#vidura

[jacobpking]

Back in the saddle - an advisor of incredible wisdom wasted on the wrong king 👑

[incorrectmahabharatquotes]

Vidur: It would help if we would all show up looking like a loving, supportive family.

Yudhishthir: For how long?

Vidur: Ten minutes tops.

Duryodhan: See if you can get it down to five.

[sambhavami]

Women in Mahabharata - Parishrami

She starts out as a maid of Ambika, who either comes from Kashi as part of the dowries, or is a local girl who is sold into the royal household after the sisters' marriage. Her name, Parishrami, is most probably something that she has earned over years of hard work. Her real name lies forgotten.

When Ambika is asked to face Vyasa for a second time for another niyoga process, she refuses and decks up Parishrami in her clothes and jewellery in an effort to trick Vyasa, and escape the ordeal.

Parishrami however is not as afraid as the princesses. She has probably seen much worse than just an un-bathed rishi. She therefore greets Vyasa with respect, offering him food and water, and the two of them spend most of the night simply talking.

It is abundantly clear to Vyasa, that this woman is not Ambika, but he does not raise a fuss. Vyasa most probably, in the early years of his life, has lived either with Satyavati, or with a family of an equal economic standing, before he was old enough to live with his father full-time. This allows him too, to be more free with this lady, who drinks in every word he speaks, now fascinated with his knowledge and demeanour [who knows, maybe the poet sang for her a few early chapters of the Mahabharata itself?].

To a young Vyasa, his first experiences of intimacy has been arguably quite jarring [due to no fault of the princesses', but still I would consider Vyasa equally as much of a victim in this particular scenario]. Now, from Parishrami, he learns what a healthy [honestly] 'date' should look like.

Once morning comes, the first thing that Vyasa tells Satyavati is that this woman must be set free and then given a mansion and a pension, equal in standing to the princesses, and respect worthy of a daughter-in-law of the queen-mother Satyavati herself [it is in this mansion itself that Vidura continues living, and later moves Kunti in as well, and it also is the same place where Krishna stays the night when he comes to bargain for peace].

Vyasa declares her son Vidura, to be both legally and biologically his son, and not Vichitraveerya's.

Parishrami most probably later moves in with Vyasa, along with Satyavati and the Kashi's princesses when Vyasa comes to fetch them after Pandu's death [or maybe even before that, to take care of his ashram or something, but there's no textual indication of her future either way].

[kunukitime]

[blackknight-100]

Thank you so much for writing about Vrishasena and Arjuna. Could you please also write something about them but in an AU where Kunti tells them the truth (before the dyut sabha)? Something fluffy, please!

This ask has been sitting in my inbox for four months. I'm so sorry anon, fluff is really not my thing, but I tried. I hope you like this little thing. Previous angst version is here.

1.

It is a bitter winter morning when Arjuna finds his mother in the royal hall, prepared to sweep his world from under his feet. He huddles together with his brothers, glancing warily as the Kaurava retinue moan and complain among themselves about being summoned. Pitamaha is here as well, as are the King and the Queen, and Uncle Vidura.

“Has something happened?” the later inquires.

“We are awaiting the arrival of Angaraj,” Mother Kunti says, white knuckles wringing at her saree.

Duryodhana perks up like a hunting dog. “Why do you need him?” he demands, possessive as ever.

“I am sure Her Majesty has her reasons,” Uncle Vidura tries, but Duryodhana is on a roll.

“You keep trying to speak to him, cornering him at court and courtyard, trying to turn my friend against me! Why else would the Pandava’s mother be so interested in the man that trounced her sons? I think-”

No one manages to hear his what he thinks, because Kunti interrupts this tirade by screaming, “He is my son!”

 

2.

In hindsight, it is only meet that Karna – who is apparently his brother – gatecrashes the party halfway through Kunti’s sobbing explanation. Arjuna is reasonably sure the man has never given up the chance to barge into situations with the discretion of a charging bull. Perhaps that is why they call him Vrisha.

Much to his chagrin, Karna and his sons are immediately swept up into the Kaurava ranks even as their mother speaks of floating the baby in the river.

Duryodhana speaks right over her, like the churlish prince he is, and asks, “What took you so long?”

“The storms felled quite a few trees.” Arjuna’s newfound brother shrugs and turns to Mother Kunti with a look of abject concern. “Who is this baby in the river? Should we send out search parties? Surely, it is not right to just leave him be.”

Half the gathering stares at him. Uncle Vidura lets out a long-suffering sigh. Pitamaha smacks his forehead into a pillar. All in all, the Kuru family never fails in being predictable.

 

3.

For his own part, Karna takes the news surprisingly well, right up until Pitamaha reveals that he would now be officially part of the family and one of the contenders for the throne. This sparks a terrible debate – for all his meddling in Duryodhana’s plans, the King of Anga appears to have little interest in being king of anyplace else. Brother Yudhisthira, with all his half-divine morality, protests being a part of any contention that involves his older brother as a competitor. Uncle Vidura, who is the Pandavas biggest advocate in the Kuru court, takes this about as well as expected, which is to say: not well at all.

Arjuna has migrated to a corner to escape the shouting, rubbing his forehead to put off an oncoming headache. A figure sidles up to him and offers a small canister.

“This might help, Uncle.”

For a moment Arjuna nearly mistakes him for Karna – which should not be possible, given that his new brother is still yelling about something, and would never call him ‘uncle’ besides – but then he notices the differences. Anga’s Crown Prince is as fair as his father, but his cheeks are still adorably round, and his hair is several shades darker. He is also smiling, which is not a reaction Arjuna has ever garnered from his father, although he has seen Karna laugh often enough in his cousin’s company.

“Vrishasena, is it? Well met. What is this?”

Vrishasena bows. “Yes indeed, uncle. My greetings. This is for your headache.”

Arjuna takes the canister with raised eyebrows. Inside, there is a familiar slimy green paste. “You carry balms around?” he asks, smirking.

Vrishasena shrugs easily. “People are annoying,” he says, then winks cheekily at him and adds, “not you though. You have pretty hair.”

Arjuna’s startled laughter lasts a very long time.

 

+1.

“Father is wonderful,” Vrishasena says, nocking an arrow on his bow, “but he and mother kind of fought and now he’s upset.”

“I think he is mad at you for taking lessons from me,” Arjuna says, pressing gently down on his shoulders. “Stop being so tense, or you will miss.”

Vrishasena shrugs his shoulders and tosses his head obligingly, then stands much looser. “Nah,” he says, then releases the arrow. It pierces the swaying mango halfway through and carries it into the bushes. “He has stolen Abhimanyu, so he thinks it’s a fair deal. Besides, he likes having brothers.”

Arjuna would like to contest that, but it is true. For all his follies, Karna is astonishingly adept at micromanaging a hundred and five siblings, plus the two extras, without resorting to moralizing or murder. He’s still not ready to give up their reputation as rivals though, so all he says is, “Good shot.”

Vrishasena smirks at him. His nephew has grown quite a few inches in the months they have been away, so they are mostly eye-to-eye now.

“Just good?” Karna’s son definitely has Karna’s cockiness. “Not ‘excellent’ or ‘magnificent’ or ‘sublime’?”

“No,” Arjuna slaps him behind his head, laughing, “you do not need a bigger ego.”

“It’s not that big, uncle,” Vrishasena protests.

Arjuna laughs again. “If you stop pestering me for compliments, I will help you sneak into the kitchen. The cook is making special sweets today.”

Vrishasena pouts, thinking. “I also get to braid your hair.”

Arjuna will never understand the boy’s obsession with his hair, but who is he to deny his nephew anything, especially when he is getting a braid out of it? So, he shrugs and says, “Sure,” and off they go.

[theramblergal]

Wait no but Kaka Vidura deserves more recognition-

Ahh the tragedy of his character:

incarnation of Dharma. a maid's son. the one who would've made the best king of Hastinapura (in his generation). but he's a maid's son, so he's never considered.

he warns the Pandavas away from all the attempts on their lives. he watches as the fire of Varnavarta burns away his hopes for a peaceful future.

he loves Dhritarashtra. to a fault. he knows what his older brother is doing is wrong, and advises him countless times to correct his path. but he's a maid's son. so his advice is brushed away. the tragedy of being wise enough to see that the path they are on will only end in ruin, yet not being powerful enough to stop it. the pain of genuine wisdom.

he's insulted multiple times by Duryodhana and his coterie. yet he stays. Dhritarashtra accuses him of partiality. so he leaves. he will always obey his older brother. Dhritarashtra comes to his senses, begs him to return. Vidura could've stayed with the Pandavas where he would've been worshipped, not disparaged at every turn. but his older brother called. so he obeys, and returns.

he stays up through the night. just for Dhritarashtra. tells him stories and advice and begs him to stop Duryodhana. but watches helplessly as all the words and passion he poured into his older brother is washed away by the blindness of his actions.

he tries. and tries, and tries, and tries again and again.

but he is a maid's son.

what value did his efforts ever hold?

[twosquareroti]

One of my favorite recurring moments in the Mahabharata is characters wanting to consult Vidura, then realizing they do not actually want to consult Vidura because he would give them good and ethical advice instead of just validating them with whatever they want to hear.

[avani008]

Au where vidur goes with the pandavas to indraprastha for the 5+ headcanon ask

Tragically, anon, I don't think it would change much at all--Yudhisthira, as I see him, can be utterly pigheaded, and even had Vidura advised him against accepting the invitation to dice, I don't think he would have passed on it. (His brothers and Draupadi themselves don't manage it! I think no one short of Krishna could have.) But for what it’s worth, I think Yudhisthira, pre-Rajasuya, would have been much happier; and post-dice game--well, there’s a 50/50 change he might hang out with them in the forest, but given his age, I actually think it’s more likely the Pandavas would have Vidhura/his wife/Kunti all stay in Hastinapur, TBH. 

Plus, I have a hard time imaging what would cause such a rift between Vidura and Dhritrashtra (pre-war). Starbharat's take aside, the two really seem to adore each other (with the notable exception of Dhritrashtra refusing to set aside his son), but it's only after the dice game that Vidura gives up. It's a weirdly fascinating fraternal relationship, particularly given the multiple siblings we see throughout the epic.