novelraw Arc 5 - Droṇa-Vadha Parva - Chapter 6 - Arjuna’s Vision and Vyāsa’s Counsel
Arc 5 - Droṇa-Vadha Parva - Chapter 6 - Arjuna’s Vision and Vyāsa’s Counsel
Sañjaya said:
After the mighty chariot-warrior Droṇa had fallen to the son of Pṛṣata and the Kuru host was routed, Dhanañjaya, son of Kuntī, beheld a marvel bound up with his victory. Vyāsa, wandering sage and grandsire of bards, came upon him, and Arjuna asked:
“I saw, as I loosed bright shafts and broke the foe, a blazing figure striding before my car. He bore an upraised lance and wherever he moved the enemy scattered. Men said I shattered them, yet I but followed in his wake, finishing those he had already felled. He never set foot to earth, nor did he cast the spear—yet from the single point of that uplifted weapon, thousands of lances streamed. Holy one, who was that radiant forerunner?”
Vyāsa replied:
“Thou hast seen Śaṅkara—First Cause of the Prajāpatis—boundless in energy; the one whose form is heaven and earth and sky; the boon-giver, Īśāna, Mahādeva, the Supreme Soul; three-eyed, mighty-armed, crowned with matted locks, garbed in skins; the giver of victory, Hara, Sthāṇu, Lord of all beings, the Light and Refuge of the universe. Unconquerable, he delights and rules all; Self-born Śambhu, Master of the three times, of Yoga and of yogins; Sarva, Parameṣṭhin, Ordainer and Sole Refuge of the worlds, beyond birth and decay, the knowledge within knowledge, unknowable save by his grace.
“His companions are beings of manifold forms—dwarfs and long-eared, bald and knotted-haired, short-necked, vast-bellied, huge-limbed—strange of feature and raiment. Even such worship that Supreme. It was that auspicious Rudra who, out of kindness, went before thee in the dread encounter where even the hair stands up. Who else—save Maheśvara, finest of bowmen, divine in form—could break the line guarded by Aśvatthāman, Karṇa, and Kṛpa? None can stand before the warrior whom Mahādeva precedes. At the mere scent of his wrath foes fail and fall; therefore the gods bow to him. Men and the pious who worship Rudra gain happiness here and the highest state hereafter.
“Bow down, son of Kuntī, to Peace embodied; to blue-throated Rudra, subtle and effulgent; Kapardin, terrible and boon-giving; the great Ordainer of tawny eyes; Sthāṇu and Puruṣa, giver of light, essence of all sacred waters, God of gods, impetuous and manifest, Sarva of pleasing guise, mountain-dwelling Protector whose arms shine with gold. Lord of the quarters and the clouds, of trees and kine; whose banner bears the bull, whose eyes are bull-bright; wielder of trident, sword, and shield; bearer of Pināka; guardian of all beings, destroyer of Dakṣa’s rite, ever-cheerful, of unfading glory.”
O Peace, O Rudra, blue of throat,
subtle flame of boundless light;
Kapardin, fearful, boon bestowing,
tawny-eyed and righteous bright.
O Sthāṇu, Puruṣa beyond,
source of rivers, gods’ own God;
lord of clouds and living kingdoms,
staff and shelter, rule and rod.
Bull-marked master, horn of power,
forest-clad with golden bands;
trident-bearing, sword and buckler,
Pināka singing in thy hands.
Lord of mothers, Lord of waters,
breaker of the sun-steeth’s pride;
three-eyed giver, Hara, blue-throated,
golden-haired and deified.
“Know also,” Vyāsa went on, “the deeds by which the worlds learned fear and reverence. When Dakṣa arrayed his sacrifice, Maheśvara destroyed it in wrath. The twang of his bow and the clap of his palms sent gods and asuras prostrate; waters heaved, earth trembled, mountains split, the quarters and serpents were stupefied; darkness smothered the sky; the sun’s blaze failed; ṛṣis performed appeasement rites in dread. When Sūrya sat to take the chief oblation, Śaṅkara smiled and struck out his teeth; terrified, the gods fled—and when Rudra’s flaming shafts rained down like smoke-edged lightning, they bowed and granted him an inviolate share of all sacrifice. His anger quelled, he restored the rite; yet to this day the immortals remember and fear.
“In elder time three cities hung in heaven—gold for Kamalākṣa, silver for Tārakākṣa, iron for Vidyunmālin. With all his weapons, Maghavan could not mar them. Tormented, the gods sought Rudra’s refuge: ‘Only thou canst end them,’ they said. ‘Creatures slain in every sacrifice shall henceforth be thine.’ Hara consented for their good, and made a cosmic car: Gandhamādana and Vindhya its poles; the earth with oceans and forests its body; Śeṣa its axle; moon and sun its wheels; Ilāpatra and Puṣpadanta the yoke-pins; Malaya the yoke; Takṣaka the trace; all creatures the tethers; the four Vedas its steeds; the ancillary Vedas the bits; Gāyatrī and Sāvitrī the reins; the syllable Oṁ the whip; Brahmā the charioteer. Mandara he made his bow, Vāsuki the string; Viṣṇu his peerless shaft; Agni the arrow-head; Vāyu twin wings; Yama the fletching; lightning the whetstone; Meru the banner.
“Standing in an array that bore his own name, unshaken for a thousand years, the Three-eyed loosed, when the triple cities met in the firmament, his three-knotted bolt of Yuga-fire compounded of Viṣṇu and Soma, and pierced them. As the cities burned, Pārvatī came to see, a child upon her lap—bald save five locks. Śakra, ill-disposed, struck at the boy with his thunderbolt; but Maheśvara (for the child was he) paralyzed Indra’s arm with a smile. Humbled, the gods went to Brahmā: ‘A wondrous child, not saluted by us, has overthrown us without lifting a hand. Who is he?’ The Grandsire pondered and knew: ‘He is Hara, Supreme Lord of the mobile and the immobile. None is above Maheśvara. He took a child’s form for Umā’s sake. Come; let us adore him.’”
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So the gods, with Brahmā at their head, approached the child radiant as dawn. Knowing him as the Highest, the grandsire praised:
Thou art the Sacrifice and stay,
refuge where the worlds abide;
Bhava, Maheśa, boundless dwelling,
all-pervading, ocean-tide.
Past and future, lord of present,
keeper of the cosmic frame;
Guardian, Sire, O world-protector,
be thy wrath to Śakra tamed.
“This, O son of Pāṇḍu,” Vyāsa concluded, “was the Lord who strode before thy banner, whose lance of lances made way for Gandīva’s rain. Seek his protection, and know that where Rudra walks, victory walks before.”
Vyāsa continued:
Hearing Brahmā’s words, Maheśvara was gratified and laughed aloud. The gods praised both Umā and Rudra; Indra’s thunder–arm was restored. The destroyer of Dakṣa’s rite, the bull-bannered Lord, was pleased. He is Rudra, he is Śiva; he is Agni and knows all things; he is Indra, the Wind, the twin Aśvins, the lightning; Bhava and Parjanya, sinless Mahādeva; the Moon, Īśāna, the Sun, Varuṇa; Time, Ender, Death, Yama; day and night, fortnight, month, the seasons; the twilights and the year; Dhātr and Vidhātr, Soul of the universe and doer of all acts. Bodiless yet the embodied god, splendid, adored by all—One and Many, hundred and thousand. The Veda-wise speak of his two faces, the Terrible and the Auspicious, and each of these is manifold. His auspicious forms are water, light, and the moon. Whatever is profound in the Vedas and Upaniṣads, the Purāṇas and the sciences of the soul—Mahādeva is that. Unborn, his attributes are beyond my telling even in a thousand years. Yet even those stained by planets and sins, if they seek him, find him gracious and gain salvation. He gives and takes away life, health, prosperity, wealth, and every desire; the prosperity of Indra and the gods is his. As sovereign, he can win whatever he wills—Mahā–Īśvara, lord even of the lords. In countless forms he pervades the universe. His “mouth” is in the ocean, a mare’s head that drinks the libation of waters. He dwells in the cremation ground; only the brave approach his shrine. Men worship his many blazing forms and call him by many true names grounded in his supremacy, omnipotence, and deeds. The Vedas hymn him in the Śata–Rudrīya. He is lord of every wish, human and heavenly, omnipotent, pervader of the vast. Seers name him First-born of beings; first of the gods; from his mouth Vāyu was born. Protecting and sporting with creatures as their lord, he is Paśupati. His phallic emblem, steadfast in brahmacarya and gladdening the world, is worshipped by Ṛṣis, gods, Gandharvas, and Apsarases; Śaṅkara is pleased and greatly gladdened.
Because he bears many forms through past, future, and present, he is Vahurūpa, Many–formed. With one eye he blazes, yet may be seen as many-eyed on every side; possessing the worlds, he is Sarva; his smoke-like form makes him Dhūrjjati; because the Viśvedevas abide in him, he is Viśvarūpa; since Firmament, Water, and Earth resort to him, he is Tryambaka. As increaser of all wealth and wisher of mankind’s good, he is Śiva. With a thousand, ten thousand eyes, he guards the universe—Mahādeva. Ancient and great, source of life and its continuance, with everlasting emblem, he is Sthāṇu. Since solar and lunar rays are the Three-eyed One’s hair, he is Vyomakeśa. Afflicting Brahmā, Indra, Varuṇa, Yama, Kubera, he destroys them at the last—Hara. Being past, future, present, and their origin, he is Bhava. “Kapi” means supreme, “Vṛṣa” righteousness; therefore he is Vṛṣākapi. Creating a third eye by will when the two were closed in meditation, he is Three-eyed. Whatever soundness or unsoundness abides in bodies, whatever breath—prāṇa and apāna—of all beings, even the sick, is he. Whoever adores his liṅga gains prosperity. Downward, fire; the moon, his auspicious half—his very soul half fire, half moon. His auspicious form, full of energy, outblazes the gods; among men his blazing terrible form is called fire. With the auspicious he keeps brahmacarya; with the terrible he, as Supreme Lord, devours all. Because he burns, is fierce, mighty, and devours flesh, blood, and marrow, he is Rudra. This is Mahādeva, Pināka-armed, whom you saw smiting foes before your car. After you vowed to slay the Sindhu king, O sinless one, Kṛṣṇa showed you this God in dream, throned upon the foremost mountain. He goes before you in battle; he gave you those weapons with which you struck down the Dānavas. The Veda-blessed hymn called Śata–Rudrīya—excellent, famous, life-enhancing, sacred—has now been declared to you. Four-fold in form, it accomplishes all ends; holy, sin-destroying, it drives away stain and slays all grief and fear. He who listens to this ever conquers foes and is honoured in Rudra’s realm. He who attentively reads or hears this auspicious battle-account of the illustrious Lord, and devoutly worships the Three-eyed Ruler, gains all desires, for the Lord of the universe is pleased.
Go, son of Kuntī, and fight. Defeat is not for you—Janārdana stands as your counsellor and protector.
Sañjaya said:
Having spoken thus to Arjuna, the son of Parāśara departed to the place from which he had come.
Thus, O King, after five days of furious strife, the mighty Brāhmaṇa Droṇa — steadfast in strength and wisdom — fell, and ascended to the radiant region of Brahmā. His spirit, pure as fire, passed from the field of arms to the realm of eternal knowledge.
The fruits that spring from study of the Vedas, O monarch, arise also from the reading or hearing of this Parva. For here are told the great deeds of valorous Kṣatriyas, the trials of the brave, and the triumphs and falls of heroes whose fame endures beyond death.
Whosoever recites or attentively listens to this sacred portion each day is freed from grievous sins and the darkest acts of his life. From its power the Brāhmaṇa gains the merit of many sacrifices; the Kṣatriya, victory amid the fiercest battles; the Vaiśya and the Śūdra, worthy sons and grandsons and the fulfilment of every righteous desire.
Five days’ war, and Droṇa fell,
To Brahmā’s shining courts to dwell.
Read thou his tale — thy sins shall cease,
Thy heart shall find its path to peace.
Thus ends the Droṇa Parva, the seventh great book of the Mahābhārata, recounting the fall of Droṇa, the preceptor of princes, and the fierce deeds of heroes upon the field of Kurukṣetra.
Here end the battles of five relentless days, and the ascent of the Brāhmaṇa-warrior to the realm of Brahmā. He who listens to this sacred Parva with faith and reverence is cleansed of sin, blessed with wisdom, and crowned with victory.
Iti Śrī Mahābhārate Śata-sāhasryāṃ Saṃhitāyām
Vaiyāsikyām Drona Parva Samāptaḥ.