Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata Read online

  The people were not sure who should be king. At first, they sided with Yudhishtira who was honest, nice and noble. Supporting him were four brothers, one strong, one skilled, one beautiful and one wise. What more did a kingdom want? But they also felt sorry for Duryodhana, son of a blind father and a blindfolded mother, whose friend Karna, treated so harshly by the Pandavas, was not only strong but also generous.

  ‘When they get married and women from other lands start entering this household, it will make matters worse,’ said Vidura to Dhritarashtra. ‘It makes sense therefore to build a separate house for the wife and sons of Pandu.’ Dhritarashtra agreed and ordered a palace to be built for Kunti and her sons in Varanavata.

  When Vidura visited this palace, he was horrified to discover that the house was made of lac and all kinds of inflammable material.

  Vidura went to Kunti and said, ‘My brother wishes to kill you and your sons. He will gift you a house—a gift you cannot refuse. Once you move in, he plans to burn it down. But fear not, you shall be safe. Below the house I have built a tunnel which leads to the forest. Accept the gift of the house to avoid suspicion and then escape through the tunnel. When you return, you will have a moral high ground that will go a long way in getting your children their rightful inheritance.’

  Sure enough, the palace was given to the Pandavas and their mother and as soon as they moved in, on the first night itself it was set afire. The Pandavas escaped unhurt with their mother but they were shaken by the events. The family feud had suddenly taken a very serious turn.

  When the flames died out, the charred remains of a woman and five young men were discovered. Everyone assumed these were the remains of Kunti and her sons. Dhritarashtra wept for them, Gandhari wept for them, Duryodhana and Dusshasana also wept for them. Bhishma and Drona were inconsolable in their grief.

  Vidura pretended to mourn, for he knew the bodies were those of six people who had been drugged and left in the palace to burn in place of Kunti and her children. He kept wondering who in the household knew of this horrific plot. Whose tears were true and whose were false?

  The story of rivalry over the elephants comes from an elephant festival in Karnataka. It shows that the rivalry was not limited to the sons; both Kunti and Gandhari were fiercely competitive and sought glory for their sons.

  Much has been said about Kunti’s relationship with Vidura. Vidura is seen as a form of Yama, the first god called upon by Pandu to make Kunti pregnant. Yudhishtira thus is the son of Yama and finds a father figure in Vidura. Rationalists believe that Vidura perhaps, in his role as a younger brother, was the first one invited by Pandu to make his wife pregnant. This explains his soft corner for Kunti and her sons.

  The story of the lac palace marks the Kauravas and their blind father as the villains of the epic. By this one shameful action, they lose all sympathy.

  Barnawa, located in Meerut district, close to Hastina-puri, is identified as Varanavata, where the palace of wax was built for the Pandavas.

  26

  Killing Baka

  ‘Except Vidura, no one in the palace cares for us. Bhishma and Drona try not to take sides and Vidura cannot support us openly. We have to fend for ourselves. Let us not show ourselves till we have powerful allies of our own,’ said Kunti. The Pandavas agreed.

  So, pretending to be impoverished Brahmans, the widow and her five sons took refuge in the forest, never stopping in any one place for long, wandering through the wilderness wondering what life had in store for them. Was this the life they were meant to live? Homeless, rootless, children of the gods. The Pandavas often found their mother sobbing. They wondered how they could bring a smile back to her face.

  Sometimes, when walking became too tiresome for all, Bhima would carry his entire family in his arms: his mother on his back, Nakula and Sahadeva on his shoulders and Yudhishtira and Arjuna on his arms or hips. Passers-by who saw this were astonished not merely by his strength but also by his devotion to his family.

  When wandering in the forest became unbearable, the Pandavas took shelter in villages but they never stayed there for long as they did not want to attract any unnecessary attention. Fear of discovery and death haunted them every moment.

  The Pandavas foraged for food all day long while in the forest. In villages, they would go from house to house seeking alms. The food collected would be divided in the evening. Kunti would give half to Bhima and divide the rest equally among the rest. She ate the leftovers.

  In the village of Ekachakra, Kunti and her sons were given shelter by a young Brahman couple. One night, they overheard the wife cry, ‘I know it is our turn to feed that monster. But if you go, he will surely eat you and I will be left a widow, with no means of supporting either myself or our daughter, left to the mercy of the world.’

  Feeling sorry for her kind hosts, Kunti asked the Brahman what the problem was. She learnt that the village lived in the shadow of fear. A Rakshasa called Baka lived nearby and every time he was hungry he would raid the village, destroy property and kill all those who came in his path. To minimize the damage, the villagers came to an agreement with the Rakshasa: instead of him raiding the village randomly and spreading mayhem, they would every fortnight, send him a cartload of food. He could eat the food as well as the bullocks as well as the man, or woman, who delivered the food. Every family in the village had to take turns providing the Rakshasa his fortnightly food. Thus the suffering was distributed equally among all the villagers. It was now the turn of the Brahman couple.

  ‘Fear not,’ said Kunti to the Brahman couple, ‘This house has given us shelter. The least we can do is save this household. One of my sons shall go in place of your husband. I have five sons; I can afford to sacrifice one.’

  The Brahman couple protested, ‘But you are our guests.’ But Kunti’s mind was made up. She ordered Bhima to deliver the cartload of food to Baka. The Brahman couple were touched by Kunti’s sacrifice. As Kunti bid Bhima farewell, the other Pandavas smiled. Their mother had, in one masterly stroke, taken steps to rid the village of the Rakshasa menace while ensuring her hungry son had ample to eat, after days of frugal meals.

  No sooner did Bhima enter the forest than he stopped the cart and began eating the food meant for the Rakshasa. When Baka heard the sound of slurping and burping, he was furious. He approached the cart and saw what Bhima was up to. Furious, he attacked Bhima but Bhima caught him by his neck and pinned him to the cart with one hand while continuing to eat with the other. When he finished his meal, Bhima smiled with satisfaction and then turned his attention to Baka.

  The two fought like wild bulls. The earth shook and the trees trembled as they showered blows on each other. After a prolonged fight, Bhima managed to break Baka’s neck.

  The next day, the villagers saw the cart carrying Baka’s body entering the village. There was no sign of the widow’s son. In fact, there was no trace of the widow and her other sons. The villagers thanked the mysterious strangers for delivering them from their misery. ‘They must be Kshatriyas in disguise. For is it not the dharma of warriors to protect the weak without seeking either reward or recognition?’

  In the rural hinterland of India, in tribal communities and even in South East Asia where the Mahabharata plays a central cultural role, the mace-wielding Bhima is the most popular Pandava. He is the great warrior who defeated many Rakshasa warriors and made the world a safer place. Perhaps the village folk were drawn by his straightforwardness. He was a passionate simpleton who could be provoked easily. He loved his food and enjoyed fighting demons. He was a hero of commoners, unlike the focused and highly insecure Arjuna who was the hero of the bow-wielding elite.

  Among many tribes of Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, such as the Konds, Bhima is seen as the one who brought civilization to earth. He is worshipped as a deity under a tree that is considered to be his wife, a tribal princess.

  Baka uses his might to subdue the weak villagers. He represents matsya nyaya or the law of the fishes, which is an Indian metaphor for