Charioteer sanjay

 Sanjay, a Sanskrit name meaning victory, was the son of Gavalyagana. Like his father before him, he was a charioteer and adviser of Dhritarashtra, the King of Hastinapur. A loyal, humble and devoted man, Sanjay, who was a great devotee of Maharishi Ved Vyasa, didn’t directly participate in the Kurukshetra battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas but, through his divine vision, which he was blessed with by his guru Maharishi Ved Vyas, he had the knowledge of everything that was happening during the battle.

Charioteer

After Adirath, the charioteer of King Dhritarashtra, took leave from the King to tend to his adopted child, Bheesma along with Guru Kripacharya and Vidur conducted a recruitment process, one which demanded a clear understanding of one’s duties and responsibilities. Sanjay, who was selected for his intelligence and decision-making abilities, displayed his prowess and, along with Vidur, became close confidantes of Dhritarashtra. He was a Suta who drove chariots, attended and provided news and information to the King, composed epic poems that praised the heroic deeds of kings and warriors and entertained the King by singing songs that glorified his achievements.

A good counselor, he made Dhritarashtra aware of Shakuni’s evil schemes and Kauravas’ misdeeds. A true follower of dharma and a man of principle, Sanjay acted as an ambassador between the Pandavas and the Kauravas during the unsuccessful peace negotiations. Such was his nature that Dhritarashtra and the Kauravas believed that the only person who could convey their message of not agreeing to the Pandavas’ demand that Indraprastha be handed back to them was Sanjay, who would put forward the message in the politest way possible.

Divya Drishti (Divine Vision)

In Mahabharata, the night before the war, the Pandavas and the Kauravas have already discussed the plans and strategies for the first day of the war. Bhisma, aware of the ruins the war would certainly bring, is at unease and wants to do something to prevent the war. As a last resort, he visits Lord Krishna and asks him for some solution. Lord Krishna tries to explain that the war isunavoidable but offers Bhisma a glimmer of hope. He advises Bhisma to ask Maharishi Ved Vyasa to visit Dhritarashtra. Ved Vyasa complies and visits Dhritarashtra, who Sanjay is attending to.

Maharishi Vyasa admonishes the King for submitting passively to the immoral desires of his sons, esp. Duryodhana and Dushasana, and tries, albeit unsuccessfully, to persuade Dhritarashtra to act as a mediator between the Kauravas and Pandavas. Furious at Dhritarashtra, Maharishi Vyasa tells him that his name would forever be tainted for his passivity, which has resulted in a chaotic situation. Showing remorse for his actions and asking for forgiveness, Dhritarashtra then mentions to Vyasa his desire to know the events during the battle and puts forward a request to bestow upon his charioteer Sanjay the divine vision or Divya Drishti. Maharishi Vyasa tells Dhritarashtra that if he wants divine vision, he himself could accept it. Dhritarashtra, fearing that he might have to witness the deaths of his sons and his army, refuses to accept it and asks him to grant Sanjay the divine vision. Sanjay, being loyal to his master, accepts it with grace.

After being endowed with Divya Drishti, Sanjay, at the request of King Dhritarashtra, starts to explain to him everything about the then world. This is mentioned at the beginning of Bhisma Parva in the Mahabharata. He describes to his master, in great detail, the diversity of life, his theories on the matter, life forms, geography, etc.

During the battle, Sanjay reports everything to Dhritarashtra in great detail. Clear, honest and without taking sides, Sanjay never turns away from reporting the loss of his master’s sons in the battlefield, though it’s an excruciating job telling a parent the gruesome death of his sons at the hands of the Pandavas. Despite this, he never shies away from narrating the actual events; he, however, comforts Dhritarashtra and Gandhari whenever he reports the loss of their sons.

Along with Arjun, Hanuman, and Barbarika, Sanjay is a direct listener of the Gita, recited by Lord Krishna himself, which he then narrates to his master, King Dhritarashtra. He is also one of the two witnesses to the Vishwaroop, the universal form of Lord Krishna.

After the battle

After the war was over which ended in the Pandavas being victorious, Sanjay followed Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, Vidur and Kunti into retirement to Vyasa’s ashram, or hut, to spend the rest of their lives as sanyasi or saints where Vidur died. They, then, decided to head to Gangadwara, currently known as Haridwara, to meditate along the banks of the holy river Ganges. One day, there was a wildfire, one which Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, and Kunti choose to be consumed by since being engulfed by fire is a death befitting a saint. However, on Dhritarashtra’s instruction to escape the fire and leave them be, he then retired to the Himalayas, never to be seen again, which is described by Narada to Yudhishthir, now the King of Hastinapur, in this chapter of the Ashramavasika Parva of the Mahabharata: