Mahabharata Vol. 1 (Penguin Translated Texts)

by Debroy, Bibek

  ‘When those immensely strong and great souls had rested for some time, they were summoned by King Dhritarashtra and the son of Shantanu.10 Dhritarashtra said, “O son of Kunti!11 Listen with your brothers to what I have to say. So that strife does not arise again, go to Khandavaprastha. No one can harm you there, if you are protected there by Partha, as the thirty gods are by the wielder of the vajra.12 Go to Khandavaprastha and take half the kingdom.” Those bulls among men accepted the king’s words and saluting everyone set out for that terrible forest. Having received half the kingdom, they entered Khandavaprastha.

  ‘With Krishna leading them, the invincible Pandavas went there and made it as beautiful a place as heaven. Led by Dvaipayana, the maharathas selected a pure and holy place, performed propitiatory ceremonies and measured out the land for a city. It was surrounded by moats as wide as the ocean and walls that rose high up into the sky. It was white like the clouds and like snow-covered mountains. This greatest of cities was as resplendent as Bhogavati13 of the nagas. It was protected by terrible double-doored gates that were like two-winged Garudas. The high towers were like dense clouds, like many Mandara mountains. It was well covered with many weapons, with sharp spears and javelins like double-tongued snakes and impenetrable to the weapons of enemies. The splendid and spiralling turrets were guarded by warriors and well stocked with weapons of attack. There were many sharp hooks and shataghnis14 and other weapons of war. Great iron chakras adorned that best of cities. The streets were wide and well laid out, preventing collisions among large chariots. It shone with many beautiful white mansions. Like a mass of dense clouds circled by lightning and reflecting the image of heaven, it came to be known as Indraprastha.

  ‘“In that lovely and beautiful place was the dwelling of the Kouravas.15 It was full of every kind of treasure, like the palace of the treasurer16 himself. O king! Brahmanas, the best of those who knew all the Vedas, went there. It was a desired habitation for those who knew all the tongues. Desiring to earn wealth, many merchants from every direction went there. Desirous of living there, came many artisans of every craft. Lovely gardens surrounded the city, with amras,17amratakas,18nipas,19 ashokas,20champakas,21punnagas,22nagapushpas,23lakuchas,24panasas,25 shalas,26talas,27kadambas,28bakulas29 and ketakas.30 These trees were beautiful, full of flowers, and bent down with the burden of their fruit. Amlokas,31lodhras,32 blossoming ankolas,33jambus,34patalas,35kubjakas,36atimuktakas,37karaviras,38parijatas39 and many other kinds of trees were there, always adorned with flowers and fruit and swarming with many different kinds of birds. There echoed the calls of frenzied peacocks and delighted cuckoos. There were houses that were as white as mirrors and bowers full of creepers. There were artificial hillocks designed to bring pleasure. There were ponds filled with clear water and charming lakes that were fragrant with lotuses and water lilies and adorned with many swans, geese and chakravaka40 birds. The beautiful ponds were surrounded by many trees and there were many beautiful and large tanks.

  ‘O great king! Living in that large kingdom populated by holy people, the joy of the Pandavas continued to increase eternally. Thus, because of the righteous conduct of Bhishma and the king,41 the Pandavas came to live in Khandavaprastha. With the five great archers,42 each like an Indra, that best of cities was adorned like Bhogavati of the nagas. O king! Having settled them there and taking the consent of the Pandavas, the brave Keshava, with Rama,43 then went to Dvaravati.’44

  The second volume will recount Arjuna’s banishment, Subhadra’s marriage to Arjuna, the burning of the Khandava forest, the building of a magnificent assembly hall for the Pandavas, the conquest of the world by the Pandavas, the slayings of Jarasandha and Shishupala and then the game with dice, leading finally to the banishment of the Pandavas.

  Acknowledgements

  Carving time out from one’s regular schedule and work engagements to embark on such a mammoth work of translation has been difficult. The past tense should not be used, since only 10 per cent of the road has yet been traversed. Sometimes, I wish I had been born in nineteenth-century Bengal, with a benefactor funding me for doing nothing but this. But alas, the days of gentlemen of leisure are long over. The time could not be carved out from professional engagements, barring of course assorted television channels, who must have wondered why I have been so reluctant to head for their studios in the evenings. It was ascribed to health, interpreted as adverse health. It was certainly health, but not in an adverse sense. Reading the Mahabharata is good for one’s mental health and is an activity to be recommended, without any statutory warnings. The time was stolen in the evenings and over weekends. The cost was therefore borne by one’s immediate family, and to a lesser extent by friends. Socializing was reduced, since every dinner meant one less chapter done. The family has first claim on the debt, though I am sure it also has claim on whatever merits are due. At least Suparna does, and these volumes are therefore dedicated to her. I suspect Sirius has no claim on the merits, though he has been remarkably patient at the times when he has been curled up near my feet and I have been translating away. There is some allegory there about a dog keeping company when the Mahabharata is being read and translated.

  Most people have thought I was mad, even if they never quite said that. Among those who believed and thought it was worthwhile, beyond immediate family, are Ashok Desai, Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Laveesh Bhandari. And my sons, Nihshanka and Vidroha. I know I didn’t run the translations by you first. I wanted you to wait for the final product. But thank you for believing that I would be able to do it. Incidentally, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without Vaman Shivram Apte. When he compiled the student’s Sanskrit dictionary more than a hundred years ago in Pune, I am certain he had no idea that it would be used so comprehensively to translate the Mahabharata.

  Penguin also believed. My initial hesitation about being able to deliver was brushed aside by R. Sivapriya, who pushed me after the series had been commissioned. And then Sumitra Srinivasan became the editor and the enthusiasm of these two was so infectious that everything just snowballed. Sumitra claims she doesn’t know much about Indian mythology. This was just as well, because she kept raising so many irritating questions about the copy that we have ended up with a much better product from the point of view of the lay reader. If the first volume is so clean and clear editorially, the reader must realize that this isn’t quite the product I produced. This is the outcome of a Sumitra Srinivasan editorial churning.

  When I first embarked on what was also a personal voyage of sorts, the end was never in sight and seemed to stretch to infinity. Now that 10 per cent is over (and 10 per cent more is in the pipeline), the horizon can be seen. And all the people mentioned above have had a role to play in this journey.

  1 Brahmana is a text and also the word used for the highest caste.

  2 A class of religious and philosophical texts that are composed in the forest, or are meant to be studied when one retires to the forest.

  3 The six Vedangas are shiksha (articulation and pronunciation), chhanda (prosody), vyakarana (grammar), nirukta (etymology), jyotisha (astronomy) and kalpa (rituals).

  4 Religion, duty.

  5 Wealth. But in general, any object of the senses.

  6 Desire.

  7 Release from the cycle of rebirth.

  9 Krishna or Krishnaa is another name for Droupadi.

  1 The word !‘jaya’ means victory and was also the title of an original and shorter version of the Mahabharata. So this invocation, which is not part of the main text, can be interpreted in two different ways—a literal uttering of the word ‘victory’ or a recital of the Mahabharata.

  2 Nara and Narayana were ancient sages, invariably referred to together. But Narayana eventually came to be identified with Vishnu (hence Krishna) and Nara with Arjuna.

  3 Head or chief. But in this context, a sage who feeds and teaches 10,000 students.

  4 A sacred forest.

  5 A suta was the son of a Kshatriya father and a Brahmana mother and by pro
fession sutas were charioteers. But they were also bards and raconteurs.

  6 The Puranas are sacred texts, composed by the sage Vyasadeva. There are eighteen major Puranas.

  7 Arjuna’s grandson and Abhimanyu’s son.

  8 Vedavyasa or Vyasadeva, thus named because he classified the Vedas. Vedavyasa or Vyasadeva is a title and there has been more than one sage with such a title. This particular Vedavyasa’s name was Krishna Dvaipayana: Krishna because he was dark in complexion and Dvaipayana because he was born on an island (dvipa).

  9 Meaning the first three castes: Brahmanas, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas. Twice-born (dvija) is also used specifically for Brahmanas, the second birth referring to the donning of the sacred thread. The first three castes were all entitled to this right.

  10 Sages with knowledge of the supreme being (brahman).

  11 Sacred texts, four in number: Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda.

  12 Sacred texts.

  13 Ruler, master, lord. Ishana is a name for Shiva, Vishnu, even the sun. But here, the general meaning is intended.

  14 The word brahman or paramatman refers to the supreme spirit and should not be confused with Brahmana, though they have the same etymological root.

  15 Class of gods.

  16 Royal sages. Brahmarshis were of the Brahmana caste. Rajarshis were Kshatriyas, but obtained the status of being a sage (rishi) through their learning.

  17 Union between the human soul and the supreme being.

  18 Knowledge obtained through self-realization.

  19 Sacred texts in the category of revelation.

  20 Collections of sacred texts, particularly in verse form, specifically the Vedas.

  21 Bhishma.

  22 That is, impregnated Vichitravirya’s wife.

  23 Death.

  24 Krishna’s name, as the son of Vasudeva.

  25 These are two (Asita and Devala) ancient sages, whose names always occur together.

  26 A semi-divine species, singers and musicians of the gods.

  27 Nakula and Sahadeva.

  28 Kunti.

  29 Kunti and Madri.

  30 Indra.

  31 Those in the celibate stage of life.

  32 Arjuna.

  33 Droupadi.

  34 Yudhishthira.

  35 A great sacrifice, at the time of coronation, when other kings and princes pay tribute and accept the superiority of the crowned universal monarch.

  36 Shishupala.

  37 Droupadi.

  38 Krishna and Balarama.

  39 Shakuni.

  40 A Brahmana who has finished his period of study and celibacy (brahmacharya) and is about to enter (or just entered) the householder stage (garhasthya) is known as a snataka.

  41 Yudhishthira.

  42 Kubera.

  43 Yudhishthira.

  44 Virata.

  45 A large army with 21,870 chariots, 21,870 elephants, 65,610 horses and 109,350 foot soldiers.

  46 This is a reference to the fifth incarnation of Vishnu, when in the form of a vamana (dwarf), he had humbled the demon king Bali.

  47 Krishna.

  48 Kunti.

  49 Dronacharya.

  50 Instead of tens of thousands, this can also be translated as many.

  51 Warriors from the Panchala region.

  52 Venus, also a sage.

  53 The sun.

  54 There was a hierarchy of warriors. Maharatha can loosely be translated as great warrior. However, more specifically, a maharatha was a warrior who could take on ten thousand warriors single-handed.

  55 Warriors who had taken an oath never to withdraw from the field of battle.

  56 Abhimanyu.

  57 Drona.

  58 Jayadratha.

  59 Arjuna.

  60 Satyaki.

  61 Arjuna.

  62 Ashvatthama.

  63 Shalya.

  64 Jayadratha.

  65 Indra was the king of the gods. The celestial spear (shakti) was given by Indra to Karna, though Karna is not mentioned by name in this shloka. The next shloka is explicit.

  66 Krishna.

  67 Arjuna.

  68 Karna.

  69 Ashvatthama.

  70 Ashvatthama.

  71 Shalya.

  72 Shakuni.

  73 That is, circuits of the club.

  74 Ashvatthama.

  75 Droupadi was Drupada’s daughter and Drupada was the king of Panchala.

  76 Ashvatthama.

  77 Uttara.

  78 Akshouhinis.

  79 Sanjaya.

  80 Indra.

  81 Nishada means hunter.

  82 Earth, water, energy, wind and sky.

  83Sattva, rajas and tamas.

  84 Literally, history. More specifically, the two epics.

  85 Though sacred texts, the Vedas have been personified here.

  86 Reference here is to Krishna Dvaipayana (Vedavyasa).

  1 A very holy region, identified with the area around Kurukshetra.

  2 Two of the four yugas or eras, the four being satya (krita), treta, dvapara and kali.

  3 Reference is to Parashurama.

  4 Parashurama’s paternal grandfather.

  5 Ashvatthama.

  6 Kritavarma.

  7 Kripacharya.

  8 The supreme soul, the brahman or the paramatman.

  9 These numbers are not part of the text. They have been added so that the reader can get a better sense of the one hundred books.

  10 The burning of the house of lac.

  11 The killing of Baka.

  12 Droupadi.

  13 The wedding.

  14 The arrival of Vidura.

  15 Winning of the kingdom.

  16 Arjuna’s sojourn in the forest.

  17 The abduction of Subhadra.

  18 The burning of Khandava forest.

  19 Assembly hall.

  20 When the council meets.

  21 The killing of Jarasandha.

  22 Conquest.

  23 Royal sacrifice.

  24 Offerings or gifts.

  25 The slaying of Shishupala.

  26 The game of dice.

  27 The sequel to the game of dice.

  28 Characterizing the forest.

  29 The slaying of Kirmira.

  30 Shiva.

  31 The travel to the world of Indra.

  32 The killing of Jatasura.

  33 War of the yakshas.

  34 Boa constrictor.

  35 Named after a sage known as Markandeya.

  36 Travel with the cattle.

  37 Dream of the deer.

  38 The abduction of Droupadi.

  39 Jarasandha.

  40 The theft of the earrings.

  41Arani is a wood or stick used for kindling a sacred fire and this parva is named after that.

  42 Virata was the king of the Matsya kingdom and the Pandavas lived there in exile.

  43 The slaying of Kichaka.

  44 The stealing of cattle.

  45 Endeavour.

  46 The arrival of Sanjaya.

  47 Sleeplessness at night.

  48 An arrival in search of peace.

  49 Krishna.

  50Niryanana means departure or exit.

  51 One of the seven continents (dvipa) that surround Mount Meru. Sometimes, the number of continents is also given as eighteen. But seven is more standard. The word dvipa also means island. But here, it has been used in the alternative meaning, a division of the terrestrial world.

  52 The slaying of Abhimanyu.

  53 Oath.

  54 The slaying of Jayadratha.

  55 The slaying of Ghatotkacha.

  56 Named after Karna.

  57 Named after Shalya.

  58 Duel of the clubs.

  59 The word souptika means something connected with sleep and the name is a reference to the fact that the protagonists were asleep and the incidents took place at night.

  60 Named after the aishika weapon.

  61 Offering o
f water.

  62 Women.

  63Shraddha means funeral rites.

  64 Peace.

  65 Concerning clubs.

  66 The great departure.

  67 Ascent to heaven.

  68 The lineage of Hari.

  69 Concerning the future. The Harivamsha is usually accepted as an appendix to the Mahabharata, but not what is referred to as Bhavishya parva. Bhavishya parva is what is known as Bhavishya Purana, one of the eighteen major Puranas. Barring this reference, Bhavishya parva is not part of the Mahabharata. Consequently, it doesn’t find a mention in Section 1’s listing either.

  70 Indra’s horse, which emerged as a result of the churning of the ocean.

  71 This is the sixth parva, listed as the descent of the first generation. After this, one loses the matching between the eighteen-parva classification and the 100-parva classification, since the text now sticks to the eighteen-parva classification.

  72 One may loosely use the word demon for both daitya and danava, but daityas are descendants of Diti and danavas are descendants of Danu.

  73 Nagas are not snakes. Snakes are sarpas. Nagas can perhaps be translated as serpents. Unlike snakes, nagas can assume other forms (such as human) and live in separate geographical regions, not earth. They are also sometimes semi-divine. Sarpas live on earth.