Devlok With Devdutt Pattanaik Read online

  I read in your book that Karna went to Naraka. Why so?

  The ending of the Mahabharata is interesting. The Pandavas go to hell and the Kauravas go to heaven. But Karna does not. He stays in hell. Those who operated within the bounds of their jati-dharma (caste dharma) in Kurukshetra go to heaven. The Kauravas, as Kshatriyas, stayed true to their jati-dharma, and went to heaven. Karna behaved like a Kshatriya although he was a sarathi. Here, the question of caste comes up again.

  Another reason is his breaking his promise to Duryodhana that he would kill the Pandavas. But even though he gets opportunities to kill Yudhishtira, Bhima, Nakula and Sahadeva, he does not use them because of his promise to Kunti. He does not keep his word to Duryodhana, and so goes to hell.

  14

  Years in Exile

  Why were the Pandavas sent into exile (vanavas)?

  The Pandavas bet their kingdom, Indraprastha, in a game of dice and lose. The agreement is that in the thirteen years of their exile in the forest, the Kauravas would rule that kingdom. Of the thirteen years, they were to live twelve years in vanavas and one year in agyatvas (in disguise). And if they were recognized and found out in the thirteenth year they would have to go back into exile for another thirteen years.

  What did these princes, so used to the luxuries of royal life, do in the forest for so many years?

  The Pandavas talk to Krishna and tell him that they could wage war right away and get their kingdom back, instead of going into exile. But Krishna cautions them against that and says they must keep their word, having entered into an agreement. When they wonder what they’ll do, Krishna advises them to meet all the rishis in the forest one by one and turn this into an opportunity to expand their knowledge. Learn from the aranyakas (books written by rishis in forests) about the Upanishads, the sadhana (meditation) of the rishis, and so on. All that knowledge would help them become better kings on returning from exile. So they meet rishis who impart their knowledge and tell them stories, go on tirth yatras (pilgrimages), travel to the mountains and across rivers. The third chapter of the Mahabharata is the Vana Parva, literally, the forest of stories, where they are told innumerable stories. This is the core of vanaprastha—kahani, gyan, tirth yatra.

  What did Bhima learn in agyatvas?

  Bhima is a strong and capable prince, but he is also proud and arrogant. He needed to learn humility. Many incidents take place in the jungle that teach him the value of humility. Once, Draupadi sees a golden-petalled lotus and brightens up for the first time after the vastraharan; she’s been angry and upset ever since. Seeing her happy, Bhima offers to bring her more such flowers. He decides that no one will come in his way, and that he will not go around anything; they will have to move aside because he is a prince. He meets Hanuman, who is lying on the ground disguised as an old monkey. Hanuman says he’s too old to move and asks Bhima to go around him or move his tail aside. Bhima kicks his tail but it does not budge; he tries to move it with his hands, but no matter how hard he tries it feels like something made of the heaviest iron. This is a famous story, and in the ensuing dialogue, Hanuman tells him that this very conceit is what caused him to lose his kingdom and that he’ll have to learn about humility in the jungle.

  What is Arjuna’s story?

  Arjuna is very upset about losing his kingdom, having to suffer his wife’s humiliation. He is frustrated and impatient because Krishna has forbidden them to go to war. He does a tapasya to obtain a weapon—the Pashupatastra—from Shiva. While he’s meditating, Shiva comes to him as Kirat, a tribal. Arjuna treats him like an inferior person. Kirat tells him that he may have been a prince in his palace, but in the jungle, he was like everyone else; they were equal. Arjuna doesn’t agree and they have an archery contest in which he is defeated. Like Bhima, Arjuna too is taught a lesson in humility. Unlike most stories where the hero is shown as being perfect, the Mahabharata shows their flaws.

  Then Arjuna goes to heaven to meet his father Indra. There a beautiful apsara named Urvashi sees him and is attracted to him. When Arjuna turns her down saying she was the wife of his ancestor, Pururava, and therefore like a mother to him, she tells him that his human rules don’t apply to her. He still refuses her, so she curses him and says that he’ll become a napunsak (eunuch). Scared, Arjuna runs to Indra who says he can only mitigate the curse by making it applicable for just one year, and suggests that he use it to his advantage during the agyatvas.

  Arjuna is portrayed as something of a ladies’ man, a womanizer. This incident perhaps takes place to make him question his masculinity. He pursues women, but has he tried to understand their needs, seen the world from their point of view? When he lives like half a woman for a year, without his masculinity, he’ll be able to see the world from their perspective. Again, this is to teach him humility, a kind of mental retraining so that he’ll become a better king when he returns.

  What is Yudhishtira’s story?

  The Pandavas meet many rishis in the forest, including Mudgala and Markandeya. When Yudhishtira is moping about the injustice of having to suffer vanavas, Rishi Markandeya asks him why he’s sulking when it was he who brought this hardship upon his family and himself. The rishi then tells him the story of the Ramayana, called Ramopokhyan, and how Rama, though completely blameless, happily chose vanavas only to help his father keep his word.

  This is another story where the Ramayana and Mahabharata intersect.

  Yes, this is told as history to the Pandavas. The events of the Ramayana take place in an earlier epoch, the Treta Yuga, and those of the Mahabharata in the Dvapara Yuga. The story is important to compare their respective vanavas. Their reasons, attitude, approach are different. Rama is forced into exile for fourteen years although he is innocent, unlike the Pandavas who are not innocent, have lost in gambling, and go to vanavas for thirteen years. The Pandavas keep complaining about it, thinking of ways to hurt the Kauravas, whereas Rama accepts it gracefully. Rama in Ayodhya and Rama in the forest are the same—at peace—that is why Rama is god and the Pandavas are not.

  There is another interesting, very famous, story about Yudhishtira, Nakula and Sahadeva. It’s called Yaksha Prashna. Once the Pandavas feel extremely thirsty, so they ask Nakula and Sahadeva to look for water. When, even after a long time, they don’t return Arjuna goes in search of them. He too does not return. Then Bhima goes to look for them and does not return either. Finally, Yudhishtira goes and finds his brothers lying dead near a lake. Since he is really thirsty, he decides to first drink some water and then investigate what has happened to his brothers. A crane in the lake stops him and says, ‘You have to answer my questions before drinking the water. Your brothers did not obey me, so I killed them.’ Yudhishtira agrees.

  The crane asks him, ‘What is the most mysterious thing in the world?’ Yudhishtira replies that although people die every day, those who are alive behave as if they are immortal. The crane, which is a yaksha, asks him many such questions after which it is satisfied and allows him to drink the water. Happy with Yudhishtira’s answers, the crane offers to bring back to life any one of his brothers. Yudhishtira asks for Nakula. The crane is surprised by this choice and reminds him that he has a battle to win. Why not choose the strong Bhima or the archery expert (dhanurdhar) Arjuna? Why Nakula, who is just handsome, talks to birds, and is perhaps of no use? Yudhishtira says that his father had two wives. He, a son of Kunti, is alive. One of Madri’s sons should also live. Here, you see the transformation that has come about in Yudhishtira. In the Sabha Parva, when they are gambling, Yudhishtira first bets Nakula (a son of Madri)—the brother who is least close to him. He considered Bhima and Arjuna apne (his own) and Nakula and Sahadeva paraye (someone else’s). The realization that a king must consider even the distant ones as his own comes to him in the jungle. This shows that he is ready to become king.

  What does Draupadi learn?

  Draupadi hears many stories in the jungle. One is of Nala and Damayanti. Nala is a handsome, worthy king and, like the Pandavas, gambles awa