Chapter 58 58. Difference Between Justice And Revange
Shakuni looked at Duryodhana trying to figure out how he could not see how mature his nephew had become in these short years of his life.
This is a knowledge that even a well-versed and knowledgeable person would not see through or they would not be willing to acknowledge the fact that the one they consider supreme and their lord can make mistakes.
It's easy to just put blame on one person and then to accept their own, The one they think is without any blemish and worship it can be wrong, And the one who is against your deity is evil is a lot more easy to accept than to call the victim.
But Duryodhana at this tender age saw the difference as adults blindfolded themselves to see it. It just hurt his heart because of this understanding of Duryodhana.
No child can be this mature unless they are forced to be, Children should be ignorant and childish. That is their right and their treasure but sadly this vast big mighty kingdom of Hastinapur could not even be able to protect it.
For the moment the flame of revenge which he extinguished the day he saw his sister was freed from her pain and suffering of blinding herself was threatened to rekindle.
The hate he has for this kingdom and especially Bhishama all come back with the same intensity and pain as it was years before when he saw his brother and fell one by one dead on the battlefield in front of his eyes.
He might only survive that day because his father warned him not to take risks as they need someone to take care of his sister as they knew they would not survive the war with a mighty warrior like Bhishma.
At that time when he saw how the soil started to paint red from the blood of soldiers and his siblings and father, That day all that innocence had vanished making his hollow which was filled with the only thought and that was Revenge.
But alas, How can he fight a warrior like Bhishsma? That man was a demi-god with might that even gods were terrified to go against, He is well versed in all kinds of divine weapons and as such there is no known limit to how much that man is known of.
Then his sister accepted marriage to the blind prince, Which made him feel like someone stabbed him in his chest as he had to watch her marry a disabled man and salt on an open wound was that she also blinded herself.
He did not have any courage to go in front of his sister, Who believed he also died with her family members. Only when she found that he was crowned as a King of Gandhar, She found out and he had to go meet her.
Seeing her in that shape broke his heart. This is a girl who was so afraid of the darkness that she made special arrangements in her palace to always be brightened day or night. Now has thrown herself into the dark world embracing the darkness she was once so terrified of.
He decided at that time he would definitely take revenge on the ones who harmed his sister no matter what, Until he got the news that she was freed from the curse she took upon herself.
His happiness was not bound and the idea of revenge was dropped seeing how happy she was. Though his family was dead but he knew if his father and brother were alive they too didn't want to destroy her happy family for revenge.
But now seeing Duryodhana he can see his own self in him. He had to go through a war and watch his loved ones die before his eyes for him to understand how cruel and insidious the nature of man can be.
From which he can or at least try to understand what this little one had to grow through for him to be like right now, His anger once again was surfacing which he was trying to push back.
He wanted to cry for once as even his wounds were also opened which he thought were long healed. Sadly only wounds on the body can heal, Wounds on the heart can never be healed, It will always leave scars behind.
"Mama Shri, What happened? Am I right? They died because of Deva's deceit, right?"
Duryodhana not getting an answer from his uncle had to ask in his childish tone not knowing how his simple answer opened his old wounds, He just wanted to know if he said the right answer or not.
So he asked which pulled Shakuni out of his thoughts and out his focus back on his dear nephew. He wanted to give him a hug and console him but he voted against it.
Gold needs to go through fire to be worthy of its image, Sword needs to take slams of hammers to be the honour of the warrior, Just like that man also needs to go through the storm of fire and river of blood to be the one who others can look upto.
He had gone through all that and because of that he is the one who he is, Right not Duryodhana does not need consolation, He needs guidance to be the man he hopes to be, Duryidhana, The Unconquerable.
"No, That was not right Duryodhana, Gods do use deceit but it would not have worked on them if they walked on the path they first started on, that is to get Justice for their Asura clan.
If they had worked for the betterment of their clan, No amount of deceit was able to defeat them; rather Deva's would not dare to use deceit against them fearing the backlash of Karma.
But they all at some point forget the purpose they started as. They forgot why they hated Deva's and why they were doing all that and because of that they were not able to see when their power which they got for to get justice turned into false pride and a tool for arrogance.
The justice they seeking for turned into revenge, and The lust for vengeance becomes their downfall, Which all happens because they let their pride become arrogance and do not keep it in check."
Shakuni got on his knees which made him talk to Duryodhana at his eyes level as he started to tell him why he was wrong, and the reason why those powerful warriors who were once said to have no equal had fallen.
Karna standing on the side listening to Shanuki with a smile on his face nodded as he was glad that he let him talk this issue out. To be honest other than Ravana he did not even know who the two were, Though he might have heard names here and there he did not know their origin.
And because of that he would never be able to explain to these Kauravas in this simple and easy-to-understand way, So he felt he made the right choice.
Indeed he made the right choice but for a different reason than he thinks of because right now while Shakuni was finished speaking to Duryodhana his eyes went wide with shock and self-realization.
He looked at Gandhari in horror and then at his 101 nephews as the fear spread across his heart. He wanted to teach Duryodhana the lesson of not being arrogant but he too learned to see the difference between revenge and justice.
He felt like a fool because he could not see it. Only to find out he too was blinded not only by the anger but also by his own arrogance in his intellect, He was let himself be blind because of his arrogance.
He broke out in a sweat, thinking of what the result might be if he actually did what he planned on doing all this time. He felt so lucky when he was re-motivated for the huge sin he was about to do, Fate stopped him reminding him what kinda foolish thought he was having.
*Gulp*
He gulped as his throat became dry because of fear. He understands that he was also deviating from asking for justice for his sister to seeking revenge for it, Both of which sometimes look like two sides of the same side but it's not the case.
If it is for justice the whole world will come together and help you to get what you want but if it is for revenge then it would be treated differently as behind the emotion of revenge is not the compensation but rather rage and anger.
So where justice will rejuvenate the world, Revenge only can destroy it hence why for revenge the world will not support it as it only knows how to destroy and burn.
Shakuni was both fearful and glad that his eyes opened before he could do any harm to his sister's happy life, He looked at the people present guiltily, Especially little Kauravas who was taking in what he said to before and his dear sister who he unknowingly might given the worst pain than Bhishma ever could.
After that his eyes landed on Karna, He wanted to thank this guy because of whom he realised his mistake but as his eyes landed on him, He stopped as he saw a "knowing" smile on his face.
[Ding!....]
Karna standing at the side minding his own business while smiling praising himself that he made a good decision letting Shakuni explain, Just to be taken aback by the system notification.
(A/N : What do you think he would get now?
Like always thank you for reading and have a good day 😁.)