49. TAKING COUNSEL :

THE thirteenth year during which the
Pandavas had to remain undiscovered
came to an end.



No longer obliged to be in disguise, they
left Virata's capital as Pandavas and
settled openly in Upaplavya, another place
in Matsya territory. From there, they sent
emissaries to summon their friends and
relatives.



From Dwaraka came Balarama and
Krishna with Arjuna’s wife Subhadra, and
her son, Abhimanyu and accompanied by
many Yadava warriors. Loud and long
was the blare of trumpet-conchs as the
Matsya prince and the Pandavas went
forth to receive Janardana.




Indrasena and many others like him, who
had at the beginning of the preceding year
left the Pandavas in the forest, rejoined
them with their chariots at Upaplavya.
The Kasi prince and Saibya ruler arrived
with their forces.




Drupada, the Panchala prince, was there
too with three divisions, bringing with
him Sikhandin and Draupadi's sons and
her brother Dhrishtadyumna. There were
many other princes gathered at
Upaplavya, well attached to the Pandavas,
Abhimanyu's marriage to princess Uttara
was solemnized according to Vedic rites
before that illustrious gathering of friendly
heroes. The wedding celebrations over,
they met in conclave in Virata's hall of
assembly.




Krishna sat next to Yudhishthira and
Virata, while Balarama and Satyaki were
seated beside Drupada. As the bustle died
down, all eyes were turned on Krishna,
who now rose to speak.



"You all know," said Krishna to the
hushed assembly, "the story of the great
deceit how Yudhishthira was cheated at
the game board and deprived of his
kingdom and exiled with his brothers and
Draupadi to the forest. For thirteen years,
the sons of Pandu have patiently borne
their trouble in redemption of their
pledged word. Ponder well and counsel a
course, which will be in consonance with
dharma and contribute to the glory and
welfare of both Pandavas and Kauravas.



For, Dharmaputra desires nothing that he
cannot justly claim. He wishes nothing but
good even to the sons of Dhritarashtra
who deceived him and did him grievous
wrong. In giving your counsel, bear in
mind the fraud and meanness of the
Kauravas as well as the honorable
magnanimity of the Pandavas. Devise a
just and honorable settlement. We do not
know what Duryodhana has in his mind. I
feel we should send an able and upright
emissary to him to persuade him to a
peaceful settlement by the restoration of
half the kingdom to Yudhishthira."
Balarama then rose to address the
gathering. "You have just heard Krishna,"
he said. "The solution he propounds is
wise and just. I endorse it as good for both
Duryodhana and Dharmaputra. If Kunti's
sons can get back their kingdom by a
peaceful settlement, nothing could be
better for them, the Kauravas and for all
concerned. Only then will there be
happiness and peace in the land. Someone
has to go to convey to Duryodhana
Yudhishthira's wish for a peaceful
settlement and bring an answer from him,
a man who has the weight and the ability
to bring about peace and good
understanding. The envoy should get the
cooperation of Bhishma, Dhritarashtra,
Drona and Vidura, Kripa and Aswatthama
and even of Karna and Sakuni if possible,
and secure support for Kunti's sons. He
should be one who, on no account, would
give way to anger. Dharmaputra, with full
knowledge of consequences, staked his
kingdom and lost it, obstinately
disregarding the reasoning of friends.



Fully aware that he was no match for the
adept Sakuni, he yet played against him.
He cannot now complain but can only
supplicate for his rights. A fit envoy
would be one who is not a warmonger but
is dead set, in spite of every difficulty, on
achieving a peaceful settlement. Princes, I
desire you to approach Duryodhana
tactfully and make peace with him. Let us
avoid an armed conflict by all the means
in our power. Only that which accrues in
peace is worth while. Out of war, nothing
but wrong can issue."



Balarama's position was that Yudhishthira
knew what he was doing when he
gambled away his kingdom and could not
now claim it as of right.



The fulfilment of the conditions of exile
could only give the Pandavas their
personal freedom and not their kingdom,
that is to say, they need not serve another
term of exile in the forest. But it gave
them no right to the return of their
kingdom.



Dharmaputra could only supplicate for the
return of what he had lost and not claim it
as of right. Balarama did not relish an
armed conflict among scions of the same
family and rightly held that war would
lead only to disaster.
The poet puts an eternal truth in
Balarama's mouth.



Satyaki, the Yadava warrior, who heard
Balarama speak thus, could not contain
himself. He rose in anger and spoke
indignantly:



"Balarama's words do not strike me as in
the least degree just. One can, if skilful
enough, make out a plausible plea for any
case, but not all the skill in the world can
convert wrong into right or injustice into
justice. I must protest against Balarama's
stand, which fills me with disgust. Do we
not see in one and the same tree, one
branch bowed with fruit and another
sticking out gaunt and useless? So, of
these brothers, Krishna speaks words that
breathe the spirit of dharma while
Balarama's attitude is unworthy. And if
you grant what cannot be doubted that the
Kauravas cheated Yudhishthira of his
share of the kingdom, why then, allowing
them to keep it is as unjust as confirming
a thief in the possession of his booty!



Anyone, who finds fault with
Dharmaputra, does so in cowardly fear of
Duryodhana, not for any sound reason. O
princes, forgive my harsh speech. Not of
his own volition but because the Kauravas
pressed and invited him to do so, did the
novice and unwilling Dharmaputra play
with a dishonest gambler that game so
fraught with disaster. Why should he bow
and supplicate before Duryodhana, now
that he has fulfilled his pledges?



Yudhishthira is not a mendicant and need
not beg. He has kept his word and so have
his brothers twelve years in exile in the
forest and twelve months there after in
disguise according to their pledge. And
yet, Duryodhana and his associates, most
shamelessly and dishonestly, question the
performance. I shall defeat these impudent
villains in battle and they shall either seek
Yudhishthira's pardon or meet their doom.



How can a righteous war be wrong in any
case? There is no sin in slaying enemies
who take up arms and fight. To supplicate
before the enemy, is to incur disgrace. If
Duryodhana desires war, he can have it
and we shall be quite ready for it. Let
there be no delay and let us get on with
the preparations. Duryodhana is not going
to part with territory without a war and it
would be folly to waste time."
Drupada's heart was gladdened by
Satyaki's resolute words. He rose and said:




"Satyaki is right and I support him. Soft
words will not bring Duryodhana round to
reason. Let us continue our preparations
for war and let our friends be warned
without loss of time to bring up their
forces. Send word instantly to Salya,
Dhrishtaketu, Jayatsena and Kekaya. We
must, of course, send a suitable envoy to
Dhritarashtra. The learned brahmana, who
conducts the religious ceremonies in my
court, can be sent to Hastinapura, with
confidence. Instruct him well as to what
he should say to Duryodhana and how he
should convey the message to Bhishma,
Dhritarashtra and Dronacharya."
When Drupada concluded, Vasudeva
(Krishna, the son of Vasudeva) rose and
addressing Drupada, said:



"What you suggest is practicable and also
conforms to the kingly code. Baladeva
and I are bound to the Kauravas and the
Pandavas with equal ties of affection. We
came here for princess Uttara's wedding
and will return now to our city. Great are
you among the princes of the land, alike in
age and wisdom, and entitled to advise us
all. Dhritarashtra too holds you, his
boyhood friends, in high esteem like
Drona and Kripa. It is therefore only right
that you should instruct the brahmana
envoy on his mission of peace. If he fails
to persuade Duryodhana out of his error,
prepare for the inevitable conflict, my
friends, and send word to us."



The conference ended and Krishna left for
Dwaraka with his people. The Pandavas
and their allies went on with their
preparations. Messengers went forth to all
the friendly princes who got busy and
mobilised their respective armies.



Meanwhile, Duryodhana and his brothers
were not idle. They also began preparing
for the coming conflict and sent word to
their friends to get their contingents ready
for war.



News of these preparations on both sides
soon spread through out the land. "The
constant rapid journeying back and forth
of princes caused a great stir everywhere.
The earth shook beneath the heavy tramp
of marching legions," says the poet.
It would appear that even in olden days,
military preparations were made in much
the same way as in our times.



Drupada called in his brahmana and said
to him: "You know Duryodhana's bent of
mind as well as the qualities of the
Pandavas. Go to him as the emissary of
the Pandavas. The Kauravas deceived the
Pandavas with the connivance of their
father Dhritarashtra who would not listen
to the sage advice of Vidura. Show the
old, weak king, who is misled by his son,
the path of dharma and wisdom. You will
find in Vidura a great ally in this task.
Your mission may lead to differences of
opinion among the elder statesmen such
as Bhishma, Drona and Kripa as well as
among the warlords. And, if this happens,
it will be some time before those
differences are smoothed out, which will
be time gained for the completion of the
Pandavas war preparations. As long as
you are in Duryodhana's capital talking of
peace, their preparations for war will
receive a set-back which is all to the good
from the Pandavas' standpoint. If, by a
miracle, you are able to come back with
good terms of peace, so much the better. I
do not expect Duryodhana will agree to a
peaceful settlement. Still, to send one on a
peace mission will be advantageous to
us."



Drupada's instruction to the brahmana
would show that this was no new
technique. And that, even in the old days,
the same method was followed of carrying
on negotiations and even sincerely
working for peace, but simultaneously
preparing, with unremitting vigor, for
outbreak of war and carrying on peace
talks with the object of creating dissension
in the enemy's ranks. There is nothing
new under the sun!



NEXT  : 50. ARJUNA'S CHARIOTEER -


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