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   krishna-agrawala Teacher
   Graduate School

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   Duryodhana was always jealous of his cousins Pandavas. Duryodhana had visited The Kingdom of Pandavas when they performed a Rajasuya Yagya and, while there, seeing their power and prosperity, felt even more jealous. Further, he felt insulted when he accidentally fell in to a pond of water within the palace of Pandavas. With this he felt extremely dejected and started to think about ways of depriving the Pandavas of their power and prosperity. Duryodhana's Uncle (mother's brother) Shakuni suggests that he, being very skilled in game of dice, can win over in gambling everything that Pandavas have. But to gamble in this way it was necessary to have Dhritrashtra agrees to their scheme and invite Pandavas for game of dice.

   When Duryodhana tells Dhritrashtra about his scheme of depriving Pandavas all their possessions through gambling, Dhritrashtrs advices him against it. He points out that Duryodhana is also very powerful and prosperous, and that Pandavas will not cause them any harm. But Duryodhana insists that it is not wise for kings to be content with their own condition. If, in this way they let other kings grow, in long term, they loose their own power. Further Duryodhana insist that he can have no peace of mind or pleasure in life while Pandavas continue to grow. Dhritrashtra is not entirely convinced about arguments of Duryodhana, but because of attachment for his son and perhaps his own feeling of insecurity, accepts to go along with Duryodhana.

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   Posted by krishna-agrawala on Monday August 31, 2009 at 10:35 AM