In the great and grand court of the Kurus, sat many men of
distinguished linage. Men who were brave,
intelligent, honourable and considered to be the “pillars of society”. Ethics, morality, history, religion, law, politics,
economics were all embodied by the numerous ministers and advisors of the Kuru-kul.
In such an august court, an unfair game of dice was being played. Everyone present knew one player was an avid, yet
amateur addict ; the other, a known cheat with guile and skill unmatched by any. Yet, no one dared object to this unfair game. Time and again, the amateur lost, time and again
everyone realised this was through unfair means, yet, none dared speak up.
An addicted gambler.
Having lost all, he was goaded to put stake his wife !
He did !
He lost !!
Try as he may, he could not now prevent the shame that was about to
befall him.
Try as she may, she could not prevent events from unfolding that would haunt Kuru-kul for
the rest of its days.
In the midst of all the great and grand men of Kuru’s court, an
Empress was dragged in by her hair, wearing a single raiment of red.
In the midst of all the wise and intelligent men of Kuru court, a woman in distress was
denied justice.
In the midst of all the brave and honourable men of Kuru court, a human being was
dishonoured.
Why ?
Why did the great and good of the Kuru court keep their wise counsel
to themselves ?
Why did the honourable, ancient elders of the Kuru court abdicate their responsibilities ?
Why did the men, who could rip Indra out of his heaven, sat, wring their hands ?
Impotence induced by a false sense of honour.
Impotence induced by misguided sense of friendship.
Impotence induced by misplaced sense of responsibility.
Impotence induced by attachment to family.
Impotence induced by greed.
Each and every member of the court that day, was made impotent by one
or other of these things. Even the great
Bhishma was made impotent by his sense of responsibility to the Kuru crown, rather than
the values "that crown" espoused. Karna,
a great man in every other category, was made impotent by his blind friendship to
Duryodhan. Dhritrastra and the seeds of his
loins, were made impotent by greed. Pandava
brothers, made impotent by their misplaced attachment to Yudhistir, did nothing to help
Drupadi in her hour of need. Grand gestures
and promises of future action were useless to her.
When all entreaties failed, all pleadings for family honour, fraternal
understanding and common decency were brushed aside, Dushashan tried to disrobe Drupadi. With muscle bound hands, that could uproot ancient
trees, he pulled hard at the flimsy sari of Panchli.
When all else failed,
When all else abandoned her, Krushna came to her aid.
When the very last vestige of hope of saving any honour – honour of Kurus, honour of
its court, honour of its scions, honour of its advisors was lost, Krushna came to Krishna’s
aid.
Only Krushna stayed with Drupadi throughout this incidence.
Can you imagine how long it takes to pull away 1000 saris ?
Not one person spoke up – not even once !!!! during those 1000 instances to help a
lady in distress.
Only Krushna stayed by her side.
Only when Dushashan fell from exhaustion, did the impotent court of
Kurus erupt in impotent anger, censoring the sons of Dhritrastra and praising the daughter
of Drupad. Only than did the blind king fear
for his sons and asked them to stop ! fearing that the people will rise up and force him
to abdicate to Yudhisthir. His generosity was
laced with fear. His blessings hid a curse
that hoped to drive Pandu’s sons into oblivion.
All who were present in the ancient court of Kurus lost their honour
that day – except Drupadi.
Saved by Krushna,
Her distress destroyed the sons and grandson of Dhritrastra’s loins.
Even after Pandavas and Panchali had left for the jungle, Dhritrastra
and his sons did every thing within their power to make their lives difficult. Even when they returned after the 13th
year, they continued to deny them their rights. The
sorry story only concluded when the entire Kuru court, present on that fateful day of the
dice game, was destroyed. All, including
Bhishma and Drona lay dead before the attempted dishonour of Drupadi was avenged.
How sad that this shameful incidence of ancient history has decided to
repeat itself in our own life time !
Dushahan = corrupt governance
Dhritrastra = power gained by deceit
Duryodhan = ill gotten wealth
All these are well and alive, here and now.
They are stripping Bharat mata of her last vestiges of honour, while the populance looks
on with impotent apathy, like those present in the court of Kurus.
Just as Panchali was married to five husbands, our current government
system is married to "multiple political parties".
These parties, instead of being conscientious husbands to the country they
have vowed to protect, are sitting by, letting corrupt governance attempt its rape of
Bharat mata.
Impotence induced by vote bank politics.
Impotence induced by misplaced priorities.
Impotence induced by mistaken sense of identity.
Impotence induced by ideology.
Impotence induced by attachment to people rather than principles.
Impotence induced by greed.
Our men, women and children are being killed by terrorists in every
state – from
While Hindus are being killed by the dozens in J&K, the government
looks the other way and wags an angry finger at
Time and again, Hindus, their culture, their history, their
aspirations are shot to shreds by a government that is unmindful of their feeling.
Who will save
When will this rape stop ?
Only God can save
In the long term, only firm resolve, strong action and active
participation of the people of
We must learn from our history – that’s what its there for
– to teach us what to do and not to do. Sadly,
if we ignore its lessons, we will be the ultimate losers.
Let us, as Hindus, as Indians, rise up and say “NO” to
Du-shashan, “NO” to Duryo-dhan, and “NO” to Dhrit-rastra.
Let us all work together and step in to stop this hideous disrobing of our Bharat mata.
Its our mother, its our duty to protect its honour !
© Bhagwat Shah