Yudhishtira’s Sage Counsel

The common lament

The epics often use some characters to pose questions that all of us have, and a wise or divine character to answer them in a way all of us can understand.

Nakula’s lament was and is, indeed, an extremely common lament. Have we all not said or thought, at some point in time, “Why me?” or “What have I done to deserve this?” or remarked, “I have done no harm to anyone, why am I the one to suffer?”

Questions like these stem from ignorance of the immortality of the soul and the divine order.

Wise words of solace

Yudhishtira, the eldest Pandava, who was Dharma personified, acknowledging that each of his brothers was right, to an extent, in what they felt, remarked, “It never rains but pours!” as if hinting at the terrible events to unfold.

He declared that no situation one finds himself in, has either reason (nimmitha) or cause (kaarana) that can be traced back to, in this lifetime. Each of us are born with a baggage of past deeds, so there is no point in trying to establish cause and effect, with limited knowledge of this one lifetime, alone.

“If at all we can pinpoint the cause, it is Dharma”, said Dharmaraaja*. Here, Yudhishtira refers to Dharma as ‘Dhaaraka’ or the supreme lord who holds up the universe.

*another name of Yudhishtira

He said, “In this entire world, there is no such thing as ‘I don’t deserve this fate!’”

He went on to explain: Both good and bad, happiness and sorrow, which we experience in this lifetime is a result of our past ‘karma.’ Virtuous acts result in accumulation of punya (merit) which bring about sukha (happiness), while wicked acts result in accumulation of paapa (sin) which bring about dukkha (misery). Karma or action is influenced by the nature (gunas) of the being.

Dharma refers to the perennial record of all past and present karmas that shapes the destiny of not only the present lifetime but every future one.

Therefore, we experience only what we have created for ourselves and we can hold no one else responsible for our trials and tribulations.

Yudhishtira’s wise words provided some solace to Nakula but the fact remained that all of them were extremely thirsty.

Yudhishtira then instructed Nakula to look out for a source of water, in order to quench their thirst. Nakula, trying to spot birds or a patch of green vegetation that would indicate the presence of water, climbed on to a tree.

And in the distance he saw a tantalising water-body.