Harivamsha

by Bibek Debroy

  ‘Krishna, who knew his soul, again had a thought about how he could satisfy the large numbers of people with wealth. In the night, in his own house, the lord Upendra summoned Shankha, Vaishravana’s possession and the supreme jewel among all treasures.881 Knowing of Keshava’s summons, Shankha, the king of the guhyakas,882 himself approached the lord of Dvaravati. Shankha humbly joined his hands in salutation. He addressed Krishna, as if he was addressing Vaishravana himself. “O illustrious one! My task is to protect the riches of the gods. O mighty-armed one! O descendant of the Yadu lineage! Instruct me about what must be done.” Hrishikesha instructed Shankha, supreme among the guhyakas. “The people here are suffering on account of limited riches. Fill them up with wealth. I do not wish to see people who are hungry, weak and distressed, or poor people in the city who keep saying, ‘Give.’” The nidhi bowed his head down before Keshava and followed his instructions. He commanded all the other nidhis that all the houses in Dvaravati should be showered with riches. All of them followed this command. There was no poor man there, nor one who suffered from misfortune. In every house in Dvaravati, there was no one who was emaciated or miserable.

  ‘Purushottama again summoned Vayu. To do what was agreeable to the Yadavas, the illustrious one arrived there. The source of the breath of life in creatures presented himself before Gada’s elder brother, when that lord and god, who holds up all the secrets, was seated alone. “O god! O one who swiftly goes everywhere! What is my task? O unblemished one! I am yours, just as I am a messenger of the gods.” Purushottama Krishna told Maruta, the life breath of the universe who had presented himself before him, the secret. “O Maruta! Go to the lord of the gods and the immortals and persuade them. Bring the assembly hall Sudharma883 from the gods. The Yadavas are valiant and devoted to dharma. There are thousands of them. They should be in that assembly and not in an artificial one. O Vayu! O one who can go wherever you want! O one who can assume any form you want! That eternal assembly hall is capable of holding up the Yadus, just as it holds up the gods.” He accepted the words spoken by Krishna of the unsullied deeds. Adopting a speed that was appropriate to his own nature, Vayu went to heaven. He reported Krishna’s words and entreated all the gods. Having obtained the assembly hall Sudharma, he again returned to earth. He gave Sudharma to Krishna of the unsullied deeds, the one who was excellent in the pursuit of dharma.884 Having handed over the assembly hall of the gods to the divinity, Vayu vanished. For the foremost among the Yadavas, Keshava placed Sudharma in the centre of Dvaravati, just as it was used for the gods in heaven. Thus, the undecaying Hari adorned his own city with objects and ornaments from heaven, from earth and from the water, as if a woman was being beautified. He established rules for merchants and ordinary people to follow. He appointed supervisors to look after the soldiers and after the environment. Ugrasena was the king and Kashya885 was the priest. Anadhrishti was the commander in chief and Vikradu was chief among the ministers. Ten aged Yadavas, ornaments of their families, were appointed by the intelligent one to ascertain that there were no gaps in any of the performed tasks. Daruka, the excellent charioteer, became Keshava’s charioteer. Satyaki, for whom truth was his valour, became the foremost warrior among all the warriors. The unblemished Krishna thus established rules for the city to follow. With the Yadus, the creator of the worlds, found pleasure on earth. Revata’s daughter, Revati, possessed good conduct. With Krishna’s permission, Baladeva married her.’

  Chapter 87

  Vaishampayana said, ‘At this time, the powerful Jarasandha wished to do what would be agreeable to the king of Chedi and urged all the kings that Rukmini, the daughter of Bhishmaka, should be bedecked in golden ornaments and be married to King Shishupala. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Suvaktra, the infinitely energetic son of Dantavaktra, who was an equal of the thousand-eyed one in battle and accomplished in the use of maya; the immensely strong son of Vasudeva from Poundra;886 the brave Sudeva, who alone was the lord of an entire akshouhini; the brave and powerful son of Ekalavya; the son of the king of Pandya; the lord of Kalinga; King Venudari, against whom Krishna had done disagreeable things; Amshumanta; Kratha; Shrutarvana; Kalinga, who destroyed his enemies; the lord of Gandhara; the mighty-armed Patusha; and the lord of Kashi.’887

  Janamejaya asked, ‘O supreme among brahmanas! In which country was King Rukmi, supreme among those who knew about the Vedas, born? Where did that radiant one take birth?’

  Vaishampayana replied, ‘There was a rajarshi named Yadava and a son named Vidarbha was born to him. He lived in Vidarbha, on the southern flank of the Vindhya mountains. He had immensely strong sons and Kratha and Kaishika were foremost among them. They were full of valour and were kings who established separate lineages. O king! The Vrishnis were born in the lineage of Bhima.888 Amshuman was born in Kratha’s lineage and Bhishmaka in Kaishika’s. People refer to him889 as Hiranyaloma and the lord of the southern regions. Protected by Agastya, this king resided in Kundina.890 O lord of the earth! He had a son named Rukmi and a daughter named Rukmini. The immensely strong Rukmi obtained divine weapons from Druma. He also obtained the brahmastra891 from Rama, Jamadagni’s son. He always sought to rival Krishna, the performer of extraordinary deeds. O king! There was no one on earth who could rival Rukmini in beauty. On hearing about her, the immensely radiant Vasudeva desired her. In a similar way, on hearing about him, she desired Janardana. Because of his energy, valour and strength, she thought that he should be her husband. Krishna asked for her. However, because of his hatred and because of Kamsa’s death, the immensely strong Rukmi did not bestow her on Krishna. King Jarasandha asked King Bhishmaka, who was terrible in his valour, that she should be given to the son of the king of Chedi, Sunitha.892 Vasu, the king of Chedi,893 had a son named Brihadratha. In earlier times, he was the one who built the city of Girivraja894 in Magadha. The immensely strong Jarasandha was born as his son. The king of Chedi, Damaghosha, was also born in Vasu’s lineage. Through his wife Shrutashrava, Vasudeva’s895 sister, Damaghosha had five sons who were terrible in their valour—Shishupala, Dashagriva, Raibhya, Upadisha and Bali. All of them were powerful, brave and immensely strong, accomplished in the use of all weapons. Knowing that Jarasandha belonged to a similar lineage, Sunitha gave him his own son and he896 protected him and brought him up as his own son. Placing Jarasandha at the forefront, the immensely strong enemy of the Vrishnis, Chedi,897 sought to do many things that were disagreeable to the Vrishnis. When his son-in-law, Kamsa, was killed in the encounter, thanks to Krishna, Jarasandha bore enmity towards the Vrishnis. For the sake of Sunitha, he asked Bhishmaka for Rukmini. Bhishmaka bestowed Rukmini on the valiant Shishupala.898 With the king of Chedi and Dantavaktra, King Jarasandha left for Vidarbha. The intelligent Vasudeva from Poundra followed him and so did the immensely strong kings of Anga, Vanga and Kalinga. Rukmi received and welcomed all the kings who had arrived. After having been supremely honoured, they were taken towards the city. To cause pleasure to their father’s sister, Rama and Krishna, together with the other Vrishnis, also arrived, with chariots and forces. Following the prescribed rites, the lords of Kratha and Kaishika worshipped and honoured them, but made them reside outside.899

  ‘The marriage was to take place the next day. When Jyeshtha nakshatra900 was in the ascendance, the beautiful Rukmini went out to worship at a temple outside, on a chariot yoked to four horses. Her form blazed, decorated with the auspicious marks. She was surrounded by a large army and wished to worship Indrani. On seeing her there, Krishna thought that Lakshmi had manifested herself. She was near the temple, in that supremely beautiful form. She blazed like the flame of a fire and was like an illusion that had come down to earth. It was as if the grave earth goddess had herself arisen from the ground. It was as if the pleasant beams of the moon had adopted the personified form of a woman on earth. She was like Shri on a lotus, or like one of Shri’s future aides. Even the gods found it impossible to look at her and Krishna saw her in his mind. She was almost dark.901 She wasn’t plump and her
eyes were large. Her lips were coppery red and her eyes were beautiful. Her thighs were thick and her hips and breasts were heavy. She was a grown-up but young maiden, beautiful in all her limbs. Her face was like the moon. The tips of her nails were coppery red. She possessed excellent eyebrows. Her blue-black hair was curled. Her teeth were even, white and sharp. Her radiance illuminated her. In beauty, fame and prosperity, this was a woman who was unmatched on earth. Attired in a white linen garment, Rukmini seemed to have the form of a goddess. On seeing the one who was beautiful to behold, Krishna’s desire increased, like the flames of a fire increase when oblations are poured into it. Having consulted with Rama and the Vrishnis, the extremely strong Keshava made up his mind to abduct her. When she had completed the worship of the gods and was emerging from the temple of the gods, Krishna suddenly picked her up and placed her on his supreme chariot.

  ‘Balarama uprooted a tree, so that he might repel enemies who would advance. He also instructed the Dasharhas to be ready in every possible way. Many kinds of chariots, raising giant standards, horses and elephants surrounded the one who used the plough as a weapon. Having abducted Rukmini, Krishna swiftly headed towards his own city. The valiant one left the burden for Rama and Yuyudhana to bear. There were also Akrura, Viprithu, Gada, Kritavarma, Chakradeva, Sunakshatra, the immensely strong Sarana, Nivrittashatru, Vikranta, Bhangakara, Viduratha, Ugrasena, Kanka, Shatadyumna, Rajadhideva, Mridura,902 Prasena, Chitraka, Atidanta, Brihaddurga, Shvaphalka, Chitraka903 and Prithu. Keshava Madhusudana left the task to other foremost Vrishnis and Andhakas. Having imposed this heavy burden on them, he left for Dvaravati. Dantavaktra, Jarasandha and the valiant Shishupala became enraged. They armoured themselves and advanced, wishing to kill Janardana. The lords of Anga, Vanga and Kalinga, along with the valiant Poundra, also advanced. So did the king of Chedi904 and his brothers, who were excellent maharathas. Wrathfully, the brave Vrishni maharathas countered them, placing Samkarshana at the forefront, just as the Maruts do with Vasava. In that great battle, the immensely strong Jarasandha descended. However, Yuyudhana pierced him with six iron arrows. Akrura pierced Dantavaktra with nine arrows and Karusha struck him back with ten swift arrows. Viprithu pierced Shishupala with seven arrows. However, the powerful Shishupala struck him back with eight arrows. Gaveshana pierced the king of Chedi with six arrows. Anirdanta shot eight arrows and Brihaddurga five. The king of Chedi pierced each of them with five arrows and using four arrows, slew four of Viprithu’s horses. Using a broad-headed arrow, he severed the head of his enemy, Brihaddurga. He despatched Gaveshana’s charioteer to Yama’s abode. With his horses slain, the immensely strong Viprithu abandoned his own chariot and swiftly clambered on to the chariot of the valiant Brihaddurga. Since the horses were running wild, Viprithu’s charioteer quickly climbed onto Gaveshana’s chariot and controlled them. With a bow and arrows in his hand, Sunitha was prancing around along the path of the chariots. They angrily surrounded him and showered him with arrows. With a barbed arrow, Chakradeva shattered Dantavaktra’s chest. In the encounter, he next pierced Patusha with twenty-five arrows. When he had been pierced with ten sharp arrows that struck at his inner organs, Bali shattered Chakradeva with ten arrows. Standing some distance away, he pierced Viduratha with five arrows and Viduratha pierced him back with six sharp arrows. He905 pierced the immensely strong Bali back with thirty arrows. Kritavarma shattered the prince with three arrows.906 He slew his charioteer and shattered the upraised standard. Enraged, Poundra pierced him back with six arrows that had stone arrowheads. With broad-headed arrows with drooping tufts, he severed his bow. Nivrittashatru struck Kalinga wih sharp arrows and the king of Kalinga struck him on the neck with a javelin. Using an elephant, Kanka fought against the valiant Anga’s elephant. He struck Anga with a javelin and Anga pierced him with arrows. Chitraka, Shvaphalka and maharatha Satyaka drove Kalinga’s army away with iron arrows. Rama became angry in his duel with the king of Vanga. He uprooted a tree and used it to kill the elephant of the king of Vanga. After killing it, the valiant Samkarshana ascended a chariot and picked up a bow. Using iron arrows, he killed many Kaishika soldiers. Using six arrows, he killed the brave and great archer, Karusha. Angrily, the maharatha slew one hundred soldiers from Magadha. Having killed them, the mighty-armed one advanced against Jarasandha. As he attacked, he was pierced by three iron arrows. The one who used his club as his weapon angrily struck him back with eight iron arrows. Using a broad-headed arrow, he severed his907 standard, which was studded with jewels. A fierce encounter ensued between them, like that between the gods and the asuras. Trying to kill each other, they showered down arrows. Thousands of elephants angrily engaged with rival elephants. Chariots clashed against chariots and horse riders against horse riders. Foot soldiers attacked rival foot soldiers with spears and shields in their hands. They roamed around separately, severing the heads from the torsos. With a great sound, swords descended on armour. The sound made by descending arrows was like the noise made by birds. Kettledrums, conch shells, drums and flutes emitted sounds in the battle. However, the noise made by the weapons and by the great-souled ones twanging their bows was louder.’

  Chapter 88

  Vaishampayana said, ‘Rukmi heard that Rukmini had been abducted by Krishna. In Bhishmaka’s presence, he angrily took a vow. “If I do not kill Govinda in a battle and do not bring Rukmini back, I will not enter Kundina. I say this truthfully.” The brave one ascended a chariot with a standard, stocked with all the best weapons. Surrounded by a large army, the angry one quickly left. He was followed by all the kings who resided along dakshinapatha908—Kratha, Amshuman, Shrutarva, the brave Venudari, Bhishmaka’s sons on their chariots, supreme among charioteers, and the best from the land of Kratha and Kaishika. All of them were maharathas. Those angry ones travelled some distance and on the banks of the Narmada, saw Govinda with his beloved. Asking the soldiers to wait, Rukmi, who was insolent of his prowess, desired to have a duel on chariots and challenged Madhusudana. He pierced Govinda with sixty-four sharp arrows. In the encounter, Govinda pierced him back with seventy arrows. Making efforts, the immensely strong one severed his909 standard and severed the head of the valiant one’s charioteer from his body. On seeing that he910 was in trouble, all the kings from the southern region surrounded Janardana, wishing to kill him. The mighty-armed Amshuman pierced him with ten arrows. Angrily, Shrutarva shot five arrows at him and Venudari shot seven. Govinda shattered the brave Amshuman’s chest. The king was hurt and sank down on the seat of his chariot. With four arrows, he slew Shrutarva’s four horses. He severed Venudari’s standard and pierced him in his right hand. In that way, he pierced Shrutarva with five arrows and he was so pained that he sat down and leaned against his standard, exhausted. The foremost among the Krathas and the Kaishikas attacked Vasudeva from every direction with an array of chariots and showered down arrows on him. Janardana fought against them in that battle, severing their arrows with his arrows. He used arrows to kill the angry ones who were making efforts. There were some brave ones who angrily attacked. The immensely strong one used sixty-four sharp arrows to kill some of them. On seeing that his own army was being driven away, Rukmi was filled with anger. He pierced Keshava in the chest with five sharp arrows. He pierced the charioteer with three sharp arrows and severed the standard with an arrow with a drooping tuft. Keshava angrily pierced him back with six arrows. As Rukmi was making efforts, he severed his bow. Desiring to kill Krishna, Rukmi picked up another bow. He released divine and blazing weapons towards the brave one. The immensely strong Krishna repelled all these weapons with his weapons. He again used three arrows to splinter his bow and shatter his chariot. With his bow severed and deprived of his chariot, the brave and valiant one seized a sword and a shield and, like Garuda, leapt down from his chariot. In that encounter, as he descended with the sword, Keshava cut down the sword and angrily shattered his chest with three iron arrows. The mighty-armed one made a loud noise and fell down on the ground. The king was senseless and unconscious,
like a mountain shattered by the vajra. Keshava again pierced all the kings with arrows. On seeing that Rukmi had fallen down, those kings ran away.

  ‘Rukmini saw that her brother was trembling on the ground. Desiring her brother’s life, she fell down at her husband’s feet. Keshava raised her, embraced her and comforted her. Granting Rukmi freedom from fear, he left for his own city. The Vrishnis defeated Jarasandha and the kings. Placing the one with the plough as his weapon at the front, they happily left for Dvaraka. Once Pundarikaksha had left the field of battle, Shrutarva came to the field of battle. He picked up Rukmi on his chariot and left for his own city. Rukmi was proud of his strength. Since he was unable to bring his sister back, he had failed in his pledge. Therefore, he did not wish to enter the city of Kundina. So as to reside in Vidarbha, be constructed another great city and that became famous on earth as Bhojakatam. Dwelling there, the powerful and immensely strong one protected the southern direction. The great-minded King Bhishmaka lived in Kundina.