Mahabharata Vol. 3 (Penguin Translated Texts) (18 page)

Vaishampayana said, ‘O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The magnanimous king then went and saw many beautiful and sacred tirthas, some of which were along the shores of the ocean, and all of which were adorned by the presence of brahmanas. O son of Parikshit!
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Pandu’s son bathed there and performed donations, together with his younger brothers, who were the sons and grandsons of kings. He then went to a sacred and broad river. The magnanimous one bathed there and offered oblations to the ancestors and the gods. Donating riches to the foremost among brahmanas, he went to Godavari, which heads towards the ocean. O king! Having been cleansed of his sins, he approached the ocean, sacred to the worlds, in Dravida. The brave one saw the extremely sacred Agastya tirtha and also Nari tirtha. There he heard the story of Arjuna’s feat, incapable of being performed by others.
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He was the foremost of archers. When he
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was worshipped by the supreme rishis, Pandu’s son derived supreme delight. Accompanied by Krishna
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and with his younger brothers, he bathed his limbs in those tirthas. Honouring Arjuna’s valour, the lord of kings found delight in the earth there. He donated one thousand cows in those supreme tirthas that are always full of water. Together with his brothers, he happily recounted the story of Arjuna’s donations of cattle. O king! One after another, he went to many sacred tirthas, those that were on the shores of the ocean and others too. When all his desires were satisfied, he saw the most sacred Shurparaka.

‘Then, after crossing a region on the shores of the ocean, he came to a forest that is famous on earth. In ancient times, the gods performed austerities there and kings regard it as the most sacred of
places. There, he saw the altar of Richika’s son,
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the one who was the foremost of archers and long and thick in the arms. It was surrounded by many ascetics and was worthy of being worshipped by the virtuous. O king! The lord of the earth saw the holy sites of the Vasus, the masses of Maruts, the two Ashvins, Vaivasvata,
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the Adityas, the lord of riches,
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Indra, Vishnu, the lord Savita,
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Bhaga,
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the moon, Divakara,
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the lord of the waters,
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the masses of Sadhyas, Dhata,
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the ancestors, the great-souled Rudra with his masses of ganas, Sarasvati, the masses of Siddhas, Pushan
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and all the other immortals. The king saw these beautiful sites and observed fasts there. The king gave away many expensive gems. Having bathed his limbs in all these tirthas, he returned again to Shurparaka. With his brothers, he again went to the tirthas along the shores of the ocean. He then went to the great tirtha of Prabhasa, acclaimed by brahmanas throughout the earth. With his younger brothers and with Krishna, the one with the large and red eyes bathed there, and offered oblations to the masses of gods and the ancestors. So did the brahmanas, together with Lomasha. He lived on water and air for twelve days. He performed ablutions at dawn and dusk. He surrounded himself with flames on all sides. Thus did the supreme upholder of dharma scorch himself with austerities. Rama
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and Janardana got to know about his practice of severe austerities. The foremost of all the Vrishnis went to Ajamidha Yudhishthira, together with their armies. The Vrishnis saw the sons of Pandu lying down
on the ground, their bodies smeared with dirt. On seeing Droupadi, who did not deserve this, they were extremely distressed and lamented loudly. But, strong in spirit, and in accordance with the prescriptions of dharma, he
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went and offered homage to Rama, Janardana, Krishna’s son Samba, Shini’s grandson
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and all the other Vrishnis. All of them also returned the homage to the Parthas and were welcomed by Pandu’s sons. O king! They seated themselves around Yudhishthira, like the masses of gods around Indra. Extremely happy, he told them about the deeds of his enemies and about their dwelling in the forest. He told Krishna that Partha,
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son of the king of the gods, had gone to Indra for weapons. They heard his words and were relieved. On seeing them lean and pitiful, the magnaminous ones from Dasharha
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were saddened and tears streamed down from their eyes.’

Janamejaya said, ‘O one rich in austerities! When the Vrishnis and the Pandavas met in the tirtha of Prabhasa, what did they do? What did they converse about? All of them were great-souled and they were skilled in the use of every weapon. The Vrishnis and the Pandavas were well-wishers of each other.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Having arrived at the sacred tirtha of Prabhasa, on the shores of the great ocean, the Vrishnis surrounded the heroic Pandavas and offered them homage. Then Vanamali Rama,
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the wielder of the plough, the one who is as white as cow’s milk, the
kunda
flower,
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the moon, the lotus and silver, spoke to
the lotus-eyed one.
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“O Krishna! The pursuit of dharma does not lead to good and the pursuit of that which is not dharma does not lead to defeat. The great-souled Yudhishthira wears matted hair and is miserable in the forest, clad in the bark of trees. Duryodhana is the ruler of the earth and the earth does not swallow him up. From this, a man with limited intelligence will think that the pursuit of that which is not dharma is superior to dharma. When Duryodhana prospers and Yudhishthira is in grief, robbed of his kingdom, what is the duty of subjects in the matter? This is a doubt that perplexes men. This was a lord of men whose power was dharma. He followed the path of truth and dharma and was generous. Partha gave up his kingdom and his happiness. Should one forsake dharma and prosper? After banishing the Parthas, will Bhishma, the brahmana Kripa, Drona and the king,
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the eldest of the lineage, find happiness? Shame on the evil-minded chiefs of the Bharata lineage! In the hereafter, what will that evil chief of the earth
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tell his ancestors, when he meets them? Having deprived his innocent sons
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of the kingdom, will he be able to say that he has treated his sons properly? He does not see with his intelligence the reasons behind his having been born sightless, among all the kings of this earth. It is because he banished the Kounteyas from the kingdom. There is no doubt that Vichitravirya’s son,
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together with his sons, after the performance of this cruel act, will not see trees of gold blossom in the world of the ancestors. Yudhishthira and his younger brothers are armed. They are tall, wide of shoulder and have red eyes. Did he not ask them and hear their reply? How could he have fearlessly banished them to the forest? Without any weapons, the long-armed Vrikodara can slay a large army of enemies. On hearing his roars, soldiers release their bowels and their bladders. He suffers now from hunger and thirst and is
emaciated from journeys. But when he meets them, he will have weapons and arrows in his hands. He will then remember the extremely terrible dwelling in the forest. I am certain that he will not leave any survivors. On this earth, there will be no one else who is his equal in valour and strength. He is now thin from cold, heat, wind and sun. But in battle, he will not leave any survivors. Atiratha Vrikodara conquered the kings of the east
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in battle, together with their followers, alone on a chariot and swiftly returned, unharmed, even though he is now miserable in the forest and is clad in barks. Look now at Sahadeva, an ascetic dressed in the garb of an ascetic now. In Dantakura, he defeated all the lords, the kings who had assembled from the south.
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This brave one,
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valorous in battle and alone on a chariot, conquered the kings of the west. He now lives in the forest on roots and fruit. He now sports matted hair and has dirt smeared on his body. This queen,
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the daughter of an atiratha, arose from a prosperous sacrificial altar. She was always accustomed to a life of comfort and ease. How can she endure the great misery of dwelling in the forest? These are the sons of Dharma,
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the wind, the lord of the gods and the Ashvins. They are the sons of the gods and deserve to be happy. Deprived of happiness, how can they roam around in the forest? Dharma’s son was conquered, together with his wife, his brothers and his attendants, and was driven out. Duryodhana has begun to flourish. Why did the earth, with all her mountains, not collapse?”’

‘Satyaki said, “O Rama! This is not the time for lamentations. That time is past. Even if Yudhishthira does not say anything, let us all act according to what must be done now. There are those in the world who have protectors. They do not need to act themselves. O Rama! In all their deeds they have protectors, like Shibi and Yayati. O Rama! There are those who have to act themselves, but in their deeds, they find protectors in this world. Those brave ones among men are also protected. They never encounter difficulties, like those without protectors. The Parthas have Rama, Janardana, Pradyumna, Samba and me, all capable of protecting the three worlds. How can it be said that he and his brothers must live in the forest? It is appropriate that the army of Dasharha should march out today, with many kinds of weapons and coloured armour. Let Dhartarashtra
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go to the eternal world of Yama. Let all his relatives be overcome with Vrishni’s strength. In your anger, you can encompass the entire earth, not to speak of the wielder of the Sharnga bow.
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Slay Dhartarashtra and all his relatives, like Vritra was destroyed by the great Indra, the king of the gods. Partha
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is my brother. He is my friend and my preceptor. He is like Janardana’s own soul. It is for this reason that the best time has come. Let us perform this great and difficult deed. Through my supreme weapons, I will counter his
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shower of arrows. I will kill all of them in battle. O Rama! With my supreme arrows, which are like the venom of serpents and the fire, I will forcefully slice off his head from his body. With the force of strength, I will use my sharp sword to slice off his head from his body in battle. Then I will kill all his companions, Duryodhana and all the other Kurus. O Rohini’s son!
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I will take up my weapons on the field of battle and bring joy to all the residents of earth. I will
alone kill the foremost warriors among the Kurus, like fire burns down straw at the great time of destruction. Nor will Kripa, Drona, Vikarna and Karna be able to withstand the sharp arrows shot by Pradyumna. I know the valour of your son.
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I know the action of Krishna’s son in battle.
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Let Samba use the strength of his arms to subdue Duhshasana, with his chariot and his charioteer. When he is maddened in battle, there is no one who can withstand Jambavati’s son in battle. When he was still a child, he suddenly destroyed Shambara’s daitya army.
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Ashvachakra’s thighs were round and his arms were long and thick. He killed him in battle.
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Where is the man who can go elsewhere, once Samba has grasped him in his arms in battle? If the time has come, a man who is in the clutches of death can never escape. Like that, once one has entered the clutches of battle, who can escape with his life? The two maharathas Drona and Bhishma, Somadatta surrounded by his sons, and all their armies, will be burnt down by Vasudeva’s flaming arrows. Who is there in all the worlds, including the gods, whom Krishna cannot withstand? When he grasps his weapons and holds excellent arrows in his hand, when he holds the chakra weapon, he is invincible in battle. Let Aniruddha
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hold his sword and shield in his hands. Let him bedeck the earth with Dhritarashtra’s sons—their heads severed from their bodies and dead, like a sacrificial altar strewn with kusha grass. Gada, Ulmuka, Bahuka, Bhanu, the youthful Nishatha—heroes in battle—Sarana and Charudeshna, who are maddened in battle—they must perform deeds that are deserving of their lineage. Let the brave kshatriya armies, with the foremost among the Vrishnis, the
Bhojas and the Andhakas, kill the sons of Dhritarashtra in battle and earn extensive fame in this world. Let Abhimanu rule the earth as long as the great-souled Yudhishthira, supreme among the Kurus and best among those who serve dharma, fulfils the oath he swore at the time of the game with the dice.
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After his enemies are vanquished by the arrows we unleash, let Dharmaraja enjoy the earth. There will be no sons of Dhritarashtra and the son of the suta
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will be dead. This is our most important task and it will bring us fame.”

‘Vasudeva said, “O Madhava!
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There is no doubt that what you have said is true. O one whose spirit is strong! We accept your words. But the bull among the Kurus
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will certainly not wish for land that has not been won through the strength of his own arms. For the sake of desire, or fear, or avarice, Yudhishthira will never abandon his own dharma. Nor will Bhima or Arjuna, or the atirathas the twins, or Krishna, the daughter of Drupada. Both Vrikodara and Dhananjaya are unrivalled in war on earth. Why should he not rule the earth when he has Madri’s two sons worshipping him? When the great-souled lord of Panchala, the lords of Kekaya and Chedi
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and we, march into battle together against the enemies, Suyodhana will depart the world of the living.”

‘Yudhishthira said, “O Madhava!
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It is not surprising that you should speak in this way. I must protect my truth more than my
kingdom. Krishna alone knows what I am. I alone know what Krishna truly is. O Madhava! O foremost among the Shinis!
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When this foremost of men
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knows that the time has come to display valour, then you and Keshava will vanquish Suyodhana in battle. Let the warriors of Dasharha now depart. I stand firm with my protectors and they are the protectors of the world of men. O you who cannot be measured! Stand fast in dharma. I will see you again, when we assemble together in happiness.”’