Mahabharata Vol. 3 (Penguin Translated Texts) (28 page)
Read Mahabharata Vol. 3 (Penguin Translated Texts) Online
Authors: Bibek Debroy
‘Bhima replied, “O rakshasas! I do not see the lord of riches anywhere near. Even if I were to see the great king, I would not trouble him by asking. It is the eternal dharma that kings should not beg. I do not wish to deviate from the dharma of kshatriyas by even a trifle. This beautiful lotus pond has been created from mountainous water springs. It is not part of the abode of the great-souled Kubera. It belongs equally to all beings, just as it does to Vaishravana. Since this is the state of affairs, who should ask whom for permission?”’
Vaishampayana said, ‘Having said this to all the rakshasas, the powerful Bhimasena plunged in. All the rakshasas tried to restrain him, asking him to desist. They angrily abused him from all directions. But not paying any attention to the rakshasas, the one who was terrible in valour plunged in. All of them tried to restrain the immensely energetic one. “Grasp him.” “Bind him.” “Slash him.” “We will cook and feed on Bhimasena.” Angrily uttering such words, they raised their arms and distending their eyes, swiftly rushed at him. He grasped his giant club, inlaid with gold, and like Yama’s staff. He grasped it and swiftly hurled himself at them, shouting, “Stay there! Stay there!” The extremely terrible krodhavashas suddenly rushed at him with great force. They had spears, battleaxes and other weapons. Desiring to kill him, they encircled Bhima in terrible fashion. But the powerful one was born in Kunti’s womb from the wind. He was swift and brave and the destroyer of his enemies. He was always devoted to truth and dharma. In valour, he was incapable of being vanquished by any foe. The great-souled one used many techniques. He destroyed the weapons of his enemies. On the banks of that pond, the brave one slew hundreds of them, including those who were the foremost. On seeing his valour and strength, the strength of his knowledge and the strength of his arms and unable to withstand him, despite their numbers, they suddenly fled in all directions, the foremost ones having been slain. They were destroyed and crushed, and bereft of their senses, took to the sky. Crushed by Bhima, the krodhavashas were shattered and ran away, towards the peak of Kailasa.
‘Having thus vanquished hordes of daityas and danavas in battle, like Shakra, the one who was victorious over his enemies again plunged into the pond and collected lotuses, in accordance with his desires. Having drunk the water, which was like amrita, his valour and energy were completely restored. He plucked and gathered sougandhika lotuses, with a supreme fragrance. The krodhavashas had been overcome with Bhima’s strength. They went to the lord of riches and extremely frightened, told him about Bhima’s valour and strength in battle. Having heard their words, the god laughed and told the rakshasas, “Let Bhima take as many lotuses as he wishes for
Krishna. I know the reason.” Having taken their leave of the lord of riches and having controlled their anger, they returned to the foremost among the Kurus. They saw Bhima alone in that pond full of lotuses, sporting happily.’
Vaishampayana said, ‘Then the bull among the Bharata lineage started to gather large numbers of those precious, divine, unblemished and colourful flowers. Suddenly, a large storm arose. It swiftly threw up the stones from below. It was harsh to the touch and carried with it the portents of battle. A giant meteor descended, immensely fiery in the storm. Covered in the darkness, the sun’s rays were dimmed and it lost its radiance. While Bhima resorted to his terrible valour, a terrible whirlwind gathered. The earth began to tremble and a storm of dust descended. The directions turned red. Animals and birds screamed in harsh voices. Everything was covered in darkness and nothing could be seen.’
‘On seeing these extraordinary happenings, Yudhishthira, Dharma’s son and the foremost among speakers, spoke these words. “Who is attempting to overcome us? O Pandavas! You are always powerful in battle. Be fortunate and prepared. From what I can see, the time for displaying our valour has come.” Having spoken these words, the king looked around. But Yudhishthira, Dharma’s son, could not see Bhima. Then the destroyer of enemies asked Krishna and the twins, who were close by, about his brother Bhima, the performer of terrible deeds in battle. “O Panchali! Did Bhima desire to perform some deed? Or has the brave one, who is addicted to valour, already performed some courageous deed? Portents can suddenly be seen in all the directions. They indicate a great battle and foretell great dangers.” The intelligent Krishna, his sweet-smiling and beloved queen, who always wished to bring him pleasure, replied to his words,
“O king! A sougandhika was brought here by the wind today. I showed it to Bhimasena and lovingly told the brave one to bring many more back to me, if he should see them, and return quickly. O king! To bring me pleasure, the mighty-armed Pandava must have gone to the north-eastern direction.” Having heard these words, the king told the twins, “In that case, let us immediately go where Vrikodara has gone. Let the rakshasas bear the brahmanas who are exhausted and tired, as the case may be. O Ghatotkacha! You are the equal of the immortals. You carry Krishna. It is my certain view that Bhima has gone a long distance away. He has been away for a long time and he is like the wind in his speed. In swiftly leaping over the ground, he is like Vinata’s son.
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He will leap up into the sky and descend, as he pleases. O those who roam in the night!
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With the aid of your powers, we will follow him, before he causes any offence to the siddhas and those who are learned in the brahman.” They agreed to these words.
‘O bull among the Bharata lineage! They were all led by Hidimba’s son, who was foremost among them and knew the region around Kubera’s pond. In a delighted frame of mind, they grasped the Pandavas and many other brahmanas, together with Lomasha. All of them travelled together until they saw the grove and the extremely beautiful pond with sougandhika lotuses. They saw the intelligent and great-souled Bhima along its banks and the bodies of the large-eyed yakshas that he had slain. He was standing on the banks of the river,
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his club raised in his two arms, like Yama with a staff in his hand at the time of the destruction of beings. On seeing him, Dharmaraja embraced him again and again. He spoke to him in gentle words. “O Kounteya! What have you done? O fortunate one! Because of your courage, you have brought displeasure to the gods. If you wish to bring me pleasure, never commit such deeds again.” After having thus instructed Kounteya, they collected lotuses and amused themselves in that lotus pond, like the immortals.
‘At that time, the guards appeared. Their bodies were gigantic and they were armed with rocks. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! When they saw Dharmaraja, maharshi Lomasha, Nakula, Sahadeva and all the other bulls among brahmanas, they prostrated themselves in humility. Dharmaraja pacified those roamers of the night and they became calm. With Kubera’s permission, the bulls among the Kurus lived there for some time and sported themselves.’
Jatasura-vadha Parva
This parva has sixty-one shlokas and one chapter.
451(154)Vadha means to kill or slay and this section is about Bhima killing the demon named Jatasura.
Vaishampayana said, ‘The Pandavas lived comfortably on that mountain. When the rakshasas and Bhimasena’s son
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had left, and they were without Bhimasena, who had gone to roam around as he willed, a rakshasa abducted Dharmaraja, the twins and Krishna.
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He had pretended to be a brahmana skilled in mantras and well versed in weapons. Having said this, he had served the Pandavas every day. He lived with the Parthas, covetous of their quivers and bows and waited for his chance. He was known by the name of Jatasura. When Bhimsena, the destroyer of enemies, went out to hunt, he assumed a different form. It was distorted, terrible and gigantic. Having grasped all the weapons and seizing Droupadi and the three Pandavas, he fled. But with a great deal of effort, Pandava Sahadeva extricated
himself. Shouting for Bhimasena, he ran in the direction that the immensely strong one had taken.
‘While he was thus being abducted, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira told him, “O stupid one! Dharma declines in you, but you do not see it. Whether one is a human or whether one belongs to inferior species, the gandharvas, the yakshas and the rakshasas, birds and animals, draw their sustenance from humans and so do you. If there is prosperity in our world, there is prosperity in your world too. If our world suffers, the gods suffer along with us. They prosper through worship and oblations to the gods and the ancestors,
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offered through rituals. O rakshasa! We are the guardians and the protectors of the kingdom. If kingdoms are unprotected, how can there be prosperity? How can there be happiness? Unless there has been an act of injury, no rakshasa should ever harm a king. O one who lives off men! We have not committed the least bit of injury. One should never injure friends and those who are trustful, those whose food has been partaken of and those who have provided shelter. You found shelter with us. We showed you honour and you lived happily. O one who is not wise! Having partaken of our food, how can you abduct us? Since your conduct is fruitless, your age is fruitless and your intelligence is fruitless, you deserve a fruitless death—and these words will not be fruitless today. If you are truly evil-minded and devoid of all dharma, then return our weapons and win Droupadi after vanquishing us in battle. But if you are driven by ignorance in your mind and persist in performing this act, you will follow that which is not dharma and will only obtain ill fame in this world. O rakshasa! You have today laid your hands on this human woman. It is as if you have stirred up a vessel and drunk poison from it.” Then Yudhishthira bore down heavily on him and oppressed by this weight, he
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could not travel very fast.
‘Yudhishthira told Nakula and Droupadi, “Do not be frightened of this stupid rakshasa. I have robbed him of his speed. Pavana’s
mighty-armed son cannot be far away.
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He will arrive in an instant and the rakshasa will have no future.” O king! On seeing that the rakshasa was deluded of his intelligence, Sahadeva spoke to Kunti’s son, Yudhishthira. “O king! Nothing brings greater merit to a kshatriya than to fall in the field of battle and give up his life, or triumph over an enemy. O scorcher of enemies! Let us fight him in the field of battle. Either he will kill us, or we will kill him. O mighty-armed one! O king! The time and the place are right. O one for whom valour is truth! The time has come to show the dharma of kshatriyas. Whether we triumph or whether we are slain, we will attain the supreme objective. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! If the rakshasa is still alive when the sun sets, I will no longer be able to say that I am a kshatriya. O rakshasa! Stop! I am Pandava Sahadeva. Either kill me and take them today, or fall senseless.” While he was speaking thus, Bhimasena appeared by chance. The mighty-armed one looked like Vasava
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with his vajra. He saw his two brothers and the famous Droupadi, and Sahadeva on the ground, challenging the rakshasa. He saw the stupid rakshasa, who had lost his path, his intelligence having been robbed by time. Driven by destiny, he was roaming around here and there.
‘On seeing his brothers and Droupadi being thus abducted, the mighty-armed Bhima was overcome with rage and told the rakshasa, “I had got to know about you earlier, when I saw you scrutinize our weapons. But though I did not have my trust in you, I did not kill you then. You were in the form of a brahmana and you had not uttered any unpleasant words towards us. You did what brought us pleasure and you did nothing that brought us displeasure. You were in the form of an innocent brahmana who was a guest. Anyone who kills such a person, even if he knows him to be a rakshasa, goes to hell. That apart, the time for your killing was not ripe. That time is ripe now, since your inclination is of this nature. Extraordinary destiny has made you abduct Krishna. You have swallowed the hook that stretches from the line of fate, like a fish in the water. How will you
escape from me today? You will not be able to reach the region you have left for and where your mind has already gone. You will not be able to reach and you will traverse the path travelled by Baka and Hidimba.”
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The rakshasa was driven by destiny. Having been thus addressed by Bhima, he was frightened and threw them all down.
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Then he approached, so as to fight. His lips trembling in anger, he told Bhima, “O deluded one! I did not lose my directions because I was deluded. I was waiting for your sake. I have heard about the rakshasas whom you killed in battle. With your blood, I will offer funeral oblations to them today.” Having been thus addressed, Bhima smilingly licked the corners of his mouth. He was bursting with rage, like time and death personified.
‘With great force, he dashed at the rakshasa, to engage him in a bout of wrestling. On seeing that Bhima stood ready to fight, the rakshasa also forcefully dashed towards him, like Bali towards the wielder of the vajra.
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When they were about to engage in that terrible battle with arms, Madri’s two sons
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were also extremely angered and rushed forward. But Vrikodara, Kunti’s son, laughingly restrained them. He said, “Behold. I am capable of handling this rakshasa. O king!
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By myself, with my brothers, by the dharma that I have observed well and by my oblations, I swear that I will finish off this rakshasa.” Having said this, the two brave ones challenged each other. The rakshasa and Vrikodara grasped each other with their arms. They did not spare each other. Angrily, Bhima and the rakshasa engaged each other in a terrible battle, like a god and a danava. Uprooting trees, the two immensely strong ones hurled them at each other, roaring like clouds when the summer season is over. Those two, supreme among strong ones, shattered the trunks of trees with the force of their thighs. They rushed at each other, each desirous of victory. The duel with trees went too, causing the destruction of many large trees, like
that ancient battle between the brothers Vali and Sugriva, lions among apes.
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For some time, they repeatedly hurled trees at each other and struck each other, continuously roaring. When all the trees in the region had been torn down, and in an attempt to kill each other they had reduced them to hundreds of heaps, they immediately took up rocks. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Those two immensely strong ones fought, like a king of mountains fighting with clouds. Those hard and terrible rocks flew around, like the vajra. They repeatedly struck each other with these. They were insolent because of their strength. After this, they rushed at each other and grasped each other with their arms, tugging like elephants. They struck each other with extremely terrible fists. The two great-souled ones raised a noise by gnashing their teeth. Then Bhima clenched his fist, like a serpent with five heads, and struck the rakshasa’s neck with great force. The rakshasa was exhausted from the force of Bhimasena’s blow with the fist. On seeing this, Bhimasena grasped the one who was extremely tired. The mighty-armed one, equal to the immortals, raised him up in his two arms. With great force, Bhima then flung him down on the ground. Pandava shattered all his limbs. Holding him with his elbow, he detached the head from the trunk. As a result of Bhimasena’s force, Jatasura’s head was severed and fell down on the ground, drenched in blood, the eyes bulging and the teeth clenched, like a fruit dislodged from a tree. Having killed him, the mighty archer went to Yudhishthira. The foremost among brahmanas praised him, like the Maruts praise Vasava.’
