The Dicing and The Sequel to the Dicing | Easiest Explanation
In this blog post, I will discuss the summary of The Dicing and The Sequel to the Dicing.
We have extracted these two Upa Parvas (subchapters) from Volume 2, Book 2: The Book of Assembly (Sabha Parva) of The Mahabharata. The Dicing” and “The Sequel to the Dicing” set the background for the Kurukshetra war in the Mahabharata.
The Mahabharata Short Summary
Before discussing The Dicing and The Sequel to the Dicing, it is necessary to know the entire story, in brief, for better comprehension.
Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa’s The Mahabharata is about the battle between two groups of cousin brothers over succession. The story begins with Santanu, a descendant of the Bharata dynasty. He has an intimate relationship with the goddess Ganga. From their union, Ganga gives birth to a single offspring whose name is Devavrata. Santanu also begets two more sons, Chitrangada and Vichitravirya, from his wife, Satyavati. In short, Santanu has three sons.
It leads to the rise of the question of who would be the king. Lawfully, it is Devavrata who should be the king. However, Satyavati and her father came forward to take the throne in their favor. They bid Devavrata should renounce his right to the throne. Moreover, he should remain unmarried so that he bears no offspring. Therefore, Devavrata takes an oath to be unmarried for his entire life and later. So, we know him by the name Bhisma.
Though Satyavati manages all this to make her one of two sons the king, her effort goes in vain. Her elder son Chitrangada dies unmarried, and Vichitravirya ties the knot with two sisters, Ambika and Ambalika. Like his brother, he also dies without begetting an heir after. Therefore, Satyavati again plans to arrange a marriage between Bhisma and the widows. Bhisma denies the proposal. As a result, she summons her pre-marital son Vyasa, to whom she gives birth after meeting the rishi Parashara, to marry the widows.
Vyasa fathers two sons: Dhritarashtra and Pandu. Blind Dhritarashtra is the son of the elder sister Ambika, and weak Pandu is the son of the younger sister Ambalika. Moreover, he also fathers a bastard son, Vidura. Dhritarashtra does not become the king because of his physical disability of blindness, and Pandu becomes the king. He marries Kunti and Madari, but cannot consummate his marriages because of a condition that he would die if he does that.
Pandu renounces his throne and goes to the forest with his wives. Kunti exercises her boon, and with the help of divinity, she gives birth to three sons, Yudhisthira, Bheem, and Arjuna. Madari also gives two sons: Sahadeva and Nakula.
On the other hand, Dhritarashtra becomes the king. From his marriage with Gandhari, they get a hundred sons. Duryodhana becomes the eldest of the Kauravas. Dhritarashtra should have passed the throne to Yudhisthira, but he does not do that for his selfish interest.
Time passes by, and Pandu and Madari die. After their death, Kunti comes to Dhritarashtra with her sons to ask for their rights. The Pandavas stand as an obstacle for Duryodhana. Therefore, he wants to eliminate them by hook or by crook. He first attempts to kill them and also plots to burn them alive. However, none of them works. Vidura helps them and the Pandavas save themselves.
Later, they attend the svayamvara by the Panchala king Drupada in the guise of young Brahmins. Arjuna marries Draupadi, as he is the winner in the svayamvara.
The tension between two groups of cousins leads to an unfair settlement. That is the division of Hastinapura between the two groups. While the Kauravas hold the center of the kingdom, Hastinapura, and they offer an uncultivated Khandava forest to the Pandavas.
With the help of Krishna, Arjuna clears the forest and establishes a new city, Indraprastha. Because of the suggestion of Krishna, Yudhisthira performs a rajasuya that declares Indraprastha an independent kingdom.
Duryodhana becomes restless after witnessing the wealth and wonderful hall at Indraprastha. He devises a plot with his maternal uncle, Sakuni, to defeat Yudhisthira in a game of dice. They invite Yudhisthira, and he loses the game.
As a result, he loses everything, including himself, Draupadi, and his brothers. Duryodhana brings Draupadi to the hall of Hastinapura and insults her. She asks everyone in the assembly, can a man who has lost himself has the right to stake his wife? None gives any concrete answer to her question. Later, Dhritarashtra gives her boons through which she frees her husbands. The king sends them respectfully.
However, the game does not end there. At the suggestion of Duryodhana, Dhritarashtra again calls the Pandavas to play the game. Yudhisthira plays again and loses. As a result, they send the Pandavas to the forest for thirteen years of exile.
After thirteen years of exile, when the Pandavas demand their kingdom Indraprastha, the Kauravas deny their right. As a result, the war in Kurukshetra begins.
The Dicing Summary
Dhritarashtra offers Indraprastha to the Pandavas.
Maya builds a majestic assembly hall in the uncultivated land with his 8000 kinkara rakshasas in 14 days. Indraprastha turns into a beautiful kingdom.
The defeat of Jarasandha, who defeated 84 kings, makes Yudhisthira the king of 85 Kings.
Krishna suggests Yudhisthira conduct rajasuya to declare complete independence from Hastinapura and celebrate the king’s glory.
They invite Duryodhana to the ceremony with other guests. He is jealous to see the magnificent hall. The palace is a palace of illusions.
As a result, Duryodhana mistakes a glass floor for a pool, and he falls into a pool. Bhima, Arjuna, Draupadi, and other women laugh at him.
It humiliates Duryodhana, and he returns home with a restless mind. He vows to take their property. Shakuni incites him to conduct a game of dice.
With the permission of Dhritarashtra, they conduct a game of dice in their palace and invite the Pandavas. In the game, Shakuni plays with Yudhisthira.
Yudhisthira loses his property one after another. He stakes his brothers, himself, and at last, Draupadi.
Duryodhana commands his Steward to bring Draupadi to the sabha. Draupadi resists and orders the messenger to ask a tricky question in the sabha.
None can give an answer to her question. Duryodhana calls her again to pose the question herself. She enters the sabha. Instead of respect, Duhsana humiliates her by trying to take off her skirt.
The question leads to a debate between them. At last, Dhritrastra solves it by giving two boons to Draupadi. She asks for the freedom of her husbands as her boon.
Dhritarashtra grants her and frees the Pandavas and they leave Hastinapura.
The Sequel to the Dicing Summary
After the departure of the Pandavas, Duryodhana asks his father to call them again.
Dhritarashtra agrees, despite the protests of the Kauravas elders. He calls the Pandavas to play dice for a second time.
Shakuni sets a condition that the losers will live in the forest for twelve years and spend one year anonymously.
Yudhisthira loses again. Duryodhana, Dushasana, Karna, and Shakuni are happy about their defeat. Duryodhana becomes ruler of both Hastinapura and Indraprastha.
The Pandavas are ready to go into the forest. Draupadi accompanies her husbands.
After their departure, Narada appears in the sabha and predicts the oncoming war.
Video Summary
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Significance of Draupadi’s Question
Context of the Question
Having lost in the dicing match, the Pandavas become the slaves of the Kauravas. Duryodhana commands the usher to bring Draupadi as a slave to the hall.
Having listened to Duryodhana’s order, she angrily rebukes the usher. The usher informs her that Yudhisthira bet her and loses her.
What is the Question?
Then Draupadi raises one of the most intricate questions of the epic. She orders the usher to ask her question in the sabha and return to her. Her question is,
“Whom did you lose first, yourself or me?” (47).
Does a husband own his wife?
Draupadi shows not only intelligence but also courage in raising a question of authority.
She probably does it so that everyone hears it and contemplates it. She knows that her elders and wise ones are present in the sabha.
The steward addresses her question to all on her behalf. She knows two probabilities would happen.
First, they will consider it a question of law since he asks it in the hall. We show its impact when Vidura suggests all address it as the question of law.
Second, since it is a question of law, it compels them to respond to it. Being a woman, she raises a question of dominance in a male-dominated sabha.
The idea of property
The idea of a woman being a property of a man is historically and culturally rooted.
Such ideology was common in ancient societies. For instance,
Yudhisthira thinks Draupadi is his property. Therefore, he stakes his wife as property when he loses everything.
Karna also shares a similar opinion. He says,
“There are three who own no property: a slave, a student, and a woman.”
According to him, a woman depends on her husband.
We find a similar view of women in Manusmriti. The Laws of Manu states women as dependent beings.
A woman is a property of a man. Men treated women as possessions. Draupadi’s question shows the mindset of patriarchy about women.
Contrarily, Vikarna advocates that Draupadi is not won for three reasons. First, Draupadi is the common wife of the Pandavas. Second, Yudhisthira stakes her after losing himself in the game. Third, Shakuni provokes Yudhisthira to bet her.
However, his reasons are not strong. Because just because Shakuni incited him, he has free will. Yudhisthira himself stakes her.
Having heard Vikarna’s arguments, Karna is furious and puts forwards his reasons. First, Draupadi is a part of Yudhisthira’s property. Second, though Shakuni might have suggested staking her, all the Pandavas have allowed it.
Draupadi challenges the view that women should have equal rights to men. A woman should be able to do what they want without being judged or oppressed by society.
Conclusion
The question of authority is still relevant. In many parts of the world, patriarchy treats women as second-class citizens and does not offer them the same rights as men.
Lawmakers have passed many laws to ensure equal rights for women. However, there are still some laws in place which give men more power than women in certain situations.
Similar to feminists, Draupadi also shares the idea that a wife is not a husband’s property. She is an individual and others should treat her with respect.
Significance of the game of dice in Mahabharata
Why did it start?
Having built the city of Indraprastha and an assembly hall with the help of Maya, Pandavas invite numerous kings for the rajasuya.
Duryodhana also visits the palace of Illusion and is awestruck by the wonder of the hall. He feels jealous.
In the illusory palace, there he assumes a crystal slab to be a pond. So, while walking, he raises his clothes to avoid water. Bhima laughs at him when he sees Duryodhana.
There, he again sees another pond and does not focus on it. Duryodhana falls into the pond. Arjuna, Krishna, Draupadi, and other women burst out at the prince. He feels humiliated again.
Duryodhana feels more offended when the servants give him clothes at the command of Yudhisthira. He also feels humiliated in front of Nakula and Sahadeva when he hits a crystal slab.
All these pieces of experiences induce him to take vengeance against the Pandavas. Shakuni advises him to conduct a game of dice between them and he also assures him he will win.
Therefore, Duryodhana arranges the dicing game to humiliate the Pandavas and snatch their wealth.
Why did Yudhisthira take part in the dicing?
It is puzzling to think why Yudhisthira participated in the game if it is not a part of the virtue of a king. Vikarna mentions in the sabha that dicing is one of the four vices (hunting, drinking, dicing, and fornicating) of a king (54). Then, why did Yudhisthira go there?
There are three considerable reasons. One, though it is contradictory, dicing is a part of rajasuya.
Second, as Arjuna says, it is kshatriya dharma to accept if one challenges something. Since Shakuni challenges him to play, Yudhisthira has no option except to play.
Third, it is King Dhritarashtra’s order to attend the family dicing game. Yudhisthira tells Vidura while he goes to invite the king of Dharma,
“I will not refuse, sage, to go to the game.
A son will always respect the father.” (29)
Its Importance in the Action of the Epic
The dicing section in Upa Parva of The Mahabharata sets the action of the epic.
There has been a constant enmity between the Kauravas and the Pandavas. Duryodhana plots to wipe out the existence of the Pandavas from the beginning. However, he fails.
After the allotment of Indraprastha to the Pandavas, they build a new city out of the forest. They soon arrange a rajasuya to declare complete independence from Hastinapura.
This act and the humiliation of Duryodhana at the palace propel him to conduct a dicing game. The segment of action one after another leads to the defining moment of the epic.
In the sabha, the Kauravas not only humiliate the sons of Kunti and Madri but also humiliate their wife. Towards the end of “The Sequel to the Dicing”, Bhima, Arjuna, and Sahadeva vow to kill Duryodhana, Karna, and Shakuni respectively.
In the section, we come to know that there will be a great war between them after thirteen years. Narada, Drona, and Sanjaya verify it through their comments.
Had Yudhisthira not participated, the war would not have started. It is a crucial part of the grand narrative. The dicing becomes conducive for the two groups of cousins.
The game becomes a battleground; Shakuni looks at it as a battle. He says,
As Sakuni says, The fortune over which you have been grieving after you saw it at Pandu’s son Yudhishthira’s, I shall take it from him, let the enemy be challenged! I shall take no risk, nor fight a battle in front of armies; I shall throw the dice and, the whole of the body and wise, defeat the fools! Be sure, the dice are my bows and arrows, the heart of dice my string, the dicing rug, my chariot! (24)
A Lila
On a grand scale, it is a part of the divine scheme of the Kurukshetra war. We can roughly translate a game as a lila or sport. The dicing becomes a sport for the divine and the humans become the puppets.
During their stay in the forest, Draupadi comments on the limitation of humans. She says that we are puppets, and the Creator pulls our strings. This comment resembles Gloucester’s comment. He says, “As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods?’ They kill us for their sport.” in Shakespeare’s King Lear.
The divine needs to conduct the game and propel them for the war. The war is not only about overtaking a kingdom. Rather, it is a war of justice over injustice, dharma over adharma.
In this way, we can interpret the war on numerous levels.
Reference-
Buitenen, J A B van, translator. The Mahabharata. By Vyasa, Worldview Publications, 2016.