Mahabharata: Vol. 5 (10 page)

‘“After some time had passed, Naravahana Kubera
¹⁰⁰
was touring through the worlds and arrived in Sthuna’s residence. The protector of riches hovered over his house
¹⁰¹
and inspected it. He saw that the yaksha Sthuna’s abode was colourfully ornamented, with many kinds of garlands. There was parched grain and fragrances and beautiful canopies. It was delightful with the smoke of incense. It was adorned with flags and pennants. There was food and drink,
grain and meat and a supply of liquor. When he saw that place, decorated in every direction, the lord of the yakshas spoke to the yakshas who were following him. ‘O infinitely valiant ones! Sthuna’s residence is decorated well. But why is the extremely evil-minded one not appearing before me now? The evil-souled one knows that I am here. But he does not appear before me. It is my view that a severe punishment should be levied on him.’ The yakshas replied, ‘O king! A daughter named Shikhandi was born to King Drupada. For her, and for some reason, he has given her his marks of a man. He has accepted the marks of a woman. Having become a woman, he remains in his house. That is the reason he has not appeared. He is ashamed that he now has the form of a woman. O king! That is the reason you have not seen Sthuna today. Having heard this, do what you think is proper. Let the vimana be stationed here.’ The lord of yakshas replied, ‘Let Sthuna be brought here.’ And repeatedly said, ‘I will punish him.’ O lord of the earth! O great king! On being summoned by the Indra among the yakshas, he went and stood there, ashamed in his female form. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! The lord of riches was extremely wrathful and cursed him. ‘O guhyaka! This female form of the sinful one will remain.’ Thus did the great-souled lord of the yakshas speak. ‘O one who has committed an evil act! Since you have insulted the yakshas in your wicked wisdom and have given your organ away to Shikhandi, accepting the organ of a woman, in your extremely vile intelligence, you have committed an act that has never been done before. Therefore, from now on, you will be a woman and not a man.’ For the sake of Sthuna, the yakshas sought to appease Vaishravana.
¹⁰²
They repeatedly asked him to set a time limit to the curse. O son!
¹⁰³
Then the great-souled Indra among the yakshas replied to his followers, all those masses of yakshas, wishing to set a limit to the curse. ‘When Shikhandi has been killed in battle, the yaksha Sthuna will regain his old form. Let the great-spirited one not be anxious.’ Having thus spoken, the illustrious
god, worshipped by the yakshas and the rakshasas, departed with all his followers, who could travel in an instant.

‘“Having been cursed, Sthuna lived there. At the appointed time, Shikhandi came to the one who travels in the night. He approached him and said, ‘O lord! I have arrived before you.’ Sthuna was delighted and repeatedly told him, ‘I am pleased with you.’ On seeing that the prince Shikhandi had arrived, without being deceitful about it, he told him everything that had transpired. The yaksha said, ‘O son of a king! It is because of you that Vaishravana has cursed me. Go and happily travel the world, as you desire. I think that this, your coming here and the sight of Poulastya,
¹⁰⁴
has been destined from earlier and cannot be countered.’ O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Having been thus addressed by the yaksha Sthuna, Shikhandi was filled with great joy and returned to his city. He worshipped brahmanas, gods, sanctuaries and crossroads with many fragrances and garlands and a great deal of riches. Drupada of Panchala and his relatives found extreme delight in his son, Shikhandi, who had accomplished his objective. O bull among the Kurus! He gave Shikhandi to Drona as a student. O great king! This was a son who had been a woman earlier. Shikhandi, the son of a king, together with Parshata Dhrishtadyumna and all of you, learnt the four parts of
Dhanurveda
. O son!
¹⁰⁵
Through spies, who pretended to be stupid and were deaf and blind, appointed by me against Drupada, I got to know exactly what was going on. O great king! Thus, Drupada’s offspring is both a woman and a man. O foremost among the Kouravas! He became a supreme
ratha
.
¹⁰⁶
The eldest daughter of the king of Kashi was known by the name of Amba. O bull among the Bharata lineage! She was born in Drupada’s lineage as Shikhandi. When he appears before me with a bow in his hand, desiring to fight, I will not glance at him even for an instant and will not strike. This
has always been my vow and it is renowned throughout the earth. O descendant of the Kourava lineage! I will not shoot arrows at a woman, one who has earlier been a woman, one who has the name of a woman and one who has the form of a woman. Because of this reason, I will not kill Shikhandi. O son!
¹⁰⁷
I know the truth about Shikhandi’s birth. Therefore, I will not kill him, when he seeks to slay me. Bhishma would rather kill himself than kill a woman. When I see him stationed in battle, I will not kill him.”

‘Sanjaya said, “On hearing this, King Kouravya Duryodhana thought for some time, reflecting that this was worthy of Bhishma.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “When the night had passed and it was morning, in the midst of the entire army, your son again asked the grandfather. ‘O Gangeya! The supreme army of the Pandaveyas has many men, elephants and horses and is full of many
maharatha
s. It is protected by immensely strong and great archers, Bhima, Arjuna and the others, with Dhrishtadyumna at the forefront. It is as if it is protected by the guardians of the world themselves.
¹⁰⁸
It is unassailable. It is as unstoppable as a raging ocean. In a great battle, this ocean of soldiers cannot be ruffled even by the gods. O Gangeya! O immensely radiant one! By what time will you be able to destroy it, or the great archer the preceptor, or the immensely strong Kripa? Or Karna, who prides himself in war, or Drona’s son,
¹⁰⁹
supreme among brahmanas? All of you in my army are knowledgeable about the use of divine weapons. Therefore, I wish to know this. I have always had a supreme curiosity in my heart about this. O mighty-armed one! Tell me about this.’”

‘Bhishma replied, “O foremost among the Kurus! O lord of the earth! This is indeed worthy of you, that you should ask about the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy and about your own side. O king! O mighty-armed one! Hear about the limits of my strength in battle, the limits of my weapons and the valour of my arms in battle. In battle, an ordinary man must be fought without deceit. Those who know maya
¹¹⁰
must be fought with maya. That is the determination of dharma. Let me divide the days, taking the forenoon of each day as my share. O immensely radiant one! I think that I can take ten thousand warriors as my share. It is my view that I can take one thousand rathas as my share. O mighty-armed one! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In this fashion, I can kill the soldiers of the Pandavas. In this way, always armoured and always ready, I can destroy this great army over a certain period of time. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! If I am stationed in battle and unleash my great weapons, which are capable of killing hundreds and thousands, I can kill them in one month.”

‘Sanjaya said, “O Indra among kings! On hearing Bhishma’s words, King Duryodhana then asked Drona, supreme among the Angiras lineage. ‘O preceptor! In how much time can you slay the soldiers of the sons of Pandu?’ Drona smiled and replied, ‘O best of the Kurus! I am aged. My energy and strength are weak. It is my view that with the fire of my weapons, I can consume the army of the Pandavas in one month, just like Bhishma, Shantanu’s son. That is the limit of my power and strength.’ Kripa Sharadvata said two months and Drona’s son promised the destruction of the army in ten nights. But Karna, skilled in the use of great weapons, promised it in five nights. When the son of the one who heads to the ocean
¹¹¹
heard the words of the suta’s son, he laughed out aloud and spoke these words. ‘O Radheya! As long as you have not encountered Partha in battle, wielding arrows, a sword and a bow, with Achyuta Vasudeva steering the chariot, till that time you can think in this way. You are capable of speaking a lot and saying anything that you want.’”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘O best of the Bharata lineage! Having heard this, Kounteya
¹¹²
summoned his brothers in private and spoke these words to them. “I have spies in the army of Dhritarashtra’s son. When night had passed, they brought me this news. Duryodhana asked the son of the river, the one who is great in his vows. ‘O lord! How long will you take to kill the soldiers of the Pandus?’ He told the evil-minded son of Dhritarashtra that he would take a month. Drona promised the same period of time. Goutama
¹¹³
said double the time. We hear that Drona’s son, skilled in the use of great weapons, promised ten nights. When Karna, skilled in the use of divine weapons, was asked in the assembly of the Kurus, he promised to kill the army in five days. O Arjuna! Therefore, I wish to hear your words. In how many days can you destroy the enemies in battle?” Thus addressed by the king, Gudakesha Dhananjaya looked towards Vasudeva and replied in these words. “All of them are great-souled and skilled in the use of weapons. They can fight in many ways. O great king! There is no doubt that they will kill your soldiers. But I speak the truth when I say that you should not be tortured in your mind. When I have Vasudeva as an aide, on a single chariot, I can slay the three worlds in an instant, with the immortals, with their mobile and immobile objects, and with everything that is the past, the present and the future. That is my view. I possess the terrible and great weapon that Pashupati gave me when there was a duel with the hunter.
¹¹⁴
At the end of a yuga, that is employed by Pashupati to destroy all the beings. O tiger among men! I know how to use that. Gangeya does not know this, nor do Drona and Goutama. O king! Neither do Drona’s son and the son of the suta. One should not use such divine weapons to kill ordinary people in battle. Without resorting to deceit, we will vanquish our enemies in battle. O king! These tigers among men are your aides. All of them are skilled in
the use of divine weapons. All of them delight in war. All of them have bathed themselves in
Vedanta
¹¹⁵
and are invincible. O Pandava! They will even kill the soldiers of the gods in battle. Shikhandi, Yuyudhana,
¹¹⁶
Parshata Dhrishtadyumna, Bhimasena, the twins, Yudhamanyu, Uttamouja, Virata and Drupada, who are the equals of Bhishma and Drona in battle, and you yourself are capable of annihilating the three worlds. You are like Vasava in your radiance. If a man looks at you in anger, there is no doubt that he will soon cease to exist. O Kourava!
¹¹⁷
I know this.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘The sky was clear in the morning. On the instructions of Dhritarashtra’s son, Duryodhana, the kings advanced towards the Pandavas. All of them had bathed and purified themselves. They were garlanded and were dressed in white garments. They wielded weapons and banners. Benedictions had been pronounced on them and oblations offered into the fire. All of them were learned in the Vedas. All of them were brave. They were excellent in the observance of vows. All of them had performed deeds. All of them possessed many auspicious signs. They were extremely strong and wished to earn supreme worlds
¹¹⁸
in the field of battle. All of them were focused in their minds and trusted each other. Vinda and Anuvinda from Avanti, the Kekayas and the Bahlikas—all of them marched out, with Bharadvaja
¹¹⁹
at the forefront. There were Ashvatthama, Shantanu’s son, Saindhava Jayadratha, rathas from
the south, the west and the mountainous regions, Shakuni, the king of Gandhara, everyone from the east and the north, Shakas, Kiratas, Yavanas, Shibis and Vasatis. Their own soldiers accompanied and surrounded the maharathas. All these maharathas marched out in the second division of the army—Kritavarma with his soldiers, the immensely strong Trigartas and King Duryodhana, surrounded by his brothers. Shala, Bhurishrava, Shalya and Brihadbala from Kosala followed at the rear, with Dhritarashtra’s son at the forefront. These maharathas desired to fight and were armoured. They advanced over the plain ground to the western
¹²⁰
side of Kurukshetra. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Duryodhana set up a camp there and with its decorations, it looked like a second Hastinapura. O Indra among kings! Even skilled men who lived in the city, could not distinguish between the city and the camp. The Kouravya king constructed many other similar fortresses, in hundreds and thousands, for the kings. O king! The hundreds of dwellings of the troops stretched out on that field of battle in a circle and extended over five
yojana
s.
¹²¹
According to their energy and their strength, the lords of the earth entered their respective camps. There were thousands of these and they were opulent. For those great-souled ones and their soldiers, and also for those who would not fight, King Duryodhana apportioned out excellent food. There were elephants, horses, men, artisans, others who followed, bards, singers, minstrels, traders, courtesans and whores.
¹²²
There were also those who had gathered as spectators. In the proper way, King Kourava attended to all of them.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In a similar way, Kounteya Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma, urged
his warriors, with Dhrishtadyumna at the forefront. He instructed the leaders of the Chedis, the Kashis and the Karushas, who were firm in their valour, the general Dhrishtaketu, the destroyer of enemies and the slayer of foes, Virata, Drupada, Yuyudhana, Shikhandi and the two great archers from Panchala, Yudhamanyu and Uttamouja. The brave ones wore colourful armour and were adorned in golden earrings. They blazed like a fire in a sacrificial altar, when clarified butter is poured into it. The great archers were as resplendent as planets. The lord of the earth, bull among men, honoured the soldiers in the appropriate fashion and instructed the soldiers to advance. Pandu’s son first sent Abhimanyu, Brihanta and all the sons of Droupadi, who were led by Dhrishtadyumna. Yudhishthira despatched Bhima, Yuyudhana and Pandava Dhananjaya in the second part of the army. As the delighted warriors collected their weapons of war and moved and dashed around, the sound seemed to touch heaven. With the other kings and with Virata and Drupada, the king himself marched at the rear. That army with terrible archers had Dhrishtadyumna at the forefront. It looked like the Ganga, overflowing, retreating and then flowing again. So as to confuse the intelligence of the sons of Dhritarashtra, the king again regrouped his army. Pandava ordered Droupadi’s sons, great archers, Nakula, Sahadeva, all the Prabhadrakas, ten thousand horses, two thousand elephants, ten thousand infantry, five thousand chariots and the invincible Bhimasena to be the first division of the army. He placed Virata, Jayatsena from Magadha, the two maharathas from Panchala, Yudhamanyu and Uttamouja, both of whom were valiant and great-souled and wielded clubs and bows, in the middle. Vasudeva and Dhananjaya also followed them in the centre. These men wielded weapons and were consumed with rage. Those brave ones carried twenty thousand flags. There were five thousand elephants and chariots everywhere, with infantry and soldiers, brandishing bows, swords and clubs. There were thousands in the front and thousands at the rear. The other kings mainly surrounded the spot
where Yudhishthira himself was, with his soldiers and an ocean of troops. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! There were thousands of elephants, tens of thousands of horses and thousands of chariots and infantry. Depending on these, he marched against Dhritarashtra’s son, Suyodhana. There were hundreds and thousands, and tens of thousands, of men at the rear. In thousands and tens of thousands, those delighted men sounded thousands of kettledrums and tens of thousands of conch shells.’