Vaishampayana said, ‘Having heard these terrible words, the great-minded Vasudeva smiled a little and replied to Queen Gandhari. “O beautiful one! No one other than me can destroy the circle of the Vrishnis. O kshatriya lady! I know what has already been decided. You have acted in accordance with what has been ordained. The Yadavas cannot be killed by any other men, or by gods and danavas. They will confront their destruction at each other’s hands.” When Dasharha said this, the Pandavas lost their senses. They became extremely anxious and no longer wished to remain alive.’
Section Eighty-two
SHRADDHA PARVA
This parva has forty-four shlokas and only one chapter.
Chapter 1327(26): 44 shlokas
Shraddha is a funeral ceremony for dead relatives and this parva is named after that. The dead warriors are cremated and their funeral rites performed.
Chapter 1327(26)
‘Vasudeva said, “Get up! O Gandhari! Arise! Do not sorrow unnecessarily. The Kurus have confronted destruction because of your crimes. Your evil-souled son was jealous and extremely insolent. You honoured Duryodhana and thought that his evil deeds were virtuous. But they were cruel, full of enmity and harsh. They transgressed the commands of seniors. You committed the sin yourself. Why are you trying to blame it on me? If one sorrows over someone who is dead, something that has been destroyed, or something that has already happened, one imposes sorrow on a sorrow and thereby, causes a double calamity. A brahmana lady gives birth for austerities, a cow for a draught animal, a mare for running, a shudra for a servant and a vaishya for animal husbandry. However, a princess like you gives birth for slaughter.”’
Vaishampayana said, ‘On again hearing Vasudeva’s unpleasant words, Gandhari became silent. Her eyes were anxious and full of tears. Rajarshi Dhritarashtra had dharma in his soul and dispelled the darkness caused by limited intelligence. He asked Dharmaraja Yudhishthira, “O Pandava! You know the number of soldiers who are alive. If you know the number of those who have been slain, tell me.” Yudhishthira replied, “One billion,1 twenty thousand and sixty-six crore—that is the number slain in this battle of kings.2 O Indra among kings! In addition, twenty-four thousand, one hundred and sixty-five brave ones are missing.” Dhritarashtra asked, “O Yudhishthira! Where have those best of men gone? Tell me. O mighty-armed one! It is my view that you know everything.” Yudhishthira replied, “They cheerfully offered their bodies as oblations in the supreme battle. Truth was their valour and they have gone to worlds that are like that of the king of the gods. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Those who were cheerful in their minds, thinking that everyone is mortal, were slain in the battle and have encountered the gandharvas. Those who were unwillingly stationed in the battle and wished to be spared have been slain with weapons and have gone towards the guhyakas.3 However, there were great-souled ones who were weakened and deprived of weapons. They were abandoned by others and severely afflicted. Even then, they attacked the enemy. Though they were severed by sharp weapons, they were devoted to the dharma of kshatriyas. Those extremely radiant and brave ones were slain and went to Brahma’s abode. O king! There were some who were slain in the field of battle without doing anything remarkable. They have obtained the region of Uttarakuru.”4 Dhritarashtra asked, “O son! What is this strength of knowledge, through which you can perceive like a siddha?5 O mighty-armed one! If it can be heard by me, tell me about it.” Yudhishthira replied, “Because of your instructions, I roamed around in the forest earlier. In that connection, I visited the tirthas and obtained this blessing.6 At that time, I saw devarshi Lomasha and acquired this knowledge. Earlier, through the yoga of knowledge, I had obtained divine sight.”
‘Dhritarashtra said, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! There are people who have relatives and those who do not have relatives. Let the bodies of all those be burnt in accordance with the proper rites. Some have no one to perform the rites and fires have not been lit for some. O son! For whom can we perform the rites? There are many rites to be performed. O Yudhishthira! There are those who have obtained the worlds through their deeds, but are being dragged here and there by birds and vultures.”’
Vaishampayana said, ‘Having been thus addressed, the immensely wise Yudhishthira, Kunti’s son, instructed Sudharma,7 Dhoumya,8 the suta Sanjaya, the immensely intelligent Vidura, Kouravya Yuyutsu and all the servants and charioteers, with Indrasena9 at their head. “Perform the funeral rites for everyone. Let the bodies of those who have no one to look after them not be destroyed.” Having heard Dharmaraja’s command, Kshatta,10 suta Sanjaya, Sudharma, Dhoumya, Indrasena and the others brought sandalwood, aloe, yellow fragrant wood, clarified butter, oil, fragrances and cotton garments. They made piles of woods and these expensive objects. They added the shattered chariots and other implements. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Having carefully prepared the pyres and observed the prescribed rites, they burnt the foremost among the kings, following the due order—King Duryodhana and his one hundred brothers, Shalya, King Shala, Bhurishrava, King Jayadratha, Abhimanyu, Duhshasana’s son, Lakshmana,11 King Dhrishtaketu, Brihanta, Somadatta, more than one hundred Srinjayas, King Kshemadhanva,12 Virata, Drupada, Panchala Shikhandi, Parshata Dhrishtadyumna, valiant Yudhamanyu, Uttamouja, the king of Kosala, Droupadi’s sons, Shakuni Soubala, Achala, Vrishaka,13 King Bhagadatta, the intolerant Karna Vaikartana and his sons, the great archers from Kekaya, the maharathas from Trigarta, Ghatotkacha, Indra among rakshasas, Baka’s brother,14 King Alambusa, King Jalasandha and hundreds and thousands of other kings. O king! Flows of clarified butter were poured and the blazing fires burnt them. For some of those great-souled ones, sacrifices meant for the ancestors were performed. Some chanted sama hymns. Others sorrowed over the ones who were dead. The sounds of women weeping mixed with the sama chants. During that night, a lassitude overcame all beings. The blazing fires flamed, without any smoke. They were seen to be like planets surrounded by clouds in the firmament. There were those who had come from many countries and had no one to tend to them. On Dharmaraja’s instructions, Vidura brought all of them together and piled them in thousands of heaps. Pyres were lit with wood, sprinkled with oil and they were attentively burnt. Yudhishthira, king of the Kurus, performed the rites for them. After this, with Dhritarashtra at the forefront, he went towards the Ganga.’
Section Eighty-three
JALA-PRADANIKA PARVA
This parva has twenty-four shlokas and only one chapter.
Chapter 1328(27): 24 shlokas
Jala is water and pradana is to give. After the cremation, this parva is named after the observation of water-rites and the offering of water to the dead warriors. Kunti also tells the Pandavas that Karna was their elder brother.
Chapter 1328(27)
Vaishampayana said, ‘They reached the auspicious Ganga, desired by pious people. It had large lakes and beautiful banks, with large wetlands and large forests. They took off their ornaments and upper garments and offered oblations to fathers, grandsons, brothers and relatives. The noble women of the Kuru lineage offered water to their sons and all the others. They wept in great sorrow. Those who knew about dharma performed the rite of offering water for their well-wishers. The wives of heroes offered water for heroes. The Ganga had excellent passages to the water and seemed to extend out even more. The banks of the Ganga were beautiful, full of these wives of heroes. It was like a giant expanse of water. But it was not at all pleasant.
‘O great king! Kunti was suddenly overcome by grief. She wept. In a soft voice, she spoke these words to her sons. “There was a brave and great archer. He was a leader of leaders of rathas. He was marked with the auspicious signs of a hero and was killed by Arjuna in the battle. O Pandavas! You thought of him as the son of a suta and as Radheya.1 In the midst of the formations, the lord was as radiant as the sun. Staying at the front, he fought against all of you and your followers. He roamed around, gathering all of Duryodhana’s troops behind him. There was no one on earth who was his equal in valour.
He was devoted to the truth. He was brave. He did not retreat from a battle. The one with unblemished deeds was your brother. Perform the water-rites for him. He was your eldest brother, born from the sun god. He possessed earrings and armour.2 He was brave. He was like the sun in his radiance.” All the Pandavas heard these unpleasant words spoken by their mother. They sorrowed over Karna and became even more distressed.
‘Sighing like a serpent, the brave Yudhishthira, Kunti’s son, spoke to his mother. “No one but Dhananjaya could withstand his shower of arrows. How did he earlier become your son, born from a god? All of us were tormented by the strength of his arms. He was like a fire inside a garment. How did you hide him? The strength of his arms was fierce and the sons of Dhritarashtra worshipped him. No one but Kunti’s son, ratha among rathas,3 could have taken that away from Karna. He was supreme among all the wielders of weapons. He was our eldest brother! How did you, earlier, give birth to someone with such extraordinary valour? Alas! By keeping this a secret, you have killed us now. We had been afflicted on account of our relatives and Karna’s death has added to that. Abhimanyu was destroyed. Droupadi’s sons were killed. The Panchalas were destroyed and the Kurus were brought down. But this sorrow, that touches us now, is a hundred times greater than that. Sorrowing over Karna, it is as if I am being consumed by a fire. There is nothing that we could not have obtained, not even something that is in heaven. This fierce destruction that has enveloped the Kurus would not have occurred.” In this way, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira lamented a lot. O king! Having lamented, loudly and softly, the lord performed the water-rites. All the men and women there, on both his sides, cried violently as he performed the water-rites. Out of affection for his brother, Yudhishthira, the wise lord of the Kurus, had Karna’s wives, attired in their garments, brought there. Then, with them, the one with dharma in his soul performed the funeral rites. Having done this, with his senses in a whirl, he emerged from the waters of the Ganga.’
This ends Stri Parva.
Section Eighty-four
RAJA DHARMA PARVA
Shanti Parva
Shanti Parva is the twelfth in the 18-parva classification and is the longest parva of the Mahabharata. In the 100-parva classification, Shanti Parva constitutes Sections 84 to 86. This parva has 353 chapters. In the numbering of the chapters in Shanti 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 Shanti Parva.
This parva has 4,509 shlokas and 128 chapters.
Chapter 1329(1): 44 shlokas
Chapter 1330(2): 29 shlokas
Chapter 1331(3): 33 shlokas
Chapter 1332(4): 21 shlokas
Chapter 1333(5): 15 shlokas
Chapter 1334(6): 12 shlokas
Chapter 1335(7): 41 shlokas
Chapter 1336(8): 37 shlokas
Chapter 1337(9): 37 shlokas
Chapter 1338(10): 28 shlokas
Chapter 1339(11): 28 shlokas
Chapter 1340(12): 36 shlokas
Chapter 1341(13): 13 shlokas
Chapter 1342(14): 39 shlokas
Chapter 1343(15): 58 shlokas
Chapter 1344(16): 26 shlokas
Chapter 1345(17): 23 shlokas
Chapter 1346(18): 38 shlokas
Chapter 1347(19): 23 shlokas
Chapter 1348(20): 14 shlokas
Chapter 1349(21): 19 shlokas
Chapter 1350(22): 15 shlokas
Chapter 1351(23): 16 shlokas
Chapter 1352(24): 30 shlokas
Chapter 1353(25): 33 shlokas
Chapter 1354(26): 36 shlokas
Chapter 1355(27): 32 shlokas
Chapter 1356(28): 58 shlokas
Chapter 1357(29): 141 shlokas
Chapter 1358(30): 42 shlokas
Chapter 1359(31): 47 shlokas
Chapter 1360(32): 24 shlokas
Chapter 1361(33): 12 shlokas
Chapter 1362(34): 36 shlokas
Chapter 1363(35): 32 shlokas
Chapter 1364(36): 46 shlokas
Chapter 1365(37): 43 shlokas
Chapter 1366(38): 49 shlokas
Chapter 1367(39): 49 shlokas
Chapter 1368(40): 22 shlokas
Chapter 1369(41): 18 shlokas
Chapter 1370(42): 12 shlokas
Chapter 1371(43): 17 shlokas
Chapter 1372(44): 16 shlokas
Chapter 1373(45): 20 shlokas
Chapter 1374(46): 35 shlokas
Chapter 1375(47): 72 shlokas
Chapter 1376(48): 15 shlokas
Chapter 1377(49): 80 shlokas
Chapter 1378(50): 36 shlokas
Chapter 1379(51): 18 shlokas
Chapter 1380(52): 34 shlokas
Chapter 1381(53): 27 shlokas
Chapter 1382(54): 39 shlokas
Chapter 1383(55): 20 shlokas
Chapter 1384(56): 60 shlokas
Chapter 1385(57): 45 shlokas
Chapter 1386(58): 30 shlokas
Chapter 1387(59): 141 shlokas
Chapter 1388(60): 52 shlokas
Chapter 1389(61): 21 shlokas
Chapter 1390(62): 11 shlokas
Chapter 1391(63): 30 shlokas
Chapter 1392(64): 29 shlokas
Chapter 1393(65): 35 shlokas
Chapter 1394(66): 37 shlokas
Chapter 1395(67): 38 shlokas
Chapter 1396(68): 61 shlokas
Chapter 1397(69): 71 shlokas
Chapter 1398(70): 32 shlokas
Chapter 1399(71): 14 shlokas
Chapter 1400(72): 33 shlokas
Chapter 1401(73): 26 shlokas
Chapter 1402(74): 32 shlokas
Chapter 1403(75): 22 shlokas
Chapter 1404(76): 37 shlokas
Chapter 1405(77): 14 shlokas
Chapter 1406(78): 34 shlokas
Chapter 1407(79): 43 shlokas
Chapter 1408(80): 20 shlokas
Chapter 1409(81): 41 shlokas
Chapter 1410(82): 30 shlokas
Chapter 1411(83): 67 shlokas
Chapter 1412(84): 54 shlokas
Chapter 1413(85): 11 shlokas
Chapter 1414(86): 33 shlokas
Chapter 1415(87): 33 shlokas
Chapter 1416(88): 38 shlokas
Chapter 1417(89): 29 shlokas
Chapter 1418(90): 25 shlokas
Chapter 1419(91): 38 shlokas
Chapter 1420(92): 56 shlokas
Chapter 1421(93): 19 shlokas
Chapter 1422(94): 38 shlokas
Chapter 1423(95): 13 shlokas
Chapter 1424(96): 21 shlokas
Chapter 1425(97): 23 shlokas
Chapter 1426(98): 31 shlokas
Chapter 1427(99): 50 shlokas
Chapter 1428(100): 18 shlokas
Chapter 1429(101): 47 shlokas
Chapter 1430(102): 20 shlokas
Chapter 1431(103): 41 shlokas
Chapter 1432(104): 52 shlokas
Chapter 1433(105): 53 shlokas
Chapter 1434(106): 24 shlokas
Chapter 1435(107): 27 shlokas
Chapter 1436(108): 31 shlokas
Chapter 1437(109): 28 shlokas
Chapter 1438(110): 26 shlokas
Chapter 1439(111): 29 shlokas
Chapter 1440(112): 86 shlokas
Chapter 1441(113): 21 shlokas
Chapter 1442(114): 14 shlokas
Chapter 1443(115): 20 shlokas
Chapter 1444(116): 22 shlokas
Chapter 1445(117): 44 shlokas
Chapter 1446(118): 28 shlokas
Chapter 1447(119): 20 shlokas
Chapter 1448(120): 54 shlokas
Chapter 1449(121): 57 shlokas
Chapter 1450(122): 55 shlokas
Chapter 1451(123): 24 shlokas
Chapter 1452(124): 69 shlokas
Chapter 1453(125): 34 shlokas
Chapter 1454(126): 52 shlokas
Chapter 1455(127): 10 shlokas
&nbs
p; Chapter 1456(128): 49 shlokas
Raja is king and raja dharma is the dharma of kings. Knowing that Karna was Kunti’s son, Yudhishthira sorrows over him and Narada recounts the story of Karna being cursed and his exploits. Yudhishthira wishes to leave for the forest, but is dissuaded. He is asked to learn about dharma from Bhishma and enters Hastinapura. Yudhishthira is crowned. Bhishma teaches Yudhishthira about raja dharma, the dharma of the four varnas and the four ashramas.
Chapter 1329(1)
Vaishampayana said, ‘Having offered water to all the well-wishers, the descendants of the Pandu lineage, Vidura, Dhritarashtra and all the women of the Bharata lineage, dwelt there. The great-souled sons of the Kuru lineage wished to spend a month of mourning outside the city.1 When King Dhritarashtra, with dharma in his soul, had performed the water-rites, the great-souled siddhas, supreme brahmarshis, Dvaipayana, Narada, the great rishi Devala, Devsthana and Kanva, with their supreme disciples, and many other brahmanas who were accomplished in wisdom and learned in the Vedas and all the snatakas2 in the householder stage, came to see the supreme among the Kuru lineage. When they came, the great-souled one3 worshipped them, in accordance with the prescribed rites. The maharshis seated themselves on extremely expensive seats. They accepted the honours that were appropriate for the occasion.4 In due order, they seated themselves around Yudhishthira. The king was on the sacred banks of the Bhagirathi and his senses were overcome with grief. Hundreds and thousands of brahmanas consoled him.
Mahabharata: Volume 8 Page 15