Mahabharata Vol. 3 (Penguin Translated Texts) (30 page)

Vaishampayana said, ‘Having approached the ascetic, who had burnt away all his sins, Yudhishthira announced his name and happily greeted him, with his head bowed down. After that, Krishna, Bhima and the famous twins lowered their heads before the rajarshi and stood there, surrounding him. In that fashion, Dhoumya, learned in dharma and the priest of the Pandavas, approached the rishi who was rigid in his vows, in accordance with propriety. Through his divine sight, the sage who was learned in dharma had already recognized Pandu’s sons, the best of the Kuru lineage, and greeting them, asked them to be seated. The great ascetic showed honours to the wise bull among the Kurus.
⁸⁸

‘When he was seated with his brothers, he asked him about his welfare. “Does your mind ever turn towards that which is not true or do you follow dharma? O Partha! Does your conduct towards your mother and father ever diminish? Are your preceptors, all the elders and those who are learned worshipped by you? O Partha! Does your mind ever turn towards evil acts? O best of the Kuru lineage! Do you know how to reward a good deed and ignore an evil deed? Do you treat them according to the law and without any conceit? Do virtuous ones rejoice when such deserving ones are honoured by you? Though you dwell in the forest, do you follow that which is dharma? O Partha! Has Dhoumya been tormented by the way you treat him? Do you follow the dharma of donations, austerities, purity, uprightness and forbearance? O Partha! Do you follow the conduct of your fathers and grandfathers? O Pandava! Do you tread the path followed by the
rajarshis? It is said that when a son or a grandson is born in one’s lineage, the ancestors in the world of the ancestors either sorrow or laugh. ‘What will happen to us if he performs evil deeds? Or will we prosper because he performs good deeds?’ O Partha! He who honours his father, his mother, the fire, the preceptor and his own soul as the fifth, conquers both the worlds.
⁸⁹
There are rishis who live on water and on the wind. At the time of
parvasandhi
,
⁹⁰
they fly through the air and visit this greatest of mountains. O king! Kimpurushas, lovers with their beloveds, devoted to each other, can be seen on the peaks of this mountain. O Partha! Many masses of gandharvas and apsaras can be seen. They are attired in spotless garments and in those made of silk. There are masses of handsome and garlanded vidyadharas and masses of great serpents, giant birds
⁹¹
and other serpents. At the time of parvasandhi, the sounds of kettledrums,
panava
s,
⁹²
conch shells and drums can be heard on this mountain. O bull among the Bharata lineage! You can hear all of that from this place. But you should never act or think so as to venture closer. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! Beyond this point, it is impossible to go. That place is the sporting ground of the gods, beyond the access of humans. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! At that spot, all beings hate the fickle deeds of humans and rakshasas chastise them. O Yudhishthira! Beyond the peak of this mountain can be seen the radiant objective of devarshis, those who are supremely successful. O Partha! O destroyer of enemies! If one is fickle enough to continue on the journey beyond this point, the rakshasas kill him with iron spears and other means. At the time of parvasandhi, Vaishravana Naravahana
⁹³
can be seen there in his prosperity, surrounded by apsara
s.
All the beings then see the lord of the rakshasas seated on the peak of the mountain, as
resplendent as the rising sun. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! The peak of that mountain is the sporting ground of gods, danavas, siddhas and Vaishravana. O son!
⁹⁴
At the time of parvasandhi, Tumburu
⁹⁵
worships the lord of riches there and the sounds of his songs and hymns can be heard on Gandhamadana. O son! O Yudhishthira! At the time of parvasandhi, all the many different beings witness this wonderful sight here. O best of the Pandavas! Dwell here. Live on succulent fruit and other tasty food, until you see Arjuna. O son! Now that you have reached this place, you should never be fickle. O best of those who wield weapons! After living here, as you desire, and sporting yourself, you will protect the earth.”’

Janamejaya asked, ‘How long did the great-souled sons of Pandu, all of them divine in valour, live on Mount Gandhamadana? O virtuous one! What did those great-souled ones, valorous in the world, subsist on, while they lived there? Tell me. Tell me in detail about Bhimasena’s prowess. What did the mighty-armed one accomplish in those Himalaya mountains? O, supreme among brahmanas! Did he wage war against the yakshas again? Did they ever meet Vaishravana? Arshtishena did say that the lord of riches visits the place. O one rich in austerities! I wish to hear all this in great detail. I am never satiated on hearing about their deeds.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘After having heard the instructions of the immensely energetic one,
⁹⁶
good for their welfare, the bulls among the Bharata lineage always abided by them. They lived on the food of hermits, succulent fruits, the meat of deer shot with pure arrows
⁹⁷
and different kinds of pure honey. The Pandavas, bulls among the Bharata lineage, dwelt on the slopes of the Himalayas. In this fashion, they lived there for five years, listening to the many words spoken by Lomasha. O lord! Ghatotkacha had left earlier with all the other rakshasas, saying that he would return whenever the occasion demanded. Many months passed while the great-souled ones dwelt in Arshtishena’s hermitage and they witnessed many great marvels. While the Pandavas happily lived there and sported themselves, many immensely fortunate hermits and
charana
s, pure in soul and rigid in their vows, came to see the Pandavas and held conversations with the supreme of the Bharata lineage on celestial matters.

‘After some time, a suparna suddenly carried away a handsome and giant serpent that used to dwell in the giant lake. The mighty mountain began to tremble and many large trees were torn down. With all beings, the Pandavas witnessed this extraordinary sight. Then, from that supreme mountain, a wind blew towards the Pandavas and carried many different kinds of beautiful and fragrant flowers. With their well-wishers and with the famous Droupadi, the Pandavas saw those divine flowers, with five different colours. At that time, when the mighty-armed Bhimasena was comfortably seated at a secluded spot on the mountain, Krishna told him, “O bull among the Bharata lineage! As a result of the forceful wind generated from the suparna’s great force, five-coloured blossoms have been dropped near the river Ashvaratha and all the beings have witnessed this. Your great-souled brother,
⁹⁸
always driven by truth, once restrained gandharvas, serpents, rakshasas and even Vasava himself, in Khandava. After killing the ones who resort to maya,
⁹⁹
he obtained the bow Gandiva. You also possess enormous energy and great strength of arms. You are indomitable and irresistible and are the equal of Shatakratu
¹⁰⁰
in your strength. Let all the rakshasas be terrified of
the force and strength of your arms. O Bhimasena! They will leave this mountain and flee in the ten directions. Then, devoid of all fear and delusion, let all your well-wishers behold this supreme mountain, auspicious and adorned with colourful flowers. O Bhima! This thought has been in my mind for a long time. Protected through the strength of your arms, I wish to see the top of this mountain.” The scorcher of enemies was maddened by Droupadi’s words. The mighty-armed one could not stand it, like an excellent bull that has been beaten. His gait was like that of a lion or a bull. He was handsome and noble. His complexion was like that of gold. He was spirited and strong, powerful and proud. The brave Pandava’s eyes were red and his shoulders were wide. He was like a maddened elephant in his valour. His teeth were like a lion’s and his shoulders were expansive. He was as tall as a young shala tree. The great-souled one was beautiful in all his limbs. His neck was like a conch shell
¹⁰¹
and his arms were huge. He grasped his gold-plated bow, his sword and his quivers. Like an insolent lion, or like a maddened elephant, the strong one rushed towards the mountain, free from fear or delusion.

‘All the beings saw him, wielding his arrows, sword and bow, like a king of the beasts,
¹⁰²
or a maddened elephant. The Pandava was devoid of fear or delusion. To increase Droupadi’s happiness, he grasped a club and penetrated the king of the mountains. Partha, the son of the wind-god, was not bothered by fatigue, fear, lassitude or envy. He came to a terrible-looking and uneven passage that only one person could pass through at a time. Through this, the immensely strong one ascended the peak, as tall as many palm trees. Agitating kinnaras, great serpents, hermits, gandharvas and rakshasas, the immensely strong one ascended the mountain. The bull among the Bharata lineage saw Vaishravana’s abode there. It was ornamented with golden and crystalline buildings. Gladdening all beings, an extremely pleasant breeze blew there, arising from Gandhamadana, and carrying all the various fragrances in it. There were many beautiful
trees of diverse kinds, extraordinary and colourful and beyond all thought. The bull among the Bharata lineage then saw the abode of the lord of the rakshasas. It was covered on all sides by a network of gems. It was pure and was adorned with beautiful flowers. The mighty-armed Bhimasena stood there, as immobile as a mountain. Prepared to give up his life, he held a club, a sword, a bow and arrows in his hand. He then blew on his conch shell and this made the body hair of his enemies stand up. He twanged his bow and slapped his arms and terrified all beings.

‘Their body hair standing up, yakshas, rakshasas and gandharvas rushed towards the sound and approached Pandava. The clubs, maces, swords, spears, lances and battleaxes, taken up by the yakshas and rakshasas in their arms, began to blaze. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Then a war started between them and him. With terrible force and speed, Bhima used his arrows to slice off the spears, lances and battleaxes hurled at him by those gigantic ones. The immensely powerful one pierced the bodies of the rakshasas with his arrows and they roared, while roaming around in the sky and on the ground. A great shower of blood rained down on the immensely strong one, flowing from the bodies of the rakshasas in every direction. Many heads and bodies of the yakshas and the rakshasas were seen to be sliced off through what Bhima’s mighty arms released. All the beings then saw the handsome Pandava enveloped by the rakshasas, like the sun with masses of clouds. But just as the sun penetrates everything with its rays, the mighty-armed and powerful one, with truth as his valour, penetrated all of them with his arrows. They uttered loud roars and victorious cries. But all the rakshasas could not see any delusion in Bhimasena. All their limbs were wounded with his arrows and they were oppressed with their fear of Bhimasena. Throwing away their great weapons, they roared in scared and terrible voices. Discarding their clubs, spears, swords, lances and battleaxes, they fled in a southern direction,
¹⁰³
scared of the one whose bow was firm.

‘There remained a mighty-armed and broad-chested rakshasa. His name was Maniman and he held a spear and a club in his hands. He was Vaishravana’s friend. The mighty-armed one exhibited his authority and his manliness. On seeing them flee, he smilingly said, “On reaching Vaishravana’s abode, what will you tell the lord of riches, since several of you have been defeated in battle by a single man?” Having spoken these words, the rakshasa restrained them and dashed towards Pandava, with a lance, a spear and a club in his hands. On seeing him forcefully approach, like a maddened elephant, Bhimasena pierced his side with three calf-toothed arrows.
¹⁰⁴
Angered, Maniman grasped a gigantic club. Having grasped it, he hurled it with great force at Bhimasena. That gigantic club flashed like lightning in the sky and was extremely terrible. But Bhimasena shot many arrows that had been sharpened on stone. However, all those arrows were blunted on the club and despite their great force, could not restrain its swift force. But the valorous one knew the art of fighting with a club and the courageous Bhima warded off the blow. Then the wise rakshasa grasped an extremely terrible javelin with a golden shaft and struck him with it. The extremely terrible weapon was blazing in flames and uttered a loud roar. It pierced Bhima’s right arm and swiftly fell down on the ground. Having been severely pierced by the javelin, Kouravya, skilled in fighting with clubs, a mighty archer and infinite in valour, grasped his club. That club was made entirely out of iron. Brandishing it, Bhima rushed with great speed towards the immensely powerful Maniman. Maniman also grasped a giant and blazing spear. Uttering a great roar, he flung it at Bhimasena with force. But the one who was skilled in fighting with clubs splintered the spear with the end of his club and rushed to destroy him, like Garuda against a serpent. With the club in his hand, the mighty-armed one suddenly jumped up in the sky. He roared in battle and flung it. With the speed of the wind, like the vajra hurled by Indra, it struck the rakshasa. Having killed him, it fell down on
the ground, like a she-demon.
¹⁰⁵
All the beings saw how the rakshasa, terrible in strength, was felled by Bhimasena, like a bull by a lion. On seeing him dead on the ground, the remaining roamers of the night
¹⁰⁶
uttered terrible cries of distress and fled in an eastern direction.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘On hearing the caves in the mountains resounding with many different kinds of noise and on not seeing Bhimasena, Kounteya Ajatashatru,
¹⁰⁷
Madri’s two sons, Dhoumya, Krishna,
¹⁰⁸
the brahmanas and all the well-wishers were concerned. Leaving Droupadi in Arshtishena’s care, the brave maharathas ascended up the mountain, arming themselves with weapons. Having reached the mountain’s summit, the maharathas, mighty archers, looked around and saw Bhimasena, the destroyer of enemies, and the gigantic rakshasas, dead and writhing, mighty in strength and extremely terrible, but felled by Bhimasena. The one with the mighty arms carried a club, a sword and a bow and was as radiant as Maghavan,
¹⁰⁹
after slaying all the danavas in battle. Having traversed the supreme route, the Parthas stepped over these, embraced Vrikodara and seated themselves. With those four mighty archers, the mountain’s summit looked as beautiful as heaven with the immensely fortunate
lokapala
s, foremost among the gods.
¹¹⁰