2 Co-existence begins

So astounding and shocking was the conduct of Duryodhan that none could speak for a while. Then a profound voice broke the silence. It was of Bhisma, the grand father. An admonishment, affectionate but firm, was distinctly heard:

‘Son, isn’t what you said unbecoming of a prince? Is that what your parents and us tried to teach you all these years? Try to be worthy of the glorious Kuru lineage and I’m sure you would know how to welcome your brothers.’
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These words seemed to have some sobering effects. In the brief interlude that followed Bhisma’s utterances, Gandhari extended both her arms to reach for Duryodhan and Yudhisthir. Two cousins came closer and Duryodhan seemed to be preparing for co-existence in days ahead.

Dhritarashtra did not allow the moments of temporary truce go waste. He said:

‘Gandhari, Kunti and children must be very tired. Wouldn’t you take them to their mansion? It’s time they take food and relax for some time.’

Gandhari rose – a couple of palace maids came running. Taking leave of Bhisma and Dhritarashtra, Kunti followed her sister in law along with the children. They were ushered in to a mansion annexed to the main palace. The rooms were big, neat and clean – the beds were nicely done. After the family was settled, Gandhari left for the royal kitchen. Soon the food arrived. The children enjoyed the food and then jumped to their beds. They were exhausted and slept like dead. But their mother was not that fortunate. Even before they left Kurujangal for Hastinapur, she was a worried person. The initial encounter between the cousins made her more worried. She repeatedly prayed to the almighty for the welfare of both families. After some time, the tire and fatigue overtook and she too fell asleep.

On the following day, half a dozen sentries came to take the five princes to the study room. The road to it went through huge courtyards. After a mile or so, there were imperial flower gardens on both sides. At the end of the road stood a big building about six feet above the ground. There were two flights of stairs on the north and western sides converging on the marble floor of the portico. On reaching the stairs, the Pandava brothers could hear humming of children voices. On reaching the portico, the adjacent room came within their sight. As they stood at the main door waiting for permission to enter, they found it was a huge room, with lots of books stacked in shelves. One hundred and one Kaurava princes sat there facing a teacher. A highly learned scholar was giving them lessons on Vedic scriptures. As Yudhisthir and his brothers were ushered in, they saw grandfather Bhisma seated in another corner. They saluted both the teacher and the grandfather and received their blessings Then Bhisma introduced the cousins to each other and left the place telling that he would meet them again at the ‘arms lesson’ class.

As the teacher asked his pupils to recite from the scriptures one by one, the princes complied with varying degrees of proficiencies. As the Pandava brothers were new entrants, they were given the option to begin their presentations from the next day. But Yudhisthir sought the teacher’s permission to recite from the day’s lesson. Pleasantly surprised, he acquiesced. What followed pleased him immensely. The rendition – words, accent, pronunciation- was an embodiment of perfection. As soon as the class ended, there were curiosity and many of the Kaurava princes gathered around Yudhisthir with mixed feelings of appreciation and jealousy.

Before assembling for the arms class, the students had free time and they talked. Yudhisthir was the centre of attraction. Duryodhan however was not happy to notice the bonhomie. Dushashan too was not happy and gave his elder brother company. Both had some strange and hostile feelings towards their cousins and considered them as unwelcome addition to the palace.

The grandfather himself was present in the arms class. Kripacharya, the famous Guru of the land, was in the overall charge of the class. The princes were taught archery, handling of various other arms like narach, kshrupra, mace, spear, etc and also riding on horses and elephants. Bhisma keenly observed the orientations of the Pandava brothers in handling of arms. He was happy that despite not having any formal training till then, each of them showed promises. In particular, he was greatly impressed by Arjun and Bhim and decided to hold discussions with Kripacharya about prince-specific training schedules.