Destiny's Children - A quatrain

Thetis held Achilles by his heel and dipped him in the Styx,
Gandhari's vision made Duryodhana impervious, but for his Fix;


A Mother may try all to shape His destiny and fate,
Alas! the struggle is as good as lost, when it is against Time and Date.




Mythological Background:

In Homer's Greek Epic 'Illiad', Thetis tried to immortalize her son Achilles by dipping him in the river Styx. For this she held him by his heel and immersed him in the river. Since the portion of the heel could not come in contact with the water, it remained vulnerable. In the Trojan war Achilles was subsequently killed by an arrow which struck him exactly at that portion of his heel.

Similarly, In Ved Vyas's Indian Epic 'Mahabharata', Gandhari, the mother of Duryodhana had accumulated power through penance (remaining blindfolded for years together) such that when she would remove the blindfold the person whom she would see first would be indestructible. She asked her son to appear in front of her completely naked and she would open her eyes. Being embarrassed to go completely naked in front of his mother, he covered his groin with a piece of cloth (or leaves). His enemy Bhima killed him in war by striking a mace at this very place.