novelraw Arc 3 – Yudha Arambha Parva - Chapter 11 - Bhīṣma’s Discourse with Duryodhana
Arc 3 – Yudha Arambha Parva - Chapter 11 - Bhīṣma’s Discourse with Duryodhana
Bhīṣma said:
When Brahmā had uttered his hymn to the Supreme,
that Lord of all the worlds, smiling gently, replied in a voice deep as the ocean:
“Through Yoga, O Grandsire, all thy thought is known to Me.
What thou hast desired for the welfare of creation shall indeed be.”
Having spoken thus, the Eternal vanished from sight.
Then the gods, the Ṛṣis, and the Gandharvas, filled with awe, questioned the Grandsire:
“Who was that One, O Lord, whom thou didst worship with such reverence,
whom thou didst praise with words so high and pure? Tell us, for we long to know.”
And Brahmā, the creator of beings, answered them in gentle tones:
“He who is called Tat—the Eternal That—He who ever was and shall ever be,
the Supreme Self, the Soul of all, the Lord beyond decay—
with Him I spoke.
At My prayer, for the good of all worlds, He will descend upon the earth,
taking birth among men in the house of Vasudeva.
Those fierce Daityas and Rākṣasas,
slain in former ages, are now reborn as men;
to slay them shall that Almighty take a mortal form,
and walk the earth with His companion Nara.
Those ancient seers—Nara and Nārāyaṇa—
unconquerable by gods themselves,
shall be born together as men,
though the ignorant will not know them.
From His essence have I, Brahmā, sprung;
He is the source of all beings.
Bearing the conch, the discus, and the mace,
He should never be deemed a man, O gods,
for He is the Supreme Mystery,
the Eternal Brahman, the undying Light.
He who disregards Kṛṣṇa,
the diademed One, the bearer of the Kaustubha gem,
the refuge of all, the destroyer of fear,
such a man sinks into darkness profound.
The foolish speak of Hṛṣīkeśa as but a mortal,
not knowing Him as the Soul of all that moves and is still,
the shining One from whose navel springs the lotus of creation.
Therefore let every god and mortal worship that Lord, Vāsudeva of immeasurable power, the unchanging, all-pervading, Supreme Refuge.”
Sañjaya continued:
Thus spoke the Grandsire to the gods and Ṛṣis in the first age of the world.
They, hearing his words, bowed in delight and returned to heaven.
This, O king, I have heard from the wise—Rāma, son of Jamadagni;
from Mārkaṇḍeya the long-lived; from Vyāsa, and from Nārada of divine vision.
Knowing this, that Vāsudeva is the Supreme Lord, the source of Brahmā himself,
who would not worship Him?
Thou wert warned, O sire, by sages of pure soul—
“Do not contend with Vāsudeva, nor with the sons of Pāṇḍu who walk beside Him.”
But thy heart, blinded by folly, would not see.
Therefore art thou called unrighteous, O king,
for who but a demon in man’s form would hate Nara and Nārāyaṇa?
He is Eternal, changeless, the Upholder of the worlds,
the Master of all that moves and all that stands.
He is victory itself, He is valor,
the Light that dispels every shadow.
Where Kṛṣṇa is, there dwells Dharma;
and where Dharma is, there abides victory.
By the Yoga of His supreme excellence
He sustains the sons of Pāṇḍu;
He gives them wisdom righteous and strength unfailing,
He guards them from peril.
He is the eternal God, pervading all beings,
honored alike by Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, Vaiśya, and Śūdra
who perform their duty with controlled hearts.
At the end of Dvāpara and the dawn of Kali,
He is sung with Saṅkarṣaṇa by the faithful;
He it is who, age after age, creates the worlds,
the realms of gods and men, the oceans and the earth encircled by seas—
that same Vāsudeva,
Lord of Lords, whose praise no tongue can end.
Sañjaya said:
When Bhīṣma had spoken of the Supreme Lord’s eternal being, Duryodhana—half believing, yet restless in doubt—bowed before the grandsire and spoke again with folded hands.
Duryodhana said:
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“O revered Pitāmaha, throughout the worlds men proclaim Vāsudeva as the Supreme. Tell me, O grandsire, of His origin and His glory.”
Bhīṣma replied:
O bull among the Bharatas, Vāsudeva is the Supreme Being, the God of gods, the unfailing refuge of all. None greater than He—whose eyes are wide as lotus petals—has ever been seen or shall be. Mārkaṇḍeya the great Ṛṣi has spoken of Govinda as the Most High, the All-soul, the Supreme Puruṣa, from whom everything has arisen.
From Him came the three elements—Water, Air, and Fire—and from Him also the Earth. That Divine Master, the Lord of all worlds, lay upon the primeval waters, absorbed in the Yoga of creation. Out of that serene repose the cosmos unfolded.
From His mouth leapt Fire,
from His breath came Wind;
from His voice arose sacred Speech,
and with it, the four Vedas.
He shaped the worlds and the gods,
and the seers of holy renown.
He fashioned Death and Decay,
and likewise Birth and Growth.
He is Righteousness and its soul;
the Giver and the Gift,
the Actor and the Act,
the Eternal Master of all.
He made Time itself—the past, the present, and what is yet to come. He is the luminous source, the unaging Master of creation. He first brought forth Saṅkarṣaṇa, the first-born, and then the divine serpent Śeṣa, called Ananta, who sustains the Earth with her mountains upon his endless coils. That Supreme Energy, hidden from the senses, is known only by the sages through Yoga.
From His ear arose the dreadful Asura Madhu, fierce and intent on the destruction of Brahmā. But the Lord slew that demon; and for this, gods and men alike call Him Madhusūdana, the Slayer of Madhu.
He is the Boar that raised the world,
the Lion that guards the dawn,
the Three-stepped Lord whose stride
measures the heavens and earth.
He is Mother and Father of all,
without beginning or end,
Lotus-eyed and ever radiant—
none is higher than He.
From His mouth came the Brāhmaṇas, from His arms the Kṣatriyas, from His thighs the Vaiśyas, and from His feet the Śūdras. Thus were born the four orders of mankind. He who serves Him with devotion and vows—especially on the sacred days of the full and new moon—attains to Keśava, the refuge of all beings, the essence of Brahman and of Yoga.
Keśava is the higher Power,
the grandsire of the worlds.
Hṛṣīkeśa—Lord of the Senses—
is His hallowed name.
Preceptor, Father, Master of all,
inexhaustible is His grace.
He who wins His favor
gains realms that never fade.
He who calls upon Him in fear
is saved from peril’s tide;
He who reads this praise with faith
is blessed on every side.
Those who reach unto Kṛṣṇa are never beguiled; Janārdana rescues those who sink in despair. Knowing this, O King, Yudhiṣṭhira—pure of heart and steadfast in righteousness—has sought the refuge of blessed Keśava, Lord of Yoga, Lord of the Earth, and eternal protector of all that lives.
Bhīṣma said:
Hear now, O King, this ancient hymn that Brahmā himself once uttered. In the earliest age, it was taught by the Ṛṣis and by the gods to men upon the earth. In that primeval time, all the seers and celestials glorified the Supreme, and their words, O Bhārata, have come down as a sacred chant of praise.
Nārada proclaimed Thee, O Keśava,
as the Master and Lord of gods and Sādhyas,
the knower of the Creator’s secret,
the Guide of all the worlds.
Mārkaṇḍeya hailed Thee as Time itself—
the Past, the Present, and the Future—
the Sacrifice of sacrifices,
and the Austerity of austerities.
Bṛgu declared Thee, O Govinda,
as the ancient and eternal form of Viṣṇu,
the God of gods, the First Cause,
the undying source of all beings.
Vyāsa, son of Parāśara, spoke of Thee
as Vāsudeva among the Vasus,
the establisher of Śakra’s might,
the Lord of gods and creatures all.
In that first dawn when life was born,
the sages named Thee Dakṣa—
Father of creation, Source of all beings.
Angiras said, “Thou art the Maker of all.”
Devala praised Thee, O Infinite One:
“The unmanifest is Thy body,
the manifest Thy mind;
the gods are born from Thy breath.”
With Thy heads Thou fillest the heavens,
Thy mighty arms uphold the earth;
within Thy navel dwell the three worlds—
Thou art the Eternal, the Unchanging.
Thus, O King, do the seers, purified by ascetic fire, know Thee as the Sat of Sat—the Truth of all truths. The royal sages, steadfast in dharma and generous of heart, taking refuge in battle and righteousness alike, find their only shelter in Thee, O Slayer of Madhu.
Even so is that Supreme Being, Hari, adored by Sanatkumāra and the ascetics who are perfect in Yoga. The mystery of Keśava, O sire, has now been told to thee both in essence and in detail. Turn thy heart, therefore, toward Him in love.
Sañjaya continued:
Hearing these sacred words from Bhīṣma’s lips, thy son, O great king, felt a reverence awaken within him for Keśava and for those mighty sons of Pāṇḍu.
Then Bhīṣma, son of Śantanu, spoke again to Duryodhana, saying, “Thou hast now truly heard the glory of high-souled Keśava and of Nara, about which thou didst inquire. Thou hast learned the cause of their descent among men and the secret of their invincibility. Know that none can slay the sons of Pāṇḍu in battle; for Kṛṣṇa Himself cherisheth them in His heart.
Therefore, O king of kings, make peace with the Pāṇḍavas. Restrain thy anger and rule the earth in joy with thy brothers beside thee. For if thou disregardest Nara and Nārāyaṇa, the divine pair, destruction shall be thy fate.”
Having spoken thus, the grandsire grew silent. Dismissing the king, he entered his own pavilion. And Duryodhana, after worshipping the illustrious Bhīṣma, returned to his white tent and laid himself upon his couch, heavy with thought, awaiting the coming of sleep.