Salya then continued on his journey to Upaplavya to inform his nephews of the mistake made unknowingly. The Pandavas did not receive his news well, but Yudhisthira asked him a favor. Although Salya could not fight on their side, he could, as Karna's charioteer,lower his morale and make him ineffective in his fight against Arjuna. Salya readily agreed to the psychological warfare, and was happy to finally be of help to his nephews.
Meanwhile Virata's priest arrived in Hastinapura. He gave a detailed account of all the injustices meted out to the Pandavas and also stated that the crown was their birthright. This angered Karna who accused the messenger and also spoke ill of the Pandavas. Unable to withstand such derogatory comments, Bheeshma reminded him of his cowardly act (when he ran from the Virāta battlefield). Dhritarashtra told the Brahmin that he would send Sanjaya with a response in a few days.
Sanjaya arrived in Upaplavya a few days later, with a message that implied unsavory behavior on the part of the Pandavas. The message seemed to undeniably imply that he was being greedy by asking for material wealth and kingdom. With a returning message that, atleast 5 villages from the kingdom should be given to the Pandavas, Sanjaya returned to Hastinapura. Bheeshma stated that Arjuna and Krishna were Nara-Narayana is the twin-brother avatar of the God Vishnu on Earth, working for the preservation of Dharma or righteousness. He was upset that Duryodhana was depending on the wrong type like Sakuni, Dusshasana and Karna (who had been cursed by his guru Parasurama for learning under false pretense and also having donated his kavacha and kundala to Indra for a single use of the Shakti astra) , all those who could never win him a war. However, Duryodhana was confident of winning. Sanjaya revealed that the Pandavas wanted to avoid war, and wished to only have 5 villages given to them, Duryodhana got angry and refused even a needle tip of land.
It was clear from Sanjaya's visit that the Kauravas were not really intent on preventing war or being conciliatory towards the Pandavas. Yudhisthira requested Krishna to try his luck at Hastinapura. Krishna, being the most avid supporter of the Pandavas, did not believe that his visit would alter the course, nor bring about any peace to Draupadi, who only wished revenge on the Kauravas. To appease his most beloved cousins, he took up the task.
Despite the very warm and generous welcome at Hastinapura, Krishna realized that the blind king was only trying to buy his affections and loyalty. Duryodhana's dinner invitation was refused by Krishna, instead, wishing to reside in Vidura's palace.
The following day at the Kuru court, Krishna spoke of the benefits of making peace and unifying the family. The glories that could be accrued by giving the Pandavas their rightful share of the kingdom. While Dhritarashtra looked on helplessly, Bheeshma, Drona and Vidura showed their support to Krishna. According to Duryodhana, The Pandavas losing the game of dice was not his fault, nor was it his fault that even after the kingdom was returned, the Pandavas returned to play a second game of dice, only to lose everything and their dignity. Krishna, understanding the futility in giving advice, warned the Kaurava brothers of imminent death and destruction.
As the Kauravas feared that Krishna was looking to create trouble, they hatched a plan to bind him up and throw him in prison. Not giving Duryodhana an opportunity to imprison Him, Krishna took on a glorious form, radiating magnificence in his divine form. Dhritarashtra got a glimpse of the Lord in all His Glory. Regardless, the Kauravas could not be convinced to make peace with the Pandavas. Before leaving Hastinapura, Krishna visited with Karna, revealed the truth about his birth and asked him to join the Pandavas. Karna refused, as he knew that Duryodhana was counting on him to win over the Pandavas. Krishna goes to Pandavas after his Shantidoot visit to Hastinapur. He says the war is sure to happen.
Not knowing that Krishna had already visited Karna, Kunti also decides to see her firstborn. She knew of the enmity between Karna and Arjuna and as a mother, it was her duty to inform her child of imminent danger, and the guilt that ate at her could not let her watch from the sidelines. Karna calmly promised her that he would not harm Yudhisthira, Bheema, Nakula or Sahadeva, but Arjuna was fair game. The enmity between the two had grown immensely, not allowing for either egos to give in. His parting words to his birth mother was that she would have 5 sons at the end of the war, the 5th being either Arjuna or himself.
Sarasvati Puja: We all went to the temple hall to perform Sarasvati puja under the guidance of our temple priest.
Our next class is on November 5th.
Regards
Abhirami Shrinivas
Keerthi Kobla
