Mahabharata Vol. 1 (Penguin Translated Texts) (40 page)

‘At this, with the concurrence of the other maharshis, the eldest maharshi, with matted hair and a deerskin as his garment, spoke: “King Pandu of the Kuru lineage gave up a life of desire and pleasure and left for Shatashringa. He lived the life of a brahmachari there. But to accomplish the purposes of the gods, this son Yudhishthira was born there from Dharma himself. Then that great-souled king was given another son named Bhima by Matarishva
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and he is immensely powerful, best among those who are strong. Puruhuta
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gave Kunti this son. Truth is his strength and his exploits will shadow those of all other great archers. These two sons of Madri are great archers and supreme among those of the Kuru lineage. They were born from the Ashvins and are tigers among men. The illustrious Pandu always lived a life of dharma in the forest and in this way he revived his ancestral lineage. As he witnessed the birth, growth and study of the Vedas of his sons, Pandu always derived great pleasure. He never deviated from the righteous path. Having left these sons, Pandu has departed for the land of the ancestors seventeen days ago. On seeing him on the funeral pyre and about to be consumed by the face of the fire, Madri entered the fire and gave up her own life. She has followed to the world of her husband. Now perform those rites that should be performed for them. These are the two bodies and here are the supreme sons. Let these scorchers of enemies and their mother be respectfully received with rites of welcome. After the performance of the funeral rites, let Pandu, the upholder of the Kuru lineage, extremely famous and knowledgeable in all aspects of dharma, gain the right to ancestral offerings.” Having thus addressed the Kurus, all the charanas, guhyakas, rishis and siddhas vanished in an instant before the eyes of the Kurus, like a city of the gandharvas, leading to great amazement.’

‘Dhritarashtra said, “O Vidura! Perform all the royal funeral rites for Pandu, that lion among kings, and also specially for Madri. For the sake of Pandu and Madri, give away animals, garments, jewels and all kinds of riches to any that ask for them and as much as they want. Perform her rites the way Kunti would. Let her body be covered well, so that the sun and the wind cannot see it. Let there be no lamentations for the unblemished Pandu. He was a king to be praised. And five brave sons have been born to him, like the sons of the gods.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Vidura, with Bhishma, did as he had been asked. He performed Pandu’s funeral rites in an extremely pure spot. Without any waste of time, the royal priests left the city, carrying with them a fragrant and flaming fire for Pandu. He was laid on a bier and covered with the best of scents and garlands and covered from all sides with cloth. This bier was also adorned with garlands, garments and great riches. Advisers, relatives and friends arrived. The lion among men was placed on a supremely decorated hearse, to be drawn by men. With the well-covered Madri, the hearse was then pulled by men. A white umbrella was held above the hearse and whisks made of yak tails were waved. With every musical instrument being played, it was a majestic scene. At the time of Pandu’s funeral ceremony, hundreds of men distributed jewels among the crowd. Large white and pale umbrellas and beautiful garments were brought for the Kourava. The sacrificial priests wore white and poured offerings into the blazing and strong fire that went ahead. Thousands of Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras followed the king, lamenting in grief: “O king! O protector! Where are you going, leaving us unprotected and immersing us in eternal grief?” Bhishma, Vidura and Pandu’s sons wept.

‘At last they came to a beautiful, sacred and wooded region on the banks of the Ganga. On the plain, Pandu’s hearse, truthful lion among men whose deeds were untainted, and that of his wife were laid down. The bodies were then scented with all kinds of perfumes,
sanctified with pure fragrances, consecrated with the best of oils and bathed. Water was sprinkled from a hundred golden pots. White sandalwood paste was smeared, mixed with black aloe and the juice of coconuts. They were then draped in white cotton garments. Dressed in these garments, that bull among men, tiger among men, seemed to be alive, as if sleeping on an expensive bed. When the other funeral rites were over, the sacrifical priests gave their consent. The ornamented bodies of the king and Madri were covered in ghee. Fragrances like sandalwood,
tunga
,
padmaka
and many other scents were applied and a fire was lit. On seeing the two bodies in flames, Kousalya lamented in her son’s name and fell down on the ground, unconscious. Seeing her fall down in this way, the citizens of the town and the country also wept in grief, out of the affection they bore for the king. Along with men, all the other beings also cried out, even those of inferior births. Shantanu’s son Bhishma wept in great sorrow, as did the immensely wise Vidura. All the other Kurus were also extremely miserable and unhappy. Then Bhishma, Vidura, the king, the relatives and the women of the Kuru lineage offered the water. O king! When the water ceremony was over, all the ordinary people sorrowed and consoled the Pandavas, who were overcome with grief.

‘O king! With their relatives, the Pandavas slept on the ground. The Brahmanas and the citizens also slept on the ground. The Pandavas and the city, young and old, grieved for twelve nights, unhappy and miserable.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Later, the kshatta, the king, Bhishma and the relatives performed Pandu’s shraddha, offering the immortal cake. The Kurus and the chief Brahmanas were offered a feast in their thousands. A large number of gems and the best of villages were given to the chief Brahmanas. When the period of uncleanliness was over, the Pandavas, bulls among the Bharata lineage, were taken
by the citizens to the city of Varanasahrya.
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All the citizens of the town and the country still lamented for that bull of the Bharata lineage, as if they had lost a relative. When the shraddha ceremony was over, Vyasa saw that the people were still immersed in grief. He spoke to his mother, who was also immersed in grief. “Happy times are over. Terrible times lie ahead. The earth has lost her youth and every day is more sinful than the preceding one. A terrible time is coming—full of many delusions, thick with many vices and with the rituals of dharma destroyed. Give everything up and go and live in a hermitage. You will not be able to witness the destruction of your sons and lineage.” She agreed to this. She entered her daughter-in-law’s quarters and said, “O Ambika! O fortunate one! I hear that as a result of the evil acts committed by your son, this Bharata lineage, along with all its relatives and grandsons, will be destroyed. I will take Kousalya,
³¹⁹
who is still grieving from the death of her son, and leave for the forest. Come if you want.” O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Ambika consented. Taking Bhishma’s permission, Satyavati, the one who was rigid in her vows, went off to the forest with both her daughters-in-law. O supreme among those of the Bharata lineage! There the queens performed terrible austerities. O king! They gave up their bodies and went on their journey.

‘After observing all the rites prescribed in the Vedas, the Pandavas then began to grow up in their father’s house, enjoying a life of pleasure. When they played childish games in their father’s house with Dhritarashtra’s sons, they excelled over them—in running fast, in hitting targets, in eating and in raising dust. Bhimasena defeated all of Dhritarashtra’s sons. Playfully, he grabbed them by the hair above their ears. He caught them by the heads when they fought with the Pandavas. Alone and with the least effort, Vrikodara oppressed those 101 sons, who possessed great energy. The strongest of the strong would kick them with his feet. He would throw them down on the ground and break their thighs, heads and shoulders. When playing in the water, he would sometimes catch ten of them in
his arms and hold them down in the water, letting them go only when they were about to drown. When they climbed a tree to gather fruit, Bhima would kick the tree with his feet and make it shake. Shaken by the force, the tree would whirl around and swiftly fall down on the ground with its fruit, frightening the princes. In fights, speed and martial exercises, the princes were never able to get the better of Vrikodara in any competition. Thus, in any competition, Dhritarashtra’s sons began to hate Vrikodara, even though he bore no ill will towards them, since he was only a child.

‘Bhimasena’s great strength became well known. On learning this, Dhritarashtra’s powerful son
³²⁰
revealed the evil side of his nature. He was wicked and inclined towards evil. Out of delusion and greed for riches, an evil thought occurred to him. “Kunti’s son Vrikodara, the second of the Pandavas, is the best in strength. I must find some trick so as to kill him. Then I will overpower his younger brother and his elder brother Yudhishthira. I will tie them up and reign as the sovereign of the earth.” Having made his mind up about this evil act, Duryodhana was always on the lookout for a chance to get at the great-souled Bhima.

‘O descendant of the Bharata lineage! For the sake of water sports, he had a wonderful and large sports house constructed, with cotton and wool. It was full of every object of desire. It was at a place known as Pramanakoti and slightly above the waterline. When the games were over, they would dress themselves in fresh garments, wear ornaments and quickly eat. When day was over, the valorous Kuru princes would be exhausted from their games and would rest in that sports house. The powerful Bhima always prevailed over the other princes in water sports. But on one occasion, he was tired at there having been an excess of exercise. He wished to sleep in Pramanakoti and climbed up the bank and found a spot. He was clad in a white garment. He was tired and he was under the influence of drink. O king! The Pandava was tired and slept like one who was dead. Then Duryodhana quietly tied him up with thongs made of creepers. He rolled him down from the land into the swift and deep
waters. Regaining his consciousness, Kounteya
³²¹
tore apart all the bonds. Bhima, supreme among those who wield arms, arose from the water. On another occasion when Bhima was again sleeping, he
³²²
brought many snakes—sharp in teeth, immensely poisonous, angry and virulent. He made them bite him
³²³
in all the soft spots of his body. But even when they bit him in the soft spots, they could not bring him down. They could not penetrate his skin, because the broad-chested one was too tough. When Bhima woke up, he killed all the snakes. He and his companions
³²⁴
became very careful from that time onwards. He also had poison mixed in Bhimasena’s food. This was freshly made
kalakuta
poison, so virulent that it made the hair on the body stand up. On this occasion, the Vaishya’s son
³²⁵
alerted Pritha’s sons, so as to ensure their welfare. But though Vrikodara ate this, it had no effect on him. Though the poison was extremely virulent and was meant to kill Bhima, Bhima digested and tolerated it.

‘Then Duryodhana, Karna and Subala’s son Shakuni tried many other means to kill the Pandavas. However, the Pandavas, scorchers of their enemies, got to know about all of these. As advised by Vidura, they never revealed all this.’

Janamejaya said, ‘O, great Brahmana! Please tell me about Kripa. How was he born from a clump of reeds? How did he get his weapons?’
³²⁶

Vaishampayana said, “Maharshi Goutama had a son named Sharadvat. O king! This son was so named because he was born armed with arrows.
³²⁷
O destroyer of enemies! His intelligence was not attracted to the study of the Vedas. Instead, his intelligence was more attracted to the study of Dhanur Veda.
³²⁸
Just as those who know the brahman acquire all their knowledge of the Vedas through austerities, he acquired all his weapons through austerities. Goutama’s son worried the king of the gods because of his austerities and because of his expertise in Dhanur Veda. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! The lord of the gods summoned a daughter of the gods named Janapadi and told her, “Create impediments in his austerities.” She went to Sharadvat’s beautiful hermitage. The young woman began to tempt Goutama’s son, who had a bow and arrows in his hand. The apsara was only clad in a single piece of cloth. On seeing her wandering around in the forest alone, with a form that was unparalleled in the worlds, Goutama’s son’s eyes became wide open. The bow and arrows slipped down from his hands onto the ground. On seeing her, his body went numb. But he still possessed his knowledge and the power of his austerities. The immensely wise one used his patience to resist temptation. O king! However, a sudden fever overcame him and though he did not notice it, his semen issued forth. The sage left the hermitage and the apsara. His semen fell on a clump of reeds and having fallen there, divided itself into two. From this, a pair of twins was born to Goutama’s son Sharadvat.

‘King Shantanu had gone on a hunt and one of his soldiers happened to notice the twins. He saw a bow and arrows around them and also a black deerskin. He therefore deduced that they were the sons of a Brahmana who was learned in DhanurVeda. He showed the twins and the arrows to the king. Out of compassion, the king adopted the twins. He took them home, saying that they were like his children. He performed the usual rites and began to rear them. Goutama’s
son, who had left, became an expert in Dhanur Veda. Because the children had been reared out of compassion, the lord of the earth decided to name them accordingly.
³²⁹
Through the power of his austerities, Goutama’s son got to know where they were, though no one knew the secret. He went there and told everything, including his lineage. He taught him
³³⁰
the four parts of Dhanur Veda
³³¹
and the usage of many different kinds of weapons, including all the secrets associated with them. He soon became a great teacher. All the maharathas learnt Dhanur Veda from him. This included Dhritarashtra’s sons, the immensely powerful Pandavas, the Vrishnis and other kings who assembled from many countries.’