"Now these 5 locks of hair will remind you of the day when the Pandavas spared your life. Yuddhistira has declared you free. You go now." Thus spoke Bhima to Jayadrath, Dusshala's (Duryodhana's sister) husband, after he cut his hair as punishment for ill-treating and kidnapping Draupadi.
The 12 years of forest exile were coming to an end. One of these days, Jayadrath was passing through the forest where Pandavas had their humble hut. Jayadrath saw Draupadi, all alone, on his path. Draupadi was a very attractive lady and would cause lust in the eyes of many men. Jayadrath thought that he could take advantage of the situation and tried to entice Draupadi with the promise of a stay in palace, jewellery and other luxuries if she would go with him. Draupadi was a chaste woman and she did not agree. Jayadrath, full of lust, could not accept her refusal and forcefully took her on his chariot. When the Pandavas were returning home, Sage Dhaumya who had seen the incident informed them of the event. Arjuna and Bhima were the ones who went out to rescue Bhima. They overtook the chariot of Jayadrath, killed the soldiers and then brought Jayadrath to Yuddhistira for metting out justice. Yuddhistira, though always a dispassionate follower of Dharma, argued that if Jayadrath is killed as per the law then Dusshala will become a widow. Dusshala will have to suffer this punishment more that the real culprit. He ordered that Jayadrath be forgiven and left alone. Bhima and Arjuna were surprised and did not readily agree to it. Then Yuddhistira tried to reason with Draupadi who then announced that Jayadrath's punishment should be slavery to the Pandavas. She orders Jayadrath to massage Yuddhistira's legs. Yuddhistira then releases Jayadrath of the slavery bond and tells him to go home. That is when Bhima (unhappy with the easy letoff) catches Jayadrath and cuts his hair leaving 5 locks. Dharma and Justice can be very subtle. Was Yuddhistira correct in not permitting the execution of Jayadrath, someone who had kidnapped a chaste lady, just because of his relations? It is said that Dusshala was the pampered one in the family and all the brothers loved her. So maybe, there were some remnant feeling in Yuddhistira's heart. Or maybe, he had a much more accurate vision of Dharma than most to see that Dusshala (innocent) would suffer more that the culprit if executed. But every action causes a effect. This action of Yuddhistira will come back to haunt the Pandavas later in the Great war.
Arjuna had spent in preparation of the Great war for these 12 years. He had gone out in search of Divine weapons. He had gone to Indraloka/Swargaloka for the same. During his stay there, he had learnt the art of dance from a Gandharva in Indra's court. This to me indicates that the Indraloka/Swargaloka as prescribed would rationally be highly evolved and free spirited tribe/civilization living high in the mountains. But it also raises some questions. Arjuna, who is as manly as a man can be, why would he be interested in dance and music which was an area for women only? So maybe, Pandavas had used this exile to also express some of their innermost interests/desires/fetishes. This is also further emphasized in the disguises they choose during their last year of living in anonymity. Did all this actually make them understand human life, class and tendencies better? Maybe, all these events had to happen so that they could become well rounded human beings.
During Arjuna's stay in Indraloka, Urvashi (a nymph) gets attracted to him. As per their laws, marriage is not prerequisite to indulge in sex. She openly approaches Arjuna as well. Arjuna rejects her.Arjuna states that Urvashi was also once married to his ancestor Pururavas and hence, she is like a mother. Urvashi states that the law of earth does not apply to them. Yet, Arjuna does not agree. At those times, it was against the law to refuse a woman. Urvashi is angry at this rejection and accuses Arjuna to be an impotent. She then curses Arjuna to be a eunuch for the rest of her life. Later, at the behest of Indra, she reduces it to one year. Indra then modifies the curse in such a way that Arjuna can choose the specific year for which he can be a eunuch. This tells us about the prevalent openness of sexuality in certain regions/civilizations of India and the position of the woman in such societies. Rationally, it would mean that ancient people had the know-how of inducing sex change operations and reversing them as well. Is this an elaborate story to cover up Arjuna's transvestite tendencies or Arjuna's determination to have a sex change to ensure that his identity will not be disclosed by Duryodhana's spies as per the clause for 13th year?
The 12 years of forest exile were coming to an end. One of these days, Jayadrath was passing through the forest where Pandavas had their humble hut. Jayadrath saw Draupadi, all alone, on his path. Draupadi was a very attractive lady and would cause lust in the eyes of many men. Jayadrath thought that he could take advantage of the situation and tried to entice Draupadi with the promise of a stay in palace, jewellery and other luxuries if she would go with him. Draupadi was a chaste woman and she did not agree. Jayadrath, full of lust, could not accept her refusal and forcefully took her on his chariot. When the Pandavas were returning home, Sage Dhaumya who had seen the incident informed them of the event. Arjuna and Bhima were the ones who went out to rescue Bhima. They overtook the chariot of Jayadrath, killed the soldiers and then brought Jayadrath to Yuddhistira for metting out justice. Yuddhistira, though always a dispassionate follower of Dharma, argued that if Jayadrath is killed as per the law then Dusshala will become a widow. Dusshala will have to suffer this punishment more that the real culprit. He ordered that Jayadrath be forgiven and left alone. Bhima and Arjuna were surprised and did not readily agree to it. Then Yuddhistira tried to reason with Draupadi who then announced that Jayadrath's punishment should be slavery to the Pandavas. She orders Jayadrath to massage Yuddhistira's legs. Yuddhistira then releases Jayadrath of the slavery bond and tells him to go home. That is when Bhima (unhappy with the easy letoff) catches Jayadrath and cuts his hair leaving 5 locks. Dharma and Justice can be very subtle. Was Yuddhistira correct in not permitting the execution of Jayadrath, someone who had kidnapped a chaste lady, just because of his relations? It is said that Dusshala was the pampered one in the family and all the brothers loved her. So maybe, there were some remnant feeling in Yuddhistira's heart. Or maybe, he had a much more accurate vision of Dharma than most to see that Dusshala (innocent) would suffer more that the culprit if executed. But every action causes a effect. This action of Yuddhistira will come back to haunt the Pandavas later in the Great war.
Arjuna had spent in preparation of the Great war for these 12 years. He had gone out in search of Divine weapons. He had gone to Indraloka/Swargaloka for the same. During his stay there, he had learnt the art of dance from a Gandharva in Indra's court. This to me indicates that the Indraloka/Swargaloka as prescribed would rationally be highly evolved and free spirited tribe/civilization living high in the mountains. But it also raises some questions. Arjuna, who is as manly as a man can be, why would he be interested in dance and music which was an area for women only? So maybe, Pandavas had used this exile to also express some of their innermost interests/desires/fetishes. This is also further emphasized in the disguises they choose during their last year of living in anonymity. Did all this actually make them understand human life, class and tendencies better? Maybe, all these events had to happen so that they could become well rounded human beings.
During Arjuna's stay in Indraloka, Urvashi (a nymph) gets attracted to him. As per their laws, marriage is not prerequisite to indulge in sex. She openly approaches Arjuna as well. Arjuna rejects her.Arjuna states that Urvashi was also once married to his ancestor Pururavas and hence, she is like a mother. Urvashi states that the law of earth does not apply to them. Yet, Arjuna does not agree. At those times, it was against the law to refuse a woman. Urvashi is angry at this rejection and accuses Arjuna to be an impotent. She then curses Arjuna to be a eunuch for the rest of her life. Later, at the behest of Indra, she reduces it to one year. Indra then modifies the curse in such a way that Arjuna can choose the specific year for which he can be a eunuch. This tells us about the prevalent openness of sexuality in certain regions/civilizations of India and the position of the woman in such societies. Rationally, it would mean that ancient people had the know-how of inducing sex change operations and reversing them as well. Is this an elaborate story to cover up Arjuna's transvestite tendencies or Arjuna's determination to have a sex change to ensure that his identity will not be disclosed by Duryodhana's spies as per the clause for 13th year?
Later on, during the Great War, only Iravan, Krishna, and Arjuna are known to have signs of "perfect man".
ReplyDeleteA perfect man, according to me, is the one who has a balance or equilibrium of masculine and feminine qualities. Arjuna the great archer and warrior also had to evolve feminine qualities... Remember the Lord of Dance is Nataraja, Ardhanareshwara.
You cannot dance without the male and the female inside you. Your dance will be incomplete.
Arjuna learned that even sex is a temporary state. It is just a temporary identity. "You" and "I" is above sexual identity.
Transvestism, cross-dressing, sex-change, lesbianism, homosexuality are all just imbalanced male-female ratios in a unit (body). That is all.
The rest of the psychobabble and mumbo-jumbo is because we simply refuse to see things as they are and try to intellectualize and psycho-analyze more than there is...
Hi Abhinesh,
ReplyDeleteSearched your blogs while searching for a few things on Mahabharat. Your blogs good.
But in this particular one, I felt, the choice was words was inappropriate and incorrect.
You say, "Arjuna, who is as manly as a man can be, why would he be interested in dance and music which was an area for women only?"
Isnt this a very narrow minded approach? Please look at the list of renowned musicians and dancers, you would find a number of male members who are doing exceptionally well. So going by your statement, does that snatch away their masculinity? Absolutely not!
I agree to the previous comment that the knowledge of both is required to bring about the equilibrium.
The insights provided by you in your blogs are noteworthy and these statements do not match up to those standards.
Regards,
Nishita
Hi Nishita,
DeleteThanks for reading though I have not written anything after the fall of Bhishma. Need to get back to this. :-)
Some of the spiritual interpretations are mine but when I am questioning some of the actions or events, I also have to think from the mindset of the values existing at that time (which still linger over) and at times they are strongly patriarchal.
Generally, in the courts of kings - you will only see women who are performing dance whereas men would be more into singing. Also, as a prince it would not be expected of him to dance or sing but only appreciate. They normally spend their time honing their fighting skills (as per my limited understanding of that society). That is all I meant there.
Otherwise, Sanathana Dharma is too plural, inclusive and yet individualistic all at the same time. Shiva is the lord of dance. He is also ardha nareshawari. Vishnu too has no qualms in turning up as Mohini and seducing Shiva or asura's. The more you delve, the more you end up understanding that all this superficial forms like sex, body are all identifications and not identity.