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Source: The Hindu (http://www.the-hindu.com)

 

Noble ideas cherished by Pandavas

 

CHENNAI, JAN 2. ``Given the opportunity to express my sincere

desire in life, I shall pray to God as follows: let me consider

the property possessed by others as worthless objects and as

bitter fruits; let me refrain from injuring the feelings of

others, nor indulge in criticism or slander about their conduct;

let me think every other woman as my mother and let me shed tears

on seeing other people suffer and try to remove their distress.

If these traits are developed by me, I shall remain thankful to

God for His benevolence in having granted me the same.''

 

These sentiments were not those of an ordinary person or a

weakling who has nothing to fall back nor was he a coward. He was

a powerful warrior who could crush anyone. That was Bhima, a key

figure in the Mahabharata. A situation arose when the Pandavas

were asked to unfold what transpired in their minds and the above

was his reply. During the fag end of their 12-year exile, the

Pandavas came to Amithra forest. At the request of Draupadi,

Arjuna obtained her a rare fruit which ripened only once a year,

not realising that it was the only item of food for a saint, who

partaking it would fast till another one appears during the

subsequent year.

 

Other pious men in the forest told Arjuna that he might incur the

sage's curse. ``If I am punished for this rash act, I shall be on

it'' said Arjuna. But the oldest among them said ``Together, let

us all be cursed because we are one''. It was then they invoked

Lord Krishna's grace who presented Himself before them (as He

does when devotees call Him during dangers). He asked each one of

them and Draupadi to open out their hearts and express what

transpired in their minds then. As each one revealed their

desires the fruit levitated and step by step went up and got

stuck to the branches.

 

In his lecture, Sri K. P. Arivanandam referred to Yudhishtra's

wishes: ``Virtue, Truth, patience and singing God's glory should

prevail over sins, falsehood, anger and strife''. After Bhima, it

was Arjuna's turn and his view was that men should aim to achieve

fame and to gain it, he would adopt any method. Nakula said

beauty, wealth and caste consideration would pale into

insignificance before a scholar's erudition and he would honour a

learned person even should he have some weakness. Sahadeva said,

``Truth is my mother, knowledge my father, virtue my friend,

mercy my companion, humility my spouse and patience my son''.

Draupadi's words were that her husbands had control over their

senses and if she lived with one, the other brothers would not

even remember her.

 

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