When Yudhisthira Maharaja was lamenting about the consequences of war and taking the responsibility of war upon himself, Vyasadeva shared his wisdom, and with this, Yudhisthira agreed to be coronated.

Vyasadeva said, “When a king is forced to punish his subjects by giving the death penalty for the sake of the subject and the country, then it is not adharma. On the contrary, if someone has evil intentions and performs this activity, then there is no question of repentance, and neither do they feel repentant. All their rituals are useless. You never desired this war, and you are still repenting, even though they were all killed by their own sins.”

On the other hand, Duryodhana or Dushashana, even while dying, maintained the same arrogance that they had when they were living because they were habituated to live a life of evil. They had mastered it as if it were dharma. Duryodhana condemned Sri Krishna, and here Yudhisthira condemned himself for the war. It is obvious who is fit to rule and who is fit to be punished.” Vyasadeva, being impartial to both parties, made it very clear that Duryodhana and the party deserved to be punished.

Sensitivity for oneself was Duryodhana’s legacy, and sensitivity for others was Yudhisthira’s. Reflecting and inquiring from people of wisdom was Yudhisthira’s culture; boasting and lying were Duryodhana’s perversion.

Even the Gandharvas and Charanas failed to recognize this and got caught up with Duryodhana’s skills rather than seeing his overall purpose in life. They foolishly glorified Duryodhana at the cost of making the Pandavas feel guilty.

Yudhisthira was sensitive, spent his time listening to his superiors, and eventually made the right decision to rule reluctantly. Duryodhana never listened to good counsel and made decisions unilaterally.

Choosing our decision is our right, but the consequences and reaction to our decision are in the realm of the time factor.

– Govinda Das (ISKCON Member)