Mahabharata: Volume 4 (55 page)

Vaishampayana said, ‘But he
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disregarded his mother’s sensible words. He had no control over his soul and he again left in anger. Having left the assembly hall, Kourava sought the advice of King Soubala Shakuni, skilled in dice. They decided on a course of action—Duryodhana, Karna, Shakuni Soubala and Duhshasana as the fourth. “Janardana is swift in his action. Before he captures us, with King Dhritarashtra and Shantanu’s son, we will forcibly capture Hrishikesha, that tiger among men, like Indra seized Virochana’s son.
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On hearing that Varshneya has been seized, the Pandavas will lose their spirits. They will lose all their enterprise, like serpents whose fangs have been destroyed. That mighty-armed one is the refuge and armour for all of them. When the bull among all the Satvatas, the granter of boons, has been captured, all the Pandavas, together with the Somakas, will lose their initiative. Therefore, despite Dhritarashtra being angered, let us capture Keshava, who is swift in his action. Let us imprison him and fight with the enemies.” Satyaki was wise and knew how to understand signs. He swiftly got to know about the wicked intentions of those wicked and evil-souled ones.

‘Having got to know, he emerged with Hardikya.
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He told Kritavarma, “Swiftly yoke the army and arrange them in battle formations. Armour them and wait at the gate of the assembly hall. Meanwhile, I will talk to Krishna, whose deeds are unsullied.” The brave one entered the assembly hall, like a lion entering a mountainous cavern and communicated the intention to the great-souled Keshava. Thereafter, he laughingly told Dhritarashtra and Vidura about their intention. “They wish to perform a deed that is against dharma and artha and is censured by virtuous ones. The wicked ones wish to perform a task that cannot be performed. These foolish and evil-souled ones have gathered to commit crimes earlier. They have been overcome by desire and anger and have fallen prey to wrath and avarice. The ones with limited intelligence wish to capture Pundarikaksha. Like children and idiots, they wish to capture a flaming fire in a piece of cloth.” Hearing Satyaki’s words, the far-sighted Vidura told the mighty-armed Dhritarashtra in that assembly of the Kurus. “O king! O scorcher of enemies! Destiny is encompassing all your sons. They are attempting to commit a reprehensible deed that is incapable of being performed. They plan to overcome, capture and oppress Pundarikaksha, the younger brother of Vasava himself. This tiger among men is invincible and unassailable. They will no longer exist, like insects before a fire. If Janardana so wishes, he can despatch all of them to Yama’s abode, like an enraged lion with deer. But he will
never embark upon a reprehensible act. Achyuta Purushottama will never deviate from dharma.” On hearing Vidura’s words, Keshava glanced towards Dhritarashtra and, in the hearing of his well-wishers, spoke these words. “O king! If those enraged ones wish to capture me with their energy, let them try. O lord of the earth! I know their strength and I will be able to control those angry ones. But I am not interested in doing anything that can be censured. By desiring the riches of the Pandavas, your sons will lose their own. If this is what they want, Yudhishthira will accomplish his objective. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O king! At this instant, I can capture them and their followers and hand them over to the Parthas. There can be nothing wrong with that act. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O great king! But I do not wish to perform such a reprehensible deed in your presence, generated out of anger and evil intelligence. O king! But if this is what Duryodhana wants, so be it. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I will allow for all possibilities.” On hearing this, Dhritarashtra told Vidura, “Quickly go and bring that wicked Suyodhana, who is greedy for the kingdom, together with his friends, his advisers, his brothers and his followers. Let me again see if I can bring him to the right path.” Kshatta again brought the reluctant Duryodhana to the assembly hall, together with his brothers and surrounded by all the kings.

‘King Dhritarashtra then spoke to Duryodhana and Karna, Duhshasana and the kings who surrounded them. “O cruel one! O one born in sin! With your assistants, you are embarking on a heinous deed. Your aides are wicked. Together with them, you wish to perform an evil deed. This is incapable of being done. It brings ill fame. It is censured by those who are righteous. Only foolish ones like you, who bring ill repute to their lineages, can think of this. Pundarikaksha is indomitable and unassailable. Together with your evil advisers, you wish to oppress and capture him. All the gods, together with Vasava, are incapable of using force against him. But you desire that like a wicked one, like a child asking for the moon. You do not know that gods, men, gandharvas, asuras and serpents are incapable of withstanding Keshava in battle. No hand can grasp the wind. No
hand can touch the moon. No head can bear the earth. No force can grasp Keshava.” After Dhritarashtra had spoken in this way, Kshatta Vidura spoke these words to Dhritarashtra’s intolerant son Duryodhana, who was looking on. “At the gate of Soubha, Dvivida, Indra among the apes, enveloped Keshava with a mighty shower of rocks.
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Desiring to capture Madhava through his valour, he made every kind of endeavour. But he was incapable of grasping him and now you wish to use force. At Pragjyotisha, Naraka and the other danavas could not grasp Shouri and now you wish to use force. In his childhood, when he was a mere infant, he killed Putana.
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O bull among the Bharata lineage! He held up Govardhana to protect the cows. He slew Arishta, Dhenuka, the immensely strong Chanura, Ashvaraja and the wicked Kamsa.
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He slew Jarasandha, Vakra, the valiant Shishupala and Bana and killed many kings in battle. He has conquered King Varuna and the infinitely energetic fire god. When he stole the
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flowers, he defeated Shachi’s consort himself. When he was asleep on the single and large ocean, he killed Madhu and Kaitabha.
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In another birth, he killed Hayagriva.
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He is the one who does everything. He has not been created. He is the source of all virility. Without any effort, he does whatever he wishes to do. You do not know Govinda Achyuta, whose valour is terrible. His anger is like that of a virulent serpent. His mass of energy cannot be vanquished. You are seeking to assail the mighty-armed Krishna, whose deeds are unsullied, like an insect against a fire. You and your advisers will be destroyed.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘When Vidura spoke in this way, the valiant Keshava, the destroyer of large numbers of the enemy, spoke to Duryodhana, Dhritarashtra’s son. “O Suyodhana! In your folly, you think of me as a single person. O one with extremely evil intelligence! You desire to overpower and capture me. Here are all the Pandavas, and the Andhakas and the Vrishnis. Here are the Adityas, the Rudras, the Vasus and the maharshis.” Saying this, Keshava, the destroyer of enemy warriors, laughed out aloud. When the great-souled Shouri was laughing, the thirty gods sprouted from his sides. They were like lightning, but were as small as a thumb. They were as radiant as the fire. Brahma appeared on his forehead and Rudra on his chest. The guardians of the world were on his arms
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and Agni was created from his mouth. The Adityas, the Sadhyas, the Vasus, the Ashvins, Indra and the Maruts and the Vishvadevas manifested themselves and the forms of the yakshas, the gandharvas and the rakshasas also appeared. Sankarshana
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and Dhananjaya appeared on his two arms, the archer Arjuna on the right and Rama, the wielder of the plough, on the left. Bhima, Yudhishthira and Madri’s two sons appeared on his back. The Andhakas and the Vrishnis, with Pradyumna at the head, appeared in front of Krishna, with their great weapons raised up. The conch shell, the chakra, the club, the spear, the Sharnga,
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the plough and Nandaka
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could be seen. And many other weapons were raised up. They were radiant in all the directions, around Krishna’s many arms. From his eyes, nose and ears emerged extremely terrible flames of fire with smoke. Rays like those of the sun emerged from the pores of his body. When they saw the terrible form of the great-souled Keshava, all the kings were frightened in their hearts and closed their eyes, with the
exception of Drona, Bhishma, the immensely intelligent Vidura, the immensely fortunate Sanjaya and the rishis, rich in austerities, because the illustrious Janardana gave them divine sight.

‘At the great and extraordinary sight of Madhava on the floor of that assembly hall, the drums of the gods were sounded and flowers were showered down. The entire earth trembled and the oceans shivered. O bull among the Bharata lineage! All the lords of the earth were extremely astounded. Then that tiger among men, destroyer of enemies, withdrew his real form, which was divine, extraordinary, colourful, prosperous and radiant. Madhusudana took the permission of the rishis and grasping Satyaki and Hardikya by the hand, departed. Narada and the other rishis also disappeared and that was another extraordinary marvel in that confusion.

‘On seeing him leave, the Kouravas, together with the kings, followed that tiger among men, like the gods follow Shatakratu. However, ignoring that entire circle of kings, Shouri, whose soul cannot be measured, went out, like a fire trailing smoke. His chariot was large and bright, decorated with bells. It was colourful with nets of gold. It was light and roared like a cloud. It was covered with bright tiger skins and was yoked to Sainya and Sugriva. Daruka appeared. Maharatha Hardikya Kritavarma, the revered hero of the Vrishnis, also appeared, riding on his chariot. Shouri, destroyer of enemies, was about to leave on his chariot, which had been prepared. The great king Dhritarashtra again spoke to him. “O Janardana! You have seen how much power I possess over my sons. O destroyer of enemies! You have witnessed all of it and nothing has happened without your seeing it. O Keshava! Knowing that I wish for peace among the Kurus and have made efforts and knowing about my condition, you should not have any doubts about me. O Keshava! I have no evil intentions towards the Pandavas. You know the words that I have spoken to Suyodhana. O Madhava! All the Kurus and the kings who are the lords of the earth know that I tried for peace and made every kind of effort.” Then the mighty-armed one told Dhritarashtra, the lord of men, Drona, the grandfather Bhishma, Kshatta, Bahlika and Kripa, “You have witnessed what happened in the assembly of the
Kurus, when that wicked and evil one arose repeatedly in anger. Dhritarashtra, lord of the earth, has said that he is helpless. I wish to take leave from all of you. I will go to Yudhishthira now.” Having sought their permission thus, Shouri, bull among men, left on his chariot. Those brave and great archers, bulls among Bharatas, followed him—Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, Kshatta, Dhritarashtra, Bahlika, Ashvatthama, Vikarna and maharatha Yuyutsu. While the Kurus looked on, he left on his bright and large chariot, decorated with bells, and went to his father’s sister, Pritha.’
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Vaishampayana said, ‘He entered her house,
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bowed at her feet and told her everything that had happened in the assembly of the Kurus.

‘Vasudeva said, “Many kinds of acceptable and beneficial words were spoken by me and the rishis, but he
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did not accept them. Cooked by destiny, all of them are under Duryodhana’s control. I seek your leave. I will swiftly go to the Pandavas. What shall I tell the Pandavas on your behalf? O immensely wise one! I wish to hear your words and will act accordingly.”

‘Kunti replied, “O Keshava! Tell the great-souled King Yudhishthira, ‘Your dharma has greatly declined. O son! Do not act in vain. O king! You have learned the sacred texts, but not properly, and have missed out on their insight. You have focused on the literal words and therefore, your intelligence only focuses on limited dharma. Consider the complete dharma that was created by the one who created himself.
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The kshatriya was created from his chest, to
earn a living through the valour of his arms, always resorting to cruel deeds for the protection of the subjects. Hear about an example that I have heard from the elders. In earlier times, Vaishravana was once delighted and gave the earth to rajarshi Muchukunda,
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but he did not accept it. “I desire to enjoy a kingdom that I have obtained through the strength of my arms.” On hearing this, Vaishravana was surprised and delighted. Subsequently, King Muchukunda did rule over the earth, earned through the strength of his arms, completely following the dharma of a kshatriya. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! If a king protects his subjects and they act in accordance with dharma, the king enjoys one-fourth of that dharma. When a king acts in accordance with dharma, he warrants the status of a god. If he practises adharma, he goes to hell. If a lord imposes chastisement on the four varnas in accordance with the dharma that they should follow, that ensures that they do not transgress dharma. If a king follows chastisement properly and completely, this signifies the commencement of the best era, known as krita yuga. You should have no doubts about whether the era creates the king, or the king creates the era. It is the king who creates the era. The king is the creator of krita yuga, treta and dvapara. The king is also the cause of the fourth yuga.
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If a king is the cause of krita, he enjoys heaven for eternity. If a king is the cause of treta, he enjoys heaven, but not for eternity. By leading to the commencement of dvapara, a king obtains an appropriate share of those fruits. An evil-acting one dwells in hell for an eternity.
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The earth is touched by a king’s taints and he is also touched by the earth. Observe the dharma of kings that was followed by your fathers and grandfathers. The conduct that you wish to establish yourself in, is not that of a rajarshi. If a king is
touched by lassitude and is based on non-violence, he does not obtain the fruits that result from protecting the subjects. Pandu, I and your grandfather did not bless you earlier, so that you might act in accordance with your intelligence. Sacrifices, generosity, austerities, valour, wisdom, offspring, greatness, strength and energy are what we always asked for. When they are satisfied through pure worship, the gods give men constant svaha, constant svadha,
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long lives, riches and sons. Ancestors and gods always desire generosity, learning, sacrifices and the protection of the subjects in their sons. Whether it is dharma or adharma, you should follow it by virtue of your birth. O son! You are learned and have been born in a noble lineage. But you are oppressed because you have been following the wrong conduct. When earth-dwellers are hungry, they search for a brave one who is the lord of generosity. They seek refuge with him for their satisfaction. What can be a greater dharma than that? When one who follows dharma obtains a kingdom, he always satisfies everyone—some through gifts, some through force, and others through truthful conduct. A brahmana must live on alms, a kshatriya must protect, a vaishya must devote himself to earning riches and a shudra must serve them. Begging is forbidden for you and you should not resort to agriculture.
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O son! You are a kshatriya, you are the one who saves from injuries, you sustain yourself through the strength of your arms. O mighty-armed one! Your ancestral right has been immersed. Raise it up again. Use conciliation, generosity, dissension, chastisement
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and policy. What can be a greater misery for me than that I should be in this state, with my relatives destitute? O one who causes delight to your enemies! After having given birth to you, I have to look towards the alms given by others. Fight according to the dharma of kings and do not keep your ancestors immersed. With your merits exhausted, together with your younger brothers, do not travel along the evil route.’”’