| Story
#5 Duryodhana Sanjaya saw the sun glimmer off metal as he walked through the forest. Thinking it could be a chariot, weapon, or armor, he went to inspect. Sanjaya hid behind trees, boulders, and bushes as he inched his way closer to the flash of light. Suddenly, the leaves nearby shook, and the sound of a man coughing made Sanjaya lay low on the ground, fearful of his life. “I hear you. Come out.” It was the sound of Duryodhana’s voice. Sanjaya found him in a clearing, his body bruised and bleeding. Three gouges in his chest from where arrows had been pulled from his flesh leaked blood that dripped down his stomach and gathered on the cloth wrapped around his waist. Tears blurred the fury and intensity his eyes once held. “I am Sanjaya. The pandavas come this way to find you.” “You are my last friend. There is a lake nearby that I would like you to take me to.” Sanjaya agreed and took him to the lake. There he used his power of illusion to draw a large bubble of air to the bottom of the lake. He swam down into the bubble and covered the top of the water with lilies and colorful birds. Soon, Kripa, Kritavarman, and Aswatthaman came nearby on their chariots. “Where is Duryodhana?” Aswatthaman asked Sanjaya. He pointed to the lake. “Duryodhana,” Aswatthaman said, “the army is exhausted, but we live to fight again. Come lead us.” “I am wounded and tired. Tomorrow I will return.” The three warriors all shared shocked glances. “We are wounded, but so are the Pandavas. Now is our chance.” “You will fight, but I will stay here until tomorrow.” Hearing the voice of Pandavas approaching, the three warriors and Sanjaya ran further into the woods, leaving Duryodhana hidden in his conjured illusion. Buck, William. Mahabharata. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978. Commentary - I chose to retell this story because it shows how maya can be used, not only agressively, but in a passive way also. The image of Duryodhana wounded in a forest is sad, even if he is the main antagonist of the book. Throughout the Mahabharata, Duryodhana seems nearly invincible. He is never severely hurt in battle, he controls a large kingdom, and he has many of the greatest warriors fighting for him. To see the aftermath of the battle, with Duryodhana bleeding, his army nearly gone, is sad. The fact that he resorts to using maya to stay alive does to major things. First, it shows he is certainly not above using tricks to benefit himself. This follows through with his characterization throughout the book. Second, it makes the end of the war even sadder because we see how broken Duryodhana is. Not only is he injured, he cannot survive without hiding himself at the bottom of a lake. I think Buck does an excellent job in his version of the story in characterizing Duryodhana further by having him not come out to fight with the few people left of his army. Even while he refuses to come out while the Pandavas are also weak from battle, he still tells Aswatthaman that he expects him to fight. The nature of Duryodhana's self-interest is very evident here, and it gives us an excellent glimpse into his personality. Even while he can be seen, at times, as courageous, this courage seems to only be possessed when there is something important for him to gain. If there is not, the courage seems to slip. His use of maya and refusal to fight illustrates this point by having Duryodhana lose his courage when he believes it is not in his self-interest to have courage. |
