Episode 1

The game of dice - Unanswered questions[1]

Yudhishtar, the elder one of Pandavas performed the famous Rajasuya Yaga and established his supremacy over all the rulers of his times. Duryodhan could not digest the achievements of Yudhishtir and began conspiring to destabilise his supremacy.  He made his father, Dhrutarashtra to accept his proposal for a game of dice with Pandavas. He was sure of defeating Yudhishtar in the game with the help of evil-minded Sakuni.

On the invitation of Dhrutarashtra, Pandavas reached Hastinapura, the capital of Duryodhan. Though unwilling, Yudhishtir agreed to play the game of dice with Sakuni. Eventually the game went on and on with lot of stakes. Yudhishtir lost his chicest horses, elephants, jewels, diamonds and many other valuable items. The wise words of Vidur to stop the game fell on the deaf years of Dhrutarashtra. Neither Yudhishtir could come out the game in between. Eventually, he lost his entire kingdom. He had nothing left to put for stake.  He went on putting stake of his brothers, Sahadev, Nakul, Arjun and Bhīm one after another and lost all of them in the game. Ultimately, he put himself as a stake and got defeated. The happiness of Kauravas knew no bounds as all the Pandavas had become their slaves.  

When Pandavas were desperate, Sakuni suggested that Yudhishtir could gain back his kingdom and the freedom from slavery by playing for one more time. This time, he could put his wife as a stake. Even at this stage, Yudhishtir could not refuse the offer. The game was too addicting to be closed even at this stage. He put his wife, Draupathi as a stake and lost her in the game. Durdyodhan ordered that she should be brought to the court, as she had become his slave. 

The messenger reached the palace of Gandhari (the queen of Dhritarashtra) where Draupathi was taking rest and informed the summons of King Duryodhan.  Draupathi was perplexed and could not digest the way in which she was defeated. No king puts his wife as a stake in the game of dice. She asked the messenger to come back with an answer from Yudhishtir for her question. ‘Whether Yudhishitar bet her after he had lost himself or whether he had bet her before he had lost himself’. In the first case, a slave cannot put his wife as stake. In the second case, it is unrighteousness to put one’s own wife as a stake. She would like to know whether she had become slave by Dharma (righteousness) or Adharma (unrighteousness).  Yudhishtir could not answer the question. Neither the other learned people like Bhishm, Dron, Krip etc. The silence of Yudhishtir implied the acceptance of his overall defeat. This time Duryodhan ordered his brother Dussaasan to drag her to the court. She was dragged to the court and her cries for justice were drowned in the din of over enthusiastic shouting of Kauravas.

Bhim, the second in the line of Pandavaas got very much infuriated. He had no fury for the loss of the riches and the kingdom but he was quite disturbed at the plight of Draupathi. He wanted to scorch out the hands of Yudhishtara but prevailed upon by Arjun for not doing so.  When nobody in the court answered the questions of Draupathi, Vikarna (should not be confused with Karna) came forward and asked all the elders to speak out the Dharma. She was the wife of all five Pandavas and Yudhishtir could not put her as a stake morally. Secondly, Yudhishitar had lost her after he had lost himself. Technically, he cannot put his wife as a stake as he himself was a slave. Vikarna’s argument was that Draupathi could not be pronounced as a slave.

Vikarna was shouted down by Karna and others. Kauravas bagan calling Draupati as dasi (slave) much against the consternation of Bhima and other courtiers. Karna ordered for the removal of all royal cloths of Pandavas and they obliged. Though the Pandavas could destroy the Kauravas easily, they prefer to become the slaves of Kauravas as they did not want to violate the rules of the game.  When Dussaasan tried to disrobe Draupathi in the full gaze of all courtiers, Krishna came to her rescue with his magical powers.

At this stage Karna came out with a provocation. He asked Draupathi to choose any one of the Kauravas as her husband and get back her freedom. Adding fuel to fire Duryodhana suggested that since all brothers were abiding the dictum of Yudhishtar and became slaves, she too had became a slave and in a suggestive tone showed his right thigh for Draupathi to sit upon. The infuriated Bhim took out a pledge to crush Duryodhan’s thighs in the war. Vidura was upset with the turn of all events. He blamed Kauravas, “You are doing adharma by doing things unconnected with the game of dice and you are insulting a lady. When you do a wrong by adharma, the Dharma will destroy you in due course of time. This Yudhishitar would have been considered right had he put her to stake prior to his defeat. Now putting her to stake after his defeat is as good as putting svapna dhanam(money found in the dreams) to stake. Hence she cannot be considered as dasi (slave)”.  At this stage Duryodhana asked Draupathi, “Let other Pandavas tell that Yudhishtira has no right to put them in stake. Then I will consider you a free person”. Arjuna replied to Duryodhana, “When Yudhishtira put us in stake, we consider that he has right over us and we remain slaves to you. You please consider Dharma whether he has right over anybody after he himself is defeated”.

When the large debate was going on in the court, the elders except a few like Vidura and Vikarna protested and the rest could not react. ‘Where dharma is destroyed by adharma and truth by false, there the courtiers who witness it become themselves deprived’ [2].

By this time the courtiers witnessed large-scale omens portending the evils that would befall over the state. Sensing bad thing to happen, Dhritarashtra called Draupathi and expressed regrets for whatever that happened to her. He offered to give a boon to her. Draupathi asked for the freedom of Yudhishtira. Pleased by her request, the king offered second boon. Then she asked for freeing all her other husbands. Dhritarashtra sanctioned for the freedom of all Pandavas and asked them to go back to their kingdoms with all their wealth.

At this stage Karna provoked Pandavas by saying, “there are many beautiful ladies in the world. But no one has secured the lost wealth to her husbands. Pandavas got back their wealth by means of a lady”. Seeing the rage of Bhim, Arjun counselled him. “Dear Bhim, if any bad people pronounce bad words, great people will not respond to them. They take the good but forget the enmities” [3].

Sensing the slip between the lip and the cup, Duryodhan prevailed upon his father to invite Pandavas for a second game. This time the stake was to go to the forests for 12 years and to remain incognito for one more year. This time again, the Pandavas were defeated and all Pandavas with Draupathi set out for forests.

Points for discussion:

1. What is Dharma? How did Pandavas adhere to Dharma in adversity?
2. Was it ethically and morally correct to drag a lady to a court without answering her rational questions?
3. What are the effects of addiction to bad habits?
4. Do you feel Kauravas were correct in the entire episode?
5. What is the role of elders when Dharma is getting destroyed in society? Whether the elders played righteous role in the court of Duryodhana?

Questions for deeper discussion.

1. What are the tools for solving a rational question? Should the manager rely on ‘morality’ or ‘ethics’ or ‘legality’?
2. Dragging a lady to the court is ethically and morally obnoxious. Can you justify the arguments of Kauravas in dragging and disrobing a lady? If so, on what grounds?
3. Can you justify an action supposed to have occurred a few thousand years with the current day moral standards? How far it is relevant?
4. Apathy of the intellectuals is the root cause of all the malady of any society. How can you draw parallels to the intellectuals of the Duryodhana’s court to the current day ‘intellectuals’ who are impervious to the needs of the society?
5. What are the psychological stresses that goad the normal human beings to act violently and irrationally in certain situations?

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[1] This story is taken from Sabha Parva of Maha Bharata written by sage Vyasa.

[2] यत्र धर्मो ह्यधर्मेण सत्यं यत्रानृतेन च।

हन्यते प्रेक्षमाणास्तु हतास्तत्र सभासदः॥ (Narada Smriti)

[3] na caivoktā na cānuktā hīnataḥ paruṣā giraḥ

bhāratāḥ pratijalpanti sadā tūttama pūruṣāḥ ( Sabha Parva 77.8)

smaranti sukṛtāny eva na vairāṇi kṛtāni ca

santaḥ prativijānanto labdhvā pratyayam ātmanaḥ ( Sabha Parva 77.9)

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