Questions and Answers on ‘The Envoy’
Ex.2 (Very
Short Answers)
(A) Answer the
following questions in 20-30 words each:
Q1. Who
convenes the meeting of princes?
Ans. Duryodhana convenes the meeting of princes. He
does so to decide who would be the commander of his army. He knows that
there is a possibility of a war between the Kauravas and the Pandavas.
Q2. What is
the purpose of the meeting?
Ans. See Ans. 1
Q3.Where is
the grandfather seated?
Ans. As we know, Duryodhana has
convened a meeting. All the elders and the ‘Gurus’ were seated in their due
places. The grandfather was also seated in his due place. It was a lion throne.
Q4. Who is
the envoy and what is the purpose of his visit?
Ans. The envoy is Lord Krishna. The purpose of his
visit is to make a peaceful solution to the conflict between the Kauravas and
the Pandavas. He wanted to maintain peace, not provoke war.
Q5. How does
Duryodhana plan to receive the envoy?
Ans. We know that Duryodhna’s mind is full of evil. So
he plans to insult Lord Krishna by telling the princes not to stand in honour of Krishna. Rather he makes himself busy watching the portrait in which Draupadi
is being insulted in the court.
Q6. How does
Duryodhana busy himself during the entrance of the envoy?
Ans. Duryodhana wanted to insult Krishna. So he does
not stand to welcome and honour him. Rather he makes himself busy watching the
portrait in which Draupadi is being insulted by them.
Q7. Why are
Duryodhna’s warriors confused at the entrance of Krishna?
Ans. Duryodhana's warriors were confused. They all
respected Krishna. Now they were unable to decide if they should stand up to honour
Krishna or not. But Duryodhana wanted them to be seated.
Q8.What is
Duryodhna’s response to Pnadvas’ plea for the division on inheritance?
Ans. Duryodhana's response to Pandvas’ plea was
negative. He rejected Lord Krishna’s peace pact. He was not ready to give them
even a small bit of the land from his kingdom.
Q9. What do
the Pandava brothers seek from the Kuru clan?
Ans. The Pandavas brothers seek their rightful division
from the kingdom that was under Duryodhana. They wanted to have their due share
from it.
Q10. Why
does Duryodhna call Krishna a cowherd?
Ans. Krishna was brought up by the ‘gwalas’, the
people who keep cows. Krishna also loved cows and used to take the cowherd with
his friends for grazing them. So Duryodhana called him a cowherd to make fun of him.
B. Answer
the following in one word/phrase or in a sentence.
Q1. Who
convenes the meeting of princes?
Ans. Duryodhana convenes the meeting.
Q2. What is
the purpose of the meeting?
Ans. To decide who would be the commander of the
Kaurva armies is the purpose of the meeting.
Q3.Where is
the grandfather seated?
Ans. On a lion's throne
Q4. Who is the envoy and what is the
purpose of his visit?
Ans. Lord Krishna is the envoy and his purpose is to
make peace between the brothers.
Q5. How does
Duryodhana plan to receive the envoy?
Ans. By not giving honor and a warm welcome to the envoy
Q6. How does Duryodhan busy himself during the
entrance of the envoy?
Ans. He keeps himself busy watching the picture in
which Draupadi is being insulted by the Kauravas.
Q7. Why are
Duryodhna’s warriors confused at the entrance of Krishna?
Ans. They did not want to disrespect Krishna and also
not disobey Duryodhana at the same time.
Q8.What is
Duryodhna’s response to Pnadvas’ plea for the division on inheritance?
Ans. He rejected their peace pact.
Q9. What do
the Pandava brothers seek from the Kuru clan?
Ans. They want their due share from the kingdom.
Q10. Why
does Duryodhna call Krishna a cowherd?
Ans. He calls him a cowherd just to make fun of him.
Textual Qs
& Ans (100 words)
Q1.
Krishna’s visit as an envoy stands for peace and reconciliation between the
Pandavas and the Kauravas. Discuss.
Ans. Krishna’s visit was a last-ditch effort to bring peace
and reconciliation between the Pandavas and the Kurus. Krishna knew that the war
between both the parties would bring death and destruction. So he went to meet
Duryodhana with a peace proposal. He tried to convince him that the Pandavas must
be given their due share from the kingdom. It is their right. But Duryodhana was
not ready for the Pandavas even a small bit of the land from his kingdom. Lord
Krishna even told him that the fight between them would destroy the Kauravas
completely. But Duryodhana's reasoning power was blunt due to his pride. So he
did not pay any heed to Krishna’s peace proposal.
Q2. Why does
Dhritrashtra apologise to Krishna?
Ans. Same as above Q1/Ans1
Q3. Sum up
the Pandavas ' annoyance as described by Krishna.
Ans. Krishna conveyed Pandvas's annoyance to Duryodhana.
Lord Krishna did not want that there should be a war between the Kauravas and
the Pandavas. He told Duryodhana that the Pandavas had already suffered a lot due
to him. They had suffered in exile for thirteen years. They were denied their rightful share of the kingdom. But Duryodhana was adamant about not giving
them a small piece of land from his kingdom. At this, Krishna warned him of the
dire consequences if the war took place between the two sides of the brothers.
He told Duryodhana in plain words that the Pandavas would totally destroy the
Kauravas. But, Duryodhana in his vain pride did not accept Krishna’s peace
proposal.
Q4. Who is
referred to as the ‘lotus-eyed-lord’? Why is he angry?
Ans. Krishna has been called the ‘lotus-eyed-lord’. We
know that he has come to Duryodhna’s court with a peace proposal. But it was
rejected by Duryodhana. Lord Krishna knows that the rejection means the total
destruction of the Kauravas. Duryodhana not only rejects Krishna’s peace
proposal but also insults him. When Krishna entered the court, Duryodhana had
already made a plan to insult him. First, he did not stand up to honor him. He
remained busy watching a portrait of Draupadi in which she has been shown as
being insulted by the Kauravas. An effort was being made to disrobe her. All
these made Krishna angry at Duryodhana. He was about to use the Sudarshana
Chakra. At the right moment, Dhritrashtra, Duryodhana's father, apologised to
Krishna on behalf of his son. That pacified Krishna.
III Answer
in about 300 words
Q1. “The
theme of the play is to attempt reconciliation between the Pandavas and the
Kurus and not to provoke war. How far do you agree with this statement? Or What is the theme of the play ‘The envoy’?
Ans. We agree with the statement that the theme of the play
is an attempt to strike reconciliation between the Pandavas and the Kurus. We
know that Duryodhana did not want to give the Pandavas their due share from the
kingdom. Not only this, the Pandavas had to suffer a lot due to him. Duryodhana
defeated Pandavas by deceit in dice. Then they insulted Draupadi and tried to
disrobe her in his court. The Pandavas had to go into exile for thirteen years.
When they returned after the exile, they demanded their share from the kingdom. But
Duryodhana was still adamant not to give the Pandavas their due share. At this,
the Pandavas decided to take their share after defeating the Kauravas in a fight.
But Yudhishtra and Krishna were not in favour of any fight. Lord Krishna knew
that war would destroy the Kaurvas completely. So Yudhishtra made Lord Krishna
his envoy and sent him to meet Duryodhana to avoid war.
He made a plan not to stand up to welcome Krishna into
his court. He ordered all about this. When Krishna entered the court, he did
not stand up and remained busy looking at a painting in which Draupadi was
being humiliated (insulted) in the court.
Krishana advised Duryodhana to give Pandvas share of
his kingdom. He also told him about the serious consequences (bad results) of
the fight between them. But Duryodhana was not ready to make a compromise with
his brothers, Pandavas. Rather he was under the effect of his false pride. Lord
Krishna grew very angry. He decided to kill him and his army by using Sudarshan
Chakra. But Dritrashtra, Duryodhna’s father apologized to Lord Krishna and requested
him to pacify. After that Krishna left the court.
Thus we see that the theme of this play is to avert
war not to provoke it.
