In their forest exile, the Pandavas are in sorrow. Yudhistira, we know, needed the comforts of literature in the form of the story of Nala and Damayanti, which was told to him by Brihadashva. However, there is another kind of anxiety that assails him: a spiritual one. Vedic people, or those who follow the vedas, are people who hold the notions of sacrifice (giving to fire, in their case) dearly. Agni and Soma are in an intricate relationship, according to the Rig Veda, and a sacrifice is an act of acknowledging this bond between the destroyer and the destroyed.
Well-done sacrifices are an act of bringing to consciousness the grand evil that is implicit in mere existence — reliance on other life forms to sustain one’s life. However, from the Rig Veda to the Mahabharata there is a long journey in time. The logic of sacrifice has turned from being a ritual of life-affirmation to being an activity that is either a religious imperative or, if undertaken on a large scale, a political signal. Yudhistira’s rajasuya sacrifice — arguably the renewer of hostilities between the Pandavas and the Kauravas — was a political signal followed by the realworld conquest of kingdoms and dominions. But there are other sacrifices that the Pandavas, as rulers, must have gotten used to.
The sacrifices that give some sort of karmic credit that is essential to a spiritual life. Kings in the time, it goes without saying, are used to making elaborate and — if the word can be used — lavish sacrifices. The Pandavas, impoverished and without kingdom, miss these. And it is the possible debit in karmic score that makes Yudhistira anxious. They have time on their hands, not the resources, so it is natural that Yudhistira seeks some other way to impact their spiritual scoreboard.
Pilgrimage is a way, he figures out. Going to tirthas will give the spiritual credit needed, and obviate the need for sacrifices. But then, which tirthas to go to? How many to go to? In what order should they be visited? What is to be done at each place? You see, while pilgrimage can replace sacrifices, Yudhistira knows very well that there has to be an elaborate method of undertaking them. These methods are detailed to Yudhistira by none other than Narada rishi, who has a particular habit of visiting the Pandavas whenever they have a load of free time.
The fact that pilgrimage can obviate sacrifices may be turned into an aphorism for our times as well. If in the Mahabharata, travelling to tirthas can provide a solace equivalent to following rituals at home, can we not say that, in our times, travel gives as much solace as routine. As much, note — not more, not less. As much solace, but through a different method. Today, all exhortations that place travel as some sort of imperative should perhaps be considered with the knowledge that as a spiritual good, it doesn’t exceed home. It’s an alternative, not an imperative.
Tanuj Solanki
Twitter@tanujsolanki
The writer is reading the unabridged Mahabharata