Jatugriha – the conspiracy to kill Pandavas

As the Kaurava and Pandava princes grew up and finished their education, it was time for them to take up official duties. Yudhisthir being the eldest as also the son of Pandu the previous king was made the Yuvaraj (king in waiting). Dhritarashtra was not too eager about it but he could do nothing much about it as all the ministers and senior advisors like Bhishma, Vidur, Drona were in support of Yudhishthir. But this made Duryodhan very unhappy and he started devising ways to remove the Pandavas out of his way. His coterie comprising of friend Karna, uncle Sakuni, and brother Dushasan held a consultation together.

Then Duryodhana met his father and asked him to banish the Pandavas to the town of Varanavat to curb their growing influence on the people and the courtiers. He explained that after getting the administration firmly in his grip, the Pandavas may be brought back to Hastinapur, by which time they will not be able to challenge Duryodhan anymore. To dispel the doubts of his father about the reaction of the seniors in court, Duryodhan further explained that Bhishma would be neutral and as Ashwatthama was his friend, Drona would be on his side. Kripa had to be on the side on which Drona and Ashwatthama are as he would never abandon them. About the loyalty of Vidur, Duryodhan was not sure but thought him to be of no consequence. Dhritarashtra had his doubts but gave in, as always to his son whom he loved obsessively.

Thereafter Duryodhana, along with his brothers began to gradually win over the people to his side by grants of wealth and honours. Meanwhile, some clever councillors, instructed by Dhritarashtra, started praising Varanavat as a charming place. This made the Pandavas desirous of visiting the place. Dhritarashtra was happy to hear this and he himself pressed upon the Pandavas to visit the place and stay there as long as they wanted. Yudhishthir could guess that the king wanted them out of the way but being of gentle nature agreed to it. Then taking leave from the elders in the court and family, the Pandavas set out for Varanavat with their mother.

Meanwhile Duryodhan called one of his henchmen Purochan and confided in him about a plan to kill the Pandavas at Varnavat. He asked Purochan reach Varnavat before the Pandavas and use his clever mind to build a palace for them. Only, the palace was to be made of hemp, resin and other inflammable materials. Then plaster the walls with a mixture of little mud with clarified butter, oil, fat and a large quantity of lac. Thus, the house should be ready to be burnt on ignition but not noticeable even by scrutiny. Then place all amenities inside the mansion and welcome the Pandavas there to take up their dwelling. All this was to be managed without anybody, either in Hastinapur or Varnavat having even an inkling of it.

Saluting Duryodhan, Purochan at once proceeded to Varnavat to arrange for the devious setup to ensure that the Pandavas were exterminated from the face of earth with a fiery death by burning inside a house on fire. Reaching there, without loss of time, he set upon obediently to fulfill the instructions of Duryodhan and build the customised Jatugriha (House of fire) for the Pandavas.

(coming up next – how Vidur warned and helped the Pandavas)

The war at night on the fourteenth day

 

The war of Mahabharat continued for eighteen days from its start. Though the incapacitation of Bhishma which was the first setback for the Kauravas, the busiest day in the war perhaps was the fourteenth when the war extended even to the night in contravention of the rules of war as practiced in those days and which continued for a long time. The fourteenth day started with the vow taken by Arjun to avenge the death of his son Abhimanyu in an unfair combat by the Kauravas on the thirteenth day. His wrath fell upon Jayadrath, the brother in law of Duryodhan and he vowed to kill Jayadrath by sunset or else burn himself to death on the pyres.

When Duryodhan came to know about this vow of Arjun, he ordered the Kauravas to protect Jayadrath by any means possible and cause the demise of Arjun by binding him to his own promise. The whole of the day Jayadrath was protected by the Kauravas like a bird protects its eggs and he was hid from view on the battlefield. As the day wore on, frustration was writ large on the faces of Arjun and the Pandavas. Then Krishna, as always came to their rescue. In the afternoon, well before sunset, he arranged the eclipse of the Sun (by his Sudarshan Chakra, the rotating round blade). It brought darkness all around and Jayadrath came out of his hiding place in full view. Krishna then withdrew the Chakra and the Sun came out of the eclipse to give Arjun the chance of slaying Jayadrath.

The war continued that evening as Duryodhana ordered his troops to fight through the night without any break for a decisive result. But this backfired on the Kauravas as Ghatotkach , the son of Bhim , born of the Rakshashi ( she demon ) Hidimba created havoc by his Mayayudh (magical spells) and killed and threatened to demolish all. To counter him, the Kauravas brought in two of their own Rakshas (demon) warriors Alambush and Alayaudh one after the other. But the furious Ghatotkach killed them too. Only Karna could counter his magic aided by the cover of night but the son of Bhim proved unstoppable.

Egged on by the Kauravas and finding no other solution to the menace of Ghatokach , Karna was forced to unleash the divine weapon Ekaghni upon Ghatotkach to kill him . Even in his death Ghatotkach tried to kill as many of his foes possible by inflating himself as a mountain and trampling the Kauravas under the weight of his falling body. The fall of Ghatotkach was a tragedy for the Pandavas and made them very sad. The only exception being Shri Krishna who openly expressed his happiness in a boisterous manner. On being asked the reason for his strange behaviour, Krishna replied that he was happy as now Karna was bereft of the only weapon he had kept to kill Arjun.

The warriors on both sides were tired with the battle and therefore it was suggested by Arjun to have a cessation of the war till the moonrise. This gave both sides some much needed rest before they again engaged in the battle which continued the nextday. This day can be considered to be the most important in the war because it establishes the occurence of a solar eclipse during Mahabharat war (however couched in divine powers it may be). Secondly it also shows to what extent the two sides became desperate that they broke the tradition of fighting only during the day and not after sunset. Thirdly, it also reveals the hidden agenda of clever Krishna to disarm Karna of his most lethal weapon against Arjun and lastly to ensure that the future ruler had no worries about the existence of any more inimical power centers by felling all the Rakshasas including Ghatotkach. 

Rukmini and her elopement

Krishna had a number of wives. Well, he has been the inspiration of all Indian males over the ages in matters of love. Even now, in Hindi the saying - Chaaron Taraf Gopiyan , beech me Kanhaiya - is used to describe a young man surrounded by many females in college, office or picnics. True to his reputation the first marriage of Krishna too was done in the most dramatic way, by eloping with his bride, Rukmini.

Rukmini the first wife of Shri Krishna is considered to be a part of Goddess Lakshmi, the queen of Lord Vishnu who was represented on the earth in human form as Krishna himself. So naturally they were to marry each other but not before some drama. Rukmini was born as the daughter of King Bhismak of Vidarbha. From her childhood she was a devotee of Vishnu. When she crossed the age of sixteen, her father wanted to marry her off to a suitable prince.

Jarasandha , the enemy of Krishna was the ruler of Magadha which controlled a large part of the country. Vidarbha was a vassal state and the king Bhismak was ruling at the pleasure of Jarasandha. Now, the king of Chedi, Shishupal was a favourite of Emperor Jarasandh and also his commander He was an arch enemy of Krishna and had good friendshipn with prince Rukmi of Vidarbha, Rukmini's elder briother. On the insistence of his son, Bhismak decided to give away his daughter Rukmini to Shishupal on marriage.

Rukmini was not ready to marry Shishupal . She was a fan of Shri Krishna by hearing stories about him. Through a Brahmin, she managed to send a message to Krishna at Dwaravati (Dwarka) to save her and take her away. getting the message, Krishna with his elder brother Balaram got ready for a battle and started off for Vidarbha. As soon as they reached the outskirts of the town, he sent the Brahmin messenger to Rukmini with the message of his arrival.

Meanwhile Shishupal backed by an army came to Vidarbha for the marriage. Rukmini dressed in all the jewelries’ and bridal dress went out of the palace to a temple to perform prayers. From there Krishna picked her on his chariot and they both eloped. A great hue and cry ensued as the combined army of Vidarbha, Chedi and Magadha tried to stop them. But Balaram, with his favourite weapons Hal (the plough) and Gada (mace) thwarted them all. Krishna too fought and humiliated prince Rukmi by shaving off his head and packing him off to home. They brought Rukmini to Dwaravati.

All ended well and the elders of the family, King Vasudev, Devaki, Ugrasen , Akrur decided to arrange a quick marriage for them. The foster parents of Krishna, Nand and Yashoda too were very happy for their son. Krishna married Rukmini and the entire Yadava clan enjoyed the festivities. This was not the only marriage that Shri Krishna had. There are mentions of seven more wives of his - Satyabhama, Kalindi, Mitravinda, Jamwavanti, Nagnajiti, Sulakhsmana and Sushila (source : Padma Puran and Harivansam ). More about them some other day.

Still today elopement is a very favourite option for young couples facing hurdles in marriage. Some sound and fury happen initially but later everything is normal. Jai Shri Krishna, one should say.

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