Yudhishtira’s horse then crossed Sindhu where Arjuna was welcomed by Dusshala, the only sister of the Kauravas and the wife of Jayadhrata, and her son. Jayadhrata had helped in the killing of Arjuna’s son, Abhimanyu. But now all was forgiven. Arjuna hugged his cousin sister with love and blessed her son.
Arjuna then crossed Gandhara, where he was welcomed by Shakuni’s sons. Here too there was no more anger against the Pandavas. Bygones were bygones.
Finally, Arjuna reached the sea where the horse was able to walk on the waves. Arjuna was pleasantly surprised when even he was able to walk on the waves. Arjuna realized this was because of the spiritual powers of Rishi Bakadalbhya, who lived on a lagoon nearby. The sage told him a story, ‘I once performed tapasya and compelled Indra, king of the gods, to appear before me. I asked him if he accepted that I was stronger than him. He said yes, but there is one greater. I asked him to take me to that greater being. He took me to Brahma, the father of all living things. He had four heads. I asked Brahma if he was the greatest being in the world. He said no, for there was someone greater. I asked him to take me to that greater being. He took me to a Brahma who had eight heads. I asked this eight-headed Brahma if he was the greatest being in the world. This eight-headed Brahma said no, for there was someone greater. I asked him to take me to that greater being. He took me to a Brahma who had sixteen heads. This Brahma took me to a Brahma with thirty-two heads who took me to a Brahma with sixty-four heads. Thus we went to meet many more Brahmas, each greater than the previous ones. And finally, we came to a Brahma with a thousand heads who said that greater than him was Vishnu, who reclines on a serpent that lives in the ocean of milk. And that Vishnu walks the earth as Krishna. Hearing this, I realized how insignificant a creature I was in the universe and how foolish. That day my ego was shattered and I attained bliss. Since that day, people have been able to walk on water when they come near my hermitage.’
After hearing the Rishi’s tale, Arjuna returned with the horse to the shore. As the journey continued, the horse was captured by Mayurdhvaj. The only reason Mayurdhvaj did this was because Arjuna would follow the horse. If he captured Arjuna, then Krishna would come to the rescue of Arjuna. Mayurdhvaj knew that Krishna was Vishnu, God on earth. Being a great devotee, he wanted to see Krishna in person, hence this elaborate plan. This plan worked and Krishna did come to his city in search of Arjuna. After falling at Krishna’s feet, Mayurdhvaj released both Arjuna and the horse.
Jaimini’s version of the Mahabharata is different from that of his master, Vyasa’s. It focuses more on Yudhishtira’s Ashwamedha after the war, on the reconciliation with the children of enemies (the sons of Karna, Jayadhrata, Shakuni) and on the value of worshipping Krishna as God. Known as Jaiminiya-ashwamedha, this work has inspired many folk stories, a few of which are narrated in the chapter above.
Rishi Bakadalbhya is associated with walking on water or crossing water. He taught Ram rituals that would enable him to cross the sea and reach the island of Lanka, where Ravana, king of the Rakshasas, had confined Sita. The same rituals are performed every year on Vijaya Ekadashi which falls on the eleventh day of the waxing moon in February–March.
101
Babruvahana
After conquering many lands, the horse of the Pandavas reached Manipur where it was stopped by its ruler, a young man called Babruvahana, who turned out to be Arjuna’s son by Chitrangada, princess of Manipur.
Babruvahana welcomed his father, who he had never met before, and would have let the horse pass through the city when Arjuna said, ‘This is unbecoming of a warrior’s son. Challenge me. Fight me. Don’t give in so easily.’ In deference to his father’s wishes, Babruvahana raised his bow and to everyone’s surprise turned out to be more than a match for his father. He very ably destroyed the arrows released by his father and it took a lot of effort on Arjuna’s part to destroy the arrows released by his young son.
Then, after hours of fighting, the unthinkable happened—an arrow that left Babruvahana’s bow ripped through Arjuna’s heart killing him instantly. Chitrangada let out a cry and Babruvahana was shattered for he never intended to harm his father. He hugged the lifeless body of Arjuna and began to wail.
Suddenly, there appeared on the scene a Naga woman. Her name was Ulupi. She was the mother of Iravan, sacrificed on the ninth night of the war. ‘You have done nothing wrong, Babruvahana,’ said Ulupi, ‘Your father brought this upon himself. You were but an instrument of destiny. Your father killed his granduncle, Bhishma, who was like a father to him. For that shameful act, Bhishma’s mother, the river-goddess, Ganga, cursed Arjuna that he would die at the hands of his own son. That curse has just expressed itself through your arrow. But fear not. I bring with me Naga-mani, a magical gem from the realm of serpents that has the power to bring the dead to life.’ Ulupi placed the magical gem of serpents on Arjuna’s fatal wound and, to Babruvahana’s utter astonishment, the wound healed itself.
Arjuna then started to breathe. He opened his eyes as if waking up from a deep sleep. Arjuna looked at Ulupi but failed to recognize her for years had passed since the night they had spent together. A heartbroken Ulupi silently withdrew to her subterranean realm.
After spending many days with Chitrangada and Babruvahana, it was time for Arjuna to return to Hastina-puri with the sacrificial horse. Mother and son let him go with a heavy heart.
As soon as the horse entered Hastina-puri, it began to neigh happily. All the Rishis were surprised. ‘Why does it laugh so? Does it not know that it will be killed at the altar?’ Nakula heard what the horse had to say and revealed that the horse was happy because unlike other horses that had been sacrificed in earlier Ashwamedha yagnas and had ascended to the paradise of the gods after their death, he would go to a higher heaven, located even above Swarga.
‘What is this heaven located even above Swarga?’ asked Yudhishtira.
The Rishis replied, ‘It is a secret known to few. We do not know it. Maybe, one day, O king, if the gods find you worthy enough, the secret will be revealed to you.’
In a Bengali folk retelling of the Mahabharata is the tale of one of Arjuna’s many jilted wives who takes the form of the arrow which Babruvahana shoots to kill his father. Later, she regrets her action and begs the gods to restore Arjuna to life.
In Jaimini-bharata, Babruvahana has to go to the land of the serpents, following directions given by Ulupi, to fetch the magical jewel himself. He succeeds but only after many adventures in Naga-loka.
The Naga princess Ulupi’s love for Arjuna remains unrequited. He has no recollection of her. But still she forgives and saves him.
Arjuna’s death at the hands of his son washes away the demerit he himself earned when he killed his foster father, Bhishma.
102
Start of Kali yuga
Yudhishtira’s Ashwamedha yagna was the grandest yagna in human memory. No expense was spared. All the Rishis who conducted the yagna and chanted the mantras were given food, clothing and cows.
In the midst of the ceremony, two farmers came to Hastina-puri and begged Yudhishtira to settle a dispute. One of the farmers had sold his land to the other. The following day, while ploughing the field, the new owner stumbled upon a pot of gold buried under the ground. He went to the old owner and offered it to him saying, ‘I bought the land. However, what lies beneath it still belongs to you.’ The old owner refused to take the pot of gold saying it now belonged to the new owner who had found it.
Yudhishtira, impressed by the charitable nature of the two farmers, did not know how to settle this case. So he sought Krishna’s advice. Krishna suggested that the farmers leave their pot of gold with the king and return after three months. The two farmers agreed.
As they left, Yudhishtira looked at Krishna quizzically. What would happen after three months, he wondered. Krishna replied, ‘In three months the same two farmers, who were so willing to give away the pot of gold today, will return and fight furiously to be its sole owners. On that day, you will find it
easier to settle the case as you will see greed in their eyes instead of generosity, outrage instead of compassion. Three months later, Yudhishtira, your yagna will conclude and the Kali yuga will dawn. A new age will dawn where nothing will be as it was. Only a quarter of the values instituted by Prithu at the dawn of civilization will survive. Man will live for pleasure, children will abandon responsibility, women will be like men, men like women. Humans will copulate like beasts. Power will be respected, justice abandoned, sacrifice forgotten and love ridiculed. The wise will argue for the law of the jungle. Every victim will, given a chance, turn victimizer.’
Three months later, the two farmers returned and, as foretold, fought over the pot of gold. It was now very easy for Yudhishtira to settle the dispute: he divided the gold into three equal portions. One portion was given to each farmer and the third portion was kept by the king as fee for the judgement.
After sacrificing the royal horse and completing all the ceremonies, the Rishis who conducted the Ashwamedha were about to leave when they saw a mongoose, half of whose body shone like gold, enter the sacrificial hall. It jumped into the fire-pit, rubbed its normal side on the charred remains of the ritual, and then left the altar with a disappointed look.
When asked by the Rishis why he looked so unhappy, the mongoose said, ‘Half my body turned into gold long ago when I rolled on the remains of a ritual. I hoped the other half would turn to gold when I rubbed against the remains of this ritual. But it has not happened.’ Everyone was curious to know of the earlier ritual which was clearly greater than Yudhishtira’s. ‘It happened over three months ago. A poor family starved to death as they happily gave up their meagre meal to guests who arrived at their doorstep unannounced. I rubbed my body on the leaves on which the food was offered. And to my surprise, my skin turned to gold. But the remains of this grand Ashwamedha yagna have failed to have a similar effect.’
The Rishis realized that Yudhishtira’s sacrifice, though grand, was less about charity and more about royal power. Hence, it was a lesser ritual.
Dhaumya, guru of the Pandavas, divined that before the war all of dharma rested with the Pandavas. A quarter with Yudhishtira, a quarter with Arjuna, a quarter with Bhima and a quarter between Nakula and Sahadeva. Draupadi, who is the Goddess, and Krishna, who is God, had managed to harness them together. But with the dawn of Kali yuga, this would not continue. Arjuna would submit to conceit, Bhima to gluttony, Nakula to pleasure and Sahadeva to arrogance. Only Yudhishtira would cling tenaciously to his quarter of dharma. That dharma would sustain the world through the final quarter of the world’s lifespan. And when that would be abandoned, Pralaya would follow. The waves of doom would engulf civilization and the world would cease to be.
Kali yuga refers to a time when man lacks the spirit of generosity. Life becomes all about taking and hoarding. This is seen as the prime cause of any strife.
In the Bhagavad Gita, God says that whenever the world is full of adharma, he descends to restore dharma. One would therefore assume that at the end of God’s stay on earth, the world returns to primal perfection. It is however not so. Adharma may be seen as disease and dharma as health. God restores the health of the world from time to time but he cannot prevent the ageing of the body. By defeating the Kauravas, Krishna enables the Pandavas to restore order in the world. But this does not stop the arrival of the Kali yuga, the fourth quarter of the world’s lifespan, the age before the world’s death. We will all die eventually but this should not stop us from living healthy lives. In the same way, the eventual collapse of an organization should not stop leaders from striving to uphold order.
Book Eighteen
Renunciation
‘Janamejaya, there are many kinds of victory, and only one where everyone wins.’
103
The elders renounce the kingdom
Yudhishtira’s reign was peaceful and prosperous. As the years passed, memories of the war faded away. Everyone took joy in watching young Parikshit grow up to be a fine young man.
Dhritarashtra and Gandhari continued to stay in Hastina-puri and Yudhishtira did his best to keep them comfortable and happy. Unfortunately, Bhima was not so forgiving.
Every time the family sat down to eat, Bhima would crack his knuckles and slap his arms and discuss in detail how he killed each of the Kauravas. Every time Dhritarashtra bit into a bone while eating meat, Bhima would say, ‘That’s exactly the sound I heard when I broke Duryodhana’s thigh.’ Every time Dhritarashtra sucked a juicy marrow, Bhima would say, ‘That’s what Dusshasana’s last gasp sounded like.’
Unable to bear his brother being treated so, Vidura would say to Dhritarashtra, ‘Have some shame. Leave this place where you are given no respect.’
Dhritarashtra would reply, ‘Where will I go?’ and suffer his humiliation silently.
An exasperated Vidura one day narrated a story, ‘Once a man lost his way in the forest and fell into a pit. As he fell, his feet got entangled in some vines and he was suspended head down. Above, the sky was dark. He heard the wind howl. On the edge of the pit he saw a herd of wild elephants trumpeting wildly. Down in the pit were hissing hundreds of venomous serpents. Rats were gnawing the roots of the vine to which he clung like a jackfruit ripe for the picking. Suddenly, through the corner of his eye, he saw bees humming around a bee hive. A drop of honey fell from the beehive. Forgetting the terrible situation he was in, the priest stretched out his hand to collect a drop of that honey. At that moment, fear of storms, elephants, rats and serpents, and imminent death escaped him; all that mattered was the sweet taste of honey.’
Hearing this, Dhritarashtra realized that it was not the absence of his eyes, but his attachment to palace comforts, that prevented him from seeing the truth of his pathetic situation. At long last, he gathered the courage to renounce all things worldly and walk out of the palace. ‘Come, Gandhari, let us go,’ he said.
Gandhari obeyed. Vidura followed them. So did Kunti, realizing it was time for her generation to let go.
Yudhishtira tried to stop his mother, but failed. ‘I am tired, son,’ she said. ‘Time to move on.’
For many years, the elders wandered in the woods meeting Rishis, appreciating from them the meaning of life. Then one day, Vidura died. His life breath slipped away as he meditated. Another day, Gandhari had a vision of all those killed in the battle, dressed in white, bedecked in jewels, smiling, with no sign of sorrow or anger on their faces. This made her happy.
Shortly thereafter, a fire broke out in the forest. ‘Run,’ said Dhritarashtra sniffing the smoke.
‘Why?’ asked Gandhari.
Why indeed? And so the older generation of the Kuru clan sat still and let the wall of flames encircle and engulf them.
The dharma-shastras divide life into four parts. The first, brahmacharya, prepares one for the world. The second, grihastha, is the time to enjoy the pleasures and powers of the world. The third, vanaprastha, is the time to retire from the world passing on all wealth to the children and all knowledge to the grandchildren. The fourth, sanyasa, is the time to renounce all things worldly. The characters in the Mahabharata from Pratipa to Dhritarashtra retire from society and renounce the world after completing their worldly duties. Thus only the young are allowed to enjoy the fruits of the earth, while the old contemplate on it.
Vyasa is well aware how the old are treated by many families especially when they do not have children of their own and when all their power is gone. Yudhishtira symbolizes how things should be, while Bhima personifies the grudges the youth bear towards the older generations for actions in the past that have left them scarred for life.
Sanjay followed his master to the forest and died with them in the forest fire, such was his loyalty to the old, blind king.
Despite learning from Krishna the value of outgrowing the beast within man, the Pandavas cling to their grudges after the war, like dogs clinging to bones. No lesson is permanent. Wisdom thus is always work in progress.
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sp; End of the Yadus
In Dwaraka, meanwhile, the Yadavas decided to gather on the shores of the sea at Prabhasa to make offerings to all those who had died in the war at Kuru-kshetra. During the ceremony an argument erupted between those who thought the Pandavas were righteous, and those who felt the Kauravas had been wronged.
‘The Kauravas pounced on Abhimanyu like dogs pounce on a lamb separated from its herd!’ said Satyaki, leading the group that supported the Pandavas.
‘Yudhishtira lied to kill Drona, Arjuna shot an unarmed Karna and Bhima struck Duryodhana below the waist!’ said Kritavarma, who led the group that supported the Kauravas. He also reminded Satyaki how he attacked and killed Bhurishrava unfairly.
Before long, the argument turned into a brawl, the brawl into a battle and the battle into a full-fledged civil war. Krishna and Balarama watched in helpless horror as their brothers, friends, cousins, sons and grandsons lunged at each other.
In a bid to save their clan, the two brothers hid all the weapons of the Yadava warriors. But such was the fury that the Yadavas, unable to find any weapon, started striking each other with blades of reeds growing along the shore.
These were no ordinary reeds. They had sharp, serrated edges and pointed tips. They were born of iron dust pounded out of an iron pestle.
Years ago, Samba, son of Krishna, had played a prank on a group of sages. To test their spiritual prowess, he went to them disguised as a pregnant woman and asked if the unborn child was male or female. ‘Not male, not female, but an iron bar is what you carry in your body,’ growled the Rishis not amused by Samba’s trick, ‘One that will destroy all the Yadavas.’
Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata Page 30
