Mahabharata: Volume 7

by Debroy, Bibek

  ‘ “Arjuna said, ‘O illustrious one! So that I may gain knowledge, tell me about these accounts, about Balaka and his connection with a blind being, and about Koushika, who lived near rivers.’

  ‘ “Krishna replied, ‘O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Balaka was a person who hunted animals. He went to kill animals for his son and his wife, not to satisfy any desire. He looked after his blind mother and father and other dependents. He was always devoted to his own dharma. He was always truthful and not malicious. One day, though he made a lot of effort to search for animals, he could find none. Finally, he saw a carnivorous beast drinking water, using smell for its sight.597 Though he had not seen such an animal before, he killed it. Immediately, a shower of flowers fell down from the sky. Apsaras began to sing and charming musical instruments were sounded. Celestial vehicles descended from heaven, to take that hunter of animals away. O Arjuna! Because of its austerities, that animal had been granted a boon by the self-creating one598 that it would be able to kill all beings, but would be blind. He killed the beast that had made up its mind to kill all beings. That is the reason Balaka went to heaven. The dharma of the gods is extremely difficult to comprehend. There was a brahmana named Koushika. He was an ascetic and extremely learned. He lived at a confluence of rivers, far away from villages. He had taken a vow that he would always speak the truth. O Dhananjaya! Because he always spoke the truth, he became famous. At that time, scared of robbers, some people entered the forest. The cruel robbers made every effort to follow in their footsteps. They approached Koushika, who always spoke the truth, and asked, “O illustrious one! There were many people. What path have they taken? You are being asked in the name of truth. If you know, tell us.” Having been asked, Koushika spoke to them truthfully. “This forest has many trees, creepers and lantanas and they have entered it.” Those cruel men sought them out and killed them. So it has been heard. Koushika committed great adharma by speaking what should not have been said. He suffered great hardships in hell, because he did not know about the subtleties of dharma. He was just like a foolish person who does not possess a great deal of learning and does not ask the elders about the divisions of dharma, so that his great confusion can be resolved. Such indeed are the signs and indications. Supreme knowledge is extremely difficult and some try to obtain it through arguments. There are many other people who hold that dharma is only what is in the sacred texts. I will not contradict this, but everything is not laid down there. The words of dharma have been laid down for the propagation of beings. Dharma is so called because it holds everything up.599 Dharma upholds beings. Whatever has this property of holding up is certainly dharma. There are those who wish that it should be otherwise. For those who desire otherwise, free yourself from them, without speaking a lot. There is no need to speak to them. If you have to speak to them, or if they are suspicious if you do not speak to them, it is better to utter a falsehood. That will be like speaking the truth. When life is in danger, at the time of marriage, when the entire lineage or all the riches are about to be destroyed and at the time of amusements, it is better to utter a lie. Those who know about the true nature of dharma do not see any adharma there. When one takes an oath to free oneself from an association with robbers, it is better to utter a lie. That is like speaking the truth. If one can, one should never give up one’s riches to them. If one gives riches to the wicked, it is the giver that is afflicted. Therefore, a falsehood uttered for the sake of dharma does not amount to speaking a lie. These are the signs and indications and I have instructed you about them properly. O Partha! Having heard this, tell me if Yudhishthira should be killed.’

  ‘ “Arjuna said, ‘You have spoken like an immensely wise one! You have spoken like an immensely intelligent one. Your words are those that will ensure our welfare. You are like our mother. You are like our father. O Krishna! You are our supreme refuge and these words have been spoken by you. There is nothing in the three worlds that is not known to you. You also know everything about supreme dharma. I think that Pandava Dharmaraja Yudhishthira cannot be killed. At this point in time, please tell me what I should do. Listen also to something else that is going on in my mind. O Dasharha! O Keshava! My vow is known to you. If there is any man who tells me, “O Partha! Give your Gandiva to someone else who is superior to you in weapons,” I must kill him. Bhima also said he would kill anyone who called him an eunuch. O lion among the Vrishni lineage! In your presence, the king has asked me to hand over my bow. O Keshava! If I kill him, I will not be able to remain in the world of the living even for a short instant. O best among those in the world! O best among those who uphold dharma! O Krishna! Tell me how my pledge remains true and yet, Pandava remains alive. Provide me with the appropriate counsel.’

  ‘ “Vasudeva replied, ‘The king was exhausted. In particular, in the battle, he was wounded by the large numbers of sharp arrows that Karna shot at him. O Partha! That is the reason he spoke harsh words to you. Karna is the stake in the battle today.600 If he is slain, the Kurus will be vanquished. That is what the king, Dharma’s son, thought. When a person suffers great shame, it is said, that though alive, such a person is dead. You have always honoured the king, together with Bhima and the twins, and so have the foremost and aged men in this world. You should offer him a trifling insult. O Partha! Address the king as “tvam”.601 O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Having been thus addressed, a senior will be as good as dead. O Kounteya! Act in this way towards Dharmaraja Yudhishthira. O extender of the Kuru lineage! Adopt this path of adharma. This supreme learning has been laid down in the sacred texts of Atharva and Angiras.602 Men must always follow this superior course, without thinking about it. O Pandava! Having been addressed by you as “tvam”, Dharmaraja will think that he has been killed. You can later worship his feet and speak soft and conciliatory words to Partha.603 The Pandaveya king, your brother, is wise and will never be angered. O Partha! You will be freed from uttering a falsehood and will not have to kill your brother. You can then cheerfully slay Karna, the son of a suta.’”

  ‘Sanjaya said, “Having been thus addressed by Janardana, Partha applauded what his well-wisher had told him. And Arjuna used harsh words towards Dharmaraja, the likes of which he had never spoken earlier. ‘O king! You604 should not censure me about having withdrawn, since you have yourself been stationed more than one krosha away from the battle. You should not censure Bhima either. He is fighting with the foremost of the warriors. At this time, he has been afflicted by the enemies in the battle and has slain brave kings. He has killed more than one thousand elephants, emitting fierce roars like a lion. The brave one has performed an extremely difficult deed. You605 have never done anything like this. He has jumped down from his chariot. With a supreme club, he has slaughtered horses, men and elephants in the battle. Using his supreme sword and broken parts of chariots and his bow, he destroyed horses, chariots, steeds606 and elephants belonging to the enemy. Then again, intolerant and brave, he struck and killed with his feet and his hands. He is immensely strong and like Vaishravana607 and Yama. He slew the enemy, as only he can. That Bhimasena has the right to censure me, but not you, who have always been protected by your well-wishers. Bhima is single-handedly agitating the sons of Dhritarashtra, their maharathas, elephants and the best of horses. That scorcher of enemies has the right to reprimand me. He is killing large numbers of the enemy, Kalingas, Vangas, Angas, Nishadas, Magadhas and is always as angry as a dark-blue cloud. He is like an elephant and has the right to speak to me. At the right time, he is riding on his chariot and brandishing his bow, with his fists full of arrows. The brave one is releasing a shower of arrows in the great battle, like a torrent of rain from a cloud. The learned say that speech is the strength of the best of brahmanas and strength of arms that of kshatriyas. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! You are cruel and your strength is in speech. You think that I am also like you. I have always sought to act for your benefit, with my wives, sons and with my own life and soul. And you have struck a person like me with
the arrows of your words. Therefore, we will never be able to obtain any happiness from you. I have killed maharathas for your sake. But you lie down on Droupadi’s bed and slight me. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! You are suspicious and cruel. Therefore, we will never be able to know any happiness through you. O lord among men! He608 was always devoted to the truth and in the battle, for the sake of your welfare, himself told you about the means of his death. Protected by me, Drupada’s great-souled and brave son, Shikhandi, killed him. Since you are addicted to the vice of gambling, I am not delighted at the prospect of your winning back the kingdom. There are many sins associated with gambling and it is against dharma. You heard Sahadeva recount them.609 But you have always been addicted to that practice of wicked ones and that is the reason all of us have been reduced to this hardship. O Indra among kings! It was because of your gambling that the kingdom was lost and our difficulties are due to you. O king! O unfortunate one! Therefore, do not anger us by using these cruel words against us again.’ Savyasachi, who was firm in his wisdom, made him listen to these harsh words. But the son of the king of the gods repented this and sighed repeatedly, unsheathing his sword.

  ‘ “On seeing this, Krishna asked, ‘Why have you unsheathed your sword, which sparkles like the sky, again? Tell me truthfully and I will give you an answer. I will tell you how you can accomplish your objective.’ Having been thus asked by the supreme of men, he was extremely distressed and spoke these words to Keshava. ‘I will kill myself, because I have acted in a wicked way.’610 In an attempt to pacify Partha, the best among the upholders of dharma spoke these words to Dhananjaya. ‘O Partha! Tell him about your own qualities now. Thereby, you will kill yourself today.’611 Dhananjaya, Shakra’s son, approved of Krishna’s words and, lowering his bow, spoke these words to Yudhishthira, supreme among those who uphold dharma. ‘O king! O god among men! Listen. There is no other archer who is my equal, except the god who wields Pinaka.612 I am revered even by that great-souled one. In an instant, I can destroy the universe, with its mobile and immobile objects. O king! It is I who vanquished all the directions and the kings there and brought them under your subjugation. The rajasuya sacrifice that you completed, with donations, and the divine assembly hall that you obtained, were because of my infinite energy.613 The arrows have left marks on my palms, when I affixed arrows to the bow in battle. The soles of my feet bear the marks of arrows and a standard.614 That is the reason someone like me cannot be defeated in a battle. I have slain those from the north. I have killed those from the west. I have restrained those from the east. I have destroyed those from the south. There are only a few of the samshaptakas who remain. I have destroyed half of the entire army. O king! The soldiers of the Bharatas, with an army like that of the gods, have been slain by me and are lying down. I will use weapons to kill only those who know about weapons. That is the reason I have not reduced the world to ashes.’ Having said this, Partha again spoke to Yudhishthira, supreme among the upholders of dharma. ‘O king! Know this. Today, Radha615 will lose her son, or Kunti will lose me. O king! Be pacified and pardon the the words that I have spoken. In due course, you will understand what I have told you.’616 The foremost one pacified the king, who was capable of withstanding all enemies. He stood there, and then again spoke these words. ‘I will wholeheartedly try to kill the son of a suta and extricate Bhima from the battle. O king! My life is devoted to ensuring your pleasure. Know that this is the truth.’ Having said this, Kiriti, blazing in his energy, touched his feet and then stood up and said, ‘All this will come to pass very quickly and I will then return to you.’

  ‘ “On hearing the harsh words of his brother, Phalguna, Dharmaraja Pandava raised himself617 and with his heart filled with misery, spoke these words to Partha. ‘O Partha! I have not acted in a way that virtuous ones do. That is the reason we are confronted with this extremely terrible calamity. Therefore, sever my head today. I am the worst of men and the exterminator of my lineage. I am wicked and addicted to evil. I am stupid in my intelligence. I am lazy and a coward. I am a man who disrespects those who are superior. What is the point of following a harsh one like me for a long time? I am wicked and I will retire to the forest today. Without an inferior one like me, let all of you be happy. The great-souled Bhimasena is fit to be a king. What will a eunuch like me do with a kingdom? I am incapable of again listening to such harsh words, spoken by you in anger. Let Bhima be the king. O brave one! Having been insulted, what is the purpose of my remaining alive?’ Having said this, the king suddenly arose from his bed and prepared to leave for the forest. Vasudeva bowed down to him and said, ‘O king! You know that the wielder of Gandiva is devoted to the truth and is famous for Gandiva. Any man in the world who asks him to give Gandiva to another, will be slain by him and lose his body. You spoke such words to him. O lord of the earth! Wishing to preserve the truth of Partha’s pledge, I asked him to show disrespect towards you. It is said that disrespect towards one’s seniors is equivalent to death. O mighty-armed one! O king! I asked him to cross you and you should pardon both Partha and me. O great king! Both of us are seeking refuge with you. O king! We are bowing in obeisance before you and you should pardon us. Today, the earth will drink the blood of the wicked Radheya. I know this to be the truth. Today, the son of a suta will be slain. Today, the one whose death you desire will pass beyond his span of life.’ Having heard Krishna’s words, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira respectfully raised Hrishikesha and joining his hands in salutation, affectionately spoke these words. ‘It is exactly as you have said. I have been guilty of a transgression. O Govinda! I have been taught by you. O Madhava! I have been saved by you. O Achyuta! Today, we have been saved by you from a terrible calamity and fear. We were immersed in an ocean of hardship and you have been our protector. We were confused by our terrible ignorance today and have crossed it. Both618 of us were submerged in an ocean of grief and sorrow and your intelligence has been the raft. O Achyuta! We have an adviser. We have a protector and we have crossed it.’” ’

  Chapter 1200(50)

  ‘Sanjaya said, “Having heard the words spoken by Krishna to the noble Yudhishthira, Partha became cheerless in his mind, since he had committed a wicked deed. Vasudeva laughed and spoke to him. ‘O Partha! How would you have felt had you, established in dharma, used you sharp sword to slay Dharma’s son? You have only spoken to the king and are overcome by this lassitude. O Partha! Had you killed the king, what would you have done next? It is extremely difficult to know dharma, especially by those who are stupid in their understanding. You are scared of dharma and there is no doubt that you would have suffered greater misery. Had you killed your elder brother, you would have gone to a terrible hell. The king is foremost among those who uphold dharma. He is devoted to dharma. Pacify the best of the Kurus now. That is my view. Once you pacify him devotedly, King Yudhishthira will be pleased. We can then swiftly advance towards the chariot of the son of a suta to fight. Karna is extremely difficult to defeat. But he will be killed by your sharp arrows. O one who grants honours! Dharma’s son will be filled with great delight. O mighty-armed one! It is my view that the time has come for this. Having accomplished this task, your objective will be attained.’ O great king! O unblemished one! At this, filled with shame, Arjuna touched Dharmaraja’s feet with his head. He repeatedly said, ‘O foremost among the Bharata lineage! Forgive me. O king! Pardon what I have spoken because of my fear about dharma.’ O bull among the Bharata lineage! Dharmaraja Yudhishthira saw that Dhananjaya, the destroyer of enemies, was prone at his feet and was weeping.

  ‘ “King Dharmaraja raised his brother, Dhananjaya. Having embraced him with affection, the lord of the earth wept. Those two immensely radiant brothers wept for a long time. Having overcome their sorrow, those two tigers among men became cheerful again. He affectionately inhaled the fragrance of Pandava’s head.619 Filled with great delight, he smiled and spoke to Jaya.620 ‘O mighty-armed one! O great archer! Though I made every effort in the battle, while all the soldiers looked
on, Karna used his arrows to deprive me of my armour, my standard, my bow, my javelin, my horses and my club. O Phalguna! Having known and seen his deeds in the battle, I have been overcome with great grief and am no longer fond of remaining alive. O brave one! If you do not kill the son of a suta today, I will give up my life. What is the point of my remaining alive?’ O bull among the Bharata lineage! Having been thus addressed, Vijaya replied, ‘O king! O best of men! O lord of the earth! Through your favours, I swear on you, Bhima and the twins that I will slay Karna in the battle today, or be killed by him. I swear on my weapons that I will bring him down on the ground.’ Having spoken these words to the king, he spoke these words to Madhava. ‘O Krishna! There is no doubt that I will slay Karna in the battle today. O fortunate one! With your blessings, the death of that evil-souled one is certain.’ O supreme among kings! Having been thus addressed, Keshava spoke to Partha. ‘O foremost among the Bharata lineage! You are capable of doing this. O maharatha! This has always been my desire. I have always thought about the means whereby you can kill Karna in the battle.’ The intelligent Madhava again spoke to Dharma’s son. ‘O Yudhishthira! You should console Bibhatsu. With your permission, he will kill the evil-souled Karna today. O descendant of the Pandava lineage! On hearing that you were afflicted by Karna’s arrows, we returned here to ascertain your welfare. O king! It is through good fortune that you are well and have not been seized. O unblemished one! For the sake of Bibhatsu’s victory, console him.’ Yudhishthira replied, ‘O Partha! O Bibhatsu! O Pandava! Come and embrace me. You spoke beneficial words to me. You have been forgiven by me. O Dhananjaya! I give you permission to go and kill Karna. O Partha! Do not be angry at the terrible words that I have spoken to you.’ O king! O venerable one! At this, Dhananjaya bowed his head down before his elder brother and grasped his feet with his hands. The king raised the sorrowing one and embraced him.