Read Mahabharata Vol. 2 (Penguin Translated Texts) Online
Authors: Bibek Debroy
‘Vasudeva said, “O bull among the Bharata lineage! After having uttered these words to the Yadavas, Rukmini’s son
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ascended his golden chariot. It was yoked to tawny horses and the ornamented
flag had a
makara
,
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with its jaws gaping open. The mighty-armed one, best among archers, dashed at the enemy on swift horses that seemed to fly through the sky. The great bow roared when he strung it and the warrior held quivers and a sword, with his arms and fingers clad in armour. With lightning speed, he switched the bow from one hand to another and the daityas and all the residents of Soubha were confused. As he shot an arrow and fixed another one to his bow repeatedly, it was impossible to see a gap and the enemies were continuously killed in battle. The colour of his face did not change. There was no trembling of his body. All the worlds heard the sound of his wonderful valour, as he roared like a lion. The aquatic animal
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that oppressed all fishes was on his golden flag-post, its jaws wide open, adorning the chariot. It created terror among the chief soldiers in Shalva’s army. O king! Pradyumna, the destroyer of enemies, then rushed with great speed and attacked Shalva, who also wished to fight with him.
‘“O extender of the Kuru lineage! Attacked by the brave Pradyumna in that great battle, Shalva was enraged and could not bear it. He was mad with anger and began to do battle with Pradyumna. Shalva, the destroyer of enemy cities, descended from the chariot that could go anywhere at will. A terrible battle then raged between Shalva and the warrior from the Vrishnis. All the worlds watched it, like that between Bali and Vasava.
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That brave one
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knew the use of maya and ascended a chariot that was ornamented with gold. It had a flag, a flagstaff and an undercarriage and was stocked with quivers. O Kouravya! O lord! Ascending that supreme chariot, that illustrious and immensely strong one, unleashed arrows at Pradyumna. At that, Pradyumna also used the speed of his arms to bewilder Shalva with a shower of arrows. Thus attacked in battle, the king of Soubha could
not bear it. He discharged arrows at my son that were like blazing fire. O Indra among kings! Having been pierced by Shalva’s arrows, Rukmini’s son swiftly unleashed an arrow that could seek out the heart in battle. This arrow shot by my son pierced his armour. The feathered shaft pierced his heart and he fell down unconscious. When the brave King Shalva fell down unconscious, all the lords among the danavas ran away, cleaving the earth.
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O lord of the earth! O king! Lamentations arose in Shalva’s army, on seeing the lord of Soubha felled and deprived of his senses.
‘“O Kouravya! But he regained his consciousness and arose. Then that immensely strong one suddenly unleashed an arrow at Pradyumna. Though the mighty-armed Pradyumna was pierced, he remained steady in battle. But he was struck around his collarbone and the brave one sank down on his chariot. O great king! Thus piercing Rukmini’s son,
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Shalva uttered a loud roar like a lion and it resounded through the earth. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Thereupon, when my son was senseless, he swiftly again shot many arrows at him, which were difficult to repulse. O best of the Kouravas! Struck by these many arrows and deprived of his senses, Pradyumna was helpless in the field of battle.”’
‘Vasudeva said, “When Pradyumna, supreme among strong ones, had been struck down by Shalva’s arrows, the Vrishnis who had come to fight lost their calm and their resolution. Lamentations then arose in the army of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas. O king! The enemies were delighted at Pradyumna’s fall. Having seen him lose his senses, his trained charioteer Daruki
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used his swift horses to take him away from the field of battle. The chariot hadn’t gone very far, when that supreme of warriors regained his senses.
‘“He grasped his bow and spoke thus, ‘O Souti!
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What have you done? Why are you turning back? This is not the dharma of Vrishni warriors in battle. O Souti! Have you lost your senses at the sight of Shalva in that great battle? Are you unhappy on witnessing that battle? Tell me exactly.’ Souti replied, ‘O Janardana’s son! I am not bewildered. Nor am I overcome with fear. O son of Keshava!
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But I think that you will find Shalva too difficult. O brave one! I am therefore retreating slowly. This evil one is powerful. When a warrior is knocked unconscious on the chariot, it is the charioteer’s duty to protect him. Your life must always be protected by me, just as you always protect me. Thinking that a warrior must always be protected, I am taking you away. O mighty-armed one! You are alone. The danavas are many. O Rukmini’s son! Thinking that this is not an equal battle, I am taking you away.’ O Kouravya! The charioteer thus spoke to the one with the makara on his flag.
‘“And he
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said, ‘O Suta! Turn the chariot back again. O Daruka’s son! Never act in this way again. O Souti! Never retreat from a field of battle while I am still alive. One who has born in the Vrishni lineage never goes back on a word he has given and never kills an enemy who has fallen or has surrendered. Nor does he kill a woman, an aged one or a child, or one who has lost his chariot or his weapons, or is bewildered. You have been born in the suta lineage and you are well trained in the tasks of sutas. O Daruka’s son! You know the dharma of Vrishnis in battle. O Souti! Since you know the conduct of Vrishnis in battle, you will never again, no matter what the situation is, leave the field of battle. What will Gada’s elder brother, the invincible Madhava, tell me when he sees that I have been frightened and have fled the field of battle, struck by weapons on my back?
The mighty-armed Baladeva, who is dressed in blue and is Keshava’s elder brother, is addicted to wine. What will he say when he returns? O Suta! Sini’s grandson
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is a great archer and a lion among men? What will he say when he hears I have fled from battle? What will the victorious Samba say, or the invincible Charudeshna, or Gada, or Sarana? O charioteer! What will the mighty-armed Akrura tell me? The wives of the Vrishni warriors have always considered me brave, honourable, virtuous and manly. When they get together, what will they say? They will say, “Pradyumna is frightened and retreats from the great battle. Shame on him!” They will never say, “Well done!” O Souti! To a person like me, shame with ridicule is worse than death. Therefore, never withdraw again. Before he left for the sacrifice of the infinitely energetic Partha, lion among the Bharata lineage, Hari, the killer of Madhu, left this burden on me. O son of a suta! When the brave Kritavarma was about to come out to face Shalva, I restrained him, saying that he should refrain and that I would stop him. Because of his respect for me, Hridika’s son
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desisted. What will I tell the maharatha after abandoning the field of battle? What will I tell Pundarikaksha,
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the mighty-armed and invincible man who wields the conch shell, the chakra and the club, when he returns? What will I tell Satyaki, Baladeva and the other Andhakas and Vrishnis, who have always taken pride in me? O Souti! Having abandoned the field of battle, with arrows piercing my back and having been carried away unconscious by you, I do not wish to live any longer. O Daruka’s son!
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Turn the chariot back at once. Never act in this way again, not even if disaster looms. O Souti! After having fled the field of battle in fright and with arrows piercing my back, I do not think life is worth living. O son of a suta! Have you ever seen me suffer from fear, or flee from the field of battle like a coward? O Daruka’s son! As long as I desired to fight, you
should not have left the field of battle. Therefore, return to the field of battle.’”’
‘Vasudeva said, “Having been thus addressed, on that field of battle, the son of a suta then spoke to Pradyumna in soft and placating words, ‘O Rukmini’s son! I am not afraid to drive horses in battle. I know the conduct of the Vrishnis in battle and it is not different from what you have said. But it has been said that the duty of charioteers is to always protect the life of the warrior. And you were greatly afflicted. O hero! You were badly pierced through the arrows unleashed by Shalva. You had also lost consciousness and that is the reason I retreated. O foremost among the Satvatas! O son of Keshava!
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Now that you have regained your senses, in accordance with your wishes, you will see my skill in handling horses. I have been born from Daruka and I have been trained by him. Without any fear, I will now penetrate Shalva’s great army.’ O brave one! Having uttered these words, he tugged at the reins of the horses and drove them speedily. He drove them in circular motions, withdrawing them and releasing them again. In beautiful motions, the horses turned to the left and to the right, and everywhere. O king! Controlled by the reins, those supreme horses seemed to fly through the sky. O king! Knowing Daruki’s light touch of hand, it seemed that the horses were on fire, but did not touch the ground with their feet. O bull among the Bharata lineage! He wheeled around Shalva’s army so easily from the right that those who witnessed it thought that it was extraordinary.
‘“Unable to tolerate this penetration by Pradyumna from the right, the king of Soubha suddenly unleashed three arrows at the charioteer.
But Daruka’s son gave no thought to these swift arrows. O mighty-armed one! He continued to drive the horses. Then the king of Soubha once again shot many arrows at my brave son, Rukmini’s son.
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But before they could strike, Rukmini’s son, the destroyer of enemy warriors, exhibited his lightness of touch and smilingly, sliced them off with his own sharp arrows. On seeing all his arrows sliced down by Pradyumna, the king of Soubha resorted to the terrible maya of the asuras and unleashed his arrows. Knowing that daitya weapons had been released, he
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sliced them off by unleashing enormously powerful brahma arrows. Those weapons always drink the blood of others and driving the other weapons away,
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pierced him
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in the head, chest and face, so that he was knocked down unconscious. Thus, oppressed by arrows, the mean Shalva fell down. So as to destroy the enemy, Rukmini’s son fixed another supreme arrow. All the bulls of the Dasharhas used to worship this arrow, which was as radiant as the sun and the fire. On seeing it fixed to the bow, sounds of lamentation were heard in the sky. All the masses of gods, together with Indra and the lord of riches,
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sent Narada and the immensely strong god of the wind. These two went to Rukmini’s son and delivered the message of the gods, ‘O brave one! You should never kill King Shalva. Restrain the arrow, because he is not to be killed by you in battle. There is no man who cannot be killed by this arrow. O mighty-armed one! But it has been destined by the creator that he will be killed in battle by Devaki’s son
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Krishna and that should not become false.’ At that, Pradyumna was extremely delighted and withdrew that supreme arrow from the excellent bow and returned it to the quiver. O Indra among kings! Then Shalva arose, in an extremely miserable frame of mind. Oppressed by Pradyumna’s arrows, he swiftly retreated with his troops. O Indra among kings!
Vanquished by the Vrishnis, the cruel one left Dvaraka. He ascended Soubha and went up into the sky.”’
‘Vasudeva said, “O king! When your great rajasuya sacrifice was over, I returned to the city of Anarta after he had left it. O great king! I saw that Dvaraka had been robbed of its splendour. Studying and recitations had ceased. Beautiful women were bereft of ornaments. The forms of the gardens of Dvaraka were such that they could no longer be recognized. Alarmed at this, I asked Hridika’s son,
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‘O tiger among men! Why do the men and women of the Vrishni lineage look distressed? What has happened? I wish to hear all about it.’ O supreme among kings! On being thus addressed, Hridika’s son told me everything in detail, about the siege by Shalva and its relief. O best of the Kuru lineage! When I heard about everything in its entirety, I immediately made up my mind to kill King Shalva. O best of the Bharata lineage! I reassured the citizens of the city and also King Ahuka
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and Anakadundubhi.
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Smilingly, I spoke to all the chiefs among the Vrishnis, ‘O bulls of the Yadava lineage! Always be careful in tending to the city. Know that I will leave to go and destroy King Shalva. I will not return to the city of Dvaravati without killing him. You will again see me after I have destroyed Shalva and the city of Soubha. Strike the three beats on the kettledrum that enemies find so terrible.’ O bull among the Bharata lineage! Having thus been appropriately reassured by me, all the warriors happily told me to go and destroy the enemies. The delighted warriors blessed me and said farewell. The best of the brahmanas uttered benedictions over me and I bowed my head before Ahuka. Then I yoked Sainya
and Sugriva to my chariot and drove away, the directions thundering with the roar. O king! I blew on Panchajanya, my supreme conch shell, as I left. O tiger among men! I departed with a large army that I had gathered. It had the four kinds of forces and shone with the radiance of victory.
‘“I passed over many countries, mountains with many trees in them, lakes and rivers, until I reached Marttikavata. O tiger among men! I learnt there that Shalva had left the city on Soubha. But I followed after him. O destroyer of enemies! Having reached the bay of the ocean where large waves billow, I found Shalva on Soubha, in the middle of the ocean.
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O Yudhisthira! Having seen me from a distance, the evil-souled one challenged me again and again to a battle. Then many arrows were shot from Sharnga,
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capable of piercing the heart. But the arrows failed to reach his city and rage engulfed me. O king! That evil-natured and invincible wretch among the daityas began to rain thousands of showers of arrows on me. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He showered arrows on my soldiers, my charioteer and my horses. But without thinking about this, we continued to fight. Then the warriors who were Shalva’s followers in battle shot hundreds and thousands of curved arrows
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at me. The asuras covered my horses, my chariot and Daruka himself with arrows that were capable of piercing the heart. O brave one! At that time, I could not see the horses, the chariot, or my charioteer Daruka. My soldiers and I were invisible because of those arrows. O Kouravya! Then I also released many tens of thousands of arrows from my bow, invoking them with divine and prescribed mantras. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! But Soubha was one krosha up in the sky and my soldiers and I could not see the object. All of them therefore only looked on, like spectators at the enclosure of a performance. But they happily cheered me on, clapping their hands and roaring like lions. The beautiful arrows released from my bow in that great battle
entered the bodies of the danavas like locusts addicted to blood. At that, sounds of wailing increased inside Soubha. Those who had been killed by those sharp arrows fell into the great ocean. Having lost their arms and their necks, they assumed the form of headless trunks. With terrible roars, the danavas continued to fall down.