Episode#82
The Pandavas performed the Arghya (Venereal offerings to the departed soul) in honour of martyrs who had laid their lives in the war and camped on the bank of the Ganga for a month.
One day, Narada appeared before Yudhishtira. "Son, through Krishna's grace, the valour of Arjuna and power of your Dharma, you were victorious and you are the sovereign Lord of the land. Are you not happy?" He asked. Yudhishtira replied "O great Devarishi, it is true that the kingdom has come into my possession but all my kinsman have gone forever We have lost sons that were dear to us, for me - this is no victory at all, on the contrary it is my greatest defeat! O sage Narada, we took our own brother for an enemy and killed him; Karna stood rooted like a rock in honour and the world wondered at his magnanimous valour- we have slain him mercilessly! This terrible act of slaying our own brother was the result of our sinful attachment to our possessions. Karna, on other hand, kept his promise he gave to our mother that 5 Pandavas will survive and abstained from killing us. He tried to assault Arjuna but Vasudev Krishna saved him with his Parjanyaastra - Oh! I am a sinner who stopped low and killed his brothers. "
"My mind is troubled greatly at this thoughts! Karna's feet were identical to our mother's feet, in the large hall, when the outrageous act was committed and I flee into a mad rage, I happened to look at his feet - and I discovered the similarity, my wrath immediately subsidised, I remember that crucial moment now and my grief increases." Thus saying this, Yudhishtira heaved a deep sigh with tearful eyes.
Narada told him all about Karna and the curses that had been pronounced on him on various occasions. On realising that Arjuna was superior to him in archery, he approached Drona and entreated him to teach him the usage of Bhrahmastra. Drona declined saying it was against the norms to any person except a Brahman of faultless conduct or a Kshatriya who had purified himself by intense penance. Karna had no option but to go for penance.
Karna went to the Mahendra hills, lied to Sage Parsurama that he was a Brahman in order to become his disciple. He learnt all the skills in archery and gained knowledge of several astras from the great sage. One unfortunate day when Karna was sharpening his skills of archery, a Brahmin cow was accidentally killed. The infuriated Brahmin cursed Karna : "In battle, your chariot wheels will stick in the mud and you will be done to death, in the same manner that you have killed my innocent cow." Parshurama, being exceedingly fond of Karna, taught him all the skills of archery and enlightened him in the use and withdrawal of the Brahmastra.
One day, however, the sage accidentally discovered that his disciple was not Brahmin. After laborious morning, the sage fell asleep under a tree - and with great respect, Karna offered him his lap. A stray insect happened to bite a hole into Karna thigh, but with great devotion, Karna bore the acute pain quietly and did not stir lest the Guru should wake up. The warm blood droplets trickled from the wound and fell on his hand which woke up Parshurama, when he saw what happened, he was angry. "You are Kshatriya! No Brahmin could have borne this physical pain without even stirring, tell me the truth!" Karna kept quiet and looked down "so you are not Brahmin, you have deceived your guru and you shall pay for this dearly, when your hour shall come, your knowledge of these divine weapons will fail you and whatever you have learnt through deception will not available you." Parshurama's wrath against Kshatriya was well known and when he discovered that Karna was a Kshatriya, he cursed him bitterly.
Karna was renowned for his benevolent nature! One day, Indra cane in the garb of a Brahmin and begged for Karna Kavach Kundal ( the divine earrings and armour with which with he was born) who instantly parted with Irma little realising that he was endangering himself, from that time Karna became more vulnerable, Karna pledge to his mother the Brahmin's and Parshurama's curses; the way which his charioteer Shalya depressed him by under rating his valour; Draupadi refusal to consider him unworthy of swayamvara by addressing him as sutputra the cumulative effect of all these factors brought Karna to his end.
"Do not grieve, you alone have not caused his death." Sage Narada tried to console but Yudhishtira was not consoled by these words. "Do not blame yourself son, for karna's death, " added Kunti. "His own father, the sun pleaded to him to leave the wicked hearted Duryodhana a d join you. I too tried hard. But he disobeyed and brought his end himself," - "but you melt us in dark mother. " Yudhishtira said to Kunti, "by hiding that he was our elder brother You thus are a party to this great destruction. I curse the entire womanhood that it will never be able to retain secrets; this was Yudhishtira curse to all women in his anguish over having killed his own elder brother.
It is common notion that women cannot keep secrets and this story is a beautiful conception illustrating this very belief! Opinions tends to differ on this subject - it may be an advantage to be able to keep secrets but definitely not a great virtue from the moral point of view hence women need not grieve over their incapacity to keep secrets of course taking into consideration that Kunti legacy still persist!
The natural affectionate nature of women may be the cause of their open-mindedness! But some women do keep secrets very well indeed, and it is not that a man possesses this ability either! It is fallacy to attribute the differences that arises out of training and occupation on nature itself and imagine some qualities as peculiar to the specific gender.
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