warring factions that laid their claim over the throne of Hastinapur. The finest warriors of the day, namely, Arjuna - contemporary India's foremost archer, Bhima - the man with supreme physical prowess, Yudhistir - the defender of Dharma, Duryodhana - the adversary of Pandavas and Bhishma - the protector of the king of Hastinapur fought in a fierce battle that is said to have lasted for 18 days. However among the galaxy of stars that fought on the dusty grounds of Kurukshetra, there was one who shone more brighter than the rest on the horizon of Indian mythology. Although he ended up dying on the battlefield at the hands of his own brother Arjuna, Karna is widely considered by many, including Krishna and Bhishma as per Valmiki's Mahabharat, as a noble spirit who rarely appears in the human race. Inspite of devoting his services to evil Duryodhana, Karna remains an adulated figure for millions of Hindus and Indians. He is specially adored for his generosity and always considered as a formidable warrior, perhaps the greatest warrior of all time, a courageous spirit who braved impossible odds in his life, and died with unique courage, valour and honour.

While Karna remains to be one of the most celebrated personalities of Hindu mythology, very few people are aware of the fact that he had learnt the art of warfare and mastered deadly weapons under the able tutelage of Parashuram. Karna who was brought up by Adhirata, a charioteer of the king Dhritarashtra of Hastinapur, after being abandoned by his mother, Kunti, aimed to be a skillful fighter. As such he went to Dhronacharya, who was in-charge of training the princes of Hastinapur, both Kauravas and Pandavas, in the art of warfare and diplomacy. However, Dhrona refused to accept him as his disciple citing his low caste as the reason. Karna like he did so many times throughout his life, fought all odds and decided to be self-taught with his brother, Shrona's help. In accordance with the ancient tradition that one must learn any art form only under a guru, Karna decided to make Surya his teacher. Such was the dedication of this man that he gathered information about various ayudhas (weapons) during the day and then after sundown, he exercised them. Although he achieved expertize in handling many weapons, Karna became more interested in learning all the advanced skills of archery including the use of divine weapons.

In a bid to fulfill his dream of being among the best fighters of his generation, Karna decided to approach Parashuram. However, Parashuram was only known to accept Brahmins as his students. Disciples like Gangaputra Bhishma and Dhronacharya had made Parashuram proud earlier and Karna longed to make this great saint, his tutor. As such, he was not going to make his low social status the reason for being turned down by Parashuram. Karna appeared before the sage as a Brahmin. Parashuram accepted him and trained him to such a point, that he declared Karna to be equal to himself in the art of warfare and archery. Thus, Karna became a diligent student of Parashuram.

Legend has it that one day while his techer was resting on his lap, Karna was stung by a giant bee on his thigh. Despite the excruciating pain, Karna did not move so as not to disturb his guru's sleep. As the bee bored deeper into Karna's thigh, the wound began to bleed. Parashuram was woken up by the blood from Karna's thigh. He soon realized that Karna was a not a Brahmin as no one in the priestly class could bear the gruesome pain for such a long time. Thus, Parashuram, who had sworn vengeance against all Kshatriyas, concluded that Karna lied about being a in order to learn from him. So, he cursed Karna that his martial skills including the use of Brahmastra would desert him when he needed them most. This in turn meant that Karna would forget all that he had learnt from Parashuram during his hour of crisis. Karna, who was unaware of his royal lineage, pleaded with his master that any student in his place would have acted the same way.

While he regretted cursing Karna in a moment of anger, Parashuram's curse was irrevocable. He, gifted Karna with a celestial weapon called Bhargavastra along with Parashuram's personal bow called Vijaya and blessed him that in the end, Karna would achieve what every mortal aspires the most - everlasting glory and immortal fame. In fact mythological sources say that it was the king of Gods - Indra who had stung Karna in the form of the bee so that he would be cursed by the great sage. The same Indra later exploited Karna's generosity and took away the the Kavacha (body armour) and Kundana (ear rings) that virtually made Karna invincible. It is beyond any doubt that had Indra, father of Karna's sworn enemy, Arjuna, not interfered in the matter, Arjuna would have never been able to beat Karna.

Dejected at being cursed by his own Guru, Karna is said to have wandered in the forests. While he was practising the 'Shabdavedi Vidhya' (art of hitting the target by detecting the source of sound), he mistook a Brahmin's cow for a wild animal and shot it. Enraged, the Brahmin cursed Karna that as he had killed a helpless animal, he too would be killed when he was the most helpless, when his concentration was diverted from his enemy.
However putting these things behind him, Karna went on to become the King of Ambha (modern Bhagalpur) after he impressed Duryodhana when he surpassed Arjuna's feat in a tournament held by Dhrona in Hastinapur to display the skills that he had given to the Kuru princes. This event established key relationships in the Mahabharat, namely, the strong bond between Duryodhana and Karna, the intense rivalry between Karna and Arjuna, and the enmity in general between the Pandavas as a whole and Karna.

Sometime later, when he was on a tour of his new kingdom, Karna is said to have encountered a girl who was crying out of fear of her step mother since her ghee had fallen to the ground. Being generous enough Karna told her that he would give her new ghee. But, the child insisted that she wanted only the ghee that was mixed with the soil and refused to take the new ghee. Taking pity on the girl, Karna took the soil mixed with ghee in his fist and squeezed it with all his might to extract the ghee and pour it back into the pot. However, Bhoomi Devi (Mother Earth) was furious at him for hurting her for the sake of a mere child. So, the Earth goddess cursed him that in a very crucial battle of his life, she would trap his chariot wheel in the same way that he held the fistful of soil, thereby making him vulnerable to his enemy.

Thus, Karna was cursed on three separate and independent occasions. Unfortunately, each of these curses became operational at the same crucial moment in the Kurukshetra war, later making him weaponless, left without a chariot and helpless.

On the sixteenth day of the great battle of Kurukshetra, Karna led the Kaurava army. He first defeated the might Bhima but spared his life saying that he was elder to Bhima. Later he went on to beat Yudhistir but left him alive saying that "It seems that you have forgotten all the teachings which your guru has taught you, so first go and practice those and then come to fight". Also he defeated the twins, Nakul and Sahadev but didn't kill them as he had promised Kunti that he would not kill any of the Pandavas except for Arjuna. Then Karna proceeded towards Arjuna and unleashed the deadly weapon, Nagastra at him. But Krishna, like he had done so many times in the past, saved him from what would have been sure death.

On the seventeenth day, the much anticipated contest between Arjuna and Karna took place. Though the duel was initially held at a stalemate, Karna was hampered when his chariot wheel sank into the ground in loose wet soil (Bhoomi Devi's curse thus came into effect). He also found himself unable to remember the incantations for divine weapons, as his teacher Parashuram had foretold. Descending from his chariot to remove the wheel, he requested Arjuna to wait until it is set right as per the rules of battle. Krishna told Arjuna that Karna has no right to refer to the rules at this point, after having violated the same himself while killing Abhimanyu. He urged Arjuna to kill Karna while he was helpless (Brahman's curse came into effect here). Lord Krishna told Arjuna that if he did not kill Karna at this critical juncture of the war, he might never be able to kill him and the Pandavas may never win the war. Thus, Arjuna fatally injured Karna using a divine arrow.

It is believed that on the night before his death, Karna's guru, Parashuram appeared to him in his dreams. He is said to have told Karna that he was well aware of Karna's caste when he had approached him to become his disciple. Yet, inspite of his vow, he agreed to teach Karna, a Kshatriya, as he was fully aware of Karna's capability and impeccable character. Besides, Parashuram went on further to explain the reasons for him cursing his own disciple. Parashuram said that if Karna would not die then the Kauravas would have won the battle and the Earth would be ruled by Duryodhana. As such, Adharma would prevail and people would have suffered in his reign.

Though the three curses and interventions from Indra and Kunti led to his death on the battlefield, Karna achieved the feat of immortality as foretold by his guru, Parashuram. His generosity and the manner in which he carried himself throughout his life is praised several times in mythology and literature. Thus though he allied with evil out of gratitude towards his friend Duryodhana, he is even today, revered to as one of the greatest mn to have participated in the Great War. In fact, Karna, more than anyone else, is the true hero of the Mahabharat.

Special Thanks to : Mr. Ambarish Kulkarni

SOURCES : www.wikipedia.org/karna

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February 01, 2011

THE TALE OF THE MONKEY KING

February 05, 2010

KARNA AND THE THREE CURSES