Duryodhana Felt Insulted at the End of Rājasūya Sacrifice

Next, Seventy-fifth Chapter. Subject: "Duryodhana Felt Insulted at the End of Rajasūya Sacrifice."

King Yudhisthira was known as ajata-satru. Ajata-satru means a person who has no enemy. Therefore, when all men, all demigods, all kings, sages, saints saw the successful termination of Rajasūya yajna performed by King Yudhisthira, everyone became very, very happy. But why Duryodhana was not happy, the subject matter was very astonishing to Maharaja Pariksit, and therefore he requested Sukadeva Gosvami to narrate the story why Duryodhana was not happy.

Sukadeva Gosvami said, "My dear King Pariksit, your grandfather King Yudhisthira was a great soul. His congenial disposition of mind attracted everyone as his friend, and therefore he was known as ajata-satru, never creating an enemy. Therefore, he gave different engagements to all the members of the Kuru dynasty for taking charge of different departments in the management of Rajasūya sacrifice. For example, Bhimasena was given in charge of the kitchen department, Duryodhana was given in charge of the treasury department, Sahadeva was given in charge of the reception department, Nakula was given in charge of the store department. Arjuna was engaged for looking after the comforts of the elderly persons. And the most astonishing feature was that Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He took the charge of washing feet of all the incoming guests.

The Queen, the goddess of fortune Draupadi, was in charge of administering the foodstuff distribution, and because Karna was famous for giving in charity, he was posted in charge of the charity department. In this way everyone, like Satyaki, Vikarna, Hardikya, Vidura, Bhūrisrava and Santardana, the son of Bahlika, all of them were engaged in different departments for managing the affairs of Rajasūya sacrifice. All of them were so much bound up in loving affection with King Yudhisthira that everyone wanted to act in such a way that he may be very much pleased, or his welfare is completely secured.

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So after the end of Rajasūya yajna, when everyone-friends, guests and well-wishers-were sufficiently honored and rewarded, and when Sisupala died by the mercy of Lord Krsna and became merged in the spiritual existence, at that time King Yudhisthira went to take bath in the Ganges. The city of Hastinapura is standing on the bank of Yamuna. It indicates therefore that during the time of the Panḍavas, the river Yamuna was also known as the Ganges. When King Yudhisthira was taking bath, which is known as avabhrtha bath… This avabhrtha bath is accepted after performing a great sacrifice. So when King was taking bath, there was concerted vibration of different musical instruments like mrdahga, conchshell, drums, kettledrums, bugles and similar different musical instruments. Not only that, the dancing girls who were engaged in their respective occupation created a jingling sound. Many batches of professional singers were engaged with their vina, flute, gongs, cymbals, and there was a tumultuous sound combined together vibrating in the sky.

The princely guests from many kingdoms, like Srnjaya, Kamboja, Kuru, Kekaya, Kosala, were present with their different flags and gorgeously decorated elephants, chariots, horses, soldiers. All of them were passing in a procession, keeping the king Yudhisthira in the forefront. The executive members for performing the sacrifice, like the priests, religious ministers, brahmanas-all of them were chanting loudly the Vedic hymns. The demigods, the inhabitants of the Pitrloka, Gandharvaloka, sages, were showering flowers from the sky. The citizens of the Hastinapura, Indraprastha, all men and women were nicely decorated, smeared with scents and floral oils, garlands, dressed in different colorful garments with valuable jewels and ornaments on the body, and all of them were enjoying the ceremony by throwing on each other liquid substances like water, oil, milk, butter, yogurt, someone smearing on some other's body. In this way, they were enjoying the occasion.

The professional prostitutes also were engaged in that jubilation by smearing the liquid substances on the body of the males, and the males were also in return by doing the same behavior on the females. All the liquid substances were specifically mixed with turmeric and saffron, so the color of the liquid substances were lustrous yellow.

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In order to observe the great ceremony, many wives of the demigods they came in their different aeroplanes and were visible on the sky. Similarly, on the surface also, the queens of the royal family came in their different palanquins, gorgeously decorated and surrounded by the bodyguard soldiers. During this time Lord Krsna, the maternal cousin of the Panḍavas, and His special friend Arjuna, both together were throwing the liquid substances on the body of the queens. By such action the queens became blushful, but at the same time their beautiful smiling engladdened their face. Not only that, on account of throwing liquid substances on their body, their coverings of the body, namely the saris, became completely wet. The saris being wet, the different parts of their bodily beauty, namely their breast, their waist, became partially visible on account of wet cloth. The queens also brought in bucket such liquid substances, and with syringe liquid substance was being sprinkled on the body of their brother-in-laws. And because of their being engaged in such jubilant activities, their bunch of hairs became slackened, and the decorating flowers on them began to fall down.

When Lord Krsna, Arjuna and the queens were engaged in such activities of jubilation, persons who were not very much clean in their heart became agitated in their lustful desire. In other words, such behavior between male and female in clear heart is enjoyable, but persons who are materially contaminated become lustful in such pleasing dealings between man and woman.

When King Yudhisthira was present there along with his queens like Draupadi and others, on gorgeous-style chariot yoked by excellent horses, the features became so much beautiful as if the great sacrifice Rajasūya yajna was standing there in person, along with the different functions of the sacrifice.

After finishing the Rajasūya sacrifice, there were several other Vedic ritualistic duties, known as patni-samyaja. This sacrifice is performed along with the wife. Therefore, this patni-samyaja ceremony was also performed by the priests. Then the king again took his bath known as avabhrtha. So when the Queen Draupadi and King Yudhisthira was taking their bath, people, out of their feelings of happiness, as well as the demigods began to beat on their trumpets, and all of them began to shower flowers from the sky. When the king and the Queen finished their bath in the Ganges, all other citizens, consisting of all the varnas, or castes, namely the brahmanas, the ksatriyas, the vaisyas and the sūdras, took their bath in the Ganges. This taking of bath in the Ganges is recommended in the Vedic literatures because by such bath one becomes freed from all sinful reaction. This taking of bath in the Ganges is still current in India. Especially in some particular auspicious moment, the people in thousands and millions take bath in the Ganges.

After taking bath, the king Yudhisthira dressed himself in new silken cloth and wrappers and was decorated in various valuable jewelries. The king not only dressed himself and decorated himself, but also he gave clothings and ornaments to all the priests and the members who performed the yajnas. In this way, all of them were worshiped by King Yudhisthira. He constantly worshiped his friends, his family members, his relatives, his well-wishers and everyone who were present, and because he was a great devotee of Lord Narayana, or because he was Vaisnava, therefore he knew how to treat well everyone.

The Mayavadi philosophers' endeavor to see everyone as God is an artificial way of thinking oneness. But a Vaisnava, or a devotee of Lord Narayana, sees every living entity as part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. Therefore, a Vaisnava's treatment with other living entities is on the absolute platform. As you cannot treat one part of your body different from the other part, because all of them belong to the same body, similarly, a Vaisnava does not see a human being distinct from the animal because in both of them he sees the situation of the soul and Supersoul simultaneously.

In this way, when everyone was refreshed after taking bath and were dressed in silken clothing, with jeweled earrings and flower garlands, turban, long wrappers, over all a pearl necklace, all of them simultaneously looked like the demigods from the heaven, specifically the women, who were very nicely dressed, and their smiling face were seen with the spots of tilaka and curling hair scattered here and there, each of them having a golden belt on the waist. And all this combination made everything very, very nice looking.

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In this way, persons who participated in the Rajasūya sacrifice like the most cultured priests, the brahmanas, assisted in the performance of the sacrifice, and the citizens, consisting of brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas, sūdra, besides them, all the kings, demigods, sages, saints, citizens of the Pitrloka and everyone who participated in that yajna, along with their followers, all were very much satisfied by the dealings of King Yudhisthira, and at the end they parted in good feeling to their respective residences.

All of them, while returning to their respective homes, were talking of the dealings of King Yudhisthira, and they were not satisfied even after continuous talking of his greatness, as much as one is never satisfied drinking the nectarean over and over again. After departure of all others, Maharaja Yudhisthira especially restrained the inner circle of his friends, including Lord Krsna, by not allowing them to go back. Lord Krsna could not refuse the request of the king. He therefore sent back all the heroes of the Yadu dynasty, like Samba and others. All of them went back to Dvaraka, and Lord Krsna personally remained there in order to give pleasure to the king.

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In the material world, everyone has a particular type of desire to be fulfilled, but they are never able to fulfill their desires in full satisfaction. But a great devotee like King Yudhisthira, because of his unflinching devotion to Krsna, he could fulfill all his desires successfully in the performance of the Rajasūya yajna. From the description of the execution of Rajasūya yajna, it appears that such function is a great ocean of opulent desires, and to cross over such ocean is not possible by any ordinary man. But by the grace of Lord Krsna, the king Yudhisthira was able to cross over it very easily, and thus he became freed from all anxieties.

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When Duryodhana saw that Maharaja Yudhisthira became very much famous after performance of the Rajasūya yajna and he was fully satisfied in every respect, he began to burn into the fire of envy because his mind was always poisonous. The imperial palace which was constructed by the demon Maya for the Panḍavas was so excellent by different puzzling artistic workmanship befitting the position of great princes, kings or leaders of the demons. In that great palace, the Panḍavas were living, along with their family members, and the Queen Draupadi was serving her husbands very peacefully. And because in those days Lord Krsna was also there, His thousands of queens were also decorating the palace.

When all the queens were moving within the palace, along with their heavy breast and waist, and their ankle bells were ringing very melodiously on account of their movement, the whole palace appeared to be more pompous than heavenly kingdoms. The middle portion of all the queens were thin, and because the portion of their breast were sprinkled with saffron powder, the pearl necklace on their breast appearing to be reddish. On account of beautiful earrings and scattered hair on the face, they looked very, very nice, and Duryodhana, after looking over such beauties in the palace of the king Yudhisthira, became too much envious.

Duryodhana was especially burning by seeing the beauty of Draupadi, because he had some special attraction for her from the very beginning of her marriage with the Panḍavas. In the marriage selection assembly of Draupadi, Duryodhana was also present, and along with other princes he was also very much captivated by the beauty of Draupadi, but he failed to achieve her. Therefore, he had a long-cherished bereavement for Draupadi.

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Once upon a time, the king Yudhisthira was sitting on the golden throne in the palace constructed by the demon Maya along with his four brothers and other relatives, as well as along with his great well-wisher the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. The material opulences of King Yudhisthira were not less than that of Lord Brahma. When he was sitting on the throne along with his friends, the reciters were offering prayers to him in nice songs, and at this time of opulent demonstration of wealth and power by the king Yudhisthira, Duryodhana, along with his other younger brothers, also came there.

Duryodhana was decorated with helmet on his head and sword in his hand. He was always in envious and angry mood, and therefore on slight provocation he was talking irritatively with the doorkeepers. The reason of his irritation was because of his failing to distinguish between water and land. By the craftsmanship of demon Maya, the palace was so decorated in different places that one who did not know the tricks would consider water as land and land as water. Duryodhana was also illusioned by this craftsmanship, and when he was crossing water, thinking it to be land, he fell down. And because he fell down out of his foolishness, Bhimasena and other queens enjoyed a laughing incidence the falling down of Duryodhana.

King Yudhisthira could understand the feelings of Duryodhana, therefore he was trying to restrain them from laughing in that way. But Lord Krsna gave indication to King Yudhisthira not to restrain all of them enjoying the incidence. Krsna wanted that Duryodhana may be fooled in that way and all others may enjoy his foolish behavior. When everyone laughed in that way, Duryodhana felt very much insulted, and from each and every hole of his body the hairs stood up in anger. Thus being insulted, he immediately left the palace, bowing down his head, very silently and without any protest.

When Duryodhana returned in such angry mood, everyone regretted the incidence, and King Yudhisthira also became very much sorry. But despite all these incidences, Krsna was silent. He did not speak anything against or in favor of the incidence. It appeared that by the supreme will of Lord Krsna, Duryodhana was thus in illusion, and that was the beginning of enmity between the two sects of Kuru dynasty. It appeared that it was a part of Krsna's plan in His mission for decreasing the burden of the world.

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King Pariksit inquired from Sukadeva Gosvami why Duryodhana was not satisfied after the termination of great sacrifice Rajasūya yajna, was thus explained by Sukadeva Gosvami.

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Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Seventy-five Chapter of Krsna in the matter of "Duryodhana Insulted at the End of Rajasūya Sacrifice."