Read Mahabharata: Volume 4 Online
Authors: Bibek Debroy
‘“Bhishma said, ‘O great king! Rochamana is a maharatha on the Pandava side. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He will fight against the enemy soldiers in this battle, like an immortal. Kuntibhoja’s son, Purujit, is a great archer and is extremely strong. He is Bhimasena’s maternal uncle and it is my view that he is an atiratha.
33
He is a brave and great archer, skilled and trained. He is capable of fighting in colourful ways. It is my view that he is a bull
among rathas. He will fight with valour, like Maghavan
34
against the danavas. He has many famous warriors, all of whom are skilled in fighting. The brave one will fight for the sake of his sister’s son. Engaged in ensuring the welfare of the sons of Pandu, the king will perform extremely great deeds. O great king! The lord of the rakshasas
35
is the son of Bhimasena and Hidimba. It is my view that he knows several things about maya and is the leader of leaders among rathas. O son!
36
He loves war and will use maya to fight in the field of battle. There are brave rakshasas and advisers who follow his instructions. There are many other lords from many countries. With Vasudeva at the forefront, they have assembled for the sake of the Pandavas. O king! These are the principal ones on the side of the great-souled Pandavas—those who are, in my view, rathas, atirathas and equal to half a ratha. O king! They will lead Yudhishthira’s terrible army in battle, protected by the brave Kiriti, like the great Indra himself. Those brave ones are marching against you in battle, desiring victory. I will fight against them, wishing for victory, or death in the field of battle. I will face Partha and Vasudeva together, the wielder of the chakra and the Gandiva. They are supreme men, like the sun and the moon in conjunction at the time of twilight. I will lead the rathas, together with your soldiers, against the soldiers of the sons of Pandu. I will be at the head of the battle. O king! I have recounted the foremost rathas and atirathas to you, both yours and theirs. O king! O Indra among Kouravas! I have also mentioned some who are half a ratha. There are Arjuna, Vasudeva and the other kings. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! As soon as I see them, I shall drive them back. But I will not kill the mighty-armed Shikhandi from Panchala, when I see him with weapons raised, marching against me in battle. The world knows that in order to bring pleasure to my father, I gave up the kingdom that was due to me and adopted a vow of brahmacharya. I instated Chitrangada in the kingdom of the Kouravas and consecrated
the infant Vichitravirya as the heir apparent. Among all the kings on the earth, I then became famous as Devavrata. I will never kill someone who has been born as a woman, or someone who has been a woman earlier. O king! You may have heard that Shikhandi was earlier a woman. She was born a woman and became a man later. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I will not fight with him. O bull among the Bharata lineage! O king! I will kill all the other lords of the earth, whomsoever I encounter on the field of battle, with the exception of the sons of Kunti.’”’
The fifth volume will cover Sections 60 to 68 of the 100-parva classification. It will complete Udyoga Parva (the story of Amba), include Bhishma Parva, with the Bhagavad Gita, and have about half of Drona Parva of the 18-parva classification. Volume 5 thus gets into the war proper. After Bhishma’s downfall, Drona is instated as the commander and Abhimanyu is killed.
The Mahabharata: Volume 5
will be published in April 2012
.
Carving time out from one’s regular schedule and work engagements to embark on such a mammoth work of translation has been difficult. The past tense should not be used, since only 40 per cent of the road has yet been traversed. Sometimes, I wish I had been born in nineteenth-century Bengal, with a benefactor funding me for doing nothing but this. But alas, the days of gentlemen of leisure are long over. The time could not be carved out from professional engagements, barring of course assorted television channels, who must have wondered why I have been so reluctant to head for their studios in the evenings. It was ascribed to health, interpreted as adverse health. It was certainly health, but not in an adverse sense. Reading the Mahabharata is good for one’s mental health and is an activity to be recommended, without any statutory warnings. The time was stolen in the evenings and over weekends. The cost was therefore borne by one’s immediate family, and to a lesser extent by friends. Socializing was reduced, since every dinner meant one less chapter done. The family has first claim on the debt, though I am sure it also has claim on whatever merits are due. At least Suparna does, and these volumes are therefore dedicated to her. I suspect Sirius has no claim on the merits, though he has been remarkably patient at the times when he has been curled up near my feet and I have been translating away. There is some allegory there about a dog keeping company when the Mahabharata is being read and translated.
Most people have thought I was mad, even if they never quite said that. Among those who believed and thought it was worthwhile, beyond immediate family, are M. Veerappa Moily, Ashok Desai, Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Laveesh Bhandari. And my sons, Nihshanka
and Vidroha. The various reviewers of the first volume have also been extremely kind. Incidentally, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without Vaman Shivram Apte. When he compiled the student’s Sanskrit dictionary more than a hundred years ago in Pune, I am certain he had no idea that it would be used so comprehensively to translate the Mahabharata.
Penguin also believed. My initial hesitation about being able to deliver was brushed aside by R. Sivapriya, who pushed me after the series had been commissioned by V. Karthika. And then Sumitra Srinivasan became the editor, followed by Paloma Dutta. The enthusiasm of these ladies was so infectious that everything just snowballed and Paloma ensured that the final product of the fourth volume was much more readable than what I had initially produced.
When I first embarked on what was also a personal voyage of sorts, the end was never in sight and seemed to stretch to infinity. Now that 40 per cent is over (and 10 per cent more is in the pipeline), the horizon can be seen. And all the people mentioned above have had a role to play in this journey.
1
Brahmana is a text and also the word used for the highest caste.
2
A class of religious and philosophical texts that are composed in the forest, or are meant to be studied when one retires to the forest.
3
The six Vedangas are
shiksha
(articulation and pronunciation),
chhanda
(prosody),
vyakarana
(grammar),
nirukta
(etymology),
jyotisha
(astronomy) and
kalpa
(rituals).
4
Religion, duty.
5
Wealth. But in general, any object of the senses.
6
Desire.
7
Release from the cycle of rebirth.
9
Krishna or Krishnaa is another name for Droupadi.
1
Virata was the name of both the kingdom and the capital, a kingdom ruled by the Matsya kings. Today, the capital, Virata or Virata-nagara, is known as Bairat and is in the Jaipur district of Rajasthan.
2
The details have been recounted in Section 44 (Volume 3).
3
That is, Yudhishthira.
4
The brahmana whose kindling was robbed by a deer, the story having been told in Section 44 (Volume 3).
5
The god Dharma.
6
The word used is
tata
. While it means son, it is affectionately used for anyone who is younger or junior.
7
Nagara
means city. The city of Virata is an acceptable translation. But so is Virata-nagara, as the name of the city.
8
Since the Pandavas will be in disguise, they will have to enter the service of King Virata.
9
After Yudhishthira lost the two rounds of gambling, the Pandavas were banished to the forest. While they were there, Brihadashva taught Yudhishthira the skills of gambling with dice. This has been recounted in Section 32.
10
Vibhitaka
nuts were used as dice.
11
Vrikodara is Bhima’s name.
12
This has been described in Section 19. Dasharha is Krishna’s name.
13
The god of rain, that is, Indra. Alternatively,
parjanya
can also be translated as a rain-cloud.
14
This Dhritarashtra is a king of the nagas and is not to be confused with the Dhritarashtra who was Duryodhana’s father. Airavata is the name of Indra’s elephant.
15
Gudakesha is Arjuna’s name.
16
Bibhatsu means the one who terrifies and is one of Arjuna’s name. Because he has a bow (
dhanu
) named Gandiva, Arjuna is also known as Gandivadhanva.
17
Indra is the one with a thousand eyes. Arjuna’s residence in heaven is described in several sections, such as Section 32 (Volume 2).
18
The Rudras and Adityas are gods. There are eleven Rudras and twelve Adityas.
19
Arjuna was ambidextrous and was therefore known as Savyasachi.
20
Indra.
21
Alternatively, Brihannala.
22
In addition to obtaining celestial weapons, Arjuna had learnt these skills in heaven.
23
King Nala’s story has been told in Section 32 (Volume 2).
24
The word used is tata.
25
Virata.
26
The word used is tata.
27
Sairandhri is a class of independent maidservants who work in the inner quarters of a palace, or as artisans in someone else’s house. This is also the proper name Droupadi adopts.
28
In this context, the sacred fire preserved in any household. Agnihotra is also a kind of sacrifice.
29
Yudhishthira’s charioteer.
30
Panchala is Drupada’s kingdom.
31
The priest of the Pandavas.
32
Of kings.
33
Towards the king.
34
Presumably, someone else’s prosperity.
35
The king.
36
That is, one should not be bribed.
37
The word used is tata.
38
Droupadi.
39
There are different rivers named Kalindi. This Kalindi is another name for the Yamuna, which flows down from the Kalinda mountain and is therefore described as Kalinda’s daughter, or Kalindi.
40
Yudhishthira.
41
The word used is tata.
42
A kind of tree believed to contain fire inside.
43
All of them loosened the strings of their respective bows.
44
The king of Saindhava is Jayadratha. Jayadratha had abducted Droupadi, the incident having been described in Section 42 (Volume 3). Once Jayadratha had been defeated, Bhimasena had used his bow to drag Jayadratha by the neck.
45
This is a reference to Nakula.
46
The text uses the word
dakshinachara
. The straightforward translation is that his conduct (
achara
) was honest, skilful, amiable and courteous (
dakshina
). However, in worshipping Shakti, dakshinachara refers to purer rituals that use the right hand, as opposed to use of the left hand (
vamachara
).
47
Yudhishthira and Virata respectively.
48
These are references to Yudhishthira.
49
As a king.
50
Yudhishthira.
51
The word used is tata.
52
Since a brahmana cannot be killed.
53
The Himalayas.
54
Indra.
55
The word used is tata.
56
Droupadi and Virata’s queen respectively.
57
Virata’s wife.
58
Sairandhris.
59
Speech, intelligence and navel.
60
Nose, eyes, ears, nails, breasts and neck.
61
Soles of the feet, palms of the hand, tongue, lips and nails.
62
The word used is
shyama
, meaning dark. Shyama is also a term for a woman who hasn’t had children. While Droupadi has had children, the sense could also be that she is as beautiful as one who has not.
63
The bimba tree has fruit that is red when ripe. Ripe bimba fruit is a standard comparison for the lips of beautiful women.
64
Apsaras are celestial dancers who serve Indra, sometimes regarded as wives of
gandharvas
.
65
Alambusha, Mishrakeshi, Pundarika and Malini are the names of apsaras. Indrani is Indra’s consort, while Varuni is Varuna’s. Tvashtra is Vishvakarma, the architect of the gods. Dhata is best translated as the creator of the worlds and Prajapati as the guardian.
66
Droupadi, or Krishnaa, as opposed to Krishna.
67
The goddess in question is Droupadi.
Mala
is a garland and Malini is one who collects flowers and weaves garlands.
68
Reflecting the belief that a she-crab dies after giving birth.
69
Gandharvas are semi-divine, celestial musicians.
70
That is, he will be killed.
71
The word used is tata.
72
A yojana is a measure of distance and is between eight and nine miles.
73
Virata’s daughter, who is also being described as the goddess.
74
Because Arjuna is in the form of a eunuch.
75
Nakula.
76
There is a problem of transposition here and these words should have come earlier. Nakula has already told Virata about his expertise.
77
Referring to Yudhishthira.
78
Virata.
79
A maharatha is in general a mighty warrior. More specifically, a maharatha is skilled in the use of all weapons and can take on ten thousand warriors single-handedly.
80
The text states there was a brahmana festival and it is difficult to pinpoint the brahmana part of it. So we have simply translated it as a festival of austerities. It could also mean a festival with Vedic rituals.
81
The Kalakhanja asuras were probably the same as the Kaleyas or the Kalakeyas. They are believed to have been descended from Vishnu.
82
Because Bhima did not want to be detected.
83
Famous demon killed by Indra.
84
The wrestler’s name.
85
Vaishravana is Kubera, the lord of riches.