The Court of Cowards

It was a long walk home for Sukumar.

As he walked, he looked at the ground; wishing it would open up and swallow him for good. What had happened today was not his fault, but to be a mere spectator to the act made his conscience crawl. As the courtgatekeeper, to obey orders of his masters was indeed his dharma, but as a human, wasn’t it something else as well?

Thoughts kept clawing inside his old heart making him feel angry and equally helpless at the same time. There was little he could have done.

He managed to look up as he reached his doorstep. He thought about facing his daughter, Dakshyani, who would be waiting for him. The doting father had raised her with all possible love after his wife passed away. Dakshyani never kept any secrets from him and seldom they had an argument. Openness, honesty and mutual respect were the pillars of their relationship.

But Sukumar did not have the courage to face her today. Everyone in the city was talking about today’s events, albeit in whispers. He knew Dakshyani must also have heard it. He was not sure how will he explain the incident to the 16-year-old. He waited for several moments before he finally knocked.

Within a moment he heard hurried footsteps and the door swung open. “Baba, is it true? Please tell me what I have heard are lies!” asked Dakshyani before Sukumar’s feet could even cross the sill. Sukumar thought that he would at least be able to look into her eyes to respond. He couldn’t. Dakshyani persisted, “Say something Baba!” with a quiver in her voice. Sukumar finally mustered the courage to meet her gaze to see her welled up eyes.

Sukumar tried to speak, but words had left him. His silence gave Dakshyani her answer. She sat down, crying uncontrollably, muttering her disbelief between sobs. Sukumar, finally entering the house, tried pacifying her by putting his hand over her shaking shoulders.

“How can this be done to Draupadi?” cried Dakshyani. “Daughter of king Dhrupad; wife of the Pandavas; daughter-in-law of Bheeshm and honor of the Kuru clan! Disrobed in the court! How can someone even think of such a heinous act.”

“As ghastly as it is, it is the truth.” said Sukumar breaking his silence. He sat down beside his daughter, who was now trembling with grief. Fighting back his own tears, he put his arm on her shoulder, letting her sink into his chest to cry her heart out. It wasn’t enough, but it was all the poor man could do to console her.

“But how? How can samrat Dhritirashtra let this happen? Where was Ganga-putra? Why didn’t Bheem rip off the arms of the monster who touched Draupadi? Where were Arjuna’s arrows if not in the sinner’s chest?” asked Dakshyani, as if she had a sudden realisation. Sukumar let out a sigh and replied, “They were all there, beta. All there. All of them witnessed the ordeal; eyes full of tears and hearts full of rage. They all wanted to, but could not do anything; shackled by the rules of the corrupt game. The hands, which blessed Draupadi a blissful life, were shaking at the state of their own blessing. The shoulders which had promised to keep her safe could not bear the weight of the humiliated heads.”

Dakshyani persisted, “But why, Baba? How could they all be spectators to that adharma? Why did they not stop it?” Sukumar replied in a dejected tone, “There are laws, Beta. Laws of the game, laws for the king and laws for the society. Everyone is bound by them.” “The laws are meant to serve justice to people Baba! What is the use of such laws which makes people turn their back on a woman’s suffering and that too their own daughter-in-law! Their to-be-queen! Where did the Kshatriya pride go to hide its face?” asked a now enraged Dakshyani. “Imagine if this happened to one of us Baba, imagine if it was me! The king’s dharma is to protect all under his rule, right? If they cannot protect their own daughter-in-law, how will they protect us?” she said furiously.

Hearing this for his masters, his king, Sukumar got up, “Dakshyani! Mind your manners! You’re talking about our king.” A startled Dakshyani took a moment, wiped her tears and said, “I wish you had raised your voice like this when those animals were talking filth about your to-be Queen.”

This hit Sukumar hard. He bellowed, “And then what? Get expelled from the palace? And if it angered prince Duryodhana enough, executed? What would have happened to you then? How would you have survived?” Her Baba had never raised his voice in front of her like this. This left Dakshyani stunned. She sat down again, wiping tears off her face, quietly.

Sukumar sensed her daughter’s anger at the injustice. When he was young, he would also ask his Baba, about why cannot he play with the Brahmin and Kshatriya children; why his mother had to fetch water from a separate well; why did they have to visit a separate temple to worship? As a child, his dream was to be a soldier when he grew up, but he had to give up his dream as Shudras were not allowed to wield swords. He had spent a lifetime accepting these realities. Dakshyani was still a child. He sat down again beside her, looking at the ceiling, he said, “Dakshyani, I know the parmatma made us all equal. We all have the discretion to understand what is right and what is wrong. The only difference in a man from another is whether he listens to his conscience or not. Wise men listen to their inner voice and the wicked find reasons for not doing so. That’s all.”

Dakshyani asked, “All adharma is to be punished, right? That is what you taught me. Why can’t we do something about this? Why can’t we raise our voice?” Sukumar answered, “Because that, is not our dharma. We are Shudras, we serve those above us. Our dharma is to serve, serve those who teach, trade and rule. This was, is and will be our role in this society. The one who honestly performs his assigned role and practices his dharma is revered and the ones who commit adharma, reap the consequences, in this life or the next. The system does not allow us to cross these lines. We will be punished for even raising our voice.” Sukumar took a pause and continued, “I know what happened was wrong. I have never felt this helpless in my life. But I’m bound by rules. We’re not allowed to question our masters. We don’t have the power to fight or punish the adharmis, but O Dakshyani, believe me when I say that the parmatma does have the power and when He cracks His whip, all adharma will be uprooted.”

Dakshyani continued, “Even within the confines of dharma, how can a person who has lost himself at the dice stake another person’s independence and honor? Sukumar replied, “Beta, we all know the tradition. A husband has the right over his wife.” “That’s not fair Baba. A wife is not her husband’s possession, she’s a person! A person with thoughts, feelings and emotions distinct from that of her family or husband. Everyone thinks of a woman’s humiliation as the humiliation of the entire family. Even when they avenge, it is about the family. Why is it never about the woman? She was the one who was humiliated, she was the one who went through the suffering. No one seems to care about her. They all just care about their honor.”

Dakshyani persisted, “A wife is not a part of her husband’s possessions. How can a husband wager her without her permission? And even if one assumes for a moment that she is, didn’t the husband lose that right when he lost himself?” Sukumar was speechless. “And if the husband holds a right over his wife, does he not have the responsibility to protect his wife? When it comes to right, everyone lines up but when the time comes for a responsibility, their eyes start searching the ground.” Sukumar admired his daughter’s courage and feared it at the same time. She was right, but she was a woman.

Dakshyani continued, “For once, Draupadi did not beg for mercy, for the self-respecting woman she is. She just asked questions to the learned elders, which no one had answers to. I pray that these questions will haunt them forever; in this life and the next. I still cannot understand why didn’t her husbands, her family help her? How can one justify that to lord Chitragupta?” asked Dakshyani. Sukumar replied, “Dakshyani, they were all bound by the rules of the wretched game. To follow the rules was, at that time, their dharma. The only one who could have overruled the misdeeds was the king and he did so, but far too late. By then, the damage had been done. Nevertheless, I have complete faith in lord Krishna. He will always come to save the oppressed like how he saved Draupadi’s honor. In His court, each person gets their due.” The mere thought of Govind, wiped all sorrow from their hearts. Sukumar took a deep breath and gazed the sky with a tiny glimmer of hope. He said, “History has taught us that the silence of the noble is a bigger offence than the crimes of a criminal. I should not say this, but his unconditional adulation for his sons blinded our king’s sense of judgement. I’m afraid this silence will one day turn into wails of mourning for millions.” Both father and daughter looked up as they heard the clouds thunder. Sukumar got to his feet and said to Dakshyani, “Let’s go inside beta. Looks like a storm is coming. May Krishna instill good sense into them; may Krishna bless the kingdom of Hastinapur.”