Wilfried Huchzermeyer

Studies in the Mahabharata

Indian Culture, Dharma and Spirituality

In the Great Epic

With Many Original Sanskrit Texts

edition sawitri

Karlsruhe

Verlag W. Huchzermeyer

Lessingstraße 64

D-76135 Karlsruhe

sawitri@t-online.de

www.edition-sawitri.de

1st eBook Edition 2018

ISBN 978-3-931172-44-2

© 2018 edition sawitri – Verlag W. Huchzermeyer, Karlsruhe

All rights reserved

Contents

Preface

Introduction

1. Arjuna’s Marriages

Ulūpī

Urvaśī

Citrāṅgadā

Subhadrā

2. Śrī Kṛṣṇa – The Ritual of Departure

Kṛṣṇa in the Ādiparvan

The Ritual of Departure

3. Śrī Kṛṣṇa – Guru and Leader of the Pāṇḍavas

Kṛṣṇa’s Dialogue with Yudhiṣṭhira

The Execution of Kṛṣṇa’s Plans

Śiśupāla’s Intervention

4. Psychological, Philosophical and Legal Aspects of the Dice Game

Preliminary Events

Śakuni’s Role

The Game Starts

Nala’s Dice Game

The Deeper Cause of Yudhiṣthira’s Losses

Draupadī’s Battle

Bhīṣma’s Commentary and Bhīma’s Fury

Vikarṇa’s Pleading for Draupadī

The Miracle

Vidura’s Vain Intervention

Draupadī’s New Appeal and Bhīṣma’s Response

Duryodhana’s Interjection

Bhīma’s Response

Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Intervention

Karṇa’s Commentary and Bhīma’s Reaction

Summary

Epilogue – Kṛṣṇa’s Commentary

5. The Mahābhārata’s Synthesis of Revenge and Forgiveness

Draupadī’s Opening of the Debate

Prahlāda’s Teaching

Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rebuttal

Draupadī’s Criticism of dharma

Draupadī’s Philosophy of Divine Determinism

Dharma for the Sake of Itself

Draupadī’s Pleading for Dynamic Action

Bhīma’s Pleading and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rebuttal

Conclusion

6. Saints Sages and Ascetics – The Creative Function of Curses and Blessings

Saramā Cursing Janamejaya

The Clash of Uttaṅka and Pauśya

King Parikṣit and Śṛṅgin’s Curse

Bhṛgu cursing Agni

A Brāhmin Cursing Ruru

Kadrū and Vinatā

Garuḍa and the Vālakhilyas

The Modification of Kadrū’s Curse and Further Events

7. Jaratkāru and Agastya

I - Jaratkāru

Jaratkāru Meeting His Forefathers

Jaratkāru’s Brief Marriage

II – Agastya and Lopāmudrā

8. Aṇīmāṇḍavya and Durvāsas

I - Aṇīmāṇḍavya

II – Durvāsas and Kuntī

Supernatural Conception

Durvāsas and Mudgala

Durvāsas and Kṛṣṇa

Durvāsas, Kṛṣṇa and the Pāṇḍavas

9. Saṁvarta

King Marutta and Nārada’s advice

Marutta meeting Saṁvarta

Indra’s Counteraction and Saṁvarta’s Defence

10. Vasiṣṭha and Viśvāmitra

Vasiṣṭha Āpava

Vasiṣṭha Suvarcasa

Vasiṣṭha Maitrāvaruṇi and Viśvāmitra

King Kalmāṣapāda

11. Ṛśyaśṛṅga, Yavakrīta and the Brāhmin Saint

I – Ṛśyaśṛṅga

II - Yavakrīta

III – The Nameless Brāhmin Saint

12. Sanatsujāta

Kriyā Yoga

The Sanatsujātīya

“Distraction is Death”

On the Veda

13. Śuka

Śuka’s Birth

At the Court of King Janaka

Nārada’s Talk on Sanatkumāra’s Wisdom

Śuka’s Path to Complete Liberation

Appendix I - Sanskrit Original Texts

1 – Draupadī in the Assembly Hall

2 – Vikarṇa’s speech

3 – The Miracle of endless skirts

4 – Kṛṣṇa’s commentary on the dice game

5 – Yudhiṣṭhira’s sermon on forgiveness

6 – Draupadī’s philosophy of divine determinism

7 - Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma for its own sake

8 – Draupadī’s rejection of fatalism and accidentalism

9 – Śuka’s Life

Appendix II - A Summary of the Mahābhārata

I – The Main Action

II – The Structure

Literature

Preface

The present book is based on my dissertation titled Essential Features of Indian Culture and Spirituality, As Presented in the Mahābhārata, submitted to the University of Pune in 1985 under the guidance of Dr. S.D. Laddu. The text has been newly edited for the purpose of this title; several chapters were omitted and numerous passages have been rewritten. I have also given my own translations of all the Sanskrit quotations in the text.

In the Appendix, I have added a summary of the complete action in the Mahābhārata. Readers who are not familiar with the epic are recommended to read this summary at first. Moreover, I also present some of the more important original Sanskrit texts in full length.1 In this way, the whole book is a new creation which aims at presenting the original content in a more interesting and accessible form.

Wilfried Huchzermeyer

Whenever this is the case, English translations are marked “SKR” at the end and the respective footnote refers to the Appendix.

Introduction

The Mahabharata, although neither the greatest nor the richest masterpiece of the secular literature of India, is at the same time its most considerable and important body of poetry. Being so, it is the pivot on which the history of Sanskrit literature and incidentally the history of Aryan civilisation in India, must perforce turn.2

Sri Aurobindo

Whether we realize it nor not, it remains a fact that we in India still stand under the spell of the Mahābhārata. There is many a different strand that is woven in the thread of our civilization, reaching back into hoary antiquity. Amidst the deepest of them there is more than one that is drawn originally from the ancient Bhāratavarṣa and the Sanskrit literature. And well in the centre of this vast pile of Sanskrit literature stands this monumental book of divine inspiration, unapproachable and far removed from possibilities of human competition.3

V.S. Sukthankar

Vyasa’s epic is a mirror in which the Indian sees himself undeceived.4

P. Lal

With the Greeks the dominant passion was the conscious quest of ideal beauty: with the Indians it has invariably been the quest of ideal life.5

V.S. Sukthankar

The Mahābhārata is one of the most impressive creations of the Indian mind. If it cannot compare with the Upaniṣads in philosophic depth, with Kālidāsa’s poetry in refinement and splendour, it yet has a quality of its own and is unequalled in its comprehensiveness, the mass of material offered and the variety of subjects discussed – ranging from history, philosophy and law to yoga, spirituality and psychology.

Indeed, the volume of knowledge expounded in this epic is so immense that most critics have rightly assumed that it can hardly be the product of a single brain howsoever gifted. Some great scholars of the Mahābhārata such as a modern translator of the text, J.A.B. van Buitenen, and India’s great yogi-poet Sri Aurobindo, agree that the Mahābhārata was originally a smaller epic of about 24,000 verses, and that this nucleus was subsequently enhanced by an endless series of later additions made by authors who deemed Vyāsa’s genial creation a fit vehicle for their own less inspired poetic expressions, philosophic ideas, dogmatic teachings and religious beliefs.

If this nucleus has had the power to attract such a mass of material which exceeds three to four times the volume of its original body, then this fact speaks for itself. Whilst some popular editions of the epic contain up to 100,000 stanzas, the Critical Edition prepared by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, confines itself to about 73,900 couplets, presented by the editors as the “constituted text” which does not claim to be the nucleus, but the most authentic text established on the basis of a comparison of all important recensions and manuscripts.

Even while the Critical Edition, which has been used for this study, presents an excellent tool for any scholar of the epic, we are still faced with the difficulty of separating – like the mythical swans of Indian poets – Vyāsa’s milk from the water of the plagiators. Only a poetic genius like Sri Aurobindo could confidently propose to disengage the nucleus on the basis of an analysis of the poetic quality of the verses.6 Unfortunately, he could not find time to work out this idea and provide the complete text as he believed it to be the original.

As for ourselves, we choose a different approach, focussing on texts which appear to have a high quality from the point of view of content. Approaching the epic with an open mind, we try to learn as much as possible about traditional Indian culture and spirituality, great personalities and important principles governing the life of those days. In fact, the Mahābhārata with its boundless wealth and manifold content is an ideal field for such an approach. “Whatever is here on dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa, is also found elsewhere. But what is not here, is found nowhere else,” says the epic on itself.7 Anyone who has gone through its complete text, will probably agree that this claim, though slightly exaggerated, has some truth in it.

CWSA Vol. 1, Early Cultural Writings, Vyasa and Valmiki, 338

On the Meaning of the Mahabharata, 32

The Mahabharata of Vyasa, 3

On the Meaning of the Mahabharata, 4

CWSA Vol. 1, Early Cultural Writings, 339f

Mbhr. 1.56.3 . All the references are to the Pune Critical Edition. kāma, artha, dharma, mokṣa are in the Hindu tradition the four basic goals in human life (puruṣārtha), that is sensual fulfillment, material prosperity, right living and spiritual liberation.

1.

Arjuna’s Marriages

Arjuna is well-known as an excellent archer, champion fighter and close confidant of Kṛṣṇa, but a little less known as lover. Epic heroes are as a rule not subject to very strict moral laws, and so Arjuna too has some escapades, though of an innocent nature and not without discrimination. We perceive here even in seeming licence an element of culture, of high-mindedness. It is for this reason that a special chapter is devoted to this subject.

Arjuna had won Draupadī, the common wife of the five Pāṇḍavas, in a special competition of archery, which was arranged by king Drupada with the very purpose of attracting Arjuna whom he considered the ideal partner of his daughter. The Pāṇḍavas had come in disguise (they were still in hiding after the burning of the lacquer palace) and Arjuna won Draupadī as an unknown Brāhmin. The beautiful princess did not hesitate to give herself to the powerful competitor, but this unexpected turn of events provoked the kings and princes present at the svayaṁvara to attack king Drupada and the Pāṇḍavas – giving away this precious prize to an unidentified Brāhmin was too big a shame for the assembled kṣatriya-chieftains.

Arjuna and Bhīma repelled the attack in a quick battle, making sure that Draupadī was theirs for good. However, some intricate problem came up when the Pāṇḍavas returned ‘home’ to the potter’s hut in which they were staying with Kuntī. The Pāṇḍavas said joyfully to their mother, “look what we found!”, and she answered spontaneously, “now you share that together.”8 Yudhiṣṭhira as the eldest brother was asked to resolve the problem. His decision was as noble as Arjuna’s reaction: he ruled that Arjuna should marry Draupadī since he had won her in the contest. But Arjuna considered this adharma. He proposed that Yudhiṣṭhira as the eldest brother should marry first, taking Draupadī for himself. Thus Arjuna shows considerable strength of character in this scene by surrendering to the family law. Draupadī is a very attractive woman and his proposal is a real sacrifice.

But Yudhiṣṭhira does not want to claim her for himself alone, because it did not escape him that all of the brothers were deeply enchanted with Draupadī’s beauty. He therefore makes a very wise decision that she would be their common wife. This is in fact the only way to save the unity of the family and at the same time a gesture of obedience to Kuntī’s word. Even while one problem has been solved now, another has been created, because the father of the bride objects with persistence against this uncommon polyandrous alliance.

Finally, Vyāsa himself enters the scene, talking to Drupada in private and giving him some mythological background which justifies this whole development. Thus, he wins over the king for the marriage of his daughter to the five Pāṇḍavas. We are not concerned here with those mythological stories of the five Indras etc. nor do we consider it purposeful to examine various speculations on polyandrous precedents in the ancient Indian society. It appears more fruitful in the context of the Mahābhārata to draw attention to the spirit of sacrifice and brotherly love and unity which becomes evident in this scene. The epic is often setting examples, even some rare examples which ordinary humans will not be able to follow and are not expected to follow. If five well-built men can share one highly attractive woman, then it is certainly a psychological miracle, a great conquest of envy and jealousy.

Soon after the wedding Nārada, the messenger of the Gods, came to give the Pāṇḍavas the clue for the perfect functioning of the marriage. In this way the poet also assures the audience that everything is all right with the unusual marriage, as evidently it is sanctioned by the Gods. Nārada advises the brothers to lay down a rule so that there is no strife over Draupadī. He tells them the story of Sunda and Upasunda, two immensely powerful asuras who lived together in perfect harmony until Brahmā sent the apsarā Tilottamā on earth to estrange them. Promptly they fell into the trap, killing each other in their desire for Tilottamā.

To prevent a similar disaster among themselves, Nārada advises the Pāṇḍavas not to disturb each other when anyone of them is intimate with Draupadī. If anyone should enter the room and break this rule, the offender would have to stay in the forest like a hermit for twelve months. In this way the Pāṇḍavas were able to live happily with Draupadī:

And Kṛṣṇā9 attended to the wishes of all the five lion-like men of immeasurable energy, the sons of Pṛthā. As they took great delight in her, so she took great delight in her five heroic husbands, as does the river Sarasvatī in her elephants. 10

The poet adds that they lived in accordance with the dharma and that all the Kurus prospered. In fact, nobody objected to the special type of marriage any more after Vyāsa’s intervention except Karṇa, much later in a scene after the dice game, where he argues that a polyandrous liaison is unlawful and that Draupadī therefore does not deserve respectful treatment.11 This will be discussed in another chapter.

While the Pāṇḍavas were thus living in harmony together with Draupadī, a certain Brāhmin approached them one night with a problem. His cattle were being stolen by robbers and he pleaded for help. Arjuna was present to receive the visitor and was facing a great dharma conflict now: under the kṣatriya code he was obliged to help the Brāhmin, but his weapons happened to be in the chamber where Yudhiṣṭhira was alone with Draupadī. Under the special family rule he was not allowed to enter it. So whatever he would do now, he would break a rule and become guilty. He quickly ponders over this dilemma, weighing the respective consequences of his decision. Finally he concludes:

Either a great breach of dharma [by not helping the Brāhmin], or death in the forest [due to the dangers of exile]. But dharma has the greater priority, even if the body dies.12

Arjuna is somewhat dramatizing the situation in his inner arguments. Breaking the family rule would indeed result in a twelve months’ exile in the forest, but we know from many other stories that there were good chances to survive such an exile. Anyhow, Arjuna decides that neglecting his kṣatriya-dharma would be the greater sin, as he had also to protect the reputation of Yudhiṣṭhira as king and head of the family. Thus, from his viewpoint, he makes an unselfish decision, accepting the possibility of his loss of life in the forest. He enters the chamber, collects the weapons and defeats the robbers. The thought that this action too might be dangerous, does not enter his mind, his superiority as a professionally trained champion fighter is beyond doubt.

When returning to his family, he finds Yudhiṣṭhira entirely undisturbed by the intrusion into the chamber. But Arjuna insists on being ‘punished’ according to the rule. Therefore, with his brother’s consent he goes to the forest where he is supposed to live as a hermit for twelve months. As it is, he was to fulfil only one part of the vow, namely to stay in exile, but his life was not that of a hermit. This can be easily excused, for when the rule of conduct was made between the Pāṇḍavas, it was understood that any interference of one of the brothers with another brother would be actuated by a lack of self-discipline and not by an urge to protect the dharma as was the case with Arjuna, an occurrence that could not be foreseen.

So we observe Arjuna now spending his life happily in exile and having many experiences with women. Perhaps they provide an outlet for feelings which may not always have found full satisfaction under the special marriage-contract with Draupadī.

Ulūpī

The first woman whom he meets on his way is Ulūpī, a Nāga-princess of great sensuous beauty. While Arjuna is bathing in the Gaṅgā, she approaches him and pulls him deep into the river, into the palace of her snake father Kauravya. It is significant and noteworthy that before their union Arjuna makes offerings into the sacrificial fire in the palace. Even in this most spontaneous of his loves, the profane is preceded by the sacred. Ulūpī then asks him for his love. Once more Arjuna faces a dharma conflict: on the one hand he was supposed to live like a hermit; on the other hand there was a general social rule of ancient times which said that a woman approaching a man with sincere love was to be satisfied.

Ulūpī resolves this intricate problem for Arjuna in a twofold way, displaying her high female intelligence: the status as a hermit, she points out, is to be understood only as renouncing all contact with Draupadī. Secondly, she herself, Ulūpī, would not be able to live without having tasted Arjuna’s love, so he has to save her:

Love me who love you, Pārtha, for this is the doctrine of the wise. If you don’t do so, I would certainly die. By giving life, o strong-armed man, observe the highest dharma. I am seeking refuge in you, best of men!13

Ulūpī appeals to Arjuna with all her heart to fulfil her as a woman by responding to her love, and he complies with her wishes, “looking to dharma as his cause.”14 But their meeting was only for one night, it was a very brief marriage. A son named Iravān was born of it. He became a valiant fighter and killed six of Śakuni’s brothers in the Great War.

To return to the story itself: it is interesting to note that here we have a love affair which is developed entirely on the background of dharma. Only when Ulūpī found the right arguments, bringing the meeting to a level where Arjuna could function in accordance with dharma, did she get what she wanted. It is the meeting of two lovers who in spite of strong emotions do not act hastily on impulse but first create an atmosphere in which their love can legitimately unfold itself.

Urvaśī

In contrast, it is very interesting to compare this episode with Arjuna’s meeting with Urvaśī in Indra’s heaven. This incident is not recorded in the established text of the Pune Critical Edition where she is merely mentioned as one of the dancers in the court.15 However, we will include the episode here, because it fits in well into this portrait of Arjuna as a lover of high standards and also forms part of the stock of popular tales in the Mahābhārata.16

Arjuna had watched Urvaśī dancing at Indra’s court with some other attractive apsarās and she had caught his eyes during her performance. Having spent sleepless hours, she resolves to approach Arjuna in his room for love, but only to find him unwilling. He explains to her that his interest in her was due to her being the wife of Purūravas, the ancient ancestor of the Kauravas. So for him she was like a mother, and that is what made him look at her. Urvaśī now tries the same tactics as Ulūpī, shifting the discussion to the level of dharma, reminding Arjuna that a man approached by a woman in love is supposed to oblige her. But this time Arjuna does not react. He cannot take her for pleasure, she remains a mother to him.

This prompts Urvaśī to curse him to become a eunuch. But Indra then modifies the curse in such a way that it will work only for the period of one year during the time when the Pāṇḍavas have to live in disguise. The curse thus turns out to be a hidden blessing. What is important in this episode is Arjuna’s refusal. His own sense of true dharma makes it impossible for him to yield to kāma, pleasure. This shows his strength of character and proves that he does use discrimination in his love affairs.

Citrāṅgadā

After his affectionate experience with Ulūpī Arjuna moves on to visit King Citravāhana of Maṇalūra. He quickly falls in love with his beautiful daughter Citrāṅgadā. There is no more question now of living the life of a hermit; perhaps Ulūpī had after all convinced him that this regulation meant only abstaining from contact with Draupadī.

Citrāṅgadā is the only child of her father, who made her a putrikā, that is to say the child from her would continue her father’s lineage, not her husband’s. Arjuna readily agrees to this condition and marries her. He stays on for a period of three months and later on becomes father of a boy named Babhruvāhana.

This brief episode has inspired Sri Aurobindo to write a poem titled Chitrangada, of which two passages will be rendered below because they bring out wonderfully Arjuna’s character, his mission, his high destiny guessed by a woman who was happy to share his close company, if only for a short while.

One morning Citrāṅgadā rises early before Arjuna; the premonition of his impending departure throws a shadow on her love-relationship with him. For the moment he is giving her all his love, but shortly he will leave her – leave her with a void whereas he can easily fill his own:

In Manipur upon her orient hills

Chitrangada beheld intending dawn

Gaze coldly in. She understood the call.

The silence and imperfect pallor passed

Into her heart and in herself she grew

Prescient of grey realities. Rising,

She gazed afraid into the opening world.

Then Urjoon felt his mighty clasp a void

Empty of her he loved and, through the grey

Unwilling darkness that disclosed her face,

Sought out Chitrangada. “Why doest thou stand

In the grey light, like one from joy cast down,

O thou whose bliss is sure? Leave that grey space,

Come hither.” So she came and leaning down,

With that strange sorrow in her eyes, replied:

“Great, doubtless, is thy love, thy very sleep

Impatient of this brief divorce. And yet

How easily that void will soon be filled:

For thou wilt run thy splendid fiery race

Through cities and through regions like a star.

Men’s worship, women’s hearts inevitably

Will turn to follow, as the planets move

Unbidden round the sun…17

Arjuna knows very well that it is quite true what Citrāṅgadā says in her mood of soul-stirring melancholy. No word of his can efface the truth dawning on her; he can only ask her not to yield to her unhappy thoughts and so he tries to cheer her up. But Citrāṅgadā cannot forget any more what she has seen in that silent moment of grey dawn. She has got a sense of his cosmic personality, his greater purposes, and knows that she is but one small link in the huge chain of events in his life. She realizes that she cannot hold him back, that she must not claim him for herself. Hers is a deep, true love which finds fulfilment in itself, not in the holding of its object:

… It helps me not

To bind thee for a moment to my joy.

The impulse of thy mighty life will come

Upon thee like a wind and drive thee forth

To toil and battle and disastrous deeds

And all the giant anguish that preserves

Our world. Thou as resistlessly wast born

To these things as the leopard’s leap to strength

And beauty and fierceness, as resistlessly

As women are to love, - even though they know

Pain for the end, yet, knowing, still must love.18

Citrāṅgadā knows that her spring is over. She has cherished every moment in Arjuna’s presence, drunk in his love, given herself with all her heart. Now she lets him go with gratitude, allowing him to follow his great destiny.

Subhadrā

Arjuna continues his pilgrimage and on his way releases five apsarās from a curse by which they had been transformed into dangerous crocodiles. He then returns to Maṇalūra for a brief visit to see Citrāṅgadā and his son, Babhruvāhana.19 Next he proceeds towards the Western ocean where he meets Kṛṣṇa in Prabhāsa. The two friends and cousins20 greet each other happily and spend all their time together. Soon Arjuna falls in love with Kṛṣṇa’s beautiful sister Subhadrā whom he sees in a procession at Mount Raivataka. He confides himself to Kṛṣṇa and seeks his advice as to how to marry Subhadrā.

Kṛṣṇa responds that basically a svayaṁvara would be the standard procedure, but as the outcome of a self-choice by Subhadrā would not be certain, he advises Arjuna to abduct his sister by force. This is the kṣatriya type of marriage “which is approved of for valiant warriors by the knowers of dharma.”21

As the abduction is a risky undertaking, Yudhiṣṭhira as the head of the family is consulted first by messengers. He gives his consent whereupon Arjuna abducts Subhadrā at an appropriate moment when she returns to Dvārakā from a pilgrimage. Taking her into his chariot par force, he speeds away while the armed escort looks on helplessly. The Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas are outraged at this unexpected move of Arjuna’s and want to pursue the offender. Kṛṣṇa, however, manages to convince his kinsmen of the futility of such action. Arjuna is a worthy partner after all; therefore he should be welcomed by everyone. Thus this third marriage of Arjuna in exile is finally accepted.

This time it is a lasting liaison: Arjuna takes Subhadrā with him back to his family, creating a considerable problem for Draupadī. The latter is angry at first, but she reconciles with Arjuna when he makes Subhadrā wear a cow maid’s dress, greeting Draupadī humbly, “I am Bhadrā, your handmaid!” What a psychological ruse to win over the heart of a rival woman! Draupadī answers humorously, “let your husband [at least] have no rival!”22 There was perfect harmony then, all the brothers as well as Kuntī were pleased and delighted.

Arjuna’s marriage with Subhadrā is the most important during the exile. Not only are close ties established to the Vṛṣṇi clan, but also a son, Abhimanyu, was born to the couple whose son Parikṣit (by Uttarā) survived the Great War and became the only male successor in the dynasty. Arjuna’s first meeting with Subhadrā has been further embellished in some editions of the epic. Thus Arjuna is reported to have come to see her in the disguise of an ascetic who is attended by Subhadrā etc., adding some more romantic moments to this well-known episode which has been rendered here according to the text of the Critical Edition.

The subject of this chapter was Arjuna in his private capacity, a hero attractive to women, himself a man readily responding with passion to longing, but always with an eye on dharma, on appropriate action. Properly speaking, he is the soul of the Pāṇḍavas, perhaps not as handsome as Nakula and Sahadeva but yet well-looking, not as ostentatiously strong as Bhīma and yet immensely powerful, not as sattvic in nature as Yudhisṭhira but well-balanced in his passion. Clearly, he was also the favourite lover of Draupadī, wife of the five Pāṇḍavas. Once when during the period of his family’s exile in the forest he had gone out for some purpose and stayed away for a long while, Draupadī became very unhappy:

Without Arjuna, best of the Pāṇḍavas, … this forest is joyless. This earth looks empty, the wood with its many marvels and flowering trees appears no longer lovely without the left-handed archer.23

Mbhr. 1.182.1-2

Another name of Draupadī.

Mbhr. 1.205.2-3

Mbhr. 2.61.35-36

Mbhr. 1.205.15

Mbhr. 1.206.29-30

Mbhr. 1.206.33

Mbhr. 3.44.20

See Vanaparvan, Chapters 45-46.

CWSA Vol. 1, Collected Poems, 311

Ibid., 312-13

There is a scene in the Āśvamedhika Parvan (Chapters 78-82) where Citrāṅgadā much later meets Arjuna once more, along with her son Babhruvāhana and Ulūpī.

Kṛṣṇa’s father Vasudeva was the brother of Arjuna’s mother Kuntī.

Mbhr. 211.22-23

Mbhr. 1.213.20

Mbhr. 3.79.12-13

2.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa – The Ritual of Departure

From the viewpoint of most Indian readers, Kṛṣṇa is regarded as a great personality of key importance in the Mahābhārata, but he is judged differently by some critical scholars in the West. In fact, the tricks employed by Kṛṣṇa in the Great War induced the German scholar Adolf Holtzmann (Sr.) in the 19th century to believe and propagate that the Pāṇḍavas were originally the bad people and the Kauravas the good ones. This ‘inversion theory’ which was further elaborated upon by A. Holtzmann (Jr.) has fallen into discredit since long, but it is remarkable that it could ever have come about at all.

Other Western scholars had a somewhat better opinion of the avatāra and rejected the theory of the two Holtzmanns. But they too often provide a picture of Kṛṣṇa which has little resemblance with that of the Indian tradition. Thus the German Indologist Walter Ruben believed that Kṛṣṇa’s role in the epic was non-essential. However, his colleague Alf Hiltebeitel objected sharply: “In my view it is not that Kṛṣṇa is non-essential but that Ruben has missed what is essential in these episodes.”24

The Russian Indologist V.I. Kalyanov even painted a very negative picture of Kṛṣṇa. In an essay titled On the Military Code of Honour in the Mahābhārata25 he argued that Kṛṣṇa used unfair means in order to defeat invincible Kaurava heroes like Droṇa and that therefore his action was immoral. Even though the facts and quotations given by Kalyanov cannot be doubted, we have to note that his interpretation has become too narrow by overlooking Kṛṣṇa’s spiritual dimension. Since it is his object to defend dharma in a global way, he has necessarily to devise means in order to eliminate a few very powerful Kaurava warriors, because – in spite of their individual nobility – they are on the wrong side. He does not break the military code of honour due to any lower motivation, but just to fulfill the object of his mission on earth, namely to repel forces of adharma and to reestablish those of dharma.26

It was the Indian scholar Sukthankar who defended the Indian position on the scholarly level. In his book On the Meaning of the Mahābhārata he writes:

I may add, there is to my knowledge not a single passage in the Mahābhārata which does not presuppose the divinity or the cosmic character of Śrī Kṛṣṇa; or, to put it more precisely, which does not assume that he is an Avatāra or incarnation of Viṣṇu-Nārāyaṇa, in the peculiar sense in which the word “Avatāra” is used in Indian philosophy or metaphysics.27

We believe that Sukthankar’s observations are correct, at least with reference to the first five Books of the epic which we have scrutinized closely in this respect.

Several of the following chapters will deal with the personality of Kṛṣṇa and describe his specific role in various situations and circumstances. In this present chapter his role as close and beloved friend of the Pāṇḍavas will be analyzed. We will do this by means of a verse-by-verse interpretation of the second adhyāya of the Sabhāparvan which describes in beautiful poetry Kṛṣṇa’s departure after a long stay with the Pāṇḍavas. It gives deep insight into some special features of Indian culture, some highlights of the ancient tradition. However, before we turn to this scene, we will offer a very brief survey of Kṛṣṇa in the Ādiparvan.

Kṛṣṇa in the Ādiparvan

Right at the beginning Viṣṇu is identified with Kṛṣṇa Hṛṣīkeśa, “the guru of all creatures, Hari”. Viṣṇu is the primeval puruṣa, the true, the one-syllabled brahman, everlasting, manifest and unmanifest, existent and nonexistent.28

Another early verse illustrates the relationship between Kṛṣṇa and the Pāṇḍavas through the image of a tree:

The righteous Yudhiṣṭhira is the great tree, Arjuna its crotch, Bhīmasena the branches, Mādrī’s two sons the rich blossoms and fruits, and Kṛṣṇa, brahman and the Brāhmins the root.29

The first appearance of Kṛṣṇa, the Yādava chieftain, in the text of the Critical Edition is at Draupadī’s Bridegroom Choice where the Pāṇḍavas took part disguised as Brāhmins. Only Kṛṣṇa sees through the disguise and mentions this to his brother Balarāma, who confirms this discovery with a smile.30

When Arjuna had won Draupadī through his skill in archery, the other competitors grew jealous and attacked Drupada. Arjuna and Bhīma fought a successful battle against the aggressors, but it was Kṛṣṇa’s intervention which finally brought about peace and the recognition of the Pānḍavas’ claim of Draupadī. He “restrained all the kings”, telling them that “she was won according to dharma”.31

When the marriage of Draupadī with the five Pāṇḍavas was performed, Kṛṣṇa is reported to have sent many precious gifts. Meanwhile the Kauravas grew aware of the new constellation of forces and recognized that the Pāṇḍavas were now backed by Drupada and Kṛṣṇa. Karṇa therefore proposes a surprise attack on the Pāṇḍavas before they would become too powerful to be defeated. Kṛṣṇa’s potential role as a reliable supporter of the Pāṇḍavas, prepared to make any sacrifice for bringing them back to power, is clearly perceived by him.

Another important scene with Kṛṣṇa is the abduction of Subhadrā, in which he had a leading hand (see previous chapter). The Ādiparvan ends with the burning of the Khāṇḍava forest in the course of which Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna kill numberless innocent creatures in a terrible feast of destruction at the behest of Agni. The meaning of this episode eludes us entirely, it does not appear to be genuine; probably it was added later by some author with an unknown intention, or else we are simply not able any more today to understand its significance. Only seven creatures survived the fire, among them the asura Maya who then becomes the link to the next Book, the Sabhāparvan.

Maya is the chief architect of the Dānavas, a powerful and efficient master builder who offers his services to Arjuna now for having been protected by him from the fire as well as from Kṛṣṇa’s discus. But Arjuna refers the asura to Kṛṣṇa who suggests that Maya should build a big Assembly Hall for Yudhiṣṭhira, and the asura gladly accepts this proposal. Soon after this scene Kṛṣṇa gets ready for his departure from the Pāṇḍavas, and it is this particular scene which is of special interest in this chapter.

The Ritual of Departure

uṣitvā khāṇḍavaprasthe sukhavāsaṁ janārdanaḥ /

pārthaiḥ prītisamāyuktaiḥ pūjanārho’bhipūjitaḥ //

gamanāya matiṁ cakre piturdarśanalālasah / 2.2.1

After Janārdana, duly honoured by the affectionate Pārthas, had stayed happily in the Khāṇḍava region, he felt desirous of seeing his father and therefore resolved to take leave.

Kṛṣṇa’s stay with the Pāṇḍavas was of a very happy nature. The reason is given: the Pārthas are full of affection for him. But it is more than a mere friendly relationship – the Pāṇḍavas are aware of Kṛṣṇa’s greatness and honour him as one who deserves honour abundantly (pūjanārho’bhipūjitaḥ). As relatives (cousins) they are on a par with Kṛṣṇa; in the field of wisdom and knowledge of right action they recognize his superior standing and power.

A motive is given for Kṛṣṇa’s departure which ranks higher than his love for the Pāṇḍavas at this moment: his obligation and desire to be with his father Vasudeva. All this may be regarded as a mere formality and in a way it is. But we want to draw attention to the master hand of the poet who, like a skilled diplomat conceiving the wording of a communiqué on a high-level meeting, chooses words with care so as to satisfy listeners, assuring them of the perfectly harmonious nature of Kṛṣṇa’s stay with the Pāṇḍavas.

dharmarājamathāmantrya pṛthāṁ ca pṛthulocanaḥ // 2

vavande caraṇau mūrdhnā jagadvandyaḥ pitṛṣvasuḥ /

sa tayā mūrdhnyūpāghrātaḥ pariṣvaktaśca keśavaḥ // 3

The large-eyed Kṛṣṇa bade farewell to the Dharmarāja and to Pṛthā. He who is adorable to the world, adored with his head the feet of his father’s sister. She kissed Keśava on his head and embraced him.

Kṛṣṇa wishes good-by to Yudhiṣṭhira and Kuntī. His great humility is shown: being himself worthy of worship, he makes praṇāma at the feet of his aunt.

dadarśānantaraṁ kṛṣṇo bhaginīṁ svām mahāyaśaḥ /

tāmupetya hṛṣīkeśaḥ prītyā bāṣpasamanvitaḥ // 4

arthyaṁ tathyaṁ hitaṁ vākyam laghu yuktamanuttamam /

uvāca bhagavānbhadrāṁ subhadrāṁ bhadrabhāṣiṇīm // 5

Then the illustrious Kṛṣṇa Hṛṣīkeśaḥ approached his sister affectionately, his eyes filled with tears, and the blessed Lord spoke meaningful, apt, helpful, brief, appropriate and excellent words to the gentle, gentle-spoken Subhadrā.

The poet makes ample use of the device of alliteration in all these verses, whose beauty gets lost in any translation. Note in verse 1: pārthaiḥ prītisamāyuktaiḥ and pūjanārho’bhipūjitaḥ. In verse 2: pṛthāṁ pṛthulocanaḥ … pītṛśvasuḥ and vavande jagadvandyaḥ. The climax of this beautiful sound play is reached in the last line of verse 5, which is pure music: bhagavānbhadrāṁ subhadrāṁ bhadrabhāsīṇīm.

The poetic device is used here not for the sake of itself as in the alaṁkāra type of Indian classical poetry, but as a colourful means of expressing deep and genuine emotion between an extraordinary brother and sister. Kṛṣṇa has tears in his eyes (bāṣpa-samanvitaḥ), which speaks of his psychic love for his sister. His manifold advice to her is not for the sake of advice; it is only a medium of his love, his wish to speak to her and caress her with words.

tayā svajanagāmīni śrāvito vacanāni saḥ /

saṁpūjitaścāpyasakṛcchirasā cābhivāditaḥ // 6

tāmanujñāpya vārṣṇeyaḥ pratinandya ca bhāminīm /

dadarśānantaraṁ kṛṣṇāṁ dhaumyaṁ cāpi janārdanaḥ // 7

She gave him messages for her relatives and honoured and saluted him with many bows. Then Vārṣṇeya took leave of his beautiful sister, bidding her farewell, and went to see Kṛṣṇā and Dhaumya.

In spite of the emotional atmosphere of the scene Vyāsa’s Sanskrit – it is most probably one of his original texts – remains sober and does not try to convey anything which is not really there. Thus we can go along with the poet, even bear with occasional repetition

The content of this passage: After the affectionate fare-well meeting with his beloved sister, Kṛṣṇa wishes good-by to Draupadī and Dhaumya, the family priest of the Pāṇḍavas.

vavande ca yathānyāyaṁ dhaumyaṁ puruṣasattamaḥ /

draupadīṁ sāntvayitvā ca āmantrya ca janārdanaḥ // 8

bhrātṛnabhyagamaddhīmānpārthena sahito balī /

bhrātṛbhiḥ pañcabhiḥ kṛṣṇo vṛtaḥ śakra ivāmaraiḥ // 9

Janārdana, best of men, duly saluted Dhaumya, and, speaking comforting words to Draupadī, he bade her farewell. Then the wise and mighty Kṛṣṇa, accompanied by Pārtha, went to his cousins. Surrounded by the five brothers, Kṛṣṇa stood like Śakra in the midst of the Immortals.

This chapter has been called The Ritual of Departure. It is a ritual indeed, but not a dead ceremony. The outer forms are always a living expression of some genuine inner feeling. We see an art practiced here which is part of classical Indian culture. There is a prescribed procedure, expressed through the word yathānyāyam: according to the etiquette.

Verse 9 is a first climax of the whole scene, with Kṛṣṇa, surrounded by the five Pāṇḍavas, being likened to Indra in the company of the Immortals. Through this comparison the poet gives his characters a touch of the Divine; they are like the very Gods moving on earth.

arcayāmāsa devāṁśca dvijāṁśca yadupuṁgavaḥ /

mālyajapyanamaskārairgandhairuccāvacairapi /

sa kṛtvā sarvakāryāṇi pratasthe tastuṣāṁ varaḥ // 10

svasti vācyārhato viprāndadhipātraphalākṣataiḥ /

vasu pradāya ca tataḥ pradakṣiṇamavartata // 11

The bull of the Yadus worshipped the gods and Brāhmins with garlands, mantras, bows of the head and manifold perfumes. Having finished all these rites, he, first of the steadfast, distributed to those Brāhmins deserving of worship offerings of vessels of curd, fruits and barley-corn; then he circumambulated them.

After having said farewell to those very close to him, Kṛṣṇa turns to the crowds of Brāhmins watching his departure and honours them in various ways. Finally, he makes their pradakṣiṇa, circumambulation, also a classical sacred ritual.

kāñcanaṁ rathamāsthāya tārkṣyaketananamāśugam /

gadācakrāsiśārṅgādyairāyudhaiśca samanvitam // 12

tithāvatha ca nakṣatre muhūrte ca guṇānvite /

prayayau puṇḍarīkākṣaḥ sainyasugrīvavāhanaḥ // 13

Then he ascended his swift golden chariot with the emblem of Garuḍa and furnished with mace, discus, sword, his bow śārṅga and other weapons. At an excellent moment on a lunar day, when the stellar conjunction was propitious, the lotus-eyed set out on his chariot with his horses Sainya and Sugrīva.

The ‘first round’ of the farewell ritual is finished now and Kṛṣṇa ascends his chariot which carries the emblem of Garuḍa who has traditionally been associated with Viṣṇu due to some mythological incident. Now a very particular feature of the Indian science of departure follows: Kṛṣṇa leaves at a moment which is auspicious from the astrological point of view. This is to indicate that the individual properly relates himself to the Cosmos and its functioning.

A departure signifies a new turn in the life of an individual, and the new undertaking is supposed to be fruitful if the respective person harmonizes himself with the cosmic forces with which he is in constant interaction. A spiritual genius like Kṛṣṇa does not need to consult the horoscopes but through his inner attunement he automatically chooses the right moment.

anvāruroha cāpyenaṁ premṇā rājā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ /

apāsya cāsya yantāraṁ dārukaṁ yantṛsattamam /

abhīṣūnsamprajagrāha svayaṁ kurupatistadā // 14

upāruhyārjunaścāpi cāmaravyajanam sitam /

rukmadaṇḍaṁ bṛhanmūrdhni dudhāvābhipradakṣiṇam // 15

tathaiva bhīmaseno’pi yamābhyāṁ sahito vaśī /

pṛṣṭato’nuyayau kṛṣṇamṛtvikpaurajanairvṛtaḥ // 16

From affection, King Yudhiṣṭhira ascended the chariot after him, and, moving aside Dāruka, best of charioteers, he took the reins himself. Arjuna too ascended the chariot, waving a large white cāmara with a golden handle sunwise around Kṛṣṇa’s head. The mighty Bhīmasena, with the twin brothers also followed Kṛṣṇa from behind, surrounded by the priests and citizens.

We may have expected Kṛṣṇa now to slowly gallop away waving his hand in a gesture of blessing to the crowds looking on, but there is a delay: moved by his great love for Kṛṣṇa, Yudhiṣṭhira mounts on the chariot, followed by Arjuna who waves a yak-tail fan from left to right, which is another indication of the individual’s attunement to the cosmic workings.

sa tathā bhrātṛbhiḥ sardhaṁ keśavaḥ paravīrahā /

anugamyamānaḥ śuśubhe śiṣyairiva guruḥ priyaiḥ // 17

Keśava, slayer of the enemy heroes, followed by the brothers, shone like a guru among his beloved disciples.

Another climax is reached here in the poet’s account of Kṛṣṇa’s departure: if in verse 9 he was likened to Indra surrounded by the immortals, he is now said to be like a guru amidst his beloved disciples. We have here a first anticipation of his later role in relation to the Pāṇḍavas, and particularly to Arjuna in the Gītā.

So this verse marks a real turning point and is of great importance. So far we had seen Kṛṣṇa treated as a highly respected relative by the Pāṇḍavas. When he met them at Drupada’s palace after Draupadī’s svayamvara, he touched Yudhiṣṭhira’s feet.32 This is hardly what we would expect a guru to do. We may also remember that when Kṛṣṇa had advised Arjuna to abduct Subhadrā, Yudhiṣṭhira was consulted first. But now he is gradually assuming the role of a divine guide of the Pāṇḍavas. A first turn in the new direction was taken when Arjuna asked Maya to do something for Kṛṣṇa rather than for himself, because as a quasi-disciple he could not accept any gift in the presence of Kṛṣṇa.

pārthamāmantṛya govindaḥ pariṣvajya ca pīḍitam /

yudhiṣṭhiraṁ pūjayitvā bhīmasenaṁ yamau tathā // 18

pariṣvakto bhṛśaṁ tābhyāṁ yamābhyāmabhivāḍitaḥ /

tatastaiḥ saṁvidaṁ kṛtvā yathāvanmadhusūdanaḥ // 19

nivartayitvā ca tadā pāṇḍavānsapadānugān /

svāṁ purīṁ prayayau kṛṣṇaḥ puraṁdara ivāparaḥ // 20

Govinda bade Pārtha farewell, embracing him firmly. Then he saluted Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīmasena and the twins, and the latter embraced him strongly in farewell. Then Madhusūdana made an agreement with them, and turning them and their followers back, Kṛṣṇa proceeded towards his own city like another Puraṁdara.

The departure scene is nearing its end now. There are various loving gestures until Kṛṣṇa finally disengages himself from the Pāṇḍavas and speeds home, after having made an agreement with them on a new meeting. He is compared now to Indra on the way towards Amarāvatī.

locanairanujagmuste tamā dṛṣṭipathāttadā /

manobhiranujagmuste kṛṣṇaṁ prītisamanvayāt // 21

atṛptamanasāmeva teṣāṁ keśavadarśane /

kṣipramantardadhe śauriścakṣuṣām priyadarśanaḥ // 22

They followed Kṛṣṇa with their eyes as long as he was within sight, and then followed him in their minds with love. Even while they were still unsated of the sight of Keśava, the gracious Śauri soon disappeared from their sight.

These are masterful verses. The eyes of the Pāṇḍavas refuse as it were to lose Kṛṣṇa out of sight and in any case their loving thoughts will follow him even beyond the horizon. Somewhat listlessly the brothers return home:

akāmā iva pārthāste govindagatamānasaḥ /

nivṛtyopayayuḥ sarve svapuraṁ puruṣarṣabhāḥ /

syandanenātha kṛṣṇo’pi samaye dvārakāmagāt. / 23

Unwilling as it were the Pārthas, with their minds fixed on Govinda, turned back and those bull-like men returned to their city. Kṛṣṇa in his chariot reached Dvārakā in time.

Alf Hiltebeitel, Kṛṣṇa and the Mahābhārata (A Bibliographical Essay), Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. LX (1979), 91

Published in: Aṛtadhārā, Prof. R.N. Dandekar Felicitation Volume, pp. 187-194.

Mbhr. 6.25.7-8

On the Meaning of the Mahābhārata, 63.

Mbhr. 1.1.20-22

Mbhr. 1.1.66

Mbhr. 1.178.9-10

Mbhr. 1.181.32

Mbhr. 1.183.4

3.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa – Guru and Leader of the Pāṇḍavas

In the previous chapter we have learnt something about the affectionate relationship between Kṛṣṇa and the five Pāṇḍavas. In a few verses we got hints of his future role as their master and guru, but such a position was not yet explicitly stated. In this present chapter we will trace his becoming the leader of the Pāṇḍavas and will see how he occupies an eminent position even in this early second Book of the Mahābhārata.

The first occasion for Kṛṣṇa to be called in as chief advisor presented itself when Nārada paid a visit to King Yudhiṣṭhira, suggesting to him to undertake the Rājasūya sacrifice which would make the senior most Pāṇḍava an unchallenged universal monarch. Even though Nārada mentioned that Pāṇḍu himself33 had wished this sacrifice to be performed, Yudhiṣṭhira chose to approach Kṛṣṇa for authoritative advice:

Believing that a sacrifice should not just ruin oneself, and carrying out his task with great care, he thought of Kṛṣṇa Janārdana for settling the question, of Hari who is superior to the entire world… When he had made this final decision, Yudhiṣṭhira Pārtha quickly dispatched as to a guru a messenger to the guru of all beings.34

Kṛṣṇa responds readily to Yudhiṣṭhira’s request and visits the Pāṇḍavas very soon. In the following passage Yudhiṣṭhira gives a detailed analysis of several kinds of advice which one can receive from various sources, and he explains why Kṛṣṇa alone is the perfect, objective guide who can be trusted without any reservation:

Some people do not point out an error out of friendship. Others flatter for personal gains… But you are above such motivations and above anger and desire. Please tell us what is best for us in this world.35

Kṛṣṇa’s Dialogue with Yudhiṣṭhira

Kṛṣṇa at first talks about the powerful alliance of King Jarāsaṁdha and Kāṁsa mentioning how the Vṛṣṇis had to flee from Mathurā to Dvārakā to escape Jarāsaṁdha’s invincible army. This event is likely to have really taken place because we can hardly assume that any poet would have invented an episode in which the great avatāra is shown to be in the defensive.

Kṛṣṇa proposes then that Yudhiṣṭhira should accept to become samrāṭ, universal sovereign. As a precondition for attaining this high status, Jarāsaṁdha would have to be killed. By this occasion 86 prisoners in his dungeons – all of them kings defeated in battle – would be released and saved from the human sacrifice that Jarāsaṁdha is planning to offer to Mahādeva.

The following scene, a dialogue between Yudhiṣṭhira and Kṛṣṇa, with Bhīma and Arjuna playing minor roles as additional speakers, is a first example of Kṛṣṇa helping one of the Pāṇḍavas overcome a deep inner crisis. In fact, Kṛṣṇa’s well-known discourse in the Bhagavadgītā is only the culmination of a number of similar elucidations which form a whole consistent series of talks on the value of a righteous battle, a battle for dharma, on overcoming personal weaknesses and hesitations, risking one’s life while fighting for Truth.

Yudhiṣṭhira’s objections to the undertaking of attacking Jarāsaṁdha are characteristic of his nature. He seeks tranquillity and acquiescence rather than the daring assault and upheaval. This project of freeing those unfortunate kings would certainly disturb his peace:

śamameva paraṁ manye na tu mokṣādbhavecchamaḥ /

ārambhe pārameṣṭhyaṁ tu na prāpyamiti me matiḥ //

I consider tranquility highest, but no tranquility would result from their release. If I undertake this, I assume that the highest cannot be achieved.

Yudhiṣṭhira’s weak-hearted response to Kṛṣṇa’s proposal is countered by Bhīma with a strong rebuttal. He pronounces the standard formula for victory which is to be often quoted in the text hereafter:

In Kṛṣṇa there is policy, in myself strength, in Arjuna victory. Like three fires we shall vanquish the Māgada.36

Kṛṣṇa supports Bhīma’s inspired argument with further deliberations, trying to warm up the kṣatriya in Yudhiṣṭhira. He points out the glory of a kṣatriya dying by the sword and draws attention to the cruel fate of those 86 kings who are to be killed by Jarāsaṁdha.

Yudhiṣṭhira retorts with a typical sattvic argument. Would it not be egoistic on his side to send Kṛṣṇa, Bhīma and Arjuna into the battle just for his own glory? Bhīma and Arjuna are like his eyes, Kṛṣṇa is his mind: how could he risk their lives? This argument needs to be analysed carefully. Although Yudhiṣṭhira holds it to be egoistic to accept the proposal for a battle, we may say that from Kṛṣṇa’s viewpoint there is actually an egoistic reaction behind Yudhiṣṭhira’s refusal. It is not his glory for which the battle against the asuric Jarāsaṁdha is to be fought, but the glory of dharma as such; even though Yudhiṣṭhira would receive the fruits of this action, his own glory is not the immediate aim. He is only a human representative destined to receive the honour of becoming samrāṭ.

Even the fact that Yudhiṣṭhira is being asked for his permission for this action by Kṛṣṇa does not prove anything except Kṛṣṇa’s politeness. The latter has already made up his mind and will proceed anyhow. But since he has to act with other human beings, he has to deal with their problems and resistances. And for the time being Yudhiṣṭhira would rather prefer to give up the project:

I should like to abandon this task, Janārdana. My mind is against it. The Rājasūya is hard to achieve.37

We feel here reminded of Arjuna’s refusal to fight in the Bhagavadgītā (2.9):

I shall not fight, he said to Govinda, and became silent.

Paradoxically, in this present scene we find Arjuna using the same arguments against Yudhiṣṭhira now which Kṛṣṇa later uses in the Bhagavadgītā with reference to Arjuna:

[Arjuna said:] A kṣatriya’s concern is always victory, oh king… If for the sake of the sacrifice we achieve the destruction of Jarāsaṁdha and the release of the kings – what could be higher than that? If we don’t act, they will surely think that we lack character… Afterwards the ochre robe will be easily available for munis who desire peace.38

We may compare this with Kṛṣṇa’s words to Arjuna at the moment of his great crisis:

Again, with a view to your own dharma as well, you should not waver; for, there is nothing higher for a kṣatriya than righteous war.

But if you do not fight this righteous war, you will forfeit your own dharma and honour and incur sin.

Your enemies will slander you in various ways, reviling your strength. What could be worse than that?39

It is to be observed that in both these cases the argument is not developing on a highest spiritual, but rather on a moral human level. The appeal is to the sense of human honour, uprightness. From a higher spiritual view point it should matter little what the enemies of a disciple think about him, whether it be good or bad. But in the given situation an appeal of this kind may be more effective and is therefore chosen here by Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna respectively.

In the present scene Kṛṣṇa finally advances a new argument to change Yudhiṣṭhira’s mind. He proposes a personal encounter with Jarāsaṁdha avoiding his superior army. If the king is killed, his forces would be dispirited. And if those forces should attack the aggressors, the latter would “attain heaven” due to their efforts to protect their kinsmen.40 This reminds us again of the Bhagavadgītā’s pronouncement: “Slain you will attain heaven; victorious you will enjoy the earth.”41

After some initial hesitation and resistance Yudhiṣṭhira has been convinced now of the need of attacking Jarāsaṁdha and agrees to the proposal. He recognizes Kṛṣṇa as the “protector of the Pāṇḍavas”, in whom they seek shelter. “All that you say, Govinda, is correct…”42

The Execution of Kṛṣṇa’s Plans

Kṛṣṇa’s plan of executing Jarāsaṁdha is carried out by Bhīma who kills the mighty king in a terrible wrestling duel. Kṛṣṇa is present as a non-combatant giving effective psychological support and tactical advice to the Pāṇḍava. This support is actually giving Bhīma the edge over his equal opponent who is finally crushed on the ground. His people do not offer any further resistance.

The 86 kings are released and urged to attend the great unction of Yudhiṣṭhira. His brothers conquer for him all the surrounding countries so that conditions are ready now for the Royal Consecration. In a gesture of gratitude Yudhiṣṭhira attributes all his success to Kṛṣṇa who has master-minded the strategic move which gave him his new status as unchallenged emperor.

Because of you, Kṛṣṇa, the whole earth is under my sway now and by your grace, Vārṣṇeya, I have obtained great wealth. Now I wish to employ all this properly for the best among the Brāhmins and for the sacrificial fire.43

The final act of Kṛṣṇa’s glorification as guru of all beings and the Pāṇḍavas in particular occurs in a chapter called The Taking of the Guest Gift. At the beginning of the gathering of the kings that have been invited for Yudhiṣṭhira’s coronation, Bhīṣma asks Yudhiṣṭhira to offer a guest gift to the most deserving visitor. He points out to him that Kṛṣṇa is by far the most important guest, full of glory, strength and prowess. The whole assembly is brightened by him “as a sunless place is by the sun and a windless one by the wind”.44

Śiśupāla’s Intervention

At this moment Śiśupāla, king of the Cedis, son of Vasudevas sister Śrutaśravā, intervenes angrily and refuses to accept Bhīṣma’s suggestion. In a highly polemic speech he insults Bhīṣma, Kṛṣṇa and the Pāṇḍavas, advancing some comprehensible arguments for denying Kṛṣṇa the honour of the special guest. If the elders of the assembly were to be honoured, Kṛṣṇa’s father Vasudeva would be the right choice. If the best ally of the Pāṇḍavas were to be honoured, Drupada might be the obvious choice. Or if a great teacher, an eminent priest were to be shown respect, Droṇa or Vyāsa should be first considered.

Śiśupāla’s language gets more and more coloured by hatred towards Kṛṣṇa whom he blames relentlessly for accepting the honour of the guest gift. In his typical way Yudhiṣṭhira tries to calm down Śiśupāla with courteous words. But then Bhīṣma speaks, making Yudhiṣṭhira aware that their choice of Kṛṣṇa does not need this kind of justification. Bhīṣma claims it to be a simple fact that Kṛṣṇa is the greatest personality present. Nobody in the assembly, he says, could compare with his glory. He adds that “the whole world is founded on Kṛṣṇa. Therefore we honour him and no one else, even in the presence of elders.”45

In the following passage Bhīṣma continues praising Kṛṣṇa who is lauded not only as a great teacher but also the transcendent ruler of the universe:

Kṛṣṇa alone is the origin and the dissolution of the worlds… He is the unmanifest prakṛti and the eternal doer… This Śiśupāla is a fool who does not know that Kṛṣṇa exists everywhere for ever; therefore he speaks like this.46

Next Sahadeva challenges all kings present to speak out if anyone does not want him to honour Kṛṣṇa. Nobody objects, but a group of irate kings gathers round Śiśupāla who then starts a frontal attack on Bhīṣma. He points out a number of alleged sins of the latter, specifically his abduction of Ambā47 who had already given her heart to Śālva and had become very miserable due to his action.

Bhīṣma retorts by giving some background knowledge on Śiśupāla, he informs the assembly how Kṛṣṇa gave a boon to his paternal aunt that he would forgive her son a hundred insults. It is for this very reason, says Bhīṣma, that Śiśupāla could act as he did in the present scene; in fact, “it was the decision of Kṛṣṇa himself, the Lord of the world.”48

Thus, the whole incident of Śiśupāla’s challenge is given a new interpretation now. Nobody can really challenge Kṛṣṇa, since everything is contained in him and part of his game. The rebellious king is nothing but “a particle of the glory of Hari” who wants to recover it.49 But Śiśupāla, undaunted by this mystical interpretation, continues insulting Bhīṣma, the Pāṇḍavas and Kṛṣṇa. The latter waits patiently until Śiśupāla has completed a hundred insults and then cuts off his head with the discus.

A miracle follows upon this final act of the drama: a great radiance rises forth from the killed king of the Cedis and enters Kṛṣṇa. Then there is a strong rain from a cloudless sky, lightning strikes and the earth trembles as all the kings in the assembly look on with great amazement.50

So the great Sacrifice ends on a somewhat dramatic note, but it has been successfully accomplished, after Yudhiṣṭhira’s last potential contender has been eliminated by Kṛṣṇa. He soon leaves for Dvārakā admonishing Yudhiṣṭhira to protect well his subjects.

Nārada had met him in his abode in heaven. Mbhr. 2.11.65

Mbhr. 2.12.24-25, 28

Mbhr. 2.12.38-40

Mbhr. 2.14.9

Mbhr. 2.15.5

Mbhr. 2.15.9, 14-16

Bhagavadgītā, 2-31, 33, 36

Mbhr. 2.16.9

Bhagavadgītä 2.37

Mbhr. 2.18.10

Mbhr. 2.30.18-19

Mbhr. 2.33.28-29

Mbhr. 2.35.10-11

Mbhr. 2.35.26

The eldest daughter of the king of Kāśī. Bhīṣma abducted her along with her two sisters for marriage with Vicitravīrya.

Mbhr. 2.41.1

Mbhr. 2.41.3

Mbhr. 2.42.22-25

4.

Psychological, Philosophical and Legal Aspects of the Dice Game

“Please tell this in detail, Brāhmin, because this was the root of the destruction of the world, best of the twice-born.”51

The dice game takes us into one of the most dramatic scenes in the Mahābhārata. It raises a number of intricate questions which deserve an in-depth study and elaborate analysis. We come across here some noble aspects of Indian culture, but at the same time also its very contradiction. We meet individuals in extreme situations of the most acute inner trial, and find even the wisest of the wise perplexed by a set of circumstances which is bewildering by its complexity, frustrating by its entanglement and fatal by its sheer force.

In the event of the dice game we experience in a major scene a density of action and subtlety of perception which seem to reveal the master hand of Vyāsa himself at work. The crisis of the Pāṇḍavas and their wife, the immensity of inner torture that they undergo, are described in a terse, almost cool language which nevertheless makes us breathless participants of a tremendous drama. We may say that the inner torment of Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, Arjuna and Draupadī in this scene is even greater and more severe and devastating than Arjuna’s famous despair at the beginning of the war.

Apart from analysing these situations where souls struggle for their survival, fight for their inmost Truth, we will also try to provide new answers to a number of questions:

1) Why did Yudhiṣṭhira accept the challenge for the dice game? Was he really moved by his passion for the game?

2) Why did he accept to play against Śakuni, a well-known master-wizard joining the game on Duryodhana’s behalf?

3) Why was Yudhiṣṭhira so much in a haste to lose everything once the game started and his losing streak became obvious?

4) Why did Yudhiṣṭhira go so far as to stake even Draupadī, although it was clear that he would lose her as he lost everything else?

5) What were the exact implications of Draupadī’s question to the assembly whether Yudhiṣṭhira had lost himself before he lost her?

6) Why did none of the elders present in the hall (Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Kṛpa etc.) intervene on behalf of Draupadī when Duḥśāsana started molesting her?

These are some of the questions which we will deal with, closely following the text of the Critical Edition. All the while we will have the occasion to enter a real life scene enacted in ancient India – or at least realistically imagined by the poet – which provides us with a first-hand psychological experience of various interesting characters.

Preliminary Events

Once prince Duryodhana52 stepped in the middle of the hall on a crystal slap, and wrongly assuming it was water, the bewildered prince raised his robe. Upset and downcast, he then roamed about the hall. Thereafter, beholding a pond with crystalline water, beautiful with crystalline lotuses, he thought it was land and fell into the water, fully dressed. When they saw him fallen into the water, the servants laughed a lot and gave him fresh clothes at the king’s behest. After this had happened to him, the mighty Bhīmasena, Arjuna and the twins all of them burst into laughter. Being an irritable man, he could not bear their mockery and did not look at them to save his face.53

Duryodhana suffered three great disappointments in his life. The first was when the five Pāṇḍavas left the forest after their father’s death and moved into the palaces of the Kuru house with their mother Kuntī. Like an admired and undisputed champion athlete who is suddenly relegated to third or fourth rank by the unexpected arrival of new sportsmen, so Duryodhana was bereft at that time of his sure status of not only the successor of the Kuru dynasty but also the leader among the young princes at the Court. He was one of those persons whose character does not allow them to prosper and be happy except under conditions where they are the one and only leader. To be eclipsed by another ‘star’, to be driven by others rather than driving oneself, to have rivals who divert the attention and admiration away from oneself – all this does not suit a Duryodhana who would prefer to die rather than accepting such conditions. Thus we find him fighting from the beginning, trying to kill Bhīma at first for having humiliated the Kaurava princes with various feats of strength, and then later attempting to burn the five brothers in the lacquer palace at Vāraṇāvata.

The second disappointment was when Arjuna won Draupadī at her svayaṁvara by his superior skill in archery. Duryodhana failed to string the bow54 and saw his close friend Karṇa defeated in the short battle which ensued with the unknown Brāhmins, actually the Pāṇḍavas in disguise. His worst enemies, believed to be dead beyond doubt, had staged a powerful comeback, won a most beautiful bride for themselves and secured a strong new ally, king Drupada.

The third great disappointment was Yudhiṣṭhira’s coronation as saṁrāṭ. For sure, this was a great event for the Kuru family whose members were given various functions at this occasion. “Duryodhana received all the presents of honour,” says the text.55 Even though Yudhiṣṭhira had generously assured the Kauravas, “all this wealth here is yours and so am I,” it can hardly have been a pleasing experience for Duryodhana to collect treasures on Yudhiṣṭhira’s behalf.56

And then came, on top of that, his embarrassing experience (recorded in the quotation above) while inspecting the palace built by Maya with many contraptions. Like a fool he stumbles into all the traps carefully laid out by the master architect, and everywhere sees laughing grimaces enjoying his ill luck. Duryodhana does not react with resignation, but he thinks of revenge. At this moment a seed was sown for a terrible and merciless battle where the end would justify the means whatever their nature. Henceforth, there could only be the defeat (and preferably death) of the Pāṇḍavas or his own, no compromise was conceivable.

While Duryodhana is returning home in the company of Śakuni, he is invaded by thoughts of burning hatred. He conveys his inner convulsions to his uncle at his enquiry:

I am outraged, burning day and night… When I saw all that blazing wealth at the Pāṇḍava’s, I was seized by anger and I am burning, although usually that’s not my state of mind. I will enter the fire or take poison or drown myself, because I won’t be able to live on.57

We need not assume that Duryodhana was really playing with the thought of ending his life. This is just cunning talk meant to impress Śakuni with the need of doing something to support him. In fact, he expects Śakuni to approach Dhṛtarāṣṭra, informing him about his son’s agony.

Śakuni’s Role

Śakuni, brother of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s wife Gāndhārī, has generally a rather negative image, but here, in the established text of the Critical Edition, we get a slightly different picture and find him to be a rather cool-headed advisor trying to calm down the inflamed Duryodhana. He begins his answer to Duryodhana with the following counsel:

Duryodhana, you must not harbour any anger against Yudhiṣṭhira, for the Pāṇḍavas have always enjoyed good luck.58

In this whole passage Śakuni does not say anything which could further fan the fire of Duryodhana’s hatred. He is rather trying to bring him to a rational level, giving him a realistic evaluation of the situation. Śakuni points out that Duryodhana is not all alone, as he believes in this moment of depression, but he has powerful allies such as Droṇa, Kṛpa and Karṇa. But quite apart from that, Śakuni does not encourage him at all to think of war, because the five Pāṇḍavas and Kṛṣṇa “cannot be defeated in battle by force, not even by the hosts of the gods”.59

Here again Śakuni’s way of talking to Duryodhana is quite surprising. To hear in such frank speech from his close relative that his enemies are invincible must have been another severe shock for the Kaurava prince. We know from previous incidences that he would get furious with those who doubted his own fighting capacities. But Śakuni had a trump card up his sleeve which he quickly brought out to console his downcast protégé: the idea of staging a dice game with Yudhiṣṭhira and robbing him of all his wealth by shrewd, though non-violent means.

The Kaunteya60 loves gambling, but has no skill in it. If the rājendra is challenged, he will not be able to desist from it.61

We seem to have some evidence here that Yudhiṣṭhira in spite of all his virtue was attached to dice playing. On the other hand, when Vidura came to invite him on behalf of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the Pāṇḍava was not enthusiastic about the proposal:

At a game, Vidura, there will be quarrel. Knowing this, who would like to play?62

Yudhiṣṭhira is shocked to learn that Śakuni and other cunning players will be present. However, he agrees to accept the challenge in accordance with dharma: the invitation was sent by Dhṛtarāṣṭra, so Yudhiṣṭhira is obliged to accept it under the rules of the family law. Moreover, he seems to be under an oath to take up any challenge made to him; and thirdly, a sense of Fate, a sense of the inevitable overcomes him:

Through the Creator’s will everything is in his sway. I don’t refuse now to play with those gamblers. O sage, at the behest of king Dhṛtarāṣṭra I will go to the dice game. A son always respects his father. Therefore, I will do as you tell me, Vidura. It is not that I am unwilling to play with Śakuni. Otherwise he would aggressively challenge me in that hall. Once challenged, I never refuse, I have sworn this for eternity.63

According to this statement – and he has a great reputation for truth-speaking – Yudhiṣṭhira was not moved by his passion for the game in following the invitation, but he rather saw with his calm rational mind that anyhow he had to enter the arena. It is a real dilemma: he knows with his reasoning mind that he is acting against reason. A higher factor has superseded the mental conclusion: Fate.

daivaṁ prajñāṁ tu muṣṇāti tejaścakṣurivāpatat /

dhātuśca vaśamanveti pāśairiva naraḥ sitaḥ //

Fate carries away our reason as glare blinding the eye. Bound as with nooses, man follows the creator’s will.64

These words spoken by Yudhiṣṭhira are probably the final answer to the question as to why he chose to accept Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s invitation. As the analysis of some later situations will show, Yudhiṣṭhira is actually trapped by his own strict interpretation of dharma. The King is to be obeyed under all circumstances – because this is the family dharma. Yudhiṣṭhira cannot escape the situation and therefore calls it daivam.

In this context we may enquire whether the dharma as such, in a higher sense, as the total balance of justice, is really protected by such an adherence to a specific dharma, the rule of obedience to the elder in this case. In other words, if an elder member of the family asks a junior member to do something wrong, should the junior obey? This is a question of legal philosophy with many implications. But at first we will investigate in detail where this specific law takes a man who follows it consistently up to the end.

Before Duryodhana got his father to arrange for the dice game, he had to struggle a good deal to overcome the resistance of the blind ruler who preferred to ask Vidura first. Duryodhana then decided to use the ultimate means for winning over his father: he threatened with suicide:

The kṣattā65 will turn you down, when consulted. And when you are turned down, rājendra, I will certainly kill myself. If I am dead, king, be happy with Vidura. The whole earth will be there for you to enjoy – why should you think of me!66

These two verses give us the essence of the relationship between Dhṛtarāṣṭra and his eldest son. And the king yields, as always. The subsequent consultation with Vidura is only a formality. Dhṛtarāṣṭra appears to be quite sure of himself, he also speaks of destiny:

Surely, the Gods in heaven will bestow their Grace on us. Whether good or bad, beneficent or maleficent, the family game at dice shall proceed, for it is certainly so destined by fate.67

However, the king in his typical way subsequently changed his mind, after having given the orders for the construction of the gambling hall, and tried to convince his son to follow Vidura’s advice by abstaining from his plans. This makes Duryodhana come forward with a long monologue on the unbearable envy he was suffering when seeing the grandeur of the Pāṇḍavas. In the end he states in unambiguous terms his own philosophy of Machiavellian Machtpolitik:

The kṣatriya’s life is focused on victory, mahārāja. Let it be dharma or adharma, as long as it is his own way of being. Discontent is the root of wealth, therefore I desire discontent. He who strives after the summit, is, oh king, the greatest leader. Should we not act selfishly in matters of power or wealth? Others rob what someone had acquired before, for this is known to be the dharma of kings.68

Dhṛtarāṣtra’s mind is helplessly swayed under the combined impact of Śakuni’s and Duryodhana’s arguments. So he gives his final consent to the game, unwilling though, and predicting trouble to his son in the future. This following verse too gives deep insight into the king’s character. He is knowingly permitting his son to tread the path of adharma, but too weak to resist him:

I do not like what you say. But do as you please, king of men. Thereafter you will suffer, remembering these words, because what you say is not in line with the dharma.69

The Game Starts

The game itself and subsequent developments are the most humiliating and embarrassing experience in the life of Yudhiṣṭhira. The very embodiment of virtue, of high sattvic qualities is seen here as if sucked into a whirlpool which rapidly and irresistibly pulls him down into the deepest abyss. We observe in him a weakness common in such natures, namely that they refuse to resist evil and thus play into the hands of the devil. And yet Yudhiṣṭhira is following some principles as we have pointed out above. What happens now is a tragedy unfolding itself for the very reason that he is stubbornly sticking to his principles, which become his cross.

Before the beginning of the dice game, Yudhiṣṭhira has a talk with Śakuni which displays his meek nature; it has no great force in it. Yudhiṣṭhira said:

Gaming is fraud and is evil; there is no kṣatriya prowess in it, or steady conduct, prince. Why do you praise dicing? For no one praises the gambler’s pride in his fraud: Śakuni, don’t defeat us by wrong and crooked means!70

No need to say that this naïve appeal fails to evoke any adequate response from the cunning Śakuni who takes Yudhiṣṭhira back to the reality of the game, pointing out that the true gambler is the one who detects the deceptions of other players and moves the dice cleverly with great skill and cunning. In his response, Yudhiṣṭhira continues with his appeal to Śakuni to play a fair game. He argues that the Pāṇḍavas use their wealth to help the Brāhmins and therefore he should not win too much. Śakuni answers that Yudhiṣṭhira need not play if he is afraid of the game, but the dharmarāja mentions his vow to accept any challenge, and so the game starts.

After Śakuni has won the first game, we see Yudhiṣṭhira voicing his helpless protest for a last time – he then kept silent up to the end of this episode, defeated by Fate and his own sense of dharma.

Through a trick you have won this game. All right, let us play now, Śakuni, throwing the dice a thousand times.71

Yudhiṣṭhira is seized by a negative force now which makes him stake and lose rapidly all his wealth. His rational mind is no more active from this moment onwards; he seems only to be in a haste to be devoured by the spider in whose net he has been caught. Even while he is thus gambling away all his possessions, the embarrassed Kuru elders look on impassively and nobody tries to come to his rescue - except Vidura.

Iravati Karve has pointed out in Yugānta72 that Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s half-brother may actually have been Yudhiṣṭhira’s real physical father – a thesis which is well supported by several passages in the text.73 Thus it was Vidura who warned Yudhiṣṭhira about the plot of burning the lacquer palace at Vāraṇāvata and sent an expert miner to dig a tunnel. He always argued on behalf of the Pāṇḍavas and openly took their part. Furthermore, he gave shelter to Kuntī during the thirteen years’ exile of the Pāṇḍavas. Indeed, a close reading of various passages describing meetings between Vidura and Yudhiṣṭhira reveals their intimate relationship.

In the same way, during the dice game Vidura alone tries now to intervene on Yudhiṣṭhira’s behalf.74 But his efforts to influence Dhṛtarāṣṭra against Duryodhana are – as always – fruitless. He reminds the assembly of the evil omens which manifested at Duryodhana’s birth and quotes that well-known guide-line for safeguarding the harmony and survival of a small or big unit:

For the sake of the family, one should abandon a man; for the sake of the village, one should abandon a family; for the sake of the country, one should abandon a village; for the sake of the soul, one should abandon the earth.75

However, Duryodhana is quick to reject Vidura’s suggestions and secures his hold over his father’s mind with a counter-attack on Vidura:

You always praise, kṣattā, the fame of our opponents, while secretly abusing the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra. We know, Vidura, on whose side you are, you despise us as if we were stupid children.76

So Dhṛtarāṣṭra does not heed Vidura’s warning and the game goes on. Yudhiṣṭhira stakes and loses all his brothers. Then nothing is left and he stakes himself. His words, addressed to Śakuni, reveal that he has entirely stopped being his real self now:

I am left now, cherished by all my brothers. Defeated, we will labour for you until we perish.77

Nala’s Dice Game

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