(A blog on how I interpret the story and meaning of Dwaipayan lake in which Duryodhan takes refuge before finally facing his destiny at the hands of Bhim. Would love your thoughts and comments to discover more meanings of our epics.)
Mahabharat needs no introduction. Essentially, the epic captures the dance and duels of Dharma and Karma. Mahabharat chronicles the actions, inactions, and consequences on the lives of people and society through the life journeys of the several central characters as a reference for posterity. At its essence, the epic weaves together stories that enliven the yogas espoused in Bhagavad Gita. Stories of ignorance, attachments, deceit, and excesses are here. Just as are the stories of lives lived in dharma, detachment, karma yogis, and many more.
Of the many, many characters and their life journeys, the lead-up to the end of the two central characters – Duryodhan and Bhishma – stands out the most to me.
Despite all his knowledge, Bhishma never stood up for dharma whenever and wherever needed, even though he had his own family and lineage he was avowed to protect. At appropriate times, in appropriate ways, Bhishma registers his protests, almost as if it was for the records, and that’s where his righteousness ends. So the Pandavas suffered injustices and atrocities at the hand of Kauravas all through their childhood and adulthood till the 18 days war gave them their rights, once and for all.
How he fell on the tenth day and lay resting on the bed of arrows for another 58 odd days is well known. He is pained at how the fortunes of his family tree have turned, splitting into two branches that are fighting each other to death. He is ready to die and now awaiting the auspicious astrological day of Sankranti, the transition day of the Sun into Capricorn when the sun starts moving north after the winter solstice.
When asked, Bhishma shared his knowledge on various matters, including the duties of a king, dispensing justice, etc. But at no time he expresses remorse for his inactions which could have changed the destiny of his lineage and legacy.
Mahabharat details the last days of Duryodhan and is very insightful. On the seventeenth day, his closest friend Karna is killed by Arjun. Duryodhan had pinned his hopes on Karna’s ability to win the war for him, and that last hope was now lost. His body, heart, and mind are burning with anger, frustration, and disbelief. He is unable to reconcile reality. He had the tallest of commanders on his side in Bhishma, Drona, Karna, and Shalya, along with many more fiercest warriors, including ninety-nine brothers fighting for him. He was sure of winning the war and ruling the world. Even more than ruling the world, he looked forward to relishing the implied defeat and death of his opponents, his own cousin brothers whom he despised since childhood. That was the balm he had desired all his life. All his dreams of winning and ruling with his dear brothers and friends kept reeling in his mind, and each run would torment him more than the previous. He is bursting. He curses the Pandavas to rule over the dead families and friends, the weeping widows and orphaned children, and the blood-soaked lands.
Duryodhan keeps seething over his lost dreams, and the loss of his brothers and friends, especially Karna. In one instant, he laments his dearest friend Karna’s death, and in the next moment, he is angry that the brave ones on his side fell without delivering him his much-desired prize, the crown. He is still justifying that he was driven to right the wrongs done to his father, the blind king Dhritrashtra. Blindness took away his right to be the king, and he had to hand over the reins to his younger brother, Pandu. Later, the turn of events caused Pandu’s death, giving a chance to Dhritarashtra to be on the throne, albeit as a caretaker now. This twist fed Duryodhan’s ambition to be the next king, which rightfully belonged to Yudhisthir, the eldest son of Pandu.
The same thoughts keep running through Duryodhan’s head. These thoughts and emotions are so strong that he paced physically, aimlessly roaming around, seeking comfort from something, anything, that can help calm him down.
He now knows he wants death more. He is physically tired and mentally broken. Pacing, flailing his arms, tearing his hair, choking at the words his thoughts brought up, he struggles to steady himself.
In this drift, he finds himself at the banks of Dwaipayan lake. Trepidations of the moment, guilt, fear, loss, grief, and more draw him to enter the calm waters and surrender himself to anyone or anything for the first time in his life. He allows the lake to overtake him and seeks the bottom. Moments, hours, days, it did not matter. He stays in there till he finds peace. The cool waters of Dwaipayan calm him deep in his being, and he is now ready to come out and face his destiny. The famous duel with Bhim, which Duryodhan loses after the intervention of Krishna and eventually dies, is well documented.
This story is well known, yet not many discuss the most interesting coincidence in this portion of the story.
Ved Vyasa is the most revered sage of Sanatan Dharma. He is considered one of the key authors of the Vedas, the Brahma Sutras, Puranas, and many more books. His corpus of work of sutras, stotras, sastras, and overall influence on the Sanatan way of life is immeasurable. Moreover, Vyas plays vital roles at several points in our epics, giving much-needed thrust in the right direction to the story’s progressions. His interactions with Vishwamitra upholding dharma are well-chronicled. Everything Ved Vyasa has contributed and stands for has earned him a place in one of the seven immortals in Sanatan itihasa, history.
Sanatan Dharma’s philosophy for life and living is straightforward – Pursue with vigor all you aspire. Pursue artha, the means of life, like wealth, career, financial security, and economic prosperity; and kaama, signifying desires, wishes, passions, emotions, pleasures, and aesthetics of life, love, affection, or senses. There is no guilt in these pursuits as long as they are guided and bound within dharma, explained as the right way, and do not deviate you from the path of moksha described as liberation, self-realization, self-knowledge, and nirvana. Keep the bounds in mind, be conscious of the cycle of karma and keep moderation in everything as a guiding principle.
Duryodhana’s life is an example of someone who has lost control over his greed and lust for power. He does not know where to stop or what lines not to cross. He was ready to kill his cousins, insult and disregard his elders, and, most importantly, even disrespect women. He readily let all his family, friends, his subject, and millions of soldiers be wagered to death in his lust for power. At another point in the story, Duryodhan very proudly claimed that “जानामि धर्मं न च मे प्रवृत्ति: जानाम्यधर्मं न च मे निवृत्ति:,” I know what is right (dharma), yet I do not engage in it; I know what is wrong(adharma), and yet, I cannot disengage from it. Essentially, Duryodhan’s life reflects pursuits of artha and kaama in excesses, crossing the bounds of the righteousness of dharma and moksha.
This is where the story of Duryodhan finding a lake in which he takes refuge and finds peace becomes very interesting. The symbolism of the calming lake becomes more potent as one understands the name of the lake, the Dwaipayan. Coincidentally, Dwaipayan is also another name of Ved Vyasa himself. It is so intriguing that Ved Vyas has a namesake lake at a pivotal point in the story. I do not see it as an ego play. The lake represents all the good work the wise sages have made available for humanity to benefit from. It is the kindest act by the sage to bring the vilest character to this lake of Sanatan knowledge, including the record of actions of the central characters of the epic, and give Duryodhan a chance to peek at his past actions and reflect on them. Taking refuge in Dwaipayan meant Duryodhan was finally taking refuge in the dharma and wisdom of the sages. Soon enough, Duryodhan connected the dots between his actions and the damage caused to his family, friends, subject, himself, and legacy. Slowly, the insanity starts ebbing away. He now lets go of his unsatiated lust for power and jealousy toward his cousins and reevaluates his life, actions, and outcomes in the context of dharma. When reconciled thus, he finds the strength to face his destiny and emerge out of the lake.
So many of us lead lives that are out of sync with the righteous path of dharma, artha, kaama, and moksha. We forget moderation and the ironclad principle of karma. To varying degrees, we all are lost, restless, frustrated, swinging between anger and depression, and losing control over life and living. As we pace aimlessly, listlessly, directionless, rudderless, with no friends nor counsels to hold our hand to steady us, may we be blessed with divine grace to find ourselves at the bank of Dwaipayan, the reservoir of Sanatan wisdom and take a leap to its depth to find our peace, and come out strengthened to live our karma traversing righteously through our dharma, artha, and kaama to moksha.