All of us in
life have vulnerability – something that is a weak spot in our life. It could
be ones character trait, or a liking for something material or person, or
anything, but everybody has vulnerability or vulnerable zones.
Mythology has
exemplified this vulnerability into a weak spot for many a mythical hero, which
ends up as a cause for destruction. Let us see some of these vulnerabilities
which led to their nemesis.
One of the first
that comes to my mind is Achilles Heel,
which is synonymous to the phrase ‘weak spot’. To say that someone has an
Achilles Heel is to imply that the person has a weak spot or a major
vulnerability.
Achilles was the
son of a mortal father and the nymph Thetis. Thetis was very beautiful and had
attracted Zeus, the King of gods. But, then he came to know about a prophesy,
that the child of Thetis would be far greater than his father, and Zeus was not
interested in losing his position. One by one, all the gods lost interest in
her and she had to settle down for a mortal by the name of King Peleus. When
Achilles was born, in a bid to ensure that her son would be immortal, Thetis
dipped the baby Achilles in the River Styx. This made Achilles invulnerable,
except for the place where Thetis’s fingers had gripped him while dipping,
which was his heel. Thus his heel was mortal enough to strike a deadly blow
during the Trojan War. Achilles was killed by an arrow by Paris, which was
divinely guided to Achilles’ heel.
Thetis dipping Achilles in River Styx- Painting by Ruben |
In Mahabharat
too we have many such examples. Towards the end of the war of Kurukshetra, when
the Kauravas were suffering heavy casualties, Gandhari sent word to Duryodhan to come and see him without
wearing any clothes before the crack of dawn. She would open her blindfold from
her eyes, which had immense power due to her piousness and fidelity, and her
glance would make him invulnerable to any weapons whatsoever.
When Duryodhan
was on his way, he was stopped by Krishna, who ridiculed him for allowing his
mother to see a grown-up male without any clothes and that too for the first
time, since Gandhari had not seen any of her sons. Being chastised he decided to
cover himself below the belt with a banana leaf. When Gandhari opened her
blindfold, the power of her eyes made Duryodhan’s entire body invulnerable, except
for his thighs. Later, during a duel, Bhima hits Duryodhan on his thighs,
leading to Duryodhan’s death.
The above are
examples of physical vulnerability. But there are many instances where we find
examples of non-physical weaknesses in man’s life.
An interesting
example is that of the Jewish hero, Sampson.
Sampson was chosen by God to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines
who were occupying the land and oppressing Israel. To enable him in his
mission, God had granted him immense power and this power resided in his hair.
As Sampson grew up, he started falling for prostitutes and they soon became his
weakness. In one such moment of weakness, he fell in love with a harlot, by the
name of Delilah. Delilah was paid by the Philistines to learn the secret of his
heavenly strength, and Sampson who was not supposed to reveal this to anybody,
committed the cardinal sin of telling it to Delilah. Soon, Delilah put Sampson
to sleep and later shaved his head. When Sampson woke up, he was given to the
Philistines, who blinded him and put him in prison. It is said that Sampson’s,
weakness for women, made him immensely vulnerable and there are many an
instance when he lands in problem, and sways from his heavenly duty.
Delilah shaving Sampson's hair while he was asleep |
In Mahabharata,
we find many examples of non-physical weaknesses in man’s life. Karna was known
for his charity. The cause of charity was so great for him, that he even
decided to give his body armour (kavach)
when asked for making him vulnerable to attacks in the forthcoming war of Kurukshetra,
the time when he would have needed it the most. Dhritarashtra’s weakness was
his son, Duryodhan, Yudhistir’s weakness was the game of dice and Bhima’s
weakness was food and each of them had paid a heavy price for not being able to
conquer their weakness.
A man’s (for
that matter, woman’s too!) Achilles Heel can be anything – sex, alcohol, drugs,
woman, anger, arrogance, greed, selfishness, laziness, procrastination, etc.
There is no end to the vulnerabilities that we are surrounded by in life. It is
important to understand and recognise them. One should be aware of what is ones
weakness, not like Sampson, who did not know that his weakness for women would
get him into trouble or like Yudhistir, whose ‘innocent’ love for gambling led
him to lose everything again and again. Ignorance of one’s weakness or not
accepting the same, both can lead to grave situations.
Now that you
know all about vulnerabilities……what is your Achilles Heel?
Very nice article, Utkarsh!
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