Bits of life

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am not worthy enough to stay for this occasion. Yudhishtar is the very representative of truth and honesty. Let there be a new beginning, welcoming equality and brotherhood. It is true that I cannot see. But I can well imagine how spectacular, Yudhishtar will look on the throne.”

The coronation began on the next day. Several priests and ministers were present. Mantras were chanted as Yudhishtar and his consort Draupadi sat on the throne of Hastinapur, surrounded by the four brothers. After the chanting of the relevant mantras was over, Vasudeva Krishna took the crown from the silver tray and placed it on the head of Yudhishtar.

Then he said,
“Jaya ho! to chakravarthi samrat Yudhishtar!” “May the emperor Yudhishtar be blessed with victory.”
The whole people of the court shouted in joy, “Victory to Maharaj Yudhishtar!”

Yudhishtar got up from the throne and made his inaugural speech.
“My salutations to all. First, I bow down and pay my respects to Hastinapur because the people of Hastinapur gave their consent to let me be their king. Secondly, I bow to my forefathers who have given me this great responsibility. I promise to them that I will safeguard the territory of Hastinapur. Now I salute Vasudeva Krishna and promise that I will try my best to differentiate between justice and injustice.
You can see that there are some vacant seats in the court. Those seats belonged to my grandfather Bhishma, my court priest Kripacharya and our teacher, Dronacharya and a great warrior like Karna. These empty places will be preserved as they are now. They will remind us of good rule, devotion to country and its people and true valor.

Now I invite Vidura to be my chief minister because he knew the past and he will be able to guide me in my leadership of the people. I request Mahatma Vidura to step out of the past and step into the present so that he will continue to guide us through the years to come. It may take many years to rebuild and strengthen our country. So I seek the help and cooperation of all of you in the mission of nation building.

I hereby announce my brother Bhima as the crown prince. Arjuna, my warrior brother will guard our borders. Nakula and Sahadeva will be my bodyguards. After these appointments, I now bow to my uncle and the jewel of the Kuru dynasty, shri Dhritarashtra. He is not only my uncle but also my teacher. I have learned a lesson in ethics from him too. I don’t have any bitterness in my heart towards anybody. Let me announce that in Hastinapur the days of bitterness and hostility have come to an end.
The people of Hastinapur suffered through the war and also before the war started. Now the days of peace dawned bringing renewed hope and happiness into our lives. The people of Hastinapur deserve peace and prosperity at last.

Let me explain to you the goals and objective I have put before myself as the head of the state of Hastinapur. I will spend my time in social work and the welfare of humanity. I also appeal to the people of Hastinapur that they should feel free to tell me if my rule is proved to be unworthy and wasteful. I will definitely vacate the throne. I also tell you that the war is over and it is now a thing of the past. My duty is to take you all into a bright future. If a king spends his time living the past then that king has no place in the present. He proves to be a bad example for the people at large. Let us welcome and establish a new era. Let me tell you an important point. In the building of our nation everyone should contribute his best. You should always ask yourself what you have given to the country. Don’t ask what the country has given to you. The country always gives you more than what you give it. It gives you an identity, local habitation and a name. That is why one’s country is priceless and it is equal to your own mother.”

The new king as a representation of truth was a blessing to the country, to the people of Hastinapur.
After the festivity and the ceremony of Dharmaraja’s coronation was over, the Pandavas and vidura came to bid good bye to Dhritarashtra, Gandhari and Kunti as they begin their journey to the forest where they decided they would spend the rest of their lives. They would spend their time in spiritual activities and turning the searchlight inwards.

Dhritarashtra blessed the Pandavas with a long life. He said that he was a blind king and his queen tied up eyes. Thankfully, such a problem did not exist for Yudhishtar. The old king recalled that when he was made the king, Vidura, his cousin opposed it.

He said,
“He was right in saying that. When I raised my hands, it was only for blessing my son, Duryodhana, and none else. I thought that Duryodhana alone consisted of the country, Hastinapur. When a king becomes prey to his filial love, then he is cut off from his people. He is considered to be narrow minded.”

Then the blind erstwhile king turned to Gandhari and said,
“Gandhari! Please go and bring Draupadi into the royal place. Let us welcome her before we leave for the forest.”

Kunti said,
“I will bring her in, elder brother.”

Dhritarashtra stopped her and said,
“No Kunti. It would be proper only if the ex-queen invites the present queen into the palace.”

Together, Kunti and Gandhari went to Draupadi and invited her into the royal palace. Draupadi touched the feet of Gandhari and said,

“Mother, don’t go to the forest. You are the very soul of this palace.”

Then Gandhari replied,
“Soul has to leave the body one day, my daughter. Besides the Hastinapur I lived in was different. Now it has changed. In the present scenario, the past cannot exist. So Draupadi, the present is your responsibility. Come on daughter, your elder father is waiting for you.”

So saying, Gandhari took the hands of Draupadi and led her to Dhritarashtra and others who were waiting for her.

On meeting Dhritarashtra, Draupadi said,
“Forgive me elder father.”

Dhritarashtra said,
“No my daughter. On the other hand, you must forgive me. It was because of me you were insulted by my sons. It was because of me thousands of people died. I only pray that Hastinapur would forgive me.”

Then Draupadi said,
“I cannot come between you and Hastinapur my father. But if you forgive me, I beg you not to go the forest. I implore with you to be with us and guide your children. I can only beg you not to go leaving your children.”

Dhritarashtra asked,
“Why do you want us to stay back daughter? It is because of us that you had to undergo so much of suffering and insult.”

Draupadi replied,
“As a daughter in law, I don’t want the family to be divided. Besides, I was not the only that was insulted. But it was the insult of the dynasty of the Bharat. I want to wipe out the insults and injuries by serving you.”

Dhritarashtra was deeply moved by Draupadi’s words. He blessed her to live long with her family. He also said, he was much indebted to her.

Gandhari suggested that now he should go to Bhishma lying on the bed of arrows and tell him that his Hastinapur was now in safe hands.

Dhritarashtra confessed that he could not face Bhishma because both he and his uncle Bhishma knew that it was because of the behavior of Dhritarashtra that the country and the members of the family went through hell.
It was only because of him that Bhishma was on the bed of arrows.

Bhishma, the grand old man of Hastinapur was alone in the burning sun lying on the bed of arrows. He was thinking to himself that Hastinapur was secure and that its king was a good and kind hearted person.

He thought aloud thus:
“I am leaving my body now. But I am waiting for Vasudeva Krishna. I want to see him before I leave this body. That is the only gift this earth can give me, the only gift I want from the earth. That is only gift I can take with me.”

Then he saw the Pandavas, the five sons of Pandu, Yudhishtar, Arjuna, Bhima, Nakula and Sahadeva accompanied by Vasudeva Krishna.

Yudhishtar bowed down with his palms joined in the sign of “Namaskar.”

He said,
“Pranam (our respects to you) grandsire!”

Bhishma turned to Krishna with a smile on his face and said,
“I knew, You will come to me, O Krishna! Your coming is like a balm to me. With your appearance you have mitigated my pain and suffering of the last few days. My vision has cleared like the sky that is washed by the rains in the season of monsoon. All the problems of Hastinapur have been solved. It seems as though they were not there at all. Now I have attained salvation.”

Vasudeva Krishna replied,
“That is what I wanted for you, grandsire! Now please give your grandson Yudhishtar one last lesson.”

Bhishma replied,
“Hey Vasudeva, with you by them, which other person can give them a lesson? Who am I to teach them anything anymore?”

Krishna replied,
“No, grandfather. The experience you have is matchless. I have knowledge but no experience. Please bless him with your experience.”
Bhishma smilingly said to Krishna,
“Kindly wipe my tears off my eyes, dear Vasudeva, so I can look on the face of the emperor of Hastinapur. I can gaze upon Chakravarthi Yudhishtar!”
Then Vasudeva Krishna wiped the tears off the eyes of Bhishma with his hands.

Then Bhishma looked at the face of Yudhishtar and said,
“Victory to Hastinapur’s King! Hastinapur Naresh ki Jai Ho! O King! Allow me to go to my Lord in Heaven. My time on earth is now over done with. That which I should not have seen, I saw. And that which I should see, I have seen that too.”

Arjuna, the most attached of the Pandavas to Bhishma knelt and sobbed before his grandfather and said,
“No, grandfather, I won’t let you go. No, I won’t let you go.” Arjuna went on sobbing and crying hopeless tears.

Bhishma, his grandfather said,
“Hey Arjuna, you have wounded me in such way my son, those wounds will never heal. Those wounds my dear child, are the achievement of my whole life. They are telling me to look at my wounds and understand your country. They are telling me,
“hey, Ganga putra (son of the Ganga), hey, Deva Vrata, recognize your land that you have betrayed through your meaningless oaths.”
You see I was a warrior who lived like a slave bound to my oath. So the wounds you have inflicted on me gift because they make me realize my faults. They are a gift of a life time for me. Look, Arjuna, now you must let me go. Along with me go away the insult and humiliation that I made my motherland to suffer from. You should not be stubborn.”

Arjuna kept on sobbing and saying, “No, grandfather, no, no.”
Bhishma said,

“No, my child, don’t be stubborn. Do me favor for a last time. Place some dust of my motherland on my forehead.”

Arjuna went on crying tears of grief and anguish and went on saying,
“No, no, not at all. I won’t let you go, no grandfather.”

Bhishma said,
“Look child, don’t cry. This is a moment of great joy for all. Your grandfather is free of debt towards his motherland.
Then he turned his look on to Yudhishtar, the present king of Hastinapur and said,

“O king Yudhishtar, I am a defeated warrior and a defeated citizen