Mahabharata: Volume 7 (37 page)

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aishampayana said, ‘O great king! When the women had been sent away, Dhritarashtra, Ambika’s son, lamented again, plunged into an even greater grief. His sighs seemed to be mixed with smoke and he repeatedly waved his arms around. O great king! Having reflected, he spoke these words. “O suta! Alas! What I have heard from you is a reason for great unhappiness. In the battle, the Pandavas are safe and have not suffered. It is certain that my heart is extremely firm, with an essence that is as tough as a diamond.
Despite hearing that my sons have been killed, it has not shattered into a thousand fragments. O Sanjaya! I am thinking about their words and the sports they indulged in when they were children. Today, having heard that they have been killed, my mind is severely shattered. Because I was blind, I was never able to see their beauty. However, because of affection towards one’s sons, I have always borne great love towards them. O unblemished one! They passed from childhood to youth and then attained middle age. On hearing this, I was delighted. Today, I have heard that they have been killed, deprived of their prosperity and robbed of their energy. Because of the calamity that has overtaken my sons, I cannot find any peace. O son! O Indra among kings!
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Come to me. I am without a protector now. O mighty-armed one! Without you, what will be my state now? O great king! You were the refuge of your relatives and your well-wishers. O brave one! I am old and blind. Abandoning me, where have you gone? O king! Where is your compassion, your affection and your honour? You were invincible in a battle. How could the Parthas have killed you? O son! Why have you abandoned all the assembled kings? Slain, you are now lying down on the ground, like an ordinary person, or a wicked king. When I arose at the appointed time, you always addressed me in such respectful words. ‘O father! O father! O protector of the world!’ You clasped my neck with moistened eyes and affectionately said, ‘O Kouravya! Instruct me.’ Address me in those excellent words. O son! I have heard these wonderful words from you. ‘This extensive earth is mine, as much as it is of Partha. O supreme among kings! O lord! Bhagadatta, Kripa, Shalya, the two from Avanti,
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Jayadratha, Bhurishrava, Somadatta, the great king Bahlika, Ashvatthama, Bhoja, the immensely strong Magadha, Brihadbala, the lord of Kashi, Shakuni Soubala, the many thousands of mlecchas, Shakas and Yavanas, Sudakshina of Kamboja, the lord of Trigarta,
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grandfather Bhishma, Bharadvaja’s son, Goutama, Shrutayu, Achyutayu, the valorous
Shatayu, Jalasandha, Rishyashringa’s son,
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the rakshasa Alayudha, the mighty-armed Alambusa, maharatha Subahu—these and many other kings have taken up weapons for my sake. All of them are ready to give up their lives in the battle. I will be stationed amidst them in the battle, surrounded by my brothers. O tiger among kings! I will fight against all the Parthas, Panchalas, Chedis and Droupadi’s sons in the battle and with Satyaki, Kuntibhoja and rakshasa Ghatotkacha. O great king! In the battle, even a single one amongst these is capable of angrily countering the rush of the advancing Pandaveyas. Need one say anything about these brave ones when they are united, firm in their enmity against the Pandavas? O Indra among kings! All of them will fight with the Pandavas and their followers in the battle and slay them. With me, Karna will single-handedly kill the Pandavas. All these brave kings will then be under my subjugation. Their adviser is the immensely strong Vasudeva. O king! But he has given me word that he will not don armour for their sake.’ O suta! Thus did he often speak in my presence and believing this, I thought that the Pandavas would be killed in the battle. However, though they were stationed in their midst and strove in the battle, my sons have been killed. What can this be, other than destiny? The powerful Bhishma was the protector of the world and having clashed against Shikhandi, was slain, like a king of deer
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by a jackal. The brahmana Drona was skilled in the use of all weapons.
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He has been slain by the Pandavas in the battle. What can this be, other than destiny? Bhurishrava has been killed in the battle, and so have Somadatta and the great king, Bahlika. What can this be, other than destiny? Sudakshina has been killed, and Kourava Jalasandha and Shrutayu and Achyutayu. What can this be, other than destiny? Brihadbala has been slain and the immensely strong Magadha. The two from Avanti have been killed, the lord of Trigarta and many samshaptakas. What
can this be, other than destiny? O king!
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Alambusa, the rakshasa Alayudha and Rishyashringa’s son have been killed. What can this be, other than destiny? The narayanas, the gopalas, invincible in battle, and many thousands of mlecchas have been killed. What can this be, other than destiny? The brave and immensely strong Shakuni Soubala, skilled with the dice, has been slain, along with his soldiers. What can this be, other than destiny? Many brave kings and princes, with arms like clubs, have been slain. What can this be, other than destiny? O Sanjaya! Kshatriyas assembled there from many countries. All of them have been killed in the battle. What can this be, other than destiny? My sons have been killed and my immensely strong grandsons. So have my friends and brothers. What can this be, other than destiny? There is no doubt that a man is born with his destiny. The man who has a good destiny is fortunate. O Sanjaya! I do not have a good destiny. Hence, I have been deprived of my sons. Therefore, in my aged state, I have now come under the subjugation of my enemies. O lord! I think that the best thing for me now is to resort to the forest. I am without relatives and my kin have been destroyed. I will go to the forest. O Sanjaya! For a person like me, who has been reduced to this state and whose wings have been clipped, there is nothing superior to retiring to the forest. Duryodhana has been slain. Shalya has been killed in the battle. So have Duhshasana, Vishasta and the immensely strong Vikarna. How can I bear to hear Bhimasena’s supreme roars? In the battle, he has single-handedly killed one hundred of my sons. He will repeatedly speak about Duryodhana’s death in my presence and tormented by grief and sorrow, I will not be able to bear those harsh words.” The king’s relatives had been slain and he was tormented by grief. He repeatedly lost his senses, overcome by sorrow on account of his sons.

‘Dhritarashtra, Ambika’s son, lamented for a long time. His sighs were warm and long and he thought about the defeat. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The king was tormented by great misery. Then
he again asked the suta, Gavalgana’s son,
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to tell him exactly what had transpired. “After Bhishma and Drona had been killed, and on hearing that the son of a suta had also been brought down, who did those on my side appoint as a commander? In the battle, whoever is appointed as a commander by those on my side, is slain in a short while by the Pandavas. In the forefront of the battle, while all of you looked on, Bhishma was killed by Kiriti. Drona was also killed in that way, while all of you looked on. In that fashion, Karna, the powerful son of a suta, was also killed by Kiriti, while all of you, and all the kings, looked on. This is exactly what the great-souled Vidura had told me earlier. Because of Duryodhana’s crimes, the subjects would be annihilated. There are some who see well. But there are others who are so stupid that they cannot see what is in front of them. I was stupid and treated those words accordingly. The far-sighted Vidura has dharma in his soul and spoke to me. He spoke the truth and his words have now come to pass. Deluded by destiny, I paid no attention to them earlier. The fruits have now manifested themselves. O Gavalgana’s son! Tell me again. When Karna was brought down, who became the leader of our soldiers? Which ratha advanced against Arjuna and Vasudeva? In the battle, who guarded the right wheel of the king of Madra? When he wished to fight, who was on his left? Who protected the brave one’s rear? O Sanjaya! When all of you were assembled, how were the immensely strong king of Madra and my son killed by the Pandavas in the encounter? Tell me everything about the great destruction of the Bharatas in detail. How was my son, Duryodhana, slain in the battle? How were all the Panchalas, along with all their followers, Dhrishtadyumna, Shikhandi and Droupadi’s five sons killed? How did the Pandavas, the two Satvata warriors,
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Kripa, Kritavarma and the son of Bharadvaja’s son
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escape? I wish to hear about the battle exactly as it occurred. O Sanjaya! I wish to hear everything. You are skilled in recounting.” ’

‘S
anjaya said, “O king! Listen to the great destruction of the Kurus and the Pandavas that ensued when they clashed against each other. The son of a suta was slain by the great-souled Pandava. Your soldiers were repeatedly rallied and routed. The senses of your son were overcome by great sorrow and he retreated. On witnessing Partha’s valour, the soldiers were extremely anxious. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Confronted by that misery, the soldiers reflected about what should be done next. The troops were being crushed. Loud wails could be heard. In the battle, the kings were in disarray. The great-souled ones had fallen down from their seats on the chariots and from the chariots. O venerable one! In the battle, the elephants and the foot soldiers were being destroyed. An extremely terrible battle was going on, as if Rudra was sporting. Hundreds and thousands of kings confronted an inglorious death.

‘ “O king! On discerning all this, Kripa, aged and virtuous in conduct, was overcome with compassion. The energetic one approached King Duryodhana. Overcome with anger, the eloquent one spoke these words. ‘O Duryodhana! O Kourava! Listen to the words that I am speaking to you. O great king! O unblemished one! Having heard me, act in accordance with those words, if you find them acceptable. O Indra among kings! There is no path that is superior to the dharma of fighting. O bull among kshatriyas! That is the reason kshatriyas resort to fighting. One who lives the life of a kshatriya fights with sons, brothers, fathers, sister’s sons, maternal uncles, matrimonial allies and relatives. There is supreme dharma in being killed and adharma in retreat. That is the reason, if one wishes to remain alive, this kind of livelihood is terrible. However, I wish to tell you some beneficial words. O unblemished one! After the deaths of Bhishma, Drona, maharatha Karna and Jayadratha, and the death of your brothers and your son, Lakshmana, what is there left for us to do? They were the ones on whom we resolved to impose the burden of the kingdom. Those brave ones have given up their bodies and gone to the destination reserved for those who
know about the brahman. Those maharathas possessed many qualities and we are deprived of them now. We have brought down many kings and are reduced to a miserable state. Even when all of them were alive, Bibhatsu remained unvanquished. Krishna is his eyes and the mighty-armed is extremely difficult to defeat, even by the gods. The ape sits astride his standard, which is like Indra’s standard and Indra’s bow, with the resplendence of the vajra. The large army trembles at this. Bhima’s leonine roars, Panchajanya’s blare and Gandiva’s twang bring distress to our hearts. Gandiva’s brilliance dazzles our eyes. As it is brandished, it is like a circle of fire and is seen to move around, like a giant flash of lightning. Colourful and decorated with gold, that giant bow is brandished around. It is seen in all the directions, like a mass of clouds tinged with lightning. O king! Arjuna is supreme among those who are skilled in weapons. Wielded by Krishna,
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your troops are driven away, like clouds dispelled by the wind. He is like the great Indra in his radiance and is scorching your soldiers, like a fire that has arisen to burn down the dead wood in a forest during the winter. We have beheld Dhananjaya agitate your soldiers and terrify the kings, like an elephant with four tusks. We have beheld Dhananjaya, like an elephant amidst lotuses. The warriors have been terrified by the twang of Pandava’s bow. We have repeatedly seen him, like a lion amidst herds of deer. Those two Krishnas are great archers in all the worlds. They are bulls among all archers. Clad in their armour, they are resplendent amidst all the people. O descendant of the Bharata lienage! This is the seventeenth day of the battle and warriors have been slaughtered in this extremely terrible battle. Your soldiers have been routed and scattered in all the directions, like the wind dispelling masses of clouds during the autumn. O great king! Your troops are trembling because of Savyasachi. They are like an overturned boat, being whirled around on the giant ocean. When we saw that Jayadratha was within the range of his arrows,
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where were the ones on your side—the son of a suta, Drona and his followers,
I, you, Hardikya, your brother Duhshasana, and his brothers? O king! While all the worlds looked on, he used his valour to cross all your relatives, brothers, aides and maternal uncles and placing his feet on their heads,
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slew Jayadratha. What is left for us to do? Where is the man who can defeat Pandava? The great-souled one possesses many divine weapons. He robs our valour with the twang of Gandiva. With their leaders slain, the soldiers are like the night without the moon, or like a dried up river, with the trees along the banks destroyed by elephants. The mighty-armed one on the white horses is roaming around amidst the soldiers at will, consuming them like fire amidst dead wood. Both Satyaki and Bhimasena have a force that can shatter mountains and dry up all the oceans. O lord of the earth! Bhima uttered words in the midst of the assembly hall. He has accomplished them and will accomplish them again.
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When Karna was fighting in the forefront, the army of the Pandavas, protected by the wielder of Gandiva, was so strongly protected that it was difficult to assail. You have performed many evil acts against those virtuous ones. Those deeds were unwarranted and the fruits have arrived. For your own sake, you carefully assembled all these people. O son!
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O bull among the Bharata lineage! Both they and you face a danger. O Duryodhana! Protect your own self, because your own self is the reservoir of everything. O son! If that reservoir is destroyed, everything in it is scattered in different directions. A weakened person should try to obtain peace through conciliation. War is meant for someone who is prospering. That is Brihaspati’s
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policy. In terms of the strength of our forces, we are now inferior to the sons of Pandu. O lord! Pardon me, but I think that peace with the Pandavas is indicated now. He who does not know what is beneficial for him, or disregards the beneficial, is quickly dislodged from his kingdom and does not obtain anything superior. O king!
If you are able to obtain the kingdom by bowing down before the king,
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that would be superior to heading towards the folly of defeat. Yudhishthira is compassionate. On the instructions of Vichitravirya’s son
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and on Govinda’s words, he will allow you to retain the kingdom. There is no doubt that the unvanquished king, Arjuna, Bhimasena and all of them will do what Hrishikesha asks them to. I think that Krishna will not be able to ignore the words of Kourava Dhritarashtra and the Pandavas will not cross Krishna. I think that a cessation of hostilities with the Parthas is for your own good. I am not saying this out of weakness, or because I wish to save my own life. O king! I am offering you medication and you will remember this later.’
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The aged Kripa Sharadvata lamented in these words. His sighs were deep and warm and, in sorrow, he lost his senses.” ’