Yudhishthira's Wisdom

- The Mahabharata, (Shanta R. Rao's Adaptation)

Literal Comprehension:

The story Yudhishthira's Wisdom has been taken from the Mahabharata which is written by Vyasa. This story is based on Hindu mythology. While hunting for deer in a forest the five Pandava brothers grow thirsty. Exhausted Yudhishthira the eldest brother sends one brother to search for water.

Then the brother fails to return, Yudhishthira sends to his other brother one at a time but they don't return back. Then Yudhishthira goes to search for his brothers he finds a beautiful pool, nearby the pool finds his four brothers lying on the ground, either dead or unconscious.

All of the brothers except Yudhishthira ignored Yaksha's questions. Despite his overwhelming thirst, Yudhishthira obeys the Yaksha and he correctly answers the queries of Yaksha.

From the answer, Yaksha becomes happy and satisfied and agrees to revive one of the brothers. For that, he asked Yudhishthira which of the brother to revive.

Yudhishthira bases his choice entirely on moral consideration, not on his own selfish needs and predilections. The Yaksha reveals himself as Yama (the god of justice and righteousness), tells Yudhishthira how pleased he is with his uprightness, restores to him his four brothers and promises him protection from any kind of hardships, and gives him some useful advice on where to go next and what to do further.

Interpretation:

The story may be trying to tell us something about the importance of patience, obedience to God, wisdom, and right conduct. Without these characteristics, the Pandavas brothers would have been lost.

The story can also be interpreted to mean that righteousness not only makes you feel good, not only contributes to brighter prospects after your death but pays right here on this earth.

The philosophical portion is of course of great interest, with a reflection on such concepts as desire and courage.

Critical Thinking:

The story is charming and having moral values about philosophical portions. Although it teaches us the importance of patience, in our life there are some unrealistic events and ideas too.

During the reading of this story, we may have some queries about it. Is it possible that tolerance and right conduct are always rewarded? Can we believe the sunshine because of the power of God? Is it possible to revive the dead person?

Assimilation:

After reading this story I realized that patience is a great virtue so we should not lose our patience even in a crisis. This led me to an event in my village. One day we were playing cricket against the senior boys.

We were needed 18 runs in the last over to win the match. I was captain and told myself as well as my other partner. We have to play with confidence until the last ball.

As a result, we hit 3 sixes and able to win the match. In this way, patience with confidence plays a vital role in our everyday life.

-- 𓐴𓐴𓐴 --