Shri Krishna, the Envoy of Peace

To prevent the war, Krishna went to Hastinapura as an envoy of peace and asked only five villages for the Pandavas. When proud Duryodhana tried to seize him, the Lord revealed his divine form in the court.

When the thirteen years of exile were complete, the Pandavas asked for their kingdom back, but Duryodhana refused. To avoid a terrible war, Shri Krishna himself agreed to go to Hastinapura as an envoy of peace. Yudhishthira told him that if nothing else could be agreed, the brothers would be content with just five villages, so that they might live in peace.

When Krishna arrived, Duryodhana had prepared rich mansions and grand feasts to win him over. Krishna politely declined. He said that one eats at another's house either out of love or out of need, and here there was neither. Instead he went to the simple home of Vidura, the wise and devoted younger brother of Dhritarashtra, and there he also met his aunt Kunti. According to the popular tradition, Vidura's wife was so overwhelmed with love at the sight of the Lord that, without noticing, she threw away the bananas and offered him the peels; and Krishna ate them happily, because what he accepts is love, not the dish itself.

The next day, in the royal assembly, Krishna spoke with great patience. He reminded the Kurus of dharma, of family bonds and of the destruction a war would bring. Bhishma, Drona, Vidura and even Dhritarashtra urged Duryodhana to make peace. But Duryodhana declared that he would not give the Pandavas even as much land as could rest on the point of a needle.

Worse, Duryodhana and his companions plotted to seize Krishna and imprison him. Krishna only laughed. In that very hall he revealed his divine form: gods, sages and heroes appeared within his body, blazing like fire. Most of those present had to shut their eyes. By Krishna's grace the blind king Dhritarashtra received sight for a moment to behold him, while Bhishma, Drona, Vidura and the sages saw and bowed. Then the Lord withdrew the vision and calmly left the hall.

The peace mission failed, but not because of Krishna; he had given every chance. The story teaches that God offers peace again and again, that he goes gladly to a humble home where there is love, and that pride which refuses even five villages brings about its own ruin.

Source

Mahabharata, Udyoga Parva (Bhagavad-yana); the banana-peel episode is popular tradition

Place

Hastinapura

Lesson

God offers peace again and again and accepts simple love over grandeur; arrogance invites its own ruin.