Justice in the Hands of Torture - Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha

noyance all that was his was won by his opponents leaving nochance of any rescue at all.To this summary position, it was Draupadi who breathed a surprisingand vital note of change and challenge. After listening to herviews, and finding that Bheeshma found equal weight on bothsides of the dispute, Karna said that the superiority of Duryodhanaand his lordship over Yudhishthira should be demonstrated byasking the Pandava brothers to give off their dress to their Lord. Atthis, Yudhishthira and his brothers, without any doubt or delay,took off their upper garment and kept it on the floor. What doesthis tell us? Here the issue was between Yudhishthira and his peopleon the one hand, their slavery, and Duryodhana and his lordshipon the other. Duryodhana demanded his lordship andYudhishthira was ready to concede to it. So where is the dispute atall then? Bheeshma, on his part, did not and could not say that eitherthe lordship or the slavery was out of place. He found argumentsand propriety on both sides only so far as Draupadi's plightand stand were concerned. One should remember that this was stillan undecided question.Once the husbands accepted their slavery and took off their dress,Draupadi, as their wife, was expected to follow suit. And that waswhat normally one would have expected. But Draupadi had herown inspiration and course of action provoked by her great humiliation.Bold as she was she would not accept defeat even in thehands of a devil. Seeing her husbands in total servitude, with noteven a ray of escape, this lady, the symbol of complex womanhood,got high1y inspired and totally moved. Even with the worst of sacrificesand sufferings, she was determined to redeem her lords.This is highly commendable. More than a pious wish or attitude, itwas really a great decision, a strong-willed move, which could42