Glimpses of The Devi Bhagavatam: 09. FIGHT OVER RIGHT TO THRONE

 

INDIAN MYTHOLOGY

Glimpses of The Devi Bhagavatam: 09. FIGHT OVER RIGHT TO THRONE

The sons of Dhritarashtra were known as the Kauravas. The Kauravas and their cousins, the Pandavas, did not pull on well. The simmering rivalry between them resulted in the epoch-making Mahabharata war. The Kauravas were destroyed. The Pandavas emerged victorious.

Soon after the young hero Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna, was killed by the Kauravas, his wife, Uttara, gave birth to a son. Known as Parikshit, he was the sole heir of the mighty Pandavas.

The parents of the Kauravas, Dhritarashtra and Gandhari, lived under the care of the Pandavas. The king Yudhishthira, regarded the old couple as though they were his own parents.

After some time Dhritarashtra expressed his desire to retire to the forest and live as an ascetic. He was accompanied by Gandhari, Kunti, Vidura, and Sanjay.

Six years passed. One night Yudhishthira dreamt of his mother. She appeared emaciated. Yudhishthira, haunted by a strong urge to see her, proceeded to the forest. It was a happy reunion. It was during Yudhishthira’s stay in the forest that Vidura passed away. Soon thereafter the others, too, departed to the world beyond.

It so happened that King Parikshit one day humiliated a sage who was siting in meditation, by putting a dead snake around his neck. This angered the sage’s son, who cursed the king. As a result Parikshit died of snakebite.

His son, Janamejaya, was determined to avenge his father’s death by destroying all the snakes. He arranged for a rare Yajna. The fire-rite attracted the snakes to rush into its flame only to meet their death.

Long, long ago a king named Dhruvasandhi ruled in the city of Ayodhya. He had two queens: Manorama and Lilavati. The two queens had two sons, Sudarshan and Shatrujit. Sudarshan, the son of Manorama, was older than Shatrujit by a month. But Shatrujit was more popular 9. FIGHT OVER RIGHT TO THRONE with the people than Sudarshan. But it was not as if Sudarshan was in any way in-ferior to his younger brother. Sudarshan was peace-loving and shy by nature.

Once King Dhruvasandhi went for hunting. In the forest he was attacked by a lion. Both were locked in a terrible fight. The king succeeded in killing the lion, but in the process he was badly mauled. He died before reaching the palace.

According to the custom, in the event of the king’s death, his son must ascend the throne. The ministers made hurried preparations for the coronation of Sudarshan. The sudden death of the king had shocked both queens. They were lying unconscious. They were not aware of what the ministers were doing.

As soon as the news of the king’s death reached them, the father of Queen Manorama, Virsen, and Yudhajit, the father of Queen Lilavati, reached Ayodhya. Each of them took upon himself the task of promoting the interest of his grandson.

When Yudhajit saw that preparations were afoot to make Sudarshan the new king, he told Virsen, “Look here, friend, it is true that your grandson is one month older than my grandson Shatrujit. But he is more popular and clever. In the interest of the country, we should ignore the slight difference in age between them. I propose that Shatrujit be made the king.”

Virsen laughed at the proposal. “I never expected such a strange opinion to come from you. Whatever be the diference in age, the one who is older is to succeed his father to the throne. Sudarshan is not only the senior prince, he is the son born to the senior queen. Besides, to the best of my knowledge, Sudarshan is in no way inferior to Shatrujit. In fact, I should think Sudarshan is more serious, wise, and efficient.”

King Yudhajit stopped arguing with King Virsen. Instead, looking at the ministers, he said, “I want my grandson Shatrujit to ascend the throne. I’m sure he deserves the throne more than Sudarshan who is just a month older than he. Do as I say.”

King Virsen felt offended at King Yudhajit’s threat. The two kings began quarrelling. Thus the coronation could not take place. The quarrel between the two kings led to a battle. Virsen was killed by Yudhajit.

Queen Manorama was shocked over such a development. She realised that her son’s life and her own life were in danger. Queen Manorama consulted a faithful minister, Vidalla. “O Queen, you and Prince Sudarshan won’t be safe in Ayodhya. I propose, we depart for Kasi. The King of Kasi is my uncle. He is powerful and prosperous. Let us seek refuge with him,” said Vidalla.

Manorama agreed. Along with Prince Sudarshan, Vidalla, and a maid, she secretly left the palace. But, as luck would have it, a gang of bandits snatched away whatever wealth they were carrying with them. They crossed the Ganga and reached the ashram of Sage Bharadwaj.

Vidalla prostrated before to the sage and told him all about the unfortunate queen and the prince. He came out and welcomed the weeping queen with words of affection and consolation. “Daughter, your son will one day become the king. You may live in this hermitage without any fear or hesitation.”

Soon Queen Manorama set up her establishment near the hermitage.