Mahabharata Vol. 6 (Penguin Translated Texts) (37 page)

‘Sanjaya said, “The arm, with the sword and with a beautiful armlet, fell down on the ground and this caused supreme grief in the world of living beings. Kiriti severed the arm while he was still unseen and it fell down on the ground with great force, like a five-headed serpent. Having seen that he had been rendered unsuccessful by Partha, Kourava let go of Satyaki and angrily censured Pandava. ‘O Kounteya! You have performed an extremely cruel deed. While unseen by me and without engaging with me, you have severed my arm. What will you tell King Yudhishthira, the son of dharma? “I killed Bhurishrava in the battle, though he was not fighting with me.” Is this what the great-minded Indra instructed you himself? O Partha! Are these the weapons you learnt from Rudra, Drona and Kripa? It is said that you know more about dharma than anyone else in this world. How did you strike someone who was not engaged with you in battle? Learned ones do not strike someone who is distracted,
frightened and without a chariot, or someone who seeks mercy or confronts a hardship. This is inferior conduct and is practised by men who are wicked. O Partha! How did you then perpetrate this extremely difficult deed? O Dhananjaya! Noble ones can easily perform deeds that are noble. But on this earth, noble ones find it extremely difficult to perform an ignoble act. O Partha! Men quickly pick up the deeds and conduct of those they consort with. This can be seen in you. You have been born in a lineage of kings and in particular, you are a Kouraveya. You were good in conduct and observed good vows. How could you have transgressed the dharma of kshatriyas? You have performed this wicked deed for the sake of Varshneya.
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This is no doubt because of Vasudeva’s counsel, though this is not worthy of you. Other than someone who is Krishna’s friend, which person can inflict such a hardship on someone who is distracted and is fighting with another person? The Vrishnis and the Andhakas are vile.
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They are naturally addicted to deeds that should be censured. O Partha! Why have you accepted them as a model?’ Having thus spoken, the mighty-armed and immensely illustrious one, who had a sacrificial altar on his banner, abandoned Satyaki in the battle. He decided to fast to death.
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The one with auspicious signs spread a bed of arrows with his left hand. He wished to go to Brahma’s world and offered his breath of life to the lord of the senses as an oblation. He fixed his eye on the sun and his mind on pure water. He meditated on the great Upanishad and united with yoga, became silent.

‘“All the soldiers and all the men censured Krishna and Dhananjaya and applauded that bull among men. Though censured, the two Krishnas did not say anything unpleasant in reply. Though praised, the one with the sacrificial altar on his standard, was not pleased either. O king! Dhananjaya could not mentally tolerate that your sons should have uttered such words and spoke to them. O
descendant of the Bharata lineage! His words were not angry, but he wished to remind them. Phalguna, Pandu’s son, spoke these words. ‘All the kings know about my great vow. No one who is within the range of my arrows will be able to kill anyone on our side. O one with the sacrificial altar on your banner! Knowing this, you should not censure me. Without knowing about the nature of dharma, one should not censure someone else. You possessed weapons and you were about to kill the brave one from the Vrishni lineage in the battle. If I have severed your arm then, that is not against dharma. O father!
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Which virtuous one will not condemn the slaughter of Abhimanyu, when he was without a weapon, without a chariot and without armour? He was only a child.’ Thus addressed by Partha, he
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touched the ground with his head. With his left arm, he offered his severed right arm. O great king! Having heard Partha’s words, the immensely radiant one, with the sacrificial altar on his standard, remained silent and hung his head down. Arjuna said, ‘O Shala’s elder brother!
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The affection that I bear towards you is the same as the one I bear towards Dharmaraja, Bhima, Nakula, supreme among eloquent ones, and Sahadeva. Having taken my leave and also that of the great-souled Krishna, go to the sacred worlds, where Shibi, the son of Ushinara, is.’
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Having been freed by Somadatta’s son, Shini’s descendant arose.

‘“Desiring to sever the head of the great-souled one, he grasped his sword. Bhuridakshina, Shala’s elder brother, had already been slain by Pandu’s son and was distracted. Satyaki wished to kill such an unblemished one. He was seated with his arm lopped off, like an elephant with a severed trunk. All the soldiers censured the extremely evil-minded one loudly. He was restrained by Krishna, the great-souled Partha, Bhima, the two protectors of the chariot wheels,
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Ashvatthama, Kripa, Karna, Vrishasena and Saindhava.
The soldiers loudly asked him not to kill the one who was devoted to his vows. However, Satyaki severed the head of the Indra among the Kouravas with his sword, though his arm had been severed in the battle by Partha and he was fasting to death. The soldiers did not applaud Satyaki’s deed. The extender of the Kuru lineage had already been slain by Arjuna. The siddhas, the charanas and men saw Bhurishrava, who was an equal of the thousand-eyed one, being killed in the battle, though he was fasting to death. Amazed at his deeds, the gods honoured him. The soldiers also took sides and debated in many ways. ‘This is not Varshneya’s crime. This is destiny. Therefore, we should not fall prey to anger. Anger causes misery for men. It was destined that the brave one would be killed and it is not for us to debate this. The creator has ordained that in this battle, he will meet his death through Satyaki.’

‘“Satyaki said, ‘You tell me that one should not kill someone who should not be killed. You speak about dharma and seem to be established in dharma. You wear the garments of dharma. Subhadra’s son was a child. He was bereft of weapons. When you slew him in the battle, where was your dharma then? At some time, I had insolently taken a pledge. While I was still alive, if someone flung me down in battle and kicked me with his feet in anger, I would slay that enemy, even if he were to adopt the vow of a sage. O ones with limited intelligence! I was struggling to counter him, with my arms and eyes intact. But you thought that I was already dead. O bulls among the Kurus! It is very proper that I should have countered him in this way. Out of affection towards me, Partha protected his pledge.
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But having severed his arm with the sword, he has deprived me. That which is ordained will happen. Destiny works in this way. He has been killed while he was fighting. What adharma has been committed by me? In ancient times, Valmiki sung this shloka on earth. “Men must always act so as to cause pain to their enemies.”’”

‘Sanjaya said, “O great king! When he had spoken in this way, no one among the Kouravas and the Pandavas said anything. They
worshipped him
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in their minds. He was sanctified with mantras. He was great in granting boons. He was illustrious. He had given away thousands of donations. He was like a sage who had gone to the forest. No one was happy at his death. He had dark blue eyes. He was a benefactor. He was brave. His eyes were red, like those of a pigeon. His head was severed, like that of a horse at a sacrifice and was then placed at the spot for oblations. In the great battle, his energy sanctified the weapon that had severed his head. He was the granter of boons. He was the recipient of boons. Because of his supreme dharma, he filled heaven and earth
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and ascended above.”’

‘Dhritarashtra asked, “He was undefeated by Drona, Radheya, Vikarna and Kritavarma. Fulfilling his promise to Yudhishthira, the brave one passed through that ocean of soldiers. How was he checked and humiliated in the battle by Kouraveya Bhurishrava and forcibly thrown down by him on the ground?”

‘Sanjaya replied, “O king! Listen to the ancient account about the origin of Shini’s descendant and also that of Bhurishrava. O king! You are uncertain on that account. Atri had a son named Soma and Soma’s son was known as Budha. Budha had a single son named Pururava and his splendour was like that of the great Indra. Pururava’s son was Ayu and Ayu’s son was known as Nahusha. Nahusha’s son was Yayati, revered by the gods as a rajarshi. Through Devayani, Yayati had an eldest son named Yadu. A son named Devamidha was born in Yadu’s lineage. His son Shura was born in the Yadava lineage and was honoured in the three worlds. Shura’s descendant was the immensely illustrious Shouri
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Vasudeva, foremost among
men. Shura was a supreme archer and was equal to Kartavirya
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in battle. In his lineage, and equal to him in valour, was born a king named Shini. O king! At this time, a
svayamvara
was organized for the great-minded Devaka’s daughter.
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All the kshatriyas assembled there. Wishing to obtain her for Vasudeva, he
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defeated all the kings there and placed the princess Devaki on his chariot. O king! On seeing Devaki on Shouri Shini’s chariot, the immensely energetic Somadatta, bull among men, could not tolerate this. O king! There was a wonderful and extraordinary battle between them and it lasted for half a day. Those two extremely strong ones engaged in a wrestling match, like that between Shakra and Prahlada. Somadatta was forcibly thrown down on the ground by Shini. He
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raised his sword, grasped him by the hair and kicked him with the foot, in the midst of thousands of kings who looked on in every direction. Then, overcome by compassion, he let him go and said, ‘Live.’ O venerable one! Having been reduced to that state, Somadatta was overcome by intolerance and sought the favours of Mahadeva. The lord Mahadeva, supreme among the granters of boons, was satisfied. He wished to gratify him with a boon and the king asked for the following boon. ‘O lord! I ask for a son who will strike down Shini’s descendant in the midst of thousands of kings and kick him with the foot in a battle.’ Having heard the words of King Somadatta, the god agreed that it would be this way and disappeared. It was because of the boon that he obtained Bhuridakshina, and Somadatta’s son brought down Shini’s descendant in the battle. O king! I have told you what you asked me. Satvata, bull among men, cannot be vanquished in an encounter.

‘“The Vrishnis are successful in attaining their objective in battle. They fight in diverse colourful ways. They can even defeat the gods,
the danavas and the gandharvas. They obtain victory through their own valour and do not have to depend on the help of others. O lord! O bull among the Bharata lineage! No one equal to them in strength can be seen. There is no one like that. There has been no one like that. Nor will there be anyone like that. They do not disrespect their kin and are devoted to the commands of the elders. In a battle, the gods, the asuras, the gandharvas, the yakshas, the serpents and the rakshasas cannot vanquish the brave ones of the Vrishni lineage, not to speak of men. They do not covet the possessions of brahmanas, the possessions of their elders or the possessions of their kin. They never covet the possessions of those who have protected them in times of distress. Though prosperous, they are not excessively attached.
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They are devoted to brahmanas and are truthful in speech. They regard even the strong as weak and save them. They are always devoted to the gods. They are self-controlled, generous and free from insolence. It is because of this that the foremost ones among the Vrishnis can never be thwarted. O king! One can bear Mount Meru or swim across the abode of makaras, but one cannot stand up in an encounter with the foremost among the Vrishnis. O lord! I have told you everything that you had doubts about. O king of the Kurus! O best of men! All this is because of your grave errors.”’

‘Dhritarashtra asked, “O Sanjaya! In that situation, after Kourava Bhurishrava had been killed, how did the battle proceed? Tell me that.”

‘Sanjaya replied, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! After Bhurishrava had left for the world of the hereafter, mighty-armed Arjuna urged Vasudeva. ‘O Krishna! Urge the horses speedily to where King Jayadratha is. O mighty-armed one! The sun is hanging
low, towards Mount Asta.
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O tiger among men! An extremely great task has been undertaken by me. But he is protected by maharathas among the Kuru soldiers. O Krishna! Urge the horses so that I am able to kill Jayadratha before the sun sets and am able to make my words come true.’ At this, the mighty-armed Krishna, who was skilled about horses, goaded the horses, with complexions of silver, towards Jayadratha’s chariot. As they left, he
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shot swift arrows that always found their mark. O great king! The foremost among the soldiers attacked swiftly—Duryodhana, Karna, Vrishasena, the king of Madra, Ashvatthama, Kripa and Saindhava himself. Having encountered and stationed himself before Saindhava, Bibhatsu glanced at him with eyes that blazed with rage and seemed to burn him down with his sight.

‘“On seeing Arjuna advance and glance towards Jayadratha’s chariot, King Duryodhana quickly spoke to Radheya. ‘O Vaikartana! This is the time for battle. O great-souled one! Exhibit your valour now. O Karna! Act so that Arjuna cannot kill Jayadratha in the battle. O brave one among men! There is only a little bit of the day left. Strike the enemy with torrents of arrows. O foremost among men! O Karna! Once the day is over, it is certain that victory will be ours. If Saindhava can be protected until the time when the sun sets, Kounteya’s pledge will be falsified and he will enter the fire. O one who grants honours! Without Arjuna on this earth, his brothers and their followers will have no interest in remaining alive, even for an instant. O Karna! When the Pandaveyas are destroyed, we will enjoy the entire earth, with its mountains, forests and groves, bereft of thorns. O one who grants honours! It seems that destiny is against Partha. Without knowing about what should be done and what should not be done, he has taken a pledge in this battle. O Karna! There is no doubt that Kiriti Pandava has taken this vow about killing Jayadratha for the sake of his own destruction. O Radheya! When an invincible one like you is alive, how will Phalguna be able to kill King Saindhava before the sun has set? He is protected by the
king of Madra and the great-souled Kripa. How will Dhananjaya be able to kill Jayadratha in the forefront of the battle? He is protected by Drona’s son, me and Duhshasana. Driven by destiny, how will Bibhatsu be able to approach Saindhava? There are many brave ones who are fighting and the sun is hanging low. O one who grants honours! There is no doubt that Partha will not be able to approach Jayadratha. O Karna! With me and the other brave maharathas, fight against Partha in the battle and carefully make supreme efforts.’ O venerable one! Having been thus addressed by your son, Radheya spoke these words to Duryodhana, supreme among the Kuru lineage. ‘The brave archer Bhimasena is firm in his aim. In the battle, he has wounded me grievously with many nets of arrows. O one who grants honours! I have nevertheless been stationed in this battle. There is not a single limb of mine that has not been tormented by arrows in the encounter. O king! I will however fight in this battle, to the utmost of my capacity, so that the foremost among the Pandavas cannot kill Saindhava. As long as I am fighting and am shooting my sharp arrows, the brave Savyasachi Dhananjaya will not be able to obtain Saindhava. O Kouravya! I will do everything that a strong person, always devoted to your welfare, can do. Victory depends on destiny. O best among the Kuru lineage! Today, all the beings will witness the terrible battle between me and Partha and it will make the body hair stand up.’ While Karna and Kouraveya were thus conversing on the field of battle, Arjuna struck your army with sharp arrows.