Duryodhana - The story untold

I am bhanumathi. I see your brows quiver at my mention, who is she - you begin to ask.

 well I am that unfortunate lady who has silently suffered but still continues to be unknown and unmentioned in the milieu pages of the great epic MAHABHARATA. I am king duryodhana's wife. Yes, I am talking about the treacherous,egoistic and power hungry kuru prince that you all know.

Sympathy and pity in equal potions rush through your benevolent hearts as you learn of my ill fate,to be married to such a man, but I earnestly & solemnly don't regret or remorse one bit of it, my love for my lord is pure & unblemished. Having said that, I am not here to shield for his wrongs. I in my right mind with all my senses intact, shall never do that.His insulting draupadi & employing shrewd and unruly tactics to win against his brothers (pandavas) can't and shouldn't be condemned but here I ask you one question ' which mortal in this entire universe is free from all iniquities and is completely chaste?', You race your intellectual and learned mind in many directions but to your immense chagrin, you can't find one satisfactory answer. Every person has streaks of grey in his/her disposition. Even the pandava princes committed their share of sins.So does each one of us.

I knew my lord like no one did. I witnessed him in his true colors.In him was a loyal friend,a caring husband, a good administrator & a skillful tactician.Somehow these facets of him got subdued and undermined, he came out as a devious man sans  endowment. People fail to notice how he went against  everyone and supported karna- when no one knew of his lineage,coronated him and gave him a kingdom of his own.When pandavas were sent to 13 years of exile,yudhishtra decided to check if he (duryodhana) was an inept ruler or not, he sent his messenger to look into the matter.To his utter surprise the messenger heaped praises at him (duryodhana) and hailed him as a worthy ruler.He was a people's man, keeping the needs and wants of the kingdom high on the pedestal.

I remember once karna and I were playing dice in our chambers & karna dominated the game. I sat facing the door of the chamber,when I saw my lord coming ,I got up (as a sign of respect) which karna mistook as gesture of leaving the game. In order to stop me he got hold of my drape,the pearls embroidered on the drape fell upon pulled my the mighty hands of his.  If playing dice with my husband's best friend was not audacious enough,here I was standing with my drape undone and the pearls scattered on the floor. Karna and I both stood tongue tied, preaparing ourselves to the fury that we were to be meted with.He (duryodhana) came towards me and stooped low picking up the pearls.Handing me the pearls he simply asked ' Is picking up the pearls enough or shall I string them aswell'. He had blind faith over the people he loved & maybe that was the reason for his fall.He trusted his crooked uncle shakuni to death,who in turn exploited him for his own selfish motives.

That gruesome day is still fresh in my eyes, the day I saw his lifeless and bloody corpse. Those eyes that lovingly watched over me were now closed for ever. 

He died a valiant death like a true Kshatriya, embracing the goddess of death with open arms.

PS: I dont take rsponsibility of the accuracy of facts mentioned over here. though some are true but others are purely fictional.