A Change of Fate

Burn down the Chess Board (1).

Summary:

"Never play a game that has been rigged against you, Meri Bhaanje. And if there is no way you could decline playing the game... find a way to rig the board to your favor."

-The King of Gandhar to the Prince of Hasthinapur.

"Never play a game that has been rigged against you, Meri Bhaanje. And if there is no way you could decline playing the game... find a way to rig the board to your favour."

His mamashree was a wise man who tried to teach him several lessons in his previous life. But if there is one lesson that struck Suyodhana it is those words.

Is that not what he and his uncle did when they played with Kaunteyas on that cursed Dyut Sabha? Is that not what Shree Krishna did to Karna on behalf of Partha? With those tactics did they not win Kurukshetra despite having a lesser army count? Even now in this great political game, aren't Mahaamahim Bhishma and Prime Minister Vidhur rigging the game so it would be favourable to the Devaputras?

Suyodhana was called a blind fool in his previous life... but he never knew he was this blind. He hated politics in his previous life, not knowing the cost of his obstinacy. How on earth did he ever survive until the end of the Great War in his previous life?

He was a sacrifice, he understood now. He survived because the Great Keshav decided that he and all who supported him should be wiped off the face of the earth in one stroke.

Anyway, the issue is that the board as of now is not in his favor. And with the arrival of Govind, the board will be so rigged against him that it will take Mahadev himself to save his family. And he very well knew where his standing with Gods was. Even praying to them is useless because whatever boons he and his brothers might be granted, they will put loopholes for those demigods to exploit.

Now Suyodhana has a dilemma. He could refuse to play this game against the Kaunteyas. But the issue here is that this is the game he cannot afford to decline. Because it would be an affront to Kshatriya Dharma, and he would be labelled as a coward. But if he goes against Devaputras, he will die and his entire family will follow him to the grave. The first choice will make him a mockery in the eyes of Aryavartha and it will make his and his siblings' life into a living hell. The second choice will cause the death of his family. His situation is like he cannot stay in the frying pan, and cannot jump into the fire.

Now... he might have told his brothers that he wanted to distribute the lands between Kaunteyas and Kauravas equally. But there are three main issues if the Kingdom was divided equally.

The first issue is with the bifurcation of Hasthinapur itself. Many people assume that it's because of his arrogance, that he refused to give the five villages to the Kaunteyas. Yes... he does agree that his arrogance played an important role along with the way the peace treaty was presented. But there is also a third factor for his refusal. It is in the villages, the Devaputras asked for.

Kusasthala, Vrikasthala, Makandi, Vanavartha and the final area of Suyodhana's choosing is asked by Sree Krishna on behalf of his maternal cousins. These four villages with any village in the Kingdom would cause encirclement of Kaunteyas within Hasthinapur. This will limit trade, resources and army movement, which would weaken Kauravas immensely. Hasthinapur has villages which are either very well-developed or not developed at all. Outside the encirclement, the Devaputras will have most of the developed areas and without trade to the outside the entire economy of Kaurava-occupied Hasthinapur will suffer.