जटायु...

******* जटायु******
    ------------------///----------///-----------

              आंखों के किनारों पर सिमटते अंधेरे ने आभास दिया,,कि ये जीवन की अंतिम सांझ बेला है,,,अब संभवतः  अपने पित्रों के सम्मुख जाने का समय नजदीक है....किन्तु एक कसक रह जायेगी,,,अपनी अंतिम यात्रा वो उस सम्मान के साथ पूर्ण नही कर सका,,जिस सम्मान का वाहक सदा से उसका कुल रहा है..निरंतर मंद होती स्वास की गति अब मानो निर्वाण यात्रा को कूच करने का स्मरण बार बार करा रही है..अपने कुल को कलंक लगा गया मैं,, अपना कर्तव्य नही निभा सका...क्या अब कभी इतिहास में उसका वंश  सम्मान का भागी नही रहेगा,,पूर्वजों की ख्याति क्या उसके इस असफल प्रयास से धूमिल हो जाएगी.....
              भाग्य की विडंबना रही है कि अपनी मुख्य उड़ानों में वो हर बार असफल ही रहा है...वर्षों पहले सूर्य तक पहुंचने की उसकी जिद का हश्र ,,अंत मे उसके ज्येष्ठ भ्राता सम्पाती के पंख जलकर पूर्ण हुआ..अपने अनुज के प्राणों की रक्षा के लिए ,,सम्पाती ने उसे सूर्य के प्रचंड ताप से बचाने हेतु अपने पंखों में छिपा लिया...उसके प्राण तो बच गए,,पर भाई पंख विहीन हो गया..अनुज को पश्चाताप करते देख सम्पाती ने उसके सिर पर हाथ फेरते हुए कितने स्नेह से कहा था कि ,,,अब तू ही मेरी उड़ान है,,,कालांतर में तेरा ही प्रयास मुझे विष्णु के कार्य का भागी बना मोक्ष प्रदान करेगा....
                     बड़ा भाई अभी भी समुद्र के किनारे कंदराओं में मोक्ष की राह ताकता होगा,,,अपने छोटे भ्राता पर उसका अखंड विश्वास रहा है...जाते समय राम भी किंतने विश्वास से सीता का चौकसी करने का भार उसके ऊपर डाल गए थे,,,,नही,,नही,,,वो यूं सबके विश्वास का हनन कदापि नही कर सकता....वो अपने ज्येष्ठ के बलिदान को यूं निरर्थक नही बना सकता....अभी भाई जीवित है,,इसका सीधा अर्थ है कि अभी अंतिम उड़ान बाकी है...नही अभी मेरे प्राण नही निकल सकते...अभी कर्तव्य का निर्वाह  होना शेष है ..अपने कुल के मान को अपने बूढे पंखों पर अपनी अंतिम सांस तक ढोना है..और अभी प्राण शेष हैं....गिद्ध ने प्राण देना सीखा है,,सम्मान देना नही..
               कर्तव्य के भान ने मानो जटायु के शरीर मे चेतना का संचार किया...कालांतर में जितना बल दसग्रीव के बाहुबलियों ने अंगद के पैर को डिगाने के प्रयास में लगाया होगा,,,,उससे सहस्त्र कोटि अधिक बल जटायु को अपने नेत्र खोलने में लगाना पड़ा...पलकों के कोने से आते प्रकाश ने ,,,विचारों को अधिक जागृत किया....हे प्रभु.....पता नही अभी कितने पल बीत गए जटायु को चेतनाहीन हुए..किस दिशा में वो असुर भगवती सीता को ले गया,,कुछ ज्ञात नही....दाहिने पंख में हुए घातक वार ने जटायु को क्षण भर के लिए चेतना शून्य किया ही था कि सीने के ठीक मध्य में रावण की कटार का गहरा वार मानो प्राणों का अंत ही कर गया था....
                   सीता भय से चीखती होंगी....जटायु को धरती पर गिरते गिरते भगवती सीता की अंतिम चीख मानो पुनः स्मरण हो आई..सीता के श्वसुर दशरथ जटायु के परम मित्रों में रहे हैं..इसी कारण सीता सदा उन्हें पिता तुल्य सम्मान देती आई हैं...आज पुत्री विपदा में है और जटायु को प्राणों का मोह हो रहा है,,,,धिक्कार है इस जीवन पर....आत्मसम्मान ने आगे बढ़कर मानो प्राणों पर थूका हो.......
       नही नही,,प्राणों का मोह नही,,,,जटायु की आत्मा त्राहि कर उठी,,प्राणों का मोह जटायु को कभी नही रहा.. ये यम की फांस है जो निरंतर उसे जकड़ती जा रही है.....किन्तु अभी बहुत से दायित्वों का निर्वाह बाकी है....नही ,,,,,यम के रथ को रुकना ही होगा....गिद्ध ने अपनी समस्त इच्छाशक्ति को अपने पंखों पर हस्तांतरित किया.....अभी अंतिम उड़ान शेष थी,,,,,,,वो उड़ान शेष थी,, जो इतिहास में जटायु का नाम स्वर्ण अक्षरों में अंकित करने वाली थी.......वो उड़ान शेष थी जो भाई सम्पाती को राम कार्य का भागीदार बना,, मोक्ष का अधिकारी बनाने वाली थी...अभी कुल का सम्मान शेष था,,.....................अभी जटायु शेष था....
                            एक झटके के साथ गिद्ध ने अपने घायल वृद्ध शरीर को हरकत में पाया..पंखों ने मानो फड़फड़ाकर अपने अस्तित्व के अंतिम युद्ध हेतु हुंकार भरी..जटायु ने धरती का स्पर्श कर प्रण लिया,,"हे वसुन्धरे,,,,अब यदि तुम्हारी पुत्री को साथ ला पाया तो ही जीवित अवस्था मे तुम्हारा स्पर्श करूँ,, अन्यथा मेरी देह सदा तुम्हारी ऋणी रहेगी.."
          किस ओर गया होगा पापी..गिद्ध की उड़ान में एक कमी सदा रही है कि काग की भांति वो तीव्रता से नही उड़ सकता..किन्तु उड़ान में ऊंचाइयों को प्राप्त करने में गिद्ध दक्ष है...ब्रह्मांड में कोई भी जटायु के समान आकाश का स्पर्श नही कर सकता.... वृद्ध व घायल देह से यह कठिन अवश्य प्रतीत होता है,,किन्तु ऊंचाइयों का कोई भी लक्ष्य गिद्ध के लिए असंभव नही..बचपन मे वो सूर्य की परिधि को छूने हेतु सूर्य की कक्षा में तक प्रवेश कर चुका है,,वो सूर्य देव के सारथी अरुण का पुत्र है..वह विष्णु के वाहन,,,महान गरुड़ देव् की कुल परंपरा का ध्वजवाहक है...
                अपने समस्त कौशल,,अपने बल ,,अपने स्वाभिमान का परिचय संसार को देने का आज अंतिम अवसर है...जटायु ने उर्ध्वगामी उड़ान के लिए पंखों को शरीर के निकट खींचा....गिद्ध ने अपने  सर्वोत्तम हुनर का परिचय दिया......हां यहां इतनी ऊंचाई से अब चारों दिशाओं पर दृष्टि पहुंचती है......गिद्ध को दूरदृष्टि हासिल है.....बहुत दूर की वस्तु भी गिद्ध बड़ी आसानी से सहज देख सकता है....नही ,,,,,दूर दूर तक कुछ नही है.......क्या मुझे आने में विलंब हो गया,,,,रावण मेरी पहुंच से दूर चला गया...
              अचानक दृष्टि दक्षिण की ओर टिकती है......दक्षिण में पचास योजन की दूरी पर आकाश में एक बिंदु दिखाई देता है....हां वो रहा कुकर्मी......वो रही सीता.....गिद्ध ने अपने समस्त बल को अपने पंखों पर नियंत्रित किया,,और दक्षिण में गोता खाया...
                तेजी से जटायु रावण की दिशा में बढ़ा... गिद्ध लंबी उड़ान के पक्षी हैं..सहस्त्रों योजन की यात्रा वो बेहिचक कर सकते हैं,,,,किंतु  अन्य पक्षियों की भांति अचानक से गति बढ़ाना ,,गिद्ध के लिए कठिन है..  ..मुख से सफेद फेन निकलने लगा वृद्ध जटायु के....गला सूखने से कंठ भी अवरुद्ध हुआ जाता है....किन्तु तेज,,,, और तेज.....
                          दृष्टि धुँधलने सी लगी है...नही नही आयु दोष के कारण नही...गिद्ध दृष्टि कभी आयु की मोहताज नही रही....अपनी असफलता के भय से निरीह पक्षी की आंखें ,,आंसुओं से लबरेज हैं..जगहंसाई का भय ,,आंसुओं के रूप में जटायु की दृष्टि को बाधित कर रहा है....हालात जब भी नियंत्रण से बाहर जाने लगते हैं,,आंखें सदैव से इसकी सर्वप्रथम सूचक होती हैं..
                               अचानक रावण को अपने सिर पर किसी परछाई का आभास हुआ....जटायु के रूप में लंकेश ने यम को साक्षात अपने निकट पाया....विस्मय से रावण की आंखें फटी रह गईं.....जिसे मृत समझ पीछे छोड़ आया था वो यूं काल का दूत बना सिर पर कैसे खड़ा है,, ये विश्वास से परे है......
                           तीन नाखूनों को अपनी आंख के निकट भीतर  तक धंसता हुआ रावण ने स्पष्ट महसूस किया......सीता यान में बेसुध पड़ी हैं...जटायु अब किसी कीमत पर रावण को आगे बढ़ने नही देगा......यान के बाहरी पंख पर जटायु ने वज्र प्रहार किया.....यान बायीं ओर झुका......जटायु का शरीर निरंतर बहते रक्त के कारण अब कमजोर पड़ने लगा था.....रावण भी निरंतर हो रहे प्रहारों से अब निढाल सा होने लगा था,,,,,शरीर के कई हिस्से मानो गहरे तीरों से बिंधे हों..जटायु यदि अधिक देर तक यूं प्रहार करता रहा,,, तो रावण अथवा यान किसी को भी वह भूमि पर पटकने ही वाला है....ये आभास होते ही रावण ने जटायु को अपने से दूर रखने हेतु निरंतर बाणों की वर्षा आरम्भ कर दी.....एक के बाद एक तीर जटायु के शरीर को बींधते चले गए....अंतिम प्रहार के रूप में जटायु ने अपने गिरते शरीर को यान से टकराने का प्रयास किया........रावण इस वार के लिए तैयार था..तुरंत अपनी तलवार से उसने जटायु के दाहिने पंख को उसके शरीर से अलग कर दिया......जटायु कटे वृक्ष की भांति जमीन पर गिरा.....पृथ्वी को दी अपनी सौगंध की लाज उसने रखी......यान नजरों से ओझल हो गया....... इतिहास में जटायु सदा के लिए अमर हो गया..
                  रामायण में वर्णित पात्रों में जटायु की अंतिम क्रिया हम स्वयं चक्रपाणी के अवतार राम के हाथों होता देखते हैं...जो सौभाग्य पिता होकर भी दशरथ को प्राप्त न हुआ,,,वह सौभाग्य भक्त होकर जटायु महाराज ने सहज ही हासिल किया...बैकुंठ की प्राप्ति जटायु को हुई......भक्तवत्सल प्रभु राम की जय......

शिव....

****** ......  शिव .....*****
-----/--------/------------–--------------------/--------

             शिव को समझना उतना ही सरल है,,,जितना मनुष्य का स्वतः ये ज्ञात कर लेना कि जल ही प्यास बुझाने का एकमात्र साधन हैं..जल बिना जीवन नही है..ठीक उसी प्रकार शिव के बिना परिवार व संसार का सुख नही है..
      और अगर आप शिव को रहस्यमयी बनाने पर विश्वास रखते हैं तो शिव को समझना उतना ही दुष्कर है जितना ब्रह्मांड को समझना...
      हजारों लेख इस सावन के पवित्र माह में आपको शिव संबंधी देखने को मिल जाते हैं....अनगिनत श्रद्धालु,,अनगिनत शिवलिंगों में जल अर्पित करते हुए अपनी तस्वीरें खिंचवाने को ही सावन का महात्म्य समझ बैठते हैं... शिव की तस्वीरों से लोगों की प्रोफाइल्स जगमगाने लगती हैं....फिर भी एक रीतापन सा बिखरा हुआ रह जाता है... क्यों...क्योंकि हम शिव से परिचित नही हो पाते...हम उनमे आत्मसात नही हो पाते.....भक्तों की चेष्ठा मात्र ये ज्ञात करने तक सीमित रहती है कि शिव को क्या पसंद है...शिव को क्या चढ़ाना,, अर्पित करना चाहिए,,,,शिव कैसा श्रृंगार करते हैं..कौन से मंत्र शिव को प्रसन्न कर सकते हैं....शिव की इच्छा ,,अनिच्छा तक मनुष्य सीमित कर देता है स्वयं को.....किन्तु शिव का साक्षात्कार नही करता....शिव को नही खोजता,,, शिव को नही तलाशता,,,,ताकि स्वयं उनकी वाणी से ही उनकी वास्तविक इच्छा अनिच्छा ज्ञात कर पाता...जिस दिन ऐसा कर पाए ,,तब देखिये,, हर मास श्रावण मास है,प्रत्येक दिन सोमवार है,,,,प्रत्येक रात्रि शिव रात्रि है...प्रत्येक बूंद गंगाजल है...
            शिव को मानिए मत,,शिव मानने की प्रक्रिया नही हैं....मानेंगे तो सदा उस भाव मे देख पाएंगे ,,जिसमे दूसरे ने देखा...,जो भाव  पुस्तकों में लिखा पाएंगे...दूसरे की दृष्टि है ,, दूसरे का विजन है..... दूसरे के विचारों के शिव,,,दूसरे के शिव..आपके अपने नही...अतः शिव को मानिए मत.....अपितु शिव को जानिये...आपके शिव को जानिये...मानने न मानने का प्रश्न स्वयं लोप हो जाएगा...
                   शव ही प्राण का विलोम है....प्राण शिव है,,,प्राण नही तो शव है,,,स्पंदन हीन है,,उद्देश्यहीन है..निर्रथक है..उत्तरदायित्व की एक मात्रा "इ" को लगा लेने से शव ,,शिव का रूप ले लेता है..शिव उत्तरदायित्व की परिभाषा हैं...शिव जिम्मेदारी का एहसास हैं...शिव अपनी आकांक्षाओं,, इच्छाओं का हनन कर ,,,,परिवार हेतु,,समाज हेतु ,,मानवता हेतु ,,,,विषपान करने का नाम है....शिव नीलकंठ हैं...शिव हैं तो योगी हैं,,,अन्यथा भोगी हैं....शिव स्वयं को होम कर परिवार का पालन करने का नाम है,,,,
          शिव वो संबल है जो आपके बुरे वक्त में आपका सारा बोझ, बिना किसी लालसा के,,बग़ैर किसी उलाहना के,,,बिना अपने स्थान-आयु-सामर्थ्य का भान किये ,,अपने कांधे पर लेकर आपको भार मुक्त कर देते हैं...वे स्वयं विषपान कर ,,आपको अमृत का प्याला थमा देते हैं...वे स्वयं वाघाम्बर ओढ़ कर ,,,राख का लेपन करके ही संतुष्ट हैं,,,,संसार की संपदा का भोग आप कीजिये,,,ये शिव आपके लिए त्याग दिए हैं..आप अपने गले मे स्वर्णजड़ित आभूषण धारण कीजिये...वे जिम्मेदारियों के बासुकी को अलंकार स्वेच्छा से बनाए बैठे हैं......
                       कभी पिता के गले के नीले रंग पर ध्यान गया है आपका.....नही ना....कभी उनमे अपने शिव तलाशने का प्रयास किया है आपने.....नहीं ना........कभी याद है कि आपकी नई कमीज खरीदने के लिए ,,स्वयं फटे पुराने वस्त्र वो पहनते रहे हैं.... आपको ताजी रोटी खाने को मिले ये सोचकर बिना किसी शिकायत के रात की बासी रोटी खाते देखा है आपने....नही न......
               कभी आपकी असफलता पर उनके रौद्र रूप के पीछे छिपे उनके डर को देखा है आपने....आपके असुरक्षित भविष्य का डर,,,,आपकी जगहंसाई का डर,,,आपके संघर्ष का डर...नही ना...
                कभी तुलना कीजिये शिव की अपने पिता से....आप देखेंगे कि जिस रूप को,,जिस आकृति को पाने के लिए आप बड़े बड़े स्वांग रचाये फिर रहे हैं,,,वो आपके ही सामने कदम कदम पर आपके साथ चल रहा है.. ,,,,प्रत्येक पल विष का पान आपके व अपने परिवार के रक्षार्थ कर रहा है....वो अपना सर्वस्व आपके हेतु त्याग कर चुका है....निराशा के पश्चात आशा ही जीवन का आधार है,,,पतझड़ के बाद बसंत ही नवजीवन का संदेश है,,,मृत्यु मिथ्या है ,,,मृत्यु के भय को काट जो जीवन के प्रति आस्था प्रज्वलित करे ,,वो शिव है...अगर अंधकार ही व्याप्त हो,,तो प्रकाश का क्या महत्व रह गया....कीमती तो प्रकाश है....मृत्यु पाखंड है ,,,,मात्र वस्त्र का बदलना है,,आत्मा शाश्वत है,,एकमात्र सत्य है,,,,जीवन ही ईश्वर के होने का प्रमाण है.....मुझे अपने जीवन से बहुत प्यार है ,,,ये जीवन न होता,,,तो मुझे माता -पिता,,भाई बहन,,मित्रों ,,पाठकों का स्नेह न मिलता.....जीवन न होता तो मैं भगवती की स्तुति नही कर पाता...जीवन न होता तो मैं प्रकृति की रचनाओं,,सुंदर पंछियों,, पहाड़ों ,,मंदिरों के दर्शन न कर पाता,,,,जीवन न होता तो युवावस्था के प्रथम प्रेम की याद में जो अनार मेरे मन मे फूटते हैं,,उनके अग्निप्रभाव में जो जलन रूपी शांति मुझे मिलती है,,वो कहाँ से आती....जीवन न होता तो मेरी जीवन संगिनी और भगवती का अवतार दो पुत्रियां मुझे कहाँ से मिलती...ये मनुष्य जीवन पाने के लिए देवता भी तरसते हैं ....मृत्यु मुझे परास्त नही कर  सकती...क्योंकि मैं जानता हूँ उसके बाद पुनर्जन्म है...उस अंधकार के बाद वापस शिव रूपी प्रकाश है जीवन के रूप में...तभी कहा गया है,,भला मृत्यु से क्या भय,,,,क्योंकि वो तो क्षणिक है...जीवन निरंतर बहता जल है...निरंतर यात्रा है....अब ये हमारे ऊपर है कि मिथ्या मृत्यु को ध्यान में रखकर हम घुट घुट कर जियें,,या ये सत्य जान लें कि मृत्यु एक क्षणिक आभास है...जीवन पुनः हमे अपने आगोश में लेने को तत्पर है...जीवन ही शिव है,,,अतः शिव ही सत्य है..जीवन देने वाला पिता ही शिव है,,तभी महामृत्युंजय  हैं..मुझे अपने जीवन से बहुत स्नेह है बन्धु,,,मैं जानता हूँ शिव बार बार अपना अंश देकर मुझे हर बार नए क्लेवर में उत्पन करेंगे ,,इस संसार की सुंदरता देखने के लिए,,इसका रसास्वादन करने के लिए,,,,इसी कारण मेरे मन ने सर्वथा विपरीत परिस्थितियों में भी मुझे निराश नही होने दिया कभी....क्योंकि जानता हूँ हर अंधकार के आगे प्रकाश है,,,हर असफलता के आगे सफलता है आलिंगन के लिए....हर मृत्यु के पश्चात शिव हैं नया जीवन देने के लिए....मैं हारता नही,,क्योंकि मैं जीवन हूँ...मैं ही शिव हूँ ,,,,,शिवोह्म.. शिवोह्म..
                       ये पिता को उसका आसन,,उसका मान देने का उपयुक्त समय है.....ये पिता को महसूस कराने का पर्व है कि आप ही मेरे शिव हैं ,,,आप ही की रचना हूँ मैं,,,आप ही पालक हैं मेरे.....आप ही रचियता हैं मेरे........मुझे भी शिव बनना है.....आपके बाद आपके रचनाक्रम का निर्वाह करना है.....आपकी ही भांति परिवार का पोषण करना है......आपके ही अंश की प्रकृति हूँ मैं......आप ही  शिव हैं,,और मैं शिव बनने की प्रक्रिया में हूँ,,आपके पश्चात मैं स्वयं शिव हूँ.........शिवोह्म.....शिवोह्म ....

Eklavya....The great warrior

"Eklavya – ‘The Great Warrior’ and the Story of Greatest Betrayal in Indian history"
(मेरे प्रस्तुत लेख को अंग्रेजी में ट्रांसलेट करने का श्रेय मेरे मित्र व क्लाइंट अमेरिका निवासी डॉक्टर संदीप कॉल जी को जाता है)
      Written some 5000 years ago, Mahabharata, has time and again proved to be the greatest epic, not only of India, but of the whole world. Its impact has been felt in over the ages and in all parts of the world. ‘Gita’, the ocean of knowledge, emanates from it as well. During the time of Mahabharata, a very important background information is overlooked while revisiting it during the present times. Arjuna, considered to be the ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’ during that period, was groomed to such greatness by two Gurus. It did not happen by accident. The first person directly responsible for this was Kripacharya, the royal teacher of the Kauravas and Pandavas appointed by Bheeshma and the second was Dronacharya, which weapon master of Hastinapur court. Dronacharya had trained under the great Parashurāma himself, thus ensuring the divine greatness of his expertise having trained in all weaponry, conventional and divine. Kripacharya by recommending the latter, ensured Arjuna became the ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’. To his credit, Arjuna, through his hard work and dedication, pleased Dronacharya to such an extent that it exceeded the love of his own son, Ashwatthama. Out of this love, he taught him not only to become master archer but also gave him the power to invoke the divine super-weapons such as ‘The Brahmastra’. Such deep was his love for Arjuna that even Ashwatthama was not taught the complete procedure of invoking ‘The Brahmastra’ (He could not recall this divine weapon once it left his bow).
During the present times, such stories do crop up in modern culture such as films and dramas. One such example is the Hollywood movie Star Wars – New Hope (1977), which happened to be the first installment of hugely successful movie series. In it the main protagonist and hero, Luke Skywalker, rose from a very humble beginnings to become the ‘Greatest Jedi Warrior’ the galaxy had ever known. His gurus (mentors), Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Grand Master, Yoda, ensured that this tag ‘Greatest Warrior’ was bestowed on Luke Skywalker through rigorous training. At first sight, it might look as an unnecessary comparison to Vedic Epic like Mahabharata here but such stories strike at the heart of people’s psyche where heroes are celebrated down the ages, where subsequent generation remember them. And if such explanation does not satisfy the critics of this unnecessary comparison, consider the fact Luke Skywalker’s father, Darth Vader, went down the evil path to become a main villain in this film series. It explains the power of a ‘Guru’ (or his absence) as a person guiding and nurturing the future of his disciple.
But then Mahabharata is an unusual epic. Perhaps this is where the comparison with contemporary folklore or similar other epics end. There is a dark secret associated with Arjuna being bestowed the title of ‘Greatest Warrior’. If one digs deep enough, innumerable characters, innumerable faces, countless seasons and innumerable stories can be had from Mahabharata. As an avid reader, a person could be exposed to and remember each and every character from different sources and documents. But today I am not willing to talk about ‘Yogashwar’ Krishna or shower praises on ‘Mahabali’ Bheem, neither the aim is to put ‘Gāṇḍīvadhārī’ Arjuna as the object of this article nor am I willing to talk about ‘Suryaputra’ Karna. I am interested in talking about that person who is a forgotten hero, possibly faced the greatest betrayal of history, whose place in history was treated like a stone that need to be kicked around. His painful tears and the pain emanating from his heart was overlooked because of his ‘low caste’ birth. Even the savior of the religion, Chakrapāṇi Vasudeva (Lord Krishna), did not oppress this injustice and nature, for good or for worse, has hidden this betrayal from plain sight of everyone. Yes friends, today the pen is to sing praises about the story of the same legendary person, who without any blessing, without being the son of a God and without the help of any divine weapon, was indeed the best archer of the world, the best disciple there was, and the performer of greatest sacrifice that anyone could ask for. Yes, today the pen is interested in singing great praises for Veer Eklavya, praises for his knowledge, praises for his immense capability that was stinging like a thorn in the eyes of his contemporaries.
During one of his training sessions he put twelve arrows in the mouth of a dog to stop it from barking which was creating distraction for him during those practice sessions. He dealt it with such a precision that not a single drop of blood came out of that dog’s mouth. In the science of archery, this was a perfect example of ‘stopping a living being from having a preoccupation with empty talk’. In the entire universe at that time, there were a lot of people who had the ability to perform such a feat, but only Eklavya’s ability far out shone that of others. In fact it was such an impossible feat that no ordinary human with all the knowledge of archery could achieve it. This is based, as we shall see, on the subsequent testimony of Dronacharya himself, as he witnessed Eklavya’s remarkable feat, which lead him to believe that such a person was no ordinary person.
News reached the royal palace and curiosity among the Pandava princes took center stage. “Who is this person who is a master of archery?”, “Who is this near perfect archer?” These were the sort of questions that were coming in their mind. Led by their Guru Dronacharya, the Pandava princes reached the forest where Eklavya was residing and practicing archery. To their surprise they found an ordinary ‘Bhil’ (low caste) boy was practicing with a very ordinary wooden bow. In front of him was a bunch of arrows and barking dog’s mouth full of arrows bore testimony of his finesse in the art of archery. Dronacharya could not believe his own eyes. This could not have been some kind of deceptive magic as that deception in the boy’s capabilities could be instantly recognized by him. Perhaps it could be his own guru, the great Parashurāma himself, or some divine person/Devata in the garb of human being. But deep in his heart Dronacharya knew that he could instantly recognize his own guru, the great Parashurāma. That was not a possibility. The option of this boy being a divine person could easily be ruled out because Dronacharya knew the caliber of all the contemporary divine gurus, as he himself was one of the masters of divine weaponry. So the question remained: “Who is this boy?”
He asked “Who is your Guru? (Nasataṁ Pratijagrāha Naiṣādiriti Chintayan…..Shiṣhyaṁ Dhānuṣadhārmajña)”. “Who is it that has made you such a versatile person in archery?” To this Eklavya replied, “I am your disciple, Gurudev, and you are my adorable lord”. Bowing his head in great adulation, he pointed towards the nearby stone statue of Dronacharya. Finding his Guru in front of him made Eklavya ecstatic and he could not help the feeling of being at the feet of Rudra (Lord Shiva) himself. What could be a greater luck or honor for him to have impressed his Guru with his knowledge. For him he had accomplished the ‘honor of a disciple’ in the eyes of the world. He had indeed proved worthy of being the disciple of the great Guru. His mind was crisscrossed with a lot of these thoughts while paying obeisance to Dronacharya.
As opposed to this, Dronacharya was thinking that for Arjuna to reach such a finesse and an advanced level in the art of archery would take time and a lot of practice. But this ‘Bhil’ (low caste) boy had achieved such a rare feat that Dronacharya was amazed to a point that it became a wakeup call for him. His efforts were directed in making Arjuna the ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’ but the way this ‘Bhil’ boy was handling the bow, let alone shooting the arrows with such precision, bore testimony to the fact that he was miles ahead of his ‘chosen one’ disciple. He had indeed poured water on all his efforts in making Arjuna the master Archer. “Tamabravīt Tvayāṅguṣṭhō Dakṣiṇō Dīyatāmiti (I want my Dakshina)”. With these insulting words Dronacharya addressed Eklavya, shrewdness in his words being quite perceptible. It is true that he had learned the art of archery by installing the statue of Dronacharya in front of him, but there is no doubt he had a natural, inborn talent which propelled him to such heights that he could achieve such superlative finesse in archery with a simple bow. A master archer would require a whole set of sophisticated weaponry to accomplish this feat. For the Kuru princes, apart from their extraordinary archery facilities, there was a constant roving presence of the master teacher, Dronacharya. It was amply clear that the entire pride of son of Pāṇḍū, Arjuna being greatest archer, was going to go down in veritable drain of tears. Out of the corner of his eye Arjuna was looking suspiciously at Dronacharya as if asking him what happened to the promise Dronacharya had made that would ensure he, Arjuna, would be the greastest living archer in the Aryavrata (country). Here is a ‘jungle boy’ who is directly challenging that stand. Furious with jealousy and anger Arjuna appeared as though he would be consumed in those flames and Dronacharya very well knew his future lay waste as a result of this jealousy. Nobody would take his word, the word of divine Guru, as unshakable truth.
But then the world favors the strong. Or so the saying goes. The weak and coward get obliterated just as a strong draft of air extinguishes a flickering flame of a candle. What can a small ‘Bhil’ jungle boy do in presence of people with illustrious lineage, eminent caste, well respected royalty? His claim to fame was in jeopardy as soon as the Kuru princes took notice of his extraordinary talent. It was quite clear that Eklavya had no right to be extraordinary even though truth suggested otherwise. If one compares Eklavya as that candle then Dronacharya’s subsequent actions were like the strong draft of air (in fact Dronacharya ensured continuation of the tradition of his own guru, great Parashurāma) which blew hard enough to extinguish the flame. It seemed as though the deity of the jungle, Vanadevi, cried out in despair. In the heavens, Lord Shiva, also let out a drop of tear seeing such great injustice, such great wrongdoing. At the spur of that moment, the lord forebode the demise of ‘House of Kurus’ in the near future. History bears testament to the fact that the entire royal lineages, dynasties and entire nations have been wiped out when righteous and capable people have been sidestepped by a few favored persons.
Jyōtiṣhaśāṣtra is witness to the fact that the natives born in the constellation of ‘Uttarafalguni’ have always succeeded in fulfilling their wishes with their ‘feminine’ stubbornness. Arjuna, who himself was born in the constellation of ‘Uttarafalguni’, has proved this over once again. The jist is that with one’s ego and stubbornness, a person can retain the tag of ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’.
“Give me your thumb of your right hand as Guru Dakshina”. This statement has forever remained as a blemish on Dronacharya’s character. He was bound by his own pledge that he would only teach princes of Kuru lineage. He had once broken a pledge to King Dhrupada. As a result of that he had to feed his own son, Ashwatthama, soup of rice flour labelling it as milk. The mere thought of breaking another pledge would send shiver down his spine. He knew he could not displease Bheeshma at any cost. Destiny was literally sealed for Eklavya at that moment. He had to be pushed back and brought down. The dakshina of right thumb would ensure this. “Tamabravīt Tvayāṅguṣṭhō Dakṣiṇō Dīyatāmiti (I want the thumb of your right hand as my Dakshina, i.e charity)”. It was impossible to comply with such charity without the thought of the consequence gleaming in one’s eyes. Eklavya’s future was pegged on it. But it is said that Eklavya acted without a hitch, which was even faster than what the master philanthropist, Daanveer Karna, achieved when he donated his Kavachha and Kundalas to Devraja Indra. Within minutes the thumb of right hand was at the feet of Dronacharya. A feat that needed a new definition here because there is no other glaring example in the history of mankind at the speed of its compliance. The entire universe cried at this injustice. Even Ashwatthama, who was old enough to understand the greatness of the act, felt ashamed in his heart. He knew his own father, Dronacharya, loved Arjuna more than he himself. That fact had not escaped anyone but that love had transcended to a new level. It made him cringe and detest Arjuna, as he himself was the son of the illustrious guru. He was well aware of the grueling process that ensured the making of the great warrior, that too without any help or without any suitable facility available in Eklavya’s case. There was no divine boon, only self-practice of the individual that had ensured Eklavya mastery at the art of archery. But when the time came to admit who was his guru, he with all his simplicity, put his entire talent and natural ability at the feet of his father, Dronacharya. This selfless act even surprised the gods and forever etched Eklavya’s name into annals of history. But then the world favors the strong every time. This, without a doubt, will be repeated in the future as well and people like Eklavya will find no value in this world for their inborn talents. The weak will always be brought down. It has happened now and will keep happening in the future as well.
History only remembers the winners. There is only a scant mention of Eklavya in other works. Legend has it, that one day Arjuna and couple of his friends surreptitiously went to the forest where he saw Eklavya practicing the art of archery with only four fingers of his hand. Like a kid who is learning to use the bow for the first time, the arrows which shot out of his bow dropped only a few yards in front of him. Arjuna smirked and felt very satisfied with what he saw and returned to the palace subsequently. Indeed, what he saw that day were the tears in the eyes of Eklavya, but what he unable to see was the yearning to excel in adverse of the circumstances.
Eklavya does get mentioned in Vishnu Purana and Harivansh Purana. He is supposed to the king of Nishad lineage, the jungle people. He had supposedly led an attack on the Kingdom of Mathura, ruled by Jarasandha, and ensured complete rout of his Yadava army. During the course of the battle, when there was utter confusion in the battlefield, Lord Krishna himself was from Yadava lineage, saw that the part of the battlefield which was at the center of the rout had a ‘Great Warrior’ riding a chariot. But the person just had four fingers on his right hand. Such great was his finesse that even a divine being as Lord Krishna himself was dumbfounded. With his archery talent he was able to hold back his rivals generals and with each pull of the bow, numerous arrows would fly off to pierce their targets without fail. Lord Krishna could have easily mistake this person to be Kunti Putra, Arjuna, since he wielded his bow with such deftness. But four fingers probably gave up his identity and spelt doom for this person who eventually was killed in the battlefield by Lord Krishna himself. This gives the clearest proof that even though Eklavya donated his right thumb, he still attained his former mastery at the art of archery. It could be debated, subsequent to his thumb donation, he might not have attained the level of mastery in the art but the way he wiped out his rival Yadava generals in the battlefield leaves no room for his grip at the art of archery.
After the end of the great war of Mahabharata, all the great surviving people started to relate their valorous stories. It was then Lord Krishna revealed the truth to Arjuna. It was his love for him that ensured the tag of ‘Greatest Warrior’ forever was stuck to his name. With his divine powers he ensured the ultimate death of his guru, Dronacharya, weakened Karna and without Arjuna’s knowledge killed Eklavya. This is the ultimate tribute to this great warrior. Even today the ‘Bhil’ tribal people in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh continue to fight for their right with bow and arrows.
Please do comment. Waiting for your valuable opinion towards this article.
The Original Hindi version of this article appears here:
www.astrologerindehradun.com
Rightsunshineforu.blogspot.com
Eklavya – ‘The Great Warrior’ and the Story of Greatest Betrayal in Indian History
(This is my favorite article and is presented again here)
Written some 5000 years ago, Mahabharata, has time and again proved to be the greatest epic, not only of India, but of the whole world. Its impact has been felt in over the ages and in all parts of the world. ‘Gita’, the ocean of knowledge, emanates from it as well. During the time of Mahabharata, a very important background information is overlooked while revisiting it during the present times. Arjuna, considered to be the ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’ during that period, was groomed to such greatness by two Gurus. It did not happen by accident. The first person directly responsible for this was Kripacharya, the royal teacher of the Kauravas and Pandavas appointed by Bheeshma and the second was Dronacharya, which weapon master of Hastinapur court. Dronacharya had trained under the great Parashurāma himself, thus ensuring the divine greatness of his expertise having trained in all weaponry, conventional and divine. Kripacharya by recommending the latter, ensured Arjuna became the ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’. To his credit, Arjuna, through his hard work and dedication, pleased Dronacharya to such an extent that it exceeded the love of his own son, Ashwatthama. Out of this love, he taught him not only to become master archer but also gave him the power to invoke the divine super-weapons such as ‘The Brahmastra’. Such deep was his love for Arjuna that even Ashwatthama was not taught the complete procedure of invoking ‘The Brahmastra’ (He could not recall this divine weapon once it left his bow).
During the present times, such stories do crop up in modern culture such as films and dramas. One such example is the Hollywood movie Star Wars – New Hope (1977), which happened to be the first installment of hugely successful movie series. In it the main protagonist and hero, Luke Skywalker, rose from a very humble beginnings to become the ‘Greatest Jedi Warrior’ the galaxy had ever known. His gurus (mentors), Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Grand Master, Yoda, ensured that this tag ‘Greatest Warrior’ was bestowed on Luke Skywalker through rigorous training. At first sight, it might look as an unnecessary comparison to Vedic Epic like Mahabharata here but such stories strike at the heart of people’s psyche where heroes are celebrated down the ages, where subsequent generation remember them. And if such explanation does not satisfy the critics of this unnecessary comparison, consider the fact Luke Skywalker’s father, Darth Vader, went down the evil path to become a main villain in this film series. It explains the power of a ‘Guru’ (or his absence) as a person guiding and nurturing the future of his disciple.
But then Mahabharata is an unusual epic. Perhaps this is where the comparison with contemporary folklore or similar other epics end. There is a dark secret associated with Arjuna being bestowed the title of ‘Greatest Warrior’. If one digs deep enough, innumerable characters, innumerable faces, countless seasons and innumerable stories can be had from Mahabharata. As an avid reader, a person could be exposed to and remember each and every character from different sources and documents. But today I am not willing to talk about ‘Yogashwar’ Krishna or shower praises on ‘Mahabali’ Bheem, neither the aim is to put ‘Gāṇḍīvadhārī’ Arjuna as the object of this article nor am I willing to talk about ‘Suryaputra’ Karna. I am interested in talking about that person who is a forgotten hero, possibly faced the greatest betrayal of history, whose place in history was treated like a stone that need to be kicked around. His painful tears and the pain emanating from his heart was overlooked because of his ‘low caste’ birth. Even the savior of the religion, Chakrapāṇi Vasudeva (Lord Krishna), did not oppress this injustice and nature, for good or for worse, has hidden this betrayal from plain sight of everyone. Yes friends, today the pen is to sing praises about the story of the same legendary person, who without any blessing, without being the son of a God and without the help of any divine weapon, was indeed the best archer of the world, the best disciple there was, and the performer of greatest sacrifice that anyone could ask for. Yes, today the pen is interested in singing great praises for Veer Eklavya, praises for his knowledge, praises for his immense capability that was stinging like a thorn in the eyes of his contemporaries.
During one of his training sessions he put twelve arrows in the mouth of a dog to stop it from barking which was creating distraction for him during those practice sessions. He dealt it with such a precision that not a single drop of blood came out of that dog’s mouth. In the science of archery, this was a perfect example of ‘stopping a living being from having a preoccupation with empty talk’. In the entire universe at that time, there were a lot of people who had the ability to perform such a feat, but only Eklavya’s ability far out shone that of others. In fact it was such an impossible feat that no ordinary human with all the knowledge of archery could achieve it. This is based, as we shall see, on the subsequent testimony of Dronacharya himself, as he witnessed Eklavya’s remarkable feat, which lead him to believe that such a person was no ordinary person.
News reached the royal palace and curiosity among the Pandava princes took center stage. “Who is this person who is a master of archery?”, “Who is this near perfect archer?” These were the sort of questions that were coming in their mind. Led by their Guru Dronacharya, the Pandava princes reached the forest where Eklavya was residing and practicing archery. To their surprise they found an ordinary ‘Bhil’ (low caste) boy was practicing with a very ordinary wooden bow. In front of him was a bunch of arrows and barking dog’s mouth full of arrows bore testimony of his finesse in the art of archery. Dronacharya could not believe his own eyes. This could not have been some kind of deceptive magic as that deception in the boy’s capabilities could be instantly recognized by him. Perhaps it could be his own guru, the great Parashurāma himself, or some divine person/Devata in the garb of human being. But deep in his heart Dronacharya knew that he could instantly recognize his own guru, the great Parashurāma. That was not a possibility. The option of this boy being a divine person could easily be ruled out because Dronacharya knew the caliber of all the contemporary divine gurus, as he himself was one of the masters of divine weaponry. So the question remained: “Who is this boy?”
He asked “Who is your Guru? (Nasataṁ Pratijagrāha Naiṣādiriti Chintayan…..Shiṣhyaṁ Dhānuṣadhārmajña)”. “Who is it that has made you such a versatile person in archery?” To this Eklavya replied, “I am your disciple, Gurudev, and you are my adorable lord”. Bowing his head in great adulation, he pointed towards the nearby stone statue of Dronacharya. Finding his Guru in front of him made Eklavya ecstatic and he could not help the feeling of being at the feet of Rudra (Lord Shiva) himself. What could be a greater luck or honor for him to have impressed his Guru with his knowledge. For him he had accomplished the ‘honor of a disciple’ in the eyes of the world. He had indeed proved worthy of being the disciple of the great Guru. His mind was crisscrossed with a lot of these thoughts while paying obeisance to Dronacharya.
As opposed to this, Dronacharya was thinking that for Arjuna to reach such a finesse and an advanced level in the art of archery would take time and a lot of practice. But this ‘Bhil’ (low caste) boy had achieved such a rare feat that Dronacharya was amazed to a point that it became a wakeup call for him. His efforts were directed in making Arjuna the ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’ but the way this ‘Bhil’ boy was handling the bow, let alone shooting the arrows with such precision, bore testimony to the fact that he was miles ahead of his ‘chosen one’ disciple. He had indeed poured water on all his efforts in making Arjuna the master Archer. “Tamabravīt Tvayāṅguṣṭhō Dakṣiṇō Dīyatāmiti (I want my Dakshina)”. With these insulting words Dronacharya addressed Eklavya, shrewdness in his words being quite perceptible. It is true that he had learned the art of archery by installing the statue of Dronacharya in front of him, but there is no doubt he had a natural, inborn talent which propelled him to such heights that he could achieve such superlative finesse in archery with a simple bow. A master archer would require a whole set of sophisticated weaponry to accomplish this feat. For the Kuru princes, apart from their extraordinary archery facilities, there was a constant roving presence of the master teacher, Dronacharya. It was amply clear that the entire pride of son of Pāṇḍū, Arjuna being greatest archer, was going to go down in veritable drain of tears. Out of the corner of his eye Arjuna was looking suspiciously at Dronacharya as if asking him what happened to the promise Dronacharya had made that would ensure he, Arjuna, would be the greastest living archer in the Aryavrata (country). Here is a ‘jungle boy’ who is directly challenging that stand. Furious with jealousy and anger Arjuna appeared as though he would be consumed in those flames and Dronacharya very well knew his future lay waste as a result of this jealousy. Nobody would take his word, the word of divine Guru, as unshakable truth.
But then the world favors the strong. Or so the saying goes. The weak and coward get obliterated just as a strong draft of air extinguishes a flickering flame of a candle. What can a small ‘Bhil’ jungle boy do in presence of people with illustrious lineage, eminent caste, well respected royalty? His claim to fame was in jeopardy as soon as the Kuru princes took notice of his extraordinary talent. It was quite clear that Eklavya had no right to be extraordinary even though truth suggested otherwise. If one compares Eklavya as that candle then Dronacharya’s subsequent actions were like the strong draft of air (in fact Dronacharya ensured continuation of the tradition of his own guru, great Parashurāma) which blew hard enough to extinguish the flame. It seemed as though the deity of the jungle, Vanadevi, cried out in despair. In the heavens, Lord Shiva, also let out a drop of tear seeing such great injustice, such great wrongdoing. At the spur of that moment, the lord forebode the demise of ‘House of Kurus’ in the near future. History bears testament to the fact that the entire royal lineages, dynasties and entire nations have been wiped out when righteous and capable people have been sidestepped by a few favored persons.
Jyōtiṣhaśāṣtra is witness to the fact that the natives born in the constellation of ‘Uttarafalguni’ have always succeeded in fulfilling their wishes with their ‘feminine’ stubbornness. Arjuna, who himself was born in the constellation of ‘Uttarafalguni’, has proved this over once again. The jist is that with one’s ego and stubbornness, a person can retain the tag of ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’.
“Give me your thumb of your right hand as Guru Dakshina”. This statement has forever remained as a blemish on Dronacharya’s character. He was bound by his own pledge that he would only teach princes of Kuru lineage. He had once broken a pledge to King Dhrupada. As a result of that he had to feed his own son, Ashwatthama, soup of rice flour labelling it as milk. The mere thought of breaking another pledge would send shiver down his spine. He knew he could not displease Bheeshma at any cost. Destiny was literally sealed for Eklavya at that moment. He had to be pushed back and brought down. The dakshina of right thumb would ensure this. “Tamabravīt Tvayāṅguṣṭhō Dakṣiṇō Dīyatāmiti (I want the thumb of your right hand as my Dakshina, i.e charity)”. It was impossible to comply with such charity without the thought of the consequence gleaming in one’s eyes. Eklavya’s future was pegged on it. But it is said that Eklavya acted without a hitch, which was even faster than what the master philanthropist, Daanveer Karna, achieved when he donated his Kavachha and Kundalas to Devraja Indra. Within minutes the thumb of right hand was at the feet of Dronacharya. A feat that needed a new definition here because there is no other glaring example in the history of mankind at the speed of its compliance. The entire universe cried at this injustice. Even Ashwatthama, who was old enough to understand the greatness of the act, felt ashamed in his heart. He knew his own father, Dronacharya, loved Arjuna more than he himself. That fact had not escaped anyone but that love had transcended to a new level. It made him cringe and detest Arjuna, as he himself was the son of the illustrious guru. He was well aware of the grueling process that ensured the making of the great warrior, that too without any help or without any suitable facility available in Eklavya’s case. There was no divine boon, only self-practice of the individual that had ensured Eklavya mastery at the art of archery. But when the time came to admit who was his guru, he with all his simplicity, put his entire talent and natural ability at the feet of his father, Dronacharya. This selfless act even surprised the gods and forever etched Eklavya’s name into annals of history. But then the world favors the strong every time. This, without a doubt, will be repeated in the future as well and people like Eklavya will find no value in this world for their inborn talents. The weak will always be brought down. It has happened now and will keep happening in the future as well.
History only remembers the winners. There is only a scant mention of Eklavya in other works. Legend has it, that one day Arjuna and couple of his friends surreptitiously went to the forest where he saw Eklavya practicing the art of archery with only four fingers of his hand. Like a kid who is learning to use the bow for the first time, the arrows which shot out of his bow dropped only a few yards in front of him. Arjuna smirked and felt very satisfied with what he saw and returned to the palace subsequently. Indeed, what he saw that day were the tears in the eyes of Eklavya, but what he unable to see was the yearning to excel in adverse of the circumstances.
Eklavya does get mentioned in Vishnu Purana and Harivansh Purana. He is supposed to the king of Nishad lineage, the jungle people. He had supposedly led an attack on the Kingdom of Mathura, ruled by Jarasandha, and ensured complete rout of his Yadava army. During the course of the battle, when there was utter confusion in the battlefield, Lord Krishna himself was from Yadava lineage, saw that the part of the battlefield which was at the center of the rout had a ‘Great Warrior’ riding a chariot. But the person just had four fingers on his right hand. Such great was his finesse that even a divine being as Lord Krishna himself was dumbfounded. With his archery talent he was able to hold back his rivals generals and with each pull of the bow, numerous arrows would fly off to pierce their targets without fail. Lord Krishna could have easily mistake this person to be Kunti Putra, Arjuna, since he wielded his bow with such deftness. But four fingers probably gave up his identity and spelt doom for this person who eventually was killed in the battlefield by Lord Krishna himself. This gives the clearest proof that even though Eklavya donated his right thumb, he still attained his former mastery at the art of archery. It could be debated, subsequent to his thumb donation, he might not have attained the level of mastery in the art but the way he wiped out his rival Yadava generals in the battlefield leaves no room for his grip at the art of archery.
After the end of the great war of Mahabharata, all the great surviving people started to relate their valorous stories. It was then Lord Krishna revealed the truth to Arjuna. It was his love for him that ensured the tag of ‘Greatest Warrior’ forever was stuck to his name. With his divine powers he ensured the ultimate death of his guru, Dronacharya, weakened Karna and without Arjuna’s knowledge killed Eklavya. This is the ultimate tribute to this great warrior. Even today the ‘Bhil’ tribal people in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh continue to fight for their right with bow and arrows.
Please do comment. Waiting for your valuable opinion towards this article.
The Original Hindi version of this article appears here:
www.astrologerindehradun.com
Rightsunshineforu.blogspot.com

Geeta and Lord Krishna

Dharma (The Principle) and Karma (The Righteous Path) – Meaning of Krishna’s Discourse in Gita
-----/---------/------------/---------/----------/-----------/--------
(मेरे लेख को मेरे प्रिय क्लाइंट व मित्र अमेरिका निवासी डॉक्टर संदीप कॉल द्वारा अंग्रेजी में अनुवाद किया गया..)

(My beloved readers, your opinion are very valuable to me)

     What is Dharma? If I were to quote Lord Krishna’s, the (divine) answer is:"कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन.....मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते संगोऽस्त्वकर्मणि "
 (Karmaṇyēvādhikārastē Mā
Phalēṣhu Kadāchana.....Mā Karma Phala Hētur Bhūrmā Tē Saṅgō̕Satva Karmaṇi)”
For the uninitiated, the literal translation is:
“You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions.
Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, nor be attached to ‘no’ action.”
Bhagwat Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 47.
This is the most popular verses of Srimad Bhagwat Gita. It is the basis for many commentaries, from time
immemorial, and has been used to explain the relation between ‘Human Actions’ (Karma) and ‘Religion’
(Dharma) by many treatise (literary compositions) and write-ups. This phrase, proposed in most literary
works of the world, is the best saying there is in any treatise. It is also the best verse delivered by Lord
Vasudev Krishna, who is an exemplary character in the entire Bhagwat Gita. My learned people have
expressed the importance of this verse from time to time, but the irony is that these people have failed,
in their attempt, to convey its deeper meaning to the society at large.
This verse contains the entire jist of Bhagwat Gita. Like a bee which sucks up the entire nectar of the
flower without having to contribute to the laborious nurturing or blossoming of that flower, likewise a
person can get to truth in life if he/she attemptsto understand the meaning behind this verse. One doesn’t
need to do the laborious task of reading or understanding any other book after that. From present
perspective, this verse is the best guide for attaining peace (both for the individual and society at large) in
this world. If one were to go back in time, to the times of Epic Mahabharata and to the final deciding stage
around Kurukshetra battlefield where all the great characters had congregated, we would find everyone
‘dispensing their righteous duties’ (Dharma). Going down the list of these important characters, one
would find the following great people: ‘Ganga Putra Bheeshma’ – the central character of this Epic, who
waged war for 10 long days out of total 18 days (remember this is going back in time some 5000 years and
thus was considered to be a big battle) and was sworn to his righteous duty (Dharma) of protecting the
boundaries of the ‘Kuru’ kingdom, by being the most loyal and dutiful servant to the king sitting on the
throne of ‘Kuru’ dynasty; ‘Mrityunjaya Karna’, who was exemplary proponent of being sworn to the duties
(Dharma) of friendship; ‘Acharya Dronacharya’ who was duty (Dharma) bound by the oath of allegiance
to his lord benefactor (‘Kuru’ king and Bheeshma); ‘Gandhari Putra Duryodhana’, who swore to the
righteous duty (Dharma) of keeping the inviolability of the kingdom of ‘Kuru’ and not to accede any part
of that kingdom howsoever small, even as miniscule in size as the tip of a needle; ‘Shalya’, who was duty
(Dharma) bound by his pledge to the ‘Kuru’ king to fight for him in the battlefield, even if it meant he had
to face his own cousins in battle; ‘Shakuni’ who was duty (Dharma) bound out of shear love for his cousin
Duryodhana.
How can one criticize the righteous intent of the duties (Dharma) of these people? Each of the above
individuals were fully convinced of the righteousness in their subconscious mind. Take for example
Duryodhana. If Lord Krishna was convinced that Duryodhana was a vicious (Adharmee) person, then why
would he have ask his ‘Narayani Army’ to show allegiance to Duryodhana, instead of himself?
       In reali।ty Adharma (Viciousness) has no definition. Its physical existence is hard to explain because a person can acquiesce to the status quo (remain silent), not raise a voice by inaction, or prefer to remain in dark and
still commit the vicious act (Adharma). As opposed to this doing the most vicious act, which is very  prominent like killing a person to have an illegal gain of his possessions/kingdom, in itself is blatant Adharma. Actually viciousness (Adharma) is present everywhere like darkness. Just as absence of light
defines omnipresent darkness, Adharma is also omnipresent and will happen everywhere and at any time.
This can also be explained in terms of a physical entity like the Sun. We can see Sun because it shines light on us and not because it annihilates darkness. The crux of the matter is that Sun cannot dispel darkness forever. Absence of Sun leads to darkness and that is unassailable truth (Dharma). The Sun does not
attempt to establish light. It is already there and as long as it is present darkness will always vanish. Said
in a converse sense, it is the sacred duty of the Sun to shine light in the universe. As long as there is sunshine, darkness is without identity. So, if I were to say in a straightforward manner, it is the duty (Dharma) of Sun to walk down this path, without fail, where it shines light to dispel darkness constantly.
     Drawing a parallel here, establishment of righteousness and the duties associated with it (Dharma), spells
end of viciousness or inaction (Adharma). The problem arises when an individual decides to forego his
duty to go down the righteous path and enforce his own rules and interpretation of those person’s duties
(Dharma). In a similar manner, the other individual has likewise thoughts of renouncing his righteous
duties and starts to enforce his personal version of duties and by going down some unjustified path thus
straying off course. It was not the intent of Lord Krishna to prove Duryodhana wrong. He did not consider
Bheeshma, Dronacharya, or Karna as vicious (Adharmee) persons either. I will emphasize again, he
allowed his ‘Narayani Army’ to fight for ‘Kuru’ cause, which each of these above individuals firmly believed
in being the righteous cause and trying to defend. Since Lord Krishna was of ‘Yadava’ lineage, he allowed
his ‘Yadava’ generals to form their own opinion, about the righteous (Dharma) path down which they
were willing to travel. Some of them were of the opinion that they did not have any enmity with ‘Kurus’
(Kauravs) as these generals perceived them as a stronger adversary. Any wrong move on the part of these
generals would be detrimental for their kingdom, Dwarka, in the future. Hastinapur, the capital city of the
‘Kurus’ would impose trade bans which would have adverse effect on newly formed kingdom’s (Dwarka)
economy and well-being of its people. Hence they were more inclined to fight the war from the side of the ‘Kurus’. Lord Krishna, being king of Dwarka, respected the opinion of these generals and considered obeying their opinion as his Dharma (righteous path). Although he was divine, and probably knew the ultimate truth from wrong, but still he gave these generals the right to independent thinking (fulfilled his
own Dharma in the process) and inspired them down paths they thought to be their righteous paths.
        But Lord Krishna’s righteous (Dharma) path was different from that of the ‘Yadavas’. He did not try to impose his thinking of what was right (again, he was divine would have known the outcome, right from wrong) and prove to his generals to relinquish their paths. What he did was to establish his own Dharma, made it known what side he would take in the battle, and then acted (Action – Karma) on it. In this way
he gave a shining example of establishing what was right or wrong (Dharma) and then, based on thatopinion, acted (Action – Karma) on it. This is the overarching message and the central idea of Srimad Bhagwat Gita and as explained in the verse appearing at the top of this work.
       
           This is easier said than done. Although Lord Krishna tries to strictly follow the righteous path (Dharma)
but in fact he side tracks a lot as well, as is apparent in Gita. According to him:
“   "परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम्‌ ,,,धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे "...(Yada Yada He Dharmasy Glaani
Bhavati Bhaarat, Abhyutthaanam Adharmasy Tadaatmaanan Srjaamyaham)”
The literal translation of the above verse is:
“Whenever there is decay of righteousness, O Bharata, and there is exaltation of unrighteousness, then I
myself will come forth”
The part which says “exaltation of unrighteousness……I come forth” and “decay of righteousness……I
come forth” needs some attention. The obvious question that needs to be understood is “to come forth
and do what?” The answer is equally simple – “reestablishment of righteousness.” To put it in simple form,
the Lord says that he will show up again and again if the world is headed towards decay of Dharma. Again
“what/who benefits as a result?” The Lord’s reply – “It is righteousness (Dharma) and for that I act by
walking down path of righteousness (Karma).” The most important thing here is that he never mentions
any destruction (He never talks about destruction of viciousness/injustice or that the world should
maintain the status quo by inaction). The emphasis is always on action and in reconstruction of Dharma
(righteous path). Adharma (viciousness/injustice) vanishes on its own as a result. Or conversely it can be
said, one need not fight Adharma (viciousness/injustice) to rekindle Dharma, just as mere presence of Sun
dispels all darkness. Thus the jist is that the person has to follow the path of Dharma (do his Karma) by
walking down the righteous path and viciousness disappears on its own. No action or inaction is never an
option. But in reality, we attempt to destroy the viciousness of other people and in the process abandon
our own Dharma. This is where the real problem lies. The end result of these effects is chaos and
disturbance/upheaval. These results collectively manifest themselves in family, society and country in
some form or the other. Again if one delves slightly deeper into the problem, the real cause of all this
upheaval and chaos is the prerogative of other people, who decide what is right and correct (usually they
think that their religion is the most pure) from wrong and exhaust all their energies in enforcing their will.
Looking back, what can be said along the lines of Lords discourse, is that one does not need or make an
effort to prove other person’s Dharma (Karma) to be wrong. What needs to done here is to make a whole
hearted effort to reestablish Dharma which automatically dispels Adharma. This is the person’s right and
duty (Karma path). If the person is on a lookout of light then darkness will disappear on its own. Darkness
will lose its identity on its own.
Continuing on this discourse, the Lord says:
“पररत्रािाय सािभनां धवनाशाय च दुष्कृ तार् , िर्मसंस्थापनाथामय सम्भवाधर् युगे युगे (Paritranaya Sadhunam
Vinashay Cha Dushkritam, Dharmasangsthapanarthay Sambhabami Yuge Yuge)”
The literal translation of the above verse is:
“For the protection of the good (sadhus), for the destruction of evil-doers, for the sake of firmly
establishing righteousness, I am born again from age to age”.
From above we can see that the Lord is emphasizing the importance of Sadhus (followers of the righteous
path). What is the meaning of “धवनाशाय च दुष्कृ तार् ” in context of “पररत्रािाय सािभनां”? Its symbolic meaning 4
is that the protection of these Sadhus that will automatically result in phasing out of evil-doers. Any effort
to eradicate these evil-doers is a useless exercise. Just as mixing of rice in a bowl of milk automatically
results in the making of ‘Kheer’ (rice pudding), likewise no concerted effort is needed to eradicate the evil-
doers. He add further that this would happen over and over again and in all ages and for it he (the Lord)
takes birth in ‘His mortal form’ again and again. Again, to summarize, the reason for the Lord to take birth
on this mortal world is to reestablish Dharma. He never talks about the destruction of Adharma
(viciousness/injustice). His birth, during the time of Gita/Mahabharata, did not happen to kill ‘Kansa’ but
happened to repay the debt of ‘Devki’. So my dear readers, the reality is that this repayment automatically
ensured the beheading of ‘Kansa’ and no special effort was needed by Him against ‘Kansa’. His mere
presence ensured that and such righteous actions (presence of the Lord) would happen over and over
again, and across all ages/eons.
Again, what is the significance of “संर्वाधर् युगेयुगे”? A similar example can be given by relating the tale of
‘Hiraṇyakaśyapa’ (It happened in one of the previous births of the Lord and in a different age – story of
Lord Vishnu and his fourth avatar/incarnation). When the Lord says His birth will happen over and over
again, one has to go deeper into the meaning behind those words. He says, “If I were the opponent of
Hiraṇyakaśyapa’s path of righteousness, who was constantly opposing me, then I accorded him all the
independence to think along those lines. I had no problem with that. If this was the source of my
discomfort then I would have killed Hiraṇyakaśyapa a long time back. My ‘Narasingha Avatar’ came into
being after much waiting. My purpose of being born during those times (of Prahlad and Hiraṇyakaśyapa)
was to protect Prahlad’s Dharma and in protecting him, I was following my Dharma. For following my
Dharma, I had to follow the path of righteousness (Karma), and Hiraṇyakaśyapa’s beheading was the
automatic result of that Karma”.
He again told Arjuna that he would see this pattern (evidence) repeat itself over and over again and across
all eons. “I did not consider challenging the trickery of Indra as my Dharma (during the times of Ramayana).
My Dharma was atonement of the curse with which ‘Ahilya’ was suffering. I followed my Dharma (‘Ahilya’
was relieved of the curse by doing seva to Lord Rama – story of Lord Vishnu and his seventh
avatar/incarnation). Similarly, I did not have any personal enmity against Bali nor I had the persona that
could identify me as an enemy of anybody. I helped Sugriva, instead of Bali, because I considered
protecting Sugriva as my Dharma. It ended up killing Bali. Conversely, if finding Sita was of greater
importance to me than my Dharma, then I would have certainly asked for Bali’s help, which would have
considerably eased my problems. But I did not do so. Also I did not consider, the course which Bali took,
as incorrect. As per his thinking and according to tribal tradition sexual intercourse with younger brother’s
wife was not surprising or something to be ashamed of. But in my Dharma, wife of younger brother is
considered as one’s own daughter. She is accorded this status and any violator of it will be held
accountable for it. Even if it implied that I needed to kill Bali. All I did was walked down the path of
righteousness (Karma) to reestablish Dharma.”
So, my dear readers, what is the central idea of the Lord’s discourse here? Firstly, one has to identify what
is the path of righteousness (Dharma). This implies real objectives/ principles and does not necessarily
mean any religious connotations. It is quite likely that at times Dharma will have a religious foundation or
in the broadest sense one’s principles might be in direct conflict with other person’s thinking. But this is
not implied here. People’s thinking can be in conflict, but not Dharma. This is acceptable outcome and is
true across all religions. Secondly, one needs to be aware of righteous path (Karma) associated with that
Dharma (principle). The Lord adds “It is the responsibility of the individual to walk down this path to 5
reestablish Dharma. It is path of peace, even if it means that peace can only be attained at the end of a
great war. It does not imply that one has to oppose the religion of other person either.” One has to take
the symbolic meaning of war into cognizance here, which can be treated as an activity/action rather than
seeking any reward (victory). It is to be considered as a simple halt along a long journey. Lord Krishna
further says, “Hey Kuntinandan, this war is not being fought to prove that the adversary’s Dharma
(righteousness) is in the wrong but is being fought with a higher aim of reestablishment of our Dharma
(righteousness). The adversaries in this war are also people like us and in fact are a part of me as well. The
only difference is their Dharma (righteousness) is different than yours and mine. There is no consensus
between us and as a result they feel responsible to go down their own path, which they consider as right.
You don’t have to prove them wrong but your higher aim here is to follow your Dharma and to reestablish
it. What is ultimate right or wrong is inconsequential as of now. Your responsibility is to do your Karma
and that is the real reason that you and your adversaries are at the opposite ends of this battlefield.”
“You need not worry about the outcome of this war (the fruits of your labor). That is instilled deep into
the future and is in the purview of nature. Nature also complies with its Dharma. It does not stop any
individual from committing any injustice or any wrong. It will not call you Adharmee. All it does is follow
its own Dharma which is to preserve itself for the greater good of all living beings that depend on it for
survival. It is this compliance of Dharma, which it needs to protect, that it has to show its ugly side in the
form of deluges, storms or earthquakes from time to time. You cannot blame it for this. It is just following
down the righteous path as per its own thinking. There is no distinction between what is its own or what
is not. Whatever comes in the way of that deluge, gets annihilated by that storm and gets an equitable
treatment. You cannot restrained it at that time. But then protecting yourself from destruction is your
own responsibility and hence you’re Dharma. Thus in the end, what I want to say is, you remain true to
Nature and it’s Dharma. That would in turn be your Dharma.”
Here, these days, we find that in our home, in our family, in our society and indeed in our nation, we are
not following our Dharma. Instead, we oppose other person and this happens to be the version of Dharma
we like to follow during the present times. We feel it is our responsibility to impede and be a thorn in the
path of others whereas in reality it should be the other way around. One should let flowers be strewn on
those people’s path. This should be the case. That is the overarching message given by Gita and by Lord
Krishna. This is the real righteous path (Karma) to follow Dharma. It will lead to happiness of both
individual and society.
As always, please do comment, even if you agree or disagree with this article. Waiting for your valuable opinion
of the article.
The Original Hindi version of this article appears here:
www.astrlologerindehradun.com .