[Advaita-l] Subtle Aspects of Truthfulness - The Multifaceted Jivanmukta

[Divya Meedin]

An excerpt from The Multifaceted Jivanmukta, page 479 onwards

Subtle Aspects of Truthfulness

After the death of Droṇa, Karṇa became the commander-in-chief of the
Kaurava forces. In an encounter with Karṇa, Yudhiṣṭhira, Nakula and
Sahadeva were worsted and injured. Humiliated and in much pain, Yudhiṣṭhira
withdrew from the battlefield to his tent to take some rest. The battle
raged on. After a while, being anxious about Yudhiṣṭhira, Arjuna wanted to
see him. So, leaving the Pāṇḍava forces under
the control of Bhīma, he asked Kṛṣṇa to take him to Yudhiṣṭhira’s tent.
When Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna came to pay their respects, Yudhiṣṭhira wrongly
assumed that Karṇa had been killed by Arjuna. He sought to know the
details. Arjuna explained to him that till that point of time, he had not
been successful in putting an end to Karṇa’s life. He averred that he would
definitely do so.

On hearing Arjuna’s words, Yudhiṣṭhira felt greatly dissatisfied and gave
way to wrath. He severely censured Arjuna saying, “Unable to defeat Karṇa,
and moved by fear, you have left Bhīma in command of the forces and come
away here. Had you told me long ago that you would not fight Karṇa, I would
have taken my decisions in a different manner. You promised that you would
kill Karṇa but have not fulfilled your promise. Your chariot has been
fashioned by Viśvakarma and on it, there is a flag with the symbol of
Hanumān. You have the Gāṇḍīva bow with you. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself is your
charioteer. Still, out of fear of Karṇa, you have run away and come here.
Give away your Gāṇḍīva to Kṛṣṇa. Let Him do the needful by killing Karṇa.
Alternatively, give your Gāṇḍīva to somebody else. You are unfit to have
it. Shame on you! Shame on your prowess! Shame on your Gāṇḍīva!”

Yudhiṣṭhira’s rebuff stung Arjuna enough to make him lose his temper. He
started to pull out his sword. Seeing this, Kṛṣṇa asked him, “What is it
that you are trying to do? There are no foes here. Why do you want to pull
out your sword?” Arjuna said, “I am going to kill Yudhiṣṭhira. I had
secretly vowed that if anyone were to tell me, ‘Give away your Gāṇḍīva’, I
would certainly slay him. Now, in fulfilment of my promise, I am going to
murder Yudhiṣṭhira, for he has insulted me by asking me to give away the
Gāṇḍīva
to another and regarded me as unfit for wielding it.”

Kṛṣṇa said, “Shame on you, Arjuna! Nobody who knows the true nature of
dharmawould behave the way you intend to. Upholding the truth is most
exalted. However, the nature of truth, as upheld by noble persons, is not
readily comprehensible. There are occasions when a person may tell a lie
without incurring sin. For instance, one can utter a falsehood to save
one’s life or to protect oneself from complete ruin or for the well-being
of a holy one. By doing so, one does not become guilty of unrighteousness.
There are also occasions when, by bluntly speaking the truth, one incurs
not merit but sin.”

Kṛṣṇa then narrated the story of a man named Kauśika who was not very
learned but who wanted to be truthful. He was well-known as a speaker of
the truth. One day, when he was seated, certain people ran past him. A
short while later, he saw a gang of dacoits. They approached him and asked
him about the whereabouts of the persons they were following. Deeming
utterance of truth to be priceless, Kauśika indicated where the people had
gone. The dacoits resumed their pursuit and finally massacred them.
Kṛṣṇa then explained that by virtue of his factual speech, Kauśika not only
did not acquire merit, he incurred sin. The Lord said that in the
circumstances, Kauśika should have remained silent. Alternatively, if his
silence itself would have been a hint to the effect that the persons had
run in that direction, he could have misled the dacoits.

Kṛṣṇa clarified to Arjuna that Yudhiṣṭhira was in great pain and had been
humiliated by Karṇa. Karṇa had attacked Yudhiṣṭhira even after the latter
had stopped fighting. Thus, Yudhiṣṭhira was in a sad plight when he
censured Arjuna. Further, by his sharp words, he sought to exhort Arjuna to
bring about the death of Karṇa, for he knew that Arjuna had the requisite
capacity. The Lord explained that since Yudhiṣṭhira was a noble person who
deserved to be venerated by Arjuna and since his words could be
satisfactorily justified, it would be thoroughly improper for Arjuna to
slay him; such an act would be a gross violation of ahimsā, which is
paramount.

Arjuna requested Kṛṣṇa to unequivocally specify what he should do, for, on
the one hand, it was wrong for him to assassinate Yudhiṣṭhira and, on the
other, he had to fulfil his vow. The Lord said, “When extreme opprobrium is
inflicted on a great, highly-respected person, he dies, as it were. The
Atharva-veda teaches that speaking disrespectfully to an august leader is
tantamount to slaying him without extinguishing his life. Taking recourse
to this scriptural pronouncement, fulfil your vow by insulting
Yudhiṣṭhira.
Thereafter, fall at his feet and seek his forgiveness. Being pious and
understanding, he will excuse you.”

As instructed by Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna began to rudely reproach Yudhiṣṭhira. “You
have escaped to this place that is far removed from the battlefield and are
fully dependent for your safety on the prowess of your well-wishers. What a
contrast there is between you and the heroic and powerful Bhīma!
Unlike him, you are quite unfit to find fault with me. You are addicted to
gambling. It is  because of you that we lost our kingdom and had to face
severe hardships,” said Arjuna.

As he finished his tirade, he was overcome with remorse. He again drew out
his sword. Seemingly surprised, Kṛṣṇa queried, “What is the problem
now?” Arjuna said that he intended to get rid of his body with which he had
behaved in an unbecoming manner towards his elder brother who was truly
worthy of being worshipped by him.

The Lord stopped him saying, “Think of how terrible it would have been if
you had slain Yudhiṣṭhira. It was only to avoid that unrighteous act that
you spoke rudely to him. Why, then, are you drowned in grief? You want to
commit suicide but that is something that wise men never do. If you kill
yourself, the sin you shall incur will be more than the sin that would have
accrued to you had you assassinated your brother; you will experience
overwhelming agony in hell. Self-glorification is on par with suicide. So,
eulogize yourself and thereby commit the equivalent of the self-killing
you
intended to indulge in.”

Arjuna then began to boast, “With the sole exception of Lord Śiva, the
wielder of the bow Pināka, there is none who is a match for me in archery.
I can single-handedly destroy the entire world with its inhabitants. I was
the one who earlier defeated the kings ruling in the various directions and
made them subservient to you, O Yudhiṣṭhira. I have now destroyed half the
Kaurava forces.” Having been saved by the Lord from the sins of breaking
his vow, slaying Yudhiṣṭhira and committing suicide, Arjuna paid obeisance
to his brother and begged to be forgiven.

Having propitiated Yudhiṣṭhira, Arjuna readied himself to return to
battlefield. “My life is for doing what is pleasing to you,” he asserted.
In the meantime, Yudhiṣṭhira, who had earlier listened silently to Arjuna’s
stinging rebuke, became dejected and felt that he was despicable. He said,
“I am a vile sinner  who has caused all of you so much trouble. I deserve
to be killed. Bhīma is fit to rule and should become the monarch, not I who
am impotent. I shall depart for the forest.”

Yudhiṣṭhira got up from his cot to leave but Kṛṣṇa fell at his feet and
pleaded, “Arjuna could not falsify his vow to kill anyone who asked him to
give
the Gāṇḍīva to another. Hence, in keeping with my advice, he spoke
disrespectfully to you and thereby fulfilled his promise. We seek refuge
in
you. Prostrating before you, I beseech you to kindly forgive our
transgressions. You desired the death of Karṇa. Today, he shall be slain
and
the earth shall drink his blood.”

Thoroughly appeased, Yudhiṣṭhira lifted Kṛṣṇa up and said to Him, “Arjuna
and I were deluded and would have drowned in the ocean of calamity and
sorrow. You saved us. Your wisdom is the boat that enabled us to safely
reach the shore.”