by Unknown
When the invitation for the rajasuya arrived, Bhanumati did not want Suyodhana to go. She feared Krishna and Yudhishtra. She was sure they would lay a trap for her husband. She tried to dissuade him. But he said he did not have a choice as the Crown Prince of Hastinapura. Karna came to Hastinapura, eager to go. Jayadratha came from Sindh. He was of the opinion that Suyodhana should go. Only Aswathama sided with Bhanumati, arguing that the rajasuya yajna was a trap and it was better to ignore it. Finally, Uncle Shakuni persuaded Suyodhana to go, arguing that it would be cowardly not to accept the invitation and would be conduct unbefitting a Kshatriya. How Bhanumati hated that Gandhara Prince! But left with no option, she accompanied them to the temple at the Ganga ghat, from where they would leave for Indraprastha.
When they emerged from the temple, Kripa was sitting in his usual place under the Banyan tree. Suyodhana went up to him to seek his blessings. As the Prince turned to leave, Kripa said, "Suyodhana, do not get provoked at any cost."
Shakuni sniggered. Suyodhana hesitated a moment. Bhanumati shuddered at the words. They echoed her own fears and she tightened her grip on her husband's arm. Thousands of people had gathered to see their Prince leave for Indraprastha. As they hailed him, he gently loosened his wife's grip and smiled at her. Then he said goodbye to the twins and the procession started towards the Pandava capital.
Aswathama looked back and met Bhanumati's eyes. He nodded, gesturing he would be there with his friend. She walked back slowly to the waiting palanquin with her twins and collapsed into its soft luxury. She tried playing with the children to forget the fear that tugged at her heart. Kripa's words of warning kept returning like a bad rash. She thought she could hear the distant rumblings of a bloody battle and hugged her children in fear.
***
The Brahmins were furious about the hideous looking beggar and his blind dog. How dared he defile the holy place of yajna with his presence, they asked each other? Yudhishtra stirred uneasily. He had just completed gifting immense wealth, clothing, and cows to the Brahmins and had been basking in their praises when the ugly Untouchable entered the holy venue and began singing. Yudhishtra would have ordered his death, but the beggar was singing about the love of his God Krishna. Except for the Priests around Dhaumya, the others stood around enthralled. Yudhishtra wished Krishna and Arjuna would arrive before he had to take a decision. The Priests with Dhaumya started shouting to him to throw the unclean man out, or better still, kill him. Yudhishtra looked at the beggar who was dark on one side and a dirty golden on the other. With his protruding teeth and burn marks, he looked like a mongoose. The mangy dog with him kept wagging its tail in time to the beggar's rapturous song.
A sudden roar from Dhaumya made Yudhishtra stand up. "Your Highness, kill this rascal! Can you not hear what he is singing?"
Yudhishtra listened more intently to the beggar's song and the colour drained from his face. The song insulted him, the learned Priests, and even the Vedas that sanctioned the great sacrifice he was conducting. The beggar sang that learning was useless if there was no love; that sacrifices were meaningless without purity of heart; and gifts worthless if bestowed on the undeserving. He sang that this rajasuya sacrifice was a charade to gain fame and not a sacrifice at all; that real sacrifices happen unknown and unheard, by people expecting nothing in return - neither fame, nor wealth, heaven nor salvation. Those sacrifices had God's blessings.
Yudhishtra trembled in anger. The audacity of the Untouchable not only to pollute the yajna venue but also to insult the King and the learned Brahmins, enraged him. "Arrest him!" he commanded. Soldiers rushed towards the beggar.
"What has happened, brother? Why has the singing stopped? I came to listen. That man has magic in his voice." Yudhishtra turned at the question and saw Arjuna. Draupadi suppressed a giggle from behind him. Yudhishtra turned towards her in irritation. "He was insulting all that we hold sacred and you are laughing?" he asked angrily.
"No normal person would dare come here and insult you. Either he is mad or a saint. Why don't we ask him why he was singing what he was?" Arjuna said, trying to pacify his enraged brother.
Draupadi looked at Arjuna and smiled in approval. Yudhishtra raised his hand and ordered, "Free him. Let us hear what he has to say."
The soldiers jumped back, relieved that the command had come before they touched the beggar and polluted themselves. A susurrus of 'Sin... sin...' came from the ranks of the Priests. The beggar looked around. When he understood no one was going to arrest him, he resumed his song. This time he sang about the night he had entered a poor Brahmin's hut with the intention of robbing him; what he had seen there, and how the Brahmin had sacrificed his family, home, and life, so a poor Untouchable like him could eat. The sacrifice of a man, who had nothing, for a man who was nothing, was a real sacrifice. Such places were holy, not this place of rajasuya, where greed and avarice ruled. The hut was where his Krishna resided; and only the pure of heart could hear the divine music of His flute. Finally, he said, "To hear that music oh King, silence the croaking of the Priests; burn their smritis; and free yourself from the tangle of meaningless rituals and tradition."
There was uproar from Dhaumya and his Priests.
Draupadi asked, "Who are you?"
"I am nobody," the beggar replied. "But I visit everyone whether they like me or not. I am Jara, and this is my dog. It reminds me to feel grateful for my life and its blessings. We live in the streets, chased away from the temples and mansions, yet we live happily and rejoice in the blessing called Life. We lack nothing and thank God every day for His grace."
Arjuna became uneasy. Memories of the day he had blinded a puppy with his arrow came rushing back. Moreover, the image of the severed thumb of a Nishada lying in the mud while Guru Drona stood with an impassive face, clawed furrows in his conscience. He had an irrational urge to know the name of the dog he had blinded and asked, "What is your dog called?"
Jara looked at the furious faces of the Priests. His eyes met those of Dhaumya. The Chief Priest looked away, as if afraid of the Untouchable's eyes. "Dharma," Jara said and the blind dog wagged its tail.
There was a stunned silence before the Priests erupted in anger. 'Sin... sin... calling a dog Dharma! He is insulting our religion and Holy Scriptures. Kill him! Kill him!' they screamed, falling silent only when Yudhishtra took his sword from its sheath.
"Let him be. He is a saint," Draupadi said, holding onto her husband's hand.
Seeing Yudhishtra hesitate, Dhaumya yelled out in an authoritative voice, "Do not stop a King from doing his dharma. Nothing can be a greater sin and you will pay for it."
Yudhishtra looked into Draupadi's eyes. All his fears came rushing back. He felt naked before her gaze and his sword fell to the ground.
Fearing the arrogant beggar would walk away free, Dhaumya shouted, "Yudhishtra, you have forsaken your dharma and the same dharma will forsake you. You will pay for it. You have allowed an Untouchable to insult Brahmins and the Vedas."
Krishna, walking into the commotion, saved Yudhishtra any further insult. Jara saw his living God standing before him, and rushed forward, sobbing in joy and ecstasy. Dharma followed him. However, a huge crowd of Priests mobbed Krishna, complaining about the way Yudhishtra and his wife were treating them. Krishna smiled at them and said it was good to listen to new ideas once in a while. Yudhishtra was relieved that Krishna took the incident lightly and did not censure him. But Dhaumya looked peeved.
Jara waited, but the crowd around Krishna kept thickening. "He has become a prisoner of the Priests," Jara said to Dharma. The dog licked his hand. Jara slowly walked away. As he was turning into a side street, a troop of cavalry galloped by. It was Ekalavya and Shishupala, rushing towards Yudhishtra's rajasuya.
When Shishupala and Ekalavya entered the venue, the commotion created by Jara had died down. Shishupala boldly walked to the seat nearest the sacrificial altar and invited Ekalavya to sit beside him. Angry murmurs rose from the crowd at this provocative act. The King of C
hedi was throwing an open challenge to Yudhishtra and the Priests by having a Nishada sit so close to the holy altar. Yudhishtra rose, but Krishna restrained him. The ceremony resumed.
Shishupala and Ekalavya watched the proceedings with unconcealed hostility. When Dhaumya announced Krishna as the Guest of Honour, there was a splattering of polite applause. Murmurings arose from the assembled Kings and Princes but the Yadava walked with confident steps to the special seat reserved for him.
"Stop!" Shishupala was standing with his sword drawn, every eye upon him.
He turned to the assembled Kings and noblemen of India and addressed them. "Respected Kings, this is a great insult to us. The King of Indraprastha has chosen a common cowherd over a Kshatriya as his Chief Guest. What is it that he has done to deserve this honour? He is a thief and a scoundrel. We have heard enough stories about this cowherd and none can be repeated in decent company. Is there any crime he has not committed? We have lost count of the number of people he has murdered on the sly. He never fights like a man. He killed his uncle by deceit; he has come here after murdering one of the greatest Kings our land has ever seen. He was afraid of Jarasandha, knowing he was no match for the great man. He trapped him and used Bhima to get rid of his enemy - an enemy who had defeated him seventeen times. He arranged for the murder of General Hiranyadhanus, the father of this young man sitting here." Shishupala paused to gauge the reaction of the crowd.
The Priests were shouting, but he knew that he held the attention of the Kings and Princes. Confident of his audience, the King of Chedi pressed on. "Why should this man be given the honour of being Chief Guest? King Yudhishtra, if you wish to honour a man for his steadfastness in dharma, chose the great Bhishma instead. If you want a great warrior, chose Drona. If you want to elect a man of wisdom, choose Vidhura. And if you want a man of compassion and righteousness, chose your cousin Suyodhana. If you want a man of intellect, choose Kripa; or if you want a man of reason, choose Carvaka. If you want a man of unflinching loyalty, chose Aswathama. If you want to honour a man who has struggled against the odds and emerged victorious, it will be a difficult choice for you, for both Karna, the large-hearted King of Anga, and this brave young man, Ekalavya, fit that description. If you want a man who transcends all these qualities, choose the sage Veda Vyasa. But for the sake of humanity, do not choose the icon of adharma."
Krishna walked towards Shishupala and bowed to him reverently. "May I know why you call me amoral, Your Highness?" he asked, the mocking smile never leaving his lips.
Ekalavya tensed in his chair but Shishupala gazed straight into the eyes of his foe. They stared at each other for a moment before Shishupala turned to the assembly and said in a clear voice, "I am reluctant to speak of the exploits of our Chief Guest in this august company of Kings, but he leaves me no choice. Please forgive my harsh words but this is the most dangerous man to have walked our land. He is leading us along the path to disaster and war. He wishes to preserve a social order that grants privileges to a few and hell to the rest. No wonder people like Dhaumya support his claim of being an avatar of Vishnu. The Priests actively propagate his divinity, for they will be the benefactors of his philosophy. Unfortunately, the poor have begun believing it.
"What are these divine acts? His trail of murders began at the age of eight. He stole from the cowherds he lived among, in his village. He drove away Nagas like Kaliya, and took away their land. He murdered his uncle. He has even stolen women's clothing while they were bathing and then paraded them naked before him. He jilted his lover, Radha, when he ran away to Dwaraka, for fear of Jarasandha. Wise men thought he would mellow with age. But he has no morality. He keeps a harem of 16,008 girls but Radha has no place in it. Yet he claims he is an avatar of Vishnu. He wishes to share the mantle of none other than Lord Rama, who was steadfast in his love towards his wife Sita, and who fought a war with the demon King Ravana for her sake. Can there be a greater irony?"
"Noooo...!" Ekalavya screamed as he saw King Shishupala collapse onto the ground, blood spurting from his throat. The King of Chedi went into death spasms.
Krishna picked up his chakra, a small disc with very sharp edges, from the throat of his enemy and wiped off the blood.
'It is cold blooded murder,' someone shouted. A few Kings rushed to attack Krishna with their swords drawn. The Pandavas sprang up to defend their friend and guide. The rajasuya venue turned into a battleground. Ekalavya's first reaction was to fight Shishupala's murderer, but prudence overcame instinct. He knew Krishna's supporters outnumbered those of the slain King. Krishna and the Pandavas were cutting down their detractors mercilessly. Shalva and Dhantavakra were waiting with an army on the outskirts of Indraprastha. If he could reach them somehow, he could turn the tables. Ekalavya ran from the venue, cutting down the soldiers who tried to stop him, without breaking stride. More and more soldiers were rushing to join the fight. The Brahmins were quietly slipping away as Ekalavya mounted his horse and galloped towards his friends through the streets of Indraprastha, cleaving through the sea of people running about like panicked chickens. He kicked a beggar out of his way and saw him lurch and fall, face down on the pavement. An angry dog chased his horse for a while but then returned to its master, who was writhing in pain. Ekalavya cursed them both silently as he sped through the dusty streets of the great city. How he hated the lazy men who stood in the way of others.
When he reached Dhantavakra and Shalva, he was panting with excitement and anger. Somehow, he managed to tell them Krishna had murdered Shishupala and they had to take revenge. His furious friends cursed the Yadava. They ordered their army to race into the city. But as the ranks lurched forward, Vasuki stood in their way. The old Naga leader raised his staff and ordered everyone to calm down. The column stopped in confusion, the horses neighing in fright and irritation at the sharply pulled reins.
"Move, you old fool, or you will become the dust under the hoofs of our horses," Dhantavakra cried.
Vasuki looked at him with a contemptuous smile but addressed Ekalavya. "Indraprastha is too strong to be taken by this small army. Besides, any attack on Indraprastha will turn the anger of Bhishma upon us and the Hastinapura army will finish us off in no time. We need money to raise a proper army and we need a fortified city from which we can operate. Krishna is playing games here. We will turn the tables on him. He has left Dwaraka to a pacifist, his brother Balarama. We will storm their city and throw out the Yadavas. Once Dwaraka falls, we can control both the Southern Confederate and Hastinapura. We can choke the trade routes by land and sea, between the major empires. Dwaraka is far from here, but Ekalavya, you know the way through the desert and forests. Let us rush to take the city of Krishna. I will somehow reach Takshaka. If Krishna follows you to save his city, we will prepare an ambush for him. Go to Dwaraka... now!" Vasuki stood waving his crooked staff.
Ekalavya and Shalva looked at each other in astonishment. The old man's strategy was risky but brilliant. Balarama was a pacifist and he would not fight. They could easily take Krishna's city from him. Dhantavakra blew his conch and the army turned towards the southwest and thundered past Vasuki as he watched with a satisfied smile. Once they succeeded in taking Dwaraka, the leadership of the Nagas and the revolution would be back with him instead of that upstart Takshaka. Nevertheless, he had to find the Naga leader in order to ambush Krishna. He walked as fast as he could towards the forest, in search of Takshaka.
***
Suyodhana and his troops were nearing the ridge over the Yamuna when Aswathama drew their attention to the rising column of dust on the southwestern horizon. They could see the vanishing end of a cavalry column, racing towards the desert.
"Who is that?" Suyodhana asked in surprise.
Suddenly, from the rear, more cavalry appeared and galloped past at a furious pace. At their head rode Krishna, his face grim and anxious. Sushasana leaned from his saddle and pulled at the reins of a passing soldier. The horse swerved, neighing in fear. Other riders jumped over the struggling horse wi
thout slowing. Sushasana dragged the fallen man from the path of the pounding hoofs. When they had seen the tail of the last horse disappear, they asked the captured man the reason for the commotion. He told them the story of Shishupala's murder and the news of Dhantavakra and a Nishada leading an army to attack Dwaraka, to avenge the death of their friend.
Shakuni, who had accompanied his nephew to the rajasuya, heard the news of Krishna leaving Indraprastha and fondly caressed the dice lying hidden in the folds of his dress. The game was getting exciting. This was the beginning of the end of India, he told himself. He could not help laughing. As suddenly as it had appeared, the glee in the Gandhara Prince's face vanished. The master of dice had planned his next move.
*
*
*
26 THE FALL
"IT IS BREATH-TAKING!" SUYODHANA exclaimed as they neared the city gates.
Aswathama and Karna were gazing at the golden spires of the palace, glistening in the late afternoon sun. "I wonder how much they spent in creating such a marvel," Aswathama said and whistled softly, taking in the beautiful gardens. They moved slowly through the broad avenues of Indraprastha, exclaiming at each new wonder, pointing at the sculptures and fountains that lined every junction, excited to be nearing the palace itself.