Lakshman Rao U
At Kamyakavana, the Pandavas were visited by Sri Krishna and the venerable elders of the Panchalas, Yadavas, Vrishnis, Bhojas, and Andhakas. The chiefs of these noble clans, beholding the humiliation heaped upon the sons of Pandu, were inflamed with righteous wrath. Their anger shook them like a storm, and they declared that the blood of…
The blazing radiance of Dharma Vidura entered Hastinapura, and he bowed before King Dhritarashtra, who welcomed him with warmth and affection. The king spoke with emotion, saying, “Vidura, you are as my very heartbeat. I know your noble quality of forgiveness, yet I must confess that I have not always walked rightly with you.” Vidura,…
Dharmaja, in answer to the doubts of Sage Sounaka, spoke with quiet dignity. The sage had wondered whether the king was entangled in the creation of wealth and in the gathering of riches, but Dharmaja replied: “I do not seek riches or comforts for my selfish pleasure. A different concern burdens my conscience—how may I…
When Saunaka and the sages of Naimisharanya enquired of Souti regarding the exile of the sons of Pandu, the narrator spoke in sober cadence. He told how, having lost all in the cruel game of dice, the Pandavas turned their steps southward into the forest, accompanied by Indrasena and other faithful attendants. Subhadra, the young…
In the palace of Hastinapura, the heavy heart of King Dhṛtarāṣṭra found a fleeting relief, for the women of the royal household rejoiced when the harm intended against the Pāṇḍavas was momentarily undone. In that moment of crisis, the wise queen Gāndhārī rose with firmness of mind and persuaded the king to act with prudence,…
Vidura, still cherishing a faint hope that heaven itself might intervene to shield Draupadi and the sons of Pandu from a humiliation beyond all precedent, continued his grave discourse on justice. He recalled an ancient tale: in a former age, Virochana, son of the pious Prahlada, and Sudhanva, son of the Brahmin Angirasa, sought the…
The tumult of strange misfortune might well have driven a lesser woman to madness; yet Draupadī, noble in birth and steadfast in virtue, stood unshaken, seeking the truth amidst outrage. The foul deed of staking a wife in a game of dice weighed upon her like a dark enigma, and in the midst of that…
Though well aware that gambling is a heinous act fraught with dreadful consequences, Dharmaja, as if compelled by an unseen power, agreed to play. The game unfolded in a realm bereft of rules or restraint. The hall of dice was adorned with mango groves, perfumed with sandalwood, and the dice themselves were consecrated with flowers,…
The hour of ruin stood close at hand, for the momentary frailty of a mind usually steadfast and luminous was to unbar the gates of devastation. Dharmaja, scion of righteousness, a ruler gentle and just, whose humility matched his virtues, found himself upon the very path where fate’s unerring device makes a man’s own judgement…
Dhritarashtra, seeking to mask his own misgivings, spoke with gentle persuasion to the wise Vidura. “O friend, venerable to all,” said he, “when you, I, and the grandsire Bhishma stand together, what cause is there for enmity among brothers? By the grace of the gods no harm shall befall my sons. Therefore, O treasure of…
