Duryodhana: The Prince Who Would Be King ...


The popular tellings of the Mahabharata are about Duryodhana's

deviousness, obstinacy and greed for power that would bring about the

battle of Kurukshetra between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, and his

own downfall.


But was there more to him? Was he all black, or was it a matter of

shades of grey?


What was he?


True heir or pretender to the throne?

Arch villain or brave prince defending his rajadharma?

Ace strategist or wicked schemer?


History, they say, is written by the victors. So we have never heard the

side that Duryodhana presents. The epic's enigmatic villain finally has

his say -- on people, their motives and their machinations. For the first

time we read a different meaning into episodes we may be familiar with --

be it the attempted killing of Bhima, the burning of the wax house, the

famous game of dice or even Draupadi's vastraharan -- and get insights

into the story we may not have come across before. Here is the crown

prince of Hastinapura as we have never known him, adding yet another

dimension to the labyrinth that is the Mahabharata.