Jayadratha

“ Overwhelmed with affection for his son, he summoned all his kinsmen and said, ‘That man who will cause the head of my son to fall on the earth while the latter, struggling in battle, will be bearing a great burthen, I say that the head of that man will certainly crack into a hundred pieces.’ Having spoken these words and installed Jayadratha on the throne, Vriddhakshatra, repairing to the woods, devoted himself to ascetic austerities. ”

“ The mother of Jayadratha, the king of Sindhu, then appears, and apprises Duryodhana that Arjuna has vowed, if sunset finds Jayadratha alive, he will sacrifice himself in the flames. His wrath is especially excited by the death of his son Abhimanyu, in which that chieftain had borne a leading part. Duryodhana laughs at her fears and those of his wife, and despises the resentment of the Pandavas. He observes, that this was fully provoked by the treatment which Draupadi received by his command, when in the presence of the court and of the [Pg 61] Pandavas, she called out in vain for mercy. ”

“ Draupadi said: [Pg 263] “He is worthy of death, for he is the worst of kings and the vilest of men. Have not the sages said that he who carries off the wife of another in times of peace must certainly be put to death.”
When Bhima found Jayadratha, he cast him down and cut off his hair except five locks; then the strong warrior promised to spare the rajah's life if he would do homage to Yudhishthira and declare himself his slave.
So the Rajah of Sindhu had to prostrate himself before Yudhishthira as a humble menial. Thereafter he departed in his shame and went unto his own country. ”

“ And yet the foolish king Jayadratha had carried her away by force. In consequence of this act of violence on her, that sinful wretch hath his hair shaved off his head and sustained also, with all his allies, defeat in battle. It is true we have rescued her after slaughtering the troops of Sindhu. But the disgrace of this ravishment of our wife during our hours of carelessness, hath stained us, to be sure. This life in the wilderness is full of miseries. We subsist by chase; and though dwelling in the woods, we are obliged to slay the denizens thereof that live with us! ”

“ If thou hadst not granted me the boon about humiliating and checking the Pandavas, I would never have prevented the ruler of the Sindhus from returning to his own country. Fool that I am, expecting protection from thee, I assured the ruler of the Sindhus, and through my folly offered him as a victim to death. A man may escape, having entered the very jaws of death, but there is no escape for Jayadratha, when once he comes within reach of Dhananjaya’s arms. O thou that ownest red steeds, do that by which the ruler of the Sindhus may yet be saved. ”

“ Then the kind-hearted king Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma, beholding Jayadratha in that condition, almost supported by Arjuna, said unto him, ‘Thou art a free man now; I emancipate thee! Now go away and be careful not to do such thing again; shame to thee! Thou hadst intended to take away a lady by violence, even though thou art so mean and powerless! What other wretch save thee would think of acting thus?” Then that foremost king of Bharata’s race eyed with pity that perpetrator of wicked deeds, and believing that he had lost his senses, said, ‘Mayst thy heart grow in virtue! ”

“ Bhima uttered a roar of triumph when he saw the head of Jayadratha held aloft, and the Kauravas sorrowed greatly because that their wicked design had been thwarted.
Night fell, but the fighting was renewed. In the darkness and confusion men slew their kinsmen, fathers cut down their sons, and brothers fought against brothers. Yudhishthira sent men with torches to light up the blood-red [Pg 301] plain, and the battle was waged for many hours. Swords were splintered and spears were lost, and warriors threw great boulders and chariot wheels against one another. ”

“ King Yudhishthira, having the Chedis, the Panchalas, and the Kekayas, Bhima and Arjuna, Krishna, Yuyudhana, and the twins for his allies, stayeth yet at Upaplavya, and from affection for kinsmen, looketh up to righteousness only, like a weak man, though he is possessed of great strength. King Dhritarashtra here, though old in years, doth not effect peace, and intoxicated with pride of children, treadeth a sinful path. In consequence of the wickedness of Jayadratha and Karna and Dussasana and Suvala’s son, intestine dissensions will break out. ”

“ These reflections passed rapidly through his mind, as he gazed upon the transcendent beauty of his captive.
“Lady,” he said, “this is a fortunate meeting. We have been looking for you daily. Your presence at Delhi will be welcome to the king, and no doubt to your father, who will be restored to liberty so soon as you are placed in the harem of our munificent sovereign.”
“I am affianced,” said Jaya, with mild dignity, “to one of my own tribe, and if your monarch have the befitting attributes of a king, he will never violate the generous feelings of the man. ”

“ That army of the Sri Jaya being established, the Ratú formerly considered beneficial to the country, giving firmness to the country of Kedíri. What the Sri Jaya says is certain; all the people are glad; a large and faithful army is established there.
Be cautious but firm; the Sri Maharaja cannot injure the descendants of Prabu; great their wisdom, impatient their sway, extensive their power. Young men fearless and bold; the army followed, and were taken by the enemy, because the Sri Nara Nata so intended. Sri Kerta Najura, when he died, died like a Buda man. ”

“ No sooner were the litters deposited, that the curtains of the principal one were drawn aside, and Jaya stepped out. Giving a signal, an armed warrior started from every litter; then, putting arms into the hands of their bearers, they attacked the guard, whom in a few minutes they slew to a man. Jeipal, who headed the party, now rushed into the building, cutting down all who opposed his progress until he reached the apartment of Ray Ruttun Sein, the locality of which had been previously indicated to him by the Rajah, in reply to his daughter’s last communication. ”

“ The beginning of the story as related in both the Sanskrit and Khmer texts is interesting but obscure. It is to the effect that Jayavarman, anxious to assure his position as an Emperor (Cakravartin) independent of Javâ [285] , summoned from Janapada a Brahman called Hiranyadâma, learned in magic (siddhividyâ) , who arranged the rules (viddhi) for the worship of the Royal God and taught the king's Chaplain, Śivakaivalya, four treatises called Vrah Vinâśikha, Nayottara, Sammoha and [Pg 118] Śiraścheda. These works are not otherwise known [286] . ”

“ The worse for him! How vain are men to wish! How wise is the Deity, who is deaf to their wishes!
Jayashri, for potent reasons best known to herself, was married to Shridat six months after his return home. He was in raptures. He called himself the happiest man in existence. He thanked and sacrificed to the Bhagwan for listening to his prayers. ”

“ Rough roads, I know, are not very congenial to delicate feet; but war, lady, is a sad leveller of distinctions, and there is such a thing as necessity for the Brahmin as well as for the Pariah. You must dismount for awhile.”
“Perhaps,” said Jaya composedly, “you are not aware that we Rajpoots never hesitate at dying when urged to do that against which our hearts recoil and our principles revolt. I am willing to bear the shocks of destiny so long as they do not urge me beyond the boundary line of my own conscience; but no earthly power shall force me to an act which that conscience forbids. ”

“ We must fly for our lives, for the pursuit will no doubt be hot.”
“We have done our best, my father,” said Jaya: “if we should be pursued and overtaken, we have the Rajpoot’s courage and can die. I wear a dagger which will remove us both beyond the reach of pursuit, should we be likely to fall into the enemy’s hands. Let us begone.”
They moved hastily from the house into the court-yard. The sentinels who stood outside the prison wall, hearing the bustle within, had unbarred the portal to ascertain the cause. Jeipal and his followers immediately despatched them, and made good their exit. ”

“ It was begun 26 or 27 years ago (1857) , but Jayaram, the benevolent and superstitious Hindu who farmed the customs it is said for $150,000 per annum, had waxed fat under the matting, and was not sure that he would thrive as much within stone and lime. This is a general idea throughout the nearer East. The people are full of saws and instances concerning the downfall of great men who have exposed themselves to the shafts of misfortune by enlarging their gates or by building for themselves two-storeyed abodes. ”

“ So then, after a while, the heart of King Jaya broke within him. For he became odious in the eyes of all his subjects by reason of the behaviour of his son, who paid no more regard to his admonitions than a mad elephant does to a rope of grass. And he died, consumed by the two fires of a burning fever and a devouring grief: and his wife followed him through the flames of yet another fire, as if to say: I will die no other death than his own. ”

“ It appears that Tejaḥpāla, brother of Vastupāla, minister of Vīradhavala of Gujarāt, visited the temple, and, with the assent of his brother, complied with the request of Jayasiṅha for the erection of twenty-five golden flagstaffs for Devakulikās. As a reward Jayasiṅha not merely celebrated the brothers in a panegyric, of which a copy has been preserved along with his drama, but wrote, to please Jayantasiṅha, son of Vastupāla, the play for performance at the festival of the procession of the god Bhīmeçvara at Cambay. ”

“ Hiawatha went on sadly. "I saw our people fighting with one another, forgetful of the warning of the Great Manito. And the forests where we hunted, and the rivers where we fished and trapped the beaver, knew our faces and our voices no more; for our people were scattered like the autumn leaves, until no Indians were left upon the earth." And when his voice died away, the Indians all sat in silence and looked at one another with a sudden fear. ”

“ In the Anargharāghava the actor declares that [363] he has come to exhibit a superior sort of drama to that played by a rival, and asserts that the dearest desire of a player is to satisfy the public and to win back the favour he has lost. Rājaçekhara twice introduces the motive of a competition between actors to win the hand of an actress who has been offered by her father in marriage to the most adept of her suitors. Jayadeva invents a pleasing tale of an actor who won great success and reputation, inducing a comedian of the south to claim his name and steal his renown. ”

“ Jayaśekhara the Chávaḍá king of Pañchásar was attacked by the Chaulukya king Bhuvaḍa of Kalyánakaṭaka in Kanyákubja or Kanoj and slain by Bhuvaḍa in battle. Before his death Jayaśekhara, finding his affairs hopeless, sent his pregnant wife Rupasundarí to the forest in charge of her brother Surapála, one of his chief warriors. After Jayaśekhara’s death Rupasundarí gave birth to a son named Vanarája who became the illustrious founder of Aṇahilaváḍa. It is hard to say how much truth underlies this tradition. In the seventh century not Chaulukya but Pála kings flourished in Kanoj. ”

“ Arjuna, disguised as a Brahman, performs the feat with ease, and his youth and grace win the heart of Draupadí more completely than his skill. The princess henceforth follows the fortunes of the brothers, and, by a strange ancient custom, lives with them in common. The Pandavas, now allied to the King Draupada and become strong, are so much dreaded by the Kauravas that they are invited back again, for safety's sake, to Hastinapura, and settle near it in the city of Indraprastha, now Delhi. The reign of Yudhishthira and his brothers is very prosperous there ”

“ He is devoted to his little wife, has a cheerful, energetic disposition and a sympathetic heart. He maintains a whole multitude of poor families; that is pleasant, do you not think so? But many Javanese do that; they have much consideration for their poor neighbours. There is hardly a single native chief who has not one or more poor families living in his house, or on his support outside. It is not for nothing that India is noted for its hospitality. Are you not satisfied now about sister too? ”

“ And very soon afterwards, Jaya set upon his cousin, laying claim to the throne, and driving him away, took his kingdom, and kept it for himself. And he caught the wife of Bimba, and put her to death, as he would have done also with her daughter and her husband. But Bimba succeeded in escaping with his daughter, and ran away and hid himself. So Jaya remained in triumph, reigning over the kingdom, whose capital stood on the very spot on which we are sitting now. ”

“ The idol wore only a thin jacket which was torn by the brambles. When the king went to worship and saw the condition of the idol's dress, he in astonishment asked the priests the cause. When the Raja learned what had occurred, he was perfectly satisfied of the superiority of the product of Jaidev's genius, and issued a proclamation that the Gitgovind should only be read in a clean and purified place, as Jagannath, the lord of the world, himself was in the habit of going to listen to it.
Not only Hindus, but men of all creeds were enchanted with the composition. ”