novelraw Arc 3 - Kairata and Indralokagamana Parva - Chapter 3 - Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament
Arc 3 - Kairata and Indralokagamana Parva - Chapter 3 - Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament
Janamejaya said:
“These feats of Pṛthā’s son, endowed with immeasurable energy, were surely wondrous. O Brāhmaṇa, when Dhṛtarāṣṭra, of great wisdom, heard of them, what words did he speak?”
Vaisampāyana said:
When the son of Ambikā heard from Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana, the foremost of Ṛṣis, of Arjuna’s arrival in the abode of Indra, he called his charioteer and counsellor, Sañjaya, and spoke these words:
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said:
“O Sañjaya,
hast thou heard in full the deeds of Dhanañjaya,
that tiger among men,
whose strength and skill are beyond measure?
Alas, my wretched son,
of crooked soul and vulgar policy,
even now weaves a web
that will depopulate the earth.
The man whose words, even in jest, are true,
and who has Arjuna for his arm in battle,
is certain to conquer the three worlds.
Who—beyond Death and Time—
could stand before him
when the barbed shafts,
whetted upon stone,
pour from the Gāṇḍīva in his grasp?
My sons are doomed—
for none among us can endure
the fury of that bowman.
Not Droṇa, not Karṇa, not even Bhīṣma—
should they meet him in the field—
could escape without calamity.
Karna is generous, yet forgetful;
Droṇa is aged,
and Arjuna is his own disciple.
But Pārtha—wrathful,
firm in aim,
and steady in his prowess—
knows not defeat.
Heroes all, skilled in arms,
they would not barter the world’s sovereignty
for a victory won by cowardice.
Thus only the death of Phālguna,
or of these,
could bring peace—
yet no slayer of Arjuna exists,
nor one that can withstand him.
Equal to the lord of the gods,
he fed Agni at Khāṇḍava,
and humbled the kings of the earth
at the Rājasūya.
The thunderbolt striking a mountain peak
leaves some portion unscathed—
but the arrows of Kiritin
leave nothing behind.
As the rays of the sun
scorch all that moves and moves not,
so shall the shafts of Arjuna
consume my sons.
I see the hosts of the Bhāratas,
struck by the roar of his chariot-wheels,
already scattered in every direction.
Surely Vidhātṛ has shaped Arjuna
as the world’s Destroyer—
standing in battle,
vomiting and scattering
clouds of keen arrows.
Tell me, Sañjaya—
who is there
that can defeat him?”
Vaisampāyana said:
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Hearing the king’s fearful lament, Sañjaya, ever truthful, bowed slightly and spoke in a voice both grave and measured.
Sañjaya said:
“O King,
all that thou hast uttered of Duryodhana is truth;
there is no falsehood in thy words.
The sons of Pāṇḍu—
boundless in energy,
consumed with wrath—
saw their wedded queen,
Kṛṣṇā of spotless fame,
dragged into the assembly.
They heard the cruel speech
of Duḥśāsana and Karṇa,
and their hearts blazed with a fire
that no wind can quench.
I have heard, O King,
how Arjuna, with his bow,
gratified the Lord of gods—
Śaṅkara of the eleven forms.
The great Lord Kapardin,
seeking to test Pārtha,
fought with him in the guise of a Kirāta.
And the Guardians of the Worlds themselves
appeared before him,
to gift their weapons
unto that bull of the Kurus.
What man, save Pārtha,
could behold such gods in their own forms?
Who else could endure in battle
even Maheśvara of eightfold might?
Thy sons, O King,
by dragging Draupadī,
have drawn upon themselves
this fearful calamity.
When Duryodhana bared his thighs to her,
Bhīma, with trembling lips,
vowed aloud:
‘Wretch! these thighs will I smash
with my fierce descending mace
when thirteen years have run their course.’
The sons of Pāṇḍu are foremost of smiters,
of immeasurable energy,
skilled in every weapon.
Even the gods cannot vanquish them.
Incensed by the insult to their queen,
they will, I deem,
slay all thy sons in battle.”
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said:
“O Sañjaya,
what ruin Karṇa has wrought
by those cruel words
to the sons of Pāṇḍu!
Was not the enmity enough
when Kṛṣṇā was brought into the hall?
How can my evil-minded sons live,
when their eldest brother and preceptor
walks not the path of dharma?
Seeing me blind,
and unable to act with force,
my misguided son thinks me a fool
and heeds not my counsel.
Karna, Śakuni of Suvala’s race,
and the rest—
crooked of heart—
feed his vices,
for he understands nothing aright.
The shafts that Arjuna looses in sport
can consume my sons;
what then of those
shot in wrath?
From the mighty bow in his grasp,
guided by mantras,
his arrows turn into celestial weapons
that could chastise the very gods.
And he has for counsellor,
protector, and friend—
that smiter of the sinful,
the Lord of the three worlds—Hari himself.
Marvellous indeed,
that Arjuna was clasped in the arms
of Mahādeva himself!
What he did with Dāmodara of old,
aiding Agni in the burning of Khāṇḍava,
the whole world has seen.
When Bhīma, Pārtha, and Vāsudeva,
the lion of the Sātvatas,
are enraged—
my sons, their friends,
and the Suvalas—
are no match for them.”
Vaiśampāyana said:
The sons of Pāṇḍu, mighty as tigers yet gentle in their vows, dwelt in the woods sustained by the gifts of the wilderness and the skill of their own hands. Daily they gathered roots, fruits, and herbs from the forest’s bounty, and with arrows of stainless purity they struck down ruru, black deer, and other clean beasts fit for sacrifice. Whatever they obtained, they first offered to the Brāhmaṇas, reserving the choicest share for those devoted to fire and those worshipping without it. Only after the holy guests were fed did they partake of the remainder.
Ten thousand illustrious snātaka Brāhmaṇas, conversant with the paths to salvation, dwelt with them, supported entirely by the bounty of Yudhiṣṭhira. None in his camp grew pale with hunger or bent with weakness; no one lived in fear or sorrow. The king cherished his brothers as sons, his kinsmen as his very brothers of the womb. Draupadī of pure fame, modest and steadfast, served her husbands and the Brāhmaṇas like a mother tending her own children, partaking of food only after all others were satisfied.
Eastward strode Yudhiṣṭhira, calm and resolute,
Southward went Bhīma, the lion-hearted,
West and north ranged the twin sons of Madri,
Each with the bow, each swift in the chase.
Clean were the beasts they brought to the fire,
Sacred the hands that dressed the meal;
And the Brāhmaṇas, their hearts uplifted,
Blessed the house of the wandering kings.
Thus, for five years in the sylvan solitude of Kāmyaka, the sons of Pāṇḍu lived—bereft of Arjuna, yet patient in hope—spending their days in study, recitation of sacred lore, and the performance of rites and sacrifices, as the seasons turned under the eternal sky.
Vaiśampāyana said:
That bull among men, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, son of Ambikā, hearing of the extraordinary forest-life of the sons of Pāṇḍu—a way of living so far above the ordinary lot of men—was seized with anxiety and grief. Overwhelmed with melancholy, he heaved deep and burning sighs, and thus spoke to his charioteer Sañjaya:
“O Sañjaya, my heart knows no rest—
Neither the bright hours of day
Nor the still watches of night
Bring me a moment’s peace.
The misdeeds of my sons,
Born from the crooked throw of dice,
Rise before me like fire in the dark;
And the memory of the Pāṇḍavas’ strength
Burns me with a deeper flame.
I recall their heroism,
Their patience, their keen intelligence,
Their love for each other—unyielding,
Their prowess no weapon may bear.
Nakula and Sahadeva,
Celestial in birth and radiant as the Aśvins,
Stand like lions unshaken in battle;
Swift of hand, unquenchable in wrath,
Steady as mountains,
And deadly with far-flung shafts.
When they come to the field
With Bhīma’s mace before them
And Arjuna’s thunder-bow behind,
What hope can my legions have?
The Vṛṣṇis, fierce as fire,
And the high-souled Pāñcālas—
Led by Vāsudeva,
Whose will no foe can baffle—
Will fall upon my host
Like a storm from all quarters.
And among them,
That Bhīma of terrible might
Will whirl his iron mace on high,
Slaying all who stand before him;
And above the cries of men
Will sound the twang of the Gāṇḍīva,
Loud as heaven’s thunder,
Breaking the hearts of my warriors.”
Then Dhṛtarāṣṭra, his voice low with regret, said:
“The rush of Bhīma’s mace and the dreadful music of the Gāṇḍīva cannot be withstood by any king on my side. In that hour, Sañjaya, I shall be forced to recall the counsel of my friends—the counsel I spurned in obedience to Duryodhana, yet should have heeded when time still allowed.”
Sañjaya said:
“This, O King, was thy great fault—that though able, thou didst not, through affection, restrain thy son from his unrighteous course. The slayer of Madhu, that hero of unfading glory, hearing that the sons of Pāṇḍu had been vanquished at dice, went swiftly to the woods of Kāmyaka and there consoled them.
There too came the sons of Draupadī, headed by Dhṛṣṭadyumna, and the mighty Virāṭa, and the heroic Dhṛṣṭaketu. The kings of the Kekayas, fierce in battle, joined them also. All that these warriors said upon seeing the sons of Pāṇḍu in such plight, I learned through our spies, and I have told thee before, O King.
When the slayer of Madhu met the Pāṇḍavas, they besought him to be the charioteer of Pārtha in the coming war. Hari, thus addressed, said only, ‘So be it.’ But seeing the sons of Pṛthā clad in deerskins, that mighty-armed one was filled with wrath, and spoke to Yudhiṣṭhira.”
“That splendour once thine at Indraprastha—
Glory none could match—
I beheld at thy Rājasūya,
Where kings of all the earth
Bowed before thy might.
There I saw the rulers of Vanga and Aṅga,
Of Pauṇḍra, Odra, Cola and Draviḍa;
The Andhakas and island chiefs,
The lords of Siṁhala and Laṅkā,
And the kings of the western lands.
The Pahlavas and Daradas came,
The Kirātas, Yavanas, Śakas and Haraḥūṇas,
The Cīnas and Tukharas, the Sindhavas,
The Jagudas, Rāmathas and Muṇḍas,
The queens’ own realm of women,
The Tāṅgaṇas, Kekayas and Mālavas,
And the warriors of Kāśmīra.
All, O King, in awe of thy weapons,
Obeyed thy summons.
That glory, now wavering,
Shall I restore to thee—
And take the life from thine enemy.”
Sañjaya continued:
“Kṛṣṇa vowed to Yudhiṣṭhira that, with Rāma, Bhīma, Arjuna, the twins, Akrūra, Gada, Śāmba, Pradyumna, Ahuka, the heroic Dhṛṣṭadyumna, and the son of Śiśupāla, he would slay in one day Duryodhana, Karṇa, Duḥśāsana, Śakuni’s son, and all others who might stand against them.
Yudhiṣṭhira answered: ‘O Janārdana, thy words are truth. But slay my enemies, O Keśava, only when the thirteen years are fulfilled. I have pledged in the assembly to dwell in the forest as I now dwell.’
Then Dhṛṣṭadyumna and the assembled kings appeased the wrath of Keśava with gentle words. They turned to Draupadī and said: ‘O lady of pure deeds, in consequence of thy anger, Duryodhana shall lay down his life. Those who mocked thee shall feed the beasts and the birds; jackals and vultures shall drink their blood. Thou shalt see the bodies of those wretches who dragged thee by the hair—headless, mangled, and their blood drunk by the earth herself.’
Such words, O King, were spoken by those bulls among men. All are warriors of terrible energy, and when the thirteenth year is ended, they will come to battle—Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, Dhanañjaya, Pradyumna, Śāmba, Yuyudhāna, Bhīma, the sons of Mādrī, the Kekaya princes, the Pāñcāla princes, and the king of Matsya—each with his hosts. Who, desiring life, will stand before them, fierce as lions with bristling manes?”
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said:
“What Vidura told me at the time of the game—‘If thou seekest to conquer the Pāṇḍavas at dice, then surely there will be a slaughter ending in the ruin of the Kurus’—I see now coming to pass. Without doubt, as soon as the vowed term of the Pāṇḍavas expires, a battle of terrible destruction will be upon us.”