Mahabharata: Volume 7 (14 page)

‘S
anjaya said, “O great king! Your son spoke these words to the king of Madra. He went humbly to him and spoke these affectionate words to him. ‘O one who observes truthful vows! O immensely fortunate one! O one who increases the hardship of enemies! O lord of Madra! O one who is brave in battle! O one who is terrible to enemy soldiers! O supreme among eloquent ones! You have heard Karna’s words. I am seeking you out among all these lions among kings. This is for Partha’s destruction and for
my welfare. O best of rathas! O one with an excellent mind! You should accept the task of being a charioteer. There is no one in the worlds who is your equal in holding the reins. Protect Karna in every way, like Brahma protects Shankara. Krishna is Partha’s adviser and he is supreme in holding the reins. In that fashion, always protect Radheya. Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, Karna, you, the valiant Bhoja, Shakuni Soubala, Drona’s son and I are our strength. O leader of an army! In that fashion, we were divided into nine divisions. The divisions of the great-souled Bhishma and Drona no longer exist. They slew my enemy, more than the two parts that were allotted to them.
²⁹⁹
But those two tigers among men were old and were killed through deceit. O unblemished one! Having performed extremely difficult deeds for us, they have gone to heaven. In that way, in this battle, many other tigers among men have been slain by the enemy. In that way, in this encounter, there are many on our side who have ascended to heaven, giving up their lives, striving to the best of their capacity and performing good rites. The mighty-armed Karna alone remains, engaged in our welfare. O tiger among men! And you are there, a maharatha in all the worlds. O lord of Madra! That is the reason my hopes of victory are still great. Krishna is foremost among those who hold Partha’s reins in battle. O king! In the battle, he is engaged in protecting Partha. You have witnessed the deeds that he has performed. Earlier, in an encounter, Arjuna has never killed enemies in this fashion.
³⁰⁰
O lord of Madra! But you have seen how he has killed and driven away in this battle. O immensely radiant one! Yours and Karna’s divisions are left. In the battle, unite with Karna and bear that share. O venerable one! Surya and Aruna are seen to destroy the darkness.
³⁰¹
In that way, destroy the Kounteyas, with the Panchalas and the Srinjayas. Karna is foremost among rathas. You are foremost among men. When there is a clash, there is no one in
the worlds who is your equal. Varshneya protects the Pandavas in every situation. In that way, in this battle, protect Vaikartana Karna. O lord of the earth! If you are the charioteer of the horses, he will be unassailable in a battle by Shakra and all the gods, not to speak of the Pandaveyas. Do not doubt these words of mine.’

‘ “Hearing these words of Duryodhana, Shalya was filled with anger. His brows furrowed into three lines. He repeatedly whirled his hands around. His large eyes were red with rage. The mighty-armed Shalya was proud of his lineage, prosperity, knowledge and strength. He spoke these words. ‘O son of Gandhari! You are insulting me and it is certain that you suspect me. Without any hesitation, you have asked me to act as a charioteer. You regard Karna to be superior to us and have honoured and praised him. But I have never regarded Radheya as my equal in battle. O lord of the earth! Instruct me to assume a burden that is greater than my share. Having defeated them in battle, I will return to the place I have come from. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! I will fight single-handedly with them. As I consume the enemies in the battle, behold my valour today. O Kouravya! It is not proper for a man to advance with an injury in his heart. Do not doubt me and do not enjoin me in this way. You should not act so as to insult me in the battle. Behold my thick arms. They are capable of withstanding the vajra. Behold my colourful bow and these arrows, which are like venomous serpents. Behold my chariot. Well-trained horses that are as swift as the wind have been yoked to it. O son of Gandhari! Behold my club. It has been decorated with strips of golden garments. If I am angry, I can split the earth and shatter the mountains. O lord of the earth! I can dry up the oceans with my energy. O king! Knowing that I am capable of oppressing the enemy in this way, why are you instructing me to be the charioteer of Adhiratha’s inferior son in the battle? O Indra among kings! You should not employ me on such a lowly task. Since I am superior, I have no interest in following the commands of that wicked person. A superior person has arrived with affection and obedience. If one makes such a person subject to the commands of an inferior one, one commits the crime of confusing the inferior with the superior. Brahma created brahmanas from his
mouth and kshatriyas from his chest. He created vaishyas from his thighs and shudras from his feet. That is what has been heard. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Because of mixture among the varnas, those who are other than the four varnas,
pratiloma
and
anuloma
, have been generated.
³⁰²
It has been said in the sacred texts that kshatriyas are protectors. They accumulate wealth and distribute it. Pure brahmanas act as officiating priests, study and receive.
³⁰³
Brahmanas have been established on earth for the sake of gratifying people. Agriculture, animal husbandry and donations are always the tasks of vaishyas. It has been decreed that shudras are the servants of brahmanas, kshatriyas and vaishyas. It has been decreed that sutas are the servants of brahmanas and kshatriyas. They are not the servants of shudras.
³⁰⁴
O unblemished one! Therefore, listen to my words. I am one whose head has been consecrated.
³⁰⁵
I have been born in a lineage of
rajarshi
s. I am famous as a maharatha and should be served by bards and minstrels. O destroyer of enemy forces! Since I am such a person, I have no interest in being the charioteer of the son of the suta in battle. Having been thus humiliated, I will never fight. O son of Gandhari! I am seeking your permission now, because I wish to return to the place that I have come from.’ Having spoken these words, Shalya, tiger among men and the ornament of an assembly, was angry and quickly stood up in the midst of those kings.

‘ “However, your son restrained him, with affection and great respect. He spoke sweet and conciliatory words that were capable of achieving every object. ‘O Shalya! There is no doubt that it is exactly as you have said. O lord of men! But I have an objective. Please listen to it. O king! Karna is not superior to you and I have never doubted you. The king who is the lord of Madra will never do something that is false. Your ancestors, the best of men, always spoke the truth. It is
my view that this is the reason you are known as Artayani.
³⁰⁶
O one who deserves honours. That is the reason, on this earth, you are like a stake to enemies.
³⁰⁷
O lord of the earth! That is the reason you are known by the name of Shalya. You have given away a large quantity of donations earlier. O one who knows about dharma! Therefore, for my sake, do what you have promised to do earlier. Radheya and I are not more valiant than you, that I am asking you to be the charioteer of those foremost of horses in the battle. Just as the world thinks that Karna is superior to Dhananjaya in qualities, the world thinks that Shalya is superior to Vasudeva. O bull among men! Karna is superior to Partha in weapons. And you are superior to Krishna in the knowledge of horses and in strength. The great-minded Vasudeva knows about the heart of horses. O king of Madra! But there is no doubt that you are twice as knowledgeable as him.” Shalya replied, “O son of Gandhari! O Kourava! Since, in the midst of the soldiers, you have said that I am superior to Devaki’s son, I am pleased with you. Therefore, I will be the charioteer of the illustrious Radheya, while he fights with the foremost of the Pandavas. O brave one! It shall be as you wish. O brave one! But let this be clear to Vaikartana, what when the time is right, I will be free to speak disrespectful words to him.” O king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O supreme among the Bharata lineage! Together with Karna, your son told the king of Madra that it would be this way.’

‘ “D
uryodhana said, ‘O lord of Madra! Listen once more to what I am about to tell you. O lord! This is an account of the ancient battle that took place between the gods and the
asura
s.
The great rishi, Markandeya, told my father about this. O supreme among rajarshis! I will recount it, without leaving anything out. You should listen to it, without doubting its veracity.

‘ “‘The gods and the asuras engaged with each other in a mighty battle. O king! At first, there was the encounter known as Tarakamaya.
³⁰⁸
It has been heard by us that the daityas were then defeated by the gods. O king! When the daityas were defeated, Taraka’s three sons, Taraksha,
³⁰⁹
Kamalaksha and Vidyunmali, resorted to fierce austerities and established themselves in supreme control. O scorcher of enemies! They oppressed their bodies with austerities. O king! Because of their control, austerities and rules, the grandfather
³¹⁰
was pleased with them and offered them supreme boons. O king! They were united in asking for the boon that all beings would always be unable to kill them. They wanted this from the grandfather of all the worlds. The god who is the lord and master of all the worlds told them, “O asuras! There is nothing like immortality and not being killed by anyone. Ask for any other boon that pleases you.” At this, they consulted among themselves for a long time and then, bowing down before the lord who is the master of the worlds, spoke these words, “O god! O grandfather! Please grant us this boon. With your favours, we will dwell in three cities above the earth and roam around in this world. O unblemished one! Once, every one thousand years, those cities will merge with one another and become one. O illustrious one! When they have merged, if a supreme among gods slays us with a single arrow, let that be the means of our death.” Having agreed to this, the god
³¹¹
left for heaven.

‘ “‘Having obtained the boon, they were pleased and consulted each other about constructing the three cities. They asked the great asura Maya, who was accomplished in everything. He was without decay and was worshipped by the daityas and the
danavas.
³¹²
Using his own austerities, the intelligent Maya created those three cities, one of gold, another of silver and another of black iron. O lord of the earth! The one that was of gold was resplendent in heaven, the one of silver in the firmament and the one of iron on earth. They were such that they circled. Each was a hundred
yojana
s in length and breadth and possessed houses, mansions and many walls and gates.
³¹³
The roads had many qualities and they were also spacious. There were many kinds of palaces, adorned with gates. O king! Each of those cities had a different king. The great-souled Tarakaksha possessed the expensive city of gold, Kamalaksha the silver one and Vidyunmali the iron one. Those three daitya kings swiftly attacked the three worlds with their energy. They spoke these words. “Who is the one who is known as Prajapati?”
³¹⁴
There were no heroes to rival them and the foremost among danavas went and united with them, in tens of millions. They sought refuge in those three inaccessible cities, desiring great wealth. When they were thus united, Maya gave them everything they wanted. Resorting to him, all of them lived there, without any fear. If any resident of the three cities desired anything in his mind, using his powers of illusion, Maya immediately satisfied that wish. Tarakaksha had an immensely strong son named Hari. He went through supreme austerities and satisfied the grandfather. Having satisfied the god, he asked for a boon. “Let there be a lake in our city. When those killed with weapons are flung into it, let them emerge with life and greater strength.” Having obtained the boon, Tarakaksha’s brave son, Hari, constructed a lake there. O lord! It was capable of reviving the dead. In whatever form and in whatever attire a daitya was slain, once he was thrown there, he became alive in that form. Having obtained them back, those in Tripura
³¹⁵
began to oppress all the worlds. They obtained success through their great austerities and extended the fear of the gods. O king! They never suffered from destruction in a battle. At this, they were overcome by avarice and delusion and were bereft
of their senses. They shamelessly uprooted everything that had been established. Everywhere, they drove away the gods and their companions. They roamed around at will, insolent because of the boon they had obtained, through all the celestial forests and other regions loved by the residents of heaven and the sacred and revered hermitages of rishis. The evil-acting danavas did not show respect towards anyone.

‘ “‘O scorcher of enemies! All the gods united and went to the grandfather, to tell him about the depredations caused by those who were not
sura
s.
³¹⁶
They bowed their heads in obeisance before him and told him everything. They asked the illustrious grandfather about a means for their destruction.
³¹⁷
On hearing this, the illustrious god told the gods, “The asuras are evil-souled and hate the gods. Those who commit crimes against you, also oppress me. There is no doubt that I am neutral among beings. But those who are against dharma must be killed. I am firmly telling you this. You elect Sthanu Ishana Jishnu, the performer of undecaying deeds.
³¹⁸
O Adityas! He will save you and kill the ones who are not suras.” Having heard his words, with Shakra at the forefront, the gods placed Brahma ahead of them and sought refuge with the one who bears the mark of a bull. They performed supreme austerities and praised the eternal
brahman
. With the rishis, the ones who knew about dharma gave up all their souls to Bhava.
³¹⁹
With eloquent words, they praised the one who grants freedom from fear in all situations that cause fear. He is the great-souled one who is the soul of everything. He pervades everything with his soul. They
³²⁰
knew special austerities and many kinds of yoga to control the soul. They knew about the techniques of
sankhya
, so that the soul could always be controlled.
³²¹
They then
beheld Ishana, the consort of Uma, in his mass of energy. He has no equal in the worlds. He is devoted to vows and is without blemish. He is the single illustrious one, though they had thought of him in many different forms. On seeing the form of the great-souled one, whom they had thought of in many different forms in their own souls, all of them were astounded and glanced at each other in great wonder. He is the lord who is in all beings. He is the one without origin and is the lord of the universe. On seeing him, all the gods and brahmarshis bowed their heads down on the ground. Shankara welcomed them with words of benediction over them and asked them to arise. The illustrious one smiled and said, “Tell me why you have come.” Having obtained permission from Tryambaka,
³²²
their hearts were assured. They told Bhava, “O lord! We bow down. We bow down before you. We bow down before the one who is the god of all the gods. You are the archer. You are the one who is supremely angry. You are the one who destroyed the sacrifice of Prajapati.
³²³
You are the one who is worshipped by all Prajapatis. We bow down before you. We praise you. We praise the one who is praised by those who are about to die. You are the one who is red. You are Rudra. You are the one with the blue throat. You are the one with the trident. You are the one who cannot be repulsed. You are the one with the eyes of a deer. You are the one who fights with the best of weapons. You are unassailable. You are the seed. You are the brahman. You are a brahmachari. You are Ishana. You are the one who cannot be measured. You are the one who controls. You are dressed in skin. You are always engaged in austerities. You are tawny. You are the one who observes vows. You are the one who is attired in skin. You are the father of Kumara. You are three-eyed. You wield the best of weapons. You destroy the afflictions of those who seek refuge. You destroy masses of those who hate brahmanas. You are the lord of trees. You are the lord of men. We bow down before you. You are the lord of cattle. You are always the lord of sacrifices. We bow down before you. We bow down before you.
O Tryambaka! Fierce in your energy, you are in front of all the soldiers. O god! We worship you, in our thoughts and our deeds. Be pacified.” At this, the illustrious one was gratified and welcomed and honoured them. He asked, “Let the reason for your fright be dispelled. Tell me what I should do for you.” The great-souled one granted a boon to the masses of ancestors, gods and rishis. Brahma honoured Shankara and spoke these words for the welfare of the worlds. “O lord of the gods! Through your favours, I have obtained the status of Prajapati. Having been thus established, I have granted a great boon to the danavas. Because of that, they are transgressing all norms of respect. You are the lord of the past, the present and the future. Other than you, there is no one who can destroy those wicked ones. Show your favours to the gods and grant this to the residents of heaven. O lord of the gods! O wielder of the trident! Show your favours and kill the danavas.”

‘ “‘The illustrious one replied, “All your enemies should be killed. That is my view. But I cannot kill them alone. Those who hate the gods are capable. Therefore, all of you should unite. Use the energy of my weapons to fight against the enemy in battle. Unity offers great strength.”

‘ “‘The gods said, “We think that their energy and strength is double that of ours. We think that we have already witnessed their energy and their strength.”

‘ “‘The illustrious one replied, “Those who have committed crimes against you and are wicked must always be killed. Accept half of my energy and strength and kill all those enemies.”

‘ “‘The gods said, “O Maheshvara! We will not be able to bear half of your energy. But with half of our united strength, you can kill the enemies.” ’

‘ “Duryodhana said, ‘O supreme among kings! The gods accepted what the lord of the gods had said.
³²⁴
All of them gave him half of their energy and he became superior. The god became the strongest among all the strong ones. From that time, Shankara came to be
known as Mahadeva.
³²⁵
Mahadeva said, “Armed with the bow and the arrow, I will station myself on my chariot and kill the enemies of the residents of heaven. Therefore, all of you attend to my chariot and my bow and arrows. Behold, as I bring them down on the surface of the earth.”

‘ “‘The gods said, “Let all forms be gathered from everywhere in the three worlds. O lord of the gods! Using that, we will construct an immensely energetic and resplendent chariot for you, which will be fashioned by Vishvakarma with his intelligence.”

‘ “‘The tigers among the gods then constructed the chariot.
³²⁶
The goddess earth, garlanded with large cities and with mountains, forests, islands and all the beings, became the seat for the charioteer. Mandara
³²⁷
was the axle and Mahanadi
³²⁸
became the flank. The directions and the sub-directions became the entourage around the chariot. The flaming planets were the
anukarsha
³²⁹
and the stars were the bumpers. Dharma
,
artha and kama united to become the
trivenu
.
³³⁰
Many kinds of herbs and many trees, with flowers and fruit, became the seat for the charioteer. The sun and the moon became wheels of that supreme chariot. Day and night were the auspicious flanks, ahead and to the rear. The ten lords of the nagas, with Dhritarashtra
³³¹
as the foremost, constituted the shaft. The sky was the yoke and Samvartaka and Balahaka were the leather coverings for the yoke.
³³²
Fortitude, understanding, permanence and humility were the staffs. The planets, nakshatras, stars and the colourful firmament were the leather coverings. The guardians of the
world, the lords of the gods, the water, the dead and wealth,
³³³
were made the horses. Sinivali, Anumati, Kuhu and Raka, all excellent in their vows, were made the yokes and harnesses around the necks of the mounts, for use by the rider.
³³⁴
Action, truth, austerities and prosperity were made the reins. The mind became the base and Sarasvati
³³⁵
the track for the chariot. Many beautiful and colourful flags were whirled around by the wind. With lightning and Indra’s bow fastened to the chariot, it blazed in radiance. O great king! Thus was the supreme of chariots prepared there. O tiger among men! The gods prepared it, for crushing those who hated them. Shankara placed the best of his weapons on the chariot. Having made the firmament the flagstaff for his chariot, he placed the mark of the bull there. Brahma’s staff, Yama’s staff, Rudra’s staff and Fever became the protectors of the chariot and faced all the directions. The great-souled Atharvan and Angirasa became the protectors of the chariot wheels.
³³⁶
Rig Veda, Sama Veda and the Puranas were in the front. Itihasa
³³⁷
and the Yajur Veda protected the rear. Divine words and learning surrounded it from all sides. O Indra among kings!
Vashatkara
³³⁸
was the goad there. O king! The syllable
Om
was at the forefront and made it look radiant. He
³³⁹
made the year, with its six seasons, his bow. He made the night that destroys men the undecaying bowstring. Vishnu, Agni and Soma were the arrows. Agni and Soma constitute the entire universe and it is said that Vishnu is the universe. Vishnu is the illustrious one’s soul and Bhava’s infinite energy. That is the reason they
³⁴⁰
could not bear the touch of Hara’s
bowstring. On that arrow, the lord released his fierce and virulent fire of anger, generated from the intolerable wrath of Bhrigu and Angirasa. Nilalohita, Dhumra and Krittivasa looked terrible.
³⁴¹
He blazed like ten thousand suns, amidst a mass of flaming energy. Hara is the vanquisher of those who can be defeated with difficulty. He is the slayer of those who hate Brahma. He is always the protector and the destroyer. He is the refuge of dharma and adharma. He was surrounded by large numbers of terrible and fierce beings who were horrible in form. Surrounded by large numbers of these, the illustrious Sthanu was resplendent. O king! The entire world and universe is established in his limbs and all mobile and immobile objects were beautiful. It was a wonderful sight. On seeing that the chariot was ready, he donned divine armour and picked up his bow and arrow. He grasped the celestial arrows that were generated through Soma, Vishnu and Agni. O king! O supreme among kings! The gods instructed the lord of the wind to blow sacred fragrances. Mahadeva ascended the chariot and terrified the gods. When he ascended, the earth and heaven trembled. The granter of boons was beautiful, with his sword, arrows and bow.