Mahabharata Vol. 6 (Penguin Translated Texts) (10 page)

‘“He was full of terrible misery and Krishna spoke to him in these words. ‘Do not grieve. This is the path followed by all the brave ones who do not retreat, and in particular kshatriyas, whose livelihood comes from war. This is the path for brave ones who fight and do not retreat. This has been sanctioned by the sacred texts and is the supreme goal for those who follow the objective. For brave ones who do not retreat, death is certain in battle. There is no doubt that Abhimanyu has gone to the worlds meant for those with meritorious deeds. O bull among the Bharata lineage! This is desired by all the brave ones. O one who shows honour! They wish to obtain death, without retreating from battle. The brave one killed many immensely strong princes in the battle. Without retreating from battle, he obtained the death desired by valiant ones. O tiger among men! Do not sorrow. Earlier, those who have laid down the eternal codes of dharma have decreed that death in battle is the dharma for kshatriyas. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! All your brothers are distressed at seeing you immersed in grief, and so are these kings and well-wishers. O one who shows honour!
Comfort them with words of assurance. This should be known and all this is known to you. You should not grieve.’ Having been thus consoled by Krishna, the performer of extraordinary deeds, Partha spoke these words to all his brothers. His voice choked, Partha said, ‘O lord of the earth!
¹⁴⁹
His arms were long. His eyes were as long as the petals of lotuses. I wish to hear the account of how Abhimanyu fought. You will see me slay my son’s enemies in the battle, with their elephants, chariots and horses, with their followers and kin. All of you are skilled in weapons and you held weapons in your hands. How could Subhadra’s son then have been slain, even if he had encountered the wielder of the vajra himself? Had I known that the Pandus and the Panchalas were incapable of protecting my son in battle, I would have protected him myself. All of you were stationed on your chariots and were shooting arrows. How could the enemy repulse you and kill Abhimanyu? You have no manliness. Nor do you possess any valour. While you looked on, Abhimanyu has been brought down in the battle. Perhaps I should censure myself, since I know that all of you are extremely weak. I went away, knowing that you are useless and cowards. Alas! Your armour, weapons and arms are only ornaments on your hands. Your words are only meant for assemblies. You could not protect my son.’ Having spoken these words, he sat down, with the supreme bow and sword in his hands. No one was capable of looking at Bibhatsu then. He sighed repeatedly in anger and looked like the Destroyer himself. He was overcome with grief on account of his son and his face was bathed in tears. With the exception of Vasudeva and the eldest son of Pandu, no one amongst the well-wishers was capable of glancing at him, or speaking to him. Those two were always acceptable to Arjuna and he listened to them. They were extremely revered and dearly loved and could speak to him at such times. On account of his son, his mind was distressed and he was full of sorrow. The king spoke these words to the enraged one, whose eyes were like the petals of lotuses.”’

‘“Yudhishthira said, ‘O mighty-armed one! When you left to fight with the army of the samshaptakas, the preceptor made efforts to capture me. But in every way, we succeeded in countering Drona’s battle formation. In the battle, we made efforts to arrange our army of chariots in a counter-formation. He was checked by the rathas and I was protected. Wishing to kill us swiftly, he oppressed us with sharp arrows. Thus afflicted by Drona, we were incapable of glancing at Drona’s array and could not even think of penetrating it. All of us then spoke to Subhadra’s son, who was your equal in valour. “O son! O lord! Penetrate the array.” Thus urged by us, the valiant one was like a well-trained horse. He took that burden on himself, ignoring how difficult it was to bear. He was valiant and he was instructed by you in the use of weapons. Though a child, the powerful one penetrated, like Suparna entering the ocean. In that battle, we followed Satvati’s brave son.
¹⁵⁰
We wished to penetrate the army through the path that he had followed. O son!
¹⁵¹
But because of a boon that he had obtained from Rudra, the vile Saindhava, King Jayadratha, repulsed all of us. Then Drona, Kripa, Karna, Drona’s son, Brihadbala and Kritavarma—these six rathas surrounded Subhadra’s son. All those warrior maharathas surrounded the child. Though he strove to his utmost, they were many and he was deprived of his chariot. When he had been deprived of his chariot, Duhshasana’s son struck swiftly, though he had himself confronted great danger earlier. It was destiny that he
¹⁵²
met his end. He slaughtered many thousands of the enemy earlier, elephants, horses, charioteers and riders, one hundred of the foremost among princes and many other unnamed and brave ones. He dispatched King Brihadbala to the world of heaven. Thus, through destiny, the supreme among those with dharma in their souls, attained his end.
Everything that extends our grief took place in this way. Thus it was that the tiger among men attained the world of heaven.’

‘Sanjaya said, “Arjuna heard the words that Dharmaraja had spoken. Lamenting, ‘Alas, son!’ he sighed in grief and fell down on the ground in his sorrow. With distressed faces, everyone surrounded Dhananjaya. They were overcome with misery and glanced at each other, without blinking their eyes. When he had recovered consciousness, Vasava’s son became unconscious with rage. He seemed to tremble, as if in a fever, and sighed repeatedly. He squeezed one hand with another and sighed, eyes bathed in tears. His glances were like one who was mad. He spoke these words. ‘Know this to be the truth. I will kill Jayadratha tomorrow. I will slay him, unless out of fear, he abandons the sons of Dhritarashtra, or seeks refuge with us, or seeks sanctuary with Purushottama Krishna, or with you. O great king! I will kill Jayadratha tomorrow. Engaged in doing what is pleasant to the sons of Dhritarashtra, he has forgotten his friendship with me. The evil one has been the reason behind the death of the child. I will kill Jayadratha tomorrow. Wishing to protect him, whoever fights with me, even if it is the brave Drona or Kripa, will be covered by me with arrows. O bulls among men! O brave and revered ones! If I do not achieve this in the battle, let me not attain the worlds meant for those with meritorious deeds. There are worlds meant for those who kill their mothers and those who kill their fathers, for those who have intercourse with the wives of their teachers and for those who are wicked, for those who hate virtuous ones and speak ill of others, for those who misappropriate wealth left in their custody and for those who violate trust and for those who speak ill of women they have enjoyed earlier. There are worlds for those who kill brahmanas and those who kill cattle. There are worlds for those who eat
payasa
,
¹⁵³
food made of barley, herbs, dishes made of sesamum, cakes and meat without offering them to the gods first. If I do not kill Jayadratha, let those worlds be mine. There are worlds for those who disrespect the best of brahmanas who are devoted to studying the Vedas, others who deserve honour,
the aged, the virtuous and seniors. There are worlds attained by those who touch brahmanas, cattle and fire with their feet and those who release phlegm, excreta and urine in water. If I do not kill Jayadratha, let those terrible ends be mine. There are ends obtained by those who bathe naked and those who do not serve guests. There are ends obtained by those who take bribes, those who are liars and those who are deceitful, those who harm their own souls and those who speak false praises. There are ends obtained by wretches who eat sweetmeats in the sight of servants, sons, wives and dependents, without offering them a share. If I do not kill Jayadratha, let those terrible ends be mine. There are ends obtained by those who abandon virtuous and obedient dependents and those evil-souled ones who censure those who have done them good deeds. There are ends for those who do not give deserving neighbours shares in
shraddha
¹⁵⁴
offerings, for those who give to the undeserving, for those who have alliances with women of low caste,
¹⁵⁵
for those who are drunkards, for those who disrespect those who deserve honour, those who are ungrateful and those who speak ill of their brothers. If I do not kill Jayadratha, let those ends swiftly be mine. I have recounted the ends of those who do not follow dharma and there are others that I have not enumerated. If tomorrow’s night passes without my having killed Jayadratha, let those ends swiftly become mine. Listen to another pledge that I am taking. If tomorrow’s sun sets without my having killed the wretched one, I will enter the blazing fire at this spot. O asuras! O gods! O men! O birds! O serpents! O ancestors! O those who wander in the night! O brahmanas! O mobile and immobile objects! O everyone else! You will be incapable of protecting my enemy. Even if he descends to the fierce nether regions, even if he goes to the city of the gods or the city of the daityas, I will strike him with a hundred arrows in the morning. I will slice off the head of my son’s foe.’ Having spoken thus, he stretched Gandiva with his left hand and his right. The sound of his touching the bow transcended his own words. When Arjuna took the pledge, Janardana blew on
Panchajanya.
¹⁵⁶
Enraged, Dhananjaya blew on Devadatta.
¹⁵⁷
Filled completely with the wind from Achyuta’s mouth, Panchajanya made a loud sound. The sound released from it made the lords of the universe, the nether regions and the directions tremble, like that at the destruction of a yuga. When the great-souled one had taken the oath, the sons of Pandu roared like lions. Musical instruments were sounded in every direction.”’

This parva has 365 shlokas and nine chapters.

Chapter 1029(52): 33 shlokas
Chapter 1030(53): 56 shlokas
Chapter 1031(54): 26 shlokas
Chapter 1032(55): 40 shlokas
Chapter 1033(56): 41 shlokas
Chapter 1034(57): 81 shlokas
Chapter 1035(58): 33 shlokas
Chapter 1036(59): 21 shlokas
Chapter 1037(60): 34 shlokas

The word
pratijna
means vow or promise and this section is named after Arjuna’s vow to kill Jayadratha. There is no fighting in this section, the events transpiring between the night of the thirteenth day and the morning of the fourteenth. Arjuna obtains the pashupata weapon from Shiva.

‘Sanjaya said, “The spies heard the loud noise the Pandus created on account of their son and reported it. Jayadratha arose. His heart was senseless with grief and he was oppressed by great misery. It seemed as if he was immersed in a giant and fathomless ocean of sorrow. Having thought a lot, Saindhava went to the assembly of
kings and lamented in front of all those kings. He was frightened of Abhimanyu’s father and was ashamed. He spoke these words. ‘He was born in Pandu’s field when Shakra was full of desire.
¹
That evil-minded one wishes to send me to Yama’s eternal abode. May all of you be fortunate. In an attempt to remain alive, I will now go back to my own house. O bulls among kshatriyas! Alternatively, resort to your strength to save me. Partha wishes to send me to the end meant for heroes. Grant me safety from that. Drona, Duryodhana, Kripa, Karna, the lord of Madra, Bahlika, Duhshasana and the others are capable of saving a person who is afflicted by Yama, not to speak of Phalguna alone desiring to injure my limbs. Why should all you assembled lords of the earth not be able to save me? Having heard the delighted sounds of the Pandaveyas, my fear is great. O lords of the earth! My limbs are overcome by lassitude, like one who is about to die. There is no doubt that the wielder of Gandiva has sworn my death. That is the reason the Pandavas are roaring in delight, though it is a time for them to sorrow. Even the gods, the gandharvas, the asuras, the serpents and the rakshasas are incapable of countering him, not to speak of lords of men. O fortunate ones! O bulls among men! Therefore, give me permission to depart. I wish to disappear, so that Pandava cannot see me.’ Thus did he lament, his senses overcome by fear and anxiety.

‘“King Duryodhana regarded his own task as superior to everything else and spoke these words. ‘O tiger among men! Do not be frightened. O bull among men! When you are stationed in the midst of all these brave kshatriyas, who is going to seek an engagement with you in battle? Other than me, there are Vaikartana Karna, Chitrasena, Vivimshati, Bhurishrava, Shala, Shalya, the unassailable Vrishasena, Purumitra, Jaya, Bhaja, Sudakshina from Kamboja, Satyavrata, the mighty-armed Vikarna, Durmukha, Duhshasana, Subahu, the lord of Kalinga with upraised weapons, Vinda and Anuvinda from Avanti, Drona, Drona’s son and Soubala. O immensely radiant one! You are yourself brave and the foremost among rathas. O Saindhava! How can you see any fear emanating from the Pandaveyas? Eleven
of my
akshouhini
s
²
will be engaged in protecting you and will make endeavours to fight. O Saindhava! Therefore, do not be scared and banish this fear.’ O king! Having been thus assured by your son, Saindhava, accompanied by Duryodhana, went to Drona that very night. O lord of the earth! He touched Drona’s feet, showed obeisance and sat down. He then asked him the following. ‘O illustrious one! In taking aim, striking from a distance, dexterity and firmness in striking, tell me the difference between me and Phalguna. O preceptor! I wish to know the exact difference in learning between me and Arjuna. O lord! Tell me truly and accurately.’

‘“Drona replied, ‘O son!
³
You and Arjuna are equal in what you have learned from your teachers. But because of yoga and because of the miseries he has faced, Arjuna is superior to you. In the battle, you should never be terrified on Partha’s account. O son! You will be protected by me from fear. There is no doubt about that. Even the immortals have no influence over someone who is protected by my arms. I will create a vyuha and Partha will not be able to cross that vyuha. Therefore, follow your own dharma and fight without any fear. O lord of men! Follow the path traversed by your fathers and grandfathers. You have studied the Vedas, as is prescribed. You have offered excellent oblations into the fire. You have observed many rites and sacrifices. You should not be frightened because of death. It is
⁴
an extremely rare end and cannot be attained by wicked men. It is obtained by those who are immensely fortunate. Through the valour of one’s arms, one can win the celestial and supreme worlds. The Kurus, the Pandavas, the Vrishnis, other men, my son and I are all transient. Think of that. In due order and in due course, all of us will be slain by powerful time. We will go to the other world, carrying our respective deeds with us. Ascetics obtain worlds after tormenting themselves with austerities. Brave kshatriyas who follow the dharma of kshatriyas also attain those.’”

‘Sanjaya said, “O king! Having been thus assured by Bharadvaja’s son, Saindhava dismissed all fears of Partha from his heart and set his mind on the battle.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “When Partha vowed to kill the king of Sindhu, the mighty-armed Vasudeva spoke to Dhananjaya. ‘You consulted your brothers and took the words of the pledge.
⁵
“I will slay Saindhava.” You performed an extremely rash act. Without consulting me, you have taken up an extremely heavy burden. How can we now avoid the ridicule of all the worlds? Spies have been sent by me to the camp of the sons of Dhritarashtra. They returned swiftly and conveyed this information to me. After you took a pledge to kill the king of Sindhu, the sons of Dhritarashtra and Saindhava were frightened at the sounds they heard. They heard roars like lions, mingled with the great sound of musical instruments. They thought that these roars like lions must have a reason and waited. O mighty-armed one! A great sound arose among the Kouravas, among their elephants, horses and infantry and there was the roar of chariot wheels. “Having heard of Abhimanyu’s death, it is certain that Dhananjaya will be enraged and will emerge in the night.”
⁶
This was their view and they waited. O one who is devoted to the truth! O one with eyes like lotuses! While they prepared, they heard the truth about the pledge you had taken for the death of the king of Sindhu. All of them, Suyodhana’s advisers and King Jayadratha, were distressed and frightened, like small deer. The lord of Sindhu and Souvira was extremely frightened.
⁷
He arose, and with his advisers,
entered his own camp. At the appropriate time for consultation, they consulted each other about the best course of action. He then went to the assembly of the kings and spoke these words to Suyodhana. “Dhananjaya thinks that I am the one who has caused the death of his son. Therefore, in the midst of the soldiers, he has promised to kill me tomorrow. When Savyasachi takes a vow, the gods, the gandharvas, the asuras, the serpents and the rakshasas are incapable of countering it. Therefore, all of you should protect me in the battle and not allow Dhananjaya to place his foot on your heads and thereby accomplish his objective. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! Therefore, make arrangements to protect me in the battle. O king! Otherwise, grant me permission so that I can return home.” Having been thus addressed, Suyodhana was miserable and hung down his head. On hearing this and learning about the great fear, he silently began to think.

‘“‘On seeing that the king was distressed, Saindhava gently spoke these words, with an eye on his own self-interest and on what would be good for him. “I do not see a brave archer here who is capable of countering Arjuna’s weapons with his own weapons in the great battle. He wields the bow Gandiva and Vasudeva is his aide. Who can stand in front of Arjuna, even if it were to be Shatakratu himself? It has been heard that Partha, on foot, fought with the immensely energetic lord Maheshvara earlier, in the Himalaya mountains.
⁸
Urged by the king of the gods, on a single chariot, he killed a thousand
danava
s who resided in Hiranyapura. Kounteya is now united with the intelligent Vasudeva. It is my view that he is capable of destroying the three worlds, together with the immortals. I desire that you should give me permission to leave. Alternatively, if you so wish, the great-souled Drona and his brave son should protect me.” O Arjuna! Thus addressed by the one who was terribly afflicted, the king himself spoke to the preceptor. “All the arrangements have been made and the chariots have been arrayed. Karna, Bhurishrava, Drona’s son, the invincible Vrishasena, Kripa and the king of Madra—these six will be at the forefront. Drona will construct a vyuha at the rear. Half of this
will be in the form of a cart
⁹
and half in the form of a lotus. There will be an array in the form of a needle in the midst of the pericarp of the lotus. Jayadratha, the king of Sindhu who is unassailable in battle, will be stationed there, protected by brave ones.” O Partha! There is no doubt that those six rathas are impossible to withstand, in use of the bow, in weapons, in valour, in strength and in lineage. Without vanquishing them and their followers, one cannot reach Jayadratha. Think of the valour of each of those six, not to speak of them united together. O tiger among men! They cannot be defeated easily. We should think again about the best course of action for our welfare. We should consult with our advisers and well-wishers and then determine a successful course of action.’

‘“Arjuna replied, ‘You think that those six rathas on the side of the sons of Dhritarashtra are superior to me in strength. But it is seen that their valour is equal to half of my own. O Madhusudana! I will sever all their weapons with my weapons. Desiring to kill Jayadratha, you will see me shatter them. In the sight of Drona and his lamenting followers, I will bring down the head of the king of Sindhu on the ground. O Madhusudana! This will be the case even if the Sadhyas, the Rudras, Vasus, the Ashvins, the Maruts with Indra, the Vishvadevas, the asuras, the ancestors, the gandharvas, the suparnas,
¹⁰
the oceans, the mountains, the firmament, heaven, earth, the directions, the lords of the directions, the villages, the forests and all mobile and immobile beings seek to protect the king of Sindhu. Even then, in the battle tomorrow, you will see him slain by my arrows. O Krishna! I swear this truthfully, as I touch my weapons.
¹¹
Drona, the great archer, is the protector of that wicked and evil-minded one. O Keshava! I will engage him first. Suyodhana thinks that this gambling match is based on him.
¹²
Therefore, I will shatter him at the forefront of the army and then assail Saindhava.
Tomorrow, you will see that great archer pierced by my fierce, energetic and iron arrows in battle, like the summit of a mountain shattered by a thunderbolt. Blood will flow from the bodies of men, elephants and horses. They will be brought down by sharp arrows that descend on them. The arrows released from Gandiva will be as swift as thought or the wind. They will rob the breath of life from the bodies of thousands of men, elephants and horses. In the battle, men will behold terrible weapons descend, those that have been obtained by me from Yama, Kubera, Varuna, Rudra and Indra. All those who wish to protect Saindhava will see their weapons routed in the battle by my
brahmana astra.
¹³
O Keshava! In the battle tomorrow, you will see the earth strewn with the heads of kings, severed by forceful arrows that I release. I will gratify carnivorous beasts and drive away the enemy. I will delight my well-wishers and bring down Saindhava. He has performed great misdeeds. He has been a bad ally.
¹⁴
He has been born in an evil land. Having been killed by me, King Saindhava will cause sorrow among those on his own side. Saindhava has enjoyed the best of milk mixed with rice. But he has been evil in conduct. In the forefront of the battle, you will see him destroyed with my radiant arrows. O Krishna! In the morning, I will accomplish that which will make Suyodhana think that there is no archer in this world who is equal to me in battle. O bull among men! Gandiva is a divine bow and I am the warrior. O Hrishikesha! You are the charioteer. Who is incapable of being vanquished by me? Lakshmi is always present in the moon and water is always present in the ocean. O Janardana! Like that, know that my pledge is always true. Do not disrespect my weapons. Do not disrespect my firm bow. Do not disrespect my strength. Do not disrespect Dhananjaya’s strength of arms. I will go to battle so that I am victorious and am not defeated. Know that because of my pledge, Jayadratha has already been slain in battle. It is certain that the brahman is truth. It is certain that there is humility in the virtuous.
It is certain that there is prosperity in the wise. It is certain that there is victory in Narayana.’”

‘Sanjaya said, “Having spoken these words to Hrishikesha and having addressed them to his own self too, Vasava’s son once again addressed the lord Keshava in a sonorous tone. ‘When night is over and it is morning, please arrange for my chariot to be prepared. O Krishna! That is your task. The task that has to be undertaken is a grave one.’”’

‘Sanjaya said, “Both Vasudeva and Dhananjaya spent the night immersed in grief and sighed like serpents. They could not sleep, even for an instant. Knowing that Nara and Narayana
¹⁵
were enraged, the gods, together with Vasava, were distressed. They began to reflect about what would transpire. Extremely terrible and harsh winds began to blow, portending of fearful calamities. A headless torso and a club could be seen on the disc of the sun. Though there were no clouds in the sky, there were thunderstorms, tinged with lightning. The earth, with all its mountains and forests, began to tremble. O great king! The ocean, the habitation of makaras, was turbulent. Rivers flowed in an opposite direction, rather than towards the ocean. The lower and upper lips of rathas, horses, men and elephants trembled. Predatory beasts seemed to be delighted, since Yama’s kingdom would be extended. Mounts wept and released excrement and urine. All these omens were terrible and made the body hair stand up. O bull among the Bharata lineage! On beholding these, all the soldiers on your side were distressed. They heard about the fierce vow that the extremely strong Savyasachi had taken.