Mahabharata: Volume 4 (47 page)

‘For a long time, all the kings glanced towards Dasharha. They looked at Janardana, as if they were drinking amrita, and were not satisfied. Janardana was attired in a yellow garment and had the complexion of an
atasi
flower.
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He sat in the midst of that assembly hall, like a jewel that has been set in gold. With their minds on Govinda, all of them were seated and silent. Not a man who was there said anything.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘When all the kings had seated themselves and were silent, Krishna, whose teeth were excellent, began to speak in a voice that rumbled like a drum or like a cloud at the end of the summer. Madhava addressed Dhritarashtra so that everyone in the assembly hall could hear him.

‘“O descendant of the Bharata lineage! May there be peace between the Kurus and the Pandavas, without any endeavours at war on the part of the warriors. That is the reason why I have come. O king! I have nothing else to say, no other words that can be
beneficial. O destroyer of enemies! You know everything that deserves to be known. O lord of the earth! This lineage of yours is supreme among all the kings. It is known for its learning and conduct and possesses all the qualities. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Compassion, sympathy, kindness, non-violence, uprightness, forgiveness and truthfulness—all these distinguish the Kurus. O king! Belonging to a lineage that is great in these ways, an improper act on your part is especially to be deplored. O supreme among the Kurus! O father!
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You are foremost among those who restrain the Kurus when they act in accordance with falsehood, whether with outsiders or insiders. O Kouravya! With Duryodhana leading the way, these sons of yours have turned their backs on dharma and artha and have strayed into violence. They are wicked. They have transgressed honour. They have lost their senses because of their avarice, even towards their chief relatives. O bull among men! You know this. An extremely terrible calamity has arisen before the Kurus. O Kouravya! If it is ignored, it will destroy the earth. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! If you wish to do so, you are capable of pacifying this. O bull among the Bharata lineage! It is my view that it will not be difficult to obtain peace. O king! Peace depends on you. O lord of the earth! It depends on me. O Kouravya! Establish
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your sons and I will establish the others.
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O Indra among kings! Your sons and their followers must obey your instructions, because if they act in accordance with your instructions, that will ensure their great welfare. O king! What is beneficial for you will also be beneficial for the Pandavas. They wish to be instructed by you, while I endeavour for peace. O lord of the earth! Reflect on the consequences and then act accordingly. O lord of men! You are capable of uniting the Bharatas. O king! Protected by the Pandavas, you will be established in dharma and artha. O lord of men! However much you try, you will not obtain people like them. When the great-souled Pandavas protect you, not even Indra with the gods can withstand you. How
can kings? O bull among the Bharata lineage! Who will wish to fight against a side that has Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, Karna, Vivimshati, Ashvatthama, Vikarna, Somadatta, Bahlika, Saindhava, Kalinga, Kamboja, Sudakshina, Yudhishthira, Bhimasena, Savyasachi, the twins and the immensely energetic maharatha Satyaki? O destroyer of enemies! With the Kurus and the Pandavas, you will become invincible before your enemies and will become the unrivalled lord of the world. O lord of the earth! O scorcher of enemies! Lords of the earth who are your equal and kings who are your superior will seek alliances with you. Protected in every direction by your sons, grandsons, brothers, fathers and well-wishers, you will live happily. O lord of the earth! Give primacy to their interests and treat them well, as you have in the past, and you will enjoy the entire earth. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Together with the Pandavas and your own,
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you will triumph over enemies and this will be in your own interests. O scorcher of enemies! O lord of men! If you are united with your sons and advisers, you will enjoy land that will be conquered by them.

‘“O great king! But if there is war, a great destruction can be seen. O king! There will be destruction on both sides. What dharma do you see in that? The Pandavas may be killed in battle, or your immensely strong sons. O king! O bull among the Bharata lineage! Tell me the happiness that you will feel then. They are brave ones, skilled in the usage of weapons, and all of them, the Pandavas and your own, wish to fight. Save them from a great danger. If there is a battle, we will not see all the Kurus, or the Pandavas. Brave ones will be destroyed on both sides. Charioteers will kill charioteers. O supreme among kings! All the kings of earth have gathered together. They are under the influence of anger and will destroy your subjects. O king! Save the world and do not destroy your subjects. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! If you return to your natural state, some remnants may be left. They are pure. They are generous. They are modest. They are aryas. They are born of pure lineages. They are related to one another. O king! Save them from this great danger.
Let the lords of the earth meet each other in auspicious circumstances. Let them eat and drink together and let them return to their respective homes, with excellent garments and beautiful garlands, and duly honoured. O scorcher of enemies! Let the intolerance and enmity be restrained. O bull among the Bharata lineage! When so much of your age has elapsed, let the affection that you once felt for the Pandavas return again, now and for always. They lost their father when they were children and were reared by you. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Protect them in a proper way, as you would your own sons. You should especially protect them when they face hardships. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Otherwise, your dharma and your artha will be destroyed. O king! The Pandavas have conveyed their homage and seek your favours, saying, ‘On your instructions, we and our followers have faced unhappiness. We have dwelt for twelve years in the forest. We lived for a thirteenth year in concealment, unknown to others. We spent that time, certain that our father would not deviate from the agreement. O father! We have adhered to the agreement. The brahmanas know this. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Therefore, adhere to the agreement with us, as we have. O king! We have suffered many hardships. We should now obtain our share of the kingdom. Since you know about dharma and artha, it is for you to save us. Seeing that you are our senior, we have borne many hardships. Therefore, act towards us as a mother or a father. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The conduct of a disciple towards his preceptor is supreme. If we deviate from the path, it is for the father to establish us there. O king! Establish us on the right path and follow that yourself.’ O bull among the Bharata lineage! Your sons have said this to the assembly. ‘To those who know about dharma and are in the assembly hall, anything inappropriate is improper, such as when dharma is destroyed by adharma and truth by a falsehood. If this happens in the sight of those who are in the assembly hall, they are themselves killed. Dharma has been pierced by adharma and has come to this assembly hall. If the stake is not taken out, those who are in the assembly hall are themselves pierced. Dharma destroys them, like a river uproots the trees along its banks.’ O bull among the Bharata lineage! Those who
can see dharma, and are silently waiting for it to manifest itself have spoken what is true, righteous and just. O lord of men! What can you tell them, except returning their share?

‘“Let the lords of the earth who are in this assembly hall speak. O bull among the kshatriyas! If I have spoken in accordance with dharma and artha, if I have spoken the truth, free those kshatriyas from the noose of death. O best of the Bharata lineage! Make peace. Do not come under the control of anger. As is proper, return to the Pandavas their share of the ancestral kingdom. O scorcher of enemies! Be successful with your sons and enjoy the prosperity. O lord of men! You know that Ajatashatru is always established in the dharma of the righteous and you know his conduct towards you and your sons. There was an attempt to burn him. There was an attempt to exile him. But he has returned again to you as a refuge. You and your sons banished him to Indraprastha. Dwelling there, he brought all the lords of the earth under his suzerainty. O king! But he has always placed you above him and has never crossed you. When he conducted himself in this way, Soubala conquered him through ultimate deceit, because he coveted the kingdom, the riches and the grain. When he was reduced to such a state, Krishna
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was brought to the assembly hall. But Yudhishthira, whose soul is unfathomable, did not swerve from the dharma of kshatriyas. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I wish their welfare and yours, dharma, artha and happiness. O king! Do not destroy your subjects. O lord of the earth! Control your sons, who have overstepped the limits of greed and think that which is not artha to be artha, and that which is artha to be not artha. The Parthas, the destroyers of enemies, are stationed, ready to serve you and ready to fight. O king! O scorcher of enemies! Station yourself in what you perceive to be healthy.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘In their hearts, all the lords of the earth welcomed these words. But no one present ventured to speak first.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘When the great-souled Keshava spoke these words, all those who were in the assembly hall sat immobile in their seats, their body hair standing up. No man present ventured to voice a reply. All the kings thought in their hearts. All the kings there remained silent.

‘Jamadagni’s son
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then spoke these words in that assembly of the Kurus, “O king! Listen to the example that I am going to cite. Do not entertain any doubt about it not being true. When you have heard it, if you so think fit, decide on what is best for you. In earlier times, there was a king named Dambhodbhava. He conquered the entire earth. We have heard that he enjoyed the entire earth. When night had passed, this valorous maharatha would always awake in the morning and ask brahmanas and kshatriyas, ‘Is there anyone, a shudra, a vaishya, a kshatriya or a brahmana who wields weapons, who is my equal or superior in battle?’ Saying this, the king roamed around the earth. He was so intoxicated with great insolence that he thought of no one else. There were noble and learned brahmanas who feared nothing. They cautioned the king against his repeated expressions of pride. But though he was forbidden, that wicked one kept questioning those brahmanas. He was vain and intoxicated with his prosperity. Those great-souled brahmanas were ascetics. They observed the vows of the Vedas. Blazing with anger, they told the insolent king, ‘There are two lions among men who have fought in battles in many lives. O king! There is no way that you will be their equal.’ Having been thus addressed, the king again asked those brahmanas, ‘Where are those brave ones? Where have they been born? What are their deeds? Who are they?’ The brahmanas replied, ‘We have heard that they are the two ascetics Nara and Narayana. They have come to this world of men. O king! Fight with them. It is said that the great-souled Nara and Narayana are
tormenting themselves with great austerities in some undetermined region of Gandhamadana.’”

‘Rama
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said, “The king gathered a large army with six divisions. He intolerantly marched to where those unvanquished ones dwelt. He went to the uneven and terrible Mount Gandhamadana. He advanced, looking for those two unvanquished ascetics. He saw those supreme among men, lean from hunger and thirst, their veins holding them together. They were afflicted by the cold, the wind and the heat. He approached them, touched their feet and asked about their welfare. They honoured the king with roots, fruits, a seat and water and asked him, ‘What can be done for you?’ Dambhodbhava replied, ‘The earth has been conquered with my arms and all the enemies have been slain. I have now come to this mountain, wishing to fight with you. Grant that to me as a mark of hospitality. I have desired this for a long time.’ Nara and Narayana said, ‘O supreme among kings! Anger and avarice have been banished from this hermitage. There are no fights in this hermitage. Where are the weapons and where is the malice? Go and desire a fight elsewhere. There are many kshatriyas on earth.’ Though spoken to in this way, he kept on insisting. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They refused and repeatedly tried to placate him.

‘“But Dambhodbhava was eager to fight and challenged the ascetics. O Kourava! Nara then picked up some blades of grass in his fist and told him, ‘O kshatriya! You desire to fight. Come and fight. Bring all your weapons and prepare your army. From now onwards, I will destroy your love for war forever.’ Dambhodbhava replied, ‘O ascetic! If you think that is enough of a weapon to be used against us, then I will fight with you. I have come here desiring a fight.’ Having said this, desiring to kill the ascetic with his army, Dambhodbhava enveloped him from all directions with a shower of arrows. Those terrible arrows were capable of piercing the bodies of others. But the sage repulsed them all with his blades of grass. Then the unvanquished one released a blade of grass as a terrible weapon. It was incapable of being countered and an extraordinary event took place. Through
the power of maya, the sage used that blade of grass to slice off the eyes, ears and noses of the soldiers. The king saw that the sky was white with these blades of grass. He fell down at Nara’s feet and prayed for salvation. Nara is a safe sanctuary for those who desire it. He told the king who had sought refuge, ‘Have the qualities of a brahmana. Have dharma in your soul. And do not act in this way again. Overcome by insolence, do not ever insult anyone again, whether he is inferior or superior. O king! That will ensure your supreme welfare. Obtain wisdom. Overcome avarice. Be without vanity. Have control over your soul. Be self-controlled and forgiving. Be gentle and peaceful. O king! Protect your subjects. You have our leave to go. Be fortunate. Do not act in this way again. On our request, ask the brahmanas about their welfare.’ Then the king bowed down before the feet of those great-souled ones. He returned to his own city and accumulated a lot of dharma.