The power of destiny

Many characters in the Mahabharata speak of vidhi (destiny), said P.T. Seshadri in a discourse. Discussing the Kurukshetra war with Sanjaya, Dritharashtra said, “Huge armies were with my sons. Bhishma, Drona and other great warriors were on our side. Yet all my sons perished. The reason was vidhi.” Duryodhana had no belief in dharma. But he too talked of vidhi. He had a palace of lacquer made just for the Pandavas and set fire to it. When he later came to know that they were very much alive, he said he had tried his best to kill them, but they had survived because of vidhi. He concluded that vidhi was strong, that man’s attempts to overcome vidhi would not succeed and that divine will was always supreme. Duryodhana’s words on vidhi are in Adi Parva.

Yudhishthira’s conduct was always in keeping with dharmic rules. But he had a humiliating defeat in a game of dice, and stood before the Kauravas ashamed. He came to the conclusion that life itself was a gamble. Nothing was permanent in life, except time. Draupadi was disrobed by Dusshasana. Vidura lamented that Yudhishthira knew all the dharma sastras, and yet he had done something unacceptable — making his wife a stake in a game. How could this have happened, if not for vidhi, wondered Vidura. In Vana Parva, we find sage Maitreya advising Duryodhana to make peace with the Pandavas. But Duryodhana did not heed his advice. Maitreya said Duryodhana’s obstinacy was due to vidhi. In every parva of the Mahabharata, destiny’s power is highlighted.

Published - October 23, 2024 05:08 am IST