Mahabharata: Volume 7

by Debroy, Bibek

  Chapter 1278(59)

  ‘Dhritarashtra asked, “O suta! On seeing that the king had been brought down through adharma, what did the immensely strong Baladeva, the best of the Madhava lineage, say? He knew about the rules of fighting with clubs. He was skilled in fighting with clubs. O Sanjaya! What did Rohini’s son do?”

  ‘Sanjaya replied, “On seeing that Bhimasena had kicked your son in the head, Rama, supreme among strikers and strongest among the strong, became angry. In the midst of those kings, the one with the plough as his weapon raised up his arms. In terrible words of lamentation, he spoke words of shame. ‘Shame that one should exhibit the valour of a shudra and strike below the navel. In a duel with clubs, the likes of what Vrikodara has done have never been seen. It is certain that the sacred texts have said that one should not strike below the navel. But he is stupid and ignorant of the sacred texts. He has easily done what he wanted.’ While speaking in this way, he was overcome by great rage. The powerful one raised his plough and advanced towards Bhima. As he raised his arms, the form of the great-souled one was like that of the great mountain Shveta, coloured with many minerals. However, as he descended, Keshava humbly seized him. The powerful one grasped the powerful one in his thick arms. The fair and the dark one,41 best among the Yadu lineage, looked even more radiant. O king! They were like the sun and the moon in the sky, at the end of the day. To pacify the angry one, Keshava said, ‘One can have six kinds of prosperity— one’s own prosperity, the prosperity of friends, the decay of enemies, the decay of the friends of enemies, the decay of the friends of friends of enemies and the prosperity of the enemies of enemies.42 When there are reversals to one’s own self or that of friends, the learned know that one should quickly strive for peace. The Pandavas are pure men and are our natural friends. They are the sons of our father’s sister.43 They have been severely oppressed by the enemy. The accomplishment of a vow is the dharma of kshatriyas. Earlier, in the assembly hall, Bhima had taken the pledge that in a great battle, he would shatter Suyodhana’s thighs with a club. O scorcher of enemies! Earlier, maharshi Maitreya had cursed him that his thighs would be shattered by Bhima with a club.44 O slayer of Pralamba!45 Therefore, I do not see a transgression. Do not be angry. Our alliance with the Pandavas is based on birth and bonds of affection. Their prosperity is our prosperity. O bull among men! Therefore, do not be angry.’

  ‘ “Rama said, ‘Dharma is followed by the virtuous. But dharma is also followed for two reasons—artha, for those who are addicted to artha, and kama, for those who are addicted to it. Those who obtain great happiness follow dharma, artha and kama, without oppressing dharma and artha, or dharma and kama, or kama and artha.46 Bhimasena has not followed all of them and has oppressed dharma. O Govinda! This is despite what you have told me.’

  ‘ “Vasudeva replied, ‘In this world, you have always been spoken of as one without rage, one with dharma in your soul and one who is devoted to dharma. Therefore, be pacified and do not yield to anger. Know that kali yuga has almost arrived and also remember Pandava’s pledge. Pandava has paid his debts to the enmity and accomplished his pledge.’”

  ‘Sanjaya said, “O lord of the earth! Hearing this deceptive exposition of dharma on Keshava’s part, Rama was not happy and spoke these words in the assembly. ‘King Suyodhana had dharma in his soul and was slain through adharma. Pandava will be known in this world as someone who fought deceitfully. Duryodhana, with dharma in his soul, will obtain the eternal end. Dhritarashtra’s son, king among men, fought fairly and has been slain. He consecrated himself for the encounter and entered the sacrifice that was the duel. He offered himself as an oblation into the fire and has obtained fame.’ Speaking these words, Rohini’s powerful son, who was like the crest of a white cloud, ascended his chariot and left towards Dvaraka. O lord of the earth! When Rama left for Dvaravati, the Panchalas, the Varshneyas and the Pandavas were cheerless.

  ‘ “Yudhishthira was miserable and with his head hanging down, was immersed in thought. Immersed in grief, he thought about what should be done. Vasudeva told him, ‘O Dharmaraja! Why did you permit such an act of adharma? His relatives had been killed. He had been brought down, bereft of his senses. Yet, Bhima struck Duryodhana’s head with his foot. O one who knows about dharma! O lord of men! Why did you ignore this?’ Yudhishthira replied, ‘O Krishna! I did not like what Vrikodara did to the king. Because of anger, he kicked his head with his foot and I am not happy at this extermination of my lineage. Dhritarashtra’s sons have always deceived us and acted fraudulently. They have spoken many harsh words towards us and exiled us to the forest. That has led to great unhappiness in Bhimasena’s heart. O Varshneya! Thinking about all this, I ignored it. He slew the deceitful and avaricious one who was always overcome by his passion. Pandava has accomplished his desire. How does it matter whether it was dharma or adharma?’ Having been thus addressed by Dharmaraja, Vasudeva, the extender of the Yadu lineage, agreed with a considerable amount of difficulty. With Bhima’s welfare in mind, Vasudeva spoke, approving of everything Bhima had done in the battle.

  ‘ “The intolerant Bhimasena brought down your son. He stood there cheerfully, his hands joined in salutation. The immensely energetic one spoke to Dharmaraja Yudhishthira. O lord of the earth! He47 had wished for victory and his eyes were dilated with joy. ‘O king! The pacified earth is now yours, without any thorns. O great king! Rule over it and follow your own dharma. O lord of the earth! He was the source of the enmity. He was fraudulent and loved deceit. He has been brought down and is lying down on the ground. All the enemies, Duhshasana, Radheya, Shakuni and the others, harsh in words, have been slain. The earth, with its many jewels, forests and mountains, is yours again now. O great king! The enemies have been killed.’ Yudhishthira replied, ‘With King Suyodhana brought down, the enmity is over. We have conquered the earth because of Krishna’s advice. It is through good fortune that you have paid off your debts to your mother and to your anger. O invincible one! It is through good fortune that you have triumphed. It is through good fortune that your enemy has been brought down.’” ’

  Chapter 1279(60)

  ‘Dhritarashtra asked, “O Sanjaya! On seeing that Duryodhana had been brought down by Bhimasena in the encounter what did the Pandavas and the Srinjayas do?”

  ‘Sanjaya replied, “O great king! On seeing that Duryodhana had been brought down by Bhimasena in the encounter, like a crazy and wild elephant brought down by a lion in the forest, Krishna and the Pandavas were delighted. When the descendant of the Kuru lineage was brought down, the Panchalas and the Srinjayas waved their upper garments around and roared like lions. It was as if the earth was no longer able to bear those cheerful ones. Some brandished their bows. Others drew on their bowstrings. Others blew on their giant conch shells and sounded drums. Some sported. Other enemies of yours laughed. The brave ones spoke these words to Bhimasena. ‘You have performed an extremely difficult and great task in the battle today. You have brought down the Indra among Kouravas in the encounter, one who had undertaken great exertions with the club. This is like Indra killing Vritra in a supreme encounter. These people think that your deed of slaying the enemy is like that. You have roamed around in different ways and have executed all the circular motions. Who other than Vrikodara could have brought down a brave one like Duryodhana? You have reached the end of the hostilities, something so difficult that no one but you could have achieved that. No one else could have done that. O brave one! In the field of battle, you were like a crazy elephant. It is through good fortune that you have kicked Duryodhana’s head with your foot. O unblemished one! It is through good fortune that you have performed the wonderful task of drinking Duhshasana’s blood, like a lion against a buffalo. It is through good fortune and your deeds that you have placed your foot on the heads of those who injured King Yudhishthira, one with dharma in his soul. O Bhima! It is through good fortune that you have triumphed over the enemies and brought down Suyodhana. Your great fame will spread throughout the earth. Bards pr
aised Shakra’s slaying of Vritra. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In that way, we are praising your slaying of the enemy. Since Duryodhana has been brought down, our body hair is standing up and we are delighted. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Know that our joy has not diminished.’48 The assembled bards spoke in this way to Bhimasena.

  ‘ “The Panchalas and the Pandavas, tigers among men, were delighted and also spoke in a similar way. Madhusudana spoke to them. ‘O lords of men! It is not proper to again kill an enemy who has been brought down. This evil-minded one has already been killed. One should not address fierce words towards him. This wicked one has been slain by destiny. Destiny has afflicted the shameless one. He was avaricious and had wicked aides. He followed the advice of those well-wishers. Several times, Vidura, Drona, Kripa, Gangeya and the Srinjayas asked him to give the Pandus their paternal share. But he did not give it. The worst of men does not deserve to be called a friend or a foe now. One should not waste words on someone who has become a piece of wood. O lords of the earth! Ascend your chariots and let us leave swiftly. It is through good fortune that this evil-souled one has been brought down, with his advisers, kin and allies.’

  ‘ “O lord of the earth! Hearing Krishna’s censorious words, King Duryodhana was overcome by intolerance and tried to rise. He used his two arms to support himself on the ground. He frowned and glanced towards Vasudeva. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! With his body half raised, the king’s form was like that of an angry and virulent serpent, with a severed tail. He paid no attention to the terrible pain that was about to take away his life. Duryodhana spoke these harsh words to Vasudeva. ‘You are the son of Kamsa’s slave and you have no shame.49 In this encounter with the clubs, I have been brought down through adharma. Bhima falsified the injunctions of the sacred texts and shattered my thighs. Do you think I do not know what you told Arjuna? You have slaughtered thousands of kings through unfair means. You have used many crooked means. But you suffer no shame or abhorrence on account of that. From one day to another, you have caused a great carnage of brave ones. Placing Shikhandi at the forefront, you brought down the grandfather. O evil-minded one! You caused an elephant named Ashvatthama to be killed and made the preceptor lay down his weapons. Do you think that this is not known to me? When that valiant one was cruelly brought down by Dhrishtadyumna, you witnessed it. But you did not restrain him. A javelin was obtained50 for the destruction of Pandu’s son. You wasted it on Ghatotkacha. Is there anyone more wicked than you? The powerful Bhurishrava’s arms were severed and he was ready to give up his life. When Shini’s evil-souled descendant51 killed him, you were behind that act. Karna performed the excellent deed of triumphing over Partha. But you caused Ashvasena, the son of the king of the serpents, to be countered. In the battle, Karna’s wheel was submerged in the ground. He was defeated and overtaken by a hardship. That foremost among men was trying to extricate it and you had him killed. Had you fought me, Karna, Bhishma and Drona through fair means, it is certain that you would not have been victorious. However, you adopted ignoble and deceitful methods. There were many kings who followed their own dharma. But you caused them to follow you and thus to be killed.’

  ‘ “Vasudeva replied, ‘O Gandhari’s son! You have been brought down, with your brothers, sons, relatives, followers and well-wishers. That is because you resorted to a wicked path. It is because of your evil deeds that the brave Bhishma and Drona have been brought down. It is because he followed your conduct that Karna has been slain in the battle. O stupid one! Though I asked you, you did not give the Pandavas half of your kingdom, their paternal share. This is because of your avarice and Shakuni’s advice. You gave poison to Bhimasena. O evil-minded one! You tried to burn down all the Pandavas, and their mother, in the house of lac. Yajnaseni was in her season. Despite this, at the time of the gambling match, she was oppressed in the assembly hall. O shameless one! That is the reason someone like you should be killed. The one who follows dharma52 was unskilled and Soubala was knowledgeable about the heart of dice. He was defeated through deceit. For that reason, you should be slain in the battle. The wicked Jayadratha afflicted Krishna53 in the forest, in Trinabindu’s hermitage, when they54 had gone out on a hunt. Abhimanyu was a child and though he was single-handed, many fought him in the battle. O evil one! He was killed because of your deeds. For that reason, you should be slain in this battle.’

  ‘ “Duryodhana said, ‘I have studied and given the ordained gifts. I have ruled the earth, up to the frontiers of the ocean. I have placed my foot on the heads of enemies. Who is as fortunate as I am? It is through good fortune that I have seen my kshatriya relatives established in their own dharma. Even if I am slain, who can be more fortunate than I am? There are human objects of pleasure that gods deserve. These are difficult for kings to obtain. But I have obtained that supreme prosperity. Who can be more fortunate than I am? O unblemished one! I will go to heaven, with my well-wishers and my relatives. Your objectives are yet unaccomplished. You will sorrow here.’”

  ‘Sanjaya said, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! When the king of the Kurus concluded these words, a large shower of flowers, with auspicious fragrances, rained down. Gandharvas and large numbers of apsaras played on musical instruments. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Siddhas uttered words of praise. Fragrant, delicate and pleasant winds began to blow, mixed with sacred scents. The sky became beautiful and clear, with the complexion of lapis lazuli. On seeing these wonderful sights, they,55 with Vasudeva at the forefront, were ashamed and honoured Duryodhana. On hearing that Bhishma, Drona, Karna and Bhurishrava had been slain through adharma, they grieved and wept in sorrow. The Pandavas were distressed and immersed in thought. On seeing this, Krishna spoke these words, in a voice that rumbled like clouds and drums. ‘All of them were swift in the use of weapons and were maharathas. In a fair fight, even if we fought bravely, we were incapable of defeating them in the battle. That is the reason I thought of means to slay those lords of men. Otherwise, the Pandaveyas would never have obtained victory. Those four great-souled ones were atirathas on earth.56 Following dharma, even the guardians of the world themselves would not have been able to kill them. Even when he is exhausted, Dhritarashtra’s son, with the club in his hand, is incapable of being killed through the means of dharma, even by Yama with a staff in his hand. You should not sorrow that the king has been slain in this way. When enemies are many and numerous, they have to be killed through falsehood and other means. Earlier, this was the path followed by the gods, when they killed the asuras. That good route that they followed is one which everyone can follow. We have accomplished our objective. It is evening. We should go to our abodes. Let all the kings, the horses, the elephants and the chariots, rest.’ On hearing Vasudeva’s words, the Pandavas and the Panchalas became extremely cheerful and roared like a pride of lions. They blew on their conch shells and Madhava blew on Panchajanya. On seeing that Duryodhana had been brought down, the bulls among men were delighted.” ’

  Chapter 1280(61)

  ‘Sanjaya said, “All those kings left for their abodes. With arms that were like clubs, they cheerfully blew on their conch shells. O lord of the earth! The Pandavas proceeded towards our camp. The great archer, Yuyutsu Satyaki, followed them. Dhrishtadyumna, Shikhandi, all of Droupadi’s sons and all the other great archers also proceeded towards our camp. The Parthas entered Duryodhana’s camp, bereft of its radiance and with its lord slain. It looked like an arena devoid of men. It looked like a city deprived of life and like a lake without elephants. There were only a large number of women, eunuchs and aged advisers. O king! Earlier, with clean garments dyed in ochre, Duryodhana and the others used to wait on them,57 with hands joined in salutation. The Pandavas reached the camp of the king of the Kurus. O great king! Those supreme of rathas descended from their chariots.

  ‘ “O bull among the Bharata lineage! Keshava was always engaged in bringing pleasure to the wielder of Gandiva and spoke to him. ‘Take down Gandiva and the two great and ine
xhaustible quivers. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! I will get down after you have dismounted. O unblemished one! Descend. It is for your own good.’ Dhananjaya, Pandu’s brave son, did as he had been asked. Thereafter, the intelligent Krishna discarded the reins of the horses and got down from the chariot that belonged to the wielder of Gandiva. The extremely great-souled one, the lord of all beings, descended. The celestial ape, stationed on the standard of the wielder of Gandiva, disappeared. Earlier, it58 had been burnt by the divine weapons of the maharathas, Drona and Karna. O lord of the earth! It blazed amidst a fire and was swiftly burnt. The chariot of the wielder of Gandiva was burnt, with its yokes, its harnesses, its horses and its lovely joints. O lord! On seeing that it had been reduced to ashes, Pandu’s sons were astounded. O king! Arjuna joined his hands in salutation and bowing down affectionately, asked, ‘O Govinda! O illustrious one! Why has the chariot been burnt down by the fire? O descendant of the Yadu lineage! What is this extremely wonderful thing that has occurred? O mighty-armed one! If you think that I deserve to hear it, tell me.’ Vasudeva replied, ‘O Arjuna! This has earlier been burnt by many different kinds of weapons. O scorcher of enemies! It is because I was seated that it was not destroyed in the battle. It has now been destroyed, consumed by the energy of brahmastra. O Kounteya! Now that you have accomplished your objective, I have abandoned it.’ The illustrious Keshava, the destroyer of enemies, smiled a little, in pride.