Mahabharata: Vol. 5 (18 page)

‘“O foremost among
the Bharata lineage! Janardana then spoke to Gudakesha,
⁶⁹
the invincible prince who was stationed in the midst of the army. Vasudeva
said, ‘Bhishma will attack our soldiers like a lion. He will protect with
his power and strength. He is the flag of the Kuru lineage. That performer of three
hundred horse sacrifices is there. Other soldiers surround the illustrious one, like
clouds enveloping the one with the virtuous rays. O foremost among brave ones! Slay
those troops, wishing to fight with the bull among the Bharata
lineage.’”

‘Dhritarashtra asked,
“O Sanjaya! Which warriors from which side were delighted and advanced to
fight first? Who were confident in their minds and who were dejected and dispirited?
Who struck first in the battle that makes the heart tremble? Was it from my side or
that of the Pandavas? O Sanjaya! Tell me all this. Amidst whose soldiers were
garlands and pastes fragrant?
⁷⁰
Whose warriors roared and uttered auspicious words?”

‘Sanjaya said, “At
that time, the soldiers from both sides were cheerful. The garlands and pastes of
both sides were equally fragrant. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The soldiers
were arrayed in battle formation and when they met each other, there was an
extremely terrible encounter. There was the tumultuous sound of musical instruments,
intermingled with that of conch shells and drums. There was the trumpeting of
elephants and the soldiers were filled with joy.”’

‘Dhritarashtra asked,
“O Sanjaya! Having gathered on the holy plains of Kurukshetra, wanting to
fight, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do?”

‘Sanjaya said, “At
that time, on seeing the Pandava soldiers assembled in battle formation, King
Duryodhana went to the preceptor
⁷¹
and spoke the following words. ‘O preceptor! Look at this great army
of the Pandavas, assembled in battle formation by the son of Drupada,
⁷²
your talented student. Here there are courageous warriors with mighty bows, the
equals of Bhima and Arjuna in battle—Yuyudhana,
⁷³
Virata, Drupada and other maharathas, Dhristaketu
⁷⁴
and Chekitana,
⁷⁵
the valiant king of Kashi, Purujit from the Kuntibhoja clan and
Shaibya, greatest among men, the powerful Yudhamanyu,
⁷⁶
the brave Uttamouja,
⁷⁷
the son of Subhadra,
⁷⁸
the sons of Droupadi—all of them are maharathas. O best among
brahmanas! Now you should know the main warriors and leaders in my army. For your
knowledge, I am naming them. You yourself, and Bhishma, and Karna, and Kripa, who
wins battles, Ashvatthama, and Vikarna
⁷⁹
and the son of Somadatta.
⁸⁰
There are many other brave warriors, ready to give up their lives for my sake.
All of them are skilled in battle and they are armed with various weapons of
attack.
⁸¹
That army of ours, protected by Bhishma, is unlimited. But this army of theirs,
protected by Bhima, is limited.
⁸²
All of you occupy your respective positions at all the entry points to the army
formations. It is Bhishma who must be protected.’

‘“Creating happiness
in his
⁸³
heart, the powerful eldest of the Kuru clan and the grandfather roared loudly
like a lion and blew his conch shell. Then, suddenly, conch shells and kettledrums,
other kinds of drums and trumpets began to blare. That sound became tremendous.
Then, seated in a great chariot to which white horses were harnessed, Madhava
⁸⁴
and Pandava
⁸⁵
blew their divine conch
shells. Hrishikesha
⁸⁶
blew the conch shell named Panchajanya and Dhananjaya
⁸⁷
blew the conch shell named Devadatta. Vrikodara,
⁸⁸
whose deeds give rise to fear, blew the giant conch shell named Poundra. King
Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, blew the conch shell named Anantavijaya. Nakula blew
the conch shell named Sughosha and Sahadeva blew the conch shell named Manipushpaka.
The king of Kashi, with the great bow, and maharatha Shikhandi, Dhristadyumna,
Virata and Satyaki, who is never defeated, Drupada, the sons of Droupadi, and the
mighty-armed son of Subhadra, all of them blew their separate conch shells, O lord
of the earth! That tremendous sound echoed in the sky and on earth and pierced the
hearts of those who were on the side of the sons of Dhritarashtra. Then, the son of
Pandu,
⁸⁹
with the monkey on his banner, saw the friends of Dhritarashtra thus arranged
in battle formation and got ready to use his weapons. O lord of the earth! He raised
his bow and told Hrishikesha the following words. ‘O Achyuta!
⁹⁰
Place my chariot in between the two armies, while I look at those who are
desirous of battle and are assembled here. Let me see with whom I will have to fight
in this war-related business. In a desire to do good to the evil-hearted son of
Dhritarashtra, they have gathered here, desirous of fighting. I want to see
them.’ O, descendant of the Bharata lineage! Thus spoken to by
Gudakesha,
⁹¹
Hrishikesha placed that magnificent chariot between the two armies, in front of
Bhishma, Drona and all the other rulers of the earth and said, ‘O Partha!
Look at those of the Kuru clan who are assembled here.’ There, Partha saw
fathers and grandfathers, teachers and maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons
and friends,
⁹²
fathers-in-law and well-wishers in those two assembled armies.

‘“Seeing them, all
the friends and relatives assembled there, the son of Kunti was overcome with great
pity.
⁹³
And in sadness, uttered the following words. ‘O Krishna! Having seen
these relatives here, assembled with a desire to fight, my body is going numb and my
mouth is going dry. My body is quivering and my body hair is standing up. My skin is
burning and the Gandiva is slipping from my hands. O Keshava! I cannot stand and my
mind is in a whirl. The omens that I see are ill ones. I don’t see any
good that can come from killing one’s relatives in a war. O Krishna! I
don’t want victory. Nor do I want the kingdom or happiness. O Govinda!
What will we do with the kingdom or with pleasures or with life itself? Those for
whose sake we want the kingdom and pleasures and happiness, they are gathered here
in war, ready to give up their lives and their riches—preceptors, fathers,
sons and grandfathers, maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law
and other relatives. O Madhusudana! I don’t want to kill them, even if
they kill me. Forget this earth, even for the kingdoms of the three worlds. O
Janardana! What pleasure will we derive from killing the sons of Dhritarashtra?
Although they are assassins,
⁹⁴
sin alone will be our lot if we kill them. Therefore, we cannot kill the sons
of Dhritarashtra, with their friends. O Madhava! How can we be happy after killing
our relatives? Although their minds are befuddled with greed and they do not see the
sin that comes from opposing friends or from destroying the family line. O
Janardana! We can see the sin that comes from destroying the family line. Why should
we not have the
knowledge to refrain from committing this sin?
When the lineage is destroyed, the traditional family dharma is also destroyed. When
dharma is destroyed, evil overwhelms the entire lineage. O Krishna! When evil
arises, the women of the family become corrupted. O descendant of the Vrishnis! When
the women are corrupted, hybrid castes are born.
⁹⁵
Hybrid castes ensure that the lineage, and those who destroyed the lineage,
both go to hell. Because their ancestors fall
⁹⁶
and are deprived of offerings of funereal cakes and drink. From those sins of
those who destroy the lineage and from hybrid castes being generated, the ancient
dharma of the castes and the dharma of the family are both destroyed. O Janardana!
If the family dharma is destroyed, those men are doomed to spend an eternity in
hell. So we have heard. Alas! Because of our greed for the kingdom and for
happiness, we have got ready to kill our relatives. We are certain to commit a great
sin. With me unarmed and unresisting, if the sons of Dhritarashtra, with weapons in
their hands, kill me in battle, that will be better for me.’ Saying this,
in that battlefield, Arjuna sat down in his chariot. He threw away his bow and
arrows, his mind overwhelmed with grief.”’

‘Sanjaya said,
“Seeing him
⁹⁷
thus overcome with pity,
⁹⁸
his eyes filled with tears and struck thus with grief, Madhusudana spoke the
following words.

‘“The lord said,
‘O Arjuna! From where, when we have this emergency, has this kind of
weakness overcome you? This does not lead to heaven or fame, and characterizes those
who are not aryas. O Partha! Give up this weakness, this is not deserving of you. O
one who scorches the foes! Give up this petty weakness of heart.’

‘“Arjuna said,
‘O Madhusudana! How will I use arrows to fight in this war against Bhishma
and Drona? O slayer of enemies! They are deserving of worship. In this world, it is
better to beg for alms than to kill one’s respected preceptors. If I kill
my elders, the wealth and other objects of desire that I enjoy, will be drenched in
their blood. I don’t know which is better for us, they defeat us or we
defeat them. The sons of Dhritarashtra are in front of me. Those are the people we
don’t want to kill in order to live. My normal nature has been overtaken
by a sense of helplessness.
⁹⁹
Confused about what is dharma, I am asking you. Tell me that which is decidedly
best for me. I am your disciple. I have sought refuge in you. Instruct me. This
grief is exploiting my senses and I don’t see what will remedy that, even
if I win lordship over the gods, or this earth, without any enemies and
prosperous.’”

‘Sanjaya said,
“Having said this to Hrishikesha, Gudakesha, the scorcher of foes, told
Govinda, ‘I will not fight,’ and fell silent. O descendant of
the Bharata lineage! To the person who was immersed in grief between the two armies,
as if with a smile, Hrishikesha spoke the following words.

‘“The lord said,
‘You speak as if you are wise, but you are grieving over those that one
should not sorrow over. The wise don’t sorrow over those who are dead or
those who are alive. It is not the case that I, or you, or these kings, did not
exist before this. Nor is it the case that we won’t exist in the future,
all of us will be there. The soul passes through childhood, youth and age in this
body, and likewise, attains another body. The wise don’t get bewildered by
this. O Kounteya! Because of contact between senses and objects, feelings of warmth
and cold, pleasure and pain result. But these are temporary
and
are created and disappear. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Therefore, tolerate
these. O best among men! The wise person who is not affected by these and who looks
upon happiness and unhappiness equally, attains the right to immortality. That which
is untrue doesn’t have an existence. That which is true has no
destruction. But those who know the truth realize the ends of both these.
¹⁰⁰
But know that which pervades all of this is never destroyed. No one can destroy
that which is without change.
¹⁰¹
It has been said that all these bodies inhabited by the soul are capable of
destruction. But the soul is eternal, incapable of destruction and incapable of
being established through proof. Therefore, O descendant of the Bharata lineage!
Fight. He who knows this
¹⁰²
as a slayer and he who thinks of this as something that is slain, both of them
do not know. This is not a slayer, nor can it be slain. This is never born, nor does
it ever die. This does not come into existence because it has been born. This has no
birth, it is eternal and without destruction. It has no end. When the body is
killed, this is not killed.
¹⁰³
O Partha! He who knows this to be without destruction, eternal, without birth
and incapable of change, how can that person cause anyone to be slain? Or how can he
slay anyone? Like a person discards worn-out clothes and accepts others that are
new, like that, the soul discards worn-out
bodies and attains
others that are new. Weapons cannot cut this.
¹⁰⁴
Fire cannot burn this. Nor can water wet this. And the wind cannot dry this.
This cannot be cut. This cannot be burnt. This cannot be wetted. And this cannot be
dried. This is eternal and is everywhere. This is stable and does not move. This has
no beginning. It has been said that this has no manifestation, that this cannot be
thought of and that this has no transformation.
¹⁰⁵
Therefore, knowing this to be like that, you should not grieve.

‘“‘O
mighty-armed warrior! But if you think this to be subject to continual birth and
continual death, even then, you should not grieve for this. Because death is
inevitable for anyone who is born and birth is inevitable for anyone who is dead.
Therefore, because this is inevitable, you should not grieve. O descendant of the
Bharata lineage! Beings are not manifest in the beginning. They are manifest in the
middle and are not manifest again after death. What is there to sorrow over?
¹⁰⁶
Some people see this
¹⁰⁷
as a wonder. Like that, some others speak of this as a wonder. And some others
hear of this as a wonder. But having heard, they are unable to understand this.
¹⁰⁸
O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In everyone’s body, the atman is
indestructible. Therefore, you should not mourn about any being.
¹⁰⁹

‘“‘Also
considering your natural dharma, you should not waver. Because there is nothing
better for a kshatriya than a war fought for
the sake of dharma.
O Partha! This war has arrived on its own, like an open door to heaven. Happy are
the kshatriyas who obtain a war like this. But if you do not take part in this war
in the cause of dharma, then you will forsake your natural dharma and fame, and sin
will accrue to you. And all people will forever talk about your ill fame. For
someone who is honoured, dishonour is worse than death. These great warriors will
think that you have withdrawn from the war because of your fear. And those who have
so far respected you will lighten their opinion of you. Your enemies will say many
things that should not be said and will criticize your prowess. Is anything more
painful than that? If you are slain, you will attain heaven. If you win, you will
enjoy the earth. O Kounteya! Therefore, arise, deciding certainly to fight.
Therefore, get ready to fight, looking upon happiness and unhappiness, gain and loss
and victory and defeat equally. And sin will not touch you. O Partha! You have just
been told the wisdom that comes from knowledge of the self.
¹¹⁰
Now listen to the knowledge about yoga.
¹¹¹
When united with this knowledge, you will be able to discard the bonds of
action. In this,
¹¹²
the possibility of effort coming to waste does not exist. Nor is there the
chance of committing a sin. Even a little bit of this dharma protects from great
fear. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! This certain knowledge is unwavering.
¹¹³
But for those who cannot focus, their wisdom is many-branched and like the
infinite. O Partha! Those who are ignorant say these flowery words, praising the
Vedas
¹¹⁴
and claiming there is nothing else. They are addicted to desire, think of
heaven as the supreme objective and
are enamoured of the fruits
of birth and action.
¹¹⁵
They praise many rites and rituals that lead to pleasure and wealth. They are
addicted to pleasure and wealth and because of those words, their minds are deluded.
They cannot focus on one object—the intellect that allows one to
discriminate. The Vedas deal with the three
guna
s.
¹¹⁶
O Arjuna! Rise above the three gunas. Without doubt,
¹¹⁷
always resort to sattva. Do not be bothered about that which is yet to be
attained or preserving what has already been attained.
¹¹⁸
Realize the atman. Whatever purpose is achieved by many small bodies of water
is also achieved by one large body of water. Like that, whatever all the Vedas
achieve is achieved by a person who knows the brahman. You have the right to action
alone. You never have the right to the fruit. Do not be motivated to act because of
the fruit. But don’t be motivated to not acting either. O Dhananjaya!
Perform action by resorting to yoga.
¹¹⁹
Give up attachment. Look upon success and failure equally. This equal attitude
is known as yoga. O Dhananjaya! Action is far inferior to the yoga of wisdom.
¹²⁰
Seek refuge in this wisdom. Pitiable
are those who crave
after the fruit. He who has this wisdom, discards good action and evil action in
this life itself. Therefore, use yoga in what you do. Yoga is the skill of action.
The learned who have this wisdom abandon the fruit of action and are freed from the
fetters of birth. They certainly attain that place which is bereft of all blemishes.
When your intellect transcends this maze of delusion, then you will attain
indifference between that which has already been heard and that which is yet to be
heard.
¹²¹
Your mind is distracted at what you have heard. But when your intellect is
unwavering and focused on samadhi, then you will attain yoga.’
¹²²