#nonfiction
Yudhisthira, the eldest of the Pandavas, invited his cousin Duryodhana, to his Indraprastha palace, for a religious function.

Duryodhana heartily accepted the invitation and stayed in the Pandavas' palace. He was amazed to see the wonderful illusions created in the palace.

When Duryodhana tried to enter a door, he hurt his head because it was not really a door but a wall.

When he went further he saw a pool of water and tried to enter it. It was not a pool but glass which looked like a pool. He hurt his foot with the glass.

Then Duryodhana went ahead but fell in a pool, which looked just like the concrete floor.

Seeing this, Draupadi, the Pandavas' wife, started laughing loudly. She commented, "A blind man's (Dhritrashtra) son is also blind."

The rude comment insulted Duryodhana so much that he vowed to take revenge on Draupadi, leading to the Great War Of Mahabharata that lasted for 18 days, killing millions of people.

Believe me, the wounds of a sword can heal with time, but the wounds given by the harsh, insulting words can never be healed!

The following lines of mine underline the importance of "thinking twice before speaking" (पहले तोलो, फिर बोलो) :

कुछ मौसम के जैसे बदलती है साहब, लफ़्ज़ों की तासीर
लफ़्ज़ कभी हैं शीतल फुहार, लफ़्ज़ कभी हैं तपते तीर

Like weather, the words have varied effects.

Like the monsoon drizzle, the words can soothe, bring joy.

Like the scorching rays of summer sun, the words can annoy, bring anguish.

~ Sanjay Gargish ~