Jealousy
Traditional
stories and folklore are known to inculcate basic morals and values in
children. You have probably heard of many stories in which those who are
jealous or selfish are punished. Let’s see how Duryodhan in the Mahabharat
suffered because of jealousy.
Duryodhan was
the crown prince and the most powerful man in his country. He had so much power
that he could acquire anything he desired. And yet he was never happy. On the
other hand, Karna was a great warrior and close friend and confidante of
Duryodhan. He has unwavering loyalty towards Duryodhan. Karna was thus no
threat to Duryodhan. Karna was also known for his noble quality of offering
charity. He would oblige anyone who asked for alms and as a result, the whole
country revered Karna and thought of him as the greatest almsgiver. This made
Duryodhan jealous of Karna.
As this jealousy
grew in mind, Duryodhan kept thinking of ways in which he could gain the
recognition from people. He decided to imitate Karna and started to give
charity. As generosity was not in his inherent nature, he did not have the
nobility to give away without expectation. But since he had to give away
something to win people’s praise, he decided to part with firewood, as it was
available in plentiful in his kingdom. He made a declaration that he was
donating wood and anyone who desired they could come to get it freely. His
proclamation had mixed reactions – where some people came and collected the
wood, others were perplexed by the sudden outburst of generosity from
Duryodhan, who had not even given his cousins their due.
Lord Krishna was
amused at this news and laughed at him saying,”The price does not have
anything else to give his people, other than wood!” But Krishna also wanted to
teach Duryodhan a lesson. He used his divine powers to create rain that lasted
for many days and soaked the wood in the country, making it unusable for fire.
Then disguised as an old brahmin, Krishna approached Duryodhan. He told him
that he was to perform the marriage of his son on the next day and while all
the arrangements were made, the rain had destroyed the firewood he badly needed
for the function.
Duryodhan
explained to him that because of rain, all the wood he had was also drenched.
He then asked the Brahmin to postpone the wedding. The Brahmin reacted angrily
saying that he thought that Duryodhan was a great almsgiver and would always
help someone in need. He said that all the declarations about his charity were
false and he should withdraw his promises so that he could approach other
donors. Duryodhan had no choice but to acquiesce and the Brahmin left.
The Brahmin then
approached Karna with the same request. Given the dire situation, Karna thought
hard and then broke down all the wooden shelves and structures in his yard
where he kept his animals and gave away that dry wood. The Brahmin was grateful
and on his way back, he stopped at Duryodhan’s to tell him how Karna had been
helpful. Duryodhan was humiliated; and his jealousy brought onto him even
greater agony.
Thus,
selfishness, greed and jealousy have no bounds. They bring a man down, no
matter how much wealth or resources he has. One must overcome this evil through
purity of thought and wisdom. In this era of technology and competition, the
forces of selfishness, greed and jealousy are even greater. Every one of us
should be cognizant of these forces and rise above them through self-effort,
thinking and harbouring universal benevolence.
