Duryodhana's desire
Duryodhana also known as Suyodhana, is the primary
antagonist in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was the eldest of the Kauravas,
the hundred sons of the blind king Dhritarashtra and his queen Gandhari. Being
the first-born son of the blind king, he was the crown prince of the Kuru
Kingdom and its capital of Hastinapura, often forced into ceding the title to
his cousin Yudhishthira, who was older than him. Karna was the prince's closest
friend. Notably, Duryodhana, with significant assistance from Karna, performs
the Vaishnava Yagna when the Pandavas are in exile.Duryodhana used his greater
skill in wielding the mace to defeat his opponents. He was also an extremely
courageous warrior and was said to be a good ruler. Duryodhana's greed and
arrogance were the two qualities said to have led to his downfall in the
Mahabharata.
Confidence
Duryodhana's desire
Duryodhana goes to the Rajasuya
Yaga performed by Yudhishthira,Duryodhana's desire and when he sees the glory of the procedures,
he is desirous to the point that his heart is loaded with contempt and
distress. He communicates his sentiments to his uncle Sakuni, said Kidambi
Narayanan, in a talk. Duryodhana says that he feels like a lake that has
evaporated in the late spring heat. All bliss has evaporated in his heart. He
has seen Sisupala being killed by Krishna. He has seen lords carrying valuable
gifts to Yudhishthira. All that abundance appears to be out of reach to
Duryodhana.
Although loved by his family,
Duryodhana and most of his brothers were not seen on the same level as the
Pandavas in their adherence to virtue, duty, and respect for elders. Duryodhana
felt that the partiality everyone showed to the Pandavas was only due to the
circumstances of their birth. Duryodhana was mentored by his maternal uncle
Shakuni, who masterminded most of Duryodhana's plots to humiliate and kill the
Pandavas.
Duryodhana's hatred for the
Pandavas stemmed from his sincere belief that he being the son of the eldest
brother should be the heir apparent to the throne of Hastinapura. Because of
his father's (Dhritarashtra) blindness, his father had to renounce the throne
in favour of his younger brother, Pandu. Duryodhana deeply believed that what was
rightfully his was being given away to his older cousin Yudhishthira. He also
felt that the Pandavas were the sons of Kunti and devas/deities, Duryodhana's desire and not of
Pandu. He never believed that their divine origin alone proved their
superiority. On many occasions he questioned their merits and always called
them 'Kaunteya' (sons of Kunti). He would never accept the Pandavas as his
brothers but always did his best to restrain them. He also bore a deep hatred
of Bhima, who was older than him but much stronger and dominated his brothers
in sport and skill with his immense physical power and strength. Out of anger
and jealousy, he even tried to poison Bheem, but was unsuccessful.
Relationship with Karna
At the martial exhibition where the
Kaurava and Pandava princes demonstrated their skills before their elders,
their guru Drona and the people of that kingdom, Karna appeared and challenged
an unsuspecting Arjuna, who is considered to be the best of the princes. But
Karna was stopped when Kripa asked him to ascertain his lineage, as it would be
inappropriate for unequal to compete. Karna, not being a kshatriya, bowed his
head in shame.
Duryodhana immediately defended
Karna, arguing that it is skill and bravery, and not birth, that defines a
warrior. Using the boon granted to him by Dhritarashtra, Duryodhana made Karna
king of Anga so that he was regarded as Arjuna's equal. Karna pledged his
allegiance and friendship to Duryodhana. Neither of them knew that Karna was in
fact Kunti's oldest son, born to (the sun god) Surya, before her marriage to
Pandu.
Friendship with Karna
The friendship
between Karna and Duryodhana is considered to be a great one, and is used as an
example of friendship and loyalty.[A lesser-known story is told about Karna,
Duryodhana, and his wife Bhanumati, as an example of honest friendship. With
the help of Karna, Duryodhana married Bhanumati. According to the Mahabharata,
Duryodhana abducted Bhanumati,Duryodhana's desire the maiden of the fairest complexion, from her
swayamvara with the help of his best friend Karna in the wake of having been
rejected by her.
As per a Tamil
folktale, when Duryodhana had recently wedded Bhanumati, one day, he requested
Karna to take care of her and entertain her for the evening as he had duties to
be taken care of. To pass time, Karna and Bhanumati began playing a game of
dice. The game soon got very interesting, engrossing the two of them
completely. Gradually, Karna started winning. Meanwhile, Duryodhana had
returned early and entered the room. Seeing her husband come in, Bhanumati
immediately stood up as a mark of respect. Karna, whose back was facing thedoor, did not realize this and misconstrued her intent, thinking that she was
leaving because she was on the losing side.[citation needed]
He immediately reached for her pearl-trimmed shawl, and accidentally pulled so hard that the trimming broke, and the pearls were scattered all over the floor. Her veil also slipped along with the shawl, so she was half-dressed. Bhanumati, who was as yet, not so familiar with Karna, froze at the thought of how her husband would react. Duryodhana's desire She had heard of his ego and had personally been present the last time he was insulted, which had resulted in her own abduction.[citation needed]
Karna, following Bhanumati's stunned gaze, turned around to see Duryodhana observing them both carefully. He stood in shame, embarrassment and guilt, considering the wrath and inevitable punishment he was going to face from his friend. He was sure Duryodhana would immediately accuse them of impropriety. However, much to both their surprise, Duryodhana looked past Karna, and addressed his wife, "Should I just collect the beads, or would you Duryodhana's desire like me to string them, as citation needed]
Bhanumati and
Karna could only look at each other in shock, mutely, feeling ashamed at the
way they had both severely misjudged him. He had implicit faith and great love
for his queen, and even greater was his faith in his friend Karna. Not for a
moment did he suspect that the man he had considered his brother would everbetray him, and only quietly picked up the pearls trustfully. This story is not
present in the Vyasa Mahabharata, but is often commonly told when discussing
Karna and Duryodhana's genuine friendship.
Death
When the coast
was clear, Ashwatthama, Kripacharya, and Kritvarma, having witnessed the fight
and not wanting to interrupt so as to rob Duryodhana of his honor, came to
Duryodhana's broken body. Ashwatthama promised Duryodhana that he would
dispatch the Pandavas and their allies to the abode of Yama and requests his
permission to continue the war.
Ashwatthama
proceeds to the encampment and into Drishtadyumna's tent at night while
everybody of Pandava camp were sleeping. Drishtadyumna awakens from his sleep,
and begs Ashwatthama not to kill him cowardly at night and unarmed, and let him
die a warrior's death with an appropriate duel. Ashwatthama ignores his plea
and beats him to death. The Upapandavas and Shikhandhi alerted by Drishtadyumn's
cries, came out of their tents to battle, only to be slain. Ashwatthama
proceeds to massacre everyone in the encampment while any escapees were slain
by Kripacharya and Kritvarma at the gates of the encampment.
After killing
the Upapandavas and the last remnants of the Panchalas, Ashwatthama returns to
Duryodhana. He showed Duryodhana the blood on his sword which belonged to the
Upapandavas, hearing Duryodhana peacefully left his body satisfied with
revenge. Concomitant with Duryodhana's death, Sanjaya loses his divine sight,
which he had been using to update Duryodhana's father Dhritarashtra. This
symbolizes the conclusion to the war.
After the
Pandavas retired, only Yudhishthira reached heaven alive. There, he saw
Duryodhana, which shocked him. When asked by Yudhishthira, Narada replied that
Duryodhana fulfilled his religious duties.
conclusion
When the coast was clear,Ashwatthama, Kripacharya, and Kritvarma, having witnessed the fight and not
wanting to interrupt so as to rob Duryodhana of his honor, came to Duryodhana's
broken body. Ashwatthama promised Duryodhana that he would dispatch the Pandavas
and their allies to the abode of Yama and requests his permission to continue
the war.
0 Comments