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Hinduism
Panchkanya
Women of
Substance – 15
Her nephew, Krishna, comes
forward with Yadava wealth to build up the power of the Pandavas. The
soundness of Kunti’s strategy is proved when the Kauravas plan to
destroy the Pandavas’ unity by despatching lovely hetaerae to seduce
them. Karna points out that as they are wedded to a common wife of
extraordinary beauty, this ploy is bound to fail.
Hereafter, Kunti retreats into
the background, giving up pride of place to Draupadi. Proof of her
astonishing self-effacement is seen in the Pandavas not consulting her
when invited to the dice-game, which is so very unusual in the context of
her overarching influence over them till the marriage. This first instance
of her removing herself from the decison-making role leads to disaster.
After this, she emerges from the shadows to intervene decisively thrice.
When her sons are exiled, she decides to stay back in Hastinapura as a
silent but constant reproach to Dhritarashtra about her sons’ violated
rights. Later, in the Udyoga Parva, she tells Krishna, who has come
on a peace-embassy, to urge Yudhishthira to fight for their rights as
Kshatriyas must. She reprimands him for abandoning his duty as king and
mistakenly believing that espousing peace is the proper dharma. To inspire
him she repeats a tactic used in the Varanavata exile:
“Can anything be more humiliating than
that your mother,
friendless and alone, should have to
eat other’s food?
Strong-armed one, recover the ancestral
paternal kingdom
use gentleness, dissension, gifts, force
or negotiation.
Follow the dharma of rajas, redeem
your family
honor.
Do not, with your brothers, watch your
merits waste away.” (132.32-34)
To inspire him further, she
assumes the persona of Vidula to her son Sanjaya/Yudhishthira who is
reluctant to face battle after defeat:
“Flare up, even if briefly, like
tinduka-wood
Do not smoulder away in billowing
fireless smoke.” (133.14)
To these twin spurs to prick
them on, Kunti now adds the climactic motivation: the insult to her
daughter-in-law, mincing no words in upbraiding the five to arouse their
hibernating manhood:
“The princess of Panchala followed all dharmas,
yet in your presence
they mocked her— how can you ever
forgive this insult?
The kingdom lost did not hurt me,
the defeat at dice
did not hurt me; the exile of my sons
did not hurt me
so much as the humiliation of Draupadi
weeping in the sabha
as they mocked her. Nothing more painful
than that insult.” (137.16-18 ibid.)
–
Continued
Panchkanya Pages : 1 |
2 | 3 | 4
| 5 | 6 | 7 |
8 | 9 | 10 |
11 | 12 | 13 |
14 | 15
16 | 17 | 18 |
19 | 20 | 21 |
22 | 23 | 24 |
25 | 26 | 27
Now also in Hindi at
http://www.hindinest.com/visheshank/01stri/panchkanya1.htm
Now also in French at http://www.neurom.ch/mbh/kanya.pdf
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