Duryodhana Plots to Exile the Pandavas to Varanavata
Dhritarashtra fears that exiling the virtuous and popular Yudhishthira will turn the citizens and the Pandavas' allies against them. Duryodhana argues they can buy the people's loyalty, control the kingdom's advisers, and use a gentle pretext to send the Pandavas away, securing his own throne. Though he knows it is evil, Dhritarashtra agrees, setting the trap in motion.
Dhritarashtra listened to his son’s plan and thought for a long time. When he spoke, his words were heavy with fear. “Pandu was always devoted to dharma,” he said. “He was respectful to his relatives, especially to me. He never cared for pleasures. He was rigid in his vows and gave me everything, even this kingdom. His son Yudhishthira is just like him. He has all the qualities, he is famous, he is extremely respected by the citizens. How can we forcibly exile him from the kingdom of his father and grandfather? He has allies. Pandu always took care of his advisers and soldiers, and their sons and grandsons. He took good care of the citizens. For Yudhishthira’s sake, why would they not rise up and kill us and all our relatives?”
Duryodhana had an answer ready. “Father, I have considered that danger. I have weighed it against the evil that will befall us if we do nothing. We must placate the people. Offer them wealth and honor. They will certainly side with us then. The kingdom’s advisers and the treasury are already under our control. Therefore, use some gentle means. Remove the Pandavas to the city of Varanavata. O king, when I am firmly installed as king, Kunti and her sons can always return.”
A strange relief washed over Dhritarashtra. The thought his son had voiced was one he had secretly nurtured but could not bear to speak. “O Duryodhana,” he confessed, “the same thought has arisen in my mind too. But I could not reveal it because it was evil.” His fear shifted from the citizens to the elders of the court. “Bhishma, Drona, Vidura (kshatta), or Kripa (Goutama) will never approve the banishment of Kunti’s sons. In their eyes, we and the Pandavas are equals. Those wise and virtuous men will not tolerate any differentiation. Why should we not deserve death from the Kurus, from those great-souled ones, even from the entire world?”
Duryodhana had accounted for the elders, too. His analysis was cold and political. “Bhishma will always be neutral. Drona’s son, Ashvatthama, is on my side. There is no doubt Drona will be on the side his son is on. Kripa, Sharadvat’s son, will be wherever Drona and Ashvatthama are; he will never forsake his brother-in-law and his nephew. As for Vidura, though he secretly sides with others, his survival is linked to us. Even if he opposes us for the Pandavas’ sake, he will be able to do no harm.”
Having dismantled every objection, Duryodhana made his final, urgent plea. “Without any fear, banish Pandu’s sons and their mother to Varanavata. Do it today, and evil will not result. Through this act, take away the terrible spike that is in my heart and the fire that burns me with grief and robs me of my sleep.”
The king heard the desperation in his son’s voice — a spike of envy, a fire of ambition that consumed all else. He looked past the evil of the plan, past the virtue of his nephews, past the judgment of the wise. He saw only his son’s anguish. Dhritarashtra agreed.