Mahabharata: Vol. 5 (6 page)

‘Bhishma said, “Having spoken in this way, the immensely intelligent Rama arose, together with those who knew about the brahman, having made up his mind to leave. The ascetics spent the night there. They offered oblations into the fire. They prayed and meditated. Then they departed, desiring to kill me. O great king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! With those bulls among brahmanas and with the maiden, Rama went to Kurukshetra. Having reached the Sarasvati, those great-souled ascetics, with the foremost among the Bhrigus at the forefront, began to dwell there.”’

‘Bhishma said, “O king! On the third day after he had established himself on that level terrain, the one who is great in his vows sent word to me, saying that he had arrived. On learning that the immensely strong lord, the store of energy, had arrived on the outskirts of my kingdom, I was delighted. O Indra among kings! With a cow in front of me and surrounded by brahmanas, sacrificial priests who were the equals of the gods and other priests, I went there. On seeing me arrive, Jamadagni’s powerful son received the homage and spoke these words to me. ‘O Bhishma! What were your thoughts when you abducted the daughter of the king of Kashi against her wishes? You then abandoned her later. You have dislodged her from both inferior
and superior dharma.
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Who can now go to someone who has been touched by you? O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Because she has been abducted by you, she has been refused by Shalva. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O tiger among men! Therefore, following my counsel, take her back and let the princess abide by her own dharma. O king! O unblemished one! You do not deserve to treat her with such neglect.’ On seeing that his mind wasn’t that agitated,
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I spoke to him. ‘O brahmana! There is no way that I can give her to my brother again. O Bhargava! She has told me that she has given herself to Shalva earlier. Having obtained my permission, she went to the city of Soubha. Because of fear, compassion, avarice or gain, I cannot abandon the dharma of kshatriyas. That is the vow that I follow.’

‘“Rama’s eyes dilated with anger and he said, ‘O bull among the Kurus! If you refuse to act in accordance with my words, I will kill you today, together with your advisers.’ In great rage, Rama spoke these words repeatedly. His eyes were wide with anger. I repeatedly tried to pacify that scorcher of enemies with sweet words. But I was incapable of pacifying that tiger of the Bhrigu lineage. I then bowed my head down before that supreme among brahmanas and asked, ‘What is the reason behind your desire to fight with me? When I was a child, you yourself taught me the four kinds of weapons.
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O mighty-armed one! O Bhargava! You have instructed me and I am your student.’ His eyes red with anger, Rama told me, ‘O Bhishma! You know that I am your preceptor. O Kouravya! O lord of the earth! Yet, to bring about my pleasure, you are refusing to take back the daughter of Kashi. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! I am not
interested in peace with you. O mighty-armed one! Take her back and save yourself and your lineage. Since you have tainted her, she will not find a husband.’

‘“When he spoke in this way, I told Rama, the destroyer of enemy cities, ‘O brahmarshi! Since this cannot be done, what is the point of striving towards it? I see my earlier teacher, Jamadagni’s son. O illustrious one! I seek your favours, like in earlier times. Who will allow a woman to dwell in his house, established like a snake, knowing that she desires another? This is the great taint associated with women. O immensely radiant one! Even the fear of Vasava will not make me give up dharma. Without any delay, show me your favours, or do whatever you must do. O pure-souled one! O lord! An ancient shloka has been heard, chanted by the great-souled and immensely intelligent Marutta. “If a preceptor does not know what should be done and what should not be done, if he deviates from the right path and if he is arrogant, it is one’s duty to abandon him.” Because you are my preceptor, I have been affectionate and have greatly honoured you. But you are not acquainted with the conduct of a preceptor and I will therefore, fight with you. However, I cannot kill a preceptor in battle, especially one who is a brahmana, especially one who is rich in austerities. I am at peace with you. If one sees a brahmana with an upraised weapon, as if he is the kin of a kshatriya, and angrily kills him in the field of battle, without running away from the fight, dharma is clear that no sin is committed from killing a brahmana. O one rich in austerities! I am a kshatriya. I am established in the dharma of kshatriyas. A man does not commit adharma if he reacts in response to what another person has done. Instead, his welfare is ensured. If a person knows about artha and dharma and about the time and the place, even if he has doubts about what ensures artha, there is no doubt that he should do that which ensures welfare. In this case, there is doubt about where artha lies. But you are acting as if you know what is right. O Rama! Therefore, I will fight with you in a great battle. You will witness the valour of my arms and my superhuman bravery. O descendant of the Bhrigu lineage! Given this, I will do whatever I can. O brahmana! I will fight with you in Kurukshetra. O Rama! O great sage! Prepare yourself for the duel.
O Rama! You will be killed by hundreds of my arrows. Sanctified by my weapons in that great battle, you will obtain the worlds that you have earned for yourself. O one who is in love with war! Return from here and go to Kurukshetra. O mighty-armed one! O one rich in austerities! I will fight with you there. O Rama! That is the place where you had once sanctified your father.
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O Bhargava! I will kill you there and sanctify you there. O Rama! O one who is unassailable in war! Go there swiftly. You have boasted in the past, saying that you are a brahmana. O Rama! You have often boasted in assemblies that you have exterminated kshatriyas from the world. But listen to my words. At that time, Bhishma had not been born and there were no kshatriyas like me, who could dispel your insolence about war and your love for fighting. O mighty-armed one! But Bhishma, the destroyer of enemy cities, has been born now. O Rama! There is no doubt that I will destroy your insolence in war.’”’

‘Bhishma said, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Then Rama began to laugh and spoke to me. ‘O Bhishma! It is your good fortune that you wish to fight with me in battle. O Kouravya! Together with you, I will go to Kurukshetra. O scorcher of enemies! I will do what you have asked me to and you should also go there. O Bhishma! Let your mother Jahnavi watch me kill you with hundreds of arrows, so that you become the food of vultures, crows and cranes. O king! Let the goddess,
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worshipped by
siddha
s
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and
charana
s,
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be miserable when she sees you slain by me today and weep. The immensely fortunate river, the daughter of Bhagiratha, does not deserve to see this.
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But she has given birth to an evil and diseased one like you, who cherishes war. O Bhishma! Come with me and let us go together. Let there be a battle today. O Kouravya! O bull among the Bharata lineage! Take everything, chariots and other things.’ Rama, the vanquisher of enemy cities, spoke these words to me. O king! I bowed my head before him and said that it would be this way.

‘“After speaking these words, desirous of fighting, Rama went to Kurukshetra. I entered the city
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and told Satyavati everything. I performed the propitiatory rites and was blessed by my mother. O immensely radiant one! The brahmanas pronounced sacred words of benediction. I mounted a beautiful and silver chariot, yoked to white horses. It had been constructed well and had been prepared well. It was strewn with the hides of tigers. It was loaded with great weapons and every kind of implement. O king! It was driven by a brave charioteer born in a noble lineage, skilled in the knowledge of horses. He had often witnessed my deeds. I was covered in beautiful and white armour. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! I grasped a white bow. O lord of men! A white umbrella was held aloft my head and white whisks were brandished. I was attired in white. My headgear was white. All my ornaments were white. Applauded with benedictions of victory, I left Gajasahrya. O bull among the Bharata lineage! I arrived in Kurukshetra, the field where the battle would be fought. O king! Goaded by the charioteer, the horses, with the speed of the mind and the wind, swiftly bore me to the supreme field of battle. Like me, the powerful Rama also swiftly reached Kurukshetra. O king! In battle, we wished to show our valour to each other. I stood before the supreme ascetic Rama, so that he could see me. I grasped my supreme conch shell and began to blow on it. O king! All the brahmanas, the ascetics who lived in the forest, the gods and the masses of rishis assembled to witness the divine battle. Celestial
garlands manifested themselves repeatedly. Divine musical instruments sounded. There was the rumbling of masses of clouds. All the ascetics who followed Bhargava surrounded the field of battle as witnesses.

‘“The goddess who is my mother desires the welfare of all beings. O king! She manifested herself before me and said, ‘What is it that you wish to do? O extender of the Kuru lineage! I will go to Jamadagni’s son and plead with him. I will repeatedly tell him, “Do not fight with Bhishma, your student.” O son! O king! And you should not behave so obstinately towards a brahmana. Why do you wish to fight with Jamadagni’s son in a battle?’ She censured me. ‘O son! Do you not know that Rama, the destroyer of kshatriyas, is equal to Hara
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in valour? Why do you wish to fight with him?’ I joined my hands in salutation before the goddess. O foremost among the Bharata lineage! I accurately told her everything that had transpired at the svayamvara. O Indra among kings! I told her how I had tried to obtain Rama’s favours earlier and about the ancient love of the daughter of the king of Kashi. My mother, the great river, then went to Rama. For my sake, the goddess sought to pacify the rishi Bhargava. She said, ‘Do not fight with Bhishma, your student.’ He replied to her, ‘It is Bhishma that you should restrain. I am here because he is not doing what I desire.’”

‘Sanjaya
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said, “Out of affection towards her son, Ganga then returned to Bhishma. But his eyes were red with anger and he did not pay heed to her words. The great ascetic, foremost among the Bhrigus, with dharma in his soul, then appeared. The supreme among the brahmanas challenged him again to the battle.”’

‘Bhishma said, “I laughed and spoke to the one who stood ready for battle. ‘You are standing on the ground and I do not wish
to fight with you while I am established on my chariot. O brave one! O mighty-armed one! O Rama! Mount a chariot and armour yourself, if you wish to fight with me in battle.’ In that field of battle, Rama smiled and told me, ‘The earth is my chariot. O Bhishma! The Vedas bear me, like well-trained horses. The wind is my charioteer. The mother of the Vedas is my armour.
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O descendant of the Kuru lineage! I am protected well by these and will fight in the battle.’ O son of Gandhari! Rama’s truth is his valour and while speaking in this way, he covered me on all sides with a great shower of arrows. I then saw Jamadagni’s son stationed on a celestial chariot. It was stocked with all kinds of radiant weapons that were extraordinary to look at. It was created from his mind and was sacred. It was as expansive as a city. It was yoked to celestial horses that were ready. It was decorated with gold. O mighty-armed one! It was adorned with a banner that had the sign of the moon embellished on it. He held a bow and his quivers were fastened. He had guards on his arms and fingers. His friend Akritavrana, learned in the Vedas and beloved of Bhargava, acted as his charioteer. Wishing to fight, Bhargava delighted my heart by repeatedly saying, ‘Attack’ and challenging me to do battle. He was unassailable and extremely strong and was like the rising sun. Alone, I approached Rama, the destroyer of kshatriyas. When I was at a distance of three shots of an arrow,
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I restrained my mounts. I descended. Putting aside my bow, I advanced towards that supreme of rishis. I showed homage to Rama, supreme among brahmanas, in the prescribed fashion and offered him worship, speaking these supreme words. ‘O Rama! I will fight with you in battle, though you are better than me and superior. You are my preceptor. You follow dharma. O lord! Bless me so that I may be victorious.’

‘“Rama replied, ‘O foremost among the Kurus! This is what should be done by those who desire prosperity. O mighty-armed one! This is dharma for those who fight with their superiors. O lord of the earth! Had you not approached me like this, I would have
cursed you. O Kourava! Make every effort to fight in this battle and resort to fortitude. I cannot bless you for your victory, because I am standing here, wishing to defeat you. Go and fight in accordance with dharma. I am pleased with your conduct.’”

‘Bhishma said, “I bowed before him and swiftly ascended my chariot. Desiring battle, I once again blew on my conch shell, which was decorated with gold. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! A battle then ensued between him and me. As we sought to defeat each other, it lasted for many days. He was the first one to strike me, with nine hundred and sixty-nine arrows that were shafted with the feathers of cranes. They were like the fire in their energy. O lord of the earth! My four mounts and my charioteer were restrained in that battle. But since I was armoured, I remained firm. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I bowed to the gods and brahmanas. While he stood established on that field of battle, I smiled and replied to him. ‘Though you have behaved harshly towards me, I have honoured you as a preceptor. O brahmana! Listen again to what must be done if one wishes to accumulate a store of dharma. I will not strike the Vedas that are there in your body, your great brahmana characteristics, or the extremely great austerities that you have collected. O Rama! I will strike the dharma of kshatriyas that you have resorted to. When a brahmana raises his weapons, he becomes like a kshatriya. Behold the valour of my bow. Behold the strength of my arms. O brave one! I will slice your bow and arrows into two.’ O bull among the Bharata lineage! I shot a sharp arrow
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at him. The ends of his bow were shattered and it fell down on the ground. I shot nine hundred arrows towards Jamadagni’s son. They had lowered tufts and were shafted with the feathers of cranes. They were directed towards his body and were spurred on by the wind. Those arrows sped on, seeming to spout blood, like serpents. All the limbs in his body were wounded and blood flowed out from those wounds. O king! At that time, Rama looked like Meru spouting out its minerals, or an
ashoka
tree at the end of the winter, covered with red blossoms, or like a
kimshuka
tree.
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