Devdutta Pattanaik
Summary
Or, Answer the following questions (a-e)
It is the brief extraction of Mahabharata presents some features of Kali Yuga. Yudhishtira’s Ashwamedha
yagnawas the greatest yagna because it was grand and the Rishis got food, clothing, cows etc who were involved in the yagna. While the yagna was going on, two farmers/ land owners came with a dispute that the farmer, who had purchased land from the other farmer, who had got a pot of gold buried there and he wanted to return it to the old owner. The old owner of the land would refuse to take it because of charity and generosity. They had high moral values the newly owner shouldn’t claim what was already there. Hearing it, Yudhishtira was highly impressed from the case and he asked Lord Krishna to make a decision. Krishna told the farmers to go leaving the pot there and come back after three months. When they went, Yudhishtira asked Krishna about the mystery of three months, Lord Krishna said that both farmers will come claiming and fighting forcefully for the same pot of gold and it will be easier to give
them decision. Lord Krishna clarified the mystery that in three months, the farmers will be greedy, raged, and mean. Because the Kali yuga will start after three months as soon as their yagna ends. (a) After that, new age will start, and only a quarter of the values will remain. People will live on pleasure, give up duties, men and women will converse roles and become like beasts, give up justice, worship power, forget sacrifice, ridicule love. The wise will argue with law, victims will be victimizers (c, d). Three month later, when the Aswamedha yagna was getting over and the Rishis were leaving, a mongoose with half golden body came and robbed the charred remains of the ritual and left in sadness. He explained why he is sad and said that last time he rolled on the remains of the rituals and he was half gold but this time his remaining half body did not change into gold. Everyone thought that yagna was greater than Yudhishtira’s. The mongoose continued saying that three months before a starved family happily gave their meagre food to the new guests and the mongoose robbed his body on the leaves on which the food was offered and the skin turned gold, but Yudhishthira’s yagna failed it give this effect. This made the Rishis to conclude that the Yudhishthira’s sacrifice is weaker because it was less
charity, more about royal power (b).The Pandava’s guru Dhaumya said that all dharmas rested in Pandavas before the war; a each quarter dharma with all the characters- Yudhishthire, Arjun, Bhim, Nakula, Sahadeva. Draupati and Lord Krishna harnessed them together. (e) But with the dawn of kali yuga, Arjun had conceit, Bhim Glutton, Nakula had pleasure and Sahadeva had arrogance and Yudhishthire could not hold even a quarter of dharma. The abandonment of these things would cause Pralaya on this earth and the civilization would be over.
