Mahabharata Vol. 3 (Penguin Translated Texts) (29 page)

This parva has 727 shlokas and eighteen chapters.

Chapter 452(155): 90 shlokas

Chapter 453(156): 31 shlokas

Chapter 454(157): 70 shlokas

Chapter 455(158): 59 shlokas

Chapter 456(159): 35 shlokas

Chapter 457(160): 37 shlokas

Chapter 458(161): 29 shlokas

Chapter 459(162): 16 shlokas

Chapter 460(163): 53 shlokas

Chapter 461(164): 58 shlokas

Chapter 462(165): 23 shlokas

Chapter 463(166): 23 shlokas

Chapter 464(167): 28 shlokas

Chapter 465(168): 30 shlokas

Chapter 466(169): 35 shlokas

Chapter 467(170): 69 shlokas

Chapter 468(171): 17 shlokas

Chapter 469(172): 24 shlokas

Yuddha
means battle or fight and the section is named after a fight between Bhima and the
yakshas.
In this section, the Pandavas visit the sage Vrishaparva on Mount Gandhamadana and then travel to the hermitage of the sage Arshtishena, where they dwell, waiting for Arjuna’s return. Reminiscent of Section 33, Droupadi sends Bhima to search for celestial flowers. Bhima fights with yakshas and rakshasas and kills the rakshasa Maniman. The Pandavas meet Kubera and Indra. Arjuna returns and recounts his adventures, repeating much of what has already been said in Sections 31 and 32 (Volume 1). These parts of Section 35 are not only
repetitive, and sometimes inconsistent, they don’t quite seem to belong. The only new information is about Arjuna’s fight with the
nivatakavacha
demons and the demons who inhabited Hiranyapura.

Vaishampayana said, ‘When the rakshasa had been killed, the lord Kounteya, the king,
¹
returned to Narayana’s hermitage and began to live there again. One day, he assembled all his brothers, together with Droupadi, and remembering his brother Jaya,
²
told them, “Pure in our ways, we have lived in the forest and four years have passed. Bibhatsu promised that in the fifth year, he would come to the king of the mountains, the supreme peak that is white at the top. In a desire to meet him, we should also go to that region. The immensely energetic Partha
³
had decided on the time and had earlier made an agreement with me. ‘I will live as a student for five years.’ We will see Gandivadhanva, the destroyer of enemies, there, after he has returned from the world of the gods with the weapons he has obtained.” Having uttered these words, the Pandava consulted all the brahmanas and informed all the ascetics about the reasons. Having thus pleased the ones who were terrible in their austerities, Partha
⁴
circumambulated them. The brahmanas approved, because this was auspicious and would bring about welfare. “O bull among the Bharata lineage! These difficulties will soon be replaced by happiness. O one learned in dharma! After having traversed the road, you will protect the earth in accordance with the dharma of kshatriyas.”
⁵
Then the king accepted the words of these ascetics.

‘The destroyer of enemies departed with his brothers and the brahmanas. The fortunate one was accompanied by Droupadi and followed by Hidimba’s son
⁶
and the other rakshasas and protected by Lomasha. He travelled part of the way on foot. In other parts, the immensely energetic one, who was rigid in his vows, together with his brothers, was carried by the rakshasas. Reflecting on the many difficulties, King Yudhishthira headed in a northern direction, infested by lions, tigers and elephants. He saw the mountains Mainaka and Kailasa, the foothills of Gandhamadana and the tall peak of Meru. There were many auspicious streams higher up on the mountains. He reached the sacred plateau of the Himalayas on the seventeenth day. O king! Near Gandhamadana, the Pandava saw the auspicious crest of the Himalayas, covered with many trees and creepers and the extremely holy hermitage of Vrishaparva, surrounded by many trees in blossom that grew along whirlpools of water. The destroyers of enemies, the Pandavas, approached rajarshi Vrishaparva, with dharma in his soul. When he welcomed them, their exhaustion vanished. The rajarshi welcomed those bulls of the Bharata lineage, as if they were his sons. Thus honoured, those destroyers of enemies remained there for seven nights. On the eighth day, after consulting the rishi Vrishaparva who was famous in the worlds, they decided to start on their journey. One by one, they introduced the brahmanas to Vrishaparva. He honoured them, and they remained in his charge for the moment, like relatives. The Pandavas also left their supreme garments and pure ornaments in Vrishaparva’s hermitage. He
⁷
was learned, skilled, knowledgeable on everything concerning dharma and knew the past and the future. The one who was learned in dharma instructed the bulls of the Bharata lineage, like his sons. Having obtained his permission, the brave and great-souled ones left in a northern direction, accompanied by Krishna and the great-souled brahmanas. King Vrishaparva went with them for a short distance. Then entrusting the Pandavas to the immensely energetic brahmanas, and instructing and blessing the
sons of Kunti, Vrishaparva returned, after having given them directions about the road to follow.

‘Truth was valour for Kounteya Yudhishthira. He proceeded on foot with his brothers, through a region that was infested with many kinds of animals. They sometimes dwelt on the slopes of mountains, covered with many different kinds of trees. On the fourth day, the Pandavas reached Mount Shveta. It looked like a gigantic cloud and was beautiful, with plenty of water. The beautiful top was covered with jewels and gold and had many peaks. They followed the route that had been indicated by Vrishaparva and saw many mountains in that region. They climbed higher up the mountain, with extremely inaccessible caverns and many impenetrable spots, without any discomfort. Dhoumya, Krishna and the great rishi Lomasha travelled together, and none of them faltered. Those immensely valiant ones reached the great Mount Malyavan. It was full of the noise of many animals and birds and was populated by many kinds of birds. It was extremely beautiful and was frequented by masses of monkeys. There were sacred ponds full of lotuses. There were pools and extensive groves. With their body hair standing up, they happily saw Mount Gandhamadana, the habitation of kimpurushas, frequented by vidyadharas and lady kinnaras, infested with elephants and lions and innumerable
sharabha
s.
⁸
They reached a region that resounded with the sweet sounds of many animals. With all this, Gandhamadana resembled the pleasure garden of Nandana.
⁹
In a happy frame of mind, Pandu’s brave sons slowly entered this beautiful and sacred forest that brought delight to the mind and the heart. With Droupadi and the great-souled brahmanas, the brave ones heard the delightful, pleasant, melodious and charming sounds emerging from the mouths of birds.

‘They saw many trees that were bent down because of the burden of their fruit. All of them were full of every kind of fruit and were
radiant with every kind of flower—mangoes, blossoming hog-plums,
¹⁰
coconuts,
tinduka
s,
¹¹
ajataka
s,
¹²
jiras,
¹³
pomegranates, citrus trees,
¹⁴
jackfruit, breadfruit,
¹⁵
plantains,
¹⁶
dates, tamarinds,
¹⁷
paravata
s,
¹⁸
kshoudra
s,
¹⁹
beautiful
nipa
s,
²⁰
bilva
s,
²¹
wood-apples,
²²
roseapples,
²³
kashmari
s,
²⁴
badaris, figs,
²⁵
udumbaras,
²⁶
fig trees,
²⁷
holy fig trees,
²⁸
kshirina
s,
²⁹
marking-nuts,
³⁰
myrobalans,
³¹
haritaka
s,
³²
bibhitaka
s,
³³
inguda
s,
³⁴
karavira
s,
³⁵
tinduka
s
³⁶
with a lot of fruit and many other trees that were on the slopes of Gandhamadana. There was succulent fruit as tasty as amrita. There were many champakas,
³⁷
ashokas,
³⁸
ketaka
s,
³⁹
bakula
s,
⁴⁰
pumnaga
s,
⁴¹
saptaparni
s,
⁴²
karnikara
s,
⁴³
ketakas,
patala
s,
⁴⁴
kutaja
s,
⁴⁵
beautiful coral trees,
⁴⁶
blue lotuses,
⁴⁷
,
parijata
s,
⁴⁸
kovidara
s,
⁴⁹
pine-trees,
⁵⁰
shalas
,
⁵¹
palms,
⁵²
tamala
s,
⁵³
priyala
s,
⁵⁴
bakulas, silk cotton,
⁵⁵
kimshuka
s,
⁵⁶
ashokas,
⁵⁷
shimshapa
s
⁵⁸
and
sarala
s.
⁵⁹
These were full of
chakora
s,
⁶⁰
woodpeckers,
⁶¹
large bees,
⁶²
parrots,
⁶³
cuckoos, sparrows,
⁶⁴
harita
s,
⁶⁵
birds,
⁶⁶
pheasants,
⁶⁷
priyavrata
s,
⁶⁸
chataka
s
⁶⁹
and many other kinds of birds. They warbled beautiful notes that were pleasant to the ear. They also saw beautiful ponds full of clear water, with white water lilies,
⁷⁰
white lotuses,
⁷¹
red lotuses,
⁷²
blue lotuses,
⁷³
white lotuses
⁷⁴
and lotuses
⁷⁵
on all sides. There were geese,
⁷⁶
ruddy geese,
⁷⁷
ospreys, waterfowl, ducks,
⁷⁸
plava
s,
⁷⁹
swans, cranes, cormorants and many other aquatic birds everywhere. There were beautiful ponds full of lotuses. Excited bumblebees hummed there, intoxicated by the nectar of red lotuses that bloomed during the day. Red pollen fell into the lotus cups. They saw these beautiful sights on the slopes of Gandhamadana. And in the beautiful clusters of lotuses and groves of creepers that were everywhere, they saw peacocks with their peahens. They were extremely maddened by the desire that the drumming of the clouds brought. In sweet and melodious tones, they uttered their calls. The peacocks spread out the coloured plumage of their tails and danced redolently, as did other playful forest birds. Others roamed happily with their beloved ones in the valleys that were covered with creepers and lantanas. Where the woods were clear, they saw other birds in the holes of trees, beautiful and with splendid tails spread out like crowns.
⁸⁰

‘They saw graceful
sindhuvara
trees on the peaks of the mountain. They looked like Manmatha’s
⁸¹
javelins, covered with golden
blossoms. There were beautiful
karnikara
s, blossoming like handsome earrings. They saw
kurubaka
s
⁸²
flowering in the forest, like a volley of Kama’s
⁸³
arrows, increasing desire among those who are in love. They saw
tilaka
s,
⁸⁴
like beautiful tilaka marks on the forest. They saw beautiful mango trees that were like Ananga’s
⁸⁵
arrows, abuzz with bees and clusters of flowers. There were many other trees on the peak of the mountain, like garlands—like gold, with flowers like a forest conflagration, red, black like collyrium and like lapis lazuli. There were shalas, tamalas, patalas and bakulas. Thus, one by one, the brave ones saw these everywhere on the slopes of Gandhamadana—frequented by masses of elephants and lions and tigers, resounding with the roars of sharabhas and many other cries, and covered everywhere with fruit and flowers. The forests were yellow-tinged like the sun. There were no thorns anywhere, or trees without blossoms. The trees on the slope of Gandhamadhana were tender, and dense with foliage and fruit. On the peaks of the mountain, the Parthas also saw lakes and rivers that were like clear crystal, populated by birds with white feathers, with the sounds of swans and cranes, with colourful lotuses and blue lotuses, with fragrant garlands and succulent fruit. The trees on the peak of the mountain were radiant with blossoms. There were many other groves full of trees there. There were many kinds of creepers, laden with leaves, flowers and fruit.

‘On seeing those trees on that supreme of mountains, Yudhishthira told Bhimasena in affectionate words, “O Bhima! Look at this beautiful region all around us, the playground of the gods. We followed a path no human has followed. O Vrikodara! We have achieved success. O Partha! Creepers, lantanas and blossoms embrace the supreme of trees and adorn Gandhamadana’s peak. O Bhima! Listen to the sound of the calls of peacocks, together with peahens, on the peak of this
mountain. Chakoras, shatapatras, intoxicated cuckoos and
sarika
s
⁸⁶
are perching themselves on these gigantic trees, full of foliage and flowers. O Partha! The birds are scarlet, yellow and red, on the tops of the trees. Many other jivas and jivakas are glancing at each other. Cranes can be seen on the green and red spots of grass that are everywhere and near the mountain springs. They are warbling in a beautiful voice, charming to all beings. There are bees, ruddy geese and birds with backs tinged in red. There are elephants with four tusks, with the hue of lotuses, and with the she-elephants. This great lake is beautiful, tinged with the hue of lapis lazuli. Water streams down from many waterfalls. O Bhima! They shine like the sun and are like autumn clouds. They adorn this giant mountain, with much silver and many minerals. In some places, it is dark like collyrium. In others, it is golden. In some places, the minerals are greenish yellow. In others, they have the complexion of ingudas. There are mountainous caverns that have the hue of evening clouds. Some are as red as rabbits. Other minerals are golden red. They are white and black, like clouds with the rays of the rising sun. In their many different forms, they are bringing great radiance to the mountain. O Partha! As Vrishaparva had said, gandharvas can be seen on the peak of the mountain, together with their wives, and kimpurushas. O Bhima! The sounds of songs, melodies and hymns can be heard in many ways, charming to all beings. Behold the great, pure and auspicious Ganga, the river of the gods. It is full of masses of swans and is frequented by rishis and kinnaras. O Kounteya! O destroyer of enemies! Behold this king of mountains, full of minerals, streams, kinnaras, animals, birds, gandharvas, apsaras, lovely woods, many types of predators and with a hundred different peaks.” Those brave ones, the scorchers of enemies, were delighted in their minds at having traversed that supreme path and their hearts were not satisfied at looking at this king of the mountains. They then saw the hermitage of rajarshi Arshtishena,
⁸⁷
full of garlands and trees laden with fruit. They went
to the sage Arshtishena, who was learned in dharma and was so severe in his austerities that he was lean and seemed to be made up of veins alone.’