Mahabharata Vol. 2 (Penguin Translated Texts) (18 page)

This section has ninety-nine shlokas and four chapters.

Chapter 258(33): 32 shlokas
Chapter 259(34): 23 shlokas
Chapter 260(35): 29 shlokas
Chapter 261(36): 15 shlokas

Argha
(or arghya) is an offering made as a sign of veneration.
Abhiharana
is the act of fetching or taking. So
arghabhiharana parva
is about the offering of a gift, as a sign of respect, and the consequent dispute.

Vaishampayana said, ‘At the time of the sprinkling of water,
¹
all the brahmanas and kings entered the inside of the sacrificial enclosure. The maharshis, with the great-souled Narada at the forefront, seated themselves at the altar. With the rajarshis, they were as radiant as the gods and the devarshis in Brahma’s abode. Those immensely energetic ones performed one rite after another and discussed it among themselves, “This is the right way,” “that is not
the right way,” “there is no other way except this,” thus did they speak a lot and argue with each other. Some made weak arguments appear strong. Others cited the sacred texts to make strong arguments appear weak. Some intelligent debaters tore apart the arguments of others, the way hawks fall upon raw pieces of meat thrown in the air. Some among them were great in their vows and knew the stories about dharma and artha. Others were supreme among those who had knowledge of the Vedas. Others found delight in recounting tales. The sacrificial altar was surrounded by gods, brahmanas and maharshis, all with knowledge of the Vedas, and looked as beautiful as the clear sky with its stars. O king! No shudra, or one without any vows, was near the inner altar of Yudhishthira’s abode.

‘On seeing the prosperity of the prosperous and intelligent Dharmaraja, all the consequences of that sacrifice, Narada became satisfied. O lord of men! On seeing the assembly of all the kshatriyas, the sage Narada began to think. O bull among the Bharata lineage! He remembered the ancient account about the partial incarnations that he had heard in Brahma’s abode. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! Knowing that this was an assembly of gods, Narada remembered Pundarikaksha Hari.
²
The lord Narayana, slayer of enemies of the wise ones
³
and destroyer of cities of the enemies, had himself been born as a kshatriya to keep his pledge. In ancient times, the creator of beings had himself commanded the gods, “You will regain your own worlds after you have killed one another.” Having thus instructed all the gods, Shambhu
⁴
Narayana, the illustrious lord of the universe, was himself born in Yadu’s dynasty. Having been born in the lineage of the Andhakas and the Vrishnis, the supreme one among those who extend lineages, shone with supreme prosperity,
like the moon among the stars. Hari’s strength of arms was worshipped by Indra, with all the gods. He is the destroyer of enemies and had been born in human form. “Oh! What can be a greater wonder than this? The self-creator will himself take away all these great and strong kshatriyas.” These were the thoughts of the righteous Narada. He knew that Hari Narayana is the god who is worshipped through sacrifices. The intelligent one, supreme among those who know dharma, remained at the great sacrifice of the supremely intelligent Dharmaraja, so as to greatly honour him.

‘O king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Bhishma then spoke to King Dharmaraja Yudhishthira. “Let offerings be made to the kings, according to what they deserve. O Yudhishthira! It is said that one’s preceptor, one’s priest, one’s relative, a snataka, a friend and a king—these are the six who are deserving of such offerings. It is also said that when someone comes and stays for more than one year, he too becomes deserving. These kings have stayed with us for a very long time. O king! Therefore, let an arghya be brought for each of them. Let the first arghya be brought for he who is the most deserving among them.” Yudhishthira asked, “O grandfather! O descendant of the Kuru lineage! Whom do you consider to be the one to whom the first arghya should be presented? Please tell me what is right.” O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Through his intelligence, Shantanu’s son Bhishma then determined that Varshneya Krishna was the most deserving person on earth. “Among all these assembled here, he is the one who blazes with his energy, strength and valour, like the sun shines among the stars. This sacrificial place is lit up and gladdened by Krishna, like a sunless place with the sun and a windless place with the wind.” Having been thus instructed by Bhishma, the powerful Sahadeva offered the supreme arghya to Varshneya, in accordance with the rites prescribed. Krishna accepted it, in accordance with the rites laid down in the sacred texts. However, Shishupala could not tolerate this homage shown to Vasudeva. In that assembly, the immensely powerful king of Chedi censured Bhishma and Dharmaraja and then insulted Vasudeva.’

‘Shishupala said, “O descendant of the Kuru lineage!
⁵
When so many great-souled lords of the earth are present here, Varshneya does not deserve to be worshipped, as if he were a king. O Pandava! This honour shown to Pundarikaksha is not deserving of the great-souled Pandavas. O Pandavas! You are children and do not know the subtleties of dharma. This son of the river
⁶
can see little and has transgressed what is proper. Though he knows what is dharma, Bhishma acts like you out of favouritism and is worthy of censure in the world of honest ones. This man from Dasharha is not even a king. You have shown him homage. How does he deserve to be honoured foremost among all these kings? O bull among the Bharata lineage! You cannot consider Krishna to be the eldest when the aged Vasudeva
⁷
is here? How can the son he shown homage first? Or you may consider Vasudeva to be one who always does that which ensures your welfare. But then, when Drupada is here, how can Madhava be thus worshipped? O chief among those of the Kuru lineage! If you consider Krishna to be your preceptor, how can Varshneya be shown homage when Drona is here? O descendant of the Kuru lineage! If you consider Krishna to be the sacrificial priest, how can you show him homage when the brahmana Dvaipayana is present? O supreme among those of the Kuru lineage! Madhusudana is not a sacrificial priest, or a preceptor, or a king. Why have you shown him homage except out of favouritism? O descendant of the Bharata lineage! If you must worship Madhusudana, why did you bring these kings here, so as to insult them?

‘“We did not offer tribute to the great-souled Kounteya out of fear, or out of avarice, or as a result of conciliation. We offered him tribute because he wished to become an emperor, in accordance with
the dictates of dharma. Yet he now pays no attention to us. Krishna has not attained any signs of royalty, yet he is offered homage in the midst of this assembly of kings. This is nothing but an insult. The fame of Dharma’s son, as someone who has dharma in his heart, has vanished. Who can offer deserving homage in this way to one who has deviated from dharma? Born in the lineage of the Vrishnis, he earlier slew a king.
⁸
Today, the devotion to dharma has deserted Yudhishthira. His meanness is evident from his offering the arghya to Krishna. O Madhava! If the Kounteyas are scared and if they have become mean as a consequence of their asceticism, surely you could have enlightened them about what kind of honour you deserve. O Janardana! If in their meanness they offered you a homage that you are not worthy of, why did you accept it? Though undeserving, you set great store on this homage, like a dog that has found an offering of sacrificial ghee and consumes it in private. O Janardana! This is not only an insult to the Indras among kings. The Kurus have also brought out your true nature. O Madhusudana! You are not a king and this royal homage to you is like a wife to the impotent or a beautiful sight to the blind. We have seen what King Yudhishthira is and we have seen what Bhishma is. We have seen what Vasudeva is. We have seen everything exactly as it is.”

‘With these words, Shishupala arose from his supreme seat and went out from the assembly, together with all the other kings.’
⁹

Vaishampayana said, ‘Then King Yudhishthira rushed after Shishupala and spoke to him in these sweet and conciliatory
words. “O lord of the earth! The words that you have spoken are not appropriate. O king! They are in violation of dharma, they are cruel and serve no purpose. O lord of the earth! Shantanu’s son Bhishma will never err in supreme dharma and do not insult him in vain. Look at these many lords of the earth, older than you. They accepted the homage shown to Krishna and you should also accept it. O lord of Chedi, Bhishma knows Krishna’s true nature and you yourself do not know it as well as the Kouravya
¹⁰
does.”

‘Bhishma said, “Krishna is the oldest in the worlds. He who does not accept the homage shown to him, deserves neither kind words, nor conciliation. A kshatriya who is supreme among warriors and having defeated a kshatriya in battle, sets him free from captivity, becomes his preceptor. In this assembly of kings, I do not see a lord of the earth who has not been defeated in battle through Satvata’s
¹¹
energy. Not only is Achyuta supremely deserving of this homage, he deserves to be worshipped by all the three worlds. Many bulls among kshatriyas have been defeated by Krishna in battle. The entire universe and everything are established in Varshneya. Therefore, though there are elders here, we show homage to Krishna and no one else. You should not speak as you did. Your thoughts should not be of that kind. O king! I have attended upon many who are old in knowledge. When they recounted in their assemblies the qualities of Shouri, blessed with all the qualities, I have heard of those many qualities that are greatly revered by the honest. Many are the times when I have heard people talk about the deeds that this intelligent one has performed since birth. O king of Chedi! We have not worshipped Janardana out of caprice. Nor have we shown him homage because of our special relationship with him or because we expect anything from him. He is the source of all happiness on earth, all the honest of the earth honour him. We offered him the homage because we knew of his fame, valour and victories. There is no one here, however
young, who has not been examined. Passing over many who possess qualities and age, we chose Hari as the most deserving of honour. He is the oldest among brahmanas in knowledge and among kshatriyas, he is the greatest in strength. Both these are firm grounds for Govinda to be worshipped. He is learned in the Vedas and Vedangas and has infinite strength. Is there anyone else in the world of men who is as distinguished as Keshava? In Achyuta can always be found generosity, dexterity, learning, valour, modesty, deeds, supreme intelligence, humility, beauty, steadfastness, satisfaction and prosperity. Therefore, he has every quality. He is the teacher, father and preceptor. He is fit to be honoured and worthy of worship. Hrishikesha is the officiating priest, the preceptor, the bridegroom,
¹²
the snataka, the king and the friend. Therefore, Achyuta has been shown the homage. The worlds owe their origin to Krishna and in him are they dissolved. It is in Krishna that all the beings of this universe are established. He is passive nature, he is the active doer and he is eternal. He is supreme among all beings and it is for this reason that Achyuta is the eldest. Intelligence, mind, greatness, wind, energy, water, sky, earth and the four kinds of beings
¹³
—are all established in Krishna. The sun, the moon, the stars, the planets, the directions and the intermediate directions—are all established in Krishna. Since he does not know that Krishna is always everywhere, this Shishupala is only a child
¹⁴
and utters these words. It is only the intelligent man who can see the best of dharma and can act according to dharma, not this king of Chedi. Who among these great-souled lords of the earth, young or old, does not consider Krishna to be worthy of worship? Who does not show him homage? If Shishupala considers that this homage was undeserving, let him act as he sees fit, for this undeserving honour.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Having said this, the immensely famous Bhishma became quiet. Then Sahadeva uttered these words of great import. “If there are any kings here who cannot tolerate the homage I have shown to Keshava Krishna, of immeasurable valour and the slayer of Keshi,
¹⁵
I place my foot on the heads of those strong ones. As I utter these words, let him give a fitting reply. Let the intelligent kings accept that he is the teacher, the father and the preceptor, one who is shown homage, who should be shown homage and who is deserving of homage.” When he displayed his foot, not one among those intelligent, wise, proud and powerful kings replied. At that, a shower of flowers rained down on Sahadeva’s head. An invisible voice exclaimed, “Excellent! Excellent!” Attired in black antelope skin, Narada, the foreteller of both the past and the future, the dispeller of all doubts and the knower of all the worlds, approved.

‘All the masses
¹⁶
who had been invited there, with Sunitha
¹⁷
at the forefront, seemed to be angry and their faces paled. The kings spoke of Yudhishthira’s instatement and the homage offered to Vasudeva. They were disgusted and decided they had deserved it. Though they were restrained by well-wishers, their forms were angry and they looked like roaring lions that were dragged away from raw meat. Krishna understood that this ocean of kings, surrounded by waves of soldiers, was getting ready to do battle. Sahadeva, god among men, completed the ceremony, worshipping especially the brahmanas and the kshatriyas who deserved such homage. When Krishna had been shown homage, Sunitha, the one who dragged his enemies, spoke to the lords of men. He was angry and his eyes were extremely copper-red. “Do you think that I am still the general of your army? Do we stand here ready to fight the assembled Vrishnis and Pandavas?” When he had thus inspired all the kings, the bull among the Chedis consulted with the kings about disrupting the sacrifice.’