|| Aryavarta Chronicles Book Chat with Krishna Udayasankar || - Page 7

Originally posted by: Urmila11

Pardon me, Mam, but I have to say that epic Yudhishthir is a storehouse of goodness! Even your Syodhan Kauravya owes his white character to epic Yudhishthir! The nobility, calmness, decision-making power, all virtues of a good ruler, whichever is seen in your Syodhan, IMHO, all are borrowed from epic Yudhi just to pour them into Syodhan, and those made his character so lovable. To tell the truth, if any living being is created with epic Yudhi's virtues, it must attract all human hearts, which is the glory of epic Yudhi's endless piety!

You elaborated all his flaws so much & completely deleted his good activities, sorry, very sorry, but I find it is injustice to him! His fault was only of one day, but his virtues are endless, they are found almost in every page of epic! IMHO, If we take all his goodness as interpolation & all flaws as authentic then it is unfair. (May I claim that all his flaws actually were interpolations? No, because it will look like I'm trying to defend him by unfair means. That's equally true from the reverse side also, that much only I can say)

If all good activities are hidden from a certain person's life and only his flaws are highlighted with such exaggeration then none will be able to resist hating him.

As for winners writing history, how much the history will be changed? So much that a completely black character becomes completely white? I think it's not possible even by partiality to a certain character. Also, ancient sages were honest, why would they do so much whitewash to Yudhishthir unnecessarily?


Sorry, very sorry, I respect your POV but I will remain firm at my POV. Hope I have freedom to do this. Thank you for replying!

hey! I respect your P.O.V but I don't agree with your first stanza. I don't find Epic Yudhi similar to AC Syodhan. I do want to know what this so called goodness was. Again I mean no disrespect. You have your own opinions and I have mine and we both have a right to have them.

I would like to ask, how are you so sure about akshayay patra story, Nahusha samvad, Yaksha prashna (I mean all Yudhi-centered incidents selectively) being interpolations? in epic, Krishna always praises Yudhi, is that too interpolation? & what about the Yudhi-sanjay convo in Udyoga parva? there Yudhi wants peace in return of 5 villages, just after that, he sends Krishna as peace messenger, ALL these are interpolations? His remorse after war too, may be an interpolation, what say? Let alone his refusal of heaven for a mere dog & then wish to stay at hell to please his dear ones!
My researcher self is interested to know how did you find all these as interpolations? It will increase my knowledge 😊

VH from AC


Is this what death feels like, she asked herself. The cool marble of the floor was soothing against her cheek. It reminded her of the spring winds cool and laced with the heavy smell of jasmine and then she was elsewhere. She did not want to open her eyes and look lest she find herself here and not there. As her senses took over: she could smell the fresh grass it's crisp scent mingling with that of the heavy pollen that dotted its blades. The wind blew soft but incessant now whispering now singing in tune with music of the birds. She waited for her pulsing heartbeat to ebb, listening to it with a vague sense of curiosity. Gradually it began to slow down and fade, Panchali waited for it to stop certain that it would soon fade away. All that was good and happy, dreams of an empire, of glory and prosperity - all of it would shatter into invisible specks and disappear forever


Her consciousness returned as though she had been in a dream falling headlong only to wake up before she was smashed into nothingness. She realized that Dussasana was no longer pulling at her robe and had stepped away from her, letting the garment slip from his hands. It had fallen to cover her bare shoulders and back, the soft silk forming a loving cocoon. Then she became aware of the silence around her


She did not understand what happened, what she could have said or done that might have turned the earth over in a moment. Her eyes met Syyodhan's and she was stunned by what she saw there. He looked like he had just been slapped hard in the face; the force enough to make him lose all hold on the present. And in his eyes she saw how it was that he saw her, as though he was trying to remember where it was he had seen her before. But it was not quite her he was trying to place, but the conviction, the subtle confidence she exuded as if she wielded the very power of the Universe. Through the haze that briefly surrounded them both, she gradually became aware that Vasusena was speaking, instructing Dussasana once more to take her to the pleasure-quarters. But, it did not happen

"Vathu! Enough!" Syyodhan called out, speaking for the first time since Panchali had been dragged into the assembly

Horses kneeling does not lower the chariot???

I did like AC version of saving Arjun from Nagastra though. I cant give details without including spoilers, but for Parth fans that should show how much bandhan there was between them

Originally posted by: Maverick_me

But the whole point is that it was not "his" to stake. Hence the whole idea of revolution against a system. I'd like to stress at this point that we are used, possibly, to the MBh as a story of people.But the AC is not the story of people, its the story of a society in the throes of change. So I humbly submit that I don't think direct comparison/ equation of the two story arcs is possible

Originally posted by: shindes

Horses kneeling does not lower the chariot???

Of course it does. There is no miracle needed here, it is simple physics.

The downward tilt is adequate to alter the target.

AC is a "non-divine' or rather a more rational version of the epic. Akshay Patra which means a utensil that gives endless supply of food. tell me how do you explain that rationally? and Yaksha Prashna involves Yaksha taking the brothers' life and then giving it back again after YUdhi answers his question. Again it cannot be explained rationally. It's not hard to believe that these are interpolations

Originally posted by: KrisUdayasankar

Thanks all for your continued participation and your wonderful responses.

Yes, the Dharma issue is something that I think merits a longer response, and I shall post one more on it in the coming days - request your patience till then.

But I will say this much for now: MB is Dharma's story, because that is the winner's version which remains. In fact, the little that survives of Jaimini's version, ASFAIK, shows the brothers in a different light, post-war. Personally, I think of the AC as the story of those times, a story of revolution. Plus, if it is the story of characters, then it is the story of Govinda and Panchali. I dont claim, ever, to retell the Mahabharata, in fact, I keep saying that it is a reconstruction of the events surrounding the epic. So while I understand and appreciate your positions on Dharma Yudhisthir, I think we may not be so much at cross-purposes as it seems.

To address the point on why Govinda continues to support Dharma - yes, its covered in KK, but I dont think I reveal spoilers if I say that by the end of Kaurava, Govinda had reached a point where he is thinking in terms of the system, not individuals - he knows that the decision to dethrone dharma must be reversed - even though it brings the unfortunate consequence of reinstating Dharma to power. But the former is worse than the latter. Sorry if it seems cryptic, but don't want to spoil KK for those as yet to read it.

Finally - please folks, feel free to call me Krishna. There is no need for formality between those who share a common passion in the story behind the story 😃

Originally posted by: KrisUdayasankar

Its about repenting and correcting oneself ,isn't it?

If Yudi is criticized for staking he should be praised for correcting mistake as well and the wealth got in Ashwamedha yajna was his !!

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