Mahabharata: Volume 8 (15 page)

Vaishampayana said, ‘When all the soldiers had been slain, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira heard that his aged father had left from Gajasahvya.
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O great king! With his brothers, he sorrowed and was afflicted by grief on account of his sons. He went to the one who was overwhelmed with grief on account of his sons. He was followed by the brave and great-souled Dasharha,
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Yuyudhana
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and Yuyutsu.
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They were followed by the extremely grief-stricken Droupadi, who was oppressed by sorrow, and also the frightened Panchala women who had assembled there. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! Along the banks of the Ganga, he
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saw large numbers of women shrieking and lamenting, like female ospreys. Thousands of them wept and surrounded the king. They raised their arms in lamentation and uttered pleasant and unpleasant words. “How can a king who knows about dharma commit such an act of violence now? He has slain his fathers, brothers, preceptors, sons and friends. O mighty-armed one! What was in your mind when you killed Drona and your grandfather, Bhishma, and when you slew Jayadratha? O descendant of the Bharata lineage! What is the use of the kingdom when you cannot see your fathers and brothers, the invincible Abhimanyu and Droupadi’s sons?” The mighty-armed one went past the ones who were shrieking like female ospreys.

‘Dharmaraja Yudhishthira showed homage to his eldest father.
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In that way, those destroyers of enemies
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also honoured their father, in accordance with dharma. All the Pandavas announced their names to him. However, the father was afflicted because his sons had been killed. Oppressed by grief, he embraced Pandava
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reluctantly. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He embraced Dharmaraja and comforted him. Like a fire that wished to burn, he then looked for the evil-souled Bhimasena. The fire of his anger was fanned by the wind of his sorrow. He wished to burn down the forest that was Bhimasena with his sight. However, Hari
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realized that he
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harboured ill intentions towards Bhima. He pushed Bhima aside with his arms and presented an iron Bhima. Through signs, the immensely intelligent Hari had understood his intentions in advance. The immensely wise Janardana had therefore thought of a contrivance. The strong king grasped the iron Bhimasena with his arms, thinking it to be Vrikodara. The king possessed the strength and force of ten thousand elephants. When he grasped the iron Bhima and shattered it, his own chest was mangled and blood began to flow from his mouth. Covered with blood, he fell down on the ground, like a
parijata
tree,
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with blossoms at the ends of its branches. The learned
suta
, Gavalgana’s son,
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seized him and asked him not to act in this way. He spoke words to pacify and comfort him. The great-minded one abandoned his anger and overcame his rage. Full of sorrow, he repeatedly exclaimed, “Alas, Bhima! Alas!” On knowing that he had overcome his rage and was full of sorrow because Bhimasena had been killed, Vasudeva, supreme among men, spoke these words to him. “O Dhritarashtra! Do not grieve. Bhima has not been killed by you. O king! It was an iron image that has been brought down by you. O bull among the Bharata lineage! I knew that you were
overcome by rage. So I dragged Kounteya away, when he was in the jaws of death. O tiger among kings! There is no one who is as strong as you. O mighty-armed one! Where is the man who can withstand being crushed by your arms? When someone has been crushed by your arms, he cannot escape alive, just as one cannot escape alive when one has confronted Death. O Kouravya! Therefore, I got your son to construct this iron image of Bhima and offered it to you.
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Because you were tormented by sorrow over your sons, your mind had deviated from dharma. O Indra among kings! That is the reason you wished to kill Bhimasena. O king! However, it would not have been proper for you to kill Vrikodara. O great king! Your sons will never become alive again. Therefore, you should condone everything that we have done and approve of it. Do not unnecessarily have this sorrow in your mind.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘The attendants then arrived, so as to clean him.
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Once he had been cleaned, Madhusudana again spoke to him. “O king! You have studied the Vedas and many sacred texts. You are learned in the Puranas and the dharma of kings. O immensely wise one! Though learned, you did not follow their injunctions. O Kourava! You knew that the Pandavas were superior in strength and valour. A king is firm in his wisdom only if he detects crimes himself and obtains what is most beneficial, depending on the time and the place. A person who is told about what is beneficial, but does not accept the good and reject the bad, confronts a calamity and has to repent later. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Consider the course of action that you followed. O king! You did not control yourself and were under Duryodhana’s control. This is because of your own
crimes. Why did you wish to kill Bhima? Therefore, control your anger and remember your own evil deeds. In his insolence, the inferior one
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had Panchali
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brought to the assembly hall. Bhimasena killed him to avenge that enmity. Look towards your own transgressions and those of your evil-souled son. O scorcher of enemies! The blameless Pandus were abandoned by you.” O lord of men! Thus did Krishna recount the entire truth.

‘Dhritarashtra, lord of the earth, replied to Devaki’s son. “O mighty-armed one! O Madhava! It is as you have described it. O one who has dharma in his soul! The affection towards my son made me deviate from my patience. That tiger among men
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is powerful and has truth as his valour. O Krishna! It is fortunate that Bhima was protected by you and did not come between my arms. I am no longer distracted. My anger has gone. My fever has been dispelled. O Keshava! I wish to embrace the brave middle Pandava.
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Those Indras among kings have been slain. My sons have been killed. My refuge and my pleasure are now vested with the sons of Pandu.” He wept and embraced Bhima, Dhananjaya and Madri’s two sons, the brave men. He touched their limbs, comforted them and gave them his blessings.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Dhritarashtra granted them leave. All the brothers, bulls among the Kurus, together with Keshava, went to Gandhari. The unblemished Gandhari was oppressed by grief on account of her sons. When she recognized Dharmaraja Yudhishthira,
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who had slain his enemies, she wished to curse him.
However, the rishi who was Satyavati’s son
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got to know in advance about her wicked intentions towards the Pandavas. He touched the fragrant and pure waters of the Ganga. With the speed of thought, the supreme rishi then arrived at the spot. With his divine sight, he could see and understand what was in the minds of all living beings. The immensely ascetic one blessed his daughter-in-law and told her that this was not the time for cursing. It was the time for peace. “O Gandhari! You should not have anger towards the Pandavas. Obtain peace and control your passion. Listen to my words. Desiring victory, your son spoke to you eighteen days ago. ‘O mother! I am going to fight with the enemy. Pronounce auspicious blessings on me.’ Desiring victory, he repeatedly beseeched you. O Gandhari! You said, ‘Where there is dharma, there is victory.’ O Gandhari! Earlier, I cannot remember your words ever having come false. You are prudent. O spirited one! Remember those words of dharma that you uttered earlier. O one who always speaks the truth! Control your anger and do not behave in this way.”

‘Gandhari replied, “O illustrious one! I do not hate them. Nor do I desire that they should be destroyed. But the sorrow on account of my sons is powerful and I am distracted. I must protect the Kounteyas now, just as Kunti does, and just as Dhritarashtra will protect them. This destruction of the Kurus has come about because of the crimes of Duryodhana, Shakuni Soubala, Karna and Duhshasana. Bibhatsu
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has committed no crime, nor have Partha Vrikodara, Nakula and Sahadeva, and certainly not Yudhishthira. Wishing to fight, the Kouravyas destroyed each other. They fought with each other and killed each other. However, what I find unpleasant is the deed Bhima undertook while Vasudeva looked on. The great-minded one challenged Duryodhana to a duel with the clubs. As they roamed around in many ways in the encounter, he realized that he was superior in skills.
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He struck him below the navel and my anger increases because of that. The great-souled
ones were knowledgeable about dharma and have been instructed about dharma. To save their lives, how could those brave ones have abandoned it in the encounter?”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘On hearing her words, Bhimasena was frightened. Entreating Gandhari, he spoke these words to her. “Whether I acted in accordance with dharma or in accordance with adharma there, it was because of fear and with a desire to save myself. Therefore, you should forgive me. If I fought in accordance with dharma, there was no way I could have stood up to your immensely strong son. Hence, I acted in an unfair way. The valiant one was the only one left from among the soldiers and having killed me in the encounter with the clubs, would have obtained the kingdom. That is the reason I did what should not have been done. The princess Panchali was in her season and was in a single garment. You know everything about what your son told her then. Without taking care of Suyodhana, we would not have been able to enjoy the earth, with its oceans, unfettered. That is the reason I did what should not have been done. Your son caused us injury, when he exposed his left thigh to Droupadi in the assembly hall.
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O mother! Your son acted in a wicked way and that is the reason he had to be killed by us. At that time, we abided by the instructions of Dharmaraja. O queen! It was your son who generated that great enmity. We are the ones who always suffered in the forest. That is the reason I did what I did. Having seen the end of that enmity and having killed Duryodhana in the battle, Yudhishthira has obtained the kingdom and we have overcome our rage.”

‘Gandhari said, “O son! You have praised my son and this is not about your killing him. He did everything that you have recounted. O
descendant of the Bharata lineage! When Vrishasena killed Nakula’s horses in the battle, you drank the blood from Duhshasana’s body.
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This was a terrible deed, befitting those who are not
arya
s, and condemned by those who are virtuous. You performed a cruel deed. O Vrikodara! How could you have done it?”

‘Bhimasena replied, “One should not drink the blood of someone else, not to speak of one’s own. There is no difference between one’s own self and one’s brother. O mother! Do not sorrow. His blood did not pass beyond my teeth and my lips. Vaivasvata
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knows this. My hands were smeared with his blood. I cheered my brothers, who were terrified on seeing that Nakula’s horses had been slain by Vrishasena in the battle. At the time of gambling with the dice, he had seized Droupadi by the hair. I had spoken words in anger then and those were in my mind.
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O queen! Had I not accomplished my pledge, I would have been dislodged from the dharma of kshatriyas till eternity. That is the reason I did what I should not have done. O Gandhari! You should not believe that this was a crime and censure me. In earlier times, when your sons injured us, you did not restrain them.”

‘Gandhari said, “You were not defeated and you killed one hundred of this aged one’s sons. Why did you not spare one, one who had committed the least crimes? O son! We are aged and have lost our kingdom. He would have been our successor.
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For these blind and aged ones, why could you not have saved a single one? O son! Had you left one, I would not have felt this sorrow at your having slain our sons, as long as you acted in accordance with dharma.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Gandhari was angry. She was afflicted at the slaughter of her sons and grandsons. Having said this, she asked, “Where is King Yudhishthira?” Trembling and with his hands joined in salutation, Yudhishthira, Indra among kings, approached and spoke these gentle words to her. “O queen! I am Yudhishthira, the violent slayer of your sons. I deserve to be cursed. I am the reason behind this destruction on earth. Curse me. After slaughtering my well-wishers in this way, there is no purpose to my life, or in this kingdom and these riches. I am foolish and a slayer of my well-wishers.” Having spoken these words, he was frightened and approached close. Gandhari said nothing, but sighed, long and deep. Yudhishthira lowered his body down and fell at her feet. She was knowledgeable about dharma and could see dharma. Through the band of cloth, the queen could see the tips of the king’s fingers.
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The king’s nails had been handsome, but now became malformed. On seeing this, Arjuna hid behind Vasudeva. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They
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were restless and moved around. However, Gandhari’s rage was gone and she comforted them, like a mother.

‘Those broad-chested ones took her leave and together, went to see their mother Pritha,
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the mother of brave ones. Having not seen her sons for a long time, she had been anxious about her sons. The queen covered her face with a piece of cloth and wept. Thus, with her sons, Pritha shed tears. She saw that they had been wounded from the blows of many weapons. In many ways, she repeatedly touched her sons. She sorrowed for the grief-stricken Droupadi, who had lost her sons. She saw that Droupadi had fallen down on the ground and was weeping. Droupadi said, “O noble lady! Where have all your grandsons, together with Subhadara’s son,
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gone? You are an
ascetic and they have not seen you for a long time. They have not come to you now. Without my sons, what good will the kingdom be to me now?” The large-eyed Pritha comforted her. She raised Yajnaseni,
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who was weeping and was afflicted by grief. With her, and with her sons following her, Pritha, who was suffering herself, went to Gandhari, who was suffering even more. With her sister-in-law, Gandhari spoke to the illustrious one.
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“O daughter! Do not grieve. Behold. I am also miserable. I think that this destruction of the worlds has been goaded by destiny. It came about inevitably and naturally, and made the body hair stand up. When Krishna was unsuccessful in his entreaties,
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the immensely intelligent Vidura had spoken some great words and those have come to pass. One should not sorrow over something that is inevitable, especially something that has already occurred. One should not sorrow over those who have been killed in a battle. I am in the same state as you are. Who will comfort me? It is because of my crimes that the best of our lineage have been destroyed.”’