Mahabharata: Vol. 5

by Debroy, Bibek

  Chapter 921(61)

  ‘Dhritarashtra said, “O Sanjaya! I am struck by great fear and wonder on hearing of the deeds of the sons of Pandu. Even the gods will find it extremely difficult to accomplish these. O Sanjaya! O suta! On hearing about the defeat of my sons in every way, I am overcome with grave thoughts about what will happen. Vidura’s certain words are oppressing my heart. O Sanjaya! Because of destiny, it is seen that everything is occurring as he said it would. Bhishma is the foremost among brave ones and is supreme among those who possess the knowledge of weapons. That warrior is fighting with the army of the Pandavas. What do the great-souled and immensely strong sons of Pandu possess? O son!187 What supreme boons have they obtained? What knowledge have they accumulated? They do not suffer any decay, like masses of stars in the firmament. I cannot endure the repeated slaughter of my soldiers at the hands of the Pandavas. Because of destiny, this extremely terrible punishment is descending on me. The sons of Pandu cannot be killed and my sons are being slaughtered. O Sanjaya! I cannot detect any reason as to why this should be the case. Nor do I see any means of overcoming this misery. I am like a man who is trying to cross the mighty ocean with his arms. There is no doubt that all my sons will meet a terrible death. I do not see a brave one who can protect those on my side in battle. O Sanjaya! In this battle, the destruction of my sons is certain. O suta! Tell me the specific reason for this. I am now asking you about the true reason and you should tell me everything. What did Duryodhana do, on seeing that his troops were running away in battle? What about Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, Soubala, Jayadratha, the mighty archer who is Drona’s son and the immensely strong Vikarna? What did those great-souled ones determine to do then? O immensely wise one! O Sanjaya! Did my sons retreat?”

  ‘Sanjaya replied, “O king! Listen attentively to what you wish to hear. Nothing was accomplished because of mantras and nothing was caused by maya. O king! Nor did the Pandavas create a fresh calamity. They are fighting in a just cause and they are fighting according to their powers. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They have performed all their deeds and tasks in accordance with dharma. The Parthas have always acted so as to obtain great fame. Resorting to dharma, those immensely strong ones have never retreated from a fight. They have obtained supreme prosperity. Where there is dharma, victory exists there. O king! That is the reason the Parthas cannot be killed in battle and that is the reason they are victorious. Your evil-souled son has always acted according to evil. He is cruel and has performed inferior deeds. That is the reason he is decaying in this battle. O lord of men! Your son has performed many violent deeds. He has deceived the sons of Pandu, acting like inferior men. They disregarded all the offences committed by your son. O Pandu’s elder brother! The Pandavas have always ignored them. O lord of the earth! Your son has not shown them appropriate honour. This is the outcome of those evil deeds. These are the extremely terrible fruits of that, like that of kimpaka.188 O great king! With your sons and well-wishers, you are tasting that. O king! Though you were restrained by your well-wishers, Vidura, Bhishma and the great-souled Drona, you did not realize this. I also tried to restrain you, but you did not accept those words. Those were beneficial words. They were like medicine. But you rejected them, like a dying man who does not accept medicines. You accepted the views of your sons and hoped to defeat the Pandavas. Listen to my words about the true reasons. You have asked me about them. O foremost among the Bharata lineage! I will tell you about the reasons behind the victory of the Pandavas. O scorcher of enemies! I will tell you exactly as I have heard it. Duryodhana himself asked the grandfather about this, when he saw that all his maharatha brothers were vanquished in the battle. When night fell, Kourava was overwhelmed with sorrow in his heart. In humility, he went to the immensely wise grandfather. O lord of men! Hear from me what your son said at that time.

  ‘“Duryodhana said, ‘You, Drona, Shalya, Kripa, Drona’s son, Hardikya Kritavarma,189 Sudakshina from Kamboja, Bhurishrava, Vikarna and the valiant Bhagadatta—all of these are renowned as maharathas and all of them have been born in noble lineages. It is my view that they are sufficient for all the three worlds. All the assembled Pandavas cannot stand before them in valour. A doubt has therefore arisen in my mind and I am asking you about this. How are the Kounteyas obtaining victory at every step? Who is their support?’

  ‘“Bhishma replied, ‘O king! O Kourava! Listen to the words that I am going to speak to you. I often spoke to you. But you did not act in accordance with my words. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! I asked you to act so that there might be peace with the Pandavas. O lord! I thought that this would have been beneficial for both you and the world. O king! You would have happily enjoyed the earth with your brothers. You would have chastised all ill-wishers and delighted your relatives. O son!190 But on earlier occasions, you did not heed my words. Because you dishonoured the Pandus, you are now confronted with this calamity. They are the performers of unsullied deeds. O lord! O great king! I will tell you the reasons why they cannot be killed. Listen. There is no one in this world who can vanquish the Pandavas in battle. There has been no such person, nor will there be. They are protected by the wielder of the Sharnga bow.191 O son! O one learned in dharma! Listen exactly to what was chanted and recounted in the ancient accounts, by sages whose souls were controlled. In ancient times, all the gods and rishis assembled and worshipped the grandfather192 on Mount Gandhamadana. Seated in their midst, Prajapati193 saw an excellent and blazing vimana stationed in the sky. Having got to know everything about it through his powers of meditation, Brahma joined his hands in salutation. With his soul filled with delight, he bowed before the supreme being, the supreme lord. On seeing that Brahma had stood up, all the rishis and gods also stood, hands joined in salutation, beholding that great marvel.

  ‘“‘Brahma, supreme among those who have knowledge of the brahman, worshipped him and said, “You are the end of the universe. You are the creator of the universe. You are supreme. You are supreme dharma. You are the glory of the universe. You are the manifestation of the universe. You are the refuge of the universe. You are the action of the universe. You are the controller. You are the lord of the universe. You are Vasudeva. You are the soul of yoga. You are divinity and I seek refuge in you. Victory to the great god of the universe. Victory to the one who is engaged in the welfare of the worlds. Victory to the illustrious lord of all yoga. Victory to the one who is before and after yoga. The lotus was created from your navel. You possess large eyes. Victory to the one who is the lord of all the lords in the universe. You are the past, the present and the future. Victory to the one who creates tranquillity in the soul. You are the store of innumerable qualities. Victory to the one on whom everything depends. You are Narayana. You are impossible to comprehend. Victory to the one who is the wielder of the Sharnga bow. You are the one who possesses all the secret qualities. The universe is your form. You are free from disease. You are the lord of the universe. You are mighty-armed. Victory to the one who is engaged in the welfare of the worlds. O mighty serpent! O great boar! O one with the tawny mane! Victory to the lord. O one with the yellow garment! O one who is the lord of the directions. O one in whom the universe resides! O one without decay! You are the manifest. You are the unmanifest. You are in control of your senses. You possess vigorous senses. Your soul is beyond measure. You are the only one who knows about your own self. Victory to the deep one who satisfies all desires. You are infinite. You are known as the wise one. You are eternal. You are the one who causes all the worlds to be manifest. You accomplish all your tasks. You act according to wisdom. You know about dharma. You are the one who is the harbinger of victory. Your soul is mysterious. You are the soul of all beings. You are the origin of everything that comes into existence. You know about the nature of all beings. You are the lord of the worlds. Victory to the one who makes all beings appear. You are the self-creating one. You are the immensely fortunate one. You are the one who acts so as to bring about the destruction of everything. You are
the one who inspires all thoughts in the mind. Victory to the brahman, beloved of all beings. You act for the sake of creation and destruction. O lord of desire! O supreme lord! You are the origin of amrita. You are the origin of virtue. You are the fire at the end of a yuga. You are the one who grants victory. You are the lord of all Prajapatis. O god! The lotus was created from your navel. O immensely powerful one! You are the one who was created from his own self. You are the great being. You are the one with action in his soul. Victory to the one who is active. The goddess earth constitutes your feet. The directions are your arms. The firmament is your head. I am your form. The gods are your limbs. The sun and the moon are your eyes. O lord! Austerities performed because of truth, dharma and desire are your strength. The fire is your energy. The wind is your breath. Water is created from your sweat. The Ashvins are always your ears. The goddess Sarasvati is your tongue. The devoted sacraments of the Vedas are vested in you. The universe finds refuge in you. You are the lord of yoga. It is impossible to know your measure, your dimensions, your energy, your valour, your strength or your yoga. The gods are devotedly faithful to you. They are immersed in your rules. O Vishnu! O supreme lord! O great lord! They always worship you. Through your favours, I have created rishis, gods, gandharvas, yakshas, rakshasas, serpents, pishachas, men, animals, birds and reptiles on earth. O one who created the lotus in your navel! O large-eyed one! O Krishna! O dispeller of all misery! You are the destination of all beings. You are the leader. You are the mouth of the universe. O lord of the gods! It is through your favours that the gods are always happy. O god! It is through your favours that the earth is always without fear. O large-eyed one! You have taken birth to extend the lineage of the Yadus, so that dharma may be established and the daityas destroyed. O lord! For upholding the universe, do what I have asked you to. O lord! O Vasudeva! Through your favours, I have exactly sung all that is extremely mysterious in your essence. Create the god Samkarshana194 out of your own self. O Krishna! Create Pradyumna out of your own self.195 Aniruddha is known as the undecaying Vishnu and create him out of Pradyumna. It is Aniruddha who created me, Brahma, the upholder of the universe.196 I have been created by Vasudeva’s essence and I have therefore been created by you. O lord! Divide yourself into different parts and take birth in the world of men. There, for the welfare of all the worlds, act so that all the asuras can be killed. Establish dharma. Obtain fame. Obtain the essence of yoga. O infinitely valorous one! The brahmarshis of the world and the gods are devoted to you and chant your names and about your supreme soul. They are all established in you. All beings find refuge in you. You are the one who provides them sanctuary. O well-armed one! You are the granter of boons. You have no beginning. You have no middle. You have no end. You possess the supreme yoga. You are a bridge for the worlds. That is what the brahmanas sing.”’”’

  Chapter 922(62)

  ‘“Bhishma said, ‘Then the illustrious god, the lord of all the lords of the world, replied to Brahma in a soft and deep voice. “O son!197 Through yoga, I have come to know everything that you desire. It will be as you wish.” Saying this, he instantly disappeared. At this, the gods, the rishis and the gandharvas were filled with great wonder. All of them were filled with great curiosity and spoke to the grandfather. “O lord! Who was the one before whom your illustrious self bowed down? You worshipped him using supreme praises. We desire to hear this.” Thus addressed, the illustrious grandfather replied to all the gods, the brahmarshis and the gandharvas in soft and sweet words. “He is the supreme Tat.198 He is the one who exists now and he is the one who will exist in the future. He is the supreme one. He is the lord who is the soul of all beings. He is the brahman who is the supreme goal. O bulls among gods! I had a conversation with that cheerful one. For the welfare of the universe, I sought the favours of the lord of the universe. I requested him to be born in the world of men and to be known as Vasudeva. I asked him to be born on earth for the death of the asuras. The immensely strong and terrible daityas, danavas and rakshasas, who have been killed in the battle, have been born among men. It is for their death that the illustrious and mighty one has been born in a human womb and is roaming around on earth, accompanied by Nara. The supreme rishis Nara and Narayana are ancient. They are invincible in battle, even by the united immortals. Ignorant ones will not know the rishis Nara and Narayana. Vasudeva is the great god of all the worlds and should be worshipped by you. I, Brahma, the lord of the universe, am his offspring. O supreme among the gods! You should never disregard him as a mere man. He is extremely valorous and holds the conch shell, the chakra and the club. He is the supreme mystery. He is the supreme goal. He is the supreme brahman. He is the supreme glory. He is without decay. He is the one who is not manifest. He is the eternal one. He is the supreme being whose praise is chanted as Purusha. But no one knows him. He is supreme energy. He is supreme happiness. He is the supreme truth praised by Vishvakarma. The illustrious Vasudeva, whose valour is infinite, should not be disregarded as a mere man by all the gods and Indra, or by all the worlds. The evil-minded one, who disregards and speaks of Hrishikesha as a mere man, is the worst of men. The great-souled yogi has adopted a human form. He who disregards Vasudeva, is spoken of as one who is immersed in darkness. That god is the soul of the mobile and the immobile. He is the immensely radiant one who bears the srivatsa mark.199 The lotus sprouted from his navel. He who does not know this is spoken of as one who is immersed in darkness. He is diademed and wears the Koustubha jewel.200 He is the one who dispels the fear of his friends. He who disregards the great-souled one, will be immersed in terrible darkness. O supreme among the gods! Having known the truth about Vasudeva, the lord of the lords of the worlds, all the worlds should show him obeisance.” Having spoken these words to the masses of gods in earlier times, the illustrious soul of all the worlds returned to his own abode.

  ‘“‘The gods, the gandharvas, the sages and the apsaras listened to Brahma’s chants, and happily returned to heaven. O son!201 In earlier times, the learned rishis spoke about Vasudeva in their assembly and I heard this. O one who knows about the sacred texts! I also heard this from Rama, Jamadagni’s son, the wise Markandeya, Vyasa and Narada. Having heard the nature of the great-souled and illustrious Vasudeva, the lord of the lords of the worlds and the undecaying one, from whom was created Brahma, the father of the universe, why should men not worship and show obeisance to Vasudeva? O son! You have been restrained earlier by the sages, learned in the Vedas, and been asked not to enter into a fight with the intelligent Vasudeva and also with the Pandavas. But because of your delusion, you did not understand. I think of you as a cruel rakshasa who is immersed in darkness. That is the reason you hate Govinda and Pandava Dhananjaya. O king! I am telling you that he is eternal and undecaying. He is the eternal one who pervades all the worlds. He is the controller. He is the creator. He is the eternal upholder. He holds up all the three worlds. He is the lord and the preceptor of the mobile and the immobile. He is the warrior. He is victory. He is the victorious. He is the lord of all nature. O king! He is full of truth. He is devoid of darkness and passion. Where there is Krishna, dharma exists there. Where there is dharma, victory exists there. His greatness is yoga and yoga is his own self. O king! It is because the sons of Pandu hold this up that victory will be theirs. He always provides beneficial counsel to the Pandavas. He always gives them strength in battle and protects them from fear. He is the eternal god. He is the auspicious one who is full of mystery. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! You have asked me about the one who is famous by the name of Vasudeva. Brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishyas and shudras, each with their respective marks, always perform their own duties and serve the one who should be worshipped. At the end of dvapara yuga and at the beginning of kali yuga, he is the one whom Satvata Samkarshana eulogized in the appropriate way.202 All the worlds of gods and men, with the cities and right up to the frontiers of the ocean, where men have lived for years and years, have been repeatedly created by Vasudeva.’”’

  Cha
pter 923(63)

  ‘“Duryodhana said, ‘In all the worlds, Vasudeva is spoken of as the great being. O grandfather! I wish to know about his origin and his glory.’

  ‘“Bhishma replied, ‘Vasudeva is the great being. He was created with the gods. O bull among the Bharata lineage! No one superior to Pundarikaksha can be seen. Markandeya spoke about Govinda’s extraordinary greatness. He is the great-souled Purushottama. He is in all beings and is the soul of all beings. He created the three elements of water, air and energy. He is the god who created the earth. He is the lord of all the lords of the worlds. The great-souled Purushottama was lying down on water. The god who is everywhere was asleep in his yoga. He created fire from his mouth. He created wind from his breath of life. Through his mind, the undecaying one created Sarasvati and the Vedas. He initially created the worlds, with the gods and the masses of rishis. He decreed the decay and death of all beings and also their birth and growth. He is dharma. He is learned in dharma. He is the granter of boons. He is the one who satisfies all desire. He is the actor. He is action. He is the ancient god and is himself the lord. He created the past, the present and the future, and everything. Janardana created the two sandhyas,203 the directions, the sky and the rituals. Govinda created the austere rishis. The great-souled and undecaying lord created the universe. He created Samkarshana, the first among all beings. He created the god Shesha, whom the learned know of as Ananta. He holds up all beings and the earth, with all its mountains.204 Through their yoga of meditation, brahmanas speak of him as the immensely energetic one. The great asura named Madhu was born from the secretion of his ears. He was extremely terrible in his deeds and terrible in his intelligence. He was about to kill Brahma, but Purushottama slew him. O son! Having killed him, the god Janardana came to be worshipped by gods, danavas, men and rishis as Madhusudana.205 He is the boar. He is the lion. He is the lord with the three steps.206 He is the mother. He is the father. He is Hari for all beings. There is no one superior to Pundarikaksha, nor will there ever be. O king! He created the brahmanas from his mouth, the kshatriyas from his arms, the vaishyas from his thighs and the shudras from his feet. He is the refuge of all beings. He is the essence of the brahman. He is the essence of yoga. One can attain the great god Keshava by devoutly performing austerities on the nights of the new moon and the full moon. Keshava is supreme energy. He is the grandfather of all the worlds. O lord of men! The sages know him as Hrishikesha.207 Know him to be the teacher, the father and the preceptor. When Krishna favours someone, he wins the undecaying worlds. If a man confronts fear and always seeks refuge with Keshava, or reads about this, such a man obtains sanctuary and happiness. Men who attain Krishna are never deluded. Janardana always saves those who are immersed in great fear. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Yudhishthira knows about the truth of this. O king! With all his soul, he has sought refuge with the great-souled Keshava, the lord of the universe. He is the lord of yoga and he is the lord of the earth.’”’