Dharma and Durabhimaanam - Karna and Bhisma -

[Guest guest]

dearest Balaji,

 

Thank you for your wonderful post on DHARMA!

 

Karna is one of my FAVORITE 'heros' - i always admired Karna for his

Valor and his generosity - He was a maha-daani ( a generous man ) !

 

Bala-ji, do you remember that incident when Karna parted with his

Divine Kavacha ( protective armor) and kundalas ? Lord INDRA came

to KARNA disguised as a poor brahmin. The poor Brahmin told Karna

that he needed 'gold' to perform his daughter's marriage . Karna .

without batting an eyelid, parted with his gold kundala-kavacha ( ear

ornaments that would protect him from his enemies - these were found

on his person and donated by his father Surya bhagwan himself) !Karna

was so generous that he even parted with his gold kavacha-kundalas

just to help out a poor brahmin! HE risked his life because those

earrings Could have protected him during the Mahabharata war! !

 

BALA-JI - charity to the poor and the needy is also an act of

Dharma!!

 

another story of Karna's great sacrifice comes to mind!!

 

Kunti devi approached Karna and told him that he is her first son and

that he was born out of wedlock and his father is none other than

Surya bhagwan himself. Karna was shocked to discover he was not the

son of a charioteer ( fisherman?)but was delighted to know he was

the descedent of the Surya dynasty and therefore a born KShatriya!

Kunti devi requested Karna to spare the life of Arjuna in the battle

field knowing fully well that Karna was far superior to Arjuna in

the art of warfare !

 

Karna granted his mother's request but urged her to tell the panca-

pandavas that Karna was their half-brother !

 

WHAT A SAD FACT THAT KARNA WAS DISOWNED BY HIS OWN MOTHER and his own

mother valued the lives of panca-pandavas more than Karna's life!

What a noble and great Character Karna was!

 

Balaji is of course right on one point -Karna joined hands with

Shakuni, Duryodana and Dushashana and the four of them came to be

known as "dushta chathushtayam".( the evil quartet) Duryodhana came

to Karna's rescue on a crucial Occasion, and since then Karna owed a

sense of deep gratitude to Duryodhana! This is called "Durabhimaanam"

( false sense of attachment) ! ALTHOUGH kARNA WAS BASICALLY A NOBLE

SOUL, he earned a bad name because he kept bad company.

 

Now, the Parasurama story !

 

No doubt, karna lied to Parasurama and told his guru that he was a

brahmin- in reality, he was a Kshatriya! parashurama had taken a vow

that he will never teach Dhanurvidya ( archery) t0 Kshatriyas. One

day, when Parasurama was resting his head on Karna's lap and

sleeping , a bee stung Karna on the leg and Karna was bleeding

profusely! Karna did not want to disturb his Guru SO HE BORE ALL THE

PAIN silently!The Guru got up from sleep and saw the blood-soaked leg

of Karna , The guru realized that 'this boy no brahmin! only a

kshatriya can bear so much pain' Immediately, Parashurama flew into a

rage and cursed Karna for deceiving him. "O karna! you will forget

all this vidya at the crucial time" ! we all know waht happened when

Karna got stuck under the wheel of the chariot and could not

extricate himself !!

 

the point is this story shows Karna's Guru Bhakti! it also shows he

lied to his guru!

 

**********************************************************************

Bhisma of course was the very embodiment of Dharma and a parama jnani

and a Maha Tyagi . He observed his vows strictly.

 

In the Kurukshetra Yuddha, Bhisma was wounded by Arjuna's arrows and

was lying on a bed of arrows. Lying on his deathbed, Bhisma explained

to to all assembled 'WHAT IS DHARMA' and how to uphold it! At this

time, Draupadi who was in the audience, burst into laughter !

Pandavas were upset with Draupadi's uncouth behaviour and reprimanded

her! Bhisma pitamaha calmed the Pandavas DOWN AND TOLD THEM THAT

dRAUPADI MUST HAVE A GOOD REASON to mock at his words! Draiupadi

said" O GRANDSIRE! It is too late now ! why did not you teach the

Kaurvas what DHARMA is ! When Dushashana disrobed me in the Kaurva

court, You JUST STOOD AND WATCHED ! and You did nothing to save my

honor! i am sorry that you find my laughter an insult ! "

 

Bhishma then explained that of course he was in the wrong but since

he living on the generosity of Kauravas he was indebted to them for

his daily living. It was because of a flse sense of attachment (

durabhimaanam) He failed to uphold DhARMA !bHISMA SAID " NOW,

ARjuna's arrows have drained all the impure blood that was in my body

( food consumed at the hans of Kauravas)AND NOW I CAN TALK ABOUT WHAT

IS DHARMA as pure blood is flowing through my veins."

 

Draupadi had five husbands and none of them could protect her HONOR

when Dusshashana DISROBED HER ! Even Lord Krishna did not come to her

help till she threw both hands up in despair in a state of total

surrender!!! as long as her one hand was clutching the saree and the

other hand was praying to Krishna , Krishna delayed reaching out to

her because Krishna wanted to demonstate to Draupadi - THE IMPORTANCE

OF TOTAL SURRENDER AND TOTAL FAITH!!!

 

Love and regards !

 

ps sometimes one has to 'speak up' to uphold Dharma also !!