Markandeya Consoles Yudhishthira with Examples

Yudhishthira was grieving. The forest exile had worn him down — the loss of his kingdom, the humiliation of dice, the years of wandering. He sat with the weight of it, and Markandeya, the ancient sage who had lived through ages, saw it clearly. Markandeya had been present at the beginning of things. He had witnessed the cycles of creation and destruction, had outlived whole eras of the world. When he spoke, it was not with the comfort of a stranger but with the authority of someone who had watched countless kings rise and fall. He began with Rama. "Thus did the mighty-armed Rama, whose energy was infinite, confront misfortune and live in the forest in earlier times," Markandeya said. Rama — the prince of Ayodhya — had been exiled for fourteen years, had lost his kingdom and his father, had seen his wife abducted by the rakshasa king Dashagriva (the ten-headed one, also known as Ravana). He had endured all of it. He had not broken. "O tiger among men! Do not grieve." Then Markandeya shifted. He spoke of Indra, the king of the gods, who had killed Vritra, the great serpent-demon who had stolen the waters of the world. Indra had also slain the invincible Namuchi and the rakshasi Dirghajihva — but he had not done it alone. He had fought with the Maruts, the storm gods, at his side. "Everything in this world stays with those who have aides," Markandeya said. He turned the argument directly toward Yudhishthira. "Who cannot be overcome in battle by someone who has Dhananjaya as his brother?" Dhananjaya was Arjuna — the archer who had never been defeated, the man who had won Draupadi at her swayamvara, who had burned the Khandava forest for Agni. "Bhima is terrible in his valour and is foremost among strong ones. Madri's two twin sons are young and great archers." Nakula and Sahadeva — skilled, loyal, untouched by the bitterness that had seeped into the older brothers. "With such aides, why do you grieve?" Markandeya asked. "With such aides, you can vanquish the soldiers of the wielder of the vajra (Indra's thunderbolt), together with the Maruts." He reminded Yudhishthira of what they had already done. Draupadi had been abducted by the evil-souled Saindhava — Jayadratha, king of the Sindhus — who had been intoxicated with his own valour. The Pandavas had pursued him, vanquished him, and brought her back. It had been a difficult task, and they had accomplished it. "Rama got Vaidehi back without any such allies," Markandeya said. "Through his terrible valour, he killed the rakshasa Dashagriva in battle." Rama had crossed the ocean with an army of monkeys and black-faced bears — creatures from a different species, not warriors by birth or training — and had still won. "O king! Use your own intelligence to think about this." The comparison was not subtle. If Rama could win with bears and monkeys, what could Yudhishthira not win with Arjuna and Bhima and the twins? If Indra needed the Maruts, why should Yudhishthira feel shame in needing his brothers? "O best of the Kurus! O bull among the Bharata lineage! Therefore, do not sorrow. O scorcher of enemies! Great-souled ones like you do not sorrow." Yudhishthira heard him. The weight did not vanish, but something shifted. He discarded his weakness of spirit and spoke again.