Mahabharata Vol. 3 (Penguin Translated Texts)

by Debroy, Bibek

  These conflicts over dharma are easy to identify with. It is easy to empathize with the protagonists, because we face such conflicts every day. That is precisely the reason why the Mahabharata is read even today. And the reason one says every conceivable human emotion figures in the story. Everyone familiar with the Mahabharata has thought about the decisions taken and about the characters. Why was life so unfair to Karna? Why was Krishna partial to the Pandavas? Why didn’t he prevent the war? Why was Abhimanyu killed so unfairly? Why did the spirited and dark Droupadi, so unlike the Sita of the Ramayana, have to be humiliated publicly?

  It is impossible to pinpoint when and how my interest in the Mahabharata started. As a mere toddler, my maternal grandmother used to tell me stories from Chandi, part of the Markandeya Purana. I still vividly recollect pictures from her copy of Chandi: Kali licking the demon Raktavija’s blood. Much later, in my early teens, at school in Ramakrishna Mission, Narendrapur, I first read the Bhagavad Gita, without understanding much of what I read. The alliteration and poetry in the first chapter was attractive enough for me to learn it by heart. Perhaps the seeds were sown there. In my late teens, I stumbled upon Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay’s Krishna Charitra, written in 1886. Bankimchandra was not only a famous novelist, he was a brilliant essayist. For a long time, Krishna Charitra was not available other than in Bengali. It has now been translated into English, but deserves better dissemination. A little later, when in college, I encountered Buddhadeb Bose’s Mahabharater Katha. That was another brilliant collection of essays, first serialized in a magazine and then published as a book in 1974. This too was originally in Bengali, but is now available in English. Unlike my sons, my first exposure to the Mahabharata story came not through television serials but comic books. Upendrakishore Raychowdhury’s Mahabharata (and Ramayana) for children was staple diet, later supplanted by Rajshekhar Basu’s abridged versions of both epics, written for adults. Both were in Bengali. In English, there was Chakravarti Rajagopalachari’s abridged translation, still a perennial favourite. Later, Chakravarthi Narasimhan’s selective unabridged translation gave a flavour of what the Mahabharata actually contained. In Bengal, the Kashiram Das version of the Mahabharata, written in the seventeenth century, was quite popular. I never found this appealing. But in the late 1970s, I stumbled upon a treasure. Kolkata’s famous College Street was a storehouse of old and second-hand books in those days. You never knew what you would discover when browsing. In the nineteenth century, an unabridged translation of the Mahabharata had been done in Bengali under the editorship of Kaliprasanna Singha (1840–70). I picked this up for the princely sum of Rs 5. The year may have been 1979, but Rs 5 was still amazing. This was my first complete reading of the unabridged version of the Mahabharata. This particular copy probably had antiquarian value. The pages would crumble in my hands and I soon replaced my treasured possession with a republished reprint. Not longer after, I acquired the Aryashastra version of the Mahabharata, with both the Sanskrit and the Bengali together. In the early 1980s, I was also exposed to three Marathi writers writing on the Mahabharata. There was Iravati Karve’s Yuganta. This was available in both English and in Marathi. I read the English one first, followed by the Marathi. The English version isn’t an exact translation of the Marathi and the Marathi version is far superior. Then there was Durga Bhagwat’s Vyas Parva. This was in Marathi and I am not aware of an English translation. Finally, there was Shivaji Sawant’s Mritunjaya, a kind of autobiography for Karna. This was available both in English and in Marathi.

  In the early 1980s, quite by chance, I encountered two shlokas, one from Valmiki’s Ramayana, the other from Kalidasa’s Meghadutam. These were two poets separated by anything between 500 to 1,000 years, the exact period being an uncertain one. The shloka in Meghadutam is right towards the beginning, the second shloka to be precise. It is the first day in the month of Ashada. The yaksha has been cursed and has been separated from his beloved. The mountains are covered with clouds. These clouds are like elephants, bent down as if in play. The shloka in the Valmiki Ramayana occurs in Sundara Kanda. Rama now knows that Sita is in Lanka. But the monsoon stands in the way of the invasion. The clouds are streaked with flags of lightning and garlanded with geese. They are like mountain peaks and are thundering, like elephants fighting. At that time, I did not know that elephants were a standard metaphor for clouds in Sanskrit literature. I found it amazing that two different poets separated by time had thought of elephants. And because the yaksha was pining for his beloved, the elephants were playing. But because Rama was impatient to fight, the elephants were fighting. I resolved that I must read all this in the original. It was a resolution I have never regretted. I think that anyone who has not read Meghadutam in Sanskrit has missed out on a thing of beauty that will continue to be a joy for generations to come.

  In the early 1980s, Professor Ashok Rudra was a professor of economics in Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan. I used to teach in Presidency College, Kolkata, and we sometimes met. Professor Rudra was a left-wing economist and didn’t think much of my economics. I dare say the feeling was reciprocated. By tacit agreement, we never discussed economics. Instead, we discussed Indological subjects. At that point, Professor Rudra used to write essays on such subjects in Bengali. I casually remarked, ‘I want to do a statistical test on the frequency with which the five Pandavas used various weapons in the Kurukshetra war.’ Most sensible men would have dismissed the thought as crazy. But Professor Rudra wasn’t sensible by usual norms of behaviour and he was also a trained statistician. He encouraged me to do the paper, written and published in Bengali, using the Aryashastra edition. Several similar papers followed, written in Bengali. In 1983, I moved to Pune, to the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, a stone’s throw away from BORI. Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (ABORI) is one of the most respected journals in Indology. Professor G.B. Palsule was then the editor of ABORI and later went on to become Director of BORI. I translated one of the Bengali essays into English and went and met Professor Palsule, hoping to get it published in ABORI. To Professor Palsule’s eternal credit, he didn’t throw the dilettante out. Instead, he said he would get the paper refereed. The referee’s substantive criticism was that the paper should have been based on the critical edition, which is how I came to know about it. Eventually, this paper (and a few more) were published in ABORI. In 1989, these became a book titled Essays on the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, published when the Mahabharata frenzy had reached a peak on television. The book got excellent reviews, but hardly sold. It is now out of print. As an aside, the book was jointly dedicated to Professor Rudra and Professor Palsule, a famous economist and a famous Indologist respectively. Both were flattered. However, when I gave him a copy, Professor Rudra said, ‘Thank you very much. But who is Professor Palsule?’ And Professor Palsule remarked, ‘Thank you very much. But who is Professor Rudra?’

  While the research interest in the Mahabharata remained, I got sidetracked into translating. Through the 1990s, there were abridged translations of the Maha Puranas, the Vedas and the eleven major Upanishads. I found that I enjoyed translating from the Sanskrit to English and since these volumes were well received, perhaps I did do a good job. With Penguin as publisher, I did a translation of the Bhagavad Gita, something I had always wanted to do. Sarama and Her Children, a book on attitudes towards dogs in India, also with Penguin, followed. I kept thinking about doing an unabridged translation of the Mahabharata and waited to muster up the courage. That courage now exists, though the task is daunting. With something like two million words and ten volumes expected, the exercise seems open-ended. But why translate the Mahabharata? In 1924, George Mallory, with his fellow climber Andrew Irvine, may or may not have climbed Mount Everest. They were last seen a few hundred metres from the summit, before they died. Mallory was once asked why he wanted to climb Everest and he answered, ‘Because it’s there.’ Taken out of context, there is no better reason for wanting to translate the Mahabharata. There is a s
teep mountain to climb. And I would not have dared had I not been able to stand of the shoulders of the three intellectual giants who have preceded me—Kisori Mohan Ganguli, Manmatha Nath Dutt and J.A.B. van Buitenen.

  Bibek Debroy

  The third volume completes the Vana Parva, the account of the Pandavas’ sojourn in the forest. It details the dharma obtained from, and descriptions of, places of pilgrimage. It recounts the stories of Agastya, Rishyashringa, Kartavirya, Sukanya and Chyavana, Mandhata, Jantu, Shibi, Ashtavakra, Yavakrita, Jatasura, and Markandeya. The narrative covers Arjuna’s slaying of the nivatakavacha demons; the Kouravas’ defeat at the hands of the gandharvas and their subsequent release by the Pandavas; Droupadi’s abduction by Jayadratha and rescue by the Pandavas; and Indra’s visit to Karna to rob him of his earrings and armour.

  Section Thirty-Three

  Tirtha-yatra Parva

  This parva has 2294 shlokas and seventy-four chapters.

  Chapter 377(80): 133 shlokas

  Chapter 378(81): 178 shlokas

  Chapter 379(82): 143 shlokas

  Chapter 380(83): 114 shlokas

  Chapter 381(84): 19 shlokas

  Chapter 382(85): 23 shlokas

  Chapter 383(86): 24 shlokas

  Chapter 384(87): 15 shlokas

  Chapter 385(88): 30 shlokas

  Chapter 386(89): 22 shlokas

  Chapter 387(90): 24 shlokas

  Chapter 388(91): 28 shlokas

  Chapter 389(92): 22 shlokas

  Chapter 390(93): 27 shlokas

  Chapter 391(94): 27 shlokas

  Chapter 392(95): 24 shlokas

  Chapter 393(96): 20 shlokas

  Chapter 394(97): 27 shlokas

  Chapter 395(98): 24 shlokas

  Chapter 396(99): 21 shlokas

  Chapter 397(100): 24 shlokas

  Chapter 398(101): 17 shlokas

  Chapter 399(102): 23 shlokas

  Chapter 400(103): 19 shlokas

  Chapter 401(104): 22 shlokas

  Chapter 402(105): 25 shlokas

  Chapter 403(106): 40 shlokas

  Chapter 404(107): 25 shlokas

  Chapter 405(108): 19 shlokas

  Chapter 406(109): 20 shlokas

  Chapter 407(110): 36 shlokas

  Chapter 408(111): 22 shlokas

  Chapter 409(112): 18 shlokas

  Chapter 410(113): 25 shlokas

  Chapter 411(114): 26 shlokas

  Chapter 412(115): 30 shlokas

  Chapter 413(116): 29 shlokas

  Chapter 414(117): 18 shlokas

  Chapter 415(118): 23 shlokas

  Chapter 416(119): 22 shlokas

  Chapter 417(120): 30 shlokas

  Chapter 418(121): 23 shlokas

  Chapter 419(122): 27 shlokas

  Chapter 420(123): 23 shlokas

  Chapter 421(124): 24 shlokas

  Chapter 422(125): 23 shlokas

  Chapter 423(126): 43 shlokas

  Chapter 424(127): 21 shlokas

  Chapter 425(128): 19 shlokas

  Chapter 426(129): 22 shlokas

  Chapter 427(130): 20 shlokas

  Chapter 428(131): 32 shlokas

  Chapter 429(132): 20 shlokas

  Chapter 430(133): 27 shlokas

  Chapter 431(134): 39 shlokas

  Chapter 432(135): 42 shlokas

  Chapter 433(136): 18 shlokas

  Chapter 434(137): 20 shlokas

  Chapter 435(138): 19 shlokas

  Chapter 436(139): 24 shlokas

  Chapter 437(140): 17 shlokas

  Chapter 438(141): 30 shlokas

  Chapter 439(142): 28 shlokas

  Chapter 440(143): 21 shlokas

  Chapter 441(144): 27 shlokas

  Chapter 442(145): 43 shlokas

  Chapter 443(146): 81 shlokas

  Chapter 444(147): 41 shlokas

  Chapter 445(148): 39 shlokas

  Chapter 446(149): 52 shlokas

  Chapter 447(150): 28 shlokas

  Chapter 448(151): 15 shlokas

  Chapter 449(152): 25 shlokas

  Chapter 450(153): 31 shlokas

  The chapters have two numbers, the first being the sequential numbering of the chapters right from the beginning. The second one, the number within brackets, is the sequential numbering of the chapters within Aranyaka Parva.

  Tirtha means a sacred place of pilgrimage and yatra means a journey. This section is thus primarily about the journey to sacred places of pilgrimage like Pushkara, Prabhasa, Dvaravati, Vinasana, Rudrakoti, Kurukshetra, Mrigadhuma, Naimisha, Saptasarasvata, Prithudaka, Samnihiti, Shakambhari, Suvarnaksha, Varanasi, Gaya, Shalagrama, Rishabha, Gokarna, Prayaga, Gandhamadana and Kailasa. It also has the stories of Agastya, Indra and Vritra, Sagara and Bhagiratha, Rishyashringa, Parashurama and Kartyavirya, Chyavana and Sukanya, Mandhata, Jantu, Shibi Ushinara, Ashtavakra, Yavakrita and the account of the encounter between Hanuman and Bhima.

  377(80)

  Vaishampayana said, ‘Anxious on Dhananjaya’s account, the immensely fortunate and maharatha1 Pandavas lived in the forest with Droupadi. Then they saw there the great-souled devarshi2 Narada. He was radiant with the resplendence of the brahman3 and his energy was like that of the blazing fire. The supreme one among the Kurus4 was surrounded by his illustrious brothers and shone brilliantly, like Shatakratu5 surrounded by the gods. Just as savitri6 does not forsake the Vedas and the sun’s rays do not forsake Meru,7 the faithful Yajnaseni8 followed dharma and did not abandon the Parthas.9 O unblemished one!10 The illustrious rishi11 Narada accepted their homage and appropriately comforted Dharma’s son.12 He spoke these words to great-souled Dharmaraja13 Yudhishthira. “O supreme among those who uphold dharma! Tell me what will accomplish your purpose. What will I give you?” Then Dharma’s son, the king, bowed in obeisance with his brothers, and with hands joined in salutation, told the divine Narada, “O immensely fortunate one! O one who is worshipped by all the worlds! O one whose vows are great! If you are satisfied, I think everything has been accomplished through your grace. O unblemished one! O supreme among sages! But if you wish to show a favour to me and my brothers, please dispel a doubt that has arisen in my heart. Tell me what merits are obtained by someone who circles the earth14 and visits all the tirthas? O brahmana! Please tell me this in detail.”

  ‘Narada replied, “O king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Listen attentively to what Bhishma heard from Pulastya.15 Hear it in detail. In earlier times, Bhishma, supreme among those who uphold dharma, was observing a vow for his father16 on the banks of the Bhagirathi,17 like a hermit. O great king! This was a pure and sacred region and was frequented by the devarshis. The immensely energetic one was at the mouth of the Ganga, in a place frequented by gods and gandharvas.18 The immensely radiant one made offerings to the ancestors and the gods and satisfied the rishis in accordance with the prescribed rituals. After some time, when the immensely famous one was meditating, he saw the supreme rishi Pulastya, whose appearance was extraordinary. On seeing that terrible ascetic, blazing in fortune, he was extremely delighted and overcome by wonder. O great king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Bhishma, best among those who uphold dharma, worshipped him in accordance with the prescribed rituals. He purified himself and concentrated his mind. He placed the arghya19 on his head and announced his name to the supreme among brahmarshis. ‘O fortunate one whose vows are great! I am your slave Bhishma. At the mere sight of you, I have been cleansed of all my sins.’ O great king! O Yudhishthira! Having said this, Bhishma, supreme among those who uphold dharma, became silent and controlled his speech. He joined his hands in salutation. On seeing that Bhishma, best among those of the Kuru lineage, had become emaciated because of the rituals and the studying, the sage was pleased in his mind.

  ‘“Pulastya said, ‘O one who is knowledgeable about dharma! O immensely fortunate one! I am entirely satisfied with your humility, self-control and devotion to the truth. O unblemished one! O son! It is because of your dharma and because of your devotion to your father that you have be
en able to see me. I am extremely pleased with you. O Bhishma! My vision is unrestricted. Tell me what I can do for you. O best of the Kurus! O unblemished one! I will give you whatever you ask for.’

  ‘“Bhishma replied, ‘O immensely fortunate one! O one who is worshipped by all the worlds! O lord! If you are pleased with me and I have been able to see you, I think that all my tasks have been accomplished. O supreme among those who uphold dharma! If I have obtained your favour, I will tell you about a doubt in my heart. Please dispel it. O illustrious one! A doubt exists about the dharma that comes from the tirthas. I wish to hear about this from you, separately for each of them. Please tell me. O brahmana rishi! O infinitely valorous one! O one blessed with the riches of austerities! Tell me what merits are obtained by circling the earth.’

  ‘“Pulastya said, ‘O son! Listen to me with an attentive mind. I will recount to you the fruits from the tirthas, the ultimate goal of all the rishis. He who has controlled his hands, feet and mind and he who has learning, asceticism and deeds, obtains the fruits of the tirthas. He who is satisfied, controlled and pure, does not receive gifts20 and has restrained his ego, obtains the fruits of the tirthas. He who is without deceit, without undertakings,21 eats lightly, controls his senses and is freed from all sins, obtains the fruits of the tirthas. O Indra among kings! He who is without anger, truthful in conduct and firm in his vows and who regards all beings as his own self, obtains the fruits of the tirthas. In due order, the rishis have recounted in the Vedas all the fruits from sacrifices, exactly as they occur, in this life and the afterlife. O lord of the earth! The poor cannot perform these sacrifices. Sacrifices require many objects and a lot of ingredients in large quantities. Kings can attain them and so can some rich men. They cannot be attained by those without riches, without objects, without means and those who are alone. O lord of men! But listen to what the poor can obtain, the supreme equal of the fruits of sacred sacrifices. O supreme among those of the Bharata lineage! This is the supreme mystery of the rishis, the pure merit from visiting tirthas, superior even to sacrifices. He who has not fasted for three nights, not visited tirthas and not donated gold and cattle, is known as poor. The fruits obtained from agnishtoma22 and other sacrifices, with large quantities of donations, are inferior to those obtained from visiting tirthas.’