MAHABARATA
EPISODE 13'S. WOODEN PALACE

SEEING the might of Bima and the dexterity of Arjuna, a sense of envy further burned Duryudana's heart. Karna and Sengkuni became Duryudana's advisers to devise a devious plan to defeat the Pandavas. In fact, Destarata was a wise king and had great love for the Pandavas of his younger sons. Unfortunately, he is weak. It tends

to the wishes of his sons. In fact, sometimes he obeyed their wishes even though he realized it was wrong.

In various ways, Duryudana attempted to kill the Pandavas. Thanks to the help given in secret by Widura who wants to avoid the great sins

Pandavas survived.

The most hurtful thing for Duryudana was that the townspeople were always blatantly praising the Pandavas. They have always called for Yudhishthir to be the most worthy to be crowned king. They clustered and debated who was the most worthy of being king. They said: "Destarata could not have been king because he was blind from birth. He should give up his throne to someone else. Bhishma could not become king because he had sworn to devote his whole life to the truth and because of his vow to

not being king. The most worthy of being king was Yudhishthira. He was the most worthy to lead the Kuru dynasty and empire fairly." Thus, the people talk about their king. Such talk made Duryudana's ear

hotter. His heart ached with envy and burned with malice.

he went to his father, Destarata, and said: "Ayahanda, I hear the people talking nonsense. They show absolutely no respect to people who deserve to be glorified like Father and Bhisma. They said that Yudhisthira should soon be crowned king. It means disaster for us. They said, Father cannot be king because he is blind and should be handed over to the brother of Ayahanda. If Yudhishthira succeeds his father, where will we go? Is there any chance for our descendants to become kings? After Yudhishthira, his descendants will take his place. Our descendants will be the people

the poor whose lives depended on the mercy of the Pandavas. Life in hell would be so much better!"

After listening to his son's words, Destarata began to ponder: "My son, what you said is indeed true. But

I believe that Yudhishthira will not stray from the way of truth. He loves us all. He inherited all the traits

good his late father. People admire. They will surely support it. All ministers and senapati also love Pandu. They will surely serve him with all their heart. Folk

he adored the Pandavas. We cannot resist or wait for a good chance to defeat them. If we do unjustly, the people will rise up and will kill us or thank God just expel us from the kingdom. We'll just get curses and scorn."

Duryudana replied: "Fears of Father are completely unwarranted. At best, Bhisma will be neutral.

Meanwhile, Ashwatama will definitely obey me. This means his father and uncle will be on our side. Vidura cannot openly oppose us unless he has other reasons, for he has no power whatsoever. Send Pandavas to Waranawata immediately. To be honest, my heart is rasanyasesak, filled with resentment and envy. I can't stand all this anymore. Anxiety filled my day. I can'tidal sleep well. Life mnenderita. As soon as we send the Pandavas to Waranawata, we strengthen our ranks."

After Duryudana, the king's counsellors came and took turns giving advice to the Destarata. Kanika, right hand

Sengkuni, is their leader. He said: "Paduka, it is best to be careful with the sons of Pandu because of kindness and

their influence can be bad for your Majesty and your Sons. Indeed, the Pandavas are your brothers, but the closer the family relationship is, the greater the danger it may pose. They're very strong."

Sengkuni's right hand continued: "Do not misunderstand the servant, if the servant says that a king other than

must have a big name, must also show the power of action. No one believes in a force that does not

In addition, the evil must be immediately eradicated, because if left unchecked it will only become a thorn that rotted the flesh. No

only strong enemies, weak enemies should not be ignored. In fact, small embers of fire can cause forest fires. A strong enemy must be defeated by deceit. Show mercy to them

same with stupid actions. O King, beware of the sons of Pandu. They're very strong."

Duryudana assured his father that he had managed to muster strength: "Ananda has bestowed property and honor upon all the royal guards. The ministers have persuaded Ananda to defend our interests. So Ayahanda

sending the Pandavas to Waranawata, the whole capital and kingdom will be on our side. They have no allies here. If the kingdom is in our hands, they will no longer have power. If so, maybe we'll let them

back again."

If the crowd listened to what he really wanted to believe, he would feel that the belief was indeed true.

Similarly, what happened to Destarata. la began to falter by the insistence of his son. All it takes then is to give an additional effect to the evil plan. The ministers began to tell the beauty of Waranawata when they heard the plan to be carried out on the Pandavas. They began to whisper about the plan of the worship ceremony for Shiva Batara which will be held massively in Waranawata. The Pandavas were not suspicious of the plan at all.

Especially after the Destarata lovingly told them to go to Waranawata to follow the ceremony. No

only that, Destarata added that the people of Waranawata already miss the Pandavas. Later, the Pandavas said goodbye to Bhisma and the elders and departed for Waranawata.

Duryudana is very happy because the plan is going well. Together with Karna and Sengkuni, Duryudana devised a plan to destroy the Pandavas. They sent Purochana and paramenteri. They get secret orders that must be executed obediently and carefully.

Long before the Pandavas left for Waranawata, Purochana as instructed, had been there and built a beautiful palace for the resting place of the Pandavas. The palace was built with building materials

flammable, such as lacquer, viscous oil, and dry sacks. The materials used to coat the walls are made of flammable materials. Cleverly, he installed in the corners of the palace dry materials that easily ignited the fire. He also placed the seat and bed in the position most susceptible to licks of fire. Everything is prepared

very neatly so that the Pandavas do not suspect, until the palace is finished. The plan was when the Pandavas

asleep, the palace will be burned. The attentive and loving welcome and treatment given to the Pandavas would break all suspicions and the fire would be seen as a pure accident. No one would blame Kaurawa.

SERIATE.....