Mahabharata: Volume 7 (27 page)

‘ “On seeing this, Krishna asked, ‘Why have you unsheathed your sword, which sparkles like the sky, again? Tell me truthfully and I will give you an answer. I will tell you how you can accomplish your
objective.’ Having been thus asked by the supreme of men, he was extremely distressed and spoke these words to Keshava. ‘I will kill myself, because I have acted in a wicked way.’
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In an attempt to pacify Partha, the best among the upholders of dharma spoke these words to Dhananjaya. ‘O Partha! Tell him about your own qualities now. Thereby, you will kill yourself today.’
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Dhananjaya, Shakra’s son, approved of Krishna’s words and, lowering his bow, spoke these words to Yudhishthira, supreme among those who uphold dharma. ‘O king! O god among men! Listen. There is no other archer who is my equal, except the god who wields Pinaka.
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I am revered even by that great-souled one. In an instant, I can destroy the universe, with its mobile and immobile objects. O king! It is I who vanquished all the directions and the kings there and brought them under your subjugation. The
rajasuya
sacrifice that you completed, with donations, and the divine assembly hall that you obtained, were because of my infinite energy.
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The arrows have left marks on my palms, when I affixed arrows to the bow in battle. The soles of my feet bear the marks of arrows and a standard.
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That is the reason someone like me cannot be defeated in a battle. I have slain those from the north. I have killed those from the west. I have restrained those from the east. I have destroyed those from the south. There are only a few of the samshaptakas who remain. I have destroyed half of the entire army. O king! The soldiers of the Bharatas, with an army like that of the gods, have been slain by me and are lying down. I will use weapons to kill only those who know about weapons. That is the reason I have not reduced the world to ashes.’ Having said this, Partha again spoke to Yudhishthira, supreme among the upholders of dharma. ‘O king! Know this. Today, Radha
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will lose
her son, or Kunti will lose me. O king! Be pacified and pardon the the words that I have spoken. In due course, you will understand what I have told you.’
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The foremost one pacified the king, who was capable of withstanding all enemies. He stood there, and then again spoke these words. ‘I will wholeheartedly try to kill the son of a suta and extricate Bhima from the battle. O king! My life is devoted to ensuring your pleasure. Know that this is the truth.’ Having said this, Kiriti, blazing in his energy, touched his feet and then stood up and said, ‘All this will come to pass very quickly and I will then return to you.’

‘ “On hearing the harsh words of his brother, Phalguna, Dharmaraja Pandava raised himself
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and with his heart filled with misery, spoke these words to Partha. ‘O Partha! I have not acted in a way that virtuous ones do. That is the reason we are confronted with this extremely terrible calamity. Therefore, sever my head today. I am the worst of men and the exterminator of my lineage. I am wicked and addicted to evil. I am stupid in my intelligence. I am lazy and a coward. I am a man who disrespects those who are superior. What is the point of following a harsh one like me for a long time? I am wicked and I will retire to the forest today. Without an inferior one like me, let all of you be happy. The great-souled Bhimasena is fit to be a king. What will a eunuch like me do with a kingdom? I am incapable of again listening to such harsh words, spoken by you in anger. Let Bhima be the king. O brave one! Having been insulted, what is the purpose of my remaining alive?’ Having said this, the king suddenly arose from his bed and prepared to leave for the forest. Vasudeva bowed down to him and said, ‘O king! You know that the wielder of Gandiva is devoted to the truth and is famous for Gandiva. Any man in the world who asks him to give Gandiva to another, will be slain by him and lose his body. You spoke such words to him. O lord of the earth! Wishing to preserve the truth of Partha’s pledge, I asked him to show disrespect towards you. It is said that disrespect towards one’s seniors is equivalent to death. O
mighty-armed one! O king! I asked him to cross you and you should pardon both Partha and me. O great king! Both of us are seeking refuge with you. O king! We are bowing in obeisance before you and you should pardon us. Today, the earth will drink the blood of the wicked Radheya. I know this to be the truth. Today, the son of a suta will be slain. Today, the one whose death you desire will pass beyond his span of life.’ Having heard Krishna’s words, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira respectfully raised Hrishikesha and joining his hands in salutation, affectionately spoke these words. ‘It is exactly as you have said. I have been guilty of a transgression. O Govinda! I have been taught by you. O Madhava! I have been saved by you. O Achyuta! Today, we have been saved by you from a terrible calamity and fear. We were immersed in an ocean of hardship and you have been our protector. We were confused by our terrible ignorance today and have crossed it. Both
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of us were submerged in an ocean of grief and sorrow and your intelligence has been the raft. O Achyuta! We have an adviser. We have a protector and we have crossed it.’” ’

‘S
anjaya said, “Having heard the words spoken by Krishna to the noble Yudhishthira, Partha became cheerless in his mind, since he had committed a wicked deed. Vasudeva laughed and spoke to him. ‘O Partha! How would you have felt had you, established in dharma, used you sharp sword to slay Dharma’s son? You have only spoken to the king and are overcome by this lassitude. O Partha! Had you killed the king, what would you have done next? It is extremely difficult to know dharma, especially by those who are stupid in their understanding. You are scared of dharma and there is no doubt that you would have suffered greater misery. Had you killed your elder brother, you would have gone to a terrible hell. The
king is foremost among those who uphold dharma. He is devoted to dharma. Pacify the best of the Kurus now. That is my view. Once you pacify him devotedly, King Yudhishthira will be pleased. We can then swiftly advance towards the chariot of the son of a suta to fight. Karna is extremely difficult to defeat. But he will be killed by your sharp arrows. O one who grants honours! Dharma’s son will be filled with great delight. O mighty-armed one! It is my view that the time has come for this. Having accomplished this task, your objective will be attained.’ O great king! O unblemished one! At this, filled with shame, Arjuna touched Dharmaraja’s feet with his head. He repeatedly said, ‘O foremost among the Bharata lineage! Forgive me. O king! Pardon what I have spoken because of my fear about dharma.’ O bull among the Bharata lineage! Dharmaraja Yudhishthira saw that Dhananjaya, the destroyer of enemies, was prone at his feet and was weeping.

‘ “King Dharmaraja raised his brother, Dhananjaya. Having embraced him with affection, the lord of the earth wept. Those two immensely radiant brothers wept for a long time. Having overcome their sorrow, those two tigers among men became cheerful again. He affectionately inhaled the fragrance of Pandava’s head.
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Filled with great delight, he smiled and spoke to Jaya.
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‘O mighty-armed one! O great archer! Though I made every effort in the battle, while all the soldiers looked on, Karna used his arrows to deprive me of my armour, my standard, my bow, my javelin, my horses and my club. O Phalguna! Having known and seen his deeds in the battle, I have been overcome with great grief and am no longer fond of remaining alive. O brave one! If you do not kill the son of a suta today, I will give up my life. What is the point of my remaining alive?’ O bull among the Bharata lineage! Having been thus addressed, Vijaya replied, ‘O king! O best of men! O lord of the earth! Through your favours, I swear on you, Bhima and the twins that I will slay Karna in the battle today, or be killed by him. I swear on my weapons that I will bring him down on the ground.’ Having spoken these words
to the king, he spoke these words to Madhava. ‘O Krishna! There is no doubt that I will slay Karna in the battle today. O fortunate one! With your blessings, the death of that evil-souled one is certain.’ O supreme among kings! Having been thus addressed, Keshava spoke to Partha. ‘O foremost among the Bharata lineage! You are capable of doing this. O maharatha! This has always been my desire. I have always thought about the means whereby you can kill Karna in the battle.’ The intelligent Madhava again spoke to Dharma’s son. ‘O Yudhishthira! You should console Bibhatsu. With your permission, he will kill the evil-souled Karna today. O descendant of the Pandava lineage! On hearing that you were afflicted by Karna’s arrows, we returned here to ascertain your welfare. O king! It is through good fortune that you are well and have not been seized. O unblemished one! For the sake of Bibhatsu’s victory, console him.’ Yudhishthira replied, ‘O Partha! O Bibhatsu! O Pandava! Come and embrace me. You spoke beneficial words to me. You have been forgiven by me. O Dhananjaya! I give you permission to go and kill Karna. O Partha! Do not be angry at the terrible words that I have spoken to you.’ O king! O venerable one! At this, Dhananjaya bowed his head down before his elder brother and grasped his feet with his hands. The king raised the sorrowing one and embraced him.

‘ “He inhaled the fragrance of his head and again spoke these words. ‘O Dhananjaya! O mighty-armed one! I have been greatly honoured by you. May you again attain victory and eternal greatness.’ Arjuna replied, ‘Radheya is evil in his deeds and insolent about his strength. I will approach him in the battle and slay him, and his relatives, with arrows. He stretched a firm bow and afflicted you with arrows. Karna will reap the terrible consequence of that deed today. O lord of the earth! Having slain Karna today, I will return to you. I will give you the good news and follow you. I tell you this truthfully. Without killing Karna today, I will not return I am touching your feet and telling you this truthfully.’ Having pacified Dharmaraja, Partha was cheerful in his mind. Prepared to kill the son of a suta, Partha spoke to Govinda. ‘Prepare the chariot again and yoke the best of horses. Let the great chariot be equipped with all the weapons. Get horse riders to cover the
well-trained horses. Let all kinds of equipment quickly be arranged on the chariot.’ O great king! Having been thus addressed by the great-souled Phalguna, Krishna told Daruka,
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‘Do everything that Arjuna, foremost among the Bharatas and best among all archers, has asked to be done.’ O supreme among kings! Having been instructed by Krishna, Daruka yoked and covered the chariot, which scorched the enemy, with the skins of tigers. The chariot was yoked by the great-souled Daruka. He
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sought Dharmaraja’s leave and the blessings of the brahmanas. With auspicious rites and benedictions, he ascended that supreme chariot. The immensely wise King Dharmaraja Yudhishthira blessed him, supremely delighted at the prospect of Karna’s death.

‘ “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On seeing the great archer depart, all the beings thought that Karna had already been slain by the great-souled Pandava. O king! On every side, all the directions sparkled. O lord of men! At that time, blue jays,
shatapatra
s
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and curlews circumambulated the descendant of the Pandu lineage. There were many other sacred and auspicious male birds.
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They were cheerful in form and seemed to urge Arjuna to hurry to the field of battle. O lord of the earth! Herons, vultures, crows and wild crows advanced in front of him, wishing to devour,
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and signified an ominous portent. The signs were good and auspicious for Partha. They signified the destruction and death of Karna’s soldiers. As Partha advanced, he perspired copiously. He was extremely anxious about how he would accomplish his objective.

‘ “On seeing that Partha was overcome with anxiety as he proceeded, Madhusudana spoke to the wielder of Gandiva. ‘O wielder of Gandiva! With this bow, you have defeated those in battle, whom no other man is capable of vanquishing. We have seen many brave ones, equal to Shakra in their valour. Having encountered you in a battle, those brave ones have attained the supreme objective. O venerable one! Whether it is Drona, Bhishma, Bhagadatta, Vinda and Anuvinda from Avanti, Sudakshina from Kamboja, Shrutayusha and the immensely valorous Achyutayusha, none of them have been able to do anything against you. There is no one who can withstand you. You possess celestial weapons. You are dexterous and strong. O Arjuna! You aim, strike and hit the target with yoga. You are not confused in a battle and know about what must be done. You are capable of killing all the gods and asuras, together with everything mobile and immobile. O Partha! There is no warrior or man on this earth who is equal to you in a battle. There are kshatriyas who pick up bows and are invincible in battle. But I have not seen, or heard of, anyone like you among them, or among the supreme gods. Brahma, the creator of all beings, constructed the extremely wonderful Gandiva.
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O Partha! This is what you use to fight and that is the reason there is no one who is your equal. O Pandava! However, I must speak words that are beneficial for you. O mighty-armed one! Do not think lightly of Karna. He is the ornament of a battle. Karna is strong and insolent. He is skilled in weapons and a maharatha. He is accomplished and colourful in fighting. He knows about time and place.
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He is like the fire in his energy. He is like the wind in his speed. He is like Yama in his anger. The powerful one is capable of withstanding a lion. The mighty-armed one’s chest is one
aratni
in breadth.
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He is extremely difficult to defeat. He is very proud and brave. He is extremely valiant and handsome. He has all the
qualities of a warrior and is terrible to his enemies. He has always hated the Pandavas and has been engaged in the welfare of the sons of Dhritarashtra. Radheya cannot be killed by any enemy, even the gods, including Vasava. In my view, you are the only exception. Today, slay the son of a suta. All the warriors made out of flesh and blood, and even the gods, are incapable of defeating him in a battle, even if they were to unite. The evil-souled one is wicked in intelligence. He is cruel. His evil intelligence has always been used to bring injury to the Pandaveyas. He has opposed the Pandaveyas. Kill Karna today and accomplish your objective. He thinks himself to be brave, as does the wicked Suyodhana. He is the root of all wickedness. O Dhananjaya! Defeat the son of a suta.’” ’