The ‘foreign hand’

 

The ‘foreign hand’

The ‘foreign hand' bogey was not new to us. One heard of the foreign hand during the last few years of Mrs Indira Gandhi's Prime Ministership in the 1980s. In several public speeches and political meetings, the powerful first lady raised the specter of the dark foreign forces trying to destabilize the country. Rajiv Gandhi, who rode the sympathy wave generated by the assassination of his mother and Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, in 1984, also frequently talked of the ‘invisible' foreign hand, trying to impede the development of India. Without private TV channels, the messages carried by the print media and the state-run Doordarshan and radio on these dark and invisible forces were quite powerful.

Perhaps it was during the time of the Gupta kings, that several editors corrected the typos in the Puranic epics. Anyone can write and add anything like history. Those who have gone before can correct what was written by self-correctors.
 
In the epic Ramayana, we hear the story of Kaikeyi saving King Dasaratha during the war against Asuras. When the chariot's axle was loosened and about to collapse, she put her right hand in it, thus saving the King. As an expression of his joy and love, the King granted her two boons, which she chose to use at an appropriate time. However, in the end, it did not help her. Is not the Kaikeyi’s act shrewd in mystery? Dasaratha in his dream saw the beautiful and most loved Kaikeyi taking the form of Manathra, the hunch-backed woman extending her “Hand” to his throat choking and feeling unconscious.

Sri Rama has been away for fourteen years, on a detour of the land and Lanka, and returned to be crowned with all pomp and popularity. Soon Sita was sent to the forests again. Was it not the same beloved Sita absolved of all impurities by the Fire test in Lanka in the presence of all? Again, on flimsy grounds and with rumors of washermen she was banished to the forests and fetch for herself!  Did the foreign hand play there too?

The involvement of outsiders in the Mahabharata story can be traced back to Gandhari and her brother Sakuni. The Mahabharata narrative has been attributed to the participation of external parties, particularly Gandhari and her brother Sakuni. Their primary objective was to inflict punishment on Bhishma, while also seeking to gain control over Haryana and Punjab, to annex them with Gandhara, and rule over an expansive kingdom. Notably, Gandhari, who had blinded herself, was not only responsible for rendering King Dritarashtra physically blind but also mentally incapacitated. Furthermore, Sakuni's strategy to engage Dharmaputra in a game of dice was intended to bring about the downfall of the Kurus.

Have you ever considered the fact that Gandhari, is a woman with a heart full of emotions and feelings? She is a character that shouldn't be judged by her actions but rather by the circumstances that led her to make those choices. Let's take a moment to reflect on her story and understand the depth of her character and interests too. 

After hearing the advice of Sage Vyasa, Vidura, his minister, and Bharata, Dristarashtra asked his wife and queen Gandhari if the war was necessary. She burst out, untying the knot in her eyes, and said, "Are you human and a king? Don't you know that half the kingdom is claimed by Pandavas? Do you want the other half to go as well, leaving my brother Sakuni empty-handed?"

Silence was the answer from the King and he lamented to himself: The Astro charts suggested the name Suyodhana to his heir and son but the unknown hands thrust on him to be known as Duryodana. And he was sure of the inevitable war and the ruin of his kingdom. Why didn't God make him deaf but only blind?

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( P.s:  Only fictional imagination and does not contribute to the idea in any way )