Had the Congress party president actually read the Mahabharata and dispassionately examined his own record, he would have come to the opposite conclusion.
A section of the commentariat has been lapping up Rahul Gandhi’s remarks referring to the Congress party as the ‘Pandavas’ fighting for ‘truth’ while the BJP as the ‘Kauravas’ striving for ‘power’. Had the Congress party president actually read the Mahabharata and dispassionately examined his own record, he would have come to the opposite conclusion.
The Adi Parvan of the Mahabharata quite eloquently describes how the Pandavas, after the death of their legal but not biological father Pandu, returned to Hastinapur from the Shatashringa hills in the Himalayas. The entitled dynast Duryodhana is aghast at the possibility of his cousins who are clad in deerskin and bark sharing the same royal palace as him. Does that not remind you uncannily of how Manishankar Aiyar (another entitled scion of a wealthy family and an alumnus of the prestigious Doon School) and Priyanka Gandhi described the incumbent Prime Minister as ‘neech’— a barb that was a thinly veiled but unmistakable reference to Modi’s humble origins.
The similarities do not end here. Once the princes come of age, Yudhishthira is anointed as the crown prince of Hastinapura because of widespread public demand even as Duryodhana is passed over despite the fact that his claim to the throne is as strong as that of Yudhishthira given that his father Dhritarashtra is the older legal offspring of the previous King Vichitraveerya. (This chain of events bear an uncanny similarity to the general election of 2014). Duryodhana does not stop scheming though. He first tries to have the Pandavas burnt alive in the Varnavata inferno. Then finally, with the connivance of Dhritarashtra, he manages to have the kingdom of Kurujaangala divided into two portions Khandavaprastha and Hastinapura. Even today, the Congress party-led by Rahul Gandhi is actively trying to exploit fault lines of caste (Gujarat, Haryana and Maharashtra) and language (Karnataka) just so they can hold onto power whatever be the consequence of the same for the body politic at large.
Furthermore, Duryodhana just like Rahul Gandhi was not very good at fighting battles up until his final confrontation with Bhim. Even during his first ‘convocation’ battle with the Panchala King Drupada’s army, the Kaurava Prince is recorded as having fled the battlefield. There are many such instances in the Mahabharata. Finally, after his entire army is vanquished on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, he hides in a lake before the Pandavas find him and confront him.
Rahul Gandhi, if I am permitted the indulgence of using a colloquial Indian English expression, is ‘same to same’. Not only is he pathetic at his supposed area of core competence; i.e. winning elections (thirty odd already lost at last count?), he also shares Duryodhana’s habit of leaving his troops/workers in the lurch and gallivanting off to exotic locales. His latest disappearing act which coincided with the Congress party’s humiliating election defeat in the northeast is still fresh in public memory.
Even the Congress party feels like the Kaurava army, as described in the Mahabharata. A few ageing but formidable stalwarts who are constantly humiliated by the incompetent and entitled dynastic scion leading an unmotivated army beset with problems of indiscipline could be an apt description of both the Congress party and the Kaurava army. At least Duryodhana had some talented non-dynastic young warriors like Karna and Ashwatthama on his side. Rahul Gandhi seems to specialise in pushing out leaders like Himanta Biswa Sarma to take a representative example to the other side.
Finally, those who have read the Mahabharata would know that it describes events that took place at the dawn of the Kaliyuga at the end of Dwapara Yuga! If one takes the poet at face value, Lord Krishna had himself descended upon the earth to ensure the victory of the Pandavas and of Dharma itself. However, the present age is Kaliyuga and one defining characteristic of this age is that God does not incarnate in human form to establish Dharma. It is, therefore, now up to the people of India to decide as to whether they want the entitled dynastic scions like Rahul Gandhi, the Scindias and the Pilots of the world to rule the country or if they want the honest salt of the earth leadership of the BJP to have another shot at power in 2019.
Raghav Awasthi is an advocate and an RSS member.
Aditi’s is an eye opener! What a great narrative & how she brings down the Lord Krishna and Pandavas narrative to such a low level. In our zeal to appear to be a great thinker we forget our limitations of knowledge, research & heritage. Allegiance to political parties is no sin but why let them affect our sense of judgement to such a level that one starts to challenge our gods and our great scriptures. Congress Party is lucky these people are there. They are selfless warriors who dedicate their life to a family without seeking anything in return.
Duryodhan didn’t flee the battlefield, he was one of the most competent mace wielders, and a brave warrior – even better than Bhim. He was killed by Lord Krishna’s trickery, who manipulated him. Gandhari was to bestow unbeatability on Duryodhan: she was to open her blindfold and see her child in commando before he went into battle. Krishna used his deceptive sweet tongue to convince Duryodhan that he should atleast wear a Jockey. As a result, his groin became the Achilles heel. Clever Krishna then asked Bhim to attack his groin, otherwise Duryodhan was unconquerable. Bhim even apologised for using trickery. Balram was livid at Krishna’s devilry, but like RSS routinely does, Krishna manufactured headlines, played foul with optics. This is shocking. This RSS clown doesn’t even know basic Mahabharata? Rahul Gandhi is not expected to know, but RSS jokers atleast should ve watched BR Chopras Sunday show. Shameful that RSS fakes epics too. Duryodhan never fled battle. He was an arrogant git, and was a little daft in terms of statecraft. But he wasn’t a coward. Cowherders need to know their basics. As for dynastic, both Pandavas and Kouravas were sons to their fathers. On their own – one set gambled on a wife, and the other set disrobed a woman. Disgusting both.
Nice one, of all characters in Mahabharata, Krishna seems to be the real cunning and deceitful person. No doubt there are temples dedicated to Duryodhan (or is it suryodhana) in Kerala. Not all people agree to the accepted narrative. Anyways both the families are treacherous and disgusting as you said.
why are u so dumb? Krishna is avatar of God himself..the supreme avatar of Maha Vishnu. Kauravas did so much Adharma from beginning, Duryodhan tried to kill his cousins with fire ,his uncle Vidura protected Pandavas..Krishna is God.he used tit for tat..to kill Adharma..we should use adharma..first read hindu epics properly, don’t use ur commie bong brain, and Duryodhan is respected as a mace warrior he has his legacy, so he has few temples like many asuras also have
Citizens are watching everything. When strong becomes weaker because of leadership crisis, there is no room for false vanity but to add supporting pillars to gain strength and to realise ‘ united we stand, divided we fall’ !
The epics were never my strong suit, so barely know the difference between the Kauravas and the Pandyas. However, it would be a mistake to focus only on Mr Rahul Gandhi and his fitness or lack of it for the top job. The real issue that confronts voters in the next general election will be a contest between the promises of 2014 and the performance / delivery since then. They have been stingy in awarding second terms. The entire focus of the incumbent should be about preparing a Report Card that sets out what has been achieved, what is work in progress and what is on the drawing board for execution in the second term.
It needs some basic intelligence to understand all this complex things you are suggesting, and our man, congress king, seems to lack that.