Mahabharata: Volume 4 (61 page)

‘Vasudeva said, “Having been thus addressed by Bhishma, Drona, Vidura, Gandhari and Dhritarashtra, the evil one was not brought to his senses. Not understanding, he angrily arose, his eyes red with rage. Wishing to give up their lives, the kings rushed after him. The king
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repeatedly instructed the kings, who were bereft of their senses. ‘Go to Kurukshetra. It is Pushya today.’
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Driven by destiny, having made Bhishma the general, together with their soldiers, those lords of the earth then cheerfully left. Those lords of the earth have assembled eleven akshouhinis of soldiers. Bhishma is at the forefront, with a palm tree on his standard.

‘“O lord of the earth! Therefore, do what is appropriate under the circumstances. O king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I have repeated the words that were spoken in my presence by Bhishma, Drona, Vidura, Gandhari and Dhritarashtra in the assembly of the Kurus. O king! Hoping for fraternity, I first used conciliation, to prevent dissension in the lineage of the Kurus and ensure the welfare of the subjects. When I saw that peace was not acceptable, I resorted to alienation and recounted your deeds, divine and human. When I saw that Suyodhana ignored my words of conciliation, I assembled all the kings and tried to sow seeds of dissension. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O lord! I showed them extraordinary and terrible manifestations and superhuman exploits. I censured the kings. I denigrated Suyodhana. I repeatedly tried to frighten Radheya and Soubala. I repeatedly recounted the meanness of the sons of Dhritarashtra. Through eloquence and counsel, I tried to create disunity among the kings. Using conciliation again, I spoke to them about gifts, so that a division could be created in the lineage of the Kurus and I could be successful in my objective. I said, ‘The children, all the Pandavas, will abandon their pride and seek refuge with Dhritarashtra, Bhishma and Vidura. Let them give the kingdom to
you and let them not remain as lords. Let it be as the king,
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Gangeya and Vidura have said. Let the entire kingdom be yours, only give up five villages. O supreme among kings! Surely your father can sustain them.’ Having been spoken to in this way, the evil-minded one was not ready to change his views. For that wicked one, I can see no other means but the fourth one of chastisement.
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Those lords of the earth have marched out to Kurukshetra, to their perdition. I have told you everything that occurred in the assembly of the Kurus. O Pandava! They will not give up the kingdom without a war. All of them are headed for destruction and are confronting death.”’

This section has 169 shlokas and four chapters.

Chapter 812(149): 84 shlokas
Chapter 813(150): 27 shlokas
Chapter 814(151): 27 shlokas
Chapter 815(152): 31 shlokas

Abhiniryana
means the act of marching out. The two sides march out to Kurukshetra.

Vaishampayana said, ‘Dharmaraja Yudhishthira heard these words of Janardana. In Keshava’s presence, the one with dharma in his soul then spoke to his brothers. “You have heard what transpired in the assembly hall, in the assembly of the Kurus. You have also thought about everything that Keshava has said. O supreme among men! Therefore, divide my soldiers now. Seven akshouhinis have assembled together for victory. Listen to the names of seven generals when I recount their names—Drupada, Virata, Dhrishtadyumna, Shikhandi, Satyaki, Chekitana and the valorous Bhimasena. All these generals are warriors who are ready to lay down their lives. All of
them are learned in the Vedas and are brave. All of them possess good conduct and are devoted to their vows. All of them are humble and know about policy. They are skilled in the art of war. They are skilled in the use of arrows and are capable of fighting with all weapons. One who will lead all seven armies must know about army formations. He must be able to withstand Bhishma, who is like a fire with flames as arrows, on the field of battle. O Sahadeva! O descendant of the Kuru lineage! O tiger among men! You tell me first. Who is capable of being our general?”

‘Sahadeva replied, “He has been with us in our times of unhappiness. He is a valiant king. He is conversant with dharma and resorts to it. We resorted to him to obtain our share. Powerful Matsya Virata is skilled in the use of weapons and is unassailable in battle. He can withstand Bhishma and those maharathas in the field of battle.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘When Sahadeva, eloquent in the use of words, had spoken these words, Nakula followed with these words. “He stands out in age, learning, fortitude, birth in a noble lineage, humility and greatness of family. He is illustrious and skilled in the use of all weapons. He learnt the use of weapons from Bharadvaja.
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He is unassailable and is devoted to the truth. He has always rivalled Drona and the immensely strong Bhishma. He is a general who prides himself on being foremost in the arrays of kings. He is surrounded by sons and grandsons, like a tree with one hundred branches. In anger, together with his wife, this lord of the earth performed terrible austerities for Drona’s destruction. He is brave and adorns any assembly. That bull among kings has always supported us like a father. Our father-in-law Drupada should be at the head of our army. He will be able to withstand both Bhishma and Drona. That is my view. O king! This king knows about divine weapons and he is a friend of Angiras.”
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‘When Madri’s two sons had spoken, Vasava’s son Savyasachi, the descendant of the Kuru lineage, who was like Vasava himself, spoke these words. “He arose through the power of austerities and by satisfying the rishi.
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He is immensely strong and is a divine person. He is like the fire in his complexion. He bore a bow and a sword. He was clad in armour. The spirited one was ascended on a chariot that was yoked to celestial horses. He arose from the bed of fire. The valiant one’s chariot roared like a gigantic cloud. The brave one is capable of withstanding a lion and he is like a lion in his valour. He has the sinews of a lion. He is mighty-armed. He has the chest of a lion. He is immensely strong. The brave one roars like a lion. He has the shoulders of a lion. He is immensely radiant. He has excellent brows. He has excellent teeth. He has an excellent chin. He has excellent arms. He has an excellent face and he is not thin. He has excellent clavicles. He has extremely large eyes. He has excellent feet. He has an excellent stance. Like a rutting elephant, he cannot be penetrated by any weapon. He has been born for Drona’s destruction. He is truthful and a master of his senses. I think that Dhrishtadyumna can withstand Bhishma’s weapons, which are like the lightning in their touch and are like serpents with flaming jaws. Like the fire, they descend with the force of Yama’s messengers. They are like the terrible vajra in their impact and Rama
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himself confronted them once in battle. I do not see a man who can withstand the one with the great vow,
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with the exception of Dhrishtadyumna. O king! That is my view. He is swift in the use of his hands. He is a colourful warrior. It is my view that he should be our general. He is handsome and wears impenetrable armour. He is like an elephant that leads the herd.”

‘Bhima said, “Shikhandi, Drupada’s son, has been born to kill him.
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O Indra among kings! This is what the assembled Siddhas and
rishis said. When he uses divine weapons in the midst of battle, men gaze at his form, as if he is the great-souled Rama.
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O king! When there is a fight, I do not see anyone who can pierce Shikhandi with a weapon in battle, when he is armoured and is astride his chariot. O king! In a duel, no one other than Shikhandi can withstand Bhishma, who is great in his vows. I think that this brave one should be our general.”

‘Yudhishthira said, “O sons!
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The substance and lack of substance of everything in the universe
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and the strengths and weaknesses of everything, past and future, are known to Keshava, who has dharma in his soul. Whoever Dasharha Krishna names should be our general, regardless of whether he is skilled in the use of weapons or not, regardless of whether he is aged or old. O sons!
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He is the root, whether it is our victory, or our disaster. Our lives, our kingdom, our successes, our failures, our happiness and our unhappiness are vested in him. He is the one who has created and he is the one who has placed.
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Our success is based on him. Whoever is named by Dasharha Krishna should be the general of our army. Let the one who is foremost among speakers speak, because the night is passing. Having appointed a general under Krishna’s instructions, when the rest of the night has passed, we will march out to the field of battle, anointing our weapons with fragrances
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and performing auspicious ceremonies.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Having heard Dharmaraja’s intelligent words, Pundarikaksha glanced towards Dhananjaya and said, “O great king! It is also my opinion that the powerful and valiant warriors who have been named as possible generals of the army are all capable and can crush the enemy. In a great war, they will generate fear in Indra, not to speak of the avaricious sons of Dhritarashtra, evil in
their intelligence. O mighty-armed one! O destroyer of enemies! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! To please you, I have made great efforts to bring about peace. We have paid off our debt to dharma and we can’t be blamed by those who wish to do that. That childish son of Dhritarashtra thinks himself to be wise and thinks that he has become successful because of his strength. He thinks that we are weak. It is best to arrange your army. I think that they can only be persuaded through death. Dhritarashtra’s sons will not be capable of standing up when they see Dhananjaya, an enraged Bhimasena, the twins who are like Yama and the intolerant Dhrishtadyumna, seconded by Yuyudhana, Abhimanyu, Droupadi’s sons, Virata, Drupada, the leaders of the akshouhinis and the Indras among men who are firm in their valour. Our armies have substance. They are invincible. They are unassailable. There is no doubt that we kill the forces of Dhritarashtra’s son in battle.” When Krishna had spoken in this way, those best of men were delighted in their hearts and a great roar arose from them, “Get it yoked!” The soldiers swiftly rushed around.

‘There were the sounds of horses and elephants and the roar of wheels in every direction. There was the tumultuous sound of conch shells and drums in every direction. When the Pandavas marched out with their soldiers on every side, the unassailable army looked like the overflowing Ganga. Bhimasena and Madri’s armoured sons were at the front of the army. Subhadra’s son, Droupadi’s sons, Parshata Dhrishtadyumna, the Prabhadrakas and the Panchalas followed Bhimasena. The sound that arose was like the ocean at the time of the full moon. The delighted soldiers roared as they proceeded and seemed to touch the heaven. The armed forces were happy and were capable of penetrating the ranks of the enemy. Kunti’s son, Yudhishthira, advanced in their midst. Wagons, carts for vending, brothel houses, caravans, treasure chests, war machines, armouries, physicians, doctors, the invalids in the army and the thin and weak troops and the attendants were gathered together by the king and advanced. The truthful Panchali Droupadi remained in Upaplavya with the women, surrounded by servant maids and servants. Pandu’s sons advanced after leaving stationary and mobile troops behind to guard their base
camp. They also left large defensive columns. O king! They proceeded while distributing cows and gold to the brahmanas who gathered around and praised them, as they rode on chariots decorated with gems. The Kekayas, Dhrishtaketu, the lordly son of the king of Kashi, Shreniman, Vasudana and the unvanquished Shikhandi were cheerful and satisfied. They were armoured and held weapons. They were adorned in ornaments. All of them surrounded and followed King Yudhishthira. Virata, Yajnasena of Somaka,
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Sudharma, Kuntibhoja, Dhrishtadyumna’s sons, forty thousand chariots, five times that number of horses, ten times that number of infantry and sixty thousand riders were at the back. Anadhrishti, Chekitana, the king of Chedi and Satyaki—all these surrounded Vasudeva and Dhananjaya and marched. They reached Kurukshetra, armed and arrayed in battle formations. The Pandavas seemed to be like roaring bulls. On entering Kurukshetra, those destroyers of enemies blew on their conch shells. In similar fashion, Vasudeva and Dhananjaya also sounded their conch shells. When they heard the resounding roar of Panchajanya,
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which was like the roar of thunder, all the soldiers rejoiced. The sound of conch shells and drums mingled with the leonine roars of those swift ones and echoed on earth, in the sky and among the oceans.

‘There was a spot that was plain and pleasant, with plenty of fodder and fuel. King Yudhishthira made the army set up camp there, avoiding cremation grounds, sanctuaries of gods, hermitages of rishis and places of pilgrimage. This was an agreeable region, without any salinity. It was pure and auspicious. Kunti’s son, Yudhishthira, the lord of the earth, made arrangements for a camp there. When the exhausted mounts had rested, he cheerfully advanced again, surrounded by hundreds and thousands of kings. Wandering around in every direction, Partha and Keshava drove away hundreds of platoons from the army of Dhritarashtra’s son. Parshata Dhrishtadyumna and the powerful charioteer Yuyudhana Satyaki measured out the camp.
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This reached up to the sacred river Hiranvati
in Kurukshetra. It was easy to cross there. The water was pure and was free from stones and mud. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Keshava had a moat dug up there. For the sake of protection, he instructed that a platoon of troops should be posted there. In the appropriate way, Keshava also instructed that hundreds and thousands of camps should be erected for the other lords among men, along the lines of those for the great-souled Pandavas. They had an abundance of water and kindling there and they were unassailable. They were stocked with items of consumption, food, grain and drink. There were separate and expensive camps for those kings. O Indra among kings! They looked like vimanas that had descended on the surface of the earth. Hundreds of wise artisans, who were paid wages, were employed there and there were extremely skilled physicians, with every kind of requirement. King Yudhishthira ensured that strings of bows, bows, armour, weapons, honey, clarified butter, mountainous heaps of resin
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and sand, plenty of water and fodder, chaff and charcoal were made available to every camp. There were giant machines used in war, iron arrows, javelins, swords, battle axes, bows and armour to be worn by the men on their chests. There were elephants clad in armour, with spikes attached to them. They looked like mountains and each was capable of fighting a hundred thousand warriors. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On learning that the Pandavas had set up their camp there, their friends arrived at that spot, with their soldiers and their mounts. They had observed brahmacharya. They had drunk soma. They had given away large quantities of dakshina. Those lords of the earth now assembled for the victory of the sons of Pandu.’

Janamejaya said, ‘Yudhishthira advanced with his soldiers, with a desire to fight and, protected by Vasudeva, set up camp in Kurukshetra. He was followed by Virata and Drupada with their
sons, and surrounded by hundreds of kings, like the great Indra, protected by maharatha Adityas. On hearing this, what did King Duryodhana do? O one rich in austerities! I wish to hear this in detail. On that terrible occasion, what transpired in Kurujangala? Even the army of the gods would have trembled to fight those who gathered there—the Pandavas, Vasudeva, Virata, Drupada, Dhrishtadyumna from Panchala, maharatha Shikhandi and valorous Yuyudhana, unassailable even to the gods. O one rich in austerities! I wish to hear all this in detail, about what the Kurus and the Pandavas did.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘When Dasharha had left, King Duryodhana spoke to Karna, Duhshasana and Shakuni. “Adhokshaja
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was unsuccessful and has returned to the Parthas. There is no doubt that he will speak to them in anger. Vasudeva desires war between the Pandavas and me. Bhima and Arjuna will adhere to his desires. Ajatashatru will follow Bhima and Arjuna. I have acted badly towards him and his brothers in the past. Virata and Drupada have had an enmity towards me. Those two leaders of armies will also follow Vasudeva. There will be a terrible war that will make the body hair stand up. Therefore, with great attention, let us make all the arrangements for war. Let the lords of the earth set up hundreds and thousands of camps in Kurukshetra. They should be spacious and spaced so that the enemy cannot attack them. Water and kindling should be available nearby. The roads should be such that supplies can be carried. There must be stores of treasure. Let them be stocked with many kinds of weapons and adorned with flags and banners. Let the roads emerging from the city be levelled. Let an announcement be made that we will march out tomorrow.” They promised that they would act in that way and followed the instructions on the next day. The great-souled ones were delighted at the prospect of destroying the lords of the earth.
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On hearing the king’s instructions, all the kings were enraged and arose from their expensive seats. They slowly touched their arms, which were like clubs and had golden armlets and were smeared with sandalwood and aloe. With hands
like lotuses, they donned their headdresses and put on their lower and upper garments and ornaments. The foremost among charioteers tended to the chariots, those skilled in horses to the horses. Those who were skilled about elephants got the elephants ready. All of them prepared large quantities of colourful and golden armour and many different weapons. The foot soldiers took up many weapons and covered their bodies with colourful and golden armour. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The city of Dhritarashtra’s son was festive. It was full of cheerful and agitated men. The crowd of men looked like an ocean. The chariots, elephants and horses were like fish. There was the roar of conch shells and drums. The stores of treasure were like jewels. The colourful ornaments were like waves. The spotless weapons were like foam. The palaces were like a garland of mountains. The roads and shops were like giant lakes. O king! That great ocean of the king of the Kurus was like the ocean, with the warriors looking like a rising moon.’