Yudhishthira’s situation shows that even a man of virtues can make errors and mistakes. Great individuals can commit great errors. Yudhishthira made a significant mistake when he put his own wife in the game of dice. Human beings are not properties; how could he do that? Because Yudhishthira is a man of Sattwic nature who exercises control over his vital nature by his mind and its sense of right and wrong. Such a person can be, in moments when the vital is feeling anguished can lose the mental control. He can be overtaken by desire as Sri Krishna explains in the Gita how even the mind of the sage can be overtaken by passion and be clouded during despair and commit serious follies. Yudhishthira was indeed clouded during the moment when he put Draupadi on the dice hoping desperately to win back everything.
The story illustrates three things. First, the mind of a sattwic man is not impervious to error. Secondly there is a difference between the Sattwic man, the righteous moral man and the spiritual. The righteous is bound by his righteousness whereas the spiritual man is truly free. Thirdly, when a righteous man who believes that he cannot go wrong because he is acting according to the shastra and the norms may end up committing serious error. He is bound by the Shastra rather than by the Dharma and by God.
Sri Krishna did not stop him because he is the Divine. Here is a beautiful explanation by Sri Aurobindo about the way the Divine acts.
‘Where the action pursues its natural course or the doers of the work have to suffer at the hands of its enemies and undergo the ordeals which prepare them for mastery, the Avatar is unseen or appears only for occasional comfort and aid, but at every crisis his hand is felt, yet in such a way that all imagine themselves to be the protagonists and even Arjuna, his nearest friend and chief instrument, does not perceive that he is an instrument and has to confess at last that all the while he did not really know his divine Friend. B.G.11.41 He has received counsel from his wisdom, help from his power, has loved and been loved, has even adored without understanding his divine nature; but he has been guided like all others through his own egoism and the counsel, help and direction have been given in the language and received by the thoughts of the Ignorance. Until the moment when all has been pushed to the terrible issue of the struggle on the field of Kurukshetra and the Avatar stands at last, still not as fighter, but as the charioteer in the battle-car which carries the destiny of the fight, he has not revealed Himself even to those whom he has chosen.
Thus the figure of Krishna becomes, as it were, the symbol of the divine dealings with humanity. Through our egoism and ignorance we are moved, thinking that we are the doers of the work, vaunting of ourselves as the real causes of the result, and that which moves us we see only occasionally as some vague or even some human and earthly fountain of knowledge, aspiration, force, some Principle or Light or Power which we acknowledge and adore without knowing what it is until the occasion arises that forces us to stand arrested before the Veil. And the action in which this divine figure moves is the whole wide action of man in life, not merely the inner life, but all this obscure course of the world which we can judge only by the twilight of the human reason as it opens up dimly before our uncertain advance the little span in front. ‘
That’s one part of it. Another aspect is that despite his mistakes, his brothers and wife stood by him. But what happened to all the people present there? Suppose one is in a group and someone acts unfairly; ideally, we, as part of Dharma, would intervene and say, “No, you shouldn’t do that.” Instead, Shakuni kept encouraging Yudhishthira, saying, “Why don’t you stake your brothers, your wife…” and everyone—Bhishma, Drona, Kripacharya, and Dhritarashtra—remained silent. This was outright adharma committed by everyone, including the five Pandava brothers.
So, it’s not just Yudhishthira who is guilty and responsible for this act; it is everyone involved. What makes it worse is that not only did they become slaves and face banishment to the forest, but Draupadi was also dragged into the court. There was no justification for this; she was disrobed, and everyone remained quiet. We know the story unfolds with Krishna intervening and Draupadi’s disrobing being halted by a miraculous event.
At that moment, the balance of justice isn’t about one person being good and another bad—certainly not. Duryodhana had his good side, and the Pandavas, like any other human beings, had their own defects. However, the balance of justice completely tilts in favor of the Pandavas the moment Draupadi is dragged and disrobed. There is no way this should have happened to her; she was an empress, a queen, and it is inexcusable to treat her that way. If this could happen to a queen, what could be the fate of an ordinary woman? Duryodhana even says, “She is a slave; she is married to five men; she is like a prostitute—what does it matter?” But even a slave or a prostitute deserves respect and dignity.
Yudhishthira made a mistake, but what Duryodhana did was truly evil and wicked. This event marked a significant turning point. Following the game of dice, the Pandavas agreed to their punishment. They could have fought at that moment, but they chose not to; instead, they went into the forest. This decision reflects their dignity as they walked into the forest, acknowledging that they had lost the game. It was an unfair game, and all of Drupada’s armies would have supported them, yet they chose the path of exile.
Throughout this saga, the Pandavas represent a way of life that upholds qualities like truth, justice, Dharma, and integrity as ultimate virtues. In this life, there cannot be different standards for kings and commoners. Mistakes are part of being human; everyone makes mistakes, even those who are not flawless. However, what matters is where one’s center lies. The center for Duryodhana is his own ego and political ambition whereas for Yudhishthira, despitehis defects, the centre is Dharma, however ill understood and Sri Krishna, the upholder of Dharma in that age. It is this that decides the final outcome through all the trials and travails.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
