Cultural shock

The scene in the royal court was one of immense anger, frustration, and grief. All these emotions combined together to take the form of protest against Shakuni and Duryodhan. Bhishma, Dronacharya, and Vidur all objected to this shameless humiliation of a lady of their own family, that too the queen!

They appealed to Duryodhan to see sense and act with some restraint and ethics. They objected to the fixing of dice game and appealed to Dhritarashtra to restore status quo.

Dhritarashtra accepted their plea and declared the results of the dice game as null and void. He was also not totally in agreement with the obnoxious behavior of his son and brother-in-law. The kingdom of Indraprastha was duly returned to Yudhisthir and his brothers and wife Draupadi were declared free from the bondage.

Uncle Shakuni and Duryodhan were, however, silently grumbling for the "lost opportunity" of putting an end to the prosperity of Pandavs. Shakuni continued to plan for the final kill. He persuaded Duryodhan and Dhritarashtra to invite Yudhisthir again for the last and final game of dice.

He impressed upon the king that Yudhisthir, Bhim, and Arjun, otherwise, were sure to take revenge for their ill treatment.

In those days although, gambling was seen as a sinful act by many, including Yudhisthir.A warrior and king was declared unmanly to refuse the invitation for such a game. Shakuni knew the mentality of a king gambler. He was sure Yudhisthir would still have to play the game if royal invitation was sent and proper conditions were laid.

Yudhisthir Invited Again!

Next day, as Yudhisthir and his brothers were about to leave for Indraprastha, uncle Shakuni put into effect his last hope. He invited Yudhisthir for the final game on behalf of Duryodhan and consented by Dhritarashtra.

He himself put the condition for the game as, "O Yudhisthir, in this only game whosoever loses will relinquish his kingdom and go to forest exile for twelve years with additional one year of living incognito. If detected in the last year, again exile of twelve years will ensue." Yudhisthir agreed and lost the final game as well.

The Defeat and Banishment to Forest

All the five Pandavs and Draupadi put on simple dress and left for the forest. Mother Kunti, being weak and old, stayed back with Vidur.Duryodhan became the de facto ruler of both Hastinapur and Indraprastha.

The agony of Bhishma, Dronacharya, and Vidur can only be imagined at the outrageous treatment meted out to Pandavs in general and Draupadi in particular. The disgrace of their own daughter-in-law left them speechless and hurt to the core. But their protests and appeals for sanity fell on the deaf ears of Duryodhan and Dhritarashtra.

Dhritarashtra was too weak a father whose heart went out for the 'love' for his Duryodhan. He always looked in the narrow confines of comforts and material pleasures for his son, Duryodhan. He could not think beyond.

Duryodhan was treading the path of self-destruction by setting such an example of ignoble behaviour towards women that was sure to lead to the downfall of Bharatvarsha (Ancient name for India) in the coming centuries.

The question would be asked: "Why did Bhishma, Dronacharya, and Vidur not desert the evil company of king Dhritarashtra and join the Pandavs?"

The answer to this query is being searched for all these centuries, in India and elsewhere! In part, the answer is given by Bhishma himself. He had vowed to remain loyal to the throne of Hastinapur irrespective of who occupied it. This pledge was more than anything to him. His life,the non-righteous behavior of Kauravas and the sufferings of Pandavs had no value in face of his pledge.

As to Dronacharya and Vidur, they were the paid servants of king Dhritarashtra. It was essential for them to serve their master who gave them name, fame, and position. To oppose the king or to find faults with him (or his sons) was not the culture of that time. Probably, they had no say in such matters; and to revolt was to show disloyalty to the throne 'whose salt they had eaten'.

Relevance Today!

Today also we see many officers, secretaries, and servants loyal to corrupt rulers and head of the states! We see many 'righteous persons' keeping mum over irregularities and misconduct of their 'bosses'. This even includes the President of America, the most materially prosperous, progressive, democratic and free state.

After the Watergate, how many of the righteous officers and secretaries resigned? Almost none! If this is the case of USA, it is better not to talk about less-developed countries of Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

The question of Bhishma, Dronacharya, Vidur, etc. remaining silent at the great injustice meted out to Draupadi and Pandavs will always remain unanswered.

Such incidences are not uncommon in any era or epoch. Some are dramatized, others are forgotten in the flow of time. However, they expose the weakness of human nature and character. Individually, we may learn from them to rise above uncivilized behavior, but any attempt to totally 'eliminate such tendencies from the society' is bound to come to naught!

Very slowly, indeed after many centuries, the effect will show in more civilized state of human existence.