The Dhrtarastra Dilemma

Dhṛtarāṣṭra was born in a kṣatriya family, in the lineage of Mahārāja Śāntanu. He was born as the eldest son of King Vicitravīrya, but being blind from birth, he missed the opportunity to be the authorized king. Despite the fact that he received the full education of the kingly order in the matters of politics, fighting, diplomacy as well as all the Vedic scriptures, his life was overshadowed by self-pity and remorse. Fate had it that his younger brother Pandu became the king, but later on decided to retire to the forest and thus Dhṛtarāṣṭra became a caretaker king of the throne of Hastinapura. This brought immense delight to his heart.

Fast forward to the time when the sons of Pandu and the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra stood against each other on the battlefield at the holy place of Kurukṣetra. A fratricidal war was just about to break out, despite all the efforts of many, including Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, to stop the war. King Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks his secretary Sañjaya a pivotal question:

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca

dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre

samavetā yuyutsavaḥ

māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva

kim akurvata sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: O Sañjaya, after my sons and the sons of Pāṇḍu assembled in the place of pilgrimage at Kurukṣetra, desiring to fight, what did they do?

This first verse of the Bhagavad-gītā is the perfect bridge between the Mahabharata and the instructions which Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is about to deliver to his frightened friend Arjuna. The Bhagavad-gītā, or the Song of God, is a conversation between these two friends at the onset of the war between family members. Dhṛtarāṣṭra heard the same Bhagavad-gītā at the same time from his secretary Sañjaya, so what makes the difference between Arjuna and Dhṛtarāṣṭra, who both heard the same words of advice and counsel from Kṛṣṇa, but who both had completely different understanding of it and reaction to it?

This is where this verse comes out as a very significant exponent to reveal who Dhṛtarāṣṭra actually is. We can see from this verse the state of consciousness of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, his fears and his really strong attachments for his own kinsmen. From this very first verse, one can feel his anxiety. Anxiety for what? Will his sons win the war, or will the sons of his brother win the war? Will his sons or the sons of Pandu get influenced by the energy of the holy place and desist to fight? Will the throne continue to be mine? Pandavas were his nephews, who lost their father when they were very young, so Dhṛtarāṣṭra was a father figure to them and they treated him so. Yet, he did not treat them with that same affection. Contrary so. Knowing a little bit of the story of the Mahabharata, one can class Dhṛtarāṣṭra into the category of the main villains of this war. Were he not so strongly attached to the throne and to his sons, and to the fact how other people see him, there would be no war. He was physically blind from birth, but in fact he was blinded by excessive familial and material attachments and misconceptions, which made him spiritually blind too.

Dhṛtarāṣṭra had a very unhealthy attachment to his own sons. He was not strict with them when they were growing up, letting them indulge in many nefarious acts. Thus he allowed hatred and jealousy to prevail in the royal family. King Dhṛtarāṣṭra also had an unhealthy attachment to the throne. The throne was not rightfully his in the first place. He knew that the sons of his own brother were supposed to rule the kingdom. The dilemmas in his heart were churning deep. On one hand the acts of dharma, which were expected of him as a king, directed him to act in a certain way. On the other hand, his attachments to his son and the throne made him paralyzed to act in a dharmic way. He didn't want to give up the throne, nor did he want to see his own son disappointed. He himself was losing his inward battle.

One can indeed feel distasteful looking at the character of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, pity him, look down on him and feel oneself better than him. But are we really better than King Dhṛtarāṣṭra? Where do we stand comparing ourselves to his level? Aren't we similarly attached, or perhaps even more so? He was born in the royal lineage of kings, and had been trained in all knowledge and virtues. What was our training in life compared to his?

King Dhṛtarāṣṭra was torn between what was right and his desires. He had the ability to feel what he was choosing was wrong, but he had no ability to stop himself in pursuing his desires and attachments. He was weak, his desires made him weak. He didn't take shelter in the all auspicious instructions of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa the way Arjuna did. Contrary so, he took shelter in his attachments which only drew him deeper into the abyss of misery. He was weak to fight his attachments, as he did not seek any support, nor did he accept the help that was offered to him. He was in the whirlpool of a downward spiral.

Life is most of the time like this for many people. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa clearly explains this in the second chapter, verses 62-63 : “While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises. From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool.”

The rest of the narration of Bhagavad-gītā Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is guiding Arjuna on the path of how not to fall victim to one’s mind and attachments and if it happens how to get out of this entanglement. He gives clear solutions to our problems. And it is only up to us to catch it and follow His guidance.

But if we are like King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, not heading to sound advice, our future is also clear. Luckily for him, he had a very caring and spiritually mature brother, Vidura, who came to save him at the end of his life and force him to leave home and engage in meditation and ultimately leave his body in the mode of goodness.

What made Dhṛtarāṣṭra so attached? Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa explains this in the third chapter, verse 37 : "It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material mode of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring sinful enemy of this world." This is the hidden enemy of every single struggling soul in this world - acting for our own selfish desires, which breed in our hearts uncontrollably. They have taken over every single strategic point of our consciousness and aiming to devour us on all sides. And what is the difference between King Dhṛtarāṣṭra and his son Duryodhana? Dhṛtarāṣṭra was still able to be saved. He still had conscience. He was conditioned by his desires, temptations and attachments, but he could discriminate between what is good and what is wrong, he was weak, but curable. His son Duryodhana on the other hand was beyond salvation, he was a pure, what we call now, narcissist, always thinking only for himself, for his own benefit and not caring how many people he hurt along the way, or how many people have to die because of him. He was an obstinate child who always needed to get what he wanted, otherwise the whole world would shake. King Dhṛtarāṣṭra was his enabler, which furthered the problem. That's why Duryodhana was not in a dilemma of what is right and what is wrong. He didn't feel bad taking all these people to war. He didn't care. He wanted to get what he desired and nothing else mattered.

Of course Dhṛtarāṣṭra was not the only one who indulged in his son and fell prey to his attachments. There are other great personalities mentioned in the Srimad Bhagavatam, who had to undergo a similar fate. Let's just take for example Bharat Maharaja, after whom this whole planet is named. Bharat Maharaja was a super powerful and righteous king. He was loved by his family and citizens. For the pretext to further his spiritual progress, he left home and retired to the forest to meditate on the Supreme Lord. But what happened there? He became attached to a deer. A deer, an innocent animal, who captured Maharaja’s heart. He no longer could focus on meditation. He became so absorbed in looking after his deer that he neglected his own sadhana, and had no other association than the deer. His mind was always absorbed in how the deer is doing. He became spiritually disconnected. God was no longer his center of attention, the deer was the center. His attachment to the deer led him to take his next birth as a deer. Śrīla Prabhupāda clearly explained throughout his preaching efforts, that the real cause of one's difficulties in the hard struggle for life may be found in one's forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Lord.

These stories clearly demonstrate the dangers of our daily practices. What the mind and senses focus on, that's what we become. All this is described throughout the pages of the Bhagavad-gītā. Śrīla Prabhupāda often uses the analogy of an iron rod. If an iron rod is put into fire, it becomes like fire. The power of association is very potent - it can heal us and it can burn us. Another nice analogy is this: Let's say you have one million euro. If you multiply this million by one, it remains a million. But if you multiply this million with minus 1, it all becomes minus one million, so you lose everything. No matter how powerful that million was before, just because it has been associated with a minus 1, all of it was ultimately lost. Similarly, if we succumb to our lower natures and associate with some undesirable qualities we lose everything good that we had. Because the power of association is very strong.

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa declares very boldly in his talk to Arjuna in chapter 7, verse 14 : “This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.” He gives us clear solutions for getting out of the entanglement of the material modes, He wants to help us, He is there waiting for us. We just need to turn to Him, listen to Him and take the courage to say "No" to the temptations, be ready to take a strong stance and change. And this is our only way to navigate our path from the tabernacle of this material world.

In conclusion, each of us who are conditioned sentient beings in this material world often face the Dhṛtarāṣṭra dilemma within our hearts. We fight with our lower natures and often succumb to them. It's clear that if we don't cut our attachments, we will have to pay for it. However, by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa's supreme grace, He is patiently waiting for us to turn back to Him and call out for help in sincere submission and surrender. Success is guaranteed for a rigorous practitioner. So do we choose the path of Dhṛtarāṣṭra or Arjuna?