‘Let me stay here a little longer, my queen,’ Sairandhari pleaded. ‘Only thirteen days remain before my time of exile is over. If you banish me, my gandharva husbands may get further enraged! They might even kill the king of Virata in revenge.’
The terrified queen had no option but to relent, for these fierce and mysterious gandharva husbands were clearly men of action.
The king was shattered by the news of his brother-in-law’s death. ‘Who will defend Matsya now?’ he wondered. ‘Who will keep my enemies at bay?’
Yudhishthira, disguised as Kanka, was by now firmly established in the king’s favour. ‘Do not worry. I know about warfare as well as statecraft,’ he said. ‘I shall protect your kingdom and your people.’
The Cattle Wars
All the kings and princes of Bharatvarsha were astounded by the shocking news of Keechaka’s death. The commander-in-chief of the Virata army had been famous for his physical strength.
The Kauravas’ spies had been searching for the Pandavas all of the year, but in vain. ‘Only my cousin Bhima could have killed the mighty Keechaka,’ Duryodhana concluded, when he heard the news. ‘I am sure the Pandavas are hiding in Virata … and the beautiful woman that Keechaka is rumoured to have fallen in love with could only be that troublemaker Draupadi.’
Duryodhana sought the advice of Dusasana and Sakuni. They discussed tactics to provoke the Pandavas into the battlefield. ‘Once they face us in battle, their disguises will be discovered,’ gloated Duryodhana, ‘and they will have to return to exile for another twelve years.’
When Dronacharya and Kripacharya heard of these plans, they were utterly outraged. ‘Return his kingdom to Yudhishthira,’ they counselled. ‘He has righteousness and justice on his side.’
But Duryodhana could not be persuaded. Spurred by the jealousy and envy that fuelled his existence, he was set on the path of self-destruction.
‘We shall attack the Matsya kingdom from the south,’ he decided. ‘We shall ally ourselves with Susarma, king of Trigarta, and get them to attack Virata. While their armies are fighting Susarma in the south, the armies of Hastinapura will surprise them in the north. They will face certain defeat and we can take the Pandavas captive.’
Susarma, king of Trigarta, had always been jealous of Matsya’s prosperity and agreed readily to Duryodhana’s plan. He coveted the herds of cattle that were the source of Matsya’s wealth. With Duryodhana’s support, his troops began looting and plundering Matsya territories.
The king of Matsya had always depended on his commander-in-chief, Keechaka, for the defence of his land. Now he turned in desperation to his trusted counsellor, Kanka.
‘The wrestler Valala, who works in your kitchens, is a great warrior,’ said Kanka. ‘So are Damagranthi and Tantripala, who supervise your stables and cowsheds. I know them from the court of Yudhishthira; they are all able warriors. Together we shall lead your troops into battle.’
The Pandavas were once again in the thick of combat. The soldiers were inspired by their skill and valour, and soon began getting the better of Trigarta’s army.
In the meanwhile, as planned, Duryodhana attacked the northern territories of Virata. All the troops of Matsya were busy fighting Trigarta’s soldiers in the south.
When news of the fresh attack reached, only young Uttar Kumar, prince of Matsya, still remained in the capital city of Virata. ‘I shall fight these invaders,’ he declared grandly. ‘I shall defeat them to the man.’ But he could not go into battle alone, and there were no troops, no foot soldiers, not even a charioteer available to accompany him into battle.
He discussed his problem with his sister Uttara. ‘I feel so helpless,’ Uttar Kumar sighed. ‘I want to fight the army of Hastinapura, but I cannot possibly do it alone! Even if I had a single charioteer with me, I would plunge into battle straightaway.’
Brihannala, who taught music and dance to Uttara, overheard this conversation. Arjuna had tired of his disguise and his broad archer’s shoulders were itching for the feel of his beloved bow, the Gandiva. It had irked him immensely to see the other Pandavas rush into battle, while he was left behind in Virata to amuse the princess.
‘I shall be your charioteer,’ he said impulsively.
Uttar Kumar and Uttara examined Brihannala in surprise. They saw a tall, strong figure swathed in silk, wearing glass and gold bangles on sturdy wrists.
‘I look quite different in battle gear,’ Brihannala assured them.
‘We have no arms or weapons,’ stuttered the young prince. His bluster had quite left him and he was terrified at the thought of actually going into battle, accompanied only by Brihannala, who was clearly crazed. But he had no choice.
Ignoring Uttar Kumar’s protests, Brihannala had a chariot prepared, and donned a gold breastplate over the silken women’s robes. They made a strange spectacle as they rushed towards the battlefield, the man-woman with her flying robes and the child-prince with terror writ across his face. But Arjuna didn’t care; he was exultant to be back in action.
Arjuna in the Battlefield
Uttar Kumar and his unexpected charioteer stopped at the burning grounds where the Pandavas had hidden their weapons. Arjuna revealed his true identity to the blabbering prince. A measure of confidence returned to Uttar Kumar, and he agreed willingly to Arjuna’s suggestion that he take the reins of the chariot, leaving Arjuna free to fight.
They waited until dusk had fallen, and then Arjuna cautiously removed the shroud that hung from the tall sami tree. He unwrapped the cowhide in which the Pandavas’ weapons were wrapped and kissed the Gandiva that rested among the glowing weapons. He took his quiver of never-ending arrows, and handed some weapons to the frightened prince.
Arjuna removed the lion-banner of the Matsya dynasty from the chariot and affixed the ape-banner of the Pandavas, which had been blessed by the monkey god Hanuman. The last day of the thirteenth year of exile was by now finally over, and he could declare his true identity in battle.
Uttar Kumar drove his chariot to face the assembled Kaurava army. Arjuna blew on his conch, the Devadutta, and let out a long, resounding battle wail which echoed through the land. Then he twanged the string of his bow.
The familiar sound drew mixed reactions from the opposing army. Dronacharya was secretly thrilled to find his favourite student safe and sound again. ‘The brave Arjuna will destroy our entire army,’ he told Duryodhana. ‘It would be best for us to retreat immediately.’
‘The thirteen years have not yet come to an end,’ Duryodhana retorted. ‘Arjuna and his brothers will have to go into exile again if they defeat us.’
Bhishma, the patriarch of the family, addressed Duryodhana sternly. ‘My astrologers have been keeping track of the years of exile,’ he said. ‘You have done your sums wrong, Duryodhana. As the stars and planets move, the calculations of the years have to be adjusted. By our calendar, every five years there is an increase of two months in the calculation. During these thirteen years, there has been an increase of five months and twelve days in the leap years. The learned Yudhishthira surely knew this and has suffered an additional five months in exile to avoid any controversy. I declare that the Pandavas’ time of exile is finally over.
‘Return their kingdom to the Pandavas,’ Bhishma counselled. ‘Make your peace with them and your kingdom will be saved from certain slaughter.’
‘The first rule of warfare is that an unnecessary battle must be avoided,’ said Kripacharya. Dronacharya and Ashwathama too advised restraint.
Duryodhana would not be persuaded, and the hot-headed Karna sided with him.
‘I will not return their kingdom to the Pandavas,’ said Duryodhana. ‘Let us talk of war and nothing else.’ Bhishma and Dronacharya were silenced. In warfare, the word of the king is final and his commands must be obeyed.
‘The king must be defended at any cost,’ said Drona, looking at the anxious faces of Bhishma, Kripa and Ashwathama. ‘Let us divide our troops into four. Duryodhana must lead one contingent back
to Hastinapura. The second will take the wealth and cattle we have won back to our kingdom. The other half of the army will remain to fight Arjuna.’
Arjuna saw his great-uncle’s banner fluttering upon his chariot. It bore the emblem of a golden palm tree. The Kaurava army had arrayed itself into a diamond formation, the Vajravydha. Karna stood in the front. Behind him were Ashwathama to the left and Kripa to the right. Dronacharya stood in the middle of the phalanx and his grandfather Bhishma to the rear.
Arjuna’s heart overflowed with affection at the sight of his teachers and his great-uncle. He shot two arrows which landed at Bhishma’s feet; this was followed by another set of two unerring arrows which found their mark at Dronacharya’s feet, and then again at Kripacharya’s. This was Arjuna’s way of paying respect and homage to his elders and humbly saluting them. Then a pair of arrows flew past Bhishma’s ears, followed by similar sets of whispering arrows, which almost, but not quite, grazed the ears of Drona and Kripa. These arrows were Arjuna’s way of seeking their permission to engage with them in battle.
All the three blessed Arjuna and were gladdened in their hearts by his humility. Ashwathama, too, was pleased by the respect shown to his father. Only Karna watched sulkily, glowering at his enemy, whom he had sworn to destroy.
As Arjuna advanced in his solitary chariot to take on the might of the Hastinapura army, he realized that Duryodhana was retreating and that the soldiers were herding the cattle away. ‘First, let us release the cows,’ he decided, and scattered the Kuru soldiers escorting the cattle with his unerring volley of arrows. As the calves began running this way and that in fear, the cows herded them back and turned southwards, to the city of Virata. The cowherds, who had been watching the battle from a safe distance, quickly led them back.
Arjuna asked Uttar Kumar to drive the chariot towards Duryodhana. The other Kaurava brothers, all ninety-nine of them, tried to stop him, but failed. Arjuna had eyes only for the chariot on which the banner with Duryodhana’s emblem fluttered: a serpent embroidered on a cloth of gold. He was intent on daring his cowardly cousin to come forth and fight like a man. Still Duryodhana chose to flee when faced by the unrelenting wrath of Arjuna’s arrows.
‘Take my chariot to the centre of the battlefield,’ Arjuna instructed Uttar Kumar once Duryodhana’s chariot disappeared. ‘I shall now confront Karna.’
The two men fought each other bitterly, but Arjuna held the advantage. Finally, as Karna’s neck, shoulders and broad chest were covered with arrows from Arjuna’s unending quiver, he conceded defeat.
Duryodhana returned to battle like a wounded serpent. Drona, Bhishma and Kripa came forward to protect him and surrounded Arjuna. The noble Pandava did not want to fight his elders. He summoned the magical astra called Sammohana, which had the power to hypnotize thousands at once, and all the Kuru warriors fell into a dead faint.
‘They are all in a trance,’ Arjuna said to Uttar Kumar. ‘Get down from the chariot and collect their scarves and upper garments. Bring me Kripa’s vastra of white silk, the yellow silk scarf on Karna’s chest, and the blue shimmering silk on Duryodhana’s chest. I will take them as trophies of war for my pupil, princess Uttara.’ He paused, and a cautious look appeared on his face. ‘I must warn you to keep away from my grandfather, Bhishma. He knows the antidote to the Sammohana spell; perhaps he is only pretending to be unconscious to humour me.’
For a warrior to be disrobed in battle was, in those days, the most absolute dishonour. After Uttar Kumar retrieved the scarves, he and Arjuna left the battlefield. Arjuna recited the mantra that reversed the hypnotic Sammohana spell. The Kauravas arose as though from a deep sleep and watched the departing chariot as in a dream.
Arjuna let loose arrows that fell at the elders’ feet to express his respect for them. He said farewell to Duryodhana by aiming a magical arrow at his golden crown, which came tumbling down to earth. The Kaurava monarch’s humiliation was complete.
They stopped next at the cremation ground, where the Gandiva and other weapons were returned to their hiding place in the so-called corpse hanging from the sami tree.
‘You must tell no one of my true identity,’ Arjuna told the young prince. ‘You, and you alone, must claim credit for this victory. I cannot give up my disguise until Yudhishthira instructs me to do so.’ The two exchanged places and the prince of Matsya was driven back to Virata by his charioteer, the eunuch Brihannala.
The Return to Virata
The king returned victoriously to Virata, having defeated Trigarta in battle. He was impressed by the prowess shown by his advisor Kanka, and by Valala the cook, Damagranthi the stablehand and Tantripala the cowhand. He had absolutely no idea that he had been assisted by the Pandavas, the greatest heroes in the three worlds.
When the king found that his son had gone off to fight the Kaurava armies on his own, he fell into a fit of utter panic. ‘How can a young child fight Bhishma, Drona and Kripa, to say nothing of Karna and Duryodhana? My son will surely be sacrifed in the battlefield before such experienced warriors!’ he lamented.
‘But Brihannala is there to protect him,’ Yudhishthira exclaimed, a little thoughtlessly.
‘That dance master cannot protect my son,’ the king said irritably. ‘Let us sit down to a game of dice until he returns.’
‘You should never gamble when you are perturbed,’ Yudhishthira said soothingly, but the king was too agitated to heed this advice. They sat down before the dice-board.
In a while, some cowherds came to the city to give news of Uttar Kumar’s victory. The king’s heart swelled with pride. Yudhishthira, too, was thrilled by what he perceived rightly as Arjuna’s victory.
‘My son has achieved the impossible,’ the king exclaimed.
‘Your son is but a child,’ Yudhishthira responded. ‘Only Brihannala could have achieved this victory.’
The king was infuriated by this remark, which he considered an insult to his son. He threw the dice in his hands at Yudhishthira. The heavy ivory dice hit the eldest Pandava on the forehead and he began to bleed profusely. As the blood dripped from his forehead, he cupped his hands to stop even a single drop from falling to the ground.
Draupadi saw what had happened. She rushed towards Yudhishthira with a gold bowl filled with water. Yudhishthira washed his hands in it even while Draupadi wiped his brow with her scarf to stop the bleeding.
‘Why are you coming to the aid of this foolish counsellor?’ the king shouted at Sairandhari.
She looked up distractedly from her task. ‘If a drop of this man’s blood were to touch the ground, your kingdom would not have rain for a whole year,’ she exclaimed. ‘Each drop of blood will cause a year of famine. And if his blood falls on the ground, you will be avenged by the one who has sworn to kill whoever spills a single drop of this great man’s precious blood. I am doing this to save you and your kingdom!’
Just then Uttar Kumar arrived at the palace. He knew that Kanka was actually the Pandava king Yudhishthira. He was utterly horrified to see him bleeding, and even more so when his father proudly informed him that he had hit his counsellor with the dice on account of his impertinence.
‘You must seek his forgiveness, Father,’ the alarmed prince pleaded. The king of Matsya was puzzled by his son’s anxiety but did so, if only to humour him who had won such a splendid victory.
Brihannala entered the assembly hall. He had thought that his brother would smile at him, or perhaps give him a mischievous wink, to salute his victory. But Yudhishthira sat quietly, his face cupped in his hands.
That night the brothers and Draupadi conferred in secret. Draupadi told them how the king had hit Yudhishthira with the dice. They were all outraged, with Bhima naturally the most angered.
‘Your patience has been your undoing all these years,’ Arjuna said to his eldest brother. ‘Let me kill this impudent king.’
‘No, I shall kill him,’ roared Bhima.
‘He did not know who I am when he hit me,’ Yudhishthira replied gently. ‘Let
him realize what he has done. Tomorrow, we will occupy his throne. If he resists, then we shall certainly destroy him and seize his kingdom.’
The next morning, when the king entered his audience hall, followed by his ministers and courtiers, he found Yudhishthira sitting on his throne, Draupadi by his side. The four other Pandavas sat around him, Bhima and Arjuna to his right, Nakula and Sahadeva to his left.
The king of Matsya was astounded by what he thought was the impudence of Kanka. ‘Get off my throne before I kill you, you foolish man!’ he screamed.
Yudhishthira smiled gently at him and said nothing.
It was left to Arjuna to reveal their true identities. ‘This man who sits on your throne is Yudhishthira, the king of Indraprastha, monarch of the world. His fame will live on as long as the sun rises and sets. Do you still dare to unseat him from your throne?’
The king of Matsya was speechless with amazement. Just then Uttar Kumar entered the assembly hall. He had been longing to tell his father the truth, but Arjuna had forbidden him. Now he fell at Yudhishthira’s feet and sought his blessings. ‘It was Arjuna who fought the battle for us, Father!’ he exclaimed. ‘The Pandavas saved us and our kingdom!’
The king too fell at Yudhishthira’s feet. ‘Please forgive me, for I acted in ignorance,’ he said, tears of remorse in his eyes. ‘This throne and my kingdom are yours. I shall give my daughter Uttara to your brother Arjuna in marriage to seal our alliance.’
‘We are grateful to you,’ Yudhishthira smiled. ‘We have spent the most difficult year of our exile under your protection. We do not want your kingdom, only your assurance that you will support us when we fight the Kauravas.’ The king of Matsya agreed willingly.
The Puffin Mahabharata Page 11