(Jatugriha Parva continued)
" said, 'The wicked became very pleased when the king, O Bharata, had said so unto to Pandavas. And, O bull of Bharata's race, , then, summoning his counsellor, in private, took hold of his right hand and said, 'O , this world, so full of wealth, is mine. But it is thine yours equally with me. It behoveth behooves thee you, therefore, to protect it. I have no more trustworthy counsellor than thee you with whom to consult. Therefore, O sire, keep my counsel and exterminate my foes by a clever device. O, do as I bid thee you. The Pandavas have, by , been sent to Varanavata, where they will, at 's command, enjoy themselves during the festivities. Do that by which thou you mayest may this very day reach Varanavata in a car drawn by swift mules. Repairing thither there, cause thou you to be erected a quadrangular palace in the neighbourhood of the arsenal, rich in the materials and furniture, and guard thou you the mansion well (with prying eyes). And use thou you (in erecting that house) hemp and resin and all other inflammable materials that are procurable. And mixing a little earth with clarified butter and oil and fat and a large quantity of lac, make thou you a plaster for lining the walls, and scatter thou you all around that house hemp and oil and clarified butter and lac and wood in such a way that the Pandavas, or any others, may not, even with scrutiny behold them there or conclude the house to be an inflammable one. And having erected such mansion, cause thou you the Pandavas, after worshipping them with great reverence, to dwell in it with and all their friends. And place thou you there seats and conveyances and beds, all of the best workmanship, for the Pandavas, so that may have no reason to complain. Thou you must also so manage it all that none of Varanavata may know anything till the end we have in view is accomplished. And assuring thyself that the Pandavas are sleeping within in confidence and without fear, thou you must then set fire to that mansion beginning at the outer door. The Pandavas thereupon then must be burnt to death, but the people will say that they have been burnt in (an accidental) conflagration of their house.
"Saying, 'So be it' unto to the Kuru prince, repaired to Varanavata in a car drawn by fleet mules. And going thither there, O king, without loss of time, obedient to the instructions of , did everything that the prince had bid him do."
(Jatugriha Parva continued)
" said, 'Meanwhile the Pandavas got into their cars, yoking thereto some fine horses endued with the speed of wind. While they were on the point of entering their cars, they touched, in great sorrow, the feet of , of king , of the illustrious , of , of and of the other elders of the Kuru race. Then saluting with reverence all the older men, and embracing their equals, receiving the farewell of even the children, and taking leave of all the venerable ladies in their household, and walking round them respectfully, and bidding farewell unto to all the citizens, the Pandavas, ever mindful of their vows, set out for Varanavata. And of great wisdom and the other bulls among the Kurus and the citizens also, from great affliction, followed those tigers among men to some distance. And some amongst the citizens and the country people, who followed the Pandavas, afflicted beyond measure at beholding the sons of in such distress, began to say aloud, 'King of wicked soul seeth sees no things with the same eye. The Kuru monarch casteth casts not his eye on virtue. Neither the sinless , nor the foremost of mighty men, nor the (youngest) son of , will ever be guilty (of the sin of waging a rebellious war). When these will remain quiet, how shall the illustrious son of do anything? Having inherited the kingdom from their father, could not bear them. How is that who suffers the exile of the Pandavas to that wretched place, sanctions this act of great injustice? , the , and the royal sage of Kuru's race both cherished us of old with fatherly care. But now that that tiger among men, hath has ascended to heaven, cannot bear with these princes his children. We who do not sanction this exile shall all go, leaving this excellent town and our own homes, where will go.'
"Unto to those distressed citizens talking in this way, the virtuous , himself afflicted with sorrow, reflecting for a few moments said, 'The king is our father, worthy of regard, our spiritual guide, and our superior. To carry out with unsuspicious hearts whatever he biddeth bids, is indeed, our duty. Ye you are our friends. Walking round us and making us happy by your blessings, return ye you to your abodes. When the time cometh comes for anything to be done for us by you, then, indeed, accomplish all that is agreeable and beneficial to us.' Thus addressed, the citizens walked round the Pandavas and blessed them with their blessings and returned to their respective abodes.
"And after the citizens had ceased following the Pandavas, , conversant with all the dictates of morality, desirous of awakening the eldest of the Pandavas (to a sense of his dangers), addressed him in these words. The learned , conversant with the jargon (of the Mlechchhas), addressed the learned who also was conversant with the same jargon, in the words of the Mlechchha tongue, so as to be unintelligible to all except . He said, 'He that knoweth knows the schemes his foes contrive in accordance with the dictates of political science, should, knowing them, act in such a way as to avoid all danger. He that knoweth knows that there are sharp weapons capable of cutting the body though not made of steel, and understandeth understands also the means of warding them off, can never be injured by foes. He liveth lives who protecteth protects himself by the knowledge that neither the consumer of straw and wood nor the drier of the dew burneth burns the inmates of a hole in the deep woods. The blind man seeth sees not his way: the blind man hath has no knowledge of direction. He that hath has no firmness never acquireth acquires prosperity. Remembering this, be upon your guard. The man who taketh takes a weapon not made of steel (i.e., an inflammable abode) given him by his foes, can escape from fire by making his abode like unto to that of a jackal (having many outlets). By wandering a man may acquire the knowledge of ways, and by the stars he can ascertain the direction, and he that keepeth keeps his five (senses) under control can never be oppressed y his enemies.'
"Thus addressed, 's son, the just replied unto to , that foremost of all learned men, saying, 'I have understood thee you.' Then , having instructed the Pandavas and followed them (thus far), walked around them and bidding them farewell returned to his own abode. When the citizens and and had all ceased following, approached and said, 'The words that said unto to thee you in the midst of many people so indistinctly as if he did not say anything, and thy your reply also to him in similar words and voice, we have not understood. If it is not improper; for us to know them I should then like to hear everything that had passed between him and thee you.'
" replied, 'The virtuous said unto to me that we should know that the mansion (for our accommodation at Varanavata) hath has been built of inflammable materials. He said unto to me, 'The path of escape too shall not be unknown to thee you,'--and further,--'Those that can control their senses can acquire the sovereignty of the whole world.'--The reply that I gave unto to was, 'I have understood thee you.'
" continued, 'The Pandavas set out on the eighth day of the month of Phalguna when the star Rohini was in the ascendant, and arriving at Varanavata they beheld the town and the people.'"
(Jatugriha Parva continued)
" said, 'Then all the citizens (of Varanavata) on hearing that the son of had come, were filled with joy at the tidings, speedily came out of Varanavata, in vehicles of various kinds numbering by thousands, taking with them every auspicious article as directed by the Sastras, for receiving those foremost of men. And the people of Varanavata, approaching the sons of blessed them by uttering the Jaya and stood surrounding them. That tiger among men, viz., the virtuous thus surrounded by them looked resplendent like him having the thunderbolt in his hands (viz., ) in the midst of the celestials. And those sinless ones, welcomed by the citizens and welcoming the citizens in return, then entered the populous town of Varanavata decked with every ornament. Entering the town those heroes first went, O monarch, to the abodes of Brahmanas engaged in their proper duties. Those foremost of men then went to the abodes of the officials of the town, and then of the Sutas and the Vaisyas and then to those of even the Sudras, O bull of Bharata's race, thus adored by the citizens, the Pandavas at last went with going before them, to the palace that had been built for them, then began to place before them food and drink and beds and carpets, all of the first and most agreeable order. The Pandavas attired in costly robes, continued to live there, adored by and the people having their homes in Varanavata.
"After the Pandavas had thus lived for ten nights, spoke to them of the mansion (he had built) called 'The Blessed Home,' but in reality the cursed house. Then those tigers among men, attired in costly dress, entered that mansion at the instance of like Guhyakas entering the palace (of ) on the Kailasa mount. The foremost of all virtuous men, , inspecting the house, said unto to that it was really built of inflammable materials. Smelling the scent of fat mixed with clarified butter and preparations of lac, he said unto to , 'O chastiser of foes, this house is truly built of inflammable materials! Indeed, it is apparent that such is the case! The enemy, it is evident, by the aid of trusted artists well-skilled in the construction of houses, have finely built this mansion, after procuring hemp, resin, heath, straw, and bamboos, all soaked in clarified butter. This wicked wretch, , acting under the instruction of , stayeth stays here with the object of burning me to death when he seeth sees me trustful. But, O son of , of great intelligence, knew of this danger, and, therefore, hath has warned me of it beforehand. Knowing it all, that youngest uncle of ours, ever wishing our good from affection hath has told us that this house, so full of danger, hath has been constructed by the wretches under acting in secrecy.'
"Hearing this, replied, 'If, sir, you know this house to be so inflammable, it would then be well for us to return thither there where we had taken up our quarters first.' replied, 'It seems to me that we should rather continue to live here in seeming unsuspiciousness but all the while with caution and our senses wide awake and seeking for some certain means of escape. If findeth finds from our countenances that we have fathomed designs, acting with haste he may suddenly burn us to death. Indeed, careth cares little for obloquy or sin. The wretch stayeth stays here acting under the instruction of . If we are burnt to death, will our grandfather be angry? Why will he, by showing his wrath, make the Kauravas angry with him? Or, perhaps, our grandfather and the other bull of Kuru's race, regarding indignation at such a sinful act to be virtuous, may become wrathful. If however, from fear of being burnt, we fly from here, , ambitious of sovereignty will certainly compass our death by means of spies. While we have no rank and power, hath has both; while we have no friends and allies, hath has both; while we are without wealth, hath has at his command a full treasury. Will he not, therefore, certainly destroy us by adopting adequate means? Let us, therefore, by deceiving this wretch () and that other wretch , pass our days, disguising ourselves at times. Let us also lead a hunting life, wandering over the earth. We shall then, if we have to escape our enemies, be familiar with all paths. We shall also, this very day, cause a subterranean passage to be dug in our chamber in great secrecy. If we act in this way, concealing what we do from all, fire shall never be able to consume us. We shall live here, actively doing everything for our safety but with such privacy that neither nor any of the citizens of Varanavata may know what we are after.'"