Glanir bhavati bharata
abhystthanam adharmasya
Tadatmanam srijamya aham
Paritranaya sadhunang
Vinashaya chadushkritam
Dharma sansthapanarthaya
Sambhawami yuge yuge
Translated into english, it means, “Whenever there is decay of righteousness, O Indians (or descendents of India) and a predominant rise of irreligion, I (God) will come to protect the good and for the destruction of evil-doers. For the sake of firmly establishing righteousness, I (God) am born in every age.” In today’s world, this ancient shloka cannot be more true than ever. In the “broadway” of Article 370 and the subsequent bifurcation of the “disputed” state of Jammu and Kashmir into 2 Union Territories, the characters bear an uncanny resemblance to the original cast of the epic saga of Mahabharat (Story of India).
For the sake of brevity, I am restricting this tale to the Indian independence timeframe and beyond. Jawaharlal Nehru automatically draws comparison to the blind Dhritarashtra, who was willing to do harm to the great kingdom of Hastinapur only to ensure that he and his heirs sit on the throne. On the way, he made a bunch of foolhardy and sneaky decisions like trusting the Chinese (foolhardy) or taking Kashmir to the UN (sneaky). Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel can be equated to the great Pitamah Bhishma. Despite having unbelievable power in assimilating the 565 princely states into the kingdom of India, he was duty bound to support Nehru even in the face of miscalculations by Nehru to take Kashmir to UN, similar to Bhishma’s decision to side with the Kauravas in the great war. Krishna, who was the chief strategist of the Mahabharata on the side of the Pandavas can be equated with the ever shrewd Amit Shah, who lays the chess pawns at the right time and strikes when the time is right. The chief warrior Arjun can be equated with Subramanium Swamy, who has been incessant in his attacks against the Gandhi family and anything which is amoral. His word is his honor and he would do whatever it takes to make sure the honor is intact.
The head Pandava Yudhishthir has of course got to be Narendra Modi. The popularity of both draw the comparisons. However, both have their flaws and have their followers and their detractors, always encouraging animated debates on both sides of the aisle. The fourth Pandava Nakul was known to be a handsome person, amicable in behaviour. Arun Jethley with his eloquent usage of English can be equated to him, if we translate the physical beauty to eloquence. In the war of Mahabharat, the deputy strategist was Sahadev whenever Krishna was absent. Sahadev went about his work, without much publicity and achieved the team goals. In this saga, he can be equated to Ajit Doval, the NSA head.
Bheem was one of the most fiercest warriors of his era and lot of times thought with his brawns than his brains. He was very vocal with his opinions and there was seldom any ambiguity about his thoughts. He can be equated with Yogi Adityanath, who bears similar traits. Duryodhan, the main protagonist in the Mahabharata was known for his deceit and his arrogance and his belief in being the “rightful heir” to the throne, draws automatic comparison with Rahul Gandhi, who is not exactly known for his intelligence and does seem to act like he “owns” the legacy. Duryodhan’s younger brother Duhshashan was known for his blind allegiance to his elder brother as well as his violent outbursts. There are two claimants to this position. The chief claimant can be Digvijay Singh with his outlandish opinions and outbursts. A known amoral individual with worse vices than can be described. Always a staunch and blind supporter of the Gandhi family. Mani Shankar Iyer, a loose motormouth comes a distant second for this role.
When we talk of Duryodhan, the picture that comes to mind is of an overprotective mother Gandhari, who would do anything to protect her son, including using her “divine vision” to strengthen him in the appropriate time. The comparison is fairly obvious with Sonia Gandhi, who has time and again tried to keep the “throne” bereft of thorns for her progeny.
Dronacharya was the guru for both the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Although the Pandavas adored him and went with his every command, the Kauravas were not shy to voice their opinions and always felt a step-fatherly treatment from him. In this narrative, Mahatma Gandhi takes that position. Nehru was smart enough to play him to get what he wanted and yet not many people got wiser to the idea. The Prime minister Vidur was a wise man, but his wisdom was mostly discarded and towards the end, he had no voice, so he stopped advising. Is it a mere coincidence that Dr. Manmohan Singh with his infinite economic wisdom was also India’s prime minister and yet seldom spoke?
Shakuni was one of the chief conspirators and can be argued to be the single instigator to cause the war. He was instrumental in bringing up Duryodhan to a high-pedestal and his reasons for the same were purely personal gains. I find no other claimant for this position, but P Chidambaram, who has been propping up the Gandhi family for his financial gains. Shakun in sanskrit also means vulture. Interesting! Pandu was the father of the Pandavas and was a genuinely nice king and well liked by the citizens and was a just ruler. However, his trust in his brother was largely misplaced. Atal Bihari Vajpayee fits in seamlessly in that role. Well liked by friends and foes, he trusted all parties to play fair and was mostly idealistic.
Ashwathama was strong and had his powers. However, he was mostly known for his participation in the immoral slaying of Abhimanyu and his guerilla warfare which ended in killing Draupadi’s sons in the middle of the night. He was well aware that he cannot win in a conventional fight with any of the Pandavas, hence the deceit. The simili between Ashwathama and Pakistani Army who employ jihadists and suicide bombers to try and bleed the nation of India is self evident. Karna was known for his valor and he had a lot of redeemable qualities. However, he had provided his tacit support to a few immoral incidents like the disrobing of Draupadi and the slaying of Abhimanyu by providing unconditional support to the whims of Duryodhan. I find a semblance of resemblance with the antics of Shashi Tharoor, with his unconditional support to the Gandhi family, despite having many pro nationalistic bearings.
The story of Mahabharat would be incomplete without a mention of Draupadi. Draupadi was fairly vocal in her views and also had to face the humilation multiple times. She also had the famous spat with Duryodhan at the Sheeshmahal, which Duryodhan could never forget. Smriti Irani has been trolled multiple times for her educational qualifications, her being a TV actress and yet she turned out to the giant killer when she defeated Rahul Gandhi (Duryodhan) in Amethi. Queen mother Kunti was the Pandavas mother and commanded equal respect from both sides of the aisle. She took care of the Pandavas as a true mother even during agyatwas. Sushma Swaraj was definitely the Queen mother. She was a beacon of hope for Indians stranded abroad due to any issue. Her untimely demise and the accolades that flowed from both sides, proved her likeability.
Drupad was Draupadi’s father and was a key factor in the Pandava’s victory. His earlier conduct with Dronacharya and his vengeful nature was in the past and raises questions on his moralities, but in the end, he redeemed himself. Hemanta Biswa Sharma was in Congress and is from Assam. There was an interaction which he had with Rahul Gandhi, where Rahul Gandhi had compared him with a biscuit with a dog. Hemanta could never forget that and he switched sides and has been the chief architect behind the BJP’s victory in Assam and most of the North East.
No tale of Kashmir is complete without a mention of Abdullah's, the “first family” of Jammu and Kashmir. Sheikh Abdulla had a similar power over Nehru. He was deemed to initially be the “Prime Minister” of Jammu and Kashmir and eventually passed on the legacy to his son Farookh Abdullah. Jarasandha was a very powerful ruler and he was undefeatable in his territory. His daughter’s ended up marrying Kamsa, another powerful ruler. Although Jarasandha and Kamsa were not related by blood, I would equate them to Sheikh Abdullah and Farookh Abdullah. Another family of importance which deserves a mention in this tale is the Mufti family. The PDP were in power with the BJP for a brief period in Jammu and Kashmir and the allegiance fell apart because of differences in ideologies. King Shalya was the maternal uncle of Nakul and Sahadev and ended up fighting for Kauravas as the charioteer of Karna. I would equate Mehbooba Mufti to Shalya.
When the Pandavas were “given” Khandaprasta, Khandaprasta was ruled by Mayasura who was the ruler of raksas and asuras. When Arjun defeated him, he surrendered to the Pandavas and ended up building a surreal palace for them using his magic. I find a little bit of similarity with Mamata Banerjee, although the jury is out till the next elections in Bengal.
The Mahabharat ended in mass destruction and was the beginning of the Kaliyug. Both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons, which can end up destroying the world!!!
In order of appearance:
Jawaharlal Nehru as Dhritarashtra
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as Pitamah Bheeshma
Amit Shah as Krishna
Subramanian Swamy as Arjun
Narendra Modi as Yudhishthir
Arun Jethley as Nakul
Ajit Doval as Sahadev
Yogi Adityanath as Bheem
Rahul Gandhi as Duryodhan
Digvijay Singh/Mani Shankar Iyer as Duhshasan
Sonia Gandhi as Gandhari
Mahatma Gandhi as Dronacharya
Manmohan Singh as Vidur
P Chidambaram as Shakuni
Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Pandu
Pakistani Army as Ashwathama
Shashi Tharoor as Karna
Smriti Irani as Draupadi
Sushma Swaraj as Kunti
Hemanta Biswa Sharma as Drupad
Sheikh Abdullah as Jarasandh
Farookh Abdullah as Kamsa
Mehbooba Mufti as Shalya
Mamata Banerjee as Mayasura
