A story · Mahabharata — Stories

Dhritarashtra Goes to the Forest

Mahabharata, Asramavasika Parva 3

The story · English

In the Kuru kingdom, the relationship between King Yudhishthira and his uncle, the blind King Dhritarashtra, seemed cordial to the public. However, beneath the surface, bitterness remained. Dhritarashtra could not stop thinking of his wicked son, and this memory made him feel unfriendly toward Bhima. Bhima, in turn, felt a deep resentment toward the old king. He secretly carried out acts to annoy Dhritarashtra and used deceitful servants to ensure the old king's commands were ignored. These tensions simmered in the palace for years, as the two men lived in a fragile peace that masked a deep-seated mutual dislike, rooted in the tragedies of the great war and the faults of the previous generation.

One day, in the presence of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari, Bhima gave way to a sudden transport of passion. He slapped his armpits and spoke harshly, recalling his victory over his foes. He boasted that the sons of the blind king, despite their skill with weapons, had all been destroyed by his arms, which he compared to iron clubs or elephant trunks. He pointed to his arms, smeared with sandal-paste, and declared that through them, Duryodhana and all his kinsmen had been sent to the other world. These words were like darts striking the old king. While Gandhari, possessing great intelligence and knowing what Time brings, regarded the insults as untrue, the words deeply wounded Dhritarashtra's spirit.

For fifteen years, Dhritarashtra lived afflicted by these verbal darts from Bhima. He suffered in silence, his despair hidden from Yudhishthira, Arjuna, Kunti, and Draupadi. Even the twin sons of Madri, who served Dhritarashtra obediently and never said anything disagreeable to him, were unaware of his grief. Eventually, the old king decided to trust his close friends with the truth. With tearful eyes, he confessed that the destruction of the Kurus was his own fault. He admitted that he had been a fool to install the wicked Duryodhana as ruler, ignoring the warnings of Vasudeva, Vidura, Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, Sanjaya, Gandhari, and the high-souled Vyasa.

Dhritarashtra expressed bitter repentance for his blindness to the truth and for failing to give the prosperity of their ancestors to the accomplished Pandavas. He acknowledged that while Janarddana saw the destruction of the Kurus as beneficial, the loss of so many troops had pierced his heart with a thousand darts. Now, after fifteen years had passed, he had begun to expiate his sins in secret. He revealed that he followed a strict vow, eating only a small amount of food to conquer his thirst at specific times of the day. He had hidden this from Yudhishthira, fearing that the king would feel great pain if he knew of the old man's suffering.

He described his hidden life of austerity: how he slept on the earth upon a small amount of Kusa grass, clad in deer-skin, passing his time in silent recitations, while Gandhari kept similar vows. Despite the loss of a century of sons, he told his friends that he did not grieve for them, as they had died performing their duties as Kshatriyas. He then turned his attention specifically to Yudhishthira. He thanked the king for the happiness and merit he had found through Yudhishthira's care, including the ability to make large gifts and perform Sraddhas. He noted that those who had wronged Draupadi and robbed Yudhishthira were now gone, having died in battle.

Dhritarashtra told Yudhishthira that he now wished to accomplish what was meritorious for himself and Gandhari. He asked for permission to retire into the woods, clad in rags and barks, to live a life of severe austerities. He explained that it was traditional for members of their race to hand over sovereignty to their children in old age and lead a forest life. He believed that as the king, Yudhishthira would share in the merit of these penances. He pleaded with the righteous king to grant him this release, as he no longer wished to hold onto the comforts of the palace while his soul sought peace through penance.

Yudhishthira was overwhelmed with grief upon hearing this. He felt ashamed that he had been devoted to the pleasures of rule while his father had been emaciated by fasting and lying on the bare ground. He declared that the kingdom was a disease and offered to give it up. He suggested that Yuyutsu or anyone else the old king wished should be made king, or that he himself would go to the woods while Dhritarashtra ruled, and that if the old king left, he would follow him. He insisted that Gandhari was as much his mother as Kunti and that he harboured no resentment for the wrongs done by Duryodhana, attributing those events to the blindness of fate.

Despite Yudhishthira's pleas, Dhritarashtra remained firm in his decision to seek penance. He insisted that it was the proper way for his race and that he was now old. Trembling and with his hands joined, he asked Sanjaya and Kripa to help him solicit the king's permission, as he was too exhausted to speak further. Suddenly, the old king leaned on Gandhari and lost consciousness, appearing as if he were deprived of life. Seeing the once-powerful man reduced to such a state, Yudhishthira was struck by a poignant grief, lamenting that a man who once broke an iron image of Bhima now leaned on a woman.

Yudhishthira felt a deep sense of failure, cursing his own understanding and knowledge of scripture for allowing the old king to reach this state. He vowed that he would fast alongside his preceptor. He gently rubbed Dhritarashtra's face and breast with cold water. At the touch of Yudhishthira's fragrant hand, the old monarch regained his senses. Dhritarashtra asked him to embrace him, claiming that the touch of the king's hand was like nectar. He admitted that he had fainted because he had not eaten and the exertion of pleading his case had exhausted his remaining strength.

As the old king embraced Yudhishthira, Vidura and others wept aloud, while Kunti and the other ladies sat surrounding the pale, skeletal monarch in sorrow. Dhritarashtra once more begged for permission to practice penances, as further speaking only weakened him. Seeing the king's emaciated state, Yudhishthira wept and told him that he would do whatever was agreeable to him, but pleaded with him to eat something first. Dhritarashtra then said that, with Yudhishthira's permission, he wished to take some food. At that moment, the son of Satyavati, Vyasa, arrived on the scene.

कथा · हिन्दी

In this book

• Before: Gandhari's Curse · Mahabharata, Stri Parva 25
• Next: The End of the Yadavas · Mahabharata, Mausala Parva 3
• All of Mahabharata — Stories · Ask Krishna about it

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