Mahabharata: Volume 8 (23 page)

‘Sahadeva said, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! One does not obtain success by casting aside external objects. Even if one casts aside physical parts of the body, success may or may not occur.
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There are those who cast aside external objects, but still desire them from inside the body.
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Let the happiness that results from that kind of dharma devolve on those who hate us, not on us. There are those who cast aside both objects and the physical body. Let the happiness that results from that kind of dharma devolve on our well-wishers, but not on us. There are two
akshara
s in death and three aksharas in the eternal brahman. ‘
Mama
’ is death and ‘
na mama
’ is eternal.
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O king! The brahman and death both dwell inside one’s own self.
They are invisible inside beings and there is no doubt that they cause them to struggle. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! If it is certain that the soul cannot be destroyed, then, by destroying the bodies of beings, one does not cause any violence. On the other hand, if the soul is generated with the body and is also destroyed with the body, then the path of all these rites is completely futile. Therefore, a virtuous man should renounce internally and intelligently follow the path that has been followed by his ancestors earlier.
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If a king obtains the entire earth, with all its mobile and immobile objects, and yet does not enjoy it, his life is certainly fruitless. O king! There may be a man who lives in the forest and survives on wild fare. However, if he still has attachment towards objects, he lives within the jaws of death. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Consider the brahman that is naturally within all beings. A person who can see that characteristic is freed from great fear. You are my father. You are my mother. You are my brother. You are my preceptor. Therefore, you should pardon me for this distressed lamentation that is the consequence of sorrow. O protector of the earth! O supreme among the Bharata lineage! What I have spoken may be true or false. But know that it results from devotion towards you.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Kunti’s son, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira, did not speak, while his brothers spoke many things about what the Vedas had said. Droupadi, supreme among women, was beautiful. She had large eyes and was descended from an extremely noble family. She addressed the Indra among kings. The king was seated like a bull, surrounded by his brothers. They were like lions and tigers and he was like the leader of a herd of elephants. She knew about dharma
and could discern the nature of dharma. Though she was always cherished by the king, she was always somewhat haughty, especially towards Yudhishthira. Having been invited, the wide-hipped and extremely beautiful one glanced towards her husband
⁹⁵
and spoke these gentle words. “O Partha! These brothers of yours are as parched as
stoka
birds.
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They are stationed here and are warbling, but you do not pay them any attention. O great king! They are like crazy and large elephants. Gladden them with appropriate words. They have always suffered from sorrows. O king! Earlier, you were with your brothers in Dvaitavana and they were oppressed by the cold, the wind and the heat. Why did you speak such words to them? ‘Desiring victory in the encounter, we will slay Duryodhana in the battle and enjoy the entire earth, which is capable of granting every object of desire. O scorchers of enemies! We will deprive the rathas of their chariots and kill the mighty elephants. We will strew the field of battle with chariots. We will perform many grand sacrifices, at which a lot of gifts will be given away. Our sorrow of dwelling in the forest will become happiness.’ O supreme among those who uphold dharma! These were the words you yourself spoke then. O brave one! How can you then shatter their minds now? A eunuch cannot enjoy the earth. A eunuch cannot obtain wealth. There cannot be sons in a eunuch’s house, just as fish cannot exist in mud.
⁹⁷
A kshatriya without the staff of punishment does not shine. There is no prosperity without the staff of punishment. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Without the staff of punishment, a king’s subjects do not obtain happiness. O supreme among kings! Friendship towards all beings, donations, studying and austerities are dharma for a brahmana, not for a king. The wicked must be countered. The virtuous must be protected. Together with not running away from a battle, this is the supreme dharma for kings. A person who possesses both forgiveness and anger, who gives
and also takes, who frightens and also grants freedom from fear and who chastises and also rewards—such a person is said to know dharma. You have not obtained the earth through learning, donations, conciliation, sacrifices or bribery.
⁹⁸
The forces of the enemy had brave ones who were ready to strike, with elephants, horses and chariots. It was larger in three parts.
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It was protected by Drona, Karna, Ashvatthama and Kripa. O brave one! It has been destroyed by you. Therefore, enjoy the earth. O great king! O tiger among men! O lord! You used a rod to crush Jambudvipa, with its many countries.
¹⁰⁰
O lord of men! You also used a rod to crush Krounchadvipa, equal to Jambudvipa and to the west of the great Meru. O lord of men! You used a rod to crush Shakadvipa, equal to Krounchadvipa and to the east of the great Meru. O tiger among men! To the north of the great Meru is Bhadrashva, equal to Shakadvipa. You crushed it with your rod. There were many countries between one dvipa and another dvipa. O brave one! You immersed yourself in the ocean and crushed them with your rod. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! These were the immeasurable deeds that were performed by you. O great king! The brahmanas honoured you. But despite that, you are not pleased. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Look at your brothers and delight them.
They are like proud bulls and proud kings of elephants. All of you are like the immortals. All of you are scorchers of enemies and are capable of withstanding enemies. It is my view that even a single one of you would have been enough to bring me happiness, not to speak of when all of you tigers and men and bulls among men are my husbands, like the senses enervating the body.
¹⁰¹
My mother-in-law knows everything and can see everything. Her words cannot be false. She told me, ‘O Panchali! O excellent one! Yudhishthira will maintain you in happiness, after he has killed many thousands of kings through his valour.’ O lord of men! Now, because of your confusion, I see that you will make this futile. O Indra among kings! If the eldest brother is mad, all the others follow him. Because you are mad, all the Pandavas will become mad. O lord of men! If these brothers of yours were not mad, they should have bound you up with the non-believers and ruled the earth. A person who acts stupidly does not obtain anything that is superior. A person who is on the path towards madness should be treated with incense, collyrium, treatment through the nose,
¹⁰²
medicines and medical remedies. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! I am the worst of all women in the world. Though I have been oppressed by the enemy, I still wish to remain alive. They
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have struggled and have obtained this prosperity. But after having obtained the entire earth, you are acting so as to bring a disaster on yourself. O king! The kings Mandhata and Ambarisha were supreme among kings and were honoured by all the kings on earth. Be as radiant as them. In accordance with dharma, rule the goddess earth, with its mountains, forests and islands, and protect the subjects. O king! Do not be distressed in your mind. Perform many sacrifices and offer oblations into the fire. O supreme among kings! Give the brahmanas cities, objects of pleasure and garments.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘On hearing Yajnaseni’s words, Arjuna again spoke, showing honour to the mighty-armed lord who was his eldest brother. “The rod punishes all subjects. The rod protects them. When everything is asleep, the rod is awake. The learned say that the rod is dharma. O lord of men! The rod protects both dharma and artha. The rod protects kama. Is it said that the rod protects the three objectives.
¹⁰⁴
Grain is protected through the rod. Wealth is protected through the rod. You know this and you should accept it. Consider the natural way of the world. Some evil ones do not perform wicked deeds because of their fear for the king’s rod, others because of their fear for Yama’s rod and others because of their fear of the life hereafter. There are other evil ones who do not perform wicked deeds because of their fear for each other. In this world that has come about, everything is based on the rod. It is because of their fear of the rod that some do not eat each other. Had the rod not protected, they would have been submerged in blind darkness. It controls those who are not disciplined. It punishes those who are wicked. It is because it controls and punishes that the learned know of it as
danda
.
¹⁰⁵
Words are the danda for brahmanas, arms that for kshatriyas. Donations are said to be the rod for vaishyas. But it is said that there is no rod for shudras.
¹⁰⁶
O lord of the earth! To ensure that there was no confusion among mortals, to protect riches and to establish boundaries in this world, danda was thought of. When danda strides around, dark and red-eyed,
¹⁰⁷
there is
exultation and subjects are not confused.

The wicked are not to be seen there. Men who are brahmacharis, householders, in the vanaprastha stage and mendicants remain stationed on their paths because of their fear of danda. O king! If one is not frightened, one does not sacrifice. If one is not frightened, one does not donate. A man who is not frightened does not wish to adhere to agreements. Without severing the inner organs, without performing terrible deeds and without killing like a fisherman, one does not obtain great prosperity. Without killing, there is no fame on earth, nor riches or subjects. Indra became the great Indra after slaying Vritra. The gods who have killed are worshipped much more by the worlds. Rudra, Skanda, Shakra, Agni, Varuna and Yama are killers. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Time is a killer and so are Vayu, Death, Vaishravana,
¹⁰⁸
Ravi,
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the Vasus, the Maruts, the Sadhyas and the Vishvadevas. It is because of their powers that people bow down before them, but never before Brahma, Dhata or Pushan. These
¹¹⁰
are neutral vis-à-vis all beings, self-controlled and prone to peace. But only a few men, who are peaceful in all their deeds, worship them. I do not see anyone alive in this world who does not act violently. Living beings sustain themselves through other living beings, the stronger live off the weaker. O king! The mongoose eats the rat. The cat eats the mongoose. The dog eats the cat. The carnivorous beast eats the dog. A man eats them all. Behold. That is the way of dharma. Everything, mobile and immobile, is food for living beings. Those are the principles laid down by the gods and a learned person is not confused by this. O Indra among kings! You should become the person you were born to be. Those who are stupid
¹¹¹
control anger and delight and resort to the forest. Without killing, the ascetics cannot sustain their lives. There are many beings in water, in the earth and in fruits. It is not true that they are not killed. What can be more important than sustaining life? There are
many beings so subtle that their existence can be determined only through inference.

Their bodies can be destroyed through a mere blinking of the eyelids. Men leave the village. They give up anger and pride. But in the forest, they are seen to be confused and live the life of householders with families.
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They till the ground and destroy herbs and trees. They kill birds and animals. Such men perform sacrifices and obtain heaven. O Kounteya! In my mind, there is no doubt that when the rod is properly applied, the endeavours of all beings become successful. If danda did not exist on this earth, all these beings would be destroyed. Like fish on a stake, the strong will cook the weak. Brahma himself spoke these truthful words earlier. ‘When applied rightly, danda protects beings. Look at the fire, once it has been pacified and is not frightened. Scared of the danda, it blazes up again.’ If danda did not exist in this world, there would be no difference between the virtuous and the wicked. Everything would be blind darkness and it would be impossible to distinguish anything. There are non-believers and criticizers of the Vedas, those who do not observe the boundaries. But stricken by the rod, even they can be made to follow rules. In this world, everyone is ruled by the rod. The pure man is extremely rare. It is because of fear of the rod that people can be made to follow rules. The rod was thought of by the creator, for the sake of protecting dharma and artha, so that the four varnas could be controlled and did not become confused. If they were not scared of danda, birds and carnivorous animals would have eaten up all the animals and men and all the oblations kept for sacrifices. Had the rod not protected, no brahmachari would have studied, no wonderful cow would have yielded milk and no maiden would have married.
¹¹³
There would be an end to the universe and all the boundaries would be broken down. Had the rod not
protected, beings would not have recognized property. Had the rod not protected, people would not have been scared and would not have performed sacrifices throughout the year, giving away many kinds of donations, in accordance with the proper rites. Had the rod not protected, people would not have followed the dharma and dictates of the stages of life, nor would anyone have obtained learning. Had the rod not protected, camels, bullocks, horses, mules and asses would not have drawn vehicles, even after they had been yoked. Had the rod not protected, servants would not have listened to their instructions, nor would children have abided by what their fathers described as dharma. All beings are established on the basis of fear of the rod. That is what the learned say. Heaven and the world of men are established on the rod. Where the rod that destroys enemies is applied well, crookedness, sin and deceit are not seen there. When the rod is not raised, dogs are seen to lick oblations. If the rod does not protect, the crow steals the sacrificial cake. Be it through dharma, or be it through adharma, the kingdom has now been obtained. Our duty is not to sorrow, but to enjoy it and perform sacrifices. There are fortunate ones who dwell with their beloved wives. They roam around, attired in pure garments, and happily follow dharma. They eat the best of food. There is no doubt that all efforts depend on artha and that itself is based on danda. Behold the glory of danda. Dharma was declared so that the world could be sustained. There is non-violence and there is violence for righteous reasons. Of these, that which leads to dharma is superior.
¹¹⁴
There is nothing that possesses all the qualities, nor is there anything without any qualities. In all acts, something that is good and something that is evil are seen. Animals are castrated. Their horns are broken off. They are afflicted and made to carry many loads. They are tied down and chastised. This is the way the world goes on. It is on a crooked and decayed path. O great king! Therefore, you should observe the dharma that has been followed from ancient times. Perform sacrifices. Donate. Protect the subjects. Follow dharma. O Kounteya! Slay enemies and protect your friends. O
descendant of the Bharata lineage! You should not sorrow because you have slain the enemy. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! No sin has attached to you because of that. Someone who kills an assassin advancing to kill him does not suffer the sin attached to killing a foetus,
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because that anger provokes the anger.
¹¹⁶
There is no doubt that the inner souls of all beings are incapable of being killed. If the soul cannot be killed, then how can it be killed by someone else? Just as a man enters a new house, in that way, beings successively enter new bodies. The old bodies are discarded and the new ones are acquired. People who know about the truth say that the face of death is nothing but this.”’