Mahabharata Vol. 2 (Penguin Translated Texts)

by Debroy, Bibek

  ‘The delighted Krishna and Arjuna told the fire, “O illustrious one! We are now armed with weapons and know their use. We are mounted on chariots with flags. We are eager to fight all the gods and demons together, not to speak of a single wielder of the vajra who wishes to fight for the sake of a naga.” Arjuna said, “O fire! When the powerful Varshneya releases the chakra in battle, there is nothing in the three worlds that Janardana cannot vanquish. Having obtained the bow Gandiva and these two inexhaustible quivers, I am also capable of vanquishing the worlds in battle. O lord! Blaze as you wish and encircle this great forest. We are capable of helping you in your task.” Having been thus addressed by Dasharha and Arjuna, the illustrious one assumed his energetic form and began to consume the forest. He surrounded it from all sides with his seven flames. As terrible as the fire at the end of a yuga, he began to angrily consume Khandava. O bull among the Bharata lineage! When he surrounded the forest from all sides, he roared like the clouds and burnt all the beings. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The blazing forest looked like Meru, king of the mountains, golden in its great radiance.’

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  Vaishampayana said, ‘Those two tigers among men stationed themselves on their chariots on both sides of the forest and a great slaughter of all beings began in every direction. Wherever they saw a creature that dwelt in Khandava trying to escape, those two heroes pursued it. No hole could be seen in the swift power of the chariots.24 Those two excellent chariots and the two charioteers seemed to be as one. As Khandava blazed, thousands of beings leapt in the ten25 directions, uttering frightened yells. Some were burnt in one spot. Some were scorched. The eyes burst out for some. Some withered away. Some lost their minds and scattered. Some clung to their sons, others to their fathers and mothers. Out of affection, they were unable to let go and perished. Others rose up in their thousands, their forms distorted. But they were whirled around and again flung into the fire. Some rolled on the ground, their wings, eyes and feet scorched. They were seen there, their bodies destroyed. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! All the waterbodies began to boil. In their thousands, the turtles and the fishes were seen dead. In that destruction of beings in the forest, the burning bodies seemed like flaming torches. Those that ascended upwards were cut to pieces by Partha’s arrows, as he laughingly flung them back into the flames. Uttering loud wails, their bodies pierced everywhere by arrows, from above, they were swiftly flung back again into the fire. Pierced by arrows and in flames, the sounds made by the forest-dwellers was heard, like the ocean when it was churned. The huge flames of the delighted fire rose up into the sky and created great consternation among the dwellers of heaven. They sought refuge with the thousand-eyed Purandara,26 the king of the gods. The gods said, “O lord of the immortals! Why is the fire burning all these people? Is it the case that the end of the worlds has arrived?” Having heard this, the slayer of Vritra27 himself looked down.

  ‘Harivahana28 set out to save Khandava. Covering the sky with a great mass of clouds in many forms, the lord of the gods and the wielder of the vajra began to pour down rain. The thousand-eyed one showered down rain on the fire raging in Khandava from hundreds and thousands of clouds, in shafts as thick as the axles.29 But the heat of the fire dried up these showers before they reached. Not a single one reached the fire. Then the slayer of Namuchi30 became very angry with the fire. He again started to rain down, in many torrents. Then the flames fought with those showers, mingled with smoke and lightning. With the sound of the roar, that forest became terrible to look at.’

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  Vaishampayana said, ‘Summoning his splendid weapons, Pandava Bibhatsu, repulsed the shower of rain with a shower of arrows. Pandava covered every side of Khandava with his arrows and drove away that rain from that forest. When the sky was covered with Savyasachi’s arrows, not a single being could escape from there.

  ‘Takshaka, the immensely powerful king of the serpents, wasn’t in the flaming forest then. He had gone to Kurukshetra. But Takshaka’s powerful son Ashvasena was there. He made great efforts to escape from the fire. However, oppressed by Kounteya’s arrows, he didn’t succeed in getting out. But his mother, daughter of the serpents, tried to save him. She first swallowed his head. Then she began to swallow his tail and in her haste to save her son, the serpent lady rose up. When Pandava saw this, he sliced off her head with a sharp arrow.31 The lord of the gods saw this. Acting as saviour, the wielder of the vajra unleashed a shower of rain on Pandava and when this dazed him, Ashvasena instantly escaped. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On seeing this terrible power of maya and having been deprived by the serpent, he cut down all the serpents into two and three pieces. Angrily, Bibhatsu cursed the serpent that had escaped and so did the fire and Vasudeva, to the effect that he would never attain fame.

  ‘Then Jishnu remembered the deception that had been played on him. He was angered and seeking to fight with the thousand-eyed one, covered the sky with his sharp arrows. On seeing Phalguna’s32 wrath, the king of the gods unleashed his own blazing missile and it flashed across the entire sky. Then winds with terrible roars churned all the oceans. Masses of clouds, mingled with torrents of rain, were created. To counter them, Arjuna unleashed his own supreme weapon. The one who had the knowledge used a mantra to invoke the vayavya weapon. In an instant, it destroyed the energy and might of Indra’s clouds, rain and thunder. The clouds dried, the lightning died and the dark sky was pacified. Cool and pleasant winds began to blow and the sun’s orbit returned to normal. Delighted that there was no opposition any more and with the many offerings being made, the fire blazed up again and filled the world with its roar.

  ‘On seeing that the fire was protected by the two Krishnas, many feathered beings of the Suparna33 lineage, including Garuda, rose up into the sky, eager to attack the warriors Krishna and Pandava with their wings, beaks and claws, as tough as the vajra. Many serpents also descended near Pandava, spewing terrible and flaming venom from their mouths. As soon as he saw these sky-dwelling creatures, Partha angrily cut them down with his arrows. Benumbed, their bodies fell into the flaming fire. At that, the gods, the gandharvas, the yakshas, the rakshasas and the serpents rose up, uttering loud roars and desiring to fight. They were armed with iron clubs, chakras and bhushundis,34 with lightning in them. They were intent on killing Krishna and Partha, their great energy benumbed by their anger. Though they unleashed a fearful shower of weapons, Bibhatsu churned their upper limbs with his sharp arrows. The immensely energetic Krishna, destroyer of enemies, then wrought a great slaughter of daityas and danavas with his chakra. Pierced by arrows and struck with the force of the chakra, many powerful ones were pacified, like waves that reach a shore.

  ‘Then Shakra, the great lord of the thirty gods,35 was angered. Riding a white elephant, he charged at them. Grasping lightning, he hurled his vajra weapon with great force and the slayer of demons announced to the gods that the two had been killed. On seeing that the king of the gods was about to hurl the great lightning, the gods grasped all their respective weapons—King Yama his kaladanda,36 the god of wealth his shibika,37 Varuna his pasha,38 Shiva his vichakra,39 the two Ashvins luminiscent oshadhi,40 Dhata his dhanu,41 Jaya his musala,42 the immensely strong Tvashta a mountain, Amsha his shakti43 and the god of death44 his parashva.45 Aryaman grasped a fearful parigha46 and walked around. Mitra stood there, grasping a chakra that was as sharp as a razor. O lord of the earth! Pusha, Bhaga and Savita grabbed bows and swords and rushed at Krishna and Partha. O supreme among men! The Rudras, the powerful Maruts, the Vishvadevas, the Sadhyas resplendent in their energy, and many other gods armed with diverse weapons advanced towards Krishna and Partha, in a desire to kill them. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In that great battle, wonderful omens were witnessed, equal to those seen when all beings were exterminated at the end of a yuga.’

  ‘The two Achyutas47 saw the angry Shakra and the assemblage of the other gods. Those fearless and invincible warriors stood there, their bows ready. When they saw t
he gods advancing from every direction, they angrily repulsed them with arrows that were like the vajra. Repeatedly, the resolutions of the gods were shattered. In fear, they gave up the battle and sought refuge with Shakra. On seeing the gods repulsed by Madhava and Arjuna, the sages who dwell in heaven were astonished. Shakra was also extremely pleased at witnessing their constant prowess in battle and engaged in fighting them once again. In an attempt to question Savyasachi’s valour, the chastiser of Paka48 then cast down a gigantic shower of rocks. But intolerantly, Arjuna countered that shower. On seeing that his act was unsuccessful, Shatakratu, the king of the gods, increased the strength of his shower. But the son of the chastiser of Paka brought great pleasure to his father by destroying that shower of rocks with his swift arrows. Wishing to kill Pandu’s son, Shakra then uprooted with his bare hands a giant peak of Mandara, with all its trees, and flung it. But Arjuna immediately splintered that peak of the mountain into a thousand pieces with his swift and straight, fire-tipped arrows. The sight of that mountain splintering was like that of the sky breaking, with the sun, the moon and the planets. Pieces of that giant mountain fell on the forest and killed many beings who lived in Khandava.’

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  Vaishampayana said, ‘The inhabitants of Khandava were frightened at the fall of the mountain—danavas, rakshasas, serpents, hyenas, bears, elephants in rut, tigers, lions with manes, deer, buffaloes, hundreds of birds and other forest-dwellers. In great alarm, they and many other beings slithered away. They saw the raging fire and the two Krishnas, their weapons ready and the terrible roar scared them. Janardana let fly his chakra, radiant with its own energy, and small creatures, danavas and nishacharas49 were instantly cut down in hundreds and hurled into the fire. Mangled by Krishna’s chakra and covered with fat and blood, the rakshasas then seemed to be like twilight clouds. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Varshneya was like destiny, killing pishachas, birds, serpents and animals in their thousands. Released from the hand of Krishna, the slayer of enemies, the chakra repeatedly killed many beings and returned to his hand. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! As he went about killing all the beings, the form of he, who is the soul of all beings, became dreadful.

  ‘All the assembled gods and danavas could not vanquish Krishna and Pandava in battle. Nor could the gods save the forest with their strength or quench the fire, so they retreated. On seeing how the masses of gods had been turned away, Shatakratu was extremely pleased and praised Krishna and Pandava. When the gods were repulsed, a disembodied voice spoke to Shatakratu in a loud and deep tone. “Your friend Takshaka, supreme among serpents, is not here. At the time of Khandava’s burning, he had gone to Kurukshetra. O Shakra! Listen to my words. You cannot defeat Vasudeva and Arjuna when they are steadfast in battle. They are the gods Nara and Narayana, famous in heaven. You yourself know their bravery and their valour. These two supreme and ancient sages are invincible in battle and cannot be conquered in any of the worlds. They deserve the worship of all the gods, asuras, yakshas, rakshas, gandharvas, humans, kinnaras50 and serpents. O, Vasava!51 Therefore, depart from here with the gods. The destruction of Khandava is destined.” Having heard these words and knowing them to be true, the lord of the immortals gave up his anger and jealousy and returned to heaven. O king! On seeing the great-souled Shatakratu leave, all the other dwellers of heaven also departed. When the two warriors, Vasudeva and Arjuna, saw the king of the gods leave with the other gods, they roared like lions.

  ‘O king! Krishna and Pandava were delighted that the king of the gods had left. Fearlessly, they continued with burning the forest. Having vanquished the gods the way the wind scatters the clouds, Arjuna used showers of arrows to kill the beings who lived in Khandava. Not a single being could escape from there, they were cut down by Savyasachi’s arrows. Even the greatest of beings could not look upon the invincible Arjuna in battle, not to speak of engaging him in a fight. Like the god of death himself, he pierced one with a hundred arrows and a hundred with one, and dead, they descended into the flames. They found no refuge along the banks, or in the uneven plains, or in the abodes of the ancestors and the gods. The heat increased and thousands of herds of beings cried out loudly in pain. Elephants, deer and birds cried out and the sound scared those who lived in the Ganga and the ocean. No one dared gaze at the mighty-armed Arjuna and the immensely strong Krishna, let alone fighting with them. With his chakra, Hari slew rakshasas, danavas and nagas and those who ventured along solitary paths. The heads and trunks sliced with the force of the chakra, the giant bodies fell into the mouth of the blazing fire. Aided by the flesh, torrents of blood and fat, the flames rose up into the sky, without a trace of smoke. Agni’s eyes blazed, his tongue blazed and his wide-open mouth also blazed. The hair stood up, drinking up the fat of life, the eyes were tawny. The fire fed on the nectar that Krishna and Arjuna had provided and was extremely happy, satiated and contented.

  ‘Then Madhusudana saw an asura named Maya suddenly attempting to escape from Takshaka’s abode. The fire’s charioteer was the wind and assuming the form of a hermit with matted hair and roaring like clouds, he pursued him with the intention of consuming him. Vasudeva stood with his chakra raised, ready to kill. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On seeing the raised chakra and the fire ready to consume him, Maya cried out, “O Arjuna! Save me.” Hearing these scared words, Arjuna replied, “Do not be frightened.” O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Partha’s words seemed to instil new life into Maya. Maya was Namuchi’s52 brother. When Partha told Maya he need not fear, Dasharha no longer desired to kill him and the fire did not burn him either. In that flaming forest, Agni did not burn six beings—Ashvasena, Maya and the four Sharngakas.’53

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  Janamejaya asked, ‘O brahmana! Why did Agni, the fire, not burn the Sharngakas when that forest was blazing? Tell me at once. O, brahmana! You have recounted the reason why Ashvasena and the danava Maya were not burnt. But you have not told us the reason for the Sharngakas. O, brahmana! It is extraordinary that the Sharngakas escaped from destruction. Recount to us why they were not destroyed in the conflagaration.’

  Vaishampayana said, ‘O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I will tell you everything exactly about why Agni did not consume the Sharngakas. O king! There was a great rishi renowned by the name of Mandapala. He was learned in dharma, rigid in his vows and chief among ascetics. He followed the path of the rishis who held up their seed,54 was devoted to studying the sacred texts and dharma, was an ascetic and had achieved control over his senses. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Having attained the final goal of ascetism, he gave up his human body and went to the world of the ancestors. But he did not find the fruits of his acts there. The dwellers of heaven were seated around Dharmaraja55 and he asked them, “Why have I not attained the worlds that should have been the fruit of my asceticism? What have I not done that this should be the fruit of my actions? O dwellers of heaven! I will do that which will get me the fruits of my asceticism and open that which is now closed. Tell me.” The gods replied, “O brahmana! Hear about the debts men are undoubtedly born with—to rituals, brahmacharya56 and offspring, and these are respectively discharged through sacrifices, austerities and progeny. You are an ascetic and you have performed sacrifices. But you did not have any offspring. Because you did not have offspring, these worlds are closed to you. Therefore, have progeny and you will enjoy these worlds for an eternity. O sage! A son saves a father from the hell known as put.57 O supreme among brahmanas! Therefore, try to obtain offspring.” On hearing these words of the dwellers of heaven, Mandapala began to wonder how he might obtain a large number of offspring swiftly. After thinking about this, he concluded that birds give birth to many offspring.

  ‘So he became a Sharngaka bird and united with a female Sharngaka bird named Jarita. Through her, he had four sons who were knowledgable about the brahman. While these young sons were still inside their eggs, the sage deserted them there in that forest with their mother and went off after Lapita.58 O descendan
t of the Bharata lineage! When the immensely illustrious one went off after Lapita, out of affection for her children, Jarita became very thoughtful and anxious. O king! Those sons, the infant rishis still in their eggs, had undeservedly been abandoned by their father in Khandava forest. But out of love for her sons, Jarita could not discard them and after they were born, brought them up in her own way.59

  ‘After some time, the rishi Mandapala was wandering in the forest with Lapita and he saw Agni advance towards Khandava to consume it. Knowing his resolution and knowing his sons were still young, the brahmana sage prayed to the greatly energetic fire, lord of the world, scared about the protection of his sons. Mandapala said, “O Agni! You are the mouth of all the gods, you are the one who carries sacrificial offerings. You are the purifier who dwells invisibly in all living beings. The learned have said that you are one and have again said that you are three.60 They think of you in eight forms61 and imagine you as the one who carries sacrificial offerings. The supreme rishis say that you have created the entire universe. O fire! The universe is based on you and without you, it will be destroyed instantly. It is after paying homage to you that the brahmanas go to the eternal worlds they have earned through their actions, together with their wives and sons. O Agni! It is said that you are the fire in the clouds in the sky, in their lightning. The flames that emerge from you burn down all beings. O immensely radiant one! O Jataveda!62 You have created everything in this universe. Everything, mobile and immobile, every action and everything that exists is based on you. You have determined the ancient waters, everything in the universe is based on you. The offerings to the gods and the offerings to the ancestors, as prescribed, are based on you. O Agni! You are the one who burns down, you are Dhata,63 you are Brihaspati.64 You are the two Ashvins, the two Yamas,65 Mitra, Soma and Anila.”66 O king! Having been thus prayed to by Mandapala, Agni was satisfied with the immeasurably energetic sage. With happiness in his heart, he asked him, “What good can I do for you?” With hands joined in salutation, Mandapala told the fire, “When you burn Khandava forest, please spare my sons.” The illustrious bearer of sacrificial offerings gave him his word and at that time, he blazed into Khandava, wishing to consume it.’