Read Mahabharata: Volume 7 Online
Authors: Bibek Debroy
Mahabharata: Volume 7 (36 page)
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anjaya said, “When Karna was brought down, your soldiers fled. Dasharha joyfully embraced Partha and said, ‘O Dhananjaya! Through your strength, Karna, who was like Vritra, has been killed. Men will talk about the deaths of Karna and Vritra. The infinitely energetic one
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used the vajra to slay Vritra in a battle. You have slain Karna with your bow’s sharp arrows. Your fame will be renowned in this world and will bring you glory. O Kounteya! Go and tell this to the intelligent Dharmaraja. For a long time, this death of Karna in the battle has been desired. You should go and tell this to Dharmaraja and free yourself of the debt.’ Having been thus addressed by Keshava, bull among the Yadu lineage, Partha agreed. The foremost chariot of the foremost among rathas was turned back. Govinda spoke these words to Dhrishtadyumna, Yudhamanyu, Madri’s sons, Vrikodara and Yuyudhana, ‘Remain here and carefully confront the enemy, until we have returned, after informing the king that Karna has been killed by Arjuna.’ Having taken their leave of those brave ones, they departed for the king’s abode.
‘ “With Partha, Govinda saw Yudhishthira. The tiger among kings was lying down on an excellent golden bed. Joyfully, they touched the king’s feet. On discerning their joy and the superhuman marks of wounds, Yudhishthira deduced that Radheya must have been killed and arose. Vasudeva, the descendant of the Yadu lineage, pleasant in speech, told him everything about Karna’s death. Joining his hands in salutation, Achyuta Krishna smiled a little and told Yudhishthira that his enemy had been killed. ‘O king! It is through good fortune that the wielder of Gandiva, Pandava Vrikodara, you and the Pandavas who are the sons of Madri are safe. You have been freed from the battle that led to a destruction of heroes and made the body hair stand up. O king! Quickly undertake whatever tasks must be done next. The cruel and immensely strong Vaikartana, son of a suta, has been slain. O Indra among kings! It is through good fortune that
you have obtained victory. O Pandava! You are prospering through good fortune. The worst among men laughed at Krishna
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when she had been won in the gambling match. The earth is now drinking the blood of that son of a suta. O bull among the Kuru lineage! With arrows mangling his limbs, that enemy of yours is now lying down. O tiger among men! Look at him. He has been shattered by many arrows.’ Delighted, Yudhishthira honoured Dasharha back in return. O Indra among kings! He joyfully said, ‘This is good fortune. It is fortunate. O mighty-armed one! O Devaki’s son! This is all because of you. With you as a charioteer, Partha was able to exhibit this manliness today.’ The best of the Kuru lineage grasped his
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right hand, adorned with a bracelet, and addressed both Partha Arjuna, the upholder of dharma, and Keshava. ‘Narada had said that you were the gods Nara and Narayana. You are the ancient and supreme men, united in establishing dharma. The revered and intelligent Krishna Dvaipayana also told me this. O mighty-armed ones! The lord told me about that divine account. O Krishna! It is because of your powers that Dhananjaya confronted his enemies with Gandiva and defeated them, not retreating before any of them. Our victory is certain and their defeat is certain. After all, when Partha fights in the battle, you have agreed to be his charioteer.’ O great king! Having spoken these words, the maharatha ascended his gold-decorated chariot, which was yoked to horses with the complexion of ivory and with black tails. The tiger among men was surrounded by his own soldiers. The brave Krishna and Arjuna cheerfully followed him. Surrounded by many and conversing pleasantly with the brave and resplendent Madhava and Phalguna, he went to see the field of battle.
‘ “He saw Karna, bull among men, lying down in the battle. Arrows released from Gandiva had splintered all over his body. King Yudhishthira saw that Karna had been slain, together with his son. He praised those two tigers among men, Madhava and Pandava, and said, ‘O Govinda! Today, with my brothers, I have become the king of the earth. This is because you are our protector and we are
sheltered by your bravery and your learning. On seeing that the proud Radheya, tiger among men, has been slain, Dhritarashtra’s evil-souled son will lose all hope today, both about remaining alive and about the kingdom. Maharatha Karna has been killed. O bull among men! It is because of your favours that we are successful. O descendant of the Yadu lineage! You have ensured that the wielder of Gandiva is victorious. O Govinda! It is through good fortune that you have been victorious. It is through good fortune that Karna has been brought down.’ O Indra among kings! Delighted, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira praised Janardana, and also Arjuna, in many ways. The joy of the kings and the maharathas also increased. O great king! When the descendant of the suta lineage was killed, Nakula, Sahadeva, Pandava Vrikodara, Satyaki, the foremost rathas among the Vrishnis, Dhrishtadyumna, Shikhandi, the Pandus, the Panchalas and the Srinjayas honoured Kounteya.
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They increased the desire of King Yudhishthira, Pandu’s son, for victory. Those strikers delighted in fighting and wished to accomplish their objective. With eloquent words, they praised and honoured the two Krishnas, the scorchers of enemies. Then, filled with great delight, the maharathas left for their respective camps. In this way, there was a great destruction and it made the body hair stand up. O king! All of this was the consequence of your evil counsel. Why are you grieving?” ’
Vaishampayana said, ‘O king! On hearing the unpleasant news, Dhritarashtra, the lord of the earth, fell down unconscious on the ground. Kouravya was overcome by supreme distress. Queen Gandhari, who was devoted to the truth and knew about dharma, also fell down. Vidura and Sanjaya raised the king and comforted the monarch. The women of the king’s household raised Gandhari. Comforted by them, the king regained his senses, but was silent.’
This ends Karna Parva.
Shalya Parva continues with the account of the war. After Karna’s death, Shalya is instated as the commander of the Kourava army. Shalya is the commander for a single day, day eighteen. In the 18-parva classification, Shalya Parva is the
nineth. In the 100-parva classification, this parva constitutes Sections 74 to 77. Shalya Parva has sixty-four chapters. In the numbering of the chapters in this parva, the first number is a consecutive one, starting with the beginning of the Mahabharata. And the second number, within brackets, is the numbering of the chapter within Shalya Parva.
This parva has 844 shlokas and sixteen chapters.
Vadha means killing and the section is named after the killing of Shalya. Shalya is appointed the supreme commander of the Kourava army. Nakula kills Karna’s sons. Duryodhana kills Chekitana, the prince of Chedi. Ashvatthama kills Suratha of Panchala. Yudhishthira kills Shalya and Shalya’s younger brother.
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anamejaya asked, ‘O brahmana! In the battle, Karna was brought down by Savyasachi. What did the few Kurus who were left do then? The army of the Pandavas was swelling. On seeing this, what did Kourava, King Duryodhana, do? O supreme among brahmanas! I wish to hear all this in detail. I am not satisfied with listening to the great deeds of my ancestors.’
Vaishampayana replied, ‘O king! When Karna was slain, Dhritarashtra’s son, Suyodhana, was immersed in an ocean of great grief. In every possible way, he lost all hope. He repeatedly grieved, “Alas! Karna! Alas! Karna!” With a great deal of difficulty, he went to his own camp, together with the remaining kings. Remembering the death of the son of a suta, the king could find no peace of mind and was comforted by them, with citations from reasons given in the sacred texts. The king eventually decided that destiny was supremely powerful. He made up his mind to fight and again emerged for the battle. The bull among kings made Shalya the commander, in accordance with the decreed rites. With the kings who had not been slain, the king emerged to do battle. An extremely tumultuous battle commenced between the soldiers of the Kurus and the Pandavas. O best of the Bharata lineage! It was like that between the gods and the asuras. O great king! In the battle, Shalya created carnage among the Pandu soldiers and was slain by Dharmaraja at midday. In the field of battle, all of King Duryodhana’s relatives were slain. Terrified of his enemies, he fled and entered into a terrible lake. During the later part of the afternoon, he was surrounded by maharathas. He was summoned from the lake and brought down by Bhimasena, who used yoga. When that great archer was killed, three rathas remained alive.
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O Indra among kings! Overcome by rage, they slaughtered the Panchala soldiers in the night. Next morning, Sanjaya left the camp and entered the city,
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distressed and overcome with grief. He swiftly entered the city, raising his hands in sorrow. Trembling, he entered
the king’s abode. O tiger among men! In sorrow, he wept and said, “O king! Alas! The great-souled one has been killed and all of us are agitated. Although it was not yet time, the extremely powerful one has attained the supreme objective. All the kings on our side were like Shakra in strength and they have been killed.” O king! On seeing Sanjaya in the city, all the people were extremely anxious and wept in loud voices, saying, “O king! Alas!” O tiger among men! On hearing that the king had been killed, even the children surrounded the city from all sides and lamented loudly. We saw three bulls among men running around there.
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They were deprived of their senses. They were mad with grief. They were severely afflicted.
‘Entering, the distracted suta saw the king, who was without decay. He saw the lord, best among kings, who had wisdom as his sight.
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He saw that the unblemished one, foremost among the Bharata lineage, was seated, surrounded by his daughters-in-law, Gandhari, Vidura and other well-wishers, relatives and friends. He was thinking about Karna’s death. O Janamejaya! In a voice that was choking with tears, and distressed in his mind, the suta spoke these words to the king, weeping amidst the words. “O tiger among men! O bull among the Bharata lineage! I am Sanjaya. Shalya, the lord of Madra, and Shakuni Soubala have been slain. O tiger among men! So has Uluka, firm in his valour and the son of the one who played with dice.
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All the samshaptakas have been slain, together with the Kambojas and the Shakas. The mlecchas, the ones from the mountainous regions and the Yavanas have been brought down. O great king! All those from the east and the south have been slain. O lord of men! All those from the north and the west have been killed. O king! All the kings and the princes have been killed. O king! Pandava has killed Duryodhana, as he had said he would. O great king! With his thigh broken, he is lying down in the dust,
covered with blood. O king! Dhrishtadyumna has been killed and also the unvanquished Shikhandi, Uttamouja and Yudhamanyu. O king! The Prabhadrakas, the Panchalas and the Chedis, tigers among men, are dead. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Your sons, all of Droupadi’s sons, have been slain. The immensely strong and brave Vrishasena, Karna’s son, has been killed. All the men have been killed and the elephants have been brought down. O tiger among men! Rathas and horses have been slain in the battle. O lord! There are only a few who remain in your camp. Those brave ones and the Pandavas clashed against each other. They were confounded by destiny and only women are left in this world. There are seven left on the side of the Pandavas and three on the side of the sons of Dhritarashtra. There are the five brothers and Vasudeva and Satyaki. And there are Kripa, Kritavarma and Drona’s son, supreme among victorious ones. O great king! O supreme among kings! Those are the only rathas who are left. O lord of men! O great king! Out of the akshouhinis that assembled, these are the only ones who are left. Everyone else has been killed. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The entire world has been slain by destiny. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! With Duryodhana at the forefront, this was the result of the enmity.”
‘O great king! Having heard these cruel words, Dhritarashtra, the lord of men, lost his senses and fell down on the ground. O great king! When he fell down on the ground, the immensely illustrious Vidura was touched by the king’s grief and also fell down. O best of kings! On hearing those cruel words, Gandhari and all the Kuru women also suddenly fell down on the ground. All the servant-maids in the king’s circle also lost their senses and fell down on the ground. They were overcome by a great delirium, as if they were figures on a painting. King Dhritarashtra, lord of the earth, was overcome by a great hardship. He was afflicted by hardship on account of his sons and slowly regained his senses. Having regained his senses, the king trembled in great grief. He glanced in all the directions and spoke these words to Kshatta.
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“O learned Kshatta! O immensely wise one!
O bull among the Bharata lineage!
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You are the refuge. I am in a grievous state, without a protector. I am without all my sons.” Having said this, he lost his senses again and fell down. On seeing him fall down in this way, his relatives sprinkled cold water on him. They fanned him with fans. After a long time, the lord of the earth was comforted. Oppressed by grief on account of his sons, the lord of the earth remained silent. O lord of the earth! He sighed, like a snake that has been flung into a pot. On seeing that the king was so distressed, Sanjaya also wept. For a long time, so did all the women and the illustrious Gandhari. After repeatedly losing his senses, Dhritarashtra, tiger among men, spoke these words to Vidura. “Let all the women, and the illustrious Gandhari, depart, and all these well-wishers. My mind is greatly distracted.” O bull among the Bharata lineage! Having heard these words, Vidura trembled repeatedly and gently asked the women to leave. O bull among the Bharata lineage! On seeing that the king was distressed, all the women and all the well-wishers departed. O scorcher of enemies! The king regained his senses and wept in great grief. The distressed Sanjaya looked at him. The lord of men was sighing repeatedly. Kshatta joined his hands in salutation and comforted him with gentle words.’