Mahabharata Vol. 2 (Penguin Translated Texts)

by Debroy, Bibek

  ‘That supreme among eloquent ones assembled his advisers and brothers and repeatedly asked them about rajasuya. Having been thus asked by the immensely wise Yudhishthira, who was eager to perform the sacrifice, the advisers then uttered words that were deep with meaning. “A consecrated king who wishes to achieve the characteristics of an emperor and attain the traits of Varuna, performs this rite, even though he is a king. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! You are worthy of the status of an emperor and all your well-wishers think that the time has come for you to perform rajasuya. The time for the sacrifice, in which priests rigid in their vows establish six fires2 to the chants of sama, is free and depends on kshatriya riches.3 At the completion of the sacrifice, after offering all the oblations, the performer is consecrated as a universal emperor. O mighty-armed one! All of us serve you and you are capable. O great king! Do not reflect any more and set your mind on the rajasuya.” Separately and together, thus did his well-wishers speak. O lord of the earth! Having heard these words, full of dharma, bold, pleasant and supreme, Pandava accepted them in his mind. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Having heard the words of his well-wishers and knowing himself to be capable, he repeatedly reflected in his mind about rajasuya. The wise one again consulted his brothers, great-souled priests and advisers like Dhoumya and Dvaipayana.

  ‘Yudhishthira asked, “How can this great rajasuya, worthy of an emperor and one I wish to perform, be accomplished?” O lotus-eyed one! Having been thus asked by the king, they then spoke these words to Yudhishthira, the one with dharma in his soul. “O king! You are learned in the ways of dharma. You are worthy of performing the great sacrifice of rajasuya.” When the priests and sages uttered these words, his advisers and brothers applauded them. The immensely wise and self-controlled Partha, always desirous of the welfare of the worlds, thought again. A wise one who considers his powers, capacity, time, place, income and expenditure and acts with complete deliberation, never perishes. He thought that a sacrifice begun only with his one desire might bring ruin. Carefully bearing the weight on his shoulders, his thoughts went out to Krishna Janardana, as the right person to decide the course of action. Hari, supreme in all the worlds, is immeasurable, mighty-armed and without birth, born among men only because of his own wishes. His feats rival those of the gods and there is nothing that is not the consequence of his deeds. There is nothing that he cannot bear. Thus it was that Pandava thought of Krishna. Having arrived at this final conclusion, Partha Yudhishthira, swiftly sent a messenger to one who was like his preceptor and the preceptor of all beings.

  ‘Riding a swift chariot, the messenger soon reached the Yadavas and the Dvaraka-residing Krishna in Dvaravati. Hearing that Partha was eager to see him, Achyuta4 was also eager to see him and went to Indraprastha with Indrasena.5 Travelling through many countries on the swift mounts, Janardana reached Partha in Indraprastha. Dharmaraja showed him homage in his house, like to a brother. So did Bhima. With a gladdened heart, he6 then went to see his father’s sister.7 After that he sported himself with his beloved well-wisher, Arjuna, and like a preceptor, was worshipped by the twins. After he had rested himself in that pleasant place for some time and was refreshed, Dharmaraja came to him and told him about his plans. Yudhishthira said, “O Krishna! I wish to perform rajasuya. But it cannot be performed merely through my wishing it. You are omniscient. You are the one in whom everything is possible and you are the one who is worshipped everywhere. The king who is the lord of everything can perform rajasuya. O Krishna! My well-wishers have said that I should perform it. But my final decision will certainly be in consonance with what you say. Out of friendship, some do not notice faults. Out of desire for riches, some say that which is pleasant to hear. Some consider that to be the best course of action which brings them self-gain. It is often seen that people’s advice is like this. You alone are above all motives, beyond desire and anger. You should tell me that which is supreme, for the welfare of the worlds.”’

  238(13)

  ‘Krishna said, “O great king! Because of all your qualities, you are capable of performing rajasuya. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Though you know everything, I shall tell you something. Those who are known as kshatriyas in this world are remnants from kshatriyas who were exterminated by Jamadagni Rama.8 O lord of the earth! O bull among the Bharata lineage! You know about the rules and the authority of words those kshatriyas established to decide lineage. All the kings and all the hierarchies of kshatriyas on this earth claim descent from Aila9 and Ikshvaku.10 O king! O bull among the Bharata lineage! Know that the kings from Aila’s lineage and those from Ikshvaku’s lineage constitute one hundred and one dynasties. O great king! The descendants of Yayati and Bhoja are also great in number and qualities and extend in the four directions. They and their prosperity are worshipped everywhere by the kshatriyas.

  ‘“However, after having enjoyed the middle kingdom,11 a king named Chaturyu,12 one of the one hundred and one dynasties, wished to create dissension among them. Jarasandha has inherited the empire by birth and that king’s influence extends everywhere. O king! O great king! The powerful Shishupala has gone to him like a disciple and has become his general. Vakra, the immensely strong king of Karusha, who fights with the powers of maya, and many other immensely valorous and great-souled ones, are also under his protection. The illustrious Hamsa and Dibhaka are also with the immensely valorous Jarasandha. And there are Dantavakra, Karusha,13 Kalabha and Meghavahana. O great king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Bhagadatta was your father’s old friend. On his forehead he wears a divine gem that is known as the supreme gem on earth. He is the one who punished the two yavana14 kings Mura and Naraka and now, with unlimited powers like Varuna, is the king of the west.15 Though he has lowered his head16 through his speech and especially his deeds, his heart actually holds affection for you, like a father does. Your brave maternal uncle, Purujit, the extender of the Kuru lineage and the scorcher of his enemies, rules in the south-west extremities of the earth and is the only king who is affectionately loyal to you. Likewise, the evil king of the Chedis,17 whom I did not kill earlier, has also gone over to Jarasandha. He is known in the world as the supreme being and out of delusion, always bears my signs.18 There is also a king powerful in Vanga,19 Pundra and Kirata,20 known as Vasudeva of Pundra. O great king! There is also the powerful Bhishmaka Chaturyu21 of Bhoja, a friend of Indra’s and a slayer of enemies. Through his learning and strength, he has conquered Pandya22 and Krathakaishika. The valorous Ahriti is his brother and is like Jamadagni Rama in battle. They also serve the king of Magadha.23 We are his relatives24 and always do what is agreeable to him. But though we honour him, he doesn’t honour us and always does what is disagreeable to us. O king! Without bearing in mind his lineage and his strength, he has only seen Jarasandha’s blazing fame and has placed himself under him. O lord! Out of fear for Jarasandha, the eighteen branches of the northern Bhojas have fled to the west and so have the Shurasenas, the Bhadrakaras, the Bodhas, the Shalvas, the Patachcharas, the Sustharas, the Sukuttas, the Kunindas and the Kuntis. The kings of the Shalveyas, together with their brothers and attendants, the southern Panchalas and the eastern Koshalas from the Kunti region have also fled. Out of oppressive fear for Jarasandha, the Matsyas and the Samnyastapadas have left the north in terror and fled to the south. All the Panchalas have abandoned their own kingdoms and fled in all directions.

  ‘“Some time earlier, Kamsa,25 mindless in folly, oppressed his relatives and married the two daughters of Brihadratha’s son,26 making them his queens. They are named Asti and Prapti and are Sahadeva’s younger sisters. Strengthened by this alliance, that foolish one oppressed his relatives and became superior to all of them, though this brought him great ignominy. The evil-hearted one then oppressed the elders among the Bhoja kings and in a desire to save their relatives, they concluded an alliance with us. I served my relatives by marrying off Ahuka’s daughter, Sutanu, to Akrura.27 Then, with Samkarshana28 acting as my second, I killed Kamsa and Sunama, with
Rama’s29 assistance. O king! Though that immediate danger was averted, Jarasandha rose up in arms against us. The eighteen branches of the Yadavas consulted among themselves. Even if one killed with mighty weapons that can kill a hundred at a time,30 one would not be able to kill him in three hundred years, because he had two supreme warriors named Hamsa and Dibhaka.31 They were the strongest of the strong, with power like that of the immortals. When the valorous Jarasandha was united with these two brave warriors, there was no one in the three worlds who could vanquish them. Such was my view. O supremely wise among wise ones! This was not only my view. It was the view of all the kings who exist. O king! The great king famous as Hamsa was engaged in battle for eighteen days. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! A rumour spread that Hamsa had been killed. On hearing that Hamsa had been killed, Dibhaka decided that he could not continue to live in this world without Hamsa. He drowned himself in the Yamuna and, in this way, met his death. When Hamsa, the vanquisher of enemy cities, heard the news about Dibhaka, he too immersed himself in the Yamuna and drowned. O bull among the Bharata lineage! When King Jarasandha heard about their deaths in the water, he left Shurasena32 and returned to his own city.

  ‘“When that enemy-killing king retreated, we were delighted and began to live happily in Mathura again. But the lotus-eyed wife of Kamsa, Jarasandha’s daughter, went to her father, the king of Magadha. O lord of kings! O destroyer of enemies! She repeatedly urged him to kill her husband’s killer. O great king! We remembered the advice we had given ourselves at the earlier council. O lord of men! Distracted at heart, we fled. O king! We divided our great riches into small portions and out of fear for him, fled separately, with our riches, kin and relatives. After thinking about this, we sought refuge in the western directions. O king! There is a beautiful city known as Kushasthali,33 adorned by Mount Raivata.34 We began to live there. We repaired its fortifications so that it became impregnable even to the gods. It was not just the bulls among the Vrishnis, even the women were capable of fighting from there. O killer of enemies! Without any fear, we now live there. O tiger among the Kuru lineage! When we look at the entry to that mountain, known as Madhavitirtha, we Madhavas have found supreme happiness.35

  ‘“With our strength, we were capable of withstanding Jarasandha’s oppression. But we have resolved to seek refuge with you. Our habitation is three yojanas deep and extends for three yojanas. At intervals of one yojana, there are one hundred gates and the portals are guarded by brave and valorous kshatriyas from the eighteen branches.36 There are eighteen thousand warriors in our lineage. Ahuka has one hundred sons and each of them has three hundred more. Charudeshna and his brother,37 Chakradeva, Satyaki, I myself, Rohini’s son,38 Samba who matches Shouri39 in battle—these are the seven atirathas.40 O king! Now listen to the others—Kritavarma, Anadhrishti, Samika, Samitinjaya, Kahva, Shanku and Nidanta, these seven are maharathas. The old king Andhakabhoja and his two sons make ten.41 They are brave, capable of destroying the worlds, valorous and endowed with immense strength. They have now remembered the middle country42 and live there, among the Vrishnis. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! You alone possess the qualities of becoming a universal emperor. You are capable of becoming the sovereign of the kshatriyas. O king! But in my view, you are incapable of performing the rajasuya as long as the immensely powerful Jarasandha is alive. He has conquered and imprisoned all the kings in Girivraja,43 the way a lion imprisons giant elephants in a cavern in that king of mountains.44 That king Jarasandha wishes to sacrifice the lords of the earth. It was after worshipping Mahadeva that he defeated the kings on the field of battle. After having defeated the vanquished kings and their followers, he took them in fetters to his city and built a prison for men. O great king! Out of fear for Jarasandha, we too have had to abandon Mathura and have fled to the city of Dvaravati. O great king! If you wish to perform the sacrifice, seek to set them free and kill Jarasandha. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! Without this, your sacrifice cannot commence. O supreme among those who are wise! This alone can lead to rajasuya. O king! O unblemished one! This is my view. Do you think otherwise? After reflecting on everything yourself and on cause and effect, tell us what is appropriate.”’

  239(14)

  ‘Yudhishthira said, “Because you are wise, you have said what no one else could have said. No one can be seen on earth who dispels doubts the way you do. In each and every household, there are kings who do that which is for the welfare of their own. But none of them has attained the status of emperor, because the title of emperor encompasses everything. One who knows the power of others does not praise himself. He who is praised in comparison with others is worshipped. The earth is large and extensive and covered with many gems. O extender of the Vrishni lineage! It is by travelling far that one gets to know what is best. I consider tranquillity to be supreme, because from that freedom follows. I do not think the highest goal can be attained if I begin this rite. O Janardana! The wise ones who are born in every lineage know this. Sometimes, one among them will become supreme.”

  ‘Bhima said, “A king who has no enterprise is like an anthill. One who tries to rule a stronger one without a plan is weak. But if the plan is right, even a weak and enterprising king can defeat a strong enemy and attain goals that bring one’s welfare. There is plan in Krishna, strength in me and victory in Partha Dhananjaya. Like three sacrificial fires, we will consume Magadha.”45

  ‘Krishna said, “A child grasps, without understanding the consequences of the action. Therefore, an enemy of immature understanding is not tolerated. We have heard that five have become emperors—Youvanashva by eliminating taxes, Bhagiratha through protection,46 Kartavirya through the power of his austerities, the lord Bharata through his power and Marutta through his wealth. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Know that in accordance with the principles of dharma and artha, Brihadratha’s son Jarasandha is now the one to be punished. One hundred and one dynasties of kings have failed to accept his suzerainty and he therefore claims his empire through force. Kings who possess jewels offer him homage. Since he has been evil from childhood, he is not content even with that. He uses force to conquer foremost men and kings who have been anointed. Not a single man can be seen who does not offer him tribute. O Partha! Thus has he brought under his power those kings, who number almost one hundred. How can a weaker king advance on him with hostile intent? O bull among the Bharata lineage! How can those kings, who have been cleaned and washed like animals in Pashupati’s house,47 be happy with their fate? It has been said that a kshatriya is honoured when he is killed by weapons. Why should we then not collectively oppose the Magadha? O king! Jarasandha has already brought under his sway eighty-six kings and waits for the others to complete his cruel act.48 He who obstructs him from accomplishing this will obtain blazing fame. He who defeats Jarasandha will certainly become emperor.”’

  240(15)

  ‘Yudhishthira said, “Intent on my selfish interest of becoming an emperor, how can I force you to go out, depending on strength and courage alone? Bhima and Arjuna are my eyes and you, Janardana, are my mind. What kind of life will be left for me without my eyes and my mind? When you have met Jarasandha’s invincible and valorous forces, exhaustion alone will defeat you. What will your efforts serve? There is disaster if the opposite of what is intended becomes the outcome. O Janardana! Listen to my thoughts. I think it best to always refrain from this course of action. My heart is against it. The rajasuya is too difficult to accomplish.”’

  Vaishampayana said, ‘Partha,49 who had obtained the supreme bow, the two inexhaustible quivers, the chariot, the pennant and the sabha,50 now spoke these words to Yudhishthira. “O king! I have obtained the bow, weapons, arrows, valour, allies, land, fame and strength. Though they are desired, it is difficult to achieve them. Those who are learned always praise the greatness of noble lineage. But nothing equals power and nothing pleases me as much as valour. What purpose is served if one is born in noble lineage, but has no valour?
O king! A kshatriya’s livelihood is always defeat.51 He who has valour, but lacks all other qualities, will still vanquish his enemies. What purpose is served if one possesses all the qualities, but lacks valour? All qualities exist in nascent form in valour. Mental concentration, enterprise and fortune are the causes of victory. One who possesses the forces, but is careless, does not succeed and is not favoured by fortune. It is because of this that a powerful one perishes when confronted with his foes. Misery encompasses those without strength and also strong ones who are deluded. A king who wishes to attain victory must forsake both these routes to destruction. There is nothing that can surpass the act of destroying Jarasandha and freeing the kings when achieving the sacrifice. If we do not attempt this, we will certainly be regarded as bereft of all qualities. O king! We certainly possess the qualities. Why do you doubt our qualities? Red garments are easily available to those who later wish to obtain peace of mind.52 But wishing to see you emperor first, we will therefore fight with the enemy.”’

  241(16)

  ‘Vasudeva said, “Arjuna has exhibited the mind of one born in the Bharata lineage, especially of one who is Kunti’s son. We do not know the time of our death, whether it will be night or day. Nor have we heard of anyone attaining immortality by avoiding battle. For any man, the act that pleases the heart is one of attacking enemies in accordance with principles that are laid down. Any encounter guided by good policy attains success. However, if both sides are equal, there is uncertainty.53 But equality between the two never happens. If that is the case, why should we not adopt a policy to approach the enemy and destroy him like a river destroying a tree? We will cover our weaknesses and exploit those of the enemy. It is the policy of the intelligent not to attack stronger enemies with battle formations and armies. This appeals to me too. If we can enter the enemy’s abode without armies, attack him and attain our objective, we will not be blamed. O bull among men! He54 alone enjoys eternal royal fortune, like the soul of all beings. But if he perishes, his forces perish. Desiring to free our relatives, even if we are killed by his survivors after we have killed him in battle, we will attain heaven.”