THE MAHABHARATA: A Modern Rendering, Vol 1 (82 page)

FOURTEEN THE PRINCE AND THE EUNUCH
 

When dawn broke the next morning, Virata and his soldiers, Kanka, Ballava, Damagranthi and Tantripala were all fast asleep outside the city after nightlong revelry. With dawn, Duryodhana’s army attacked the Matsya capital from the north and made off with sixty thousand cattle.

Once more, the cowherds ran to the palace. The king and all his men were away at the camp, which was some yojanas beyond the southern gates. Only Virata’s youngest son, the prince Bhoominjaya, also called Uttara Kumara, was there, playing his vina for the women of the royal harem. The prince was a handsome youth of sixteen.

The cowherds came to him and their leader cried, “The Kuru army invaded us! They lifted sixty thousand cattle. Your father always says what a fine kshatriya you are; this is your chance to prove him right. Hurry, Uttara Kumara, rescue our herd!”

Another cowherd said, “You play sweetly on the vina, my prince. But fetch your bow now and let the music you play on it strike terror in our enemies’ hearts!”

Uttara Kumara put aside his vina. He rose solemnly and he was truly a fine-looking young man. Glancing into a mirror on the wall as he spoke, he said grandly, “I will come to rout the Kuru host!” He paused. “But how shall I ride without a sarathy?”

He let imagination carry him away for a moment. “I lost my sarathy in a twenty-eight day war I fought recently. Just find me a sarathy and watch Bheeshma, Drona, Kripa, Karna and Aswatthama die. As they fall, or flee, they will cry, ‘Is this Arjuna? For no other man can fight like this!’ Cowherds, only find me a sarathy and you shall have your cattle back.”

Malini was there among the other women. She blanched to listen to the prince compare himself to Arjuna. Her eyes flashed, she bit her lip and then she heard Brihannala the eunuch calling her into the passage outside.

Taking her hand, Brihannala said, “I thank you for your anger, my queen! But there is no time to lose. Tell the princess Uttaraa that when the Khandava vana burned, Brihannala was Arjuna’s sarathy. Tell the princess that Brihannala is a superb sarathy. Let her brother take me into battle.”

Draupadi looked doubtfully at him. The eunuch said, “Hurry!”

Malini took princess Uttaraa aside, “The Matsya herd can be saved. I have a sarathy for your brother.”

“A sarathy, here?”

“Yes. Brihannala was Arjuna’s sarathy when the Khandava vana burned. I have heard there is hardly another charioteer like the eunuch.”

Uttaraa stared at the sairandhri. Malini said, “Tell the prince to take Brihannala into battle and I swear the Kurus won’t stand before them. Why, the Devas and gandharvas would run from the eunuch’s chariot.”

The princess looked at the flower girl again, to see if she was joking. Malini was entirely serious. Uttaraa ran to her brother and cried, “Put on your armor, pick up your bow! I have found you a sarathy.”

He turned to her, amazed, “Who is the man?”

His sister said, “The sairandhri tells me Brihannala was Arjuna’s sarathy in the Khandava vana. He says there is no sarathy on earth like Brihannala.”

The prince called Malini. “Is it true that Brihannala is a sarathy?”

Draupadi said, “The best there is.”

Uttara Kumara could hardly extricate himself honorably now. All the women had heard his boast. He mumbled, “But I am a kshatriya. How can I go into battle with a woman for a sarathy? Not even a woman, but someone who is neither a man nor a woman. Besides, will Brihannala agree?”

Malini said, “In a crisis, my prince, you shouldn’t think too much of such trivia. Just a moment ago, you were saying how you would fight like Arjuna. Now you have Arjuna’s sarathy to drive your horses, Uttara Kumara, show us you are a kshatriya! As for Brihannala, let your sister ask him and he will not refuse.”

The prince was cornered. The women and the cowherds all cried to him to ride after the Kurus. Helpless and with a young man’s bravado, he told Uttaraa, “Ask Brihannala if she will be my sarathy.”

Uttaraa summoned the eunuch. Brihannala came into the women’s chamber with mincing steps. Uttara Kumara said, “The sairandhri tells me you were Arjuna’s sarathy in the Khandava prastha. She says that not Indra’s Matali, Krishna’s Daruka, or Dasaratha’s Sumantra is your equal. The Kurus have stolen our herd and I must ride after them. Will you be my sarathy, Brihannala?”

The eunuch tittered, “Ah, prince, what do I know about fighting? All I know is music and dancing. How can I be your sarathy, O Kshatriya? Won’t your enemies laugh if they see me at your chariot-head?”

Uttara Kumara said, “Brihannala, put on armor and be ready to ride.”

His sister Uttaraa appeared with a coat of mail, light as the wind, bright as the sun. She pressed it into her dance-teacher’s hands. Giggling, Brihannala received the burnished armor.

“I am supposed to wear this? But I don’t know how to put it on.”

The eunuch struggled with the coat of mail; first putting it on back to front, then dropping it clumsily. The women laughed. Uttara Kumara came forward in exasperation and helped her into the armor, securing it at her back. This was exactly as Arjuna intended; he never put on his own kavacha when he went into battle. At last, Brihannala was ready in the coat of mail. Now the princess and her women looked at the eunuch strangely, for it seemed her femininity fell away from her when she donned the kavacha. Brihannala stood among them, quite splendid and the sairandhri had such a gleam in her eye.

Brihannala said, “Come, my prince, I can’t wait to see you raze the Kuru host!”

The prince’s chariot was at the palace steps. Carried away by now with his own heroic image of himself, Uttara Kumara climbed into the chariot: a great kshatriya at least in the eyes of the women. Still tripping daintily along, the eunuch climbed up to the sarathy’s place and took the reins.

Princess Uttaraa cried, “Brihannala, when my brother has beaten the Kurus, bring me their capes to make clothes for my dolls!”

Brihannala called back, “You shall have the Kurus’ silks!”

She flicked the reins expertly over the horses and they were off, the eunuch and the young prince, to fight the Kuru army on their own.

FIFTEEN UTTARA KUMARA
 

“Fly Brihannala!” cried Uttara Kumara, as they rode out through the city-gates. “The Kurus thought no kshatriyas remained in our city, but they shall be surprised, friend eunuch.”

The way they rode led toward the forest and the burning-ground. They had not gone a half-hour before a vast noise fell on their ears: like the sea makes on a night when the moon is full. Brihannala smiled to himself, but Uttara Kumara cried anxiously, “What is that sound?”

“Only the Kuru army that you mean to burn.”

The eunuch lashed the horses so they flew on. Then, ahead of them they saw Duryodhana’s legions: a sea of soldiers, elephants, horses and chariots, their armor and weapons gleaming in the sun, with kshatriyas among them who looked like Gods. Brihannala urged her horses on, but the prince behind him had fallen very quiet. Uttara Kumara’s mouth was parched, his hands shook and he was short of breath.

He gave a long whimper and sat petrified. The truth was this was his first battle and terror gripped him. He tried to speak, but no words would come. Brihannala, calm as ever, drew up the chariot where they could clearly see the enemy.

Her eyes twinkling, the eunuch said, “There, my prince, is the Kuru army. Look at its kshatriyas carefully before you decimate them. Riding the white stallion is Duryodhana, their king. He is fierce and majestic, isn’t he? Beside him is his brother Dusasana, on the grey charger. Do you see the warrior riding up on the other side of Duryodhana? That is the matchless Karna, dearer than a brother to the Kaurava. He is the greatest archer they have and Duryodhana pins his faith on him to win the war against the Pandavas. Karna has sworn he will kill Arjuna.”

Uttara Kumara stared numbly at the Kuru host. He had broken out in a sweat and not a sound did he make. Brihannala went on, “Turn your eyes to the left of Duryodhana, across the army. Do you see the sparkle of a crown that seems to capture the sun in its brilliant noose? Do you see the face below it, which seems to belong to another age of the earth? That is the Kuru Pitama, Bheeshma.”

Brihannala allowed himself a small sigh. “It was Bheeshma’s oath that turned the fate of the Kurus down a dark way. For years, he was virtual king of the ancient House, but then a change came over its destiny. Beside him, you can see another figure in white, like a flame. That is Drona, acharya to the Kauravas and the Pandavas, the greatest master on earth. The young man beside him, with the scarlet jewel at his throat, is his son Aswatthama. There are those who say that he is a better archer than Arjuna.”

Not a sound came still from poor prince Uttara Kumara. He felt there was a sea raging inside his chest, in which he was also drowning. Brihannala said, “You will be the first man ever to fight all these heroes together, single-handedly. Shall we ride at them, Kshatriya?”

The prince wailed, “I am terrified, Brihannala! I have never seen warriors like these before. I thought my uncle Keechaka was the greatest kshatriya alive. Each of these Kurus is twice as great as he was and there are so many of them! Indra himself would be afraid of these men; how will I fight them by myself? Eunuch, my body burns, my head spins and I feel faint. Can’t you see I am just a boy, sarathy? I cannot fight these awesome men. Turn the chariot round, Brihannala, ride back to our city like the wind!”

The eunuch laughed, “You are afraid? Just a short while ago you dragged me out of the palace, crying, ‘Hurry, Brihannala! Take me to the Kurus, I can’t wait to fight them.’ If you turn back now, Uttara Kumara, your women will laugh at you and every kshatriya on earth will hold you in contempt.

My prince, these Kurus do not tread the path of dharma. They come as thieves and they are not as powerful as they seem. I swear your chariot shall flit through them like a wasp and their arrows will never find a mark on us. You can shame these Kurus today and become a hero. Your father is a noble kshatriya, your uncle was the mighty Keechaka. You must have some of their courage in your blood.

Even I do not feel afraid, then how can a prince like you turn away from battle? The sairandhri sang my praises to your sister, saying I was the finest sarathy on earth. After that, even a eunuch cannot go back without recovering the herd. Be bold. Face your enemies one by one and I swear the day will be ours!”

The prince moaned, “I don’t care if the women laugh at me, or if all the world does. Let the Kurus take whatever they want: our cattle, our wealth, our kingdom. I will not fight them; my kshatriya blood turns to water at just the sight of this enemy. No Brihannala, this is no place for a boy like me. If you won’t turn the chariot back, I will run from here on my own!”

Uttara Kumara flung down his bow, leapt out of the chariot and began to run back toward the city. Brihannala shouted after him, “Don’t disgrace your noble birth! It is better to die in battle than run from it.”

But the prince was going as quickly as he could. Now, in plain sight of the astonished Kauravas, Brihannala also leapt down from the chariot, a strange figure in a crimson mantle, her long hair flying behind her and ran after the fleeing prince. The Kaurava soldiers laughed. In a moment, the long-haired one caught up with the boy and seized him.

Uttara Kumara cried, “Let me go, Brihannala! I will give you a hundred gold coins. I will give you jewels beyond your dreams, a chariot and ten thousand elephants. But let me go!”

Meanwhile, the Kaurava soldiers said among themselves, “Who is this fantastic pair? A boy and the queerest creature I have ever seen.”

“The odd one is dressed like a woman, but he is a man.”

“Or a eunuch! But he resembles someone I know.”

Drona said, “The boy ran because he is scared. The eunuch is trying to bring him back to fight us. I know this eunuch’s noble head; I know those long arms. Who would run after a stripling to force him back to fight the Kuru army by himself? It is Arjuna!”

Karna scoffed, “You see Arjuna everywhere, Drona. Now even as a eunuch! Virata and the rest of his warriors have gone after Susharma, leaving this little prince behind. He must have been the only man left in the Matsya king’s palace. No sarathy remained, either, so he brought a eunuch! Now the youngster who set out so bravely comes face to face with our army. Panic grips him and he runs. The eunuch, left alone, is even more terrified and runs after the prince. Why bring Arjuna into it?”

Acharya Kripa said, “Drona is right. Arjuna has caught up with the boy; he will bring him back to fight. But when they return, the boy will be the sarathy and Arjuna the archer.”

Drona said, “Feel the dry wind around us. Look at the clouds that blow into the sky out of nowhere. Look how our horses tremble. We are in danger, none of us shall stand before Arjuna today.”

Karna cried, “All you ever think of is Arjuna! Brahmana, your Arjuna is not a sixteenth part the archer I am. Even if it is him, why are we afraid?”

Duryodhana said in annoyance, “Let the eunuch be Arjuna or Krishna himself. Let him be Bhargava dressed as a woman. What can he do by himself? And if it is Arjuna, we have achieved what we came for. If we find even one Pandava during the ajnatavasa, all of them must go back to the forest. That is what we came for, not to kill them in battle. I pray this peculiar creature is indeed our cousin.”

Meanwhile, Brihannala held Uttara Kumara firmly and the youth could not escape him. The eunuch said, ‘I will not let you run away and bring shame upon yourself. If you are afraid, be my sarathy and I will fight the Kauravas. Nothing will harm you and we shall win the day. This isn’t a time for cowardice, but glory.”

Something in the eunuch’s voice, in his eyes, made Uttara Kumara believe him completely. All at once, as if Brihannala had taken the boy’s fear from him bodily, he felt no urge to run any more. Uttara Kumara said meekly, “I will drive the horses, Brihannala, if you will fight.”

Amazed at himself, Uttara Kumara climbed up to the sarathy’s place and took the reins. Brihannala climbed in behind him. But when the prince was about to drive his horses forward, the eunuch said, “Take us to the forest where the dead are burned.”

In a daze, the prince obeyed. The chariot drove away from the Kaurava army. Drona said to Bheeshma in an old dialect, which just they two understood, “My lord, I am certain that is Arjuna and he will be back to fight. What will happen when he shows himself?”

Bheeshma answered in the same tongue, “There is no cause for anxiety, the ajnatavasa is over. I knew this before we set out, but I want to teach Duryodhana a lesson. Arjuna is full of anger. When he routs us all, Duryodhana may think twice before he declares war on the Pandavas. Also, Arjuna will fight fiercely today, but not to kill.”

Tears springing in his eyes, to know it was his favorite sishya he had seen, Drona cried to Duryodhana, “That is Arjuna. Mark my words we will not stand before him today. There is no archer on earth like Arjuna!”

Karna’s face grew dark, but Duryodhana said, “Acharya, I haven’t come here to fight Arjuna, but to find him. If I do, he and his brothers must go back to the jungle for twelve more years. And even if the eunuch is a Deva in disguise, my arrows shall drink his blood.”

Bheeshma and Drona exchanged a glance; they had to admire the Kaurava’s assurance. It was true: Duryodhana feared no one, not even Arjuna.