Harivamsha

by Bibek Debroy

  ‘Chitralekha spread out the pictures that she had herself drawn and showed them to her friends, especially to Usha. “These are the gods. These are the best among those of the danava lineage. These are the kinnaras, serpents and yakshas. These are all the rakshasas. These are special men among all those who are men. Glance at all of them, in the pictures that I have drawn of them. O friend! I have drawn them. Which is the form of your husband? Recognize the one you saw in your dream.” Progressively, the one who was overcome by desire looked at all of them. Having passed over all the Yadus, she saw the descendant of the Yadu lineage. On seeing Aniruddha, her eyes dilated with wonder. She told Chitralekha, “O friend! This is the one who has perpetrated that theft on me. Earlier, when I was lying down in the palace and dreaming, he is the one who violated me. O auspicious one! I know him by his form. Where has this thief come from? O Chitralekha! O beautiful one! Tell me the truth about him. What are his qualities and conduct? O beautiful one! What is his lineage and what is his name?” Chitralekha replied, “This is the grandson of the intelligent Krishna, the protector of the three worlds. O large-eyed one! He is terrible in his valour. He is your husband and he is Pradyumna’s son. In valour, there is no one in the three worlds who is his equal. He uproots mountains and uses them to shatter other mountains. Since he is a bull among the Yadus, you are blessed and favoured. The wife of the one with the three eyes has decided well. You have obtained a virtuous husband who is your equal.” Usha said, “O large-eyed one! O beautiful one! If this is my husband, an equal of the immortals, swiftly bring him here and save my life.” Hearing Usha’s words, Chitralekha spoke these words. “O fortunate one! O one with the beautiful smiles! You should listen to my words. O queen! Bana’s city is protected in every direction. O timid one! In that way, Dvaraka is especially difficult to penetrate. It is impossible to enter the city of Dvaraka undetected. Protect me and your own self, especially from your father.” Usha said, “O friend! Aniruddha’s face is like the full moon. If I do not see it today, I will go to Yama’s abode. If you know me and if you are affectionate towards me as a friend, listen to what I say. Swiftly go and bring my beloved. Grant me my beloved and grant me my life.” Chitralekha replied, “O timid one! I will leave now and enter the city of Dvaraka. I will bring your husband, the extender of the Vrishni lineage, here today.” Her words were inauspicious and would signify fear for the danavas. However, having said this, Chitralekha, who possessed the speed of thought, vanished. In a short instant, in three muhurtas, he left the city of Bana and reached Dvaraka, protected by Krishna. It was like the summit of Kailasa, adorned with beautiful palaces. She saw Dvaraka, which was like a star in the firmament.’

  Chapter 108

  Vaishampayana said, ‘In the middle of Dvaraka, adorned with palaces, she saw the house where Pradyumna’s son dwelt happily. She swiftly entered that large residence. She saw him amidst the women, like a moon that has just arisen. He was playing and amusing himself with the women, served by them. He was supremely handsome and was drinking the liquor madhvika. He was seated on an excellent seat, like Ailavila.1043 The spirited Chitralekha began to think. “How will I accomplish my task? How will I remain safe and perform my duty?” Hidden, the illustrious Chitralekha thought in this way. The one with the auspicious eyes was invisible because she shrouded herself, using the knowledge of darkness.1044 Despite remaining amidst the women in the palace, she rendered herself invisible. She seized Pradyumna’s son, who was invincible in battle, and leapt up into the sky. She made him vanish from there. Using the path frequented by the siddhas and the charanas, with the speed of thought, she suddenly entered the city of Shonita. Surrounded by her friends in the palace, Usha was astounded to see him. Now that he had reached, she made him enter her own house. On seeing her beloved and on her intention having been accomplished, her eyes dilated with joy. However, the accomplished and beautiful one was also overcome by fear. She quickly told Chitralekha, “O friend! O one who is accomplished in all tasks! How will we manage to keep this act a secret? As long as it is a secret, we are safe. If it comes out, there will be a threat to our lives.” The ornamented one was in a secret place and quickly spoke these words. She was with her beloved, but was also frightened and scared. Undetected by anyone, they united with each other and she found pleasure with Aniruddha.

  ‘The bull among the Yadus was adorned in divine garlands and garments and smeared with celestial unguents and paste. He united with Usha. However, at one particular time, he was detected by Bana’s guards. Those spies and men told Bana everything, without leaving anything out, about how his daughter had been violated. Bali’s son, Bana, the slayer of brave enemies and the performer of terrible deeds, commanded an army of servants. “All of you go together and slay the evil-minded one. He has polluted our lineage and character. He is tainted and wicked in his soul. By raping Usha, it is as if he has molested our great lineage. She was not bestowed on him by us. He seized her himself and violated her. What kind of valour is this? What kind of fortitude is this? What kind of impertinence is this? He is evil-minded. Like an extremely foolish child, he has entered the city and the residence.” Those angry danavas raised many kinds of weapons and assumed many kinds of forms. They attacked, wishing to kill Pradyumna’s son. He heard their voices and all their roars. The brave one suddenly arose, like an elephant that has been struck. The mighty-armed one bit his lips. On seeing him climb on to the palace, all of them were afflicted by fear and fled. The one who was accomplished in fighting in many kinds of ways picked up a gigantic club that was kept at the gate of the inner quarters. To kill them, he flung this at them. All of them showered down arrows, clubs, javelins, swords, spears and tridents, trying to kill him in that field of battle. The one who was in the soul of all beings1045 was not agitated. He roared like a cloud at the end of summer. In every direction, he slew them with iron arrows and clubs. He was like the sun in the sky, surrounded in every direction by clouds. Standing amidst them, he struck them with a terrible club. The infinitely energetic one slew them with that fierce club. Terrified, all of them ran away, like clouds driven away by the wind. Aniruddha cheerfully roared. He roared like a lion and roamed around. He was like a cloud in the sky at the end of summer, thundering loudly. He roared at the danavas who were indomitable in battle, “Stay.” Pradyumna’s son, the slayer of enemies, slaughtered all of them.

  ‘In the battle, all of them were killed by the great-souled one. They retreated from the encounter. They were scared and went to Bana. Blood flowing from their limbs, they reached Bana and sighed. The daityas could not find any peace. They were immobile and their eyes were terrified. The king urged them, “Do not be frightened. Do not be scared. Abandon your fear. O bulls among the danavas! Remain together and fight. Why have you run away, abandoning the fame that is known in the worlds. You have been overcome by lassitude. You are unconscious, like eunuchs. Whom are you frightened of, that you are running away collectively? You are accomplished in fighting in many kinds of ways. Yet, all of you are the worst of your lineages. I will fight without you. There is no need for you to aid me. May you cease to exist. Go away from me and be destroyed.” This is what he told them. The powerful one, fierce and eloquent, spoke in different ways to urge and goad the terrified ones. He again despatched ten thousand brave ones to fight. Large numbers of demons were instructed to seize him.1046 There was an extremely large army there, raising many kinds of weapons. Bana’s army covered everything, their eyes blazing. It was as if the firmament was covered with many kinds of clouds tinged with lightning. In every direction, some of them were stationed on the ground, like trumpeting elephants. Others were in the sky, like clouds at the end of the summer. An extremely terrible encounter raged again. Everywhere, the words “stay”, “wait” were heard. In that encounter, it was a great wonder, since a single person fought against many extremely brave danavas who attacked him. The immensely strong one seized their clubs and spears and used these to kill them in the great battle. In the forefront of the batt
le, he again seized a terrible club. In the encounter, he used this to slay large numbers of immensely strong daityas. The slayer of enemies grasped a sword and a shield in the encounter. In the forefront of the battle, he roamed around in many modes of fighting—circling around, leaping up, descending, leaping up and jumping down, traversing diagonally. He exhibited such thirty-two modes of fighting.1047 In the forefront of the battle, a single person seemed to appear in thousands of forms. In the encounter, he sported in many ways, like Death with a gaping jaw. They sought to torment him. However, their bodies covered with blood, they were again routed and fled to where Bana was stationed in the battle. On their elephants, horses and chariots, they fled in the different directions. Those fierce ones uttered terrible shrieks of desperation. They were afflicted by fear and climbed over each other. They vomited blood. Overcome by depression, they retreated from the fight. Earlier, when they had fought in a battle, the danavas had never suffered from the kind of terror they faced in their encounter with Aniruddha. Some of them vomited blood. Others fell down on the surface of the ground. With clubs, spears and swords in their hands, the danavas looked like the summits of mountains. Overcome by fear in the battle, they abandoned Bana and fled. The danavas were defeated and fled into the extensive sky.

  ‘On seeing that the large army had been routed and that he was alone, Bana blazed in rage, like a fire that has been fed with kindling. The valiant one ascended a chariot that was driven by Kumbhanda. He raised a fierce sword and went to where Aniruddha was. In his one thousand arms, he also held aloft javelins, swords, clubs, spears and battleaxes and they looked like hundreds of standards raised for Shakra. The mighty-armed one’s hands were protected with finger guards made out of lizard skin. With diverse weapons, the supreme among danavas was radiant. He angrily roared like a lion and twanged his giant bow. Eyes red with rage, he shouted, “Stay. Wait.” Pradyumna’s unvanquished son heard the words Bana had spoken in the battle. He glanced at him and laughed. The giant chariot1048 was adorned with hundreds of bells and roared. It possessed red flags and penants. It was covered with bear-skin and was ten nalvas in size.1049 The great-souled one’s chariot was yoked to one thousand horses. Wielding the sword and the shield, he1050 saw it descend on him. Bana saw him standing on the ground, wielding the sword and the shield. He was extremely delighted at the prospect of being able to kill Pradyumna’s son. Yadava held a sword in his hand and was bereft of armour. Though he was stationed in the battle, he was of the view that his adversary could not be defeated. Desiring to slay Aniruddha in the battle, from every direction, Bana shot a net of small arrows towards his head. He repulsed these thousands of arrows with his shield and remained stationed there, like a rising sun. The descendant of the Yadu lineage countered Bana in the encounter and was seen to be like a solitary elephant in the forest, standing in front of a lion. Bana used thousands of sharp and swift arrows that could pierce the inner organs to strike Pradyumna’s unvanquished son. The mighty-armed one was severely struck by Bana’s arrows with drooping tufts. He blazed in anger and desired to perform an extremely difficult feat. Having been struck by the showers of Bana’s arrows, blood flowed from his limbs. However, extremely enraged, he dashed towards Bana’s chariot. Pradyumna’s son was severely struck with swords, clubs, spears, battleaxes, javelins and torrents of arrows. But he did not waver. In the forefront of the battle, he violently leapt up and using his sword, killed Bana’s horses and sliced through his chariot. But Bana was accomplished in different modes of fighting. He again enveloped him with showers of arrows, spears and javelins and rendered him invisible. The large numbers of nairittas thought that he had been killed and roared. However, he suddenly leapt up and stationed himself on the flank of the chariot. Enraged, Bana seized a javelin in the battle. It was fierce in form and terrible. It was adorned with bells and blazed and flamed. It sparkled like Yama’s staff and was as radiant as the sun. It blazed like a giant meteor and he hurled it towards his enemy’s head. The supreme among men saw that the javelin was descending, about to rob him of his life. He leapt up and seized it. The immensely strong one used Bana’s own javelin to strike him. Thus pierced in the body, he fell down on the surface of the ground.

  ‘While he was unconscious, Kumbhanda spoke these words to him. “O Indra among danavas! How can you ignore the enemy who has presented himself before you? O brave one! You seem to be indifferent. Regain your purpose. Resort to maya and fight. Otherwise, he cannot be killed. Abandon this distraction and protect yourself and me. If you do not kill him now, all of us will be destroyed.” The Indra among danavas was goaded by Kumbhanda’s words. The supreme among eloquent ones was angered and spoke these harsh words. “In this battle, I will rob him of his life and dispatch him to death. I will seize him, like Garuda does the serpents.” As soon as he said this, he, his chariot, his horses, his standard and his charioteer vanished,1051 like a city of the gandharvas. Pradyumna’s unvanquished son realized that Bana had disappeared. Full of manliness, he searched in the ten directions. Bali’s angry son thus resorted to the knowledge of tamasa. He was powerful because of his knowledge of maya. While remaining hidden, he released sharp arrows. From every side, these arrows became snakes and bound up Pradyumna’s son. In many ways, his body was bound up in the coils of these serpents. Bound up in all of his limbs, Pradyumna’s son was captured in the battle. Though he was unharmed, he was rendered as immobile as Mount Mainaka. He was rendered immobile in the coils of these snakes and serpents, flames spitting from their mouths. However, like a mountain, Pradyumna’s son was not scared in the battle. He was rendered stationary by the arrows that had become snakes and serpents. But though they coiled all around him, the one who is the soul of all creatures was not distressed. Bana, who was fierce with words, clung to his flagpole and angrily censured him with these harsh words. “O Kumbhanda! Quickly kill this defiler of the lineage. He is tainted in his soul and his conduct has tainted me in this world.” Addressed in these words, Kumbhanda spoke these words. “O king! I will say something. If you so desire, listen to my words. We should find out whose son he is and where he has come from. He is like Shakra in his valour. Who has brought him here? O king! In this great battle, I have seen him fight in many kinds of ways. He was seen to sport in the battle, like a son of the gods. He is full of strength and spirit. He is accomplished in all the sacred texts.1052 O supreme among daityas! He has not committed any sin that warrants his being killed. Having ascertained, slay him, or show him honours. There is a great sin from killing him and there are great qualities in protecting him. He is best among men and should be respected in every way. O king! Behold this best among men. He is full of valour and is suffering because the serpents have bound him up in every part of his body. However, even though this powerful one has come to this state, he doesn’t pay the slightest bit of attention to it. Coiled by the serpents, blood is flowing from his body. There are three furrows on his forehead and he is stationed there, not thinking of us at all. O king! This is despite his having been reduced to this state. He has resorted to the strength of his own arms and does not think of you at all. He is brave and youthful. Who is he? In the battle, you have one thousand arms, while he possesses only two. He has strength and valour. O king! If it pleases you, find out who he is.” On hearing Kumbhanda’s words, Bana relaxed the severe coils of the serpents.1053 Having fought with Aniruddha, he entered his own house.’

  Chapter 109

  Vaishampayana said, ‘Unable to see their beloved husband, all the women in Aniruddha’s household, who were like kinnara ladies, wept. “Alas! Though Krishna is still here as our protector, shame on this world. We are overcome by fear and terrified. We are weeping like those without protectors. The foremost among the gods, the Adityas, the large numbers of Maruts and all the gods who reside in heaven depend on the shelter provided by his arms and have originated from him. However, a great fear has arisen in this world. His grandson, the brave Aniruddha, has been taken away from us by someone. Alas! It is certain that evil
-minded person doesn’t face any fear in this world. He has ignited Vasudeva’s anger, which is extremely difficult to withstand. He is being whirled around inside the jaws of Death and is poised on the tips of Death’s teeth. Because of his confusion, in a battle, he will face Vasudeva as an enemy. That person, even if he happens to be Shatakratu himself, has acted in this way and has caused displeasure to the bull among the Yadus. How will he escape with his life? We are grieving because of what he has done. We have been deprived by him. Deprived of our beloved, we face death ourselves.” They spoke repeatedly in this way and wept. Those supreme women shed inauspicious tears from their eyes. Their eyes were full of tears and looked like lotuses immersed in water at the advent of the rainy season. Their radiant and auspicious eyes were like the feathers of swans, tinged with blood. As they lamented like thousands of female curlews in the sky, a great noise arose from their palaces. This terrible uproar signified the arrival of some fear. On hearing this, all the bulls among men quickly rushed there, leaving their own houses. “What is this evil? Why is this loud uproar being heard from Aniruddha’s house? While we are protected by Krishna, what is this fear that has arisen?” They were confused and affectionately spoke to each other in this way. They emerged like suffering lions from their caves.