Pandavas

“ The time is come for the display of thy prowess, and not of anybody else. Be thou the raft in this battle to the sinking Pandavas. Thou hast diverse weapons, and many kinds of Rakshasa illusion. Behold, O son of Hidimva, the army of the Pandavas is being beaten by Karna on the field of battle, like a herd of kine by the herdsman. Yonder, the mighty bowman Karna, endued with great intelligence and steady prowess, is scorching the foremost of Kshatriyas among the divisions of the Pandava host. ”

“ Death from disease, O thou of Kuru’s race, doth not become a Kshatriya! Relying upon Suyodhana I have always offended the Pandavas! This affairs is destined to take its course. It is incapable of being prevented. Who was there that would venture to overcome Destiny by exertion? Various omens indicating the destruction of the Earth, O grandsire, were noticed by thee and declared in the assembly. It is well known to me that the son of Pandu, and Vasudeva, are incapable of being conquered by other men. Even with them we venture to fight! I will vanquish the son of Pandu in battle! ”

“ Dwelling in the woods, O bull of the Bharata race, the high-souled Pandavas spent one and ten years in a miserable plight. And although deserving of happiness, those foremost of men, brooding over their circumstances, passed their days miserably, living on fruits and roots. And that royal sage, the mighty-armed Yudhishthira, reflecting that the extremity of misery that had befallen his brothers, was owing to his own fault, and remembering those sufferings that had arisen from his act of gambling, could not sleep peacefully. ”

“ Sanjaya said, ‘Beholding that vast host of the Pandavas swelling with rage and regarding it to be incapable of being resisted, thy son Duryodhana, addressing Karna, said these words, “O thou that art devoted to friends, that hour hath now come in respect of thy friends (when thy help is most needed) . O Karna, save in battle all my warriors. Our combatants are now encompassed on all sides by the Panchalas, the Kaikeyas, the Matsyas, and the mighty car-warriors of the Pandavas, all filled with rage and resembling hissing snakes. Yonder the Pandavas, solicitous of victory, are roaring in joy. ”

“ Let the fool be restrained; let thy son remain quiet! In attempting to slay the Pandavas in exile, he will only lose his own life. Thou art as honest as the wise Vidura, or Bhishma, or ourselves, or Kripa, or Drona. O thou of great wisdom, dissension with one's own kin are forbidden, sinful and reprehensible! Therefore, O king, it behoveth thee to desist from such acts! And, O Bharata, Duryodhana looketh with such jealousy towards the Pandavas that great harm would be the consequence, if thou didst not interfere. ”

“ But the Pandavas have spread their dominion even there, for I heard hundreds of conches that had been brought thence blown (in the sacrificial mansion) indicative of auspicious rejoicing. And while those conches blew simultaneously, my hair stood on end. And those among the kings, who were weak in strength fell down. And Dhrishtadyumna and Satyaki and the sons of Pandu and Kesava,—those eight, endued with strength and prowess and handsome in person, beholding the kings deprived of consciousness and myself in that plight, laughed outright. ”

“ Amongst the Pandavas, the illustrious Nakula and Sahadeva, of celestial origin and equal unto the chief himself of the celestials in splendour, are invincible in battle. They are firm in the wielding of weapons, capable of shooting at a long distance, resolute in battle, of remarkable lightness of hand, of wrath that is not easily quelled, possessed of great steadiness, and endued with activity. ”

“ O tiger among men, hearing of the fate that overtook Kunti, the world doth not regard Purochana so guilty as it regardeth thee. O king, the escape, therefore, of the sons of Pandu with life from that conflagration and their re-appearance, do away with thy evil repute. Know, O thou of Kuru's race, that as long as those heroes live, the wielder of the thunder himself cannot deprive them of their ancestral share in the kingdom. The Pandavas are virtuous and united. They are being wrongly kept out of their equal share in the kingdom. ”

“ Yet what have I done that ye, O elders, should turn my sire's affection from me? If Yudhishthira loved gambling and staked and lost his throne and freedom, am I to blame? If he played a second time after being set at liberty, and became an exile, why should he now call me a robber? Pallid and inconstant is the star of the Pandavas' destiny: their friends are few, and feeble is their army. Shall we, who fear not Indra even, be threatened and browbeaten by the weak sons of Pandu? No warrior lives who can overcome us. A Kshatriya fears no foeman; he may fall in battle, but he will never yield. ”

“ Thou art now for the practice of virtue, O Suta, but thou shalt not escape with life. Like Nala who was defeated by Pushkara with the aid of dice but who regained his kingdom by prowess, the Pandavas, who are free from cupidity, will recover their kingdom by the prowess of their arms, aided with all their friends. Having slain in battle their powerful foes, they, with the Somakas, will recover their kingdom. ”

“ Pandu has five sons, who are called Pandavas after him, while Dhritarashtra has a hundred sons called Kauravas after Kuru, their common grandfather. As children the two families grow up at the same court, but almost immediately jealousies arise which are to have a deadly outcome. Hatred begins when in boyish contests the Pandavas outdo the Kauravas. The latter resent their arrogance and presently their father, the blind king, is persuaded to approve a plot by which the five Pandavas will be killed. They are to sleep in a house which during the night will be burnt down. ”

“ Krishna, the friend of the Pandavas, also met with an untimely end after another fratricidal civil war in his own country, and his capital city of Dwarka—from which the remaining inhabitants had been removed [194] by Arjuna to Hastinapur—was overwhelmed by a wave of the sea.
After the many trials and sorrows they had gone through, a weariness of life, such as would seem only too natural under the circumstances, took possession of the Pandavas, and they were minded to be done with earthly things.
“Let us go forth to die! Time slayeth all.
We will find Death who seeketh other men.” ”

“ But if they are not properly kept, they, O Pandava, will become the instrument for the destruction of the three worlds. So thou shouldst not act in this way again. O Ajatasatru, thou too wilt behold even these weapons, when Partha will use them for grinding (thy) enemies in battle.’”
Vaisampayana continued, “Having prevented Partha the immortals with others that had come there, went to each his place, O foremost of men. And, O Kaurava, after they had all gone, the Pandavas began to dwell pleasantly in the same forest, together with Krishna.” ”

“ We are fighting with the Pandavas to the best of our might, and they also are fighting with us to the best of their might. Energy, encountering energy, is being neutralised, O Bharata! The Pandava army is incapable of being vanquished as long as the sons of Pandu are alive. This that I tell thee is true. The sons of Pandu are endued with great might. They are, again, fighting for their own sake. Why should not they, O Bharata, be able to slay thy troops. Thou, however, O king, art exceedingly covetous. Thou, O Kaurava, art deceitful. Thou art vainglorious and suspicious of everything. ”

“ Those ministers, therefore, that give thee any counsel fraught with evil unto the Pandavas, do not really look to thy interests. If there is any partiality in thy heart, O king, for thy own children, they who by their counsel seek to bring it out, certainly do thee no good. Therefore, O king, these illustrious persons endued with great splendour, have not I think, said anything that leadeth to evil. Thou, however, dost not understand it. What these bulls among men have said regarding the invincibility of the Pandavas is perfectly true. Think not otherwise of it, O tiger among men. ”

“ Will you not ask for your own freedom?"
"By no means," said Draupadi. "The Pandavas, armed and free, can conquer the world. It is they who will rescue me. They need owe nothing to a boon; nor, with the Pandavas free, need I either, any longer." ”

“ The young Pandavas were much excited about the coming event, and set off without delay to witness and, if possible, to take part in the proceedings of lovely Draupadi’s swayamvara. When they arrived at Panchala they took up their abode in the house of a humble potter, and, still disguised as Brahmans, supported themselves by begging alms of the people. ”

“ I shall then commence the construction of the delightful palace of the Pandavas, which is to be adorned with every kind of gems and celebrated all over the world. There is also, I think, O thou of the Kuru race, a fierce club placed in the lake Vindu by the King (of the Danavas) after slaughtering therewith all his foes in battle. Besides being heavy and strong and variegated with golden knobs, it is capable of bearing great weight, and of slaying all foes, and is equal in strength unto an hundred thousand clubs. It is a fit weapon for Bhima, even as the Gandiva is for thee. ”

“ As a sequel to the conquests of the Pandavas, a crowd of Brahmans, with scores of Rajahs, flocked to Indraprasta from all parts of the country, and were right royally lodged and entertained by Yudhisthira’s commands. The various duties demanded by the occasion were intrusted to the different members of the family and to intimate friends of the Pandavas. Dhusashana was appointed to cater for the visitors; Kripa to look after the gold and gems; Duryodhana to receive the tributes; and Krishna, at his own desire, was engaged in washing the feet of the Brahmans. ”

“ The Pandavas have always had a regard for truth. They have fulfilled their promise to the very letter. If now treated wrongfully by the sons of Dhritarashtra, they would slay them all though banded together. They have friends, who, on being informed of their unworthy treatment at the hands of others, would stand by them, engaged in fight with their persecutors, and willingly slay them even if they should lose their own lives for it. ”

“ Let them now put off their variegated coats of mail, their resplendent robes of celestial make, and let them all attire themselves in deer-skins according to the stake they had accepted of the son of Suvala. They who always used to boast that they had no equals in all the world, will now know and regard themselves in this their calamity as grains of sesame without the kernel. Although in this dress of theirs the Pandavas seem like unto wise and powerful persons installed in a sacrifice, yet they look like persons not entitled to perform sacrifices, wearing such a guise. ”

“ Pāndava-kulam.—A title, indicative “of the caste of the Pāndava kings,” assumed by Jātapus and Konda Doras, who worship the Pāndavas. The Pāndava kings were the heroes of the Mahābhārata, who fought a great battle with the Kauravas, and are said to have belonged to the lunar race of Kshatriyas. The Pāndavas had a single wife named Draupadi, whom the Pallis or Vanniyans worship, and celebrate annually in her honour a fire-walking festival. The Pallis claim to belong to the fire race of Kshatriyas, and style themselves Agnikula Kshatriyas, or Vannikula Kshatriyas. ”

“ O child, he that is solicitous of his welfare should not disregard even an ordinary foe. What shall I say, then, O child, of the Pandavas who are thorough masters of all weapons in battle. When, therefore, the time cometh for the reappearance of the high-souled Pandavas, who, having entered the forest,24 are now passing their days in close disguise, thou shouldst ascertain thy strength both in thy own kingdom and in those of other kings. ”

“ Then Duryodhana, addressing his own army which had not fled far but which, mangled with arrows, had set its heart on flight, said these words, "I do not see the spot on plain or mountain, whither, if ye fly, the Pandavas will not pursue and slay ye! What is the use then of flight? The army of the Pandavas hath been reduced in numbers. The two Krishnas are exceedingly mangled. If all of us make a stand, victory will be certainly ours! If you fly away, losing all order, the sinful Pandavas, pursuing you will slay you all! If, on the other hand, we make a stand, good will result to us! ”

“ Then those mighty car-warriors, O chief of the Kurus, having withdrawn their forces, entered their tents, themselves mangled in battle. Afflicted by the shafts of Bhishma and reflecting upon that hero’s feats in battle, the Pandavas obtained no peace of mind. Bhishma also, having vanquished the Pandavas and the Srinjayas in battle, was worshipped by thy sons and glorified by them, O Bharata. Accompanied by the rejoicing Kurus, he then entered his tent. Night then set in, that deprives all creatures of their senses. ”

“ Soon their covetousness realised itself in action, for gathering their armed men together, they sprang suddenly upon the land of their neighbours, whom they disarmed previously by professions of friendship and goodwill The Pandavas were conquered and driven into a far country, where they wandered homelessly and yet filled with undying love for the old home of their fathers and with a resolve to regain at the first opportunity their ancestral territory. ”