Mahabharata: Vol. 5 (5 page)

‘“Amba replied, ‘I cannot go again to my father’s residence in the city of Kashi. There is no doubt that I will be disrespected by my relatives. O ascetics! It was different when I dwelt in my father’s residence as a child. O fortunate ones! I will not go where my father is now. O foremost among brahmanas! I wish to practise austerities under the protection of ascetics, so that I do not confront great ill fortune, in this world or the next.’”

‘Bhishma said, “When those brahmanas were reflecting on this, the ascetic
rajarshi
Hotravahana arrived in that forest. All the ascetics honoured the king. They worshipped and welcomed him and offered him a seat and water. After he had seated himself and had rested, in his hearing, those residents of the forest again spoke to the maiden. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On hearing the story of Amba, the daughter of the king of Kashi, her mother’s father
¹⁰
trembled and arose. O lord! He placed the maiden on his lap and comforted her. He asked her about the entire story of the reasons behind her hardships. In detail, she told him exactly what had happened. Then the rajarshi was overcome by great grief and misery. The extremely great ascetic thought in his mind about what should be done next. He trembled and in great grief, told the distressed maiden, ‘O fortunate one! Do not go to your father’s residence. I am your mother’s father. O daughter! Depend on me. I will dispel your sorrows. O daughter! You have become desiccated. I think you have had enough. Listen to my words and go to the ascetic Rama,
¹¹
Jamadagni’s son. Rama will remove your extremely great unhappiness and sorrow. If he does not listen to his words,
¹²
he will kill Bhishma in battle. Go to the foremost among the Bhargavas, whose energy is like that of the fire of destruction. That great ascetic will establish you on a smooth path.’ She repeatedly shed many tears. She lowered her head before Hotravahana, her mother’s father, and said, ‘I will follow your instructions and will go. But will I be able to see that arya, famous in the world? How will Bhargava destroy my terrible misery? I wish to learn about this and I will go there after that.’”’

‘“Hotravahana said, ‘O child! You will see Rama, Jamadagni’s son, in the great forest. He is engaged in terrible austerities.
He is devoted to the truth. He is extremely strong. The
rishi
s,
¹³
those who are learned in the Vedas, the
gandharva
s
¹⁴
and the
apsara
s
¹⁵
always worship Rama on Mahendra, the foremost among mountains. O fortunate one! Go there. He is aged in austerities and is firm in his vows. After saluting him by lowering your head, tell him these words of mine. O fortunate one! Tell him once again about what you desire. On hearing my name, Rama will do everything that you wish for. O child! Rama is my friend. He is affectionate towards me and is my well-wisher. The brave one is Jamadagni’s son. He is supreme among those who wield all weapons.’

‘“While King Hotravahana was speaking to the maiden in this way, Akritavrana, Rama’s devoted follower, appeared.
¹⁶
All the sages arose in their thousands and so did King Hotravahana from Srinjaya, aged in years. O foremost among the Bharata lineage! As is appropriate, those residents of the forest asked about each other’s welfare. Then they seated themselves around him
¹⁷
and conversed about delightful subjects, beautiful and celestial ones. O Indra among kings! They were happy and delighted. When they had finished, the great-souled rajarashi Hotravahana asked Akritavrana about Rama, foremost among maharshis. ‘O Akritavrana! Where is it possible to see Jamadagni’s powerful and mighty-armed son, foremost among those who have knowledge of the Vedas?’

‘“Akritavrana said, ‘O lord! O king! Rama always speaks about you. “Rajarshi Srinjaya is my beloved friend.” It is my belief that Rama will be here tomorrow morning. You will see him when he comes here, desiring to meet you. O rajarshi! Why has this maiden come to the forest? Who does she belong to and what is her relationship to you? I wish to know this.’

‘“Hotravahana replied, ‘O lord! She is my daughter’s daughter. She is the beautiful daughter of the king of Kashi. O unblemished
one! She is the eldest and, with her sisters, was at the svayamvara. She is famous by the name of Amba and she is the eldest daughter of the lord of Kashi. O one rich in austerities! Ambika and Ambalika are younger to her. O
brahmarshi
! For the sake of these maidens, all the kshatriya kings gathered in the city of Kashi and there was a great festival. Then the immensely valorous and greatly energetic Bhishma, Shantanu’s son, slighted the kings and abducted the three maidens. O descendant of the Bharata lineage!
¹⁸
The pure-souled Bhishma vanquished the lords of the earth and went to Gajasahrya
¹⁹
with the maidens. The lord then handed them over to Satyavati, for the sake of a marriage with his brother Vichitravirya. O bull among brahmanas! On seeing that arrangements had been made for a marriage, in the midst of the ministers, this maiden told Gangeya, “In my mind, I have chosen the brave lord of Shalva as my husband. O one who is learned about dharma! When I have thought of someone, you should not give me to someone else.” When he heard these words, Bhishma consulted with his ministers. Bhishma made up his mind to give her up and with Satyavati’s permission, gave her leave to go to Shalva, the lord of Soubha. O brahmana! The maiden was delighted at that time and went and told him, “I have been given up by Bhishma. Act towards me in accordance with dharma. O bull among kings! In my mind, I have chosen you earlier.” However, suspicious of her conduct, Shalva rejected her. Deciding to undertake austerities, she came to this hermitage. I recognized her when she recounted her lineage. She thinks that Bhishma alone is responsible for her unhappiness.’

‘“Amba said, ‘O illustrious one! It is just as Srinjaya King Hotravahana, the creator of my mother’s body, has said. O one rich in austerities! I do not wish to go back to my own city. O great sage! I will be insulted there and am ashamed. O supreme among brahmanas! I will do what the illustrious Rama asks me to. O illustrious one! It is my view that this is what I should do.’”’

‘“Akritavrana said, ‘O fortunate one! O woman! O child! There are two hardships. Which of these do you actually wish to redress? O fortunate one! If it is your view that the lord of Soubha should be urged, then, desirous of your welfare, the great-souled Rama will ask him accordingly. Or if you wish to see Bhishma, the son of the river, vanquished in battle by the intelligent Bhargava Rama, he will do that also. O one with the beautiful smiles! We will think about what should be done after hearing your words, and those of Srinjaya.’

‘“Amba replied, ‘O illustrious one! When he abducted me, Bhisma acted out of ignorance. O brahmana! Bhishma did not know that my mind was set on Shalva. Before deciding, you should bear this in mind too. Having decided in accordance with what is right, then determine what should be done. O brahmana! Decide what needs to be done about both Bhishma, tiger among the Kurus, and the king of Shalva. I have told you exactly about the reasons for my unhappiness. O illustrious one! In accordance with the reasons, decide on a course of action.’

‘“Akritavrana said, ‘O fortunate one! O one with the beautiful complexion! What you have said about dharma is correct. Now listen to these words of mine. O timid one! If the son of the river had not taken you to Gajasahrya, on the instructions of Rama, Shalva would have bowed down his head and accepted you. O fortunate one! O beautiful one! But you have been won over and abducted. O one with the beautiful waist! Therefore, King Shalva has a doubt about you. Bhishma is insolent about his manliness and victory. I think it is appropriate that action should be taken against Bhishma.’

‘“Amba replied, ‘O brahmana! That has always been the great desire in my heart, if only I could kill Bhishma in battle. O mighty-armed one! Whether you think that the fault lies with Bhishma or King Shalva, chastise the one because of whom I have faced this extreme misery.’”

‘Bhishma said, “While they were conversing in this way, the day passed. O best of the Bharata lineage! It was night and a pleasant
and cool breeze blew. Then Rama appeared, like the blazing fire in his energy. O king! He was surrounded by his disciples. The sage had matted hair and was clad in bark. The unblemished one with an indomitable soul held a bow in his hand and a sword and a battle axe. O tiger among kings! He approached King Srinjaya. On seeing him, all the ascetics and the immensely ascetic king arose, hands joined in salutation. So did the ascetic maiden. They eagerly honoured Bhargava with
madhuparka
.
²⁰
Having been shown homage, he seated himself among them. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Jamadagni’s son and rajarshi Srinjaya conversed about earlier times. When this conversation was over, in due course of time, the rajarshi spoke these sweet words, full of meaning, to the immensely strong Rama, foremost among the Bhrigus. ‘O Rama! This is my daughter’s daughter. O lord! She is the daughter of the king of Kashi. O one who knows what should be done! Listen to her and decide on an appropriate course of action.’ Rama replied, ‘Tell me your supreme account.’ She approached Rama, who was like a blazing fire. The beautiful one lowered her head at Rama’s feet. She touched them with hands that were like the petals of lotuses and stood before him. Her eyes were filled with tears and she wept in grief. She sought refuge with the descendant of the Bhrigu lineage, the one who is everyone’s refuge.

‘“Rama said, ‘O daughter of a king! You are like Srinjaya to me. Tell me about the grief in your mind and I will act in accordance with your words.’

‘“Amba replied, ‘O illustrious one! O one who is great in his vows! I have sought refuge with you. I am immersed in this ocean and mud of sorrow. O lord! Save me.’”

‘Bhishma said, “Rama saw her beauty, her youthful age and her extremely delicate form and began to think. ‘What is she going to say?’ Flooded by compassion, Rama, supreme among those of the Bhrigu lineage, thought in this fashion for a long time. Rama spoke to the one with the beautiful smiles. ‘Tell me.’ She told Bhargava everything, exactly as it had happened. After having heard the words of the princess, Jamadagni’s son made up his mind and told the one with the beautiful thighs, ‘O beautiful one! I will send word to
Bhishma, foremost among the Kurus. When he has heard my words, in conformity with dharma, that lord of men will act accordingly. O fortunate one! If Jahnavi’s son
²¹
does not act in accordance with my words, I will use the energy of my weapons to burn him down in battle, together with his advisers. O princess! Or if you are so inclined, I will force the brave lord of Shalva to a course of action.’

‘“Amba replied, ‘O descendant of the Bhrigu lineage! When Bhishma heard that my mind had earlier turned towards King Shalva, he discarded me. I went to the king of Soubha and spoke words that were difficult to speak.
²²
But doubting my character, he did not accept me. O descendant of the Bhrigu lineage! You should think about all this and then use your own intelligence to decide on the right course of action. Bhishma, the one who is mighty in his vows, is the root cause of my hardship. He used force to overcome and abduct me. O mighty-armed one! Bhishma is the reason behind this unhappiness. Kill him. O tiger among the Bhrigu lineage! It is because of him that I am wandering around in this supreme misery. O Bhargava! He is greedy and insolent because of his victory. O unblemished one! It is appropriate that you should take revenge against him. O lord! When the descendant of the Bharata lineage was abducting me, I thought of this resolution in my mind, that the one who is great in his vows should be killed. O Rama! O unblemished one! Therefore, fulfil this desire of mine. O mighty-armed one! Kill Bhishma, like Purandara
²³
slew Vritra.’”’

‘Bhishma said, “O lord! Having been thus asked to kill Bhishma, Rama spoke to the weeping maiden, who kept urging him
repeatedly. ‘O descendant of Kashi! O one who is beautiful in complexion! I do not voluntarily take up weapons, except for the sake of those who are learned about the
brahman
.
²⁴
What else can I do for you? O princess! Both Bhishma and Shalva will listen to my words and obey my instructions. O one with the unblemished limbs! I can do that. Do not grieve. O beautiful one! But I cannot take up weapons in any way, unless I am instructed to do so by brahmanas. That is my resolution.’

‘“Amba replied, ‘O illustrious one! Dispel the grief that Bhishma has unleashed on me. O lord! Without any delay, kill him.’

‘“Rama said, ‘O daughter of Kashi! If you speak the word, no matter how revered he is, Bhishma will follow my instructions and lower his head at your feet.’

‘“Amba replied, ‘O Rama! If you wish to do that which brings me pleasure, kill Bhishma in battle. Since you have made your promise, it is proper that you should make that pledge come true.’”

‘Bhisma said, “O king! While Rama and Amba were arguing in this way, Akritavrana spoke these words to Jamadagni’s son. ‘O mighty-armed one! You should not give up the maiden who has sought refuge with you. O Rama! Kill Bhishma, who roars like an
asura
, in battle. O Rama! O mighty sage! If Bhishma challenges you in battle, he will either be vanquished, or he will act in accordance with your words. O descendant of the Bhrigu lineage! The task of this maiden will then be done. O brave one! O lord! The words that you have spoken will come true. O Rama! O great sage! Once upon a time, you took a pledge. O Bhargava! You promised the brahmanas that if a brahmana, a kshatriya, a vaishya or a shudra came to hate brahmanas, you would kill him in battle. O one who provides refuge! Even for the sake of your own life, you said you were incapable of forsaking a terrified person who seeks refuge with you, even if all the kshatriyas assemble against you in battle. O Bhargava! You said you would slay such insolent ones. O Rama! Bhishma, the extender of the Kuru lineage, is triumphant. O descendant of the Bhrigu lineage! Confront him in a battle and fight with him.’
‘“Rama replied, ‘O supreme among rishis! I remember the promise I made in earlier times. I will do what can be achieved through conciliation. O brahmana! The task that this maiden from Kashi has set her mind on is great. I will take this maiden and myself go to Bhishma. Insolent in war, if he does not act in accordance with my words, it is my certain resolution that I will kill that insolent person. The arrows that I unleash do not remain in bodies.
²⁵
You learnt that earlier, in the battle with the kshatriyas.’”