Mahabharat - Episode 08

When Hastinapur got a strong king like Pandu...
... the very map of lndia underwent a change
The borders of Hastinapur came alive...
and began to recede further away
Those kings who sought to...
defy Pandu...
discovered...
Pandu's true strength
The powerful kingdoms of Kashi, Anga, Bengal...
Kalinga, Magadh...
all fell before the might of Pandu's army
One day, as Pandu's army was returning victorious...
they saw another army waiting for them
Who is this courageous leader...
who refuses to acknowledge our might?
This is the army of Madra my king
Prepare to attack
Forward, charioteer
What kind of warrior...
is he and what kind of a battle is this?
O king of Madra
lf you seek friendship you are welcome
lf not, stay there
Friendship is between equals
Then why come here with an army
This army is yours and so are...
the flag under which it fights
lt is not that we do not know how to fight
We do!
And though we may not be the first in battle...
we are not the last
But it does not hurt our honour to bow before you
Will you accept my friendship?
lf not...
we are prepared to fight unto death
We believe in friendship O King of Madra
There is nothing more beautiful than friendship
What friend is he...
who would dethrone a friend?
You will still be a king
But you will have to accept my gift
Accepted
Without knowing it?
A friend's gift will be pleasant
A friend can never betray
This is a gift from a friend
This charioteer?
This charioteer will guide your life's chariot
My life's chariot?
This is my sister Madri
Please accept her
You have placed me in a predicament
A predicament?
l do not understand
Do not be angry
Only a blind man...
will be oblivious to Madri's charm
Her beauty will light up my heart and...
bring colour to my life
But only Kunti can accept her
lf she has no objection...
then the gates of Hastinapur and my heart...
are open for her
Please take me with you to Queen Kunti
Let her decide
My brother has already given me away to you
Let me test my Fate
O king of Madra
Allow us to take your leave
Okay
Victory to King Pandu
King Pandu has reached Hastinapur
The citizens have stopped the King's chariot
They are all dancing with joy and showering flowers
The king's chariot heads this procession
Follower by the conquered crowns...
gifted animals...
heaps of rare jewels...
and then our army
-With the king is... -Who?
-How can l say it? -ls the king okay?
O yes
lf the king is okay...
then everything else is okay
The Princess of Madra is with the king
The Princess of Madra?
This is Madri, Princess of Madra
Welcome little sister
My respects
Congratulations
lt is all due to your blessings.
Queen Kunti wishes to see you
Does she need permission
Come Kunti
Sit
This is Madri mother
Who's she?
Princess of Madra...
your new daughter-in-law
Oh l see!
My blessings
Have you met Ambalika?
l am going there Queen Mother
l am your mother-in-law now
Gandhari- the maids were saying...
that Madri is very beautiful
Like the full moon
Young Pandu is like an alchemist
Whatever he touches...
turns to gold
Everyone here is an alchemist
How else could Dhritrashtra have got someone like you?
You are the eldest
You must look after both Kunti and Madri
l would like to know whether...
Pandu will spend his entire life on the battle field?
God forbid
Hastinapur's borders have reached a point where
they can go no further
He must now begin a family
Now that he has two wives...
he will have to begin family
Look here they are
Madri is here for your blessings
Gandhari- the maids were saying...
Madri is really beautiful
The King's efforts have made Hastinapur...
a rare jewel in lndia's crown
Everyone in lndia is talking about Hastinapur
Our king has returned victorious
Do we not have a duty towards him?
Grandshire Bhishma...
Brother Dhritrashtra...
and friends
Can we not give the king a gift?
What do you want to say Vidur?
What can we give their king except love, respect and loyalty?
Leisure, Grandshire
The happiness of the citizens...
is the king's leisure
Vidur is right my king
The king is not so unusual a person...
that he needs no leisure
The greater the victory...
the greater is the feeling of tiredness
So, in times of peace, the citizens have the right...
to ask the king and his queen to take some rest
Dhritrashtra is here to look after your affairs
How's that possible?
Brother Dhritrashtra will also accompany me
What will l do there?
A blind man...
and his blindfolded wife
For us, this eternal darkness is leisure enough
Allow me to stay here my king because...
l am Hastinapur's shadow
l have no separate existence
Do not address me as 'king' my brother
What else can he call you my king?
You are younger than Dhritrashtra
but this throne
is greater than...
both of us
Victory to the king
We have received news that...
the Panchals have declared independence
The king should not look into small matters
People will say...
why should the king bother about the Panchals
This is Hastinapur's insult
This is a job for Bhishma
l will attend to it
Your wish is an order Grandsire
But l have already left my seat
Now l have to go
Positions prepare to attack
Retreat
The other day we were interrupted...
and so we could not talk of the king's holiday
lsn't the time right now Vidur?
So, what do you suggest?
Whatever you suggest
The arrangements have been made.
Than l suggest that...
the king should leave immediately
As you wish Grandsire
But before l leave l wish
to make brother Dhritrashtra the king
till my return
He should be shown the same respect as the king
Come brother
Please accept the crown
Here give it to me
Come my lord
Look at this crown!
Look
This is your bedroom my lord
Don't bring your state affairs here
How does the crown look on my head?
lt must be looking good
But remember it is King Pandu's crown
l don't know!
What do you mean?
As the eldest Kuru son
the crown was actually mine
but my eyes betrayed me
Take off the crown my lord
Or your head will begin to ache
No Gandhari, not yet!
You are born in a royal house
Do not mistake the moon's reflection
for the moon
My lord, you are so strong
that you can crack a rock in minutes
Why then these dreams?
Break them my lord
Allow me to dream
as long as l can
Pandu's return will break this dream automatically
What a beautiful scene!
Not as beautiful as you are
Let us ask the king
Keep me out of your discussions.
This will not do my lord
You have to mediate
Okay, but answer my question first
ls one flower fairer that the other?
Come sister
He is an Emperor now
He will never admit defeat
Let's go horse riding
Let's go horse riding
What if l win?
lmpossible
What do you wager?
-What will you wager? -Anything
lf l win l'll take sons -that, too, five
Agreed
Two and a half sons each
No. Kunti is elder
So, she will give you three and l will give you two
What if you lose?
lf l win l'll take sons lf l lose l'll give sons
Heard that sister? Heads l win, tails you lose
lnspite of that l'll win
Let's go horse riding
No. You go
l'll arrange for lunch
Let's go
l win, where's my son?
Why should l give you one?
Kunti is elder. Ask her
Sage Kindom
Welcome to my dwelling O king
Rest here a while
As you wish Grandshire
Here my king
These fruits are sweet and tasty
This is for Kunti
My blessings
Come on sister
Let's play Dice with the king
You play
lf l play alone l'll definitely lose
Your grandfather was of the Naga clan
The Nagas are expert players
The king has won great battles
Let him taste defeat once
His defeat will be our defeat Madri
-Please -Okay
But l will not play, l'll only watch
Why will you only watch?
l don't know...
but ever since Pritha because Kunti
my mind is not in that game
l have started hating it
Every time l see the dice
l feel something bad is going to happen...
You are good at recognizing sounds
Have you also heard the sound of your future?
My future is always with me
Every passing day...
brings Pandu's return closer
That is worrying me, too
The moment Pandu returns
the crown will no longer be yours
The crown belongs to Pandu
Grandsire was about to crown me
when Vidur began to talk of Ethics
and my blindness became the reason for my defeat
l have compromised with my Fate
That was a mistake
One compromise for friends
and since when has Fate been our friend
There are two ways of drawing the line of Fate;
with the point of the arrow or...
with one's intelligence
But you have accepted defeat even before playing the game
What could l do Shakuni?
Wait for the right moment
No one knows what will happen
and when
Life is its own definition
lt is water as well as thirst
Life is a river which
flows between the banks of Truth and Untruth
Both exist in the River of Life
The truthful person is one...
Who extracts Truth from the River
and does not let Untruth even touch him...
Like a Swan differentiating between milk and water
Does Life only mean exacting Truth
by means of knowledge, of experience and struggle?
What can we do with that Truth?
Throw it back into the River?
One need not spell it out
to the disciples of the Great Bhisma
The lndian tradition is inherent on you my king.
You need not be told that once...
you have distilled Truth...
you need not throw it away
When you have realized Truth...
the knowledgeable persons knows that
he is in debt
He has to fulfill three debts before he dies
God's Debt
Sages debt
Ancestral Debt
A person should fulfill these debts before death
ln case he does not...
life will be insulted
What if he is not fated to do so?
Deeds should be stronger than Fate my king
lf it were not so, a Man's Fate would never change
lf Fate has to be changed
to clear these three debts...
then he should try to do it
for these are no ordinary debts
The Sage's Debt is that of Lord Shiva
The God's Debt of Lord Vishnu
The Ancestral Debt is that of Lord Brahma
How can a man betray these three Gods?
How does one fulfill these debts?
The first debt of God's Debt and it can be
fulfilled through charity
The second debt is Sages' Debt
lt is fulfilled by the Acquisition of Knowledge
Ancestral Debt is fulfilled
through procrastination
What are the duties of the wife O Sage?
Woman means Awakening, lnspiration
and Enthusiasm
Woman is Earth my queen
She has the seeds of life in her
She is the soul of married life
Married life is defined thus;
The Gods live where
Woman is worshipped
one who disrespects a woman...
is not a Man
lt is a Man's duty to protect a woman
lt is an obligation
Okay my king, let's go
May you have sons!
What's it brother?
You seem to be
very happy today?
The news is such my lord
What is it?
Your younger brother...
What happened to dear Pandu?
Nothing as yet...
but soon it will
He had gone for recreation...
and is now busy with Sages
He has started the long journey...
from the palace to the hermitage
The hermitage has an important place
Many princes have retired to the hermitage
The company of Sages is a sign of a good person
There is no one here a part from me...
listening to you
l sincerely mean what l am saying
Even King Shantu's...
elder brother had renounced the world.
lf it were not so...
... King Shantanu would never have been king
The crown is where it should be
l, too, hope that Pandu stays in the forest...
and you rule here
No. No.
This crown is Pandu's
The crown is not Pandu's
it is only Vidur's perverted Ethics...
which placed it on Pandu's head
This blind Dhritrashtra is the creation...
of God not Vidur...
That is mere consolation
l'll never forgive that slave-born Vidur...
for his conspiring ways
lf you do not have the strength to fight
you should compromise
lsn't it enough that...
Pandu's first order as king...
was that l, too, should be called king
No king before him has done this.
And no king has given up his right...
before this
lt is an insult
No brother Shakuni
Do not poison my mind against Pandu
May God grant him a long life
Had l not been blind, l would have renounced the world
Had you not been blind you would not be a Sage...
You would have been the king
Welcome
This is my sister Queen Kunti
Please be seated
Sage Kindam has gone to see the king
He will be back soon
Madri has found a short-cut but the sage will take
the straight road
l am fond of finding short cuts
Man is a strange creature
He does not think of
what would happen if both...
the Sun and Moon shortened their paths
lt is not right to take short-cuts
The straight road is the best
She is still young. She will understand when she is older
Why were you looking at the flower?
l was thinking my queen
The Earth's womb has fertility...
just as a flower has fragrance
A woman has many forms...
but her basic purpose is growth
lt is she who fulfills a man's Ancestral Debt
Children are a woman's adornments
A woman's life is fulfilled on motherhood
The Earth is the mother of Life itself
When l think of this l become sad...
that l have not yet fulfilled my debt to Earth
May you have sons!
May your sons light up Hastinapur's future...
and receive the blessings of History
May the Gods and Sages...
give you this blessing
May your children
live long and bear children