My friend... Is this ok or too much?
His brother-in-law, Śakuni, had once said over a game of dice and philosophy that not all virtues and vices are born equal. Even in dharma and adharma, there must be balance—a rhythm, a design. Even within virtue, there must be caution. Even within sin, there must be balance.
At the time, Dhṛtarāṣṭra had dismissed it as another of Śakuni’s strange riddles.
And this mission… this carnage… it revealed to Dhṛtarāṣṭra what kind of balance lived inside that child.
The Elephant’s virtue of Patience.
He was a Mahārathi. A warrior whose strength could shiver nations. Yet when men mocked him, spat the word Sūta like poison—he never once retaliated. He endured it.
Not out of weakness. But because elephants do not mind when dogs bark. It is not the silence of submission. It is the strength of restraint.
The Bear’s sin of Wrath.
Bears do not hunt without cause. But wound their young—and see what follows. Vasusena was no different.
He was gentle until love was threatened. And when it was—he burned. Not blindly. Not wildly. But with the focus of grief sharpened into rage.
The Lion’s sin of Pride.
A lion, sovereign of the wild and yet it will perform in cages for lesser men. For it survival is important.
Vasusena’s pride is greater than a lion. Because he bowed his head not for his survival but because of his loved ones.
