Untold, unheard narrative of the vanquished warrior

Aradhika Sharma

It always comes as a surprise to readers of mythology that Duryodhana, the arch villain of the great epic ‘Mahabharata’, was already present in heaven when Yudhishthira, the upholder of true dharma, reached there. He was offended and refused to share the same space as the man who had meted injustice to him and his family until Rishi Narada explained to him that Duryodhana had attained heaven because of his death in the battlefield. Duryodhana followed Kshatriya dharma, fought the war and got a warrior’s death. Kaka Vidhate obviously feels that history is often the narrative of the victor and the vanquished are not allowed their truth. In his telling of the tale of Duryodhana, he tries to restore the balance.

Vidhate is certainly not the first author to explore Duryodhana’s point of view. Yet, he has tried to go beyond the popular fable of good and evil, as represented by the Pandavas and the Kauravas, not treating his characters as demi-gods but as rulers, conquerors and human beings with fatal flaws who are essentially driven by politics. The ‘Mahabharata’ thus is a tale of an epic battle replete with incidents of heroism and sacrifice, as well as treachery and duplicity. However, as in most battles, the blame of destruction does not lie solely with one side; both were responsible for the apoplectic war that decimated the Kauravas.

Vidhate makes an honest effort to convey the perspectives from the brave warrior’s point of view and explore the factors that shaped him. The shades of Duryodhana’s personality and actions range from good to evil, from white to black, interspersed with varying shades of grey. “I am a warrior, not a murderer,” declares Duryodhana at one point. “I believe that the honourable way to eliminate the enemy is in war.”

He was born to the blind king Dhritrashtra, who nurtured grand aspirations for his eldest son, and Gandhari, who had voluntarily chosen blindness as sacrifice for her husband and was a noble lady, but a cold mother. Duryodhana was educated by the luminary gurus of the times — Rishi Kanik, Guru Drona and his maternal uncle, Shakuni.

The larger-than-life protagonist is playing for high stakes but must fight formidable enemies consisting of his own family. He opts to challenge Krishna and his cousins when it is announced that Yudhishthira would be crowned king. He contests that as the eldest son of the elder brother, he is the true inheritor of the throne of Hastinapur and Yudhishthira, the false aspirant. The battle between dharma and adharma ensues. The question is: who is the rightful inheritor?

Vidhate scrutinises the fables of mysticism surrounding the protagonists of the ‘Mahabharata’, also giving alternative perspectives to the (in)famous decisions of the eldest Kaurava. For example, the attempted killing of Bhima, the burning of the wax house, the loaded game of dice. In case of Draupadi’s cheerharan, where she is subjected to shame and humiliation while her husbands watch in abject silence, he turns his accusing gaze on each one present in the court.

While the overwhelming account of the book is in the voice of Duryodhana, there are also narrations by Dhritrashtra, Dushasana, Shakuni, Bhanumati, Krishna and Karna, each with a separate point of view and morality that sometimes challenges the traditional perceptions of the ‘Mahabharata’.

Vikrant Pande, who has previously translated significant works, including Ranjit Desai’s ‘Shivaji the Great’, NS Inamdar’s ‘Shahenshah, The Life of Aurangzeb’ and ‘Rau, The Love Story of Bajirao Mastani’, has effectively captured the atmosphere.