Mahabharata Vol. 1 (Penguin Translated Texts) (7 page)

‘The great Aranyaka Parva,
⁸¹
the third parva, follows. The wise son of Dharma is followed by the townspeople. All the Vrishnis and Panchalas arrive, the slaying of Soubha and Kirmira is described
and Arjuna’s, whose energy was boundless, wanderings in search of weapons, his duel with Mahadeva who was in the form of a hunter, his ascent to heaven and his sighting of the guardians of the world. Also described is the grieving Yudhishthira, who was tormented over his vices, meeting with the great sage Brihadashva who had knowledge of the atman, the righteous but pitiful tale of Nala is there, the equanimity of Damayanti and Nala’s succumbing to vice, the bringing of the news of Arjuna being in heaven by Lomasha to the great-souled Pandavas who were then forest-dwellers. Then follows the pilgrimages of the great-souled Pandavas, the slaying of Jatasura, Bhimasena’s journey to Gandhamadana at Droupadi’s request, where he transgressed a lotus pond in search of a
mandara
flower
⁸²
and had a great fight with the rakshasas and yakshas led by Manimana. There is the story of Agastya and his swallowing of Vatapi and his sleeping with Lopamudra to beget a son, then the account of the hawk and the pigeon, where Indra, Agni and Dharma test King Shibi, the description of Rishyashringa who was celibate from boyhood and the description of Rama, son of Jamadagni, of unbounded energy, where the slaying of Kartyavirya and the Haihayas is told.
⁸³
There is the story of Sukanya, where sage Chyavana of the Bhargava clan allowed the Ashvins to drink
soma
⁸⁴
at Sharyati’s sacrifice and obtained everlasting youth as a result. There is the account of Jantu, where King Somaka sacrificed his son to obtain more sons and obtained one hundred sons, the story of Ashtavakra, where the sage defeated Bandin in a debate and won back his father who had been immersed in the ocean. Having obtained divine weapons for his elder brother, Savyasachi
⁸⁵
battled the Nivatakavachas of Hiranyapura. Partha
⁸⁶
then returned to his brothers in
Gandhamadana. In the cattle expedition, Kiriti
⁸⁷
fought a battle with the gandharvas. The Pandavas then returned to the lake named Dvaityavana, Droupadi was abducted from the hermitage by Jayadratha and Bhima, whose speed equalled that of the wind, pursued him. Then there is the meeting with Markandeya and several stories, Krishna’s meeting and conversation with Satya, the story of the measure of rice and that of Indradyumna and the accounts of Savitri, Ouddalaka and Vainya, the story of the Ramayana recounted at great length, the theft of Karna’s earrings by Purandara,
⁸⁸
the account of the wood kindlings where Dharma teaches his son and where the Pandavas, after obtaining a boon, leave for the west. This is known as Aranyaka Parva, the third parva, where the great sage had 269 chapters
⁸⁹
and 11,664 shlokas.

‘Then occurs the extensive Virata Parva. It describes how the Pandavas arrived at the city of Virata, saw a large
shami
tree
⁹⁰
in a cremation ground and hid their weapons in it. Then is described their entry into the city and their living there in disguise and the slaying of the evil Kichaka by Vrikodara.
⁹¹
The Kouravas were defeated by Arjuna when the cattle were stolen and Virata’s bovine wealth was freed by the Pandavas. Virata gave his daughter Uttara to Kiriti
⁹²
for Abhimanyu, the son of Subhadra and the slayer of enemies. I have described the contents of the fourth large Virata Parva. The great sage composed this parva in sixty-seven chapters and 2050 shlokas.

‘After that, listen to the contents of the fifth Udyoga Parva. When the Pandavas were dwelling in Upaplavya, both Duryodhana and Arjuna, desirous of battle, went to Vasudeva and sought his help. Then the extremely wise Krishna said, “O bulls among men! On one side, there is an akshouhini of my soldiers and, on the other, I as a non-combatant counsellor. Which shall I give you?” Not realizing
his interests, the foolish Duryodhana asked for the soldiers and Arjuna asked for Krishna as a non-combatant counsellor. Then the mighty king Dhritarashtra sent Sanjaya as a messenger to the Pandavas to ask for peace. Hearing that the Pandavas had Vasudeva in front of them, Dhritarashtra suffered from insomnia and worry and Vidura’s many and diverse words of advice to the wise king Dhritarashtra are described and the supreme spiritual doctrine of Sanatsujata told to the sorrowing and anguished king. Next morning, in front of the king, in court, Sanjaya spoke of the union between Vasudeva and Arjuna. It was then that the great Krishna, moved by pity and desirous of bringing peace, himself went to Hastinapura to find peace and Krishna’s proposal for peace was rebuffed by King Duryodhana, though this was in the interest of both parties. Then, hearing the evil counsel of Karna, Duryodhana and others, Krishna displayed to the kings his powers of yoga. Then, Krishna took Karna on his chariot and gave him good advice about options, but intoxicated with arrogance, Karna refused. Then follows the marching out of Hastinapura of chariots, horses, infantry and elephants and the recounting of their numbers. On the day before the great battle, the prince
⁹³
sent the cruel-tongued Uluka as a messenger to the Pandavas. Then is related the numbers of charioteers and great charioteers and the story of Amba. These are the many accounts in the fifth parva of Bharata, titled Udyoga Parva and with incidents of war and peace. The great sage Vyasa, of vast wisdom, composed this in 186 chapters
⁹⁴
and 6696 shlokas.

‘Then is told the wonderful Bhishma Parva, where Sanjaya recounted the creation of the region known as Jambu. Thereafter is narrated the fierce and terrible battle that raged for ten days and the depression of Yudhishthira’s army. The supremely wise Vasudeva dispelled there
⁹⁵
Partha’s
⁹⁶
lassitude born out of delusion, by invoking the teachings of salvation. Also is narrated how the great archer
Partha placed Shikhandi in front of him in the war and wounded Bhishma with his sharp arrows and felled him from the chariot. This sixth great parva of the Bharata is Bhishma Parva and was composed by Vyasa, learned in the Vedas, in 117 chapters and 5884 shlokas.

‘Then follows the wonderful Drona Parva with many accounts, where Partha had to retreat before the sanshaptakas in battle and Kiriti
⁹⁷
vanquished King Bhagadatta, equal to Shakra in war, and his elephant Supratika. There is described the slaying, by many great warriors led by Jayadratha, of the brave Abhimanyu, still a boy and not yet a major. Angered at Abhimanyu’s death, Partha killed King Jayadratha and seven akshouhinis of soldiers in battle and killed in war the remaining sanshaptakas. In Drona Parva is recounted the deaths of brave Alambusha, Shrutayus, Jalasandha, Soumadatti,
⁹⁸
Virata, the great warrior Drupada and Ghatotkacha and others. When Drona was downed in battle, unforgiving, Ashvatthama unleashed the awful narayana weapon. This is the detailed seventh parva of Bharata, Drona Parva, where many rulers of the world met their death, warriors and bulls among men mentioned earlier. The sage, the son of Parashara
⁹⁹
and master of great knowledge, composed this in 170 chapters
¹⁰⁰
and 8909 shlokas.

‘Thereafter follows the most wonderful Karna Parva, where the appointment of the wise king of Madra
¹⁰¹
as charioteer is described. The old story of the destruction of Tripura is recounted. Then is narrated, at the time of marching out, the strong words exchanged between Karna and Shalya and the account of the swan and the crow, with an insulting moral. There is described the anger of Yudhishthira and Kiriti towards each other and Partha’s slaying of the great warrior Karna in a duel of chariots. Those who know the Bharata call this parva the eighth parva. Karna Parva has sixty-nine chapters and 4900 shlokas.

‘The next parva is the wonderful Shalya Parva. After the deaths of the chief warriors, the king of Madra became the commander of the army. In different parts of Shalya Parva is described the deaths of the chief warriors of the Kuru army in circular chariot duels, Shalya’s death at the hands of the great-souled Dharmaraja, the furious battle of the clubs is described here and the holy pilgrimage of the Sarasvati River. This wonderful parva with diverse meanings is known by those good at numbers as one with fifty-nine chapters
¹⁰²
and 3220 shlokas, composed by the great sage who wished to spread the fame of the Kuru lineage.

‘I shall now describe to you the terrible Souptika Parva. Once the sons of Pritha
¹⁰³
had withdrawn, the warriors Kritavarma, Kripa and the son of Drona
¹⁰⁴
came to the field of battle in the evening and saw the intolerant King Duryodhana lying on the ground, his thighs broken and his body covered with blood. Firm in his anger, the great warrior, the son of Drona, vowed that he would not take off his armour without killing all the Panchalas led by Dhrishtadyumna and the Pandavas and their allies. Protected by Krishna’s strength, the five sons of Pritha and Satyaki,
¹⁰⁵
the great wielder of the bow, escaped. Everyone else died. Those bulls among men, led by the son of Drona, killed the Panchalas and their families as they slept peacefully in the night. Grief-stricken because of her sons, and mourning the deaths of her father and brother, Droupadi sat before her husbands, resolving to die of fasting. Moved by Droupadi’s words, Bhima, the performer of great deeds, was angered and ran after the son of his preceptor, the son of Bharadvaja.
¹⁰⁶
Driven by destiny
and out of fear of Bhimasena, the son of Drona unleashed the celestial weapon, urging it to destroy the Pandavas. Krishna neutralized the words and said that would not be, and Phalguna
¹⁰⁷
neutralized the weapon with one of his own. Dvaipayana cursed the son of Drona, and he too cursed Dvaipayana. After the funerals of all the kings were performed with offerings of water, there follows the acknowledgement by Pritha
¹⁰⁸
of the secret story of how Karna was born from her. The raconteurs know this as the tenth parva, Souptika Parva, composed by the great soul, the sage of unlimited intelligence in eighteen chapters and 870 shlokas.

‘After that is told the pitiful Stri Parva. There is recounted the pitiful lamentations of the wives of the heroes and Gandhari and Dhritarashtra’s wrath and fainting. They saw the Kshatriya warriors lying on the field of battle, unable to escape destiny—dead sons, brothers and fathers. There the extremely wise king, chief among those who show righteous conduct, burnt the dead bodies of the kings according to prescribed rites. This is known as the great and pitiful eleventh parva. There are twenty-seven chapters in it and seventy-five shlokas are counted. The great-souled author composed the story of Bharata so as to move the hearts and bring tears to the eyes of good people.

‘After that follows the twelfth Shanti Parva, which increases the understanding. There is related Dharmaraja Yudhishthira’s despondency at having killed his fathers, brothers, sons, maternal uncles and relations by marriage. On the bed of arrows
¹⁰⁹
is related duties and laws that kings who desire to have knowledge should study. Also recounted are norms during emergencies and rules of time and cause. The wonderful path to salvation is described in great detail and a person who understands these attains supreme knowledge. This is known as the twelfth parva, loved by the wise and this parva has 339 chapters
¹¹⁰
and 14,525 shlokas, filled with the fruit of meditation.

‘Then follows the excellent Anushasana Parva. There, Yudhishthira, king of the Kurus, was composed after learning about righteous conduct from Bhishma, son of Bhagirathi. It describes the rules of dharma and artha in great detail, the different rules of donation and their fruits, the different merits of charity depending on persons to whom charity is given, the rules of living, the rites of individual conduct and the unmatched supremacy of truth. All these diverse and supreme accounts are recounted in Anushasana Parva and it also describes Bhishma’s ascent to heaven. This is the thirteenth parva, describing the certainty of righteous conduct. It has 146 chapters
¹¹¹
and 6700 shlokas.

‘After that is the fourteenth, Ashvamedhika Parva. There is related the excellent story of Samvarta and Marutta, the discovery of the golden treasures,
¹¹²
then the birth of Parikshit, who was burnt almost dead by the weapon and revived by Krishna again, the Pandava’s
¹¹³
journey with the sacrificial horse that had been set loose, his combats with angry princes, Dhananjaya’s encounter with Chitrangada’s son,
¹¹⁴
his great danger in the battle with Babhruvahana and the story of the mongoose in the great horse-sacrifice. This extremely wonderful parva is known as Ashvamedhika Parva and he who knew the truth composed it in 133 chapters
¹¹⁵
and 3320 shlokas.

‘Then follows the fifteenth Ashramavasika Parva. In this, abdicating the kingdom, King Dhritarashtra, accompanied by Gandhari and Vidura, retire to the forest. On seeing this, the virtuous Pritha,
¹¹⁶
who always served her superiors, left the kingdom of her sons and followed the old couple. As a result of the blessings of the sage Krishna,
¹¹⁷
the king saw an incomparable sight. He saw his dead sons, grandsons and other kings, who had gone to the other world,
return. On seeing this, the old king discarded his sorrow and obtained with his wife the greatest fruits of his righteous deeds. Having resorted to righteous conduct all his life, Vidura also attained the supreme state. So did the learned and wise adviser Sanjaya, son of Gavalgana. Dharmaraja Yudhishthira met Narada and learnt from Narada about the destruction of the Vrishni lineage. This is the wonderful Ashramavasika Parva. He who knew the truth composed it in forty-two chapters
¹¹⁸
and 1506 shlokas.