AJAYA I -- Roll of the Dice

by Unknown

  "I wonder how Yudhishtra succeeded in solving the greatest problem that plagues our country. Do you see there are no poor people in the streets? The place looks rich and prosperous," Suyodhana said, trying to control his pangs of jealousy.

  "Suyodhana," Karna moved his horse forward to keep pace with the Crown Prince. "Do you notice something strange? There are only a few people in the streets and they all look important. Why does the city look so deserted of common folk? A city this size should be buzzing with activity, especially since the rajasuya is going on. "

  "It does not look like there has been a battle or riot in the city streets. Everything is in order. Perhaps all the citizens are at the rajasuya venue," Suyodhana said calmly, though he too had begun to worry about the uncanny silence that pervaded this place. They could hear the bells of police chariots on patrol, but they only amplified the edgy silence that cloaked the sombre city.

  "Hey, look!" Karna shouted suddenly and jumped down from his horse. Suyodhana saw him run to the pavement and lean over a bundle of rags lying at the door of a closed shop. A dog barked suddenly and shot towards Karna, its teeth snapping viciously.

  The bundle stirred. Suyodhana exclaimed, "It is a man and he is alive!" He dismounted hurriedly and ran to Karna.

  Aswathama followed his friends. The dog tried keeping them at bay. A tattered blanket moved and the man moaned for water. Karna took another step forward but the dog jumped at him. He moved quickly away and the dog fell with a yelp.

  "The dog is blind," Aswathama said, carefully placing his hand on the animal's head. When it tried to snap, he began gently caressing it with soothing strokes while speaking gently. The dog calmed down and put its paws on the Brahmin's shoulders. Aswathama submitted to its licks with a smile. A funny thought entered his head: he wished his father could see him now, accepting the devotion of a street dog. When he was barely six years old, he had once dragged a puppy home. It had made his father blind with rage. Drona had beaten Aswathama until the cane broke, saying it was a sin for a Brahmin to have a dog as a pet. Dogs were dirty animals, and represented all that was considered sinful in the Brahminical world: dogs were attached to their masters; they guarded territory and fought for it; they were emotional and loved life too much. A dog was the symbol of man's attachment to this illusory world, whereas a cow was holy because it was unattached to its master and went through life with equanimity. For Aswathama, the reasons his father had enumerated were the very ones that drew his love and respect. He hugged the blind dog and it continued licking his face with a love no human was capable of.

  Karna carefully moved away the tattered covering and Suyodhana turned his face away in horror. There were deep blue bruises on the man's scarred face and the blanket was wet with blood. Karna shouted for water. Immediately, a soldier came running with a water pot. He poured water into the beggar's mouth and the man gulped it down greedily. Shivering, he painfully tried to get up, but collapsed back onto the ground.

  Suyodhana reached out and lifted him up. "What happened to you?"

  "Someone who was in a hurry to reach my Lord's abode pushed me out of his way. Later I became my Lord's pathway and I was run over by him," the beggar answered enigmatically.

  "What is he blabbering about?" asked Aswathama.

  "It seems that first Ekalavya's army knocked him down and then Krishna's army rode over him in their pursuit of Ekalavya's men," Suyodhana said.

  The beggar cried, "Krishna! Blessed am I that I could offer my body for you to tread upon. Blessed is Jara, for even in your hurry you thought about this poor devotee and touched me with your horse's hoofs. Your leela is unfathomable, your love immeasurable, my Lord."

  "Well Suyodhana, one answer to your question stands before you. Here is a poor man in Indraprastha," Karna said. 'Why do you come to break my heart always Jara?' he thought to himself.

  "I know this person..."

  Before Suyodhana could complete his words, Jara said to him, "You want to see the poor of this city? Come with me. The poor are the blessed for they are the true devotees of my Lord. When someone loves my Lord sincerely, the Lord loves him back manifold. The first thing He does is take away wealth. He gives his devotees unhappiness and suffering, for He knows that only in suffering can we remember His glory. If we have wealth and happiness, we will not think about Him and will thus remain immersed in worldly pleasures. He gives us misfortunes so that we hate the illusory world and strive for moksha. He is compassionate. Come and see His people, my Hari's people, my Krishna's people, and you will know what heaven is."

  "Whoever his Lord is, he seems to be an insecure person, obsessed with everyone singing his glory and praises," Aswathama quipped. Everyone except Jara and Suyodhana laughed.

  "Krishna, Krishna..." Jara ran towards the river, crying his Lord's name in ecstasy.

  Dharma freed himself from Aswathama's grasp and ran after his master. Suyodhana and his friends followed. When they reached the ghat, they saw Jara pleading with the boatman to take them to the opposite bank. The boatman looked annoyed, but when he saw Suyodhana and his companions, his attitude changed suddenly. He was all obsequious eagerness as he ran to free his boat.

  They left their army on the city shore and travelled with the beggar and his dog to the other side of the Yamuna. As the boat moved toward the colony of the poor and Untouchables, the sun slowly dissolved in the purple waters of the river. The horizon was peppered with birds hurrying home. Crows lamented the dying of the day. Jara began singing his Lord's praises. The men sat mesmerized by the beauty of the river. They forgot everything but the rich voice of the beggar, the sound of the paddle hitting the water in time to his poignant song, and the river caressing their boat and flowing away. As they approached the opposite ghat, a silver crescent moon in the eastern sky found reflection in the water before it broke into a million ripples.

  When they stepped onto the ghat, a dark man jumped in front of them. Suyodhana was stunned by his sudden appearance and his hand went to his sword. But the man caught hold of Suyodhana's wrist blabbering, "Are you a Prince? Yes, you look rich. But why should a Prince come to visit us? We are Untouchables. No one comes here, at least not anyone like you. You will become polluted and fall from your exalted caste. Maybe you have come in search of me? Do you want an architect to build a city in your kingdom? I can do it. Take me with you and I will build a city that will make this cursed place look like a child's sandcastle. I built that city for them and then they banished me from it. If I build a city for you, you must allow us a corner... a little space for me and my people. I promise we will not pollute you. Just a little space... that is all we ask... a little respect... a little consideration. We too are human and it is not our fault that we were born with dark skins. I promise to build a great city for you. Have you seen Indraprastha? I built it... we all built it... in the sun... in the rain... the women and children of this village built that glistening city of gold... I sculpted the God in the temple... but he is blind... they did not allow me to complete my work. If I build you a bigger temple, will you allow me to give eyes to the Gods?"

  Suyodhana gripped Aswathama's hands for support and Karna gritted his teeth. They understood who the babbling lunatic was. It was Mayasura, the legendary architect. The Pandavas had banished the likes of Mayasura to the grim world beyond the Yamuna, far away from their great city, to the land of the poor and destitute. The stink of urine and excrement hit them like a body blow. When their eyes adjusted to the dim light, they could see league upon league of shanties. Small oil lamps flickered here and there and they could hear the noise of drunken brawls and screaming. There was enough misery here for everyone to hate their lives and pray for moksha. The Lord's compassion was overwhelming.

  "Mayasura, what are you doing?" An old man came and grabbed the architect by the hand. But he fell silent when he saw Karna. His eyes wandered over Karna's armour. When he saw the warrior's dark eyes staring back at him, he turned away saying, "He is not keeping well. Sometimes, when he i
s not working, he loses his senses and blabbers like this. He is not mad as you may think. In fact, he is a genius."

  When Mayasura noticed Karna's armour, he exclaimed, "Father, is our armour as strong as this man's? We may have to change the design."

  The old man's face turned pale with fear as he tried dragging Mayasura away before he could say something to endanger them both. Some of the onlookers who had gathered to watch the scene, began making loud comments questioning Mayasura's sanity.

  As they disappeared into the darkness, Aswathama shouted after them, "What about Karna's armour, Mayasura?"

  The architect paused and shouted back, "We are designing a weapon that can pierce Karna's armour. Have you heard of Karna? He is Arjuna's greatest enemy and Arjuna is my father's son. My father is Indra, King of the Devas. But he loves me more than he loves his real son, so he lives with me. We are going to present the arrow to Arjuna so he can kill Karna. That will please the Prince and he may allow me to complete my sculpture of Lord Shiva and open his eyes." His voice faded away in the din from the slums as Indra dragged Mayasura away. He was afraid that Karna or Suyodhana would come after him.

  "That old man looks oddly familiar," Karna said, staring at the vanishing duo.

  "He is Indra, the fallen King of the Devas. He looks familiar because he is the real father of Arjuna," Suyodhana told his friend.

  "That explains why he is after me," Karna said with a crooked smile.

  Before the others could react, Jara called to them to tour the slum with him and see the people who lived here. The deeper they moved into the hellhole, the more depressing it became. Shakuni, who had come with them but remained silently in the background, was bubbling with joy. These foolish Indians and their Gods and god men were making his task easier by the day. Yudhishtra had created a huge opportunity for Takshaka to recruit people into his revolutionary army. 'I should bring this to the attention of Durjaya too,' thought the Gandhara Prince. How long could India resist her enemies, with such a heartless caste system, useless rituals, corrupt rulers, irresponsible citizens, and a religion that denied the real world for the sake of imaginary happiness? 'You are bleeding from a thousand cuts and your downfall is imminent,' the foreigner thought with malice. A war, a bloody, all-consuming, all-destroying war, was coming, when all the Indian kingdoms would clash and destroy each other. Shakuni could smell the blood; he could feel death in the air. The end was coming. The sound of war drums was deafening.

  "I cannot stand this anymore. What sort of world has Yudhishtra created? This is a cursed city. The Pandavas have built a city on the carnage of thousands of men and beasts. They destroyed Khandiva forest and killed everything in it. They are treating the majority of their people like worms in order to please a few Priests! Come, let us go to Yudhishtra's fine palace and ask the Son of Dharma a few pertinent questions," said Suyodhana, his mind and heart sickened by what he had seen.

  Suyodhana rushed back to the ghat and ordered the boatman to row them back to the city. His friends followed. Jara accompanied them to the riverbank. No one spoke. Though the Crown Prince kept a level head most of the time, his anger was legendary once aroused. Now he said in a voice in which rage had overcome caution, "First they murdered a Nishada woman and her five children in Varanavata. Then Krishna and Arjuna executed the great massacre of Khandiva. Then King Jarasandha and his Nishada General were killed by trickery and Shishupala murdered in cold blood. How many more must die for their ambition? How many will they kill in the name dharma? Murder, arson, rape, everything is explained away or justified by a few Priests. This hypocrisy is galling. See how they have treated Mayasura. In any other kingdom, they would be erecting statues honouring him and Kings would be competing for his talent. Here, he is banished to the stinking outer city because he was born an avarna and Untouchable. So many people are living there like pigs, in abject poverty, and those bastard Pandavas are taking pride in building a city of riches. Such acts have given birth to Takshaka and Durjaya. I fear for people like that beggar Jara, blind in their faith and innocent at heart. They are fodder for the raging ambition of men like Yudhishtra."

  His friends heard him out patiently. He was echoing their thoughts. Shakuni, immersed in deep reflection, kept clicking his dice together in his right hand and running the fingers of his left hand through his salt-and-pepper beard. The sight of the palace bathed in golden light and the contrast it presented with the darkness on the other side of the Yamuna, added flame to Suyodhana's anger. The breeze carried the faint notes of Jara's song from across the river. To him, his song was an act of piety and prayer; for the Prince and his friends, it sounded more like the lament of a broken people clinging to the feeble straw of faith to stay alive in this turbulent world.

  ***

  When Suyodhana and his friends stormed into the palace, the King of Indraprastha was enjoying an evening of music and dance. The sabha was filled with courtesans, nobles, Priests, as well as the Kings and Princes who had accepted Yudhishtra's suzerainty. Many warriors and Princes had died in the scuffle following the murder of Shishupala, but that did not dampen the festivities. Yudhishtra's brothers and Draupadi sat near him, as did the Priests. When Suyodhana strode into the hall, the sabha fell silent and every head turned towards him. He stood contemptuously viewing the luxury everywhere. Behind him stood Karna, Sushasana, and Aswathama, matching the Crown Prince's look of disdain. Shakuni stood with a smile playing on his lips. Suyodhana fixed his gaze on Yudhishtra.

  "Welcome, Suyodhana," Yudhishtra said, getting up to greet his cousin.

  "So, this is the palace built over dead bodies and the place where the King of Chedi was murdered in cold blood. Yudhishtra, you have banished half the population from your city. You should hang your head in shame at the way you have treated the people who built Indraprastha."

  "Enough, Duryodhana!" Dhaumya interrupted. "This model state will always be ruled by the holy smritis. How dare you come here and insult the epitome of dharma? What do you know about dharma? You are the one who should be ashamed for befriending a lowly Suta and making him a King; you are the one who should hang your head in shame for having Aswathama, who is a disgrace to all Brahmins, as a friend. You are trying to destroy our society. But you will never succeed as long as I live." He stopped his tirade when he saw Suyodhana rushing towards him with sword drawn. His disciples scrambled to get out of the way. Dhaumya shouted, "Ma... Ma... he is going to murder me! Is there no protection for a poor Brahmin in this kingdom? Arjuna, Bhima, help me..."

  Before the Pandavas could make sense of what was happening, Suyodhana had reached the group of Priests who were running like mice before a cat. Dhaumya ran towards Yudhishtra as Suyodhana chased him, pushing people away as he ran after the Chief Priest. His friends tried to stop the Crown Prince, but it was impossible for anyone to swerve Suyodhana from his purpose once he was angered. However, fate often intervenes in curious ways. In his blind anger, Suyodhana did not notice the sunken pool in the floor. It was a foot deep and three feet wide, but it ran from one wall of the sabha to the other. Except for the darker shade of tiles, it merged with the floor of the sabha and could not be easily distinguished, as the polished floor reflected as much light as did the water in the pool. Dhaumya instinctively jumped over the narrow pool, but Suyodhana stepped into the water unknowingly and fell flat on his face. The impact threw his sword from his hand and it clanged onto the floor near Yudhishtra's feet.

  For a moment, there was perfect silence. His friends rushed to Suyodhana's rescue. But he stood up before they could reach him. His dhoti slipped from his waist and lay limp in the water. Everyone watched the unfolding drama with shocked faces. The Crown Prince of Hastinapura stood ridiculously exposed, wincing in pain and anger, naked except for a loincloth, in front of the grand assembly. No one dared utter a word.

  Karna leaned down to pick up Suyodhana's dhoti from the water. As he did so, laughter echoed though the hall.

  "Andha! Blind, just like his father." It was Draupadi.
She bit her lip pointing to the naked Suyodhana, no longer able to control her mirth.

  Laughter filled the hall and became a roar. The whole assembly shook with amusement. Suyodhana stood naked in the middle of the Court, laughter and ridicule burning his ears, shamed and insulted beyond imagination, as the Priests who had run away in fear a few moments before, came back boldly and began showering abuse on him. Suyodhana refused to take his dhoti from his friend's hand or come out of the pool that barely wet his ankles. He stood there defiantly while insults and ridicule showered on him from all sides.

  "Serves you right, you son of a blind man," Dhaumya shouted at Suyodhana. Gazing at the assembly of nobles and vassal Kings, he said, "All Kings and Kshatriyas present here, behold this scene. It is a lesson to all. This is the penalty for insulting a Brahmin. God has willed it to happen.

  This is the price for elevating a Suta to kingship; this is the cost of speaking against our holy smritis. But it is just the beginning. This evil man will pay dearly for his sins. See how he stands naked, like any ordinary slave."