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Curse of the King
CURSE OF THE KING:
9 ity ukto dharmarājas tu mātrā bāṣpākulekṣaṇaḥ
uvāca vākyaṃ dharmātmā śokavyākula cetanaḥ
10 bhavatyā gūḍhamantratvāt pīḍito 'smīty uvāca tām
śaśāpa ca mahātejāḥ sarvalokeṣu ca striyaḥ
na guhyaṃ dhārayiṣyantīty atiduḥkha samanvitaḥ
MB: 12-6 (9&10)
King Yudhishthira, with tearful eyes and heart agitated by grief, said these words, 'In consequence of thyself having concealed thy counsels, this great affliction has overtaken me!' Possessed of great energy, the righteous king, then, in sorrow, cursed all the women of the world, saying, 'Henceforth no woman shall succeed in keeping a secret.' The king, then, recollecting his sons and grandsons and kinsmen and friends, became filled with anxiety and grief. Afflicted with sorrow, the intelligent king, resembling a fire covered with smoke, became overwhelmed with despair."
The above is taken from Shanti Parva of the Great Epic Srimath Mahabharatham.
The war was over. King Yudhishtira followed by his brothers and the grieving Kshatriya ladies who had lost their husbands and kins proceeded slowly to the mother Ganga to perform last rites to the departed souls in the form of Tharpanam (Oblations) as prescribed by scriptures. After completion of the ritual,Yuthishtra looked at his mother .But he saw his mother shedding tears and tried to express some thing more. Accordingly Kunthi told the story in a feeble voice about one more person of the clan deserves to be ritually sent of. He was their elder brother Karna. Rajmatha Kunthi, in a sudden emotion of grief, weepingly addressed her sons in these soft words, "That hero and great archer, that leader of leaders of chariot-divisions, that warrior distinguished by every mark of heroism, who has been slain by Arjuna in battle, that warrior whom, you sons of Pandu, you took forth, Suta’s child born of Radha, that hero who shone in the midst of his forces like the lord Surya himself, who battled with all of you and your followers, who looked resplendent as he commanded the vast force of the Duryodhana, who had no equal on earth for energy, that hero who preferred glory to life, that unretiring warrior firm in truth and never fatigued with exertion, was your eldest brother. Offer oblations of water unto that eldest brother of yours who was born of me by the Sun God . That hero was born with a pair of earrings and clad in armour, and resembled Surya himself in splendour!". The royal sage Yudhishtira, filled with grief, became plunged in meditation. Beholding that hero cheerless and unmanned by sorrow, sighing like a snake and shedding copious tears. Kunti, herself filled with grief and almost deprived of her senses by sorrow, addressed him in these sweet words of grave import and well-suited to the occasion, 'O mighty-armed Yudhishtira, you should not to give way to sorrow thus. O you are of great wisdom, kill this grief of yours, and listen to what I say. I tried in past times to apprise Karna of his brothership with you. The god Surya also, O foremost of all righteous persons, did the same. All that a well-wishing friend, from desire of good, should say to one, was said to Karna by that god in a dream and once more in my presence. Neither by affliction nor by reasons could Surya or myself succeed in pacifying him or inducing him to unite himself with his brothers. Succumbing to the influence of Time, he became resolved upon wreaking his enmity on you. As he was bent upon doing injuries upon you all, I myself gave up the attempt.' But Dharmaraja Yudhishthira, overwhelmed by grief, possessed of great energy, then, in sorrow, cursed all the women of the World thus.
This I would consider this most poignant scene in the great epic
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.
9 ity ukto dharmarājas tu mātrā bāṣpākulekṣaṇaḥ
uvāca vākyaṃ dharmātmā śokavyākula cetanaḥ
10 bhavatyā gūḍhamantratvāt pīḍito 'smīty uvāca tām
śaśāpa ca mahātejāḥ sarvalokeṣu ca striyaḥ
na guhyaṃ dhārayiṣyantīty atiduḥkha samanvitaḥ
MB: 12-6 (9&10)
King Yudhishthira, with tearful eyes and heart agitated by grief, said these words, 'In consequence of thyself having concealed thy counsels, this great affliction has overtaken me!' Possessed of great energy, the righteous king, then, in sorrow, cursed all the women of the world, saying, 'Henceforth no woman shall succeed in keeping a secret.' The king, then, recollecting his sons and grandsons and kinsmen and friends, became filled with anxiety and grief. Afflicted with sorrow, the intelligent king, resembling a fire covered with smoke, became overwhelmed with despair."
The above is taken from Shanti Parva of the Great Epic Srimath Mahabharatham.
The war was over. King Yudhishtira followed by his brothers and the grieving Kshatriya ladies who had lost their husbands and kins proceeded slowly to the mother Ganga to perform last rites to the departed souls in the form of Tharpanam (Oblations) as prescribed by scriptures. After completion of the ritual,Yuthishtra looked at his mother .But he saw his mother shedding tears and tried to express some thing more. Accordingly Kunthi told the story in a feeble voice about one more person of the clan deserves to be ritually sent of. He was their elder brother Karna. Rajmatha Kunthi, in a sudden emotion of grief, weepingly addressed her sons in these soft words, "That hero and great archer, that leader of leaders of chariot-divisions, that warrior distinguished by every mark of heroism, who has been slain by Arjuna in battle, that warrior whom, you sons of Pandu, you took forth, Suta’s child born of Radha, that hero who shone in the midst of his forces like the lord Surya himself, who battled with all of you and your followers, who looked resplendent as he commanded the vast force of the Duryodhana, who had no equal on earth for energy, that hero who preferred glory to life, that unretiring warrior firm in truth and never fatigued with exertion, was your eldest brother. Offer oblations of water unto that eldest brother of yours who was born of me by the Sun God . That hero was born with a pair of earrings and clad in armour, and resembled Surya himself in splendour!". The royal sage Yudhishtira, filled with grief, became plunged in meditation. Beholding that hero cheerless and unmanned by sorrow, sighing like a snake and shedding copious tears. Kunti, herself filled with grief and almost deprived of her senses by sorrow, addressed him in these sweet words of grave import and well-suited to the occasion, 'O mighty-armed Yudhishtira, you should not to give way to sorrow thus. O you are of great wisdom, kill this grief of yours, and listen to what I say. I tried in past times to apprise Karna of his brothership with you. The god Surya also, O foremost of all righteous persons, did the same. All that a well-wishing friend, from desire of good, should say to one, was said to Karna by that god in a dream and once more in my presence. Neither by affliction nor by reasons could Surya or myself succeed in pacifying him or inducing him to unite himself with his brothers. Succumbing to the influence of Time, he became resolved upon wreaking his enmity on you. As he was bent upon doing injuries upon you all, I myself gave up the attempt.' But Dharmaraja Yudhishthira, overwhelmed by grief, possessed of great energy, then, in sorrow, cursed all the women of the World thus.
This I would consider this most poignant scene in the great epic
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.