'Can begging forgiveness from the motherland..'
'..free a person from the responsibility..'
'..of the acts of betrayal against the land?'
'I do not wish to answer this question.'
'Either, Bhishma or Hastinapur should answer it.'
'However, a thorn was..'
'..stuck in Bhishma's heart.'
'Of course, no one wanted to take note of it.'
'And it was not Bhishma who was the lone sufferer.'
'All well wishers of Hastinapur who were compelled to side..'
'..with Duryodhan were also suffering helplessly.'
'One such person was Gandhari.'
My only prayer to Lord Shiva is..
..that the Pandavas return safely..
..and claim the crown of Indraprasth.
Then I'll be relived.
I thank the day..
..I bandaged my eyes.
I am so ashamed that..
..I cannot look at either Hastinapur..
..or at you, Kunti!
You are not even a part of the political games.
Why should you be ashamed?
Why not?
If you considered me blameless..
..why didn't you visit me in twelve years?
That would have meant asking for your blessing.
What blessing could you give me..
..which did not go against Duryodhan's interest?
A blessing for me may be a curse for him.
I, too, am his mother.
God knows I have loved him no less than my sons.
How could I seek blessing from you and a curse for him?
A mother's curse is more powerful than her blessing.
My only prayer is that..
..God protects our motherhood.
Why don't you sit with us?
Like us, you, too, will share..
..the fate of Hastinapur and Indraprasth.
A balance has only two scales.
But you are the balance.
Without you, how would we know..
..which scale is heavier?
Today, words have no meaning in Hastinapur.
Everyone stands on the crossroads of loyalty..
..not knowing which way to turn.
If Hastinapur questions you, what will you say?
Hastinapur does not give this right to its women.
If that was so, Yudhishthir wouldn't have stake Draupadi.
Duryodhan wouldn't have ordered Draupadi's disrobing.
So, relax!
Hastinapur will not ask this question of either you or me.
Like Vidur, you're an expert at speaking bitter truths.
What would you have done in my place?
Exactly what you did!
I, too, would have asked Duryodhan to disrobe me.
Would you have cursed him?
A curse is not the solution to a problem.
Giving a curse means..
..that one has been defeated by circumstances.
Don't accept defeat, sister.
You are the scales as well as the balance.
Go on weighing the two sides..
..till they are perfectly balanced.
Then, give Duryodhan and Yudhishthir..
..their rightful shares.
Give me a solution, Kunti.
I cannot see their future clearly.
I cannot see, Kunti.
Do you think..
..I do not know my responsibility as the eldest Kuru?
But what can I do?
A tree cannot reject its own fruit.
The groundnut seed does not yield the sunflower.
Duryodhan is the result of my blind ambition.
He is the executor of my dreams!
He is a sentence uttered my own mouth!
I cannot recall him.
So..
So, pray that the Pandavas fail in remaining anonymous.
What are you saying?
Accepting one's helplessness..
..reduces the burden of responsibility.
Life becomes a little easier.
Protector of righteousness and his subjects!
Justice-loving king of Hastinapur!
Emperor Bharat is on his way!
Bharat, son of Shakuntala..
..asks king Dhritrashtra for justice.
Keep sitting, my son.
Keep sitting.
You are the present..
..and it should give way only to the future.
If you do not respect it, it will make you do so.
I am your past..
..which has given way for the future.
I have merely come to tell you..
..that the royal court is not your pleasure palace.
It is your hermitage.
Politics is your penance.
So, sit on this throne..
..because your ancestor..
..has come to ask for justice.
Justice?
But how can I do injustice to you?
You are my past.
How can the present do injustice to the past?
Do you mean to say that..
..you are not answerable to the past?
When the future becomes the present, you will be the past.
So, it means that the present..
..is not answerable to the future or the past.
You are your own lord?
Which means you have not understood time.
The present is an heir to the past.
So, I have a right to question you.
But uncle.. - Not uncle!
You're the king and I'm the complainant.
Listen to my complaint and give me justice.
Today, you are sitting on the throne I sat on.
My king, an injustice has been done to me.
Who has done this injustice?
The king himself.
I?
What kind of a king are you?
You are insulting the values you should protect..
..dragging them through the mire of your ambition.
You have insulted me and my dynasty.
How did you forget that..
..I found my own son unworthy of the throne..
..and crowned Bhoomanyu, son of Sage Bharadwaj.
And you're doing injustice to Yudhishthir..
..in order to crown your unworthy son as the king.
Are you not ashamed?
Didn't you feel like committing suicide?
Listen carefully to my complaint..
..and give me justice, if you can.
My own heir has insulted me and the throne..
..and ignored his responsibility.
He has violated patriotism and politics for filial love.
He has acted treacherously against the Pandavas.
He encouraged the disrobing of his daughter-in-law..
..by remaining silent.
O king of Hastinapur!
O keeper of justice!
O protector of righteousness!
This heir of mine has defiled my dynasty.
Award him the most stringent punishment. Do justice to me!
But I don't consider my son Duryodhan unworthy.
I am king Vichitravirya's eldest son.
And Duryodhan is my eldest son.
If he is worthy..
..then he has the first right to the throne after me.
Besides, the present cannot decide..
..on the basis of past definitions.
Your era may have defined worthiness differently.
I am not saying that your decision was wrong.
Only you and your era can decide that.
But this is my era..
..and it will decide whether my decision is right.
So, forgive me because..
..I am not answerable to you.
If I am, then tell me..
..why did you not take a similar complaint..
..to my ancestor Shantanu..
..whose love for a woman made him..
..deny his son Devavrat his just rights..
..and give them to a son..
..who was as yet unborn?
Dhritrashtra, don't lie!
Don't lie!
Ask my son..
..whether your allegation is true!
I'd have given my life for Satyawati's sake..
..but I'd never have done injustice to my son or Hastinapur.
But, Dhritrashtra, you have been openly unjust.
Neither the nation nor the dynasty will forgive you.
How dare you compare your son with mine?
You're taking advantage of this great soul..
..this great warrior and tactician..
..who is bound by his oath.
His helplessness has become your shield!
But what will happen when the shield breaks down?
You are blind, my son, not stupid.
You know what you are doing..
..and you alone are responsible for what's happening.
I'll never forgive you for insulting Hastinapur and my son Bhishma.
Never!
What can I do?
Duryodhan is a reflection of my personality.
Duryodhan is a reflection of my personality!
Duryodhan is a reflection..
My lord!
Was it a nightmare?
Yes.
I don't know if it was a nightmare or the truth.
Whatever it was, it was terrible.
They were saying..
No! No!
They were demanding! They were ordering..
..that I forsake Duryodhan!
They! Who are they?
My ancestors.
Gandhari! - Yes?
Have I really been unjust to the Pandavas?
I gave them half my Kingdom.
What can I do if they lost it at dice?
A king who loses his Kingdom his brothers and wife at dice..
..is an unworthy king!
They did not lose. They were tricked into losing.
Agreed!
But it was Yudhishthir who staked..
..his kingdom, brothers and wife.
Why should Duryodhan be penalized for that?
Duryodhan will be penalized..
..because his intentions were not honorable.
Are the Pandavas blameless?
Yes! That's why they, too, are suffering.
If you really want to protect Duryodhan..
..then call back the Pandavas..
..bless them..
..and ask them to return to Indraprasth.
That's impossible, Gandhari.
Now it's impossible.
If I do that..
..Duryodhan will claim that they were recognized.
As a result, they'll have to go in exile for 12 more years.
As a father and king you can order him.
How can this blind Dhritrashtra find them?
Who knows where they are in this year of anonymity?
'Dhritrashtra is right that he doesn't know where the Pandavas..'
'..are spending the year of anonymity.'
'But I know that after a lot of thought..'
'..the Pandavas chose the land of Matsya..'
'..to spend their year of anonymity because..'
'..its king Virat is not only powerful..'
'..but also because he was not their enemy.'
'So, they went to Matsya..'
'..in a cemetery outside the city.'
'They hid their weapons in a tree.'
'One by one they joined King Virat's service.'
'Yudhishthir joined the court under the name of Kank.'
'Bheem became the chief cook..'
'..under the name of Ballav.'
'Arjun as Brihannala began to teach music and dance to Uttara.'
'Nakul joined as the caretaker of the stables.'
'Sahadev became a cowherd.'
'Draupadi, under the name Sairandhri..'
'..was in charge of the queen's make-up.'
Sairandhri, you're an expert at make-up.
Queen Draupadi must have been happy with you.
I try not to recall her.
Yes! I understand.
It must be painful remembering her.
I am surprised that the brave Pandavas..
..should lose their wealth and nation..
..and even queen Draupadi at dice!
If king Yudhishthir hadn't lost everything..
..how would the world realize..
..that the game of dice is..
..very disastrous, unlucky and deceptive?
You are right, Sairandhri.
How often have I asked the King to give up dice..
..but he says it is a warrior's right to play and wage war.
One day, when I insisted that he gave up..
..he swore that he would not stake me.
And now that Kank is here..
..they play all day.
It is thanks to my brother Keechak's strength..
..that this country is safe.
You must have seen Kank there.
Was he as close to king Yudhishthir?
King Yudhishthir was closer to his younger brothers..
..than he was to even himself.
That's good!
Tell me!
Did no discord ever arise among the brothers regarding Draupadi?
I didn't notice anything.
Surprising!
If you're right in that case Draupadi is worthy of respect.
She must have kept the Pandavas spellbound.
She must be really beautiful.
Tell me about her beauty.
Uttara! Don't run like a deer.
Hasn't Brihannala taught you how to walk?
Forgive me, Mother.
Is Brihannala really adept at dance and music?
Anyone who has learnt from Chitrasen..
..should be very good, my queen.
Her rhythm can be heard in heaven..
..where the celestial nymphs dance to it.
Princess, now try this piece. Okay?
No, Uttara!
Not like that!
In dance, you must use your eyes..
..your eyebrows and fingers effectively.
The audience must understand your dance.
Silently..
..you must convey the meaning.
Dance is teacher, which teaches you the meaning of words.
Dance is not mere entertainment.
Dance is penance of culture.
Practice hard. It is devotion.
Look at me.
Now, do it.
1, 2..
Yes!
Hail Princes!
The queen is waiting for you in her chamber.
Do I have the permission? - Certainly.
Bless you.
Sairandhri, come in.
Panchali, discard this anger from your eyes.
There is no anger in my eyes.
It's the realization that I'm the reason for your condition.
The ace archer Arjun, plays the drum..
..as dancer Brihannala?
The powerful Bheem is a cook!
Emperor Yudhishthir is a king's servant!
Panchali, it doesn't befit you to cry due to circumstances.
These are testing days.
These can't be destroyed by my arrows..
..nor the swords of Nakul and Sahadev.
Brother's spear can't destroy it.
Brother Bheem's mace can't break it.
These days will pass at their own pace.
Twelve years are over, aren't they?
This year, too, will pass.
Does not the queen treat you well?
It is not that!
But she keeps talking about us.
She must be talking about you.
Beautiful women are always interested..
..in other beautiful women.
Some day, you must tell her how beautiful you looked.
But no! Don't!
She will be jealous because you worked for..
..the most beautiful women on earth.
How can you laugh at a moment like this?
One has to laugh in moments like these.
Danger is the only thing worth laughing at.
Just think..
..how angry Duryodhan must be for not finding us!
Uncle Shakuni must be spending sleepless nights!
I don't want to think about them.
Whenever I think of them my blood boils with anger.
These open tresses of mine choke me.
So, you are Hastinapur's famous spies..
..who can even tell me the earth receives what amount of sunlight..
..and moonlight!
But none of you can tell me..
..where the Pandavas are hiding!
If you are tired of living then so be it!
Or else, go and before the year ends..
..find out where the Pandavas are hiding..
..and in what form.
Be it heaven or hell..
..I want to know where they are!
Or else, get ready..
..to lose your lives!
If you do not return with the good news..
..of where the Pandavas are..
..I shall kill not only you..
..but your entire family!
Now go!
Brother has told us not to meet openly!
What to do? I hadn't seen you in two months.
As for the others, it will be a year since I saw them.
Do you think I don't want to see them?
We have never stayed apart.
But what can be done?
One day, I had taken a few horses to the palace.
A palace servant asked me for lunch.
He said the new cook makes tasty food.
And why not? He was king Yudhishthir's cook.
So, I went to the kitchen.
Brother Bheem was so happy that he cried.
What's this, Ballav? You are crying?
I was cutting onions.
Do you know Arishtanemi?
He was in king Yudhishthir's stable boy.
I've seen him there occasionally. How are you?
I'm well by God's grace and your blessings..
Now that you are here, have lunch and go.
That's why I brought him.
Let him eat well today.
You can feed him. I'll be back soon.
Sit.
Get me a plate, please.
Yes, Sir!
How's Sahadev?
A few days back I'd gone there with the horses.
He is fine.
He, too, longs to see you.
He will have to wait for some more time.
Had I known you were coming..
..I would have made your favorite dishes.
Here you are. Real hot!
This curry is exactly the way mother used to make it.
We ate it a lot as children.
How's elder brother?
How will a king turned a servant be?
He's well.
Arjun, as Brihannala, is teaching Uttara dance and music.
Draupadi, who had a thousand maids..
..now looks after the queen of Matsya.
After that I never went to the palace again.
Don't cry Nakul! Mother will know of it.
Learn to bear this sorrow.
I don't have your kind of forbearance. I don't have it!
Listen to me, Nakul.
Bheem has sworn to kill Duryodhan and Dushasan.
Arjun has sworn to kill Karna.
But everyone has forgotten Shakuni..
..who is responsible for our humiliation!
Everybody has forgotten him!
Today I swear that..
..I shall kill that evil Shakuni! Yes, I'll kill him!
"I shall kill the evil Shakuni.."
"..who has brought this unhappiness."
"This is the oath sworn by.."
"..Sahadev, son of Pandu."