Mahabharata Vol. 3 (Penguin Translated Texts) (24 page)

‘Yudhishthira said, “Lomasha’s confusion is unprecedented.
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All of you guard Krishna and do not be careless. His view is that this region is difficult of access. Therefore, let us observe complete cleanliness.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘He then told the greatly valorous Bhima, “O Bhimasena! Protect Krishna carefully. O son!
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Whether Arjuna is far or whether he is near, it is you Krishna resorts to in times of fear.” Then the great-souled one went to the twins and inhaled the fragrance of their hands and embraced their bodies. In a voice choking with tears, the king said, “Do not be afraid. Tread carefully.”’

‘Yudhishthira said, “There are hidden beings here, powerful rakshasas. O Vrikodara! We are capable of passing them with
fire and austerities. O Kounteya! Resorting to strength, control your hunger and thirst. O extender of the Kuru lineage! Resort to your strength and dexterity. You have heard the words of the rishi about Mount Kailasa. O Kounteya! Use your intelligence to think about how Krishna will pass this place. O lord! Alternatively, return from here with Sahadeva, Dhoumya, the cooks, the superintendents of the kitchen, all the servants, the chariots, the horses and other brahmanas who cannot bear the difficulties of the road, with all of them. O Bhima! O one with the large eyes! The three of us will go on, restrained in our food and rigid in our vows—the immensely ascetic Lomasha, I and Nakula. Wait carefully for my return at Gangadvara. Dwell there and protect Droupadi until I return.”

‘Bhima replied, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The princess is oppressed by exhaustion and miserable. But in a desire to see Shvetavahana,
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there is no doubt that she will travel. Your suffering is also acute at not being able to see him. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! It will be even more without Sahadeva, I and Krishna. If you so wish, let all the chariots return with the servants, the cooks, the superintendents of the kitchen and whoever else you think of. I do not wish to leave you here, in these mountains infested by rakshasas, in this uneven and difficult region. This immensely fortunate princess is devoted to her vows. O tiger among men! She will not be able to return without you. Like that, Sahadeva is always devoted to you. I know his mind and he will never return. O great king! In addition, all of us wish to see Savyasachi. All of us are desirous and therefore, all of us will travel together. If we cannot use our chariots to travel over these mountains with many caverns, we will travel on foot. O king! Do not worry. I will carry Panchali wherever she is incapable of travelling on her own. This is what I have decided in accordance with my intelligence. O king! Do not worry. I will also carry these two delicate warriors who are the delight of Madri.
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I will bear them over difficult terrain, if they are incapable of doing it themselves.”

‘Yudhishthira said, “O Bhima! Since you have spoken like this, let your strength increase, so that you are capable of carrying Droupadi on this long journey, and also the twins. O fortunate one! No one else can do it. May your strength, fame, devotion to dharma and deeds increase. O mighty-armed one! If you are able to carry your brothers and Krishna, may you not suffer from exhaustion. May defeat never confront you.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Then the beautiful Krishna laughed and spoke these words. “O descendant of the Bharata lineage!
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I will travel. Do not be anxious on my account.”

‘Lomasha said, “It is possible to traverse Mount Gandhamadana with austerities. O Kounteya! O king! Therefore, let all of us be united with austerities—Nakula, Sahadeva, Bhimasena, I and you—so that we are able to see Shvetavahana.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘O king! Having happily conversed in this fashion, they happily saw the extensive region of Subahu, prosperous with many elephants and horses, infested with kiratas,
tangana
s and full of hundreds of
kuninda
s.
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This Himalayan region is frequented by the gods and has many extraordinary things. On seeing them, Subahu, lord of the kunindas, was extremely delighted. He met them at the frontiers and welcomed them with homage. Having been thus worshipped, all of them happily dwelt there for some time. When the sun was clear,
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they left for the Himalaya mountains. O king! The servants, Indrasena being the foremost, the superintendents of the kitchen, the cooks and all of Droupadi’s retinue were entrusted by the maharathas to the king who was the lord of the kunindas. The Pandavas, the immensely valorous descendants of the Kourava lineage, then slowly left that
region on foot, together with Krishna. They were extremely happy at the prospect of seeing Dhananjaya.’

‘Yudhishthira said, “O Bhimasena! O twins! O Panchali! Listen. There exists nothing in beings that is destroyed. Look at us roaming in the forest. We may tell each other that we are weak and oppressed, but though incapable, must travel in a desire to see Dhananjaya. It
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burns my body, like fire on a pile of cotton. I do not see the brave Dhananjaya by my side. In a desire to see him, I live with my younger brothers in the forest. Because of the extreme oppression meted out to Yajnaseni, that brave one must also be burning.
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I do not see the infinitely energetic Partha, Nakula’s elder, the terrible wielder of the invincible bow. O Vrikodara! I am tormented on that account. With a desire to see him, I have visited beautiful tirthas, forests and lakes, together with you. I have not seen the brave Dhananjaya, devoted to the truth, for five years. O Vrikodara! Since I do not see Bibhatsu, it is consuming me. O Vrikodara! Since I do not see the dark and mighty-armed Gudakesha,
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whose brave gait is like that of a lion, I am tormented. O Vrikodara! I do not see that best of men, accomplished in the use of weapons, skilful in battle and the equal of any archer. It is for this reason that I am tormented. Among the masses of enemies, he strides like angry Yama, the destroyer. Dhananjaya has the shoulders of a lion and is like a maddened elephant. He is not inferior to Shakra in strength and valour. Partha, the one with the white horses, is infinitely brave and is elder to the twins. On not being able to see Phalguna, I
am immersed in immense grief. Even when he was insulted by an inferior man, he was always forgiving in his conduct. He gave shelter and protection to those who walked the straight path. But to those who were crooked and to those who sought to kill him through deceitful means, even if it happened to be the wielder of the vajra himself,
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he was like virulent poison. The greatly strong Bibhatsu is infinite in his soul. The powerful one always granted protection to an enemy who sought refuge with him. He was always our refuge. He destroyed his enemies in battle. He robbed all their jewels and he brought all of us happiness. In earlier times, it was through his valour that I obtained many celestial jewels of different types, those that Suyodhana now possesses. O brave one! In earlier times, through the strength of his arms, I once possessed an assembly hall. O Pandava! It was full of all kinds of gems and was famous in the three worlds. He is like Vasudeva in his valour. He is Kartavirya’s equal in war. He is invincible and unconquered in battle. I do not see Phalguna. The one who slew enemies with his valour was born after the immensely valorous Sankarshana,
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after Bhima who is unvanquished in battle and after Vasudeva. The strength of his arms is equal to the power of Purandara. He is equal to the wind in his speed, to the moon in the beauty of his face and to eternal death in his anger.

‘“O might-armed one! O brave one! Desiring to see that tiger among men, all of us will now enter Mount Gandhamadana. The exetensive Badari is there and the hermitage of Nara and Narayana. It is always inhabited by yakshas. We will see that supreme mountain. We will see Kubera’s beautiful lotus pond, protected by rakshasas. Observing great austerities, we will traverse on foot. O Vrikodara! One who has failed in austerities cannot reach that region. Nor can one who is cruel or avaricious, or one who has not calmed himself. O Bhima! In order to follow Arjuna’s footsteps, all of us will go there. We will be armed and strap our swords. We will be accompanied by brahmanas who observe great vows. Those who are not controlled
encounter flies, gnats, mosquitoes, tigers, lions and reptiles. O Partha! But those who are controlled do not see them. Therefore, let us control our souls. Let us be restrained in our food. We will enter Mount Gandhamadana to see Dhananjaya.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘All of those infinitely energetic warriors were excellent archers. They had tautened bows and quivers full of arrows. They had armour for their arms and their fingers. They had swords. They grasped them and took the best of the brahmanas with them. O king! Together with Panchali, they proceeded towards Gandhamadana. They saw lakes, rivers, mountains and forests on the top of the mountain and trees that provided a lot of shade. There were regions that always had flowers and fruit, frequented by masses of devarshis. The brave ones controlled their souls and lived on roots and fruit. They travelled through high lands and low, regions that were uneven and full of dangers. They saw many different kinds of animals. The brave and great-souled ones then entered Mount Gandhamadana, frequented by rishis, siddhas and immortals, loved by gandharvas and apsaras and a mountain peopled by kinnaras.

‘O lord of the earth! As the brave ones entered Mount Gandhamadana, a violent storm arose, with a large quantity of rain. A gigantic cloud of dust arose, raising a mass of dry leaves. This suddenly covered the earth, the sky and heaven. Nothing could be seen when the sky was covered with dust. They were not even capable of communicating to one another what they thought in their minds. Their eyes were enveloped in the darkness and they could not see. They could not even see each other. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They were battered by the storm of rocks and dust. The trees were torn asunder by the wind and were forcibly flung down on the ground. A great sound arose from other trees. “Is the sky falling down on the ground? Are the mountains splitting asunder?”
Deluded by the wind, this is what all of them thought in their minds. They were battered by the wind and were frightened. They felt their way with their hands, groping for trees, anthills and uneven terrain along the road and lay down. Grasping his bow and grasping Krishna, the immensely strong Bhimasena sought shelter under a tree. Dharmaraja and Dhoumya lay down in that great forest. Sahadeva, who had the agnihotra with him, lay down under a mountain.
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Nakula, the other brahmanas and the greatly asectic Lomasha were alarmed, and seeking refuge in the trees, lay down.

‘Then the wind died down. The storm of dust was calmed. A great downpour started from the heavy clouds. Aided by the swift wind, there was torrential rain and hail, incessantly. This flooded the ground on all sides. O lord of the earth! On every side, rivers that were headed towards the ocean were covered with foam and dirt and overflowed. Bearing large quantities of water and overflowing with foam, they rushed with a thunderous roar, uprooting gigantic trees. When the rain subsided, the wind died down, the water flowed down to the lower regions and the sun appeared, all of them slowly emerged and assembled. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Once again, the brave ones proceeded towards Mount Gandhamadana.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘When the great-souled Pandavas had travelled a short distance, Droupadi, who was not accustomed to travelling on foot, sat down. She was exhausted and miserable from the storm and the wind. The famous Panchali was delicate and fainted. When the black-eyed one fell down with faintness, she clasped her thighs with her round and beautiful arms. Trying to support herself with her thighs, which were like the trunks of an elephant, she suddenly fell down on the ground, like a trembling plantain tree. On seeing the one with the
beautiful hips fall like a clinging creeper, the valorous Nakula dashed forward and grasped her. Nakula said, “O king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The dark-eyed daughter of the king of Panchala is exhausted and has fallen down on the ground. Be considerate. She does not deserve unhappiness. But the one whose gait is slow has suffered great unhappiness. O great king! Comfort her. She is tired out through exhaustion.” On hearing these words, the king was extremely distressed. Bhima and Sahadeva also swiftly rushed towards her.

‘Kounteya
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looked at her. She was wan in face and emaciated. Taking her on his lap, the one with dharma in his soul began to lament. “She was accustomed to sleeping on beautifully spread beds, in houses that were guarded well. This beautiful one is deserving of happiness. How is it that she has fallen down on the ground? Her feet are delicate. She is deserving of boons. Her face is like a lotus, but because of me, it is now darkened. Having been addicted to dice, what have I done out of my stupidity? With Krishna, I am now wandering around in this forest, infested by masses of animals. Her father, King Drupada, bestowed the large-eyed one, thinking that with the Pandavas as her husbands, Panchali would obtain happiness. None of that has happened. She is oppressed by exhaustion and unhappiness. She has fallen down on the ground because of my evil deeds.” When Dharmaraja Yudhishthira lamented in this fashion, Dhoumya and all the other supreme among brahmanas came to him. They comforted him and pronounced their benedictions over him. They recited mantras to keep the rakshasas away and performed rites. The supreme rishis recited mantras for the sake of peace. The Pandavas repeatedly touched her with their cold hands. Fanned by the cool breeze that had drops of water mixed in it, Panchali slowly recovered and regained consciousness. They laid out the distressed Krishna on antelope skins that were spread out. After having rested, the ascetic lady regained her senses. With calloused hands,
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the twins slowly rubbed her red-soled feet, marked auspiciously. Dharmaraja Yudhishthira also comforted her.