Dhritarashtra Quotes

Rage needs expression. Dhritarashtra expresses it by crushing the iron effigy of Bhima while Gandhari expresses it by burning Yudhishtira’s toe with a glance. Once expressed, rage dissipates and reason returns. One is advised in many parts of India to eat sugar when angry, just like Gandhari did, so as not to end up cursing the Pandavas.

O Krishna, what satisfaction could we find in killing Dhritarashtra's sons? We would become sinners by slaying these men, even though they are evil. The sons of Dhritarashtra are related to us: therefore, we should not kill them. How can we gain happiness by kiling members of our own family? Though they are overpowered by greed and see no evil in destroying families or injuring friends, we see these evils. Why shouldn't we turn away from this sin? When a family declines, ancient traditions are destroyed. With them are lost the spiritual foundations for life, and the family loses its sense of unity. Where there is no sense of unity, the women of the family become corrupt; and with the corruption of its women, society is plunged into chaos. Social chaos is hell for the family and for those who have destroyed the family as well. It disrupts the process of spiritual evolution begun by our ancestors. The timeless spiritual foundations of family and society would be destroyed by these terrible deeds, which violate the unity of life.

The scene of the Epic is the ancient kingdom of the Kurus which flourished along the upper course of the Ganges; and the historical fact on which the Epic is based is a great war which took place between the Kurus and a neighbouring tribe, the Panchalas, in the thirteenth or fourteenth century before Christ. According to the Epic, Pandu and Dhrita-rashtra, who was born blind, were brothers. Pandu died early, and Dhrita-rashtra became king of the Kurus, and brought up the five sons of Pandu along with his hundred sons. Yudhishthir, the eldest son of Pandu, was a man of truth and piety; Bhima, the second, was a stalwart fighter; and Arjun, the third son, distinguished himself above all the other princes in arms. The two youngest brothers, Nakula and Sahadeva, were twins. Duryodhan was the eldest son of Dhrita-rashtra and was jealous of his cousins, the sons of Pandu. A tournament was held, and in the course of the day a warrior named Karna, of unknown origin, appeared on the scene and proved himself a worthy rival of Arjun. The rivalry between Arjun and Karna is the leading thought of the Epic, as the rivalry between Achilles and Hector is the leading thought of the Iliad. It is only necessary to add that the sons of Pandu as well as Karna, were, like the heroes of Homer, god-born chiefs. Some god inspired the birth of each. Yudhishthir was the son of Dharma or Virtue, Bhima of Vayu or Wind, Arjun of Indra or Rain-god, the twin youngest were the sons of the Aswin twins, and Karna was the son of Surya the Sun, but was believed by himself and by all others to be the son of a simple chariot-driver. The portion translated in this Book forms Sections cxxxiv. to cxxxvii. of Book i. of the original Epic in Sanscrit (Calcutta edition of 1834).

Pandu and Dhrita-rashtra, who was born blind, were brothers. Pandu died early, and Dhrita-rashtra became king of the Kurus, and brought up the five sons of Pandu along with his hundred sons. Yudhishthir, the eldest son of Pandu, was a man of truth and piety; Bhima, the second, was a stalwart fighter; and Arjun, the third son, distinguished himself above all the other princes in arms.

Drupad was mystified. He'd had little to do with the Kaurava clan, whose kingdom lay to the northwest, in Hastinapur. From what he'd heard, their blind ruler, Dhritarashtra, was a quiet, careful man.

The Gita we overhear is essentially that which is narrated by a man with no authority but infinite sight (Sanjaya) to a man with no sight but full authority (Dhritarashtra). This peculiar structure of the narrative draws attention to the vast gap between what is told (gyana) and what is heard (vi-gyana).

Mahidasa Aitareya, the author of one of the 10 major Upanisadas, was the son of a maid. In Chhandogya Upanisada, Satya Kama Jabala, the son of a maid and an unknown father was revered as a sage. Vishvamitra was a Kshatriya before he became a seer. Sage Kakshivat, a Vedic sage, was the son of a shudra maidservant. According to Mahabharata (Anushasana Parva 53.13-19), Sage Kapinjalada was a Chandala and Sage Madanapala was the son of a boatwoman. Even in our own times, Swami Vivekananda was a Kayastha and therefore technically a Shudra. Vyasa, the author of the Mahabharata was the son of a fisherwoman; Vidur, the prime minister of Kuru King Dhritarashtra was the son of a maidservant and Valmiki was from a lower caste.

Rage needs expression. Dhritarashtra expresses it by crushing the iron effigy of Bhima while Gandhari expresses it by burning Yudhishtira’s toe with a glance. Once expressed, rage dissipates and reason returns. One

The country belonged to him, Devavrata Gangadatta Bhishma. Dhritarashtra

I see all the sons of Dhritarashtra and all the many warriors,  Bheeshma, Drona, Radheya and the great heroes on our side too, rushing into your fearful mouth. Like mountain rivers rushing in tumult into the great ocean, they are rushing into you mouth which is all fire.  They seem like a flight of moths that rush towards a burning flame, and they are perishing fast. "Have mercy on me, tell who you are.  What is the purpose of this destruction that strikes terror into me?" Krishna said: "Can you not recognize Me?  I am TIME the great destroyer.  I destroy the mighty world.  I have begun to slay all these many heroes here.  They will all die, everyone of them.  Arise now, Arjuna, and win fame.  These men have already been slain by Me.  You can be just the insturment with which I destroy them.  Bheeshma, Drona, Radheya, Jayadratha and others as well are doomed.  You kill them and win the war".

CHAPTER 3 THE BHAGAVAD-GITA Arjuna's chariot had come to the front.  His banner was presided over by Hanuman.  He could now see the sons of Dhritarashtra and the vyuha set up by his grandfather.  In the deafening noise set up by the several conchs and the war drums and trumpets Arjuna, taking up his Gandiva in his hand, said: "Krishna, set my chariot right in the midst of the two contending armies.  I want to see the heroes who are arrayed against us. I want to have a good look on these men who are so eager for battle.  I want to see with whom I have to fight in this war.  I want to see all the many heroes who are so eager to please Duryodhana".

I am sure of the fact that the Pandavas are going to win this war.” “What makes you so sure?”  asked Krishna with a smile.  Radheya said:  “I know it.  The war which is to be fought on the field called Kurukshetra is a sacrifice.  You are the master of ceremonies and Arjuna is the star performer.  The other brothers will all be puppets in your hands.  You are going to move them hither and thither.  The end is clear to me.  The sons of Dhritarashtra and all of us, Bheeshma, Drona, myself and all the kings of earth are meant to reach the heaven meant for those who die on the battle-field.  I have also been having dreams, Krishna.  I am good at reading meanings into dreams.  My dreams tell me clearly that the Pandavas are going to win this war.

However, the same set of stimuli is read differently by different humans who harbour different concepts. This is why Dhritarashtra, Duryodhana and Arjuna respond to the battleground of Kuru-kshetra very differently. The journey from human to divine is to achieve conceptual clarity and appreciate the world as it is, while empathizing with how others perceive it.

Why should one like you envy Yudhishthira? . . . Be content with what you have, stay with your own dharma—that is the way to happiness. —Dhritarashtra to Duryodhana, Mahabharata II.5.3, 61