If we do not curb jealousy, it grows, until it totally corrupts our thoughts. This is what happened with Duryodhana, said Kidambi Narayanan, in a discourse. After he attended the Rajasuya yaga conducted by Yudhishthira, Duryodhana was unable to think of anything else but the grandeur of the yaga, and the honours that Yudhishthira received from kings and scholars. Dhritarashtra tried to reason with him. He told his son that he (Duryodhana) had studied the Vedas, and their angas. He had learnt archery. He had studied the Sastras under Kripacharya. He had been a student of Balarama. Why should he be afraid of anyone or anything? How could another man’s prosperity be responsible for one’s loss of mental peace, Dhritarashtra asked.
But Duryodhana was unconvinced. He repeatedly recalled the yaga and expressed his anguish. Krishna had Himself anointed Yudhishthira with water from a gem-studded conch, he said. The special hall built for the yaga had many unusual features. Where Duryodhana thought there was a pool of water, he found it was just an illusion created by the architect. A little further on, was what seemed like a pool. Thinking this too was an illusion, Duryodhana stepped into it, only to discover that it was really a pool. He fell into it, and the Pandavas and Draupadi laughed at him. Servants then brought dry garments for him to replace the ones which had been drenched.
Even the doors and pillars had been built to give illusory effects. The result was that Duryodhana ended up hitting his head against doors and pillars and had to be guided by the servants, again making people laugh at him. All this was in his mind, he said. How could he forget his humiliation before so many? How could he not be jealous of the Pandavas, he asked.
