Thread by @DefiledGod

Was reading the part of MB where bhIma kills duhshAsana and drinks his blood. Here are a couple of interesting shlokAs from Karna parva.

दुःशासनं तत्र समीक्ष्य राजन्भीमो महाबाहुरचिन्त्यकर्मा । स्मृत्वाच केशग्रहणं च देव्या वस्त्रापहारं च रजस्वलायाः… ततोऽपिबच्छोणितमस्यकोष्ण+

[Seeing duhshAsana, bhIma, of mighty arms and inconceivable deeds, remembered how draupadi was dragged by her hair and disrobed when she was in her periods….he drank his warm blood]+

bhIma killed duhshAsana due to his rage at remembering past sufferings.

The tAtparya here is that, a jIvAtma gains a desire for the true object of the Veda (Brahman) by continuous rememberance of sufferings undergone due to pursuing other petty goals of the Veda+

Here, Draupadi is the jIva. The reference to her periods is the association with prakR^iti that makes the jIva impure.

“duhshAsana” – one who cannot be ruled over – is actually the apauruSheya veda whose true meaning cannot be easily deciphered+

That is to say, those studying the Veda are misled to think svarga or other such puruShArthAs are the highest goal. So, they endeavor to attain such goals and this results in further births and misery in samsAra.

Remember bhagavAn warns of this in gIta (traiguNya vishayA vedA)+

Thus, bhIma, who represents meditation on Brahman, tore open the chest of duhshAsana – this means breaking open the Vedas to expose their true goal – Brahman, singified by duhshAsana’s blood.

As blood is red, it signifies an object of great passion or desire – bhagavAn himself+

That is not all. This is how bhIma describes the blood of duhshAsana.

स्तन्यस्य मातुः पयसोऽमृतस्य । माध्वीकजस्येव रसस्य तस्य मधोश्च पानाद्यवकस्य पानात् ।  पयोदधिभ्यां मथिताच्च मुख्यात्तथेक्षुसारस्य मनोहरस्य । सर्वेभ्य एवाभ्यधिको रसोऽस्य मतो मम…।+

[I consider this blood as superior to mother’s milk, water, nectar, drink from honey, juice, wine, drink prepared from barley, milk, curd, buttermilk, superior in taste to all substances on Earth that captivate the mind]

Each of these items have an AdhyAtmic meaning+

Firstly, Mother’s milk -  this invigorates the body. So, mother’s milk signifies strength of the body. It means, bhagavAn endows one with strength of body for performing Vedic karmas, which is a form of bliss+

Water -  the instructions of the Veda for attaining svarga.

A swan separates water from milk; similarly, the vedas consist of milk which is knowledge of Brahman and water which is injunctions for puruShArthas like svarga. Thus, "water" here is the latter+

amR^ita - Nectar is the attainment of a deva-sharIra in svarga after performing such means.

mAdhvIkaja - “drink from honey” is the experience of objects in svarga which are like honey.

rasa – juice or sap - also means “bliss” – the bliss arising from such experience+

madhupANa - a sweet drink – bliss of meditating on the jIvAtma – j~nAna yoga.

yavaka-pANa – the drink from barley –vision of the jIvAtma by karma yoga. Barley is used in sacrifices & so signifies yaj~na.

Both signify attainment of the bliss of the jIvAtma as a puruShArtha+

Thus far, attainment of svarga, which is a material goal, and the attainment of the bliss of the jIvAtma, which is a non-material goal different from Brahman, were defined.

The next few items class all these within the 3 well-known puruShArthAs – dharma, artha and kAma+

payas or milk  - signifies the Vedas, the source of all dharma, just as havis arises from milk. Thus it signifies dharma.

dadhi – curd. That which nourishes or satisfies (dhinoti) according to shatapatha. It refers to wealth which is pleasing – artha+

mathitA – buttermilk. kR^iShNa ate butter and discarded buttermilk.  Butter signifies his devotees who desire only him, while buttermilk signifies those who desire other things like svarga-bhoga or jIvAtmAnubhava.

So, this signifies kAma puruShArtha+

सर्वेभ्य एवाभ्यधिको रसो – That Brahman, signified by the blood, is superior in bliss (rasa) to all these things in attainment. It also means, bhagavAn is the bestower of all those other goals as well.

This much is the meaning behind duhshAsana’s death at the hands of bhIma.//