Mahabharata: Volume 7 (26 page)

‘S
anjaya said, “Having been thus addressed by Yudhishthira, Kounteya, borne on the white horses, angrily grasped his sword, wishing to kill the bull among the Bharata lineage. On witnessing his wrath, Keshava, who knew about thoughts, spoke. ‘O Partha! Why have you grasped your sword in this way? O Dhananjaya! I do not see anyone here with whom you need to fight. All the sons of Dhritarashtra have been devastated by the intelligent Bhima. O Kounteya! You withdrew to seek the king. King Yudhishthira is cheerful and well. You have seen that tiger among men, whose valour is like that of a tiger. This is a time for rejoicing. Why are you overcome by anger? O Kounteya! I do not see anyone here who should be killed by you. Why have you quickly taken up this
large sword? O Kounteya! I am asking you about this. What do you wish to do? O one who is extraordinary in valour! You have angrily grasped this supreme sword.’ Having been thus addressed by Krishna, Arjuna glanced towards Yudhishthira. He sighed like a serpent and told Govinda, ‘If anyone asks me to hand over Gandiva to someone else, I will slice off his head. That has been my secret vow. O infinitely valorous one! You have heard what the king with the miserable soul told me in your presence. O Govinda! I have no interest in pardoning him. Therefore, I will kill the king who is always scared about deviating from dharma. I will kill that supreme among men and protect my pledge. O descendant of the Yadu lineage! That is the reason I have picked up the sword. I will kill Yudhishthira and repay my debt to the cause of truth. O Janardana! In that way, I will be without sorrow and without fever. Now that such an occasion has arisen, what do you think? O father!
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You know everything about the universe, its past and its future. I will do whatever you ask me to.’

‘ “Krishna replied, ‘O Partha! I now know that you have never attended to those who are old. O tiger among men! You have fallen prey to wrath at the wrong time. O Dhananjaya! No one who knows about the gradations of dharma acts in this way. Thinking something to be a duty, you are engaging in a task that is not a duty. O Partha! It is the worst of men who performs tasks that should not be performed. You should follow the dharma that wise ones have resorted to. They certainly spoke about this in detail to those who approached them.
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O Partha! The man who does not know about these decrees and about the determination of what should be done and what should not be done, is certainly confounded. You are acting in that foolish way. It is always difficult to clearly know what should be done and what should not be done. Everything can be known through the sacred texts, but you are not acquainted with them. Based on your ignorance, you think that you are following
dharma and that you are acting in accordance with dharma. O Partha! You say that you are for dharma. But you do not understand that the killing of a living being is a sin. O son!
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Not killing living beings is the best course of action. That is my view. One can utter a falsehood, but one should never indulge in violence. The king, your eldest brother, is knowledgeable about dharma. How can you, like an ordinary man, kill that best of men? O descendant of the Bharata lineage! It has been said that one must not kill someone who is not fighting, someone who is without weapons, someone who is reluctant to fight, someone who is running away, someone who has sought sanctuary and someone who has joined his hands in salutation. The learned do not approve of killing such people. O Partha! In earlier times, you took that vow of yours when you were a child. Because of that, you now wish to undertake an act that is full of adharma. O Partha! How can you rush to kill your superior? Remember dharma. The course of dharma needs to be reflected about. It is subtle and difficult to follow. O bull among the Bharata lineage! I will tell you about the mysteries of dharma. Bhishma told you about this and so did Yudhishthira, who knows about dharma, kshatta Vidura and the illustrious Kunti. O Dhananjaya! I will tell you about the details. Listen. One who speaks the truth is virtuous. There is nothing superior to truth. However, it is extremely difficult to understand how one should base oneself on truth. Sometimes, truth should not be spoken. And sometimes, a lie should be spoken. When all one’s possessions are being robbed, one should utter a lie. One should also utter a lie when one’s life is in danger, or at the time of a marriage. Those are the times when falsehood becomes truth and truth becomes falsehood. A person who is always based on truth is but a child. A person who can differentiate between truth and falsehood can alone follow dharma. Isn’t it wonderful that a man can become wise even after performing an extremely terrible deed? Like Balaka, he can obtain great merits, even though he has killed a blind being. And
even though one strives for great virtue, one may commit a great sin, like Koushika, who lived along rivers.’

‘ “Arjuna said, ‘O illustrious one! So that I may gain knowledge, tell me about these accounts, about Balaka and his connection with a blind being, and about Koushika, who lived near rivers.’

‘ “Krishna replied, ‘O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Balaka was a person who hunted animals. He went to kill animals for his son and his wife, not to satisfy any desire. He looked after his blind mother and father and other dependents. He was always devoted to his own dharma. He was always truthful and not malicious. One day, though he made a lot of effort to search for animals, he could find none. Finally, he saw a carnivorous beast drinking water, using smell for its sight.
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Though he had not seen such an animal before, he killed it. Immediately, a shower of flowers fell down from the sky. Apsaras began to sing and charming musical instruments were sounded. Celestial vehicles descended from heaven, to take that hunter of animals away. O Arjuna! Because of its austerities, that animal had been granted a boon by the self-creating one
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that it would be able to kill all beings, but would be blind. He killed the beast that had made up its mind to kill all beings. That is the reason Balaka went to heaven. The dharma of the gods is extremely difficult to comprehend. There was a brahmana named Koushika. He was an ascetic and extremely learned. He lived at a confluence of rivers, far away from villages. He had taken a vow that he would always speak the truth. O Dhananjaya! Because he always spoke the truth, he became famous. At that time, scared of robbers, some people entered the forest. The cruel robbers made every effort to follow in their footsteps. They approached Koushika, who always spoke the truth, and asked, “O illustrious one! There were many people. What path have they taken? You are being asked in the name of truth. If you know, tell us.” Having been asked, Koushika spoke to them truthfully. “This forest has many trees, creepers and lantanas and they have entered it.” Those cruel men sought them out and killed
them. So it has been heard. Koushika committed great adharma by speaking what should not have been said. He suffered great hardships in hell, because he did not know about the subtleties of dharma. He was just like a foolish person who does not possess a great deal of learning and does not ask the elders about the divisions of dharma, so that his great confusion can be resolved. Such indeed are the signs and indications. Supreme knowledge is extremely difficult and some try to obtain it through arguments. There are many other people who hold that dharma is only what is in the sacred texts. I will not contradict this, but everything is not laid down there. The words of dharma have been laid down for the propagation of beings. Dharma is so called because it holds everything up.
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Dharma upholds beings. Whatever has this property of holding up is certainly dharma. There are those who wish that it should be otherwise. For those who desire otherwise, free yourself from them, without speaking a lot. There is no need to speak to them. If you have to speak to them, or if they are suspicious if you do not speak to them, it is better to utter a falsehood. That will be like speaking the truth. When life is in danger, at the time of marriage, when the entire lineage or all the riches are about to be destroyed and at the time of amusements, it is better to utter a lie. Those who know about the true nature of dharma do not see any adharma there. When one takes an oath to free oneself from an association with robbers, it is better to utter a lie. That is like speaking the truth. If one can, one should never give up one’s riches to them. If one gives riches to the wicked, it is the giver that is afflicted. Therefore, a falsehood uttered for the sake of dharma does not amount to speaking a lie. These are the signs and indications and I have instructed you about them properly. O Partha! Having heard this, tell me if Yudhishthira should be killed.’

‘ “Arjuna said, ‘You have spoken like an immensely wise one! You have spoken like an immensely intelligent one. Your words are those that will ensure our welfare. You are like our mother. You are like our father. O Krishna! You are our supreme refuge and these
words have been spoken by you. There is nothing in the three worlds that is not known to you. You also know everything about supreme dharma. I think that Pandava Dharmaraja Yudhishthira cannot be killed. At this point in time, please tell me what I should do. Listen also to something else that is going on in my mind. O Dasharha! O Keshava! My vow is known to you. If there is any man who tells me, “O Partha! Give your Gandiva to someone else who is superior to you in weapons,” I must kill him. Bhima also said he would kill anyone who called him an eunuch. O lion among the Vrishni lineage! In your presence, the king has asked me to hand over my bow. O Keshava! If I kill him, I will not be able to remain in the world of the living even for a short instant. O best among those in the world! O best among those who uphold dharma! O Krishna! Tell me how my pledge remains true and yet, Pandava remains alive. Provide me with the appropriate counsel.’

‘ “Vasudeva replied, ‘The king was exhausted. In particular, in the battle, he was wounded by the large numbers of sharp arrows that Karna shot at him. O Partha! That is the reason he spoke harsh words to you. Karna is the stake in the battle today.
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If he is slain, the Kurus will be vanquished. That is what the king, Dharma’s son, thought. When a person suffers great shame, it is said, that though alive, such a person is dead. You have always honoured the king, together with Bhima and the twins, and so have the foremost and aged men in this world. You should offer him a trifling insult. O Partha! Address the king as “
tvam
”.
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O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Having been thus addressed, a senior will be as good as dead. O Kounteya! Act in this way towards Dharmaraja Yudhishthira. O extender of the Kuru lineage! Adopt this path of adharma. This supreme learning has been laid down in the sacred texts of Atharva and Angiras.
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Men
must always follow this superior course, without thinking about it. O Pandava! Having been addressed by you as “tvam”, Dharmaraja will think that he has been killed. You can later worship his feet and speak soft and conciliatory words to Partha.
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The Pandaveya king, your brother, is wise and will never be angered. O Partha! You will be freed from uttering a falsehood and will not have to kill your brother. You can then cheerfully slay Karna, the son of a suta.’”

‘Sanjaya said, “Having been thus addressed by Janardana, Partha applauded what his well-wisher had told him. And Arjuna used harsh words towards Dharmaraja, the likes of which he had never spoken earlier. ‘O king! You
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should not censure me about having withdrawn, since you have yourself been stationed more than one krosha away from the battle. You should not censure Bhima either. He is fighting with the foremost of the warriors. At this time, he has been afflicted by the enemies in the battle and has slain brave kings. He has killed more than one thousand elephants, emitting fierce roars like a lion. The brave one has performed an extremely difficult deed. You
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have never done anything like this. He has jumped down from his chariot. With a supreme club, he has slaughtered horses, men and elephants in the battle. Using his supreme sword and broken parts of chariots and his bow, he destroyed horses, chariots, steeds
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and elephants belonging to the enemy. Then again, intolerant and brave, he struck and killed with his feet and his hands. He is immensely strong and like Vaishravana
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and Yama. He slew the enemy, as only he can. That Bhimasena has the right to censure me, but not you, who have always been protected by your well-wishers. Bhima is single-handedly agitating the sons of Dhritarashtra, their maharathas, elephants and the best of horses. That scorcher of enemies has the right to reprimand me. He is killing large numbers of the enemy, Kalingas, Vangas, Angas, Nishadas,
Magadhas and is always as angry as a dark-blue cloud. He is like an elephant and has the right to speak to me. At the right time, he is riding on his chariot and brandishing his bow, with his fists full of arrows. The brave one is releasing a shower of arrows in the great battle, like a torrent of rain from a cloud. The learned say that speech is the strength of the best of brahmanas and strength of arms that of kshatriyas. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! You are cruel and your strength is in speech. You think that I am also like you. I have always sought to act for your benefit, with my wives, sons and with my own life and soul. And you have struck a person like me with the arrows of your words. Therefore, we will never be able to obtain any happiness from you. I have killed maharathas for your sake. But you lie down on Droupadi’s bed and slight me. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! You are suspicious and cruel. Therefore, we will never be able to know any happiness through you. O lord among men! He
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was always devoted to the truth and in the battle, for the sake of your welfare, himself told you about the means of his death. Protected by me, Drupada’s great-souled and brave son, Shikhandi, killed him. Since you are addicted to the vice of gambling, I am not delighted at the prospect of your winning back the kingdom. There are many sins associated with gambling and it is against dharma. You heard Sahadeva recount them.
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But you have always been addicted to that practice of wicked ones and that is the reason all of us have been reduced to this hardship. O Indra among kings! It was because of your gambling that the kingdom was lost and our difficulties are due to you. O king! O unfortunate one! Therefore, do not anger us by using these cruel words against us again.’ Savyasachi, who was firm in his wisdom, made him listen to these harsh words. But the son of the king of the gods repented this and sighed repeatedly, unsheathing his sword.