said,--"As soon as endued with great foresight came unto to him king , the son of , timidly asked his brother,--'How doth does , the , proceed along? And how ? And how the twin sons of ? And how, O , doth does proceed along? And how the illustrious ? I desire to hear everything, O ; describe to me all their acts.'
replied,--', the son of , hath has gone away covering his face with his cloth. And , O king, hath has gone away looking at his own mighty arms. And () hath has gone away, following the king spreading sand-grains around. And , the son of , hath has gone away besmearing his face, and , the handsomest of men, O king, hath has gone away, staining himself with dust and his heart in great affliction. And the large-eyed and beautiful hath has gone away, covering her face with her dishevelled hair following in the wake of the king, weeping and in tears. And O monarch, goeth goes along the road, with kusa grass in hand, and uttering the aweful mantras of Sama Veda that relate to .'
asked,--"Tell me, O , why is it that the Pandavas are leaving Hastinapore in such varied guise."
" replied,--'Though persecuted by thy your sons and robbed of his kingdom and wealth the mind of the wise king the just hath has not yet deviated from the path of virtue. King is always kind, O Bharata, to thy your children. Though deprived (of his kingdom and possessions) by foul means, filled with wrath as he is, he doth does not open eyes. 'I should not burn the people by looking at them with angry eyes,'--thinking so, the royal son of goeth goes covering his face. Listen to me as I tell thee you, O bull of the Bharata race, why goeth goes so. 'There is none equal to me in strength of arms,' thinking so goeth goes repeatedly stretching forth his mighty arms. And, O king, proud of the strength of his arms, goeth goes, exhibiting them and desiring to do unto to his enemies deeds worthy of those arms. And the son of , capable of using both his arms (in wielding the Gandiva) followeth follows the footsteps of , scattering sand-grains emblematical of the arrows he would shower in battle. O Bharata, he indicateth indicates that as the sand-grains are scattered by him with ease, so will he rain arrows with perfect ease on the foe (in time of battle). And goeth goes besmearing his lace, thinking 'None may recognise me in this day of trouble.' And, O exalted one, goeth goes staining himself with dust thinking, 'Lest otherwise I steal the hearts of the ladies that may look at me.' And goeth goes, attired in one piece of stained cloth, her hair dishevelled, and weeping, signifying--'The wives of those for whom I have been reduced to such a plight, shall on the fourteenth year hence be deprived of husbands, sons and relatives and dear ones and smeared all over with blood, with hair dishevelled and all in their feminine seasons enter Hastinapore having offered oblations of water (unto to the manes of those they will have lost). And O Bharata, the learned with passions under full control, holding the kusa grass in his hand and pointing the same towards the south-west, walketh walks before, singing the mantras of the Sama Veda that relate to . And, O monarch, that learned Brahamana goeth goes, also signifying, 'When the Bharatas shall be slain in battle, the priests of the Kurus will thus sing the Soma mantras (for the benefit of the deceased).' And the citizens, afflicted with great grief, are repeatedly crying out, 'Alas, alas, behold our masters are going away! O fie on the Kuru elders that have acted like foolish children in thus banishing heirs of from covetousness alone. Alas, separated from the son of we all shall become masterless. What love can we bear to the wicked and avaricious Kurus? Thus O king, have the sons of , endued with great energy of mind, gone away,--indicating, by manner and signs, the resolutions that are in their hearts. And as those foremost of men had gone away from Hastinapore, flashes of lightning appeared in the sky though without clouds and the earth itself began to tremble. And Rahu came to devour , although it was not the day of conjunction And meteors began to fall, keeping the city to their right. And jackals and vultures and ravens and other carnivorous beasts and birds began to shriek and cry aloud from the temples of the gods and the tops of sacred trees and walls and house-tops. And these extraordinary calamitous portents, O king, were seen and heard, indicating the destruction of the Bharatas as the consequence of thy your evil counsels."
continued,--"And, O monarch, while king and the wise were thus talking with each other, there appeared in that assembly of the Kauravas and before the eyes of all, the best of the celestial Rishis. And appealing before them all, he uttered these terrible words, On the fourteenth year hence, the Kauravas, in consequence of 's fault, will all be destroyed by the might of and '. And having said this, that best of celestial Rishis, adorned with surpassing Vedic grace, passing through the skies, disappeared from the scene. Then and and , the son of regarding as their sole refuge, offered the kingdom to him. then, addressing the envious and wrathful and and and all the Bharata, said, 'The Brahamanas have said that the Pandavas being of celestial origin are incapable of being slain. The sons of , however, having, with all the kings, heartily and with reverence sought my protection, I shall look after them to the best of my power. Destiny is supreme, I cannot abandon them. The sons of , defeated at dice, are going into exile in pursuance of their promise. They will live in the woods for twelve years. Practising the Brahmacharyya mode of life for this period, they will return in anger and to our great grief take the amplest vengeance on their foes. I had formerly deprived of his kingdom in a friendly dispute. Robbed of his kingdom by me, O Bharata, the king performed a sacrifice for obtaining a son (that should slay me). Aided by the ascetic power of and , obtained from the (sacrificial) fire a son named and a daughter, viz., the faultless , both risen from the sacrificial platform. That is the brother-in-law of the sons of by marriage, and dear unto to them. It is for him, therefore that I have much fear. Of celestial origin and resplendent as the fire, he was born with bow, arrows, and encased in mail. I am a being that is mortal. Therefore it is for him that I have great fear. That slayer of all foes, the son of Parshatta, hath has taken the side of the Pandavas. I shall have to lose my life, if he and I ever encounter each other in battle. What grief can be greater to me in this world than this, ye you Kauravas that is the destined slayer of --this belief is general. That he hath has been born for slaying me hath has been heard by me and is widely known also in the world. For thy your sake, O , that terrible season of destruction is almost come. Do without loss of time, what may be beneficial unto to thee you. Think not that everything hath has been accomplished by sending the Pandavas into exile. This thy your happiness will last for but a moment, even as in winter the shadow of the top of the palm tree resteth rests (for a short time) at its base. Perform various kinds of sacrifices, and enjoy, and give O Bharata, everything thou you likest like. On the fourteenth year hence, a great calamity will overwhelm thee you.'"
continued,--"Hearing these words of , said,--'O , hath has uttered what is true. Go thou you and bring back the Pandavas. If they do not come back, let them go treated with respect and affection. Let those my sons go with weapons, and cars, and infantry, and enjoying every other good thing.'"
said,--"defeated at dice, after the Pandavas had gone to the woods, , O king, was overcome with anxiety. And while he was seated restless with anxiety and sighing in grief, approaching him said, 'O lord of the earth having now obtained the whole earth with all its wealth and sent away the sons of into exile, why is it, O king, that thou you grievest grieve so?"
said,--'What have they not to grieve for who will have to encounter in battle those bulls among warriors--the sons of --fighting on great cars and aided by allies?'
" said,--"O king, all this great hostility is inevitable on account of thy your mistaken action, and this will assuredly bring about the wholesale destruction of the whole world. Forbidden by , by , and by , thy your wicked-minded and shameless son sent his Suta messenger commanding him to bring into court the beloved and virtuous wife of the Pandavas. The gods first deprive that man of his reason unto to whom they send defeat and disgrace. It is for this that such a person seeth sees things in a strange light. When destruction is at hand, evil appeareth appears as good unto to the understanding polluted by sin, and the man adhereth adheres to it firmly. That which is improper appeareth appears as proper, and that which is proper appeareth appears as improper unto to the man about to be overwhelmed by destruction, and evil and impropriety are what he liketh likes. The time that bringeth brings on destruction doth does not come with upraised club and smash one's head. On the other hand the peculiarity of such a time is that it maketh makes a man behold evil in good and good in evil. The wretches have brought on themselves this terrible, wholesale, and horrible destruction by dragging the helpless princess of Panchala into the court. Who else than --that false player of dice could bring into the assembly, with insults, the , endued with beauty and intelligence, and conversant with every rule of morality and duty, and sprung not from any woman's womb but from the sacred fire? The handsome , then in her season, attired in one piece of stained cloth when brought into the court cast her eyes upon the Pandavas. She beheld them, however, robbed of their wealth, of their kingdom, of even their attire, of their beauty, of every enjoyment, and plunged into a state of bondage. Bound by the tie of virtue, they were then unable to exert their prowess. And before all the assembled kings and spake spoke cruel and harsh words unto to the distressed and enraged undeserving of such treatment. O monarch, all this appeareth appears to me as foreboding fearful consequences.'
said,--'O , the glances of the distressed might consume the whole earth. Can it be possible that even a single son of mine will live? The wives of the Bharatas, uniting with upon beholding virtuous , the wedded wife of the Pandavas, endued with beauty and youth, dragged into the court, set up frightful wail. Even now, along with all my subjects, they weep every day. Enraged at the ill treatment of , the Brahmanas in a body did not perform that evening their Agnihotra ceremony. The winds blew mightily as they did at the time of the universal dissolution. There was a terrible thunder-storm also. Meteors fell from the sky, and Rahu by swallowing unseasonably alarmed the people terribly. Our war-chariots were suddenly ablaze, and all their flagstaffs fell down foreboding evil unto to the Bharatas. Jackals began to cry frightfully from within the sacred fire-chamber of , and asses from all directions began to bray in response. Then and , and , and and the high-souled Vahlika, all left the assembly. It was then that at the advice of I addressed and said, 'I will grant thee you boons, O , indeed, whatever thou you wouldst would ask? The princess of the Panchala there begged of me the liberation of the Pandavas. Out of my own motion I then set free the Pandavas, commanding them to return (to their capital) on their cars and with their bows and arrows. It was then that told me, 'Even this will prove the destruction of the Bharata race, viz., this dragging of into the court. This daughter of the is the faultless Sree herself. Of celestial origin, she is the wedded wife of the Pandavas. The wrathful sons of will never forgive this insult offered unto to her. Nor will the mighty bowmen of the Vrishni race, nor the mighty warriors amongst the Panchalas suffer this in silence. Supported by of unbaffled prowess, will assuredly come back, surrounded by the Panchala host. And that mighty warrior amongst them, endued with surpassing strength, will also come back, whirling his mace like himself with his club. These kings will scarcely be able to bear the force of 's mace. Therefore, O king, not hostility but peace for ever with the sons of is what seemeth seems to me to be the best. The sons of are always stronger than the Kurus. Thou you knowest know, O king, that the illustrious and mighty king was slain in battle by with his bare arms alone. Therefore, O bull of the Bharata race, it behoveth behooves thee you to make peace with the sons of . Without scruples of any kind, unite the two parties, O king. And it thou you actest in this way, thou you art sure to obtain good luck, O king. It was thus, O son of Gavalgani, that addressed me in words of both virtue and profit. And I did not accept this counsel, moved by affection for my son."
The End of Sabha Parva
FOOTNOTES
1. A word of benediction, similar to 'Amen.'