Mahabharata: Volume 4

by Debroy, Bibek

  ‘Shouri, friend to the Parthas, comforted his father’s sister, Pritha. “O sister of my father! Where is there a woman like you in this world? You are the daughter of King Shura and went to the lineage of the Ajamidhas.65 You have been born in a great lineage and were transplanted from one lake to another. You are a goddess who is fortunate in every way. You have been greatly honoured by your husband. You have given birth to warriors. You were the wife of a warrior. You are adorned with all the qualities. O immensely wise one! Someone like you can tolerate both happiness and unhappiness. Sleep, laziness, anger, delight, hunger, thirst, cold and heat have been conquered by the Parthas. They are always engaged in that which brings bliss to warriors. The Parthas have given up the happiness of ordinary people. They are always engaged in the happiness that brings delight to heroes. Those immensely strong ones are great in their endeavour. They are not satisfied with mere trifles. Those who are patient serve that which is ultimate. Those who are mediocre love the happiness of ordinary people. Those who are patient bear supreme hardships for the sake of superhuman comforts, and obtain ultimate delight, not enjoyment that is mediocre. They consider the ultimate to be happiness and anything that is intermediate to be unhappiness. The Pandavas and Krishna66 offer you their respects. Having conveyed that they are well, they ask whether you are well. You will soon see the Pandavas in good health, having accomplished all their objectives, the lords of all the worlds and surrounded by prosperity, with their enemies slain.” Having been thus reassured, Kunti overcame the darkness of ignorance, though she still suffered from grief on account of her sons. She replied to Janardana, “O Madhusudana! O mighty-armed one! O Krishna! O scorcher of enemies! Do whatever you see and think to be good for their sake, without transgressing dharma and without resorting to deceit. O Krishna! I know about the influence of your truth and your noble birth, and the intelligence and valour that you display in establishing your friends. In our lineage, you are dharma, you are truth and you are the greatness of austerities. You are the saviour. You are the great brahman. Everything is established in you. Everything will be as you say. Truth is established in you.” Govinda took his leave of her and circumambulated her. The mighty-armed one left for Duryodhana’s residence.’

  752(89)

  Vaishampayana said, ‘Having taken his leave of Pritha and circumambulating her, Shouri Govinda, the destroyer of enemies, went to Duryodhana’s residence. It possessed supreme prosperity and was like Purandara’s67 abode. Without being stopped by the gatekeepers, he passed through three rooms. The immensely famous one then ascended into a palace that was radiant with prosperity. It was like a cloud in the sky and arose like the peak of a mountain. Surrounded by the Kurus and thousands of kings, he saw the mighty-armed son of Dhritarashtra seated there. He also saw Duhshasana, Karna and Shakuni Soubala, seated near Duryodhana. Dasharha approached. The immensely famous son of Dhritarashtra arose, together with his advisers, and honoured Madhusudana. Varshneya Keshava met Dhritarashtra’s son and his advisers and the kings and greeted them, in accordance with their age. Achyuta seated himself on a golden couch that had been constructed well. It was strewn with many kinds of covers. After offering him a cow and madhuparka, Kourava offered Janardana his house and his kingdom. All the Kurus, together with the kings, honoured him and having seated himself, Govinda was as radiant as the pleasant sun. Then King Duryodhana offered Varshneya, supreme among victorious ones, some food. But Keshava declined.

  ‘In that assembly of Kurus, Duryodhana then spoke to Krishna. His tones were mild, but there was wickedness in his heart. Glancing towards Karna, Kourava said, “O Janardana! We have offered you food, drink, garments and beds. These have been brought for you. Why do you not accept? You have offered help to both sides. You are engaged in the welfare of both. O Madhava! You are Dhritarashtra’s beloved relative. O Govinda! You know everything about dharma and artha. O wielder of the chakra and the club! I wish to hear about your reasons.” Having been thus addressed, the immensely intelligent Govinda, grasped his own mighty arms and replied in a voice that sounded like a flood or a cloud. The words were completely articulated. They were distinct and were pronounced correctly, without any slurring. The lotus-eyed one told the king these supreme words about his reasons. “Messengers enjoy and accept the honours when they have been successful in their objectives. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! You, together with your advisers, can honour me after I have been successful in my objective.” Having been thus addressed, Dhritarashtra’s son replied to Janardana, “You should not act in this improper way towards us. O Madhusudana! O Govinda! Whether you are successful or unsuccessful, we have tried to honour you and have failed. O Madhusudana! We do not know the reason why you have done this. O Purushottama! We offered you the homage in an act of affection. O Govinda! We have no enmity with you, nor any quarrel. Reflecting on this, you should not have spoken as you have.” Having been thus addressed, Dasharha Janardana glanced at Dhritarashtra’s son, together with his advisers, and laughed and said, “I never transgress dharma for the sake of desire, anger, hatred, self-interest in gaining objects, debate or avarice. Food should be accepted because of love, or because of necessity. O king! But I do not have affection for you. Nor am I in need. O king! Without any reason, you have hated the Pandavas from birth. All of them are your brothers and possess all the qualities. They have acted kindly towards you. This irrational hatred of the Pandavas is not warranted. The Pandavas are established in dharma. Who can speak against them for any reason? He who hates them hates me. He who follows them, follows me. Know that I am immersed like a single soul in the Pandavas, who act in accordance with dharma. He who follows desire and anger and, because of his delusion, hates those who possess qualities is known to be the worst among men. He is confounded because of his avarice and anger. He is foolish in the way he regards his relatives who have the fortunate qualities. He has not controlled his soul and has not been able to conquer his anger. His prosperity will be swiftly destroyed. But one who possesses all the qualities and acts out of affection in the heart acts out of affection and conquers everyone. Fame is established in him for a long time. I think that all this food has been tainted and cannot be accepted. It is my view that I should only eat the food offered by Kshatta.” Having spoken these words to the intolerant Duryodhana, the mighty-armed one left the white mansion of Dhritarashtra’s son. The mighty-armed and immensely intelligent Vasudeva departed. He went to the abode of the great-souled Vidura.

  ‘While the mighty-armed one stayed in Vidura’s house, Drona, Kripa, Bhishma, Bahlika and all the Kurus went to visit him. The Kurus told Madhusudana, “O Varshneya! We are offering you our gems and our houses.” However, the immensely energetic Madhusudana told the Kouravas, “All of you must leave. I have been honoured in every kind of way.” When the Kurus had left, Kshatta made every effort, with every object of desire, to honour the unvanquished Dasharha. Kshatta brought large amounts of food and drink that was pure and excellent for great-souled Keshava. Madhusudana first satisfied the brahmanas with this. Krishna gave supreme gifts to those who knew the Vedas. Like Vasava with the Maruts, he then enjoyed Vidura’s pure and excellent food.’

  753(90)

  Vaishampayana said, ‘At night, after he had eaten and rested, Vidura told him, “O Keshava! It was not a wise decision for you to come. O Janardana! That ignorant one acts counter to artha and dharma. He insults those who deserve respect, though he himself craves for respect. He ignores the instructions of the aged. The foolish and evil-souled one goes against dharma and the sacred texts. O Janardana! Dhritarashtra’s wicked son is incapable of being controlled by his superiors. His soul is full of desire. He thinks himself to be wise. He harms his friends and is suspicious of everyone. He does not do what he should. He is ungrateful. He has given up dharma and is addicted to falsehood. He is full of these and many other vices. Because of this, he will not accept your advice and will not accept what is good for him. O Madhusudana! He sees these soldiers who have been brought toget
her on this earth and without examining his own soul, in his foolishness, thinks that his objectives have been accomplished. Dhritarashtra’s evil-minded son will not accept peace. He has decided that Karna alone is capable of defeating all the others. He has the greatest faith in Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, Karna, Drona’s son and Jayadratha. Therefore, his mind is not set on peace. O Janardana! The sons of Dhritarashtra, together with Karna, have made up their minds that the Parthas will not be capable of countering Bhishma, Drona and Kripa. O Keshava! Because of brotherly feelings, you are endeavouring to bring about peace. But all the sons of Dhritarashtra have resolved that they will not return to the Pandavas what is rightly theirs. Any words addressed towards them will be pointless. O Madhusudana! When good and bad advice is equal, a wise man does not speak, like a singer who is restrained in the midst of the deaf. O Madhava! Those foolish ones have no reverence for others. You should not speak to them, like brahmanas don’t to chandalas.68 Because of his strength, this foolish one will not pay heed to your words. Therefore, it will be fruitless for you to speak any words to him. O Krishna! It does not appeal to me that you should descend in the midst, when all these evil-minded ones are gathered together. They are evil in intelligence. They are wicked. They are many and they are evil in intelligence. O Krishna! It does not appeal to me that you should speak words in their midst. Because of his delusion and insolence, he does not listen to his elders and accept what is superior. Because of his age, insolence, delusion and intolerance, he will not accept what is good for him. He possesses a strong army. O Madhava! If you speak to him, I have a great anxiety that he will not act in accordance with your words. O Janardana! All the sons of Dhritarashtra have arrived at the conclusion that even Indra, together with the immortals, is incapable of vanquishing them in battle. Among those who are thus inclined and overcome by desire and anger, your words will be ineffective, no matter how effective they may be. The evil and foolish one is stationed in the midst of his army, with elephants, soldiers, chariots and horses. Duryodhana thinks that he has no reason to be afraid of anyone else’s anger and that he has conquered the entire earth. Dhritarashtra’s son aspires for a great kingdom on earth, without any rivals. No peace can be obtained from such a person, one who thinks that he has obtained all the prosperity that can be achieved. The earth has been cooked by destiny. All the warriors on earth have assembled together, for Duryodhana’s sake and to fight with the Pandavas. The kings and the lords of the earth have gathered together. All of them have old enmities with you.69 O Krishna! It is you who have robbed the kings of their possessions. It is because of their anxiety from you that these brave ones have sought refuge with Dhritarashtra’s son and have gathered around Karna. They are with Duryodhana and are ready to give up their own selves. All the warriors are happy at the prospect of fighting with the Pandavas. O brave Dasharha! It is not my view that you should enter into their midst. There are many evil-minded ones gathered there. O destroyer of enemies! Why should you go in the midst of these foes? O mighty-armed one! Even the gods are incapable of withstanding you in any way. O slayer of enemies! I know your power, manliness and intelligence. O Madhava! I have the same affection for you as I have for the Pandavas. I speak because of my affection, great reverence and friendship.”’

  754(91)

  ‘Bhagavan said, “You have spoken as an immensely wise and discerning one should. You have spoken as a well-wisher like you should speak to a well-wisher like me. This is truly in accordance with dharma and artha and befits you. The words spoken by you are truly like those spoken by a father and a mother. What you have told me is true, appropriate and worthy of being followed. O Vidura! But listen attentively to the reason why I have come. O Kshatta! I have come to the Kouravas with complete knowledge about the evil soul of Dhritarashtra’s son and the enmity of the kshatriyas. However, one who will relieve the earth, with all its horses, chariots and elephants, of her burden and free her from the noose of death, will achieve supreme dharma. If a man strives for an act of dharma to the best of his capability, even if he is not successful, I have no doubt that he obtains merits. Those who are knowledgeable about dharma know that if one thinks of an evil deed in one’s mind, but does not consent to do it, one does not suffer from the fruits. O Kshatta! Therefore, I will sincerely try to bring about peace between the Kurus and the Srinjayas. Otherwise, they will be destroyed in this war. This extremely terrible calamity has now arisen before the Kurus. This is because of Karna and Duryodhana, but all the others are also responsible. The wise say that one who does not rush, to the best of his capacity, to help a friend who faces distress is cruel. A friend should be prevented from performing an improper act, even by grasping him by the hair. If one strives for this, to the best of one’s strength, one cannot be blamed. My words are appropriate, pure, beneficial and in conformity with dharma and artha. O Vidura! Together with his advisers, Dhritarashtra’s son should accept them. I will sincerely try for the welfare of the sons of Dhritarashtra, the Pandavas and all the kshatriyas on earth. Though I strive for welfare, if Duryodhana suspects me, my heart will at least be satisfied that I have been freed from a debt.70 If a friend does not intervene, to the best of his endeavours, and maintains a distance, when there is dissension among relatives, the wise know that he is not a friend. Those who do not know about dharma and are foolish and hostile should not say that Krishna, though capable, did not restrain the angry Kurus and Pandavas. I have come here to help both sides. After having made the effort, I will no longer be blamed by men. After having listened to my beneficial words, in conformity with dharma and artha, if that child ignores them, he will come under the power of destiny. If I can bring about peace with the Kurus, without harming the cause of the Pandavas, I will accomplish a great objective and earn merit, saving the Kurus from the noose of death. If Dhritarashtra’s sons pay attention to my virtuous and wise words, full of dharma and artha and designed to ensure welfare, I will earn the respect of the Kurus for having come here. All the kings of the earth together are not sufficient to withstand me when I am enraged, like deer before a lion.”’