Srinath Raghavan revisits the character of Duryodhana in Mahabharat to discover an anti-hero
and argues for projecting him more positively.
There have been many versions of the Mahabharata to this date, each of them presenting different theories as to what actually happened.
Srinath Raghavan revisits the character of Duryodhana in Mahabharat to discover an anti-hero
and argues for projecting him more positively.
There have been many versions of the Mahabharata to this date, each of them presenting different theories as to what actually happened.
What I am presenting is an argument as to why Duryodhana should have been the hero of the great epic-Mahabharata, and why there are many reasons for this proposition to be regarded as a plausible one.
I personally support Anand Neelakantan’s view of the great epic, which presents Duryodhana as the hero. But, at the same time, I am also going by Maharishi Vyasa’s version of it. It is said to be the original one. My views are based on the same incidents which took place in Vyasa’s Mahabharata but they have been presented in a different perspective.
Despite having most or all of the ideal qualities of an heir apparent, he (Suyodhana) was often insulted and not given enough importance. There is still a mystery to his name, because although Duryodhana can be interpreted as ‘The Unconquerable One’ it supposedly also has a derogatory meaning, i.e., “one who is unworthy of wielding a weapon” or simply “one who is not worthy of handling power”. Suyodhana means, ‘great warrior’ going by most references. Suyodhana was said to be a great warrior and respected by all for his prowess in various fighting styles such as martial arts, which he learnt from his guru, Kripacharya.
He also became the favorite student of Balarama who was his guru when he was learning the art of fighting with the mace. It is even said that at one point, he became better in this art than his cousin Bhima, whose personality reflected his brute power and prowess with the mace. Not only this, if noticed carefully, the Pandavas had a unique ability attributed to each one. Being truthful, sheer intelligence, brute power, expertise in weapons such as bow and arrow were the capabilities that the Pandavas possessed together. But Suyodhana alone was said to have possessed most of these qualities. We fail to notice this because he was always portrayed in a negative light. Above all, what he had that no one else did was maturity in its truest form, trust, which if once placed upon someone, never broke.
The most significant achievement of Suyodhana was that his state of consciousness was way ahead of his counterparts. Suyodhana did not consider himself to be superior to others belonging to lower castes. He believed in merit and the ability of oneself rather than lineage. In the process, he made many powerful enemies, who in turn placed their hopes on Yudhishtra, the eldest of the Pandavas. One of the handful of people who supported Suyodhana included Kripacharya who was a Brahmin teacher and an expert in the martial arts.Kripacharya also had similar views on caste-based discrimination as Suyodhana, and thus was considered to be a lunatic and a disgrace to the Brahmin society by other priests.
Because of Suyodhana’s direct opposition to the Brahmin orthodoxy, he was not supported by most of the ministers and people in positions of power. The few people who partly supported him were, The Grand Regent Bhishma Pitamah, The King of Hastinapura, Dhritarashatra (also Suyodhana’s father) and Guru Kripa. Even though these people understood the causes Suyodhana stood for, they were helpless in the face of many groups and people against him who could not be ignored. One of the incidents which made the Brahmin court despise Suyodhana even more was during a friendly tournament organised for all the princes in Hastinapura to display their skills in various weapons. Arjuna was the first one in line, but while he was in action, Karna interrupted the ceremony by performing even better than Arjuna and in the process, putting Arjuna down. This angered all the royal spectators and they protested saying that Karna who belonged to a Suta caste should not have jumped onto the stage where only princes were allowed. Unexpectedly, the crown prince-Suyodhana got up and crowned Karna as the king of Anga, which further enraged others. This shows that Suyodhana believed in one’s potential and not lineage.
As I mentioned earlier, Suyodhana trusted his friends more than himself. One such incident that proves this beyond any doubt, occurred when Karna and Suyodhana’s wife Bhanumati were playing a game of dice in the royal chamber. Karna was evidently winning and just then, Duryodhana entered, but Karna failed to see him as he was facing the wall, and Bhanumati was not. She got up abruptly and Karna, thinking that she was trying to escape from losing snatched her drape studded with pearls and the pearls snapped and trickled to the floor. Both Karna and Bhanumati were embarrassed and shocked and expected Suyodhana to be enraged by this but he simply asked them if he should only collect the pearls or string them too which surprised both Karna and Bhanumati.
What I have discussed till now should throw light on Suyodhana’s positive and generous side furthers, an incident which is not mentioned in the Mahabharata accurately is the fact that Suyodhana was to marry Krishna’s and Balarama’s sister Subhadra, which Krishna was opposed to. Using his persuasive abilities, he convinced his sister that Suyodhana was a person without principles or beliefs and instead led her to think that Arjuna was the one for her as he was a principled man and the most talented archer in the realm, thus also the ideal husband.
And so, expectedly Subhadra ran off with Arjuna on their (Subhadra and Suyodhana’s) wedding day. This was regarded as a serious offence and Balarama was unaware of this till the very moment as he would have never allowed it to happen other wise. To all this, Suyodhana’s reaction was not sudden or outrageous in any way. At that particular time, he was the king of Hastinapura and had its whole army at his disposal. What he could have easily done was to wage war and reclaim his to-be wife. Instead, he chose not to do any such thing because it would only have been for a personal reason and not for the empire. That being said, he was heartbroken and humiliated which made him hate Krishna more.
I would like to sum up by saying that Suyodhana was a man of his word, he practiced what he preached and never did he divert from his principles, his vision was far ahead of his time, and he did not compromise anything for personal gain or even to remain in power.