by Bibek Debroy
Chapter 10(65)
Shri-Shuka said, ‘O best among the Kuru lineage! The illustrious Balabhadra 592 mounted his chariot. Eager to see his well-wishers, he went to Nanda’s Gokula. The gopas and gopis had been anxious for a very long time and they embraced him. Rama greeted his parents. 593 They welcomed him and pronounced their benedictions over him. “O Dasharha! May you and your younger brother, the lord of the universe, protect us for a very long time.” Saying this, they placed him on their laps and embraced him, their eyes wet with tears. In the proper way, according to age, friendship and the relationship with himself, he bowed down before the elders among the gopas and those who were younger bowed down to him. He then went to the cowherds and smilingly clasped their hands. After he had rested and was happily seated, they surrounded him and questioned him. In words that faltered because of their affection, they asked about the welfare of their relatives. They had given up everything they possessed for the sake of the lotus-eyed Krishna. “O Rama! Are all our relatives well? O Rama! With your wives and sons, do you still remember us? It is good fortune that the wicked Kamsa has been killed. It is good fortune that our well-wishers have been freed. It is good fortune that they have killed and vanquished their enemies and have found shelter inside a fortification.” The gopis approached Rama and welcomed him, questioning him with smiles. “Is Krishna, the darling of the women of the city, happy? Does he remember his relatives and his father and his mother? Do you think he himself will come back and see his mother even once? Does the mighty-armed one remember the service we rendered him? O Dasharha! O lord! For his sake, we abandoned our mothers, fathers, brothers, husbands, sons and sisters. These are extremely difficult to give up. He is ungrateful. How can the intelligent women of the city accept the words of someone who is so fickle? Perhaps they accept them because his words are colourful and charming. Perhaps they are agitated by his smiling glances and desire is ignited in them. O gopis! Why are we talking about him? Let us talk about something else. If he spends his time without us, we should also behave in a similar way.” But the women remembered Shouri’s smiles, conversation, beautiful glances, gait and loving embraces. They started to weep. The illustrious Samkarshna was accomplished in comforting. He assured them by conveying Krishna’s message and calmed their minds.
‘The illustrious Rama resided there for the two months of Madhu and Madhava. 594 During the nights, he brought the gopis the pleasure of intercourse. Surrounded by large numbers of women, Rama frequented a grove on the banks of the Yamuna. It was bathed by the beams of the full moon and the breeze bore the fragrance of night lotuses. Sent by Varuna, the goddess Varuni 595 emerged from the hollow of a tree. She flowed everywhere in that forest and made it more fragrant with her own aroma. The wind conveyed the smell of that flow of honey to Bala. He inhaled it and approached. Together, he and the women drank it. As the women sang about his conduct, the wielder of the plough roamed around in the forests with them. Intoxicated by the liquor, his eyes started to roll. He wore a garland and a single earring, with the vaijayanti garland. His smiling lotus face was radiant, decorated with beads of perspiration. Inebriated, the lord wanted to sport in the water and summoned Yamuna there. In the state of intoxication, he took it that the river had slighted his words. Since it had not come, he became angry. He used the tip of his plough to drag it there. “O wicked one! You have shown me disrespect. You go where you want. Though I have summoned you, you have not come here. Therefore, with the tip of my plough, I will fetch one hundred of your flows here.” Thus censured by the descendant of the Yadu lineage, Yamuna was terrified. O king! She fell down at his feet. She trembled and spoke these words. “O Rama! O mighty-armed one! O Rama! I did not know about your valour. O lord of the universe! With only one of your portions, 596 you hold up the universe. O illustrious one! I did not know about your supreme powers. O atman of the universe! You are compassionate towards your devotees. O illustrious one! I have sought refuge with you. You should free me.” Asked in this way, the illustrious Bala released Yamuna. With the women, he entered the water, like a king of elephant with female elephants. As he wished, he sported in the waters. When he emerged, Kanti gave him two blue garments, extremely expensive garments and a sparkling garland. 597 He attired himself in those blue garments and adorned himself with the golden garlands. With those excellent ornaments and pastes, he was radiant, like the great Indra’s elephant. O king! Even today, the course of the Yamuna being dragged away by the infinitely valiant Bala can be seen, indicating his valour. Rama’s mind was agitated by the sweetness of the women of Vraja. Therefore, as he sported in Vraja, all those nights seemed to be like a single night.’
Chapter 10(66)
Shri-Shuka said, ‘O king! When Rama had gone to Nanda’s Vraja, the ignorant lord of Karusha thought, “I am Vasudeva.” 598 Accordingly, he sent a messenger to Krishna. He was flattered by foolish people. “You are the illustrious Vasudeva. You are the lord of the universe who has descended.” Therefore, he took himself to be Achyuta. The foolish and ignorant one was like a king chosen by children. 599 The evil-minded one sent a messenger to Krishna, whose paths are inconceivable, in Dvaraka. Arriving in Dvaraka, the messenger went to the lord Krishna when he was in his assembly hall. He conveyed the king’s message to the lotus-eyed one and said, “I alone am the Vasudeva who has descended for the sake of showing compassion to beings. There is no other. Therefore, give up your false title. O Satvata! It is out of confusion that you sport my signs. 600 Abandon them and seek refuge with me. Alternatively, fight with me.” Hearing the boasting of Poundraka, limited in his intelligence, Ugrasena and the others in the assembly laughed loudly. After the jocular conversation, the illustrious one spoke to the messenger. “O foolish one! Just as you have boasted, I will hurl those signs away. 601 O ignorant one! When you are killed and lie down, your mouth will be shut and you will be surrounded by kites and vultures. Dogs will find a refuge in you.” The messenger conveyed all this abuse to his lord.
‘Krishna mounted his chariot and went to Kashi. 602 Maharatha Poundraka noticed his efforts and quickly emerged from the city, along with two akshouhinis. O king! His friend, the king of Kashi, followed him, guarding his rear with three akshouhinis. Hari saw Poundraka bearing the signs—conch shell, sword, mace, Sharnga bow, shrivatsa mark, Koustubha jewel, garland of wild flowers, yellow silken garments, Garuda on the standard, expensive diadem and ornaments and shining earrings shaped like makaras. 603 Hari saw him in that artificial attire, an exact imitation of his own, just like an actor on a stage, and laughed loudly. Hari’s enemies attacked him with spears, clubs, bludgeons, javelins, double-edged swords, spikes, lances, swords, battleaxes and arrows. The armies of Poundraka and the king of Kashi had elephants, chariots, horses and foot soldiers and Krishna severely afflicted them with his mace, sword, chakra and arrows, like the fire of destruction separately afflicts subjects at the end of a yuga. His chakra severed and littered the field of battle with chariots, horses, elephants, bipeds, donkeys and camels. This brought pleasure to the hearts of the spirited. It resembled the terrible pleasure ground of the lord of bhutas. 604 Shouri spoke to Poundraka. “O Poundraka! You used your messenger’s words to speak to me about weapons. I will now release them towards you. O ignorant one! Give up my title, which you have assumed falsely. If I do not wish to fight against you, I will certainly seek refuge with you today.” Having abused him in this way, he used his sharp arrows to deprive Poundraka of his chariot. Using his chakra, he severed his head, like Indra using his vajra to slice off the peak of a mountain. In similar fashion, he used his arrows to sever the head of the king of Kashi and, as if it was a lotus bud borne by the wind, made it fall inside the city of Kashi. Having thus killed the ones who were jealous of him, Poundraka and his friend, Hari entered Dvaraka. The Siddhas chanted about his immortal accounts. O king! By always thinking about the illustrious one, he 605 severed all his bonds. By assuming Hari’s form, he himself became immersed in him.
‘The head, decorated wit
h earrings, fell down at the gate of the palace. Bewildered, people asked, “What is this? Whom does this head belong to?” O king! The queens, sons and relatives recognized that it belonged to the king, the lord of Kashi. Along with the citizens, they lamented and wept, “Alas! Our protector has been killed.” His son, Sudakshina, performed the funeral rites for his father. “I will slay my father’s slayer and exact vengeance for my father.” Having made up his mind in this way, accompanied by his priest, he worshipped Maheshvara, performing supreme meditation. The illustrious lord, the granter of boons, was pleased and appeared in Avimukta. 606 As a boon, he asked, “I wish for a means so that my father’s killer can be slain.” “Along with brahmanas and officiating priests, worship dakshinagni. 607 Follow the rites of abhichara. 608 Surrounded by pramathas, like a brahmana who is used for a specific purpose, that fire will accomplish your objective.” Thus instructed, he followed the abhichara vow and directed it towards Krishna. The fire arose in personified form from the sacrificial pit, extremely terrible in form. His tuft of hair, moustache and beard had the complexion of molten copper. His eyes were like burning coal. There were tusks as his teeth and his eyebrows were furrowed and arched. His face was harsh and he licked the corners of his mouth with his tongue. He was naked and he brandished a blazing trident. On feet that were as large as palm trees, he made the earth tremble. Surrounded by bhutas, he rushed towards Dvaraka, setting the directions ablaze. The residents of Dvaraka saw him advance towards them, burning everything. All of them were terrified, like animals at a forest conflagration. The illustrious one was playing with dice in an assembly hall. Afflicted by fear, they screamed, “Save us. O lord of the three worlds! Save us. The fire is burning down the city.” He heard about it from the people and saw that those who were his own were suffering. The granter of refuge laughed and said, “Do not be scared. I will grant you protection.” The lord is a witness who is inside and outside everything. He knew that this demoness 609 had been unleashed by Maheshvara. The chakra was by his side and he commanded it to destroy her. Sudarshana blazed like one crore suns. It was as resplendent and dazzling as the fire of universal destruction. Mukunda’s chakra radiated the sky, the directions, heaven and earth with its own energy and made the fire suffer. O king! The fire created by the demoness was repulsed by the energy of the weapon of the one who holds a chakra in his hand. Its face shattered, it retreated and approached Varanasi. Though Sudakshina had created it through abhichara for his own purpose, it burnt him, his officiating priests and his relatives down. Commanded by Vishnu, the chakra followed and burnt down Varanasi, with its towers, assembly halls, residences, shops, arches, mansions, treasuries, storehouses, kitchens and buildings for housing elephants, horses and chariots. Having burnt down everything in Varanasi, Vishnu’s Sudarshana chakra again presented itself by the side of Krishna, whose deeds are unblemished. If a mortal person controls himself and hears about Uttamashloka’s valour, or makes it heard, he is cleansed of all sins.’
Chapter 10(67)
The king asked, ‘I again wish to hear about Rama’s extraordinary deeds. The lord is infinite and immeasurable. What else did he do?’
Shri-Shuka replied, ‘There was an ape named Dvivida and he was Naraka’s friend. The valiant one was Mainda’s brother and was Sugriva’s adviser. As an act of vengeance for his friend, the ape created havoc in the kingdom. He set cities, villages, mines and cowherd settlements on fire by igniting flames. On one occasion, he uprooted a mountain and pulverized all the regions, especially of Anarta. That is where Hari, his friend’s killer, dwelt. He possessed the strength of ten thousand elephants. On another occasion, he used his arms to agitate the ocean. He hurled that water at regions and submerged the areas around the coast. He shattered the trees in the hermitages of the foremost rishis. The wicked one used urine and excrement to defile the sacrificial fires. Like a wasp sealing up insects, 610 the insolent one hurled men and women inside caves in the valley of a mountain and sealed them up with boulders.
‘Once, he was thus engaged in devastating kingdoms and polluting the women of noble families. Hearing an extremely melodious song emanating from Mount Raivataka, he went there. There, he saw Rama, the lord of the Yadus, wearing a garland made out of lotuses. All his limbs were exceedingly handsome. He was in the midst of a crowd of beautiful women and he was singing. Since he had drunk varuni, his eyes rolled with intoxication. His body was radiant and he was like an elephant that was in musth. The wicked ape climbed a tree and shook the branches. He made a kilakila sound, 611 so that he might be noticed. When they noticed the ape’s insolence, Baladeva’s wives started to laugh. They were young women, naturally given to joking. They loved to laugh. While Rama looked on, the ape slighted them by twisting his eyebrows and making faces at them. He displayed his anus to them. Bala, supreme among strikers, became angry. He picked up a rock and hurled it. Avoiding the rock, the ape seized the pot of liquor. Showing more disrespect, the wily one laughed, angering him even more. The wicked one broke the pot and tugged at their garments. 612 The powerful one, inflated by his own insolence, slighted and showed greater disrespect towards Bala. He saw his arrogance and the devastation he had wrought in the kingdoms. So as to kill the enemy, he angrily picked up his club and his plough. The greatly valiant Dvivida picked up a shala tree in his hand. He rushed forward towards Bala and powerfully struck him on the head with this. However, Samkarshana was as immobile as a mountain. As it descended, the powerful one seized it. He used Sunanda 613 to strike back. Struck by the club on his head, he was radiant and streams of blood started to flow. He was like a mountain from which red minerals were flowing. However, he did not even think about the blow. He again uprooted a tree and used his strength to strip it off its leaves. Extremely angry, he struck again, but Bala shattered it into one hundred fragments. He angrily struck with another tree. But this too was shattered into one hundred fragments. Thus, he repeatedly fought against the illustrious one and the trees were repeatedly shattered. He uprooted trees in every direction and the forest became bereft of trees. Intolerant, he showered down a mass of rocks on Bala. But playfully, the one whose weapon is the club, shattered all of these. The lord of the apes now clenched his arms, which were like palm trees, into fists. He approached Rohini’s son and struck him on the chest with these. The Indra among the Yadavas flung aside his club and his plough. He angrily struck him on the collarbone with his two hands. He 614 started to vomit blood and fell down. O tiger among the Kuru lineage! When he fell down, the mountain, 615 with its summits and trees, trembled, like a boat tossed around on the water by the wind. Gods, Siddhas and Indras among sages showered down flowers from the firmament and exclaimed, “Victory to you! We bow down to you! This is wonderful! This is praiseworthy!” In this way, Dvivida, who had caused devastation in the world, was killed. Praised by the people, the illustrious one entered his own city.’
Chapter 10(68)
Shri-Shuka said, ‘O king! Samba, Jambavati’s son, who was victorious in assemblies, abducted Duryodhana’s daughter, Lakshmana, from her svayamvara ceremony. The angry Kouravas said, “This boy is insolent and has shown us disrespect. Against her wishes, he has forcibly abducted the maiden. Let us imprison this insolent one. What can the Vrishnis do? We showed them our favours by bestowing this land on them. That is what they are enjoying. On hearing that their son has been captured, if the Vrishnis come here, we will shatter their insolence. Like the breath of life when it is controlled, they will be pacified.” Sanctioned by the elders of the Kuru lineage, Karna, Shala, Bhuri, Yajna, Ketu and Suyodhana set out to fight against Samba. Seeing that he was being followed by those on Dhritarashtra’s side, maharatha Samba picked up his bow. He stood alone, like a lion. They wished to capture him and angrily said, “Stay. Wait.” With Karna at the forefront, those archers approached him and showered him with arrows. O best among the Kuru lineage! Though he was assailed by them, the descendant of the Yadu lineage, the son of the inconceivable one, did not tolerate it. He was like a lion again
st inferior animals. He stretched his beautiful bow and pierced all of them with arrows. The valiant one simultaneously pierced the six charioteers, Karna and the others, with separate arrows. He struck each of the four horses with four arrows and each of the charioteers and chariot drivers with one arrow. At this, all those great archers applauded him. However, they deprived him of his chariot. Four of them killed his four horses, one killed his charioteer and another broke his bow. When he had been deprived of his chariot, with a great deal of difficulty, the Kourava warriors bound him. Having triumphed, they took the boy and their own daughter and entered their own city.
‘O king! Hearing about this from Narada, they 616 were filled with intolerance. Urged by Ugrasena, they made attempts to act against the Kurus. However, Rama pacified the armoured bulls among the Vrishnis. He did not wish for dissension between the Kurus and the Vrishnis. He wished to dispel the contamination that would result from conflict. Instead, on a chariot that was as resplendent as the sun, he went to Hastinapura. Brahmanas and aged ones of the lineage surrounded him, like the planets around the moon. Having gone there, Rama remained in a grove that was outside Gajasahvya. 617 He sent Uddhava to Dhritarashtra to ascertain their intentions. Honouring Ambika’s son, 618 Bhishma, Drona, Bahlika and Duryodhana in the proper way, he told them about Rama’s arrival. Hearing that Rama, the best among their well-wishers, had come, they were extremely happy. Having honoured him, 619 all of them went forward, with auspicious objects in their hands. As is proper, they met him and offered him a cow and arghya. 620 Knowing about Bala’s powers, they bowed their heads down. After hearing that their relatives were well, they were asked about their own welfare and health. Once they had respectively conversed with each other, Rama addressed them in these fearless words. “Ugrasena is the lord of all the lords on earth. Hear about what the lord has commanded. You should listen to this attentively. After that, without any delay, you should act accordingly. Following adharma, many of you fought against a single person who was observing dharma. You bound him up. Nevertheless, with a desire to ensure unity amongst relatives, I am tolerating this.” Baladeva’s words were full of bravery, valour and strength and were full of his own powers. Nevertheless, hearing this, the Kurus became angry. They said, “This is a great wonder. The progress of destiny is certainly impossible to cross. A piece of footwear now wants to step on a head that wears the crown. Since the Vrishnis are bound to us through matrimonial alliances, we allow them to share our couches, our seats and our food. We have granted them equality and it is because of us that they have obtained royal thrones. It is because we ignored them that they enjoyed whisks, fans, conch shells, white umbrellas, crowns, seats and couches. 621 But enough of granting the Yadus signs of royalty. Like hooded serpents that are fed amrita, they turn against their benefactors. The Yadavas have been made prosperous because of our favours. But like those who have lost all sense of shame, they are now ordering us. Even Indra will not dare to appropriate something that Kurus like Bhishma, Drona, Arjuna and the others have not given him. Does a ram desire something a lion has seized?” O bull among the Bharata lineage! They were insolent because of their birth, relatives and great prosperity. Having made Rama hear these wicked words, those uncivilized ones entered the city.
