MORE ON UPAPANDAVAS

My previous blog on Upapandavas ignited the interest of many and so naturally raised quite a few questions. Honestly I did not have all the answers so I had to do some research and was able to come up a few.

Our friends were right is asking that when Lord Krishna had the power to bring back to life Parikshit, son of Abhimanyu, who was killed in his mother’s womb by a Brahmastra hurled by Ashwatthama, why did he not use the same power and save the Upapandavas? There were reasons for both – saving Parikshit and not saving the Upapandavas including Abhimanyu.

Why was Parihshit saved?

He was saved because he was destined to succeed Yudhishtira to the throne of Hastinapur.  Parikshit was one of the greatest kings of India who helped rebuild the country after the Kurukshetra war along with his son Janmejaya. It is said that until he was alive, Kalyuga did not commence and Hastinapur was the most peaceful and righteous kingdom. But the choice of Parikshit as the successor of Yudhishtir is no less baffling. After all he was not the eldest son of Pandavas, he was their grandson. So why was one generation deprived of the opportunity to rule? Yudhistra had a son from his first wife Devika named Yaudheya who survived the war. Then there was Vrishketu son of Karna. Why were they ignored?

Originally, Yudhishthira intended to make Vrishketu the ruler of Hastinapura. However he declined this offer as he believed that the throne by right should have belonged to Abhimanyu had he been alive (since he was the most capable) and hence the throne should go to his son. Vrishaketu was then made the ruler of Anga and Indraprasth.

Why didn't Shree Krishna save the five sons of Draupadi?

This is an interesting story. In Satya Yug there ruled an honest and noble king named Harishchandra. His subjects enjoyed prosperity and peace. He had a queen named Shaivya (also called Taramati) and a son named Rohitashva. Once, while on a hunting expedition, he heard the cries of a woman asking for help. Armed with a bow and arrow, he went in the direction of the sound. The sound was an illusion created by Vighnaraja, the lord of the obstacles. Vighnaraja was trying to disturb the Tapasya (meditation) of the sage Vishvamitra. When he saw Harishchandra, he entered the king's body and started abusing Vishwamitra. This disturbed Vishwamitra's Tapasya and destroyed all the knowledge that the sage had acquired during this Tapasya. When Harishchandra came to his senses, he realized that the sage was extremely angry with him, and apologized. He promised to fulfill any of the sage's desires to get rid of his guilt. Vishwamitra demanded Dakshina (donation) for the Rajasuya Yagya The king asked him what he wanted in payment. In response, Vishwamitra said "Give me all that you have except yourself, your wife and your child." Harishchandra agreed to the demand. He let go of all his possessions – even his clothes. As he readied to leave his palace with his family, Vishwamitra demanded dakshina. Harishchandra said that he did not have any possession left, but promised to arrange for the dakshina within a month.

Harishchandra started living in penury with his wife and his family. His loyal subjects followed him. When Vishwamitra saw the king with his subjects, he started cursing Harishchandra for taking along his subjects (who were a part of the kingdom donated to the sage). The king then decided to leave the kingdom with his family. To make them go away sooner, Vishwamitra started beating the queen with a stick. When the five guardians of the directions saw this, they condemned Vishwamitra. The sage cursed them to take birth as human beings. These guardian deities were born as the sons of the Pandavas and the queen as Draupadi. So as the the Upapandavas were cursed celestial beings, they could not stay on Earth for a long time. Hence they were not saved by Shree Krishna.

Why didn’t Lord Krishna save Abhimanyu?

Abhimanyu was the incarnation of Varchasa the son of Chandra. During the Mahabharat period, most Gods / Devtas were asked to either incarnate themselves or have their sons incarnate. It wasn't practically possible for the moon to leave its abode and hence, his son had to incarnate. However, Chandra Dev was really attached to his son and was reluctant to let him go. After much persuasion from the other Devas, he allowed Varchasa to incarnate but kept three pre-conditions - he would only live for 16 years, his bravery on his last day on Earth would give him eternal glory and after Varchasa, his son would succeed to the throne of Hastinapura. So Lord Krishna could not bring Abhimanyu back to life.