Mahabharata: Volume 4 (60 page)

Vaishampayana said, ‘Having heard Karna’s words, Kunti trembled with grief. She embraced her son Karna, who was firm because of his fortitude, and said, “It must be this way then. O Karna! The Kouravas will go to their destruction, as you have said. Destiny is extremely powerful. O destroyer of enemies! But you must promise me about the safety of four of your brothers. You have given me that
pledge and you must discharge that promise. May you be safe and in good health.” Pritha spoke these words to Karna. Delighted, Karna honoured her. Then, both of them left in different directions.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Having returned to Upaplavya from Hastinapura, Keshava, the destroyer of enemies, told the Pandavas everything that had happened. They spoke to each other for a long time and held repeated consultations. So as to rest, Shouri went to his own residence. After having taken their leave of all the kings, headed by Virata, when the sun had set, the five Pandava brothers performed their evening prayers. Then their minds turned towards Krishna and they had Dasharha brought for more consultations.

‘Yudhishthira asked, “O Pundarikaksha! When you went to Nagapura,
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what did you tell Dhritarashtra’s son in the assembly hall? You should tell us that.”

‘Vasudeva replied, “When I went to Nagapura, what I told Dhritarashtra’s son in the assembly hall was true, healthy and beneficial. But the evil-minded one did not accept it.”

‘Yudhishthira said, “O Hrishikesha! Duryodhana cannot be controlled. When he deviated from the proper path, what did the grandfather, senior among the Kurus, tell him? What did the mighty-armed preceptor, Bharadvaja, say? What about our younger father, Kshatta, supreme among those who uphold dharma? Tormented over his sons,
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what did he tell Dhritarashtra’s son? What did all the kings who were in the assembly hall have to say? O Janardana! Tell us everything, exactly as it happened. You have already told us all the words spoken by the two foremost among the Kurus
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to the wicked one who is overcome by desire and avarice and thinks himself to be
wise. O Keshava! But unpleasant things do not remain in my heart. O Govinda! O illustrious one! I wish to hear their words. O son!
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Act so that time does not pass. O Krishna! You are our refuge. You are our protector. You are our preceptor.”

‘Vasudeva replied, “O king! O Indra among kings! Listen to the words that King Suyodhana spoke to me in the midst of that assembly of the Kurus. After I had spoken my words, Dhritarashtra’s son laughed. Then Bhishma was extremely enraged and spoke these words. ‘O Duryodhana! Listen to my words, for the sake of the welfare of the lineage. O tiger among kings! Having heard my words, act in the interests of your own lineage. O son!
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My father was King Shantanu, famous in the worlds. I was the only son of someone who was the best among all those who had sons. He began to think, “How can I have a second son? The learned ones say that having a single son is like having no son at all. How can my lineage not be destroyed? How can the fame continue to be extended?” Having got to know about his desire, I brought him Kali
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as my mother. For the sake of my father and my lineage, I took an extremely difficult oath that I would not be a king and would hold up my semen.
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This is known to you. I have cheerfully lived here, abiding by my promise. O king! Through her was born my younger brother Vichitravirya, with dharma in his soul. He was mighty-armed and prosperous and an extender of the Kuru lineage. When my father ascended to heaven, I instated him in my kingdom as a king. I myself behaved like a servant who was inferior to him. O Indra among kings! After defeating an array of kings, I brought him appropriate wives. You have heard about this many times. I then confronted Rama in a duel.
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Because of fear of Rama, the citizens banished him from the city.
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Because of excessive addiction to his wives, he was soon afflicted by
pulmonary disease. Without a king, the lord of the gods no longer rained down on the kingdom. The subjects suffered from hunger and fear and came and spoke to me.

‘“‘The subjects said, “All the subjects are decaying. For the sake of our welfare, become our king. O fortunate one! O extender of Shantanu’s lineage! Dispel these calamities. All your subjects are suffering from an extremely terrible disease. O Gangeya!
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Only a few ones are left. You should save us. O brave one! Dispel this disease. As is dharma, protect the subjects. When you are yourself alive, do not let this kingdom head towards destruction.”’

‘“Bhishma said, ‘The lamentations of the subjects failed to move my heart. I remembered that adherence to an oath is virtuous conduct. O great king! The citizens, my fortunate mother Kali, the servants, the priests, the preceptors and the extremely learned brahmanas were greatly distressed and kept urging me, “Be our king. The kingdom protected by Pratipa
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is being destroyed. O immensely intelligent one! For the sake of our welfare, be our king.” At these words, I joined my hands in salutation. I was unhappy and extremely miserable. O son! I kept repeatedly telling them about the oath I had taken to honour my father and for the sake of the lineage, that I would hold up my semen and would not be a king. O king! Then I joined my hands in salutation and repeatedly told my mother, “O mother! I have been born from Shantanu and will extend the Kuru lineage. It was for your sake that I took the oath and I cannot falsify it. Even for your sake, do not impose this burden on me. O one who is devoted to her sons! O mother! I am your servant, awaiting your command.” O great king! Having thus entreated my mother and the subjects, together with my mother, for the sake of my brother’s wives, I solicited the great sage Vyasa and sought the rishi’s favours for the sake of offspring. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! He showed us his favours and begot three sons.
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Being blind and deprived of the rites, your father could not be a king. Thus, the great-souled
Pandu, famous in the world, became a king. Since he was a king, his sons are the inheritors of their father’s share. O son!
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Do not quarrel over this. Give them half of the kingdom. As long as I am alive, which man can rule the kingdom? Do not slight my words. I have always desired peace. O son! O king! I do not differentiate between them and you. These are also the views of your father, Gandhari and Vidura. The words of the elders should be heard. Do not ignore my words. Otherwise, you will destroy everybody, yourself and the earth also.’”’

‘Vasudeva said, “After Bhishma had spoken, Drona, who was capable of speaking, addressed these words to Duryodhana, in the midst of the kings. ‘O fortunate one! O son!
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Just as Pratipa’s son, Shantanu, was established for the welfare of the lineage, Devavrata Bhishma is also established for the welfare of the lineage. Pandu, the lord of men, was also like that. He was truthful and in control of his senses. He became the king of the Kurus. He had dharma in his soul. He was good in his vows and was extremely controlled. Later, the extender of the Kuru lineage gave the kingdom to his elder, the intelligent Dhritarashtra, and to the younger, Kshatta. O king! O Kouravya! O unblemished one! After having established the one without decay
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on the kingdom, he left for the forest with his wife. Vidura, tiger among men, humbly accepted a position that was inferior to him
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and served him, like one fanning him with a whisk. O son!
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In the appropriate way, all the subjects accepted Dhritarashtra as the lord of men, just as they had accepted Pandu, lord of men. After having handed over the kingdom to Dhritarashtra and Vidura,
Pandu, the destroyer of enemy cities, roamed around the entire earth. Vidura, devoted to the truth, was in charge of building up the treasury, gifts, the superintendence of the servants and everyone’s subsistence. Bhishma, the immensely energetic conqueror of enemy cities, was in charge of peace and war and the care of the king. While he was on the throne, the immensely strong King Dhritarashtra was always followed by the great-souled Vidura. Having been born in this lineage, how can you decide to break up the lineage? O lord of men! Together with your brothers, enjoy all the objects of desire. I am not saying this out of any weakness, or for any riches. O supreme among kings! I eat what Bhishma gives me, not what you give. O lord of men! I do not wish to draw my sustenance from you. Drona goes where Bhishma goes. Do what Bhishma has asked you to. O destroyer of enemies! Give the sons of Pandu half of the kingdom. O son!
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I have always behaved equally as a teacher to both you and them. The one with the white horses
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is the same to me as Ashvatthama. What is the need to speak a lot? Where there is dharma, victory is there.’ O great king! The infinitely energetic Drona spoke in this way.

‘“Then Vidura, devoted to the truth and knowledgeable about dharma, glanced towards his father’s
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face and spoke these words. ‘O Devavrata! Listen to the words that I am going to speak. This lineage of the Kouravas was destroyed
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and you made it rise up again. Therefore, when I am lamenting, do not ignore my words. Who is the one named Duryodhana, born in this lineage? He is a defiler of the lineage. He is overcome by greed and you are following his inclination. He does not behave like an arya. He is ungrateful. He has lost his senses because of avarice. His father can see dharma and artha, but he acts contrary to his instructions. The Kurus will be destroyed because of Duryodhana’s deeds. O great king! Act so that the destruction does not occur. O immensely radiant one! Earlier,
you created me and Dhritarashtra, like a painter fashions a painting. Do not destroy us now. O mighty-armed one! Do not look at this destruction of the lineage and ignore it, like Prajapati, who creates beings in order to destroy them. With the destruction imminent, if your intelligence has failed you, leave for the forest, with me and Dhritarashtra. Or swiftly bind down the wicked and stupid son of Dhritarashtra, who is extremely evil in his intelligence. Let the kingdom now be protected by the Pandavas. O tiger among kings! Show your favours. A great destruction of the Pandavas, the Kurus and the infinitely energetic kings can be seen.’ Having spoken in this way, Vidura, distressed in his mind, stopped. He was immersed in his thoughts and sighed repeatedly. Then King Subala’s daughter,
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scared for the lineage, angrily spoke words full of dharma and artha to her evil-minded and violent son Duryodhana, while all the kings looked on. ‘Let the kings who have entered the king’s assembly hall, the brahmarshis and the courtiers listen while I speak about your crimes and those of your evil advisers and followers. This kingdom of the Kurus is ruled through a continuous process of succession. That is the dharma of the lineage, as it has come down to us. With your wicked intelligence and violent deeds, you wish to cause injury to the kingdom of the Kurus. The intelligent Dhritarashtra is established in the kingdom, with his younger brother, the far-sighted Vidura. O Duryodhana! Because of your delusion and desiring to be king, how can you cross both of them? As long as Bhishma is there, the king and the greatly fortunate Kshatta are subservient to him. Since he
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knows about dharma, the great-souled son of the river does not desire to be a king of men. The kingdom inalienably belonged to Pandu. His sons should now rule, and no one else. This entire kingdom belongs to the Pandavas, because it has descended to them from their ancestors and they will leave it to their sons and grandsons. The intelligent Devavrata is devoted to the truth. He is great-souled and is foremost among the Kurus. We must accept everything that he has said about
dharma. We must act according to our own dharma. Let us follow the one whose vow is great.
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Let the king and Vidura speak. Let us act in accordance with what our well-wishers say. For a very long time, let us hold dharma up in front. Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma, should rule. He has rightfully obtained the kingdom of the Kurus. This has been instructed by King Dhritarashtra and Shantanu’s son has said that this is the most important.’”’

‘Vasudeva said, “O lord of men! When Gandhari had spoken thus, Dhritarashtra, lord of men, spoke to Duryodhana in the midst of the kings. ‘O Duryodhana! O son! O fortunate one! Listen to what I am going to tell you and act accordingly, if you wish to respect your father. Soma Prajapati
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extended the lineage of the Kurus at the beginning. Nahusha’s son, Yayati, was sixth in the line from Soma. He had five sons, all supreme among rajarshis. The illustrious and immensely energetic Yadu was the eldest. Puru was younger than him and he extended our lineage. He was born from Sharmishtha, the daughter of Vrishaparva. O foremost among the Bharatas! Yadu was the son of Devayani and was the maternal grandson of the infinitely energetic Kavya Shukra.
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The ancestor of the Yadavas
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was powerful and was honoured for his valour. But because he was full of insolence and extremely evil-minded, he insulted the kshatriyas.
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Because he was deluded by his strength and insolence, he did not follow the instructions of his father. The
unvanquished one insulted his father and brothers. Yadu was the strongest one in the four corners of the earth. Having subjugated all the kings, he lived in Nagasahrya.
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His father, Nahusha’s son, Yayati, was enraged. O Gandhari’s son! He cursed him and threw him out of the kingdom. Yayati also angrily cursed his other sons, the brothers who were insolent because of their strength. The best of kings then instated his youngest son, Puru, in the kingdom and he remained devoted to him.
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Thus, if he is insolent, an eldest son can be deprived of the kingdom. If he serves his seniors, even a youngest one can obtain the kingdom. My father’s grandfather, Pratipa, knew everything about dharma. He was a lord of the earth who was famous in the three worlds. That lion among kings ruled the kingdom in accordance with dharma. Three sons were born to him. They were famous and were like the gods in form. Devapi was the eldest and Bahlika came next. O son! The intelligent Shantanu, my grandfather, was the third. Devapi was supreme among kings and greatly energetic. He was devoted to dharma, truthful and served his father. He was revered by the citizens of the town and the country. He was honoured by the virtuous. He was loved by everyone, the young and the aged. He was generous and devoted to the truth. He was engaged in the welfare of all beings. He obeyed the instructions of his father and also those of the brahmanas. He was the beloved brother of Bahlika and the great-souled Shantanu. Those great-souled ones were extremely fraternal towards each other. However, Devapi possessed a disease of the skin. In due course of time, the aged and best of kings made arrangements for a consecration, in accordance with the sacred texts. The illustrious one performed all the auspicious rites. But all the brahmanas and the elders, together with the citizens of the town and the country, restrained him from consecrating Devapi. When the king heard about the prevention of the instatement, his voice choked with tears. The king sorrowed over his son. He
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was
generous, learned about dharma and devoted to the truth. He was loved by the subjects. However, he was tainted by a disease of the skin. The gods do not approve of a lord of the earth who is inferior in his limbs. Because of this, that best among kings was restrained by those bulls among brahmanas. On seeing that he
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was distressed and was sorrowing over his son, and died because of this, Devapi resorted to the forest. Bahlika also gave up the kingdom and went to his maternal uncle’s lineage. He abandoned his father and brothers and obtained another prosperous city instead. O king! On Bahlika’s instructions, after his father had died, Shantanu, famous in the world, became the king and ruled the kingdom. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In the same way, I was the eldest, but was deficient in a limb.
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After a great deal of reflection, the intelligent Pandu barred me from the kingdom. Though he was younger to me, Pandu obtained the kingdom as a king. O destroyer of enemies! On his death, the kingdom belongs to his sons. If I could not obtain the kingdom, how can you desire the kingdom? This kingdom rightfully belongs to the great-souled Prince Yudhishthira. With his great qualities, he will be the protector of the lineage of the Kouravas. He is truthful. He is never distracted. He abides by the sacred texts. He is loved by his friends and is virtuous. He is loved by the subjects and is kind towards his well-wishers. He has mastered his senses and is the protector of righteous ones. Forgiveness, patience, control, uprightness, truthfulness to vows, learning, single-mindedness, compassion towards beings and control—Yudhishthira has all these qualities of a king. You are not the son of a king and you are not an arya in your conduct. You are always greedy and evil-minded towards your friends. You are insolent. How can you hope to seize a kingdom that, according to the line of succession, belongs to another? Devoid of your delusion, give them half of the kingdom, with the vehicles and the attendants. O Indra among men! The remainder will be enough for you to obtain a living, together with your younger brothers.’”’