MONDAY MUSINGS SEASON 2 - EPISODE 257
How to handle enemies
15th April 2024
WISHING ALL THE READERS HAPPY TAMIL NEW YEAR, RONGALI BIHU, BAISAKHI & OTHER NEW YEARS
Let us rewind to 2-100-37 of Valmiki Ramayan. I missed an interesting learning from 2-100-37 and I realized the significance of this sloka today after reading Ms. Bharathi Baskar’s weekly article #ThirukkuralWithTheTimes in #TimesOfIndia.
Not to take enemies lightly
कच्चिद् व्यपास्तान् अहितान् प्रतियातामः च सर्वदा | दुर्बलान् अनवज्नाय वर्तसे रिपु सूदन || Valmiki Ramayan 2-100-37
"O, slayer of Foes! I hope you do not forever think lightly of your foes, who are weak and having been defeated by you. They can return again and take revenge". Lord Ram to Barath
On the face of it, this might look like a negative and violent thought especially coming from the land of dharma and ahimsa. But it cannot be incidental that this line of thought is advocated not just by Valmiki but by Ved Vyasa, #Chanakya, #RobertGreene and even #Thiruvalluvar.
Let us see the significance of this advice from a story in #Mahabharath
Story of Draupadi’s abduction
One day, when the Pandavas were staying in the Kamakya forest during their Vanvas, they went for hunting, leaving Draupadi under the guardianship of a sage named Dhauma at Trinabindu ashram. At that time, King Jayadratha was passing through the forest along with his entourage, marching towards the kingdom of Salva, for his marriage with the princess of Salva. He was already married to Dushala, sister of the Kauravas by then. He spotted Draupadi on his way, standing against a Kadamba tree, watching the procession of army.
Jayadratha was mesmerised by her beauty. Not able to identify her, Jayadratha sent his very close friend Kotikasya to enquire about her.
Kotikasya enquired and found out about Draupadi and told her that Jayadratha was mesmerised by her beauty and asked him to fetch her for him. Draupadi was startled but quickly composed herself. She invited them to enjoy her hospitality and wait for the Pandavas to come anytime soon.
Kotikasya went back to king Jayadratha and told him that the beautiful lady was none other than queen Draupadi, wife of Panch Pandavas. But evil Jayadratha was not bothered about the newfound revelation. He was consumed by lust and wanted to take advantage of Pandava’s absence.
Thus, Jayadratha went to the ashram and was welcomed by Draupadi. He started making Draupadi uncomfortable by praising her beauty and advised her not to waste her beauty, youth and loveliness in the forest by staying with shameless beggars, the Pandavas, and instead come with him and live as a royal. Draupadi warned him of the consequences of his action and reminded him that she is the royal wife of his wife’s family, so she is also related to him, and it is expected of him to treat her with dignity. She added that she was very happily married to the Pandavas and also the mother of their five children.
Incensed by her refusal, Jayadratha dragged Draupadi and forcefully took her to his chariot and left. Draupadi cried and shouted for help. Hearing that, Dhauma rushed out and followed their chariot like a mad man.
Meanwhile, the Pandavas returned and learnt about the abduction from the maid Dhatreyika. Pandavas became furious. They traced the chariot in the direction shown by the maid, successfully chased them, and easily defeated Jayadratha’s whole army, capturing Jayadratha alive.
Draupadi prodded the Pandavas to kill Jayadratha. Bhima and Arjuna also wanted to kill him, but Dharmaputra Yudhisthira, the eldest of them, persuaded them to forgive him for the good thought that their sister Dushala should not become a widow and suffer. But Bhima and Arjuna didn’t want to leave Jayadratha that easily. Pandavas shaved his head saving five tufts of hair as a reminder to everyone of their valour. Bhima left Jayadratha after he was made to kneel down before Yudhisthira and apologize to him. Pandavas then forgave him and released him.
It would have been a happy ending with a great moral of ‘forgiving and forgetting’. Unfortunately, our Mahabharath story did not end here. Moral from this story is different.
Jayadratha’s revenge
Jayadratha went straight to the mouth of Ganges to do tapasya and penance to acquire more power. By his tapasya, he pleased Lord Shiva and asked Shiva to give him the boon of killing Arjuna. Shiva refused the request saying that it is impossible for anyone to do and instead gave a boon that Jayadratha would be able to hold back and restrain all the attacks of the Pandavas except Arjuna for only one day.
Pandavas ended up rueing their kind-heartedness later. Jayadratha bounced back and became the primary cause for killing Abhimanyu, son of Arjun, in the Kurukshetra war.
Musings will continue on the same topic. Share your feedback about the story with relevance to Lord Ram’s advice to Barath in the sloka.
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#PositiveNewsPage
if you are determined to achieve something, then nothing can stop you from achieving success. You can change the course of your journey through sheer courage and determination despite the hardships faced, Here is a real-life story to prove this,
G. Nirmala, a small-town girl hailing from Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool district, displayed academic excellence from an early age and dreamt of higher studies and good career. However, her family had other plans in store for her. Just as they had done for her three older sisters, Nirmala’s parents planned to arrange her marriage as well. However, Nirmala refused to submit to familial pressure and sought help from a local legislator.
She got in touch with Y. Saiprasad Reddy, the local legislator, at a community outreach programme in 2023, who then informed the district collector, G Srujana, of her ordeal. Touched by her dedication, collector G. Srujana stepped in right away, and rescued Nirmala from the prospects of child marriage.
Thereafter, there was no looking back for Nirmala. The district administration facilitated her admission to the Kasturba Gandhi Balikala Vidyalaya in Aspari, allowing her to complete her studies in a safe and supportive atmosphere.
Nirmala now secured the top spot in the 1st year intermediate exam of the Andhra Pradesh Intermediate Board. Despite overcoming challenges like recovering from a child marriage, she scored an impressive 421 out of 400.
The Ministry of Education hailed G. Nirmala in a twitter post “Her aspiration to become an IPS officer showcases her dedication to social cause. Let's celebrate her courage and wish her the best for her future”.
Let us also celebrate her courage and wish her the best for her future.
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Conceived, compiled and posted as a weekly newsletter #MondayMusings every Monday by Jaganathan T (www.authorjaganathan.com). Please subscribe Monday Musings, like, share, comment and #SpreadPositivity
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