In the Mahabharat and the Purans, there are many strange but interesting stories. They have some great messages for us because there is very deep thought behind them.
In the Mahabharat war, the Kauravs and Pandavs were in their respective camps one evening. In those days, there were ethics even in wars and they were strictly observed. Battles were fought only between sunrise and sunset. In the evening, there used to be friendly interaction. Even the enemies used to inquire about each other’s health, give condolences for the loss of lives and so on. Not only that, the Pandavs used to go to the Kauravs’ mother Gandhari to seek her blessings by offering ‘Namaskaar’ or ‘Pranaam’ to her and other elders. Such was their culture. There used to be strict ‘cease fire’ in the evening.
However, one evening, quite surprisingly and all of a sudden, an arrow came from the Kauravs’ camp and brushed by Yudhishthir’s ear. Everybody was shocked. Yudhishthir, taken by surprise, said to Arjun, ‘Paarth, how can you remain quiet? Didn’t you see what happened? How can you tolerate it? It means your “Gandeeva” (Arjun’s special bow) is useless!’
Arjuna got furious on hearing this and said to Yudhishthir, ‘I will kill you!’
There was a stunned silence. Arjuna continued, ‘I have taken a pledge that I will kill whosoever insults my “Gandeeva” bow!’ Everyone was taken aback and wondered how the war would proceed without Yudhishthir.
But Shrikrishna came forward and advised Arjun: ‘Paarth, I ask you to curse Yudhishthir, using bad and insulting words.’
Confusion worst confounded! Shrikrishna continued, ‘Using bad words and insulting the Gurus or elderly persons is just like killing them.’
Arjun did accordingly. Everybody thought that the matter was over. But again, Arjun stood up and said, ‘Now, I will have to kill myself.’ The confusion was at its peak.
‘Why?’ everyone asked.
‘Because, I have also taken another pledge – that I will kill any person who insults my beloved elder brother Yudhishthir. I am myself that culprit. So, I need to kill myself.’
Shrikrishna, as usual, had a solution. He stepped forward to salvage the situation and advised Arjun, ‘Paarth, you praise yourself in front of all of us since self-admiration and boasting is nothing but killing oneself!’
Let us all offer our ‘Namaskaar’ to such rich thoughts.
Words are powerful. Words carry deep meaning for those who utter them and also for those to whom they are addressed.
Vachana comes from Vac, the very root of all syllables that is pure consciousness. Therefore, respect for words, upholding promises, choosing the right words become critical for a society to thrive and flourish. India, unfortunately, has the lowest ranking when it comes to upholding contracts today when actually the entire society, rule of law and commerce, everything works on commitment to one’s pledge, to one’s word.
