THE MAHABHARATA: A Modern Rendering, Vol 2 (96 page)

He was a master of astras—their 4 padas and 10 angas. He was equally a master of the 4 Vedas, with all their branches and the Akhyanas. It must be remembered that Drona, who was not born of a woman and had great ascetic punya, worshipped Lord Siva for a son. He begot Aswatthama upon Kripi, who also was not born of a woman. Aswatthama is often considered an amsa of Siva and unrivalled were his beauty, his erudition and his feats.

BOOK 14. Aswamedha Parva.

1. King Janamejaya wants to know about the mysterious mongoose and Vaisampayana tells him.

‘I will tell who the blue-eyed mongoose was and how he could speak in a human voice and tongue. Once, the Rishi Jamadagni wanted to perform a yagna. His homa cow came to him and the sage milked her himself. He poured the milk into a new, pure vessel. Dharma Deva, assuming the form of Krodha, Anger, entered the vessel, for the God of dharma wanted to see how Jamadagni would react if provoked. Dharma split and spolit that milk. Jamadagni knew who had done this and evinced no annoyance.

Then, Krodha became a brahmana and appeared before the rishi. He said, ‘Greatest among all the race of Bhrigu, you have conquered me! The entire world says that the Bhrigus are known for their rage, but I find now that they lie. You have subdued me, O Mahatman and you possess the rare virtue of forgiveness. I stand before you as a supplicant, O Muni. I fear your tapasya; puissant one, be kind to me.’

Jamadagni said, ‘I have seen you, O Krodha, in your embodied form. Go where you wish, without any fear. You have not done me any injury today and I bear no grudge against you. However, the milk you spoilt was for the Pitrs. You must go before them and see what they do.’

In some terror, Anger vanished from the presence of the sage. But the manes cursed him to become a mongoose. Krodha began to worship the Pitrs, to end the curse. They spoke to him in an asariri; ‘You shall end the curse if you denigrate Dharma Deva.’

Thus, the mongoose wandered the wide world, criticizing every great yagna he found. Finally, he arrived at Yudhishtira’s Aswamedha yagna and by censuring Dharma’s son, his very self, Krodha was released from the curse of the manes.’

Ganguli observes that, in his opinion, the entire incident of the mongoose might well be an interpolation.

BOOK 16. Mausala Parva.

1. The omens seen in Dwaraka:

‘Every day, Death, embodied, wandered through the homes of the Yadavas. He had the form of a fierce and terrible man, bald and black-skinned, as well as tawny. The bowmen of Dwaraka shot thousands of arrows at him, but none pierced that macabre figure.

Day by day, the sea winds blew more roughly and all manners of other evil portents arose—fore-boding the end of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas. The streets swarmed with rats and mice. Earthen vessels cracked on their own, spilling what they contained. At nights, the rats and mice gnawde away the hair and the nails of sleeping men. Sarikas chirped incessantly, inside the houses of the sea city. Sarasas called like owls and goats bayed like jackals.

The strangest birds appeared, Death’s messengers, never seen before—pale feathered, with bright red legs. At every hour, pigeons disported in the homes of the Yadus. Cows gave birth to asses, mules to elephant and bitches littered kittens. The mouse was born to the mongoose.

The Vrishnis became sinners, all of them except Balarama and Krishna. They grew shameless, insulted and humiliated their gurus and elders. They showed disrespect toward brahmanas, the manes and the Gods. Wives deceived their husbands and husbands their wives. Sacred fires always cast their flames to the left. At times, they burned with unnatural brilliance, in bright red and blue.

As the sun rose or set over the city, it seemed shrouded by headless figures of men. Wriggling beds of worms, of many kinds, appeared in clean, cooked food, as soon as it was served. When brahmanas blessed the hour of day, as they received gifts or alms, countless heavy footsteps would be heard, running helter-skelter, everywhere. But no one could be seen making that sound.

The planets appeared to repeatedly attack and strike the constellations in the sky. However, no Yadava could ever see, at any time, the sign under which he was born. When they blew their auspicious conches, a dissonant chorus of donkeys brayed in the solemn echo of the bass.

Every night, Vrishni women dreamt of a black hag with white teeth, who laughed maniacally, ran through Dwaraka and their homes and snatched the sacred threads from their wrists. Men dreamt of crimson-eyed vultures entering their houses and yagnashalas and feeding on their bodies.

They saw hideous rakshasas steal their ornaments, standards, armor and other insignia. One day, in plain sight of all the Yadus, the Sudarshana Chakra flashes up into the sky and vanishes. Then, the Jaitra, Krishna’s chariot, in Daruka, his sarathy’s, sight, disappears in the most unusual manner. The four great horses, Saibya, Sugriva, Meghapushpa and Balahaka, fly off with it at the speed of thought, dragging it across the surface of the sea!

Krishna’s Garuda standard and Balarama’s with the palmyra, were taken by apsaras, who called day and night in their sweet, sweet voices to the Yadavas to set out on a yatra to some holy tirtha.’

BOOK 18. Swargarohanika Parva.

1. When they die, most of the great characters of the legend are absorbed, or reabsorbed, as in Bheeshma’s case, into the God or Gods of whom they were amsas.

Bheeshma, of course again becomes the Vasu Prabhasa, or Dyu, when he dies. Drona, enters into Brihaspati, Kritavarman enters the Maruts, Pradyumna again becomes part of Sanatkumara, whose amsa he was, (though it is also told that he was Kama Deva incarnate!), Dhritarashtra attains to Kubera’s realm and Gandhari with him. Pandu, Kunti and Madri attain Indra’s world. Virata, Dru-pada, Dhrishtaketu, Nishatha, Akrura, Samba, Bhanukampa, Viduratha, Bhoorisravas, Sala, Bhoori, Kamsa, Ugrasena, Vasudeva and Uttara Kumara are all absorbed into the various Devas.

Soma’s mighty son Varchas was born as Abhimanyu. Abhimanyu become Varchas again, when he dies. Karna enters into Surya, Shakuni was absorbed into Dwapara and Dhrishtadyumna into Agni Deva. Vidura and Yudhishtira were both absorbed in Dharma Deva. The rakshasas born as Dhritarashtra’s sons all found heaven for themselves, by dying on the field of war.

Balarama became Ananta and went down into patala, where he is the support of Vishnu and the worlds. Krishna, of course, became Vishnu again.

When their time came, the sixteen thousand that had been Krishna’s wives, entered the Saraswati and returned to Vishnuloka as unearthly apsaras. Ghatotkacha and his rakshasas all became lofty yak-shas, Bheema’s son himself was equal to a God. Of the other warrior who perished on Kurukshetra, some went to the world of Indra, some to the realm of Kubera of matchless intellect and others to the marine world of Varuna.

Glossary 

Abhichara sorcery. Also a spirit raised by an occult ritual.

Abhichari sorcerer.

Abhisheka investiture.

Acharya a brahmana master.

Achyuta immortal; a name of Vishnu’s and Krishna’s.

Adharma evil.

Adi kavya first Poem. The Ramayana.

Adisehsa great Serpent, Vishnu’s rest.

Aditi mother of the Devas.

Aditya son of Aditi. Being of light, also son of the Sun God.

Adityahridaya lit. heart of the sun.

Agni Fire God

Agni fire.

Agnihotra fire ritual.

Agni kunda fire pit.

Agneyastra fire weapon, missile.

Agneyi self-immolation by invoking inner fire.

Aindastra Indra’s astra.

Airavata Indra’s four-tusked white, flying elephant.

Akasa sky, cosmic ether, fifth element.

Akhanda universe.

Aksauhini a legion. One version of its size is 21,000 chariots, as many elephants, 65,000 horse and 110,000 footsoldiers. (But this does not tally with the total number of men killed during the Mahabharata yuddha, in 11 aksauhinis!)

Alakananda a name of the Ganga.

Alidha archer’s stance.

Amavasya new moon.

Amravati Indra’s heavenly city.

Amrita nectar of immortality.

Amsa essence, part.

Ananta Sesha cosmic Serpent on which Vishnu rests.

Anarta Krishna’s kingdom.

Anarya ignoble.

Andhaka a Yadava tribe.

Angaraka Mars.

Anima the occult power to make oneself small.

Aniruddha Krishna’s grandson.

Anjali offering.

Antapura harem.

Apsara nymph.

Arani a twig from a sami tree. A fire kindeld with these is always sacred.

Aranya jungle.

Arati worship with lamps.

Ardha half.

Arghya offering of welcome.

Arya noble.

Aryavarta land of the noble. India. Bharatavarsha.

Aryaman ancestor, the first man. Also, the Sun. Lord of the manes.

Asariri disembodied voice.

Asrama hermitage.

Asramas, the 4asramas of life brahmachari, grihasta, vanaprastha, sannyasi. Celibate, householder, renun-ciate, hermit.

Astra unearthly weapon.

Asura demon.

Aswamedha yagna horse sacrifice.

Aswattha pipal tree.

Aswins heavenly twins, known for their beauty.

Atharva the fourth Veda, concerned with sorcery, spells, etc.

Atman the individual Soul.

AUM/OM holy syllable, represents the Ultimate Reality.

Avatara Incarnation.

Ayudha weapon.

Bala/atibala strength, extreme strength.

Bhajan devotional song.

Bhakti devotion, worship.

Bhakta devotee.

Bharatavarsha India. The land of Bharata.

Bhasha language.

Bhasma holy ash.

Bhiksha alms, begging.

Bhoja a Yadava tribe.

Bhumi the earth.

Bhumidevi Earth Goddess.

Bhuta ghost, spirit.

Bindu point; mystic singularity.

Brahma God of the Hindu Trinity. The Creator.

Brahmachari a celibate.

Brahmacharya celibacy.

Brahmahatya murder of a brahmana.

Brahman Ultimate Godhead; Holy Sopirit; different from Brahma.

Brahmana priestly caste, also ‘Brahma’s people’.

Brahmarishi sage of Brahman.

Brahmavadi knower of Brahman.

Brahmavidya knowledge of Brahman.

Brighu an ancient rishi.

Brihaspati guru of the Devas. Also the planet Jupiter.

Bhuta spirit, ghost.

Budha Mercury.

Chaitra an auspicious lunar month.

Chaitra Kubera’s garden.

Chakra a wheel. In the body, a subtle center of energy along the spinal column and in the brain.

Chakravaka a water bird.

Chakravarti emperor.

Chamara silken whisk.

Chandala an untouchable.

Chandra Moon.

Charana unearthly being.

Chiranjivi long-lived, almost immortal.

Chital a kind of deer.

Chitraratha king of the gandharvas.

Daksha Brahma’s son, Sati’s father. A prajapati.

Danava demon, son of Danu.

Danda a staff, also punishment.

Daitya demon, son of Diti.

Dakshina south.

Dakshinayana the sun’s southern migration.

Darbha a kind of grass.

Darbhasana seat made of darbha grass

Deva a celestial, elemental, being. A God. Also ‘Being of Light.’ ‘Divya’ is light.

Devaloka heavenly realm of the Devas.

Devaputra son of a Deva.

Devi Goddess.

Dharma truth, justice.

Dhanu Sagittarius.

Dhanusha bow.

Dhanvantari the original physician, who rose from the sea of milk with the amrita.

Dharma truth, justice, duty, righteousness.

Dhruva North Star.

Dhupa/dhoop heavy, smoky, incence.

dhyana meditation.

Dikpala lord of a direction.

Diksha gift/ offering for a brahmana.

Dvividha a vanara.

Dwapara yuga third great age.

Dwaraka Krishn’a ocean city, raised for him by the Devas.

Dwarapalaka gatekeeper.

Ekarnava the original sea of life.

Gada mace, club.

Gana servitor, companion of Siva.

Gandharva heavenly warrior minstrels. Elf.