‘Drona’s son saw that the two rishis were stationed in front of him. However, in the encounter, he was incapable of again withdrawing that terrible weapon. In the encounter, he was incapable of restraining that supreme weapon. O king! Distressed in his mind, Drona’s son addressed Dvaipayana. “I was distressed because I confronted a great calamity. I was scared of saving my life. I released the weapon out of fear. I was scared of Bhimasena. In attempting to kill Dhritarashtra’s son, he acted in accordance with adharma. O illustrious one! Bhimasena resorted to falsehood in the battle. O brahmana! Though I have not cleansed my soul, this is the reason I invoked this weapon. I do not have any interest in withdrawing it, even now. Once this celestial weapon has been released by me, it is invincible. O sage! I have invoked it with the energy of the fire and with mantras, ‘To bring an end to the Pandavas’. Therefore, it has been created for the destruction of the Pandaveyas. It will now destroy all the sons of Pandu who are alive. O brahmana! With my senses destroyed by anger, I have committed a wicked deed. Created by me in this encounter, this weapon will slaughter the Parthas.”
‘Vyasa replied, “O son!38 Partha Dhananjaya knew about the weapon brahmashira. However, he did not release it out of rage, or to slay you in this encounter. In the encounter, he wished to pacify the weapon that had been released by you. Arjuna released it, and withdrew it again. He obtained instruction in the use of brahmastra from your father.39 However, the mighty-armed Dhananjaya was compassionate and did not deviate from the dharma of kshatriyas. He possesses fortitude and is virtuous. He has knowledge of all the weapons and is righteous. Why do you wish to kill such a person and his brothers? In a spot where the weapon named brahmashira is countered through the use of another supreme weapon, in such a kingdom, it does not rain for twelve years. The mighty-armed Pandava is capable. However, because he had the welfare of all subjects in his mind, he did not counter your weapon with his. You, the Pandavas, you, and the kingdom must always be protected. O mighty-armed one! That is the reason you should withdraw that divine weapon. Get rid of this rage and let the Pandavas always be without disease. Rajarshi Pandava40 does not wish to win through the use of adharma. You possess a gem on your forehead. Give that to me. Once you have given that, the Pandavas will grant you your life in return.”
‘Drona’s son said, “The Pandaveyas possess jewels and there are riches obtained by the Kouravas. However, this gem that belongs to me is superior to both of those. When this is worn, there is never any fear from weapons, disease, hunger, lack of protection, gods, danavas and serpents. Nor is there fear from large numbers of rakshasas, or fear from thieves. This is the kind of energy that is vested in this gem and I should never give it up. O illustrious one! Take it. However, what should be done next? Here is the gem. But the reed invoked by me is invincible and it will descend on the wombs of the Pandaveyas.”41
‘Vyasa replied, “Do this and do not turn your mind to any other task. Release this towards the wombs of the Pandaveyas and desist.”’42
Vaishampayana said, ‘Ashvatthama was severely afflicted. At this, on hearing Dvaipayana’s words, he released that supreme weapon in the direction of the wombs.’
Chapter 1299(16)
Vaishampayana said, ‘The perpetrator of wicked deeds acted accordingly and released it. On discerning this, Hrishikesha cheerfully spoke these words to Drona’s son. “In earlier times, Virata’s daughter, the daughter-in-law of the wielder of Gandiva,43 had gone to Upaplavya. A brahmana who followed vows had seen her there and had said, ‘When the Kurus are destroyed, a son will be born to you. That is the reason the one in your womb will be known by the name of Parikshit.’44 The words of that virtuous one will be true. When everyone is destroyed, there will again be a victorious son.” On hearing the words of Govinda, supreme among the Satvata lineage, Drona’s son became greatly angry and replied in these words. “O Keshava! You are saying this because of your partiality and this shall not be true. O Pundarikaksha! My words will never be false. O Krishna! The weapon that has been invoked by me will descend on the womb of Virata’s daughter, the one that you wish to protect.”
‘Vasudeva replied, “This supreme weapon is invincible and will indeed descend. The foetus will be born dead. However, it will revive and live till a long age. All the learned ones know that you are wicked and a coward. You have always been engaged in evil and wicked deeds. You survive by killing those who are children. That is the reason you will reap the fruits of your wicked deeds. You will roam around the earth for three thousand years. You will never have a companion and will never be able to converse with anyone. You will be alone and have no aides. You will roam through diverse countries. O wicked one! You will never find a station amidst men. You will have the stench of pus and blood. You will dwell in desolate regions and in wildernesses. O evil one! You will roam around, ridden with every kind of disease. Parikshit will come of age and obtain the Vedas and the vows. The brave one will obtain knowledge of all the weapons from Kripa Sharadvata. He will know about all the supreme weapons and base himself on the dharma of kshatriyas. He will have dharma in his soul and protect the earth for sixty years. On top of this, the mighty-armed one will be the king of the Kurus. O extremely evil-minded one! That king will be known by the name of Parikshit. O worst of men! You will look on. Behold the power of my austerities, energy and truth.”
‘Vyasa said, “You disregarded us and perpetrated this terrible deed. This has been your conduct, though you were a virtuous brahmana.45 That is the reason there is no doubt that the excellent words spoken by Devaki’s son will come true. You have resorted to the path of inferior deeds.”
‘Ashvatthama replied, “O brahmana! Together with you, I will dwell among men.46 O illustrious one! Let Purushottama’s47 words come true.”’
Vaishampayana said, ‘Drona’s son gave the gem to the great-souled Pandavas. While all of them looked on, with an unhappy state of mind, he left for the forest. Having destroyed their enemies, the Pandavas placed Govinda, Krishna Dvaipayana and the great sage, Narada, ahead of them. Obtaining the natural gem that Drona’s son possessed, they swiftly rushed towards Droupadi, the spirited one having made up her mind on praya. Those tigers among men used well-trained horses that were as fleet as the wind. With Dasharha, they again returned to their camp. The maharathas quickly descended from their chariots. They saw Krishna48 Droupadi, afflicted by great misery. She was overcome by sorrow and grief and was cheerless. With Keshava, the Pandavas approached her and stood around her. Having been instructed by the king, the immensely strong Bhimasena gave her the celestial gem and spoke these words. “O fortunate one! This is your gem. The slayer of your sons has been vanquished. Arise. Give up this sorrow and remember the dharma of kshatriyas. O dark-eyed one! O timid one! When Vasudeva left on his mission of peace and had yoked his mounts,49 you had spoken these words to Madhu’s slayer.50 ‘I do not have husbands. I do not have sons. I do not have brothers. O Govinda! You are also not there. The king wishes for peace.’ Those were the firm words you spoke to Purushottama. You should now remember those words, which were in accordance with the dharma of kshatriyas. The wicked Duryodhana, who stood in the way of the kingdom, has been slain. I have drunk the blood of the trembling Duhshasana. We have repaid our debts to the enemy. There is no one to wound us with words. We have defeated and released Drona’s son, so as to honour brahmanas. O queen! His fame has been destroyed. Only his body remains. He has been separated from his gem. He no longer possesses any weapons on earth.”
‘Droupadi replied, “I only wished to repay my debts. The son of the preceptor is my senior too. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Let the king fasten the gem on his head.”’
Vaishampayana said, ‘The king acted accordingly and followed Droupadi’s words. He received it and fastened it on his head, regarding it as something that had been left for him by his preceptor. The lord bore that divine and supreme gem on his head. The great king was radiant, like a mountain, with the moon on top. The spirited Krishna,51 afflic
ted by sorrow on account of her sons, arose. Dharmaraja asked the mighty-armed Krishna.’
Chapter 1300(17)
Vaishampayana said, ‘When all the soldiers were asleep and were destroyed by the three rathas, King Yudhishthira grieved and spoke these words to Dasharha. “O Krishna! All my sons were maharathas. Drona’s son was wicked, inferior and blemished in his deeds. How could they be slain by him? In a similar way, Drupada’s sons were accomplished in the use of weapons. They were brave. They could fight with hundreds and thousands. How could they have been brought down by Drona’s son? Dhrishtadyumna was the best among rathas. In the forefront of the battle, Drona, the great archer, could not stand before him. How could he have been slain? O bull among men! What act had the preceptor’s son accomplished, that he could single-handedly slay all of them in the camp?”
‘Vasudeva replied, “There is no doubt that Drona’s son had sought refuge with the god of the gods, the lord without decay, the lord of everything. That is the reason he could slay many, though he was single-handed. If Mahadeva is pleased, he can even grant immortality. O bull among the Bharata lineage! I know about Mahadeva’s true nature and about the many deeds that he performed in ancient times. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He is the beginning, the middle and the end of beings. Everything in this entire universe moves because of his deeds. The lord, the grandfather, wished to create beings and saw him first. He told him, ‘Without any delay, create beings.’ Having been thus addressed, the one with the tawny locks52 saw that beings would have defects. For a very long time, the immensely ascetic one submerged himself in water and tormented himself through austerities. The grandfather waited for a very long period of time. So as to generate beings, he then created another being through his mental powers. On seeing that Girisha was submerged in the water, this being told his father,53 ‘I will generate beings only if no other being has been born before me.’ His father told him, ‘There is no other being who has been born before you. Sthanu is submerged in the water. You can confidently do what you have to do.’ That being then created seven Prajapatis, Daksha and the others.54 All of them created the four kinds of beings.55 Having been created, all the beings were hungry. O king! They violently rushed towards the Prajapatis, wishing to devour them. As they were about to be devoured, in search of succour, they fled to the grandfather. ‘O illustrious one! Please save us from these. Decree some means for their sustenance.’ He then assigned them the forests, the herbs and all immobile objects. Among mobile beings, the strong could feed on the weak. Having been assigned a means of sustenance, all the beings were satisfied and went away to wherever they had come from. O king! They cheerfully multiplied themselves, within their own species. When the beings prospered, the preceptor of the worlds56 was pleased. However, the eldest one arose from the waters and saw all these beings. He saw many different kinds of beings, who were extending through their own energies. The illustrious Rudra angrily planted his linga, so that it penetrated the earth and remained stationed there. Brahma wished to pacify him and spoke these words to him. ‘O Sharva! Why did you remain inside the water for such a long period of time? Why have you made your linga penetrate inside the earth?’ Thus addressed, he angrily replied to the preceptor of the worlds, ‘Someone else has created these beings. What will I do with this?57 O grandfather! Through my austerities, I have created food for the beings. The herbs will always multiply and so will the beings.’ Having angrily spoken in this way, Bhava was cheerless and went away. The immensely ascetic one tormented himself through austerities on the foothills of Mount Munjavat.”’58
Chapter 1301(18)
‘Vasudeva said, “When the yuga of the gods was over,59 the gods resolved to perform a sacrifice in accordance with the dictates of the Vedas. They made all the due preparations. The foremost among the gods thought of an appropriate place where the sacrifice could be performed. Amongst themselves, the gods apportioned out the shares of the objects offered at the sacrifice. O lord of men! Despite knowing about Rudra and about his true nature, the gods did not determine a share for Sthanu. On knowing that the immortals had not thought of a share for him at the sacrifice, Krittivasa60 quickly determined to obtain a share and created a bow. There are sacrifices for the worlds, sacrifices with rituals, sacrifices performed in households and eternal sacrifices that involve the five elements.61 Sacrifices performed by men are the fifth kind. Kapardi62 constructed a bow for the sake of a sacrifice that was a sacrifice for the worlds. He created a bow from the elements and it was five cubits long. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Vashatkara63constituted the bowstring. He wished to destroy the four limbs of the sacrifice.64 Therefore, Mahadeva angrily grasped his bow. He went to the spot where the gods had assembled. On seeing the undecaying brahmachari arrive there with the bow, the goddess earth was distressed. The mountains began to tremble. Winds did not blow. Though offered kindling, fires would not blaze. The nakshatras, in their circle in the sky, were anxious and roamed aimlessly. The resplendent sun and the moon lost the radiance in their discs. The entire sky was enveloped in great darkness. The gods were distressed and confused. The top of the sacrificial altar could no longer be seen. Rudra used his arrow to pierce the sacrifice in the heart. Thus attacked, the sacrifice assumed the form of a deer and fled, together with the fire. O Yudhishthira! In that form, it roamed around in the sky. However, Rudra pursued it in the firmament. When the sacrifice was attacked in this fashion, the gods lost their senses. Having lost their senses, the gods could not distinguish anything. Using the curved end of the bow, Tryambaka65 then angrily tore out Savita’s arms, plucked out Bhaga’s eyes and gouged out Pushana’s teeth. The gods, and all the parts of the sacrifice, fled. Some whirled around, as if they had lost their lives. Having driven all of them away, Shitikantha66 laughed. He used the extremities of his bow to paralyse and obstruct the gods. When the immortals shrieked, the bowstring broke. O king! When the bowstring was severed, he violently brandished his bow. The best of the gods was without a bow and the gods, together with the sacrifice, approached him and sought refuge with him. They sought the lord’s favours. The illustrious one was pleased and cast his anger aside into a body of water. O lord! That is the fire in the water, which always dries it up. O Pandava! He returned Bhaga’s eyes, Savita’s arms and Pushana’s teeth and the sacrifice was also restored. Everything was well, exactly as it had been earlier. The gods thought of all the oblations as his share. O lord! When Bhava67 was enraged, the entire universe was in disarray. When he was satisfied, everything was hale again. He68 was gratified with the valiant one.69 That is the reason all your maharatha sons have been killed, and so have many other brave Panchalas and their followers. In your mind, you should not think that this has been done by Drona’s son. This was because of Mahadeva’s favours. Now do whatever task must be done next.”’
This ends Souptika Parva.
Section Eighty
VISHOKA PARVA
Stri Parva
Stri Parva is a parva concerning women. This parva is so named because it is about the grief of the women and the funeral ceremonies performed by the women and the survivors. In the 18-parva classification, Stri Parva is the eleventh. In the 100-parva classification, Stri Parva constitutes Sections 80 to 83. Stri Parva has twenty-seven chapters. In the numbering of the chapters in Stri Parva, the first number is a consecutive one, starting with the beginning of the Mahabharata. And the second number, within brackets, is the numbering of the chapter within the parva.
This parva has 194 shlokas and eight chapters.
Chapter 1302(1): 37 shlokas
Chapter 1303(2): 23 shlokas
Chapter 1304(3): 17 shlokas
Chapter 1305(4): 15 shlokas
Chapter 1306(5): 22 shlokas
Chapter 1307(6): 12 shlokas
Chapter 1308(7): 20 shlokas
Chapter 1309(8): 48 shlokas
Vishoka means the end of sorrow, or to be freed from sorrow. This parva is named after Vidura’s attempt to dispel Dhritarashtra’s s
orrow.
Chapter 1302(1)
Janamejaya asked, ‘O sage! When the great king Dhritarashtra heard that Duryodhana and all the soldiers had been killed, what did he do? What did the great-minded Kourava king, Dharma’s son,1 and the other three, Kripa and the others,2 do? I have heard about Ashvatthama’s deed and the curses that were imposed on each other.3 Tell me what happened next and what Sanjaya said.’
Mahabharata: Volume 8 Page 9