Untold tales from
Mahabharata
The Mahabharat is one of the two major epics in Sanskrit
of ancient India. It contains over one lakh couplets and is thrice as long as
the Bible. However, only a fraction of the narration actually deals with the
main story with the rest containing additional myths and teachings. It clearly
states: “what is found here may be found elsewhere but what is not found here
cannot be found elsewhere.” Take a look at some untold and unknown stories from
this great scripture…
1. The story of five
golden arrows
As Kaurawas were losing the battle of Mahabharata,
Duryodhana approached Bhisma one night and accused him of not fighting the
Mahabharata war to his full strength because of his affection for Pandavas.
Bhisma greatly angered, immediately picked up 5 golden arrows and chanted
mantras declaring tomorrow he will kill 5 pandavas with the 5 golden arrows.
Duryodhana not having faith in his words asked Bhisma to give custody of 5
golden arrows saying that he will keep them and will return them next morning.
A flash back
Long back before the Mahabharata war, Pandavas were
living in exile in a forest. Duryodhana placed his camp on the opposite side of
the pond where Pandavas were staying. Once while Duryodhana was taking bath in
that pond, the heavenly prince Gandharvas also came down. Duryodhana picked a
fight with them only to be deafeted and captured. Arjuna saved Duryodhana and
set him free. Duryodhana was ashamed but being a Kshatriya, told Arjuna to ask
for a boon. Arjuna replied he would ask for the honour gift later when he
needed it.
Arjuna asks for his gift
It was during that night of Mahabharata war, when Krishna
reminded Arjuna of his unsatisfied boon and told him to go to Duryodhana and
ask for 5 golden arrows. When Arjuna asked for the arrows Duryodhana was
shocked but being a kshatriya and bound by his promise he had to honour his
words. He asked who told you about golden arrows, Arjuna replied who else other
than Lord Krishna. Duryodhana again went to Bhisma and requested for another
five golden arrows. To this Bhisma laughed and replied that is not possible.
2. The birth of
Dronacharya
The birth of Dronacharya, the Guru of the Pandavas and
Kauravas in the Mahabharata, is very interesting. It would not be wrong to say
that Dronacharya is the first test tube baby in the world. Rishi Bharadwaja is
the father of Dronacharya and mother is an Apasara name Krithaji. One evening
Rishi Bharadwaja was getting ready to do his evening prayers. He went to the
Ganga River to take his usual bath but was amazed to find a beautiful woman
bathing at his usual spot in the river.
First test tube baby?
On seeing Rishi Bharadwaja, the beautiful Apsara Krithaji
got out of the Ganga River wearing a single loin cloth. Rishi Bharadwaja was
moved by the heavenly beauty of the Apsara. Overpowered by the moment, the sage
involuntarily emitted his semen. The Rishi collected this sperm in a clay pot
and stored it in a dark place in his Ashram. Drona was born in this pot.
'Dronam' means pot and 'Dronar' is one who was born from the pot.
3. Sehdeva ate his
father’s brain, literally!
When Pandu, the father of the Pandavas, was about to die,
he wished for his sons to partake of his brain so that they inherit his wisdom
and knowledge. Only Sahadeva paid heed, though; it is said that with the first
bite of his father’s brain, he gained knowledge of all that had happened in the
universe. With the second he gained knowledge of the present happenings, and
with the third he came to know of all that would occur in the future.
A vow of silence
Sahadeva, often relegated to silence in the story along
with his brother Nakul, is known for his prescience. He is said to have known
all along that a great war would come to cleanse the land, but he did not
announce it lest that would bring it about. As it happened, staying silent
about it did not help either.
4. When Duryodhan
approached Sahadeva
Sahadeva who had eaten the flesh of his father Pandu
after his death could not only see past, and future but also had a great
knowledge in Astrology. This is the reason why Shakuni sent Duryodhana to
Sahadeva to ask the mahurat (right time) of the Mahabharat War. Sahadeva being
honest had disclosed it to Duryodhan in spite knowing the fact that Duryodhan
was his real enemy in the battle.
5. Balarama was
Abhimanyu’s father–in–law
Abhimanyu ‘s wife Vatsala was the daughter of Balarama.
Balarama wanted that Vatsala should marry Laxman, Duryodhana’s son. Abhimanyu
and Vatsala both loved each other and wanted to get married. Abhimanyu took the
help of his brother Ghatotkacha (a daitya) who tricked Laxman and terrified
him. Ghatotkach then flew away with Vatsala and went to his brother Abhimanyu.
Laxman was very upset from all this and he vowed that he will not marry
throughout his life.
6. The sacrifice of
Iravan
Iravan, the son of Arjun and naga princess Uloopi,
sacrificed himself to goddess Kali to ensure the victory of his father and his
team in the Kurukshetra war. He however, had a last wish – He wanted to marry a
girl before he died. Now, getting a girl who knew her husband would die in few
days was a tricky task. So, Lord Krishna took the form of Mohini, married
Iravan and even wept like a widow after her husband died.
7. Dhritarashtra had a
son with his maid servant
Yuyutsu was born to Sauvali, a maid servant who attended
Dhritarashtra and looked upon the royal household. Sauvali was not kshatriya
but belonged to the Vaishya class. She was appointed to look after
Dhritarashtra when Gandhari was declared pregnant. Dhritarashtra was mesmerized
by the maid’s charm and used her, both for his physical and sexual
gratification. Thus, was born Yuyutsu, the dasi putra of Dhritarashtra.
8. Duryodhana’s dilemmas
Duryodhan is lying in the battle field, awaiting death,
badly bruised by the wounds inflicted by Bhima. He kept his three fingers in a
raised position and is unable to speak. All the efforts made by his men to
understand the meaning proved to be futile. Seeing his plight Krishna
approached him and said "I know what issues occupied your mind. I will
address them".
Questions and their
answers
Krishna identified the issues as - not building a fort
around Hastinapur, not persuading Vidur to fight the battle, not making
Aswathama the commander-in-chief after the death of Dronacharya. Krishna
explained further that if you would have built a fort, I would have asked Nakul
to mount the horse and destroy the fort; if you would have succeeded in
persuading Vidur to participate in the battle, I would also fought the battle
and if Aswathama was made the commander-in-chief, I would have made Yudhistir
angry.
Duryodhana could
peacefully die
On hearing this Duryodhan closed all the fingers and
within seconds he left his body. Many of us do not know that Nakul can drive
his horse even in heavy rain without getting wet. He travels with such a speed
between a drop and another drop, without getting wet. Only Nakul can do this
among Kaurav and Pandav warriors. It also seems that if Yudhistir gets angry,
everything that falls within the range of his eye sight will be burnt.
9. How Udupi fed the
Kurukshetra warriors
Five thousand years ago, the Kurukshetra war, between the
Pandavas and the Kauravas, was the mother of all battles. All the kings –
hundreds of them – aligned themselves on one side or the other. The king of
Udupi however chose to remain neutral. He spoke to Krishna and said, ‘Those who
fight battles have to eat. I will be the caterer for this battle.’ Many of the
Udupi people are caterers even today.
No wastage
The battle lasted 18 days, and every day, thousand
soldiers died. So the Udupi king had to cook that much less food, otherwise it
would go waste. The amazing thing was that every day, the food was exactly
enough for all the soldiers and no food was wasted. After a few days, people
were amazed, ‘How is he managing to cook the exact amount of food!’ No one
could know how many people had died on any given day.
Krishna’s maya
When someone asked the kind of Udupi, ‘How do you manage
this?’ the king replied, ‘Every night I go to Krishna’s tent. Krishna likes to
eat boiled groundnuts in the night so I peel them and keep them in a bowl.
After he is done I count how many nuts has he eaten. If it’s 10 peanuts, I know
tomorrow 10,000 people will be dead. So the next day when I cook lunch, I cook
for 10,000 people less.
10. Karna's Last Test
Karna was lying on the battlefield gasping for breath in
his last moments. Krishna assumed the form of an indigent Brahmin and
approached him wanting to test his generosity. Krishna exclaimed: "Karna!
Karna!" Karna asked him: "Who are you, Sir?" Krishna (as the
poor Brahmin) replied: "For a long time I have been hearing about your
reputation as a charitable person. Today I came to ask you for a gift."
"Certainly, I shall give you whatever you want", replied Karna.
Krishna asks for gold
"I want a small quantity of gold", said
Krishna. Karna opened his mouth, showed the gold fillings for his teeth and
said: "I shall give this to you. You can take them". Assuming a tone
of revulsion, Krishna said: “Do you expect me to break your teeth and take the
gold from them? How can I do such a wicked deed?” Karna picked up a stone,
knocked out his teeth and offered them to the "Brahmin".
A step further
Krishna in his guise as Brahmin wanted to test Karna
further. "What? Are you giving me as gift teeth dripping with blood? I
cannot accept this. I am leaving", he said. Karna pleaded: "Swami,
please wait." Even while he was unable to move, Karna took out his arrow
and aimed it at the sky. Immediately rain dropped from the clouds. Cleaning the
teeth with the rainwater, Karna offered the teeth with both his hands.
Krishna reveals himself
Karna asked: "Who are you, Sir"? Krishna said:
"I am Krishna. I admire your spirit of sacrifice. In any circumstance you
have never given up your spirit of sacrifice. Ask me what you want."
Beholding Krishna's beauteous form, Karna said with folded hands: "Krishna!
To have the vision of the Lord before one's passing is the goal of human
existence. You came to me and blessed me with your form. This is enough for me.
I offer my salutations to you."
11. A tale of true
friendship
Once Duryodhana's wife Bhanumathi and Karna were playing
a game of dice. As the game progressed, it was evident that Karna was winning
and Bhanumathi was losing. Just then Duryodhana entered his queen's chamber.
Karna had his back to the door while Bhanumathi was facing it. Seeing her
husband coming, she was about to stand up. As she was just rising, Karna,
thinking that she was trying to get away, snatched at her drape, studded with
pearls.
The thread snapped
Tugged at by Karna's powerful hands, the thread snapped
and all the pearls rolled on the floor. Queen Bhanumathi was stunned and did
not know what to say or do. She was afraid that, for no fault of hers, she
would be misunderstood by her husband because of Karna's offensive and
insensitive behavior. Seeing her shocked state and sensing that something was
wrong, Karna turned round and saw his friend Duryodhana. He was also deeply
shocked and distressed beyond words.
A strong bond
Here he was, in the royal chamber, playing a game of dice
with his friend's wife and, as if this was not enough, he had the audacity to
catch her clothes, thus embarrassing and endangering her chaste reputation. He
stood dumbfounded and transfixed. As both Bhanumathi and Karna look down
sheepishly, unable to meet Duryodhana's eyes, the Kaurava scion only asks,
"Should I just collect the beads, or string them as well."
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