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Loyalty to Dharma

CHENNAI : It is disheartening at times to see the irony of virtuous people wedded to Dharma suffering while those who violate laws prospering. It is necessary to look up to role models during such life situations without compromising on the standards one has set for oneself. It is essential also to remember that human life is a mixed blessing, as one has to experience both joys and sorrows according to one's Karma. Yudhisthira's life is a case in point.

The vicissitudes that the Pandavas faced in their lives were many and they were able to overcome them by Lord Krishna's singular grace and Yudhishthira's uncompromising allegiance to Dharma, said Sengalipuram Sri B. Damodara Dikshitar in his discourse. During their long years of exile in the forest there were several instances when this eldest of the Pandavas blamed himself for the suffering that all of them had to undergo, particularly Draupadi. During such moments of self-reproach it was the sages whom they met who comforted him by relating the lives of other kings who had endured greater hardships.

There were also encounters, which tested his fidelity to Dharma. One such was when his father Yamadharma came in the guise of a Yaksha to see for himself Yudhisthira's commitment to righteousness. The other Pandavas had fallen dead one by one when they disregarded the Yaksha's instruction to answer his questions before quenching their thirst in the lake he was guarding. Though beside himself with grief to see all his valiant brothers lying dead without any trace of fight, Yudhishthira when accosted by the Yaksha patiently answered all the questions he put to him. This interlude, which is known as `Yaksha prasna', is a digest on Dharma and considered as a classic in this genre.

Among their exchanges this is a pointer to man's existential dilemma: "What is the most wonderful thing in the world?" The Pandava elder replied, "Day after day there enter into the `temple of death' countless lives. Looking at this spectacle, the rest of them, those who remain, believe themselves to be permanent, immortal. Can anything be more wonderful than this?" The Yaksha brought back to life all his brothers when Yudhishthira refused to swerve from Dharma even in matter of life and death.

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