My own interpretation on Lord Krishna's Sermon to Draupadi in the Mahabharata.
Krishna to Draupadi.
'O! Draupadi. Your being disrobed in the court was not your karam. But how you will treat your cruel, vulgar opponents will be your karam.'
'Draupadi! Convert your insults and pain into a struggle for the society; don't pity yourself with the outcome, because that will only further break you with anger and hatred. You don't want that! Do you?'
'A person who goes on and on and on weeping for his "own self" is blinded by self-pity and self-centeredness, and in that state of upheaval is vulnerable in committing DUSHKARAM - Misdeeds. But to find solutions and strive to abolish the pain of "others" is SATKARAM – Good Deeds.'
Draupadi asks her mentor, Krishna: 'You expect me to forgive those bad Kurus?'
Krishna replies, 'Yes. Your forgiveness will be the first step for the inhalation of your opponents. Because your forgiveness will have freed you from the load of self-pity, hatred, anger.'
Krishna, 'Draupadi, not for yourself, but for the Udhaar (salvation) of "others" is victory. Your spouses must fight the Mahabharata war because of society. Can you imagine how women, mothers, sisters, elders, society as a whole, will be treated in Duryodhan's Raj? If he and his brothers could strip you....'
Krishna repeats: 'Yes. Your forgiveness will be the step for the inhalation of your opponents.'
Krishna concludes: 'On the other hand, no matter how brutal or bloody a war is, IF... it is carried to destroy injustices of darkness, then that is considered as: DHARAMYUDH – War of Righteousness.
Geeta Chhabra
(From Lockdown Collection)
