THE%20SINDH%20STORY

Sindh emerges in a shady light in the Mahabharata. It is called “paap-purna
Pradesh” (a sinful province). And thereby hangs a tale. King Jayadratha of Sindh
was married to Kaurava prince Duryodhan’s sister, Dushhala. He was, therefore,
all along on the side of the Kauravas --- an-l against the Pandavas. However, be it
said to the credit of Jayadratha that he, like Dhritarashtra and Bhishma, opposed
the disastrous game of dice between the Pandavas and the Kauravas.
However, Jayadratha’s hostility towards the Pandavas had deeper roots. At the
time of Draupadi’s aswayamvara (free choice of husband in an assemblage of
princes) he was one of the disappointed aspirants. Later, when the Pandavas
were spending their time in exile, Jayadratha accosted her while she was alone.
Draupadi innocently enquired of him about the people of Sindhu- Sauvira.
However, when she found him full of mischief, she asked him to get lost.
Thereupon he forcibly carried her away. When Arjuna and Bhima caught up
with him and liberated Draupadi, Bhima cut off his hair in five places --- to make
him look ridiculous. And he would have killed him, but for his eldest brother
Yudhisthara telling him that it would make their cousin-sister Dushhala a widow
--- and grieve uncle Dhritarashtra and aunt Gandhari.
In the titanic battle of Mahabharata, when Abhimanyu, Draupadi’s son, got
killed, Jayadratha “pushed” his body with his foot. Arjuna was furious. He
vowed to kill “Sindhu-Pati” Jayadratha that very day, before the sun set.
Jayadratha wanted to flee the field, but it was too late- He died an inglorious
death.
In India, right up to the time of Shivaji, Pratap, and Guru Govind Singh, the
traditional royal flag was some shade of bhagwa (ochre) or kesari. This was the
case in the days of the Mahabharata also. The only difference was in the symbol
on the flag. lnterestingly enough, Jayadratha’s symbol was a silvery boar --- the
wild pig, that the Rajputs love to hunt to this day.
Jayadratha’s other love was milk and condensed hot milk (the Sindhi khirni).
When announcing his determination to kill Jayadratha. Arjuna said: “Jayadratha
is a relation, but he is evil; he has been brought up on kshir and kshirni, but now
I’ll cut him to pieces with my arrows.”
One can only hope that the Mahabharata referred to Sindh as “sinful” because of
its king and not because of its .people. (For the same reason, Karna refers to
Shalya’s Madraraj in similar terms.) In the “Bhishma Parva” of the Mahabharata,
the Sindhu is referred to as the great protector which must be remembered day
and night. Obviously the mighty river was a mighty defence line of the country.
The “Anushasan Parva” of the Mahabharata prescribes Sindhu-bath for going to
heaven after death.
The Sindh Story; Copyright © www.panhwar.com
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