so. That is the story which we shall begin to study
in the next chapter.



. - CHAPTER IL

The Youth of the Heroes

We must now begin our story of the Great War
by studying some of the events recorded in the Adi
Parva, the first volume, of the " Mahabliarata". We
shall learn something about the youth of the heroes
of the story, and something about their parents, their
circumstances and their education. Further we shall
see, in studying these, the working of some of the
great principles spoken of in the Introduction.

Bhishma is the greatest and most heroic figure in
this story ; he is one of the noblest men of the
Aryan race, a perfect example of conduct for men
living in the world. He never falls into an}^ of the sins
into which most men fall ; all through his life he does
the right thing at the right time; he never loses his
balance ; he is never exaggerated ; he keeps on the
middle line of dut}', neither leaning to the right nor to
the left. He is a teacher and a counsellor; he is perfect
as son, as guardian, as statesman. In every part of
his life he does his duty.

Long before Bhishma was born, there was a great
•festival among the Gods, and a king named Maha-



24 THE YOUTH OF THE HEROES

bhisha, who had reached heaven by his sacrifices, was
])resent at this festival. Ganga, the queen of rivers,
was also there, and the wind blew aside her clothes,
exposing her bosom ; the Gods bent their heads, so
that she might not feel confused, but not so king
IMahabhisha. Then Brahma pronounced a curse on
the king ; that is, He foretold the suffering which he
had brought on himself in the future by his wrong
thought and act. [ The future results of our thoughts
and acts are called our "karma", and a "curse" from
a God or a Rishi is a foretelling of this karma. ] This
king having acted against modesty, Brahma said that
he must be re-born on earth instead of remaining in
heaven ; " Gmga too will be born in the world of men
and will inflict injuries on thee. But when thy anger
is provoked, then thou shalt be freed from my curse."

The time came for the rebirth of Mahabhisha,
and he was born as the son of Pratipa, a very pious
king. One day, when the latter was engaged in ascetic
practices, the Goddess Ganga took the form of a
lovely maiden, and, seating herself on his lap, begged
him to marry her. King Pratipa refused, but promis-
ed to marry her to his son. She accepted his offer, but
warned him that his son would not be able to judge
whether her acts were proper or improper. The king
then, with his wife, performed austerities ( underwent



SHANTANU AND GANGA 2$

many bodily hardships), that he might have a noble
son, and Mahabhisha took birth as his child, being
named Shantanu, the son of the Peaceful, because
his father had controlled his passions. When Shan-
tanu had grown into a youth, his father said to him
that a celestial maiden had once come to him, and
that she would seek Shantanu as her husband ; when
she comes, said the father, " accept her as thy wife.
And, O sinless one, judge not of the propriety of
anything she does, and ask not who she is, or whose,
or whence, but accept her as thy wife at my command.''
Then Shantanu was crowned king by his father — who
took to the ascetic life — and he reigned happily. One
day, wandering along the banks of Ganga, he saw a
lovely maiden, and, falling in love with her, begged her
to become his wife. The maiden, who was none other
than the Goddess Ganga herself, consented to marry
him, but told him that he must never interfere with
her actions : " Nor must thou ever address me
unkindly. As long as thou shalt behave kindly, I pro-
mise to live with thee. But I shall certainly leave
thee the moment thou interferest with me, or speak-
est to me an unkind word." The king answered,
"Be it so," and they were married, and lived very
happily together. Presently a child was born, and
the queen took the child and threw it into the river,



26 THE YOUTH OF THE HEROES

saying, " This is for thy good. " The same thing
happened witli the second child, and with the third
and fourth, up to the seventh. And the poor king
grew very troubled and unhappy. He "could not
approve of such conduct," says the story-teller. " But
he said not a word, lest his wife should leave him.
But when the eighth child was born, and his wife, as
before, was about to throw it smilingly into the river,
the king, with a sorrowful countenance, and desirous
of saving it from destruction, addressed her and said :
" Slay it not ! who art thou and whose ? why dost
thou slay thine own children ? Murderess of thy sons,
the load of thy sins is great."

Poor king Shantanu ! the trial was a very severe
one, and he forgot his father's command. His wife
answered : " I shall not slay this child of thine. But
according to our agreement, the period of my stay
with thee is at an end. I am Ganga, the daughter
of Jahnu." Then she explained to him that the
eight Vasus, celestial beings, had, a long time before,
stolen away from a great Rishi the cow of plenty,
Nandini, one of them, named Dyau, being the actual
thief The Rishi was very displeased, and declared
that the Vasus should be born upon earth, as the
result of their sin. They begged his pardon very
humbly, so the Rishi said that they should be set



DEATH AND LIFE 27

free a^in from human life within a year of their
births, with the exception of Dyau, who, "for his sin-
ful act, shall have to dwell on earth for a long time."
Then the Vasus weut to Ganga, and begged her,
when she became a woman, to let them be born as
her children, pra}'ing her to throw them into the
water as soon as they were born, and thus to free
them from the physical body of punishment. " I did
as they desired," concluded the Goddess, " in order to
free them from their earthly life. And, O best of
kings, because of the Rishi's curse, this one only,
Dyau himself, is to live for some time on earth."
Then the Goddess disappeared, taking with her the
eighth child, the Vasu Dyau, afterwards named Deva-
vrata. [ § 96-99. ]

People are often verj^ much afraid of dying. But
you see when a God is born here, he feels as if he
were put into prison, and looks on death as a friend
who opens the gate of the prison. Down here we rejoice
when a child is born, and we weep when a person dies.
It is as if people made a festival when a friend is
put into jail, and wept when he is set free. In every
death, it is a God who sets free the soul, just as
Ganga set free the Vasus. Only, this story shows us
the Gods at work, so that we may learn to see their
kind hands, m all the things that make us sorry be-
cause we do not understand.



'28 THE YOUTH OF THE HEROES

Gangft took away her son, as we have seen, but,
when he had grown to be a youth, she brouglit him to
his father, trained in knowledge and the use of arms ;
and in "all branches of learning, spiritual and worldly,
his skill was very great. His strength and energy
were extraordinary." And his filial piety was as great
as his knowledge. This he shewed in a very striking
way. One day his father was wandering on the
banks of the Yamun&, and saw a lovely girl whom
he desired to make his wife. She was only a fisher-
man's daughter, but the fisherman would not give her
to the king unless he would promise that the son
born of her should inherit the throne. This the king
would not do, as he would not put aside the son he
already had, and he returned home very sad. Deva-
vrata lovingly enquired the reason for his father's grief,
and as his father would not tell him, he went for advice
to an old minister, devoted to the king. This minis-
ter told him about the fisherman's daughter, and
Devavrata went, with a noble escort of warrior chiefs,
to ask the fisherman to give his daughter as wife to
the king The fisherman said that he could not give
the maiden Satyavati to the king, because the king
had a son who would be the rival of any son of Satya-
vati. Then Devavrata said before all the chiefs :
*' Listen to my vow. I will do all you wish. The son



BHiSHMA AND DEATH 29

that may be born of this maiden shall be our king."
Thus he threw away the crown, that he might gratify
his father's wish. Still the fisherman was not content,
but said that while he felt sure Devavrata would keep
his promise, he had some doubts whether his children
would keep it as well. Then spoke out Devavrata :
" I have first relinquished my right to the throne. I
shall now settle the question of my children. O
fisherman ! from this day I adopt the vow of Brahma-
charya [celibacy]. Though I die sonless, I shall yet
attain to regions of perpetual bliss in heaven." Then
flowers rained down from the sky on the son who
sacrificed himself to please his father, and divine
voices cried out: " This is Bhishma ! " (the Terrible.)
Yes ! this was Bhishma, beginning a stainless life of
duty by renouncing what men hold most dear. And
turning to the maiden, he said sweetly : " O mother,
ascend this chariot and let us go home." So he
brought her to his father, who blessed him, saying :
" Death shall never come to thee as long as thou
desirest to live. Truly, death shall on^y approach
thee, O sinless one, having first obtained thy leave."
[ § 100.]

King Shantanu died, leaving two sons, and Bhish-
ma became their protector, placing the elder, Chit-
rangada, on the throne. Chitrangada fell in battle,



30 THE YOUTH OF THE HEROES

and his younger brother Vichitravirya, still a youth,
became king, and it was necessary to find him a wife.
At that time, king's daughters were often won in
maniage at what was called a Svaj^amvara, a "self-
choice." Many kings assembled and took part in
games, feats of strength, and fights, and, out of them
all, the princess chose as her husband the one who was
most successful and pleased her best. She showed
her choice by throwing a garland of flowers round the
neck of the chosen. Vichitravirya, being only a
youth, could not enter into such a contest, so Bhish-
ma, who was ruling the kingdom under the queen-
mother, went in his stead. There were three prin-
cesses, sisters, and Bhishma quietly took them up on
his chariot, and, addressing all the kings, reminded
them of the custom that a maiden, at a Svayamvara>
might be carried off by force, the captor fighting all
his rivals for her possession. "Ye monarchs ! I
bear away these maidens by force. Strive ye, to the
best of your might, to vanquish me or be vanquish-
ed ! " A great fight followed, in which Bhishma,
single-handed, fought all the assembled kings and
carried off the maidens in triumph, bringing " the
daughters of the king of K&shi unto the Kurus as
tenderly as if they were his daughters-in-law, or
j-ounger sisters, or daughters." The eldest princess.



ONLY A VOW 31

however, told him that in her heart she had chosen
another king as her husband, and he yielded to her
wish, marrying the two other sisters, Ambika and
Ambah"ka, to his young brother. The youth, how-
ever, died, leaving no children, and that greatest of
misfortunes to a kingly race, the extinction of the
famil}-, threatened the line of Shantanu. [ § 102.]

Satyavati, broken-hearted, implored Bhishma to
take the throne and to marry the widowed princesses.
Friends and relatives begged him to do as the queen
wished, and again throne and family joys were placed
within his reach. Only his vow stood between him
and the crown with wedded happiness. Only his vow j
But to Bhi.shma truth was more than anything the
world could give. Read his answer, all Hindu boys,
that you may understand what kind of men once
made India great, "O mother I what thou sayest is
certainly sanctioned by virtue. But thou knowest
what my vow is in the matter of begetting children.
Thou knowest also all that happened in connection
with thy dower. O Satyavati ! I repeat the pledge
I once gave. I would renounce the three worlds, the
empire of heaven, or anything that may be greater
than that, but truth I will never renounce. Earth
may renounce its scent, water may renounce its mois-
ture, light may renounce its power of showing forms.



32 THE YOUTH OF THE HEROES

the air may renounce its perceptibility to touch, the
sun may renounce his glory, fire his heat, the moon
his cool rays, space its capacity to generate sound, the
slayer of Vitra his prowess, the God of justice his
impartiality, but I renounce not truth ! "

The weeping Satyavati still urged her plea, but
Bhishma could not be moved. " O Queen ! take not
thine eyes from virtue. Oh ! destroy us not. Breach
of truth in a Kshattriya is never applauded in our reli-
gious books. I shall soon tell thee, O Queen, what is
the established Kshattriya usage to which recourse
may be had to prevent Shantanu's line from becom-
ing extinct upon earth. Hearing me, reflect on what
should be done, consulting learned priests and those
that are acquainted with practices allowable in times
of emergency and distress, forgetting not at the same
time what is the ordinary course of social conduct."
[§ 103.]

Bhishma then advised that some great Rishi
should be asked to be the father of children who, being
borne by the two vvidows, would be regarded as the sons
of the dead man. Satyavati told him that there was
a Rishi, who had been born of her with Parashara as his
father, and who, having been a mighty ascetic in the
past, had gone away with his father immediately after
his rebirtli. This was Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa. He



THE THREE BROTHERS 33

had promised his mother that he would come to her if
she thought of him when she was in a difficulty. " I
will now recollect him, if thou, O Bhishma of mighty
arms, so desirest." She then thought of the Rishf,
and, on his commg, the difficulty was laid before him
and his help was asked. He consented, and even
gave up the year of purification that he at first im-
posed on the princesses, saying : " If I am to give
unto my brother children so unseasonably, then let
the ladies bear my ugliness. That of itself shall, in
their case, be the austerest of penances." With great
difficulty Satyavati won her daughters-in-law to con-
sent, for the sake of the family, to receive the great
Rishi. But the elder princess, "seeing his dark visage,
his matted locks of copper hue, his blazing eyes, his
grim beard, closed her eyes in fear," and would not
open them while he was there. Hence she drew to
her, for her son, a soul whose karma it was to live in a
blind body, and Vyasa foretold that her son would be
blind. This child was Dhritarashtra, who became
the blind king of the Kurus. The second princess,
Ambalika, " beholding the Rishi, became pale with
fear ;" hence her son, born with a pale complexion,
was named Pandu, the Pale; he was the father of the
famous Pandavas, the five heroic brothers who were
the conquerors in the Great War. A third child was
c



34 THE YOUTH OF THE HEROES

desired by the queen, but Ambik^ refused to do her
mother-in-law's bidding, and sent her maid, a Shudra
\voman, to the Rishi instead ; she, thinking of his
spiritual greatness instead of his ugly body, behaved
to him with deep respect and sweetness, and the
Rishi blessed her, and the God of Justice was born to
her as a son, and was named Vidura. These were
the tlirce brothers, Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura
V. ho played so prominent a part in the Great War — two
of them being the fathers of the opposed princes, and
Vidura, the third, the wise councillor of the blind
king. [ § 104-106. ]

Bhishma took charge of the three boys and
brought them up as if they were his own children.
" And the children, having passed through the usual
rites of tlieir order, devoted themselves to vows and
study. And they grew up into fine youths, skilled in
the Vedas and in all athletic sports. And they became
well skilled in exercises of the bow, in horsemanship,
in encounters with the mace, sword and shield, in the
management of elephants in battle, and the science
of morality. Well read in history, and the Puranas,
and various branches of learning, and acquainted
with the truths of the Vedas and their branches, the
knowledge they acquired vvr.s vei^satile . and deep."
You see that, in those dpys, a boy was taught to be



THE CURSE ON PAXDU 35

religious and moral at the same time that he was
trained to be athletic and skilful. [ § 109. ]

Pandu was made king, as the eldest brother, Dhri-
tar&shtra, was blind. By the advice of Bhishma,
Dhritarashtra was married to Gandhari, the daughter
of the king of Suvala, and the sister of Shakuni, who
later brouglit so much trouble into the family. There
is a pretty story told of GandhSri : when she heard that
her future husband was blind, she bandaged her own
e3'es with a piece of cloth, wishing to share her
husband's trouble and not to enjoy what he could not
have. [ § iio. ] Indian wives have always been re-
markable for their devotion to their husbands.

As the wife of Pandu, Bhishma desired Pritha, the
daughter of Shura, king of the Yadavas. She was the
sister of Vasudeva, who became the father of Shri
Krishna. At her Svayamvara she chose Pandu, thus
fulfilling Bhishma's wish, and a little later Bhishma
obtained for Pandu a second wife, Madri, the sister of
Shal3'a, the king of Madra. When a month had passed
after the second marriage, king Pandu went out and
conquered various kingdoms, bringing back to his capi-
tal, Hastinapura, much spoil and animals of all kinds.
He then went to the woods for the chase, and lived
there awhile with his two wives. [§ 111-114. ]



36 THE YOUTH OF THE HEROES

One day when Pandu was out hunting, he com-
mitted a very cruel act, shooting a stag that was
coupling with its mate. This disregard of kindness
brought on him the curse that if he sought to live
as a husband with his wife he should immediately
die. This sad sentence made the king very unhappy,
as it meant that he would have to die childless. He
gave away all his personal property and went to
wander in the woods as an ascetic, his wives PrithS,
usually called Kunti from the name of her adopted
father, and Madri, following him. [ § il8, 119. J

Now Pandu began, after a time, to long very
much to have sons, and he consulted Kunti how this
might be brought about. She told him that, as a girl,
she had very much pleased the great Rishi Durvas^
by her services, and he had taught her a mantra by
which she could call on any of the Gods to give her
children. She asked her husband if she should now use
this mantra, and thus obtain children from the Gods.
He ordered her to call the God of Justice, Dharma
and to ask him to give her a son. Thus was born
Yudhishthira. And then Kunti called on the strong
God of Wind, Vayu, and he gave her Bhima. Then
she invoked the king of the Gods, Indra, and he gave
her Arjuna. Further, at the request of Pandu, Kunti
'•■aught Madri the mantra, and Madri called the twia



THE COMING OF DURVODHANA 37

Ashvins, who gave her the twins Nakula and Sahadeva.
Now these are the fivePandavas,or sons of Pandu, given
him by the Gods, and, as we sav.- in the Introduction,
four of them had been Indras in the past, and were re-
born with Gods for their fathers, while Arjuna was the
great Rishi Nara, who took birth as the son of the
present Indra.

One day, king Pandu forgot his vow, and sought
the embraces of Madri, who tried in vain to resist
him, and as he touched her he died. The wife lay
weeping, and was found by Kunti beside their dead
husband. Then arose a loving quarrel between the
two wives, each of whom longed to die with Pandu ;
it was decided that Madri should have that privilege
as he had died in her arms, and she yielded up her
breath, giving her two children into the care of
Kunti, who cherished them as if they were her
own, making no difference between them and her
three sons, A number of Rishis quickly came and
conducted Kunti and the five boys to Hastinapura^
to place them under the care of Dhritar^shtra and
Bhishma. And the funeral rites and ShrSddha cere-
monies were there duly celebrated. [ § 120-127. ]

Meanwhile, king Dhritarashtra had a hundred
sons and one daughter borne to him by his wife
Gandhari, through a special blessing bestowed on her.



38 THE YOUTH OF THE HEROES

The eldest of these, Duryodhana, had been born on
the same day as Bhima, bi.t his birth was surrounded
by the worst omens. There were storms and fires,
and vultures and jackals and other low kinds of ani-
mals screamed and howled. For when men and
nature are living harmoniously, nature shews sym-
pathy with the course of human affairs, and bewails the
coming of sorrow to the human race. This new-born
child was to be the destroyer of his family and his
country, and nature mourned over his coming. The
wise Vidura indeed advised that he should be cast off
by his family, but Dhritarashtra could not find it in his
heart to abandon his son. So he kept him to his
sorrow and his own undoing, forgetting that he was
a king with a duty to his nation, as well as a father,

[§115-]

Duryodhana was born at this time to serve the
purposes of the Gods in the great object lesson that
had to be given to the world, having prepared him-
self for such a career by the character he had made in
his previous lives. He was strong and very brave,
religious in many things, and doing much of his duty
as a prince. But he was selfish. " I want to be first,
I want to be king, I want everything my own way."
These were his feelings, and he became miserable
with jealousy when any one did better than he. That



BHiMA AND THE POISON 39

was the fault which brought him to ruin. For Yudhish-
thira being older than Duryodhana, the succession to
the throne was his, though Durj^odhana had been
brought up as heir to the crown.

The PSndavas and the sons of Dhrltarashtra now
became companions, and the great strength of Bhima
— exerted in childish mischief — began to make trouble.
He would knock the others down, hold ten of them
under water all together till they were nearly
drowned, shake a tree on which some of them had
climbed till "down came the fruits and the fruit-pluck-
ers at the same time." And though it is said that he
tormented " them in childishness but not from ma-
lice," we cannot wonder that they did not like such
rough play. Strong bo3's often make enemies by
using their strength thoughtlessly. Duryodhana be-
came very jealous of Bhima's strength and deter-
mined to kill him. vSo he had built a pleasant
summer-house on the banks of the Ganga, and invit-
ed the Pandavas to a feast. At the feast, pretending
to be very friendly, he gave Bhima food with his own
hands, having previously had the food poisoned.
After the meal the boys played in the water, and
Bhima, feeling the effects of the poison, lay down on
the ground when the others went into the summer-
house to rest. Duryodhana stayed behind, and, wheu



40 THE YOUTH OF THE HEROES

Bhima became insensible, he tied round him some
trails of creepers and threw him into the water. Bhima
sank down till he reached the kingdom of the great
snakes called Nagas, and they bit him severely with
their poison-fangs. But the snake-poison neutralised
the vegetable poison in the food, and Bhima recover-
ed his senses. He burst his bonds and began killing
the snakes, who called on their king Vasuki to
protect them. One of the serpents had been an
ancestor of Bhima through his mother, and at his
request the king allowed Bhima to drink some of his
nectar, which gave immense strength. Eight days
afterwards Bhima returned home to his mother and
brothers, who were very anxious about him, and told
them what Duryodhana had done. But, by the advice
of Vidura and Yudhishthira, no complaint was made
against Duryodhana, even when he continued to plot
against Bhima and his brothers ; j^et, in spite of this
kindness, his enmity tou'ards the Pandavas conti-
nually grew.

" Meanwhile, the king, beholding the Kuru princes
passing their time in idleness and growing naughty,''
as idle boys will, placed them under a tutor, named
Kripa, to learn the use of arms. There was living in
the house of Kripa, just then, a Br&hmana named
Drona, who was the husband of Kripa's sister. Drona



A WONDERFUL BRaHMANA 4I

was the son of a great sage, named BharadvAja, and had
had, as his fellow-student and playmate in his father's
hermitage, the son of king Prishata, by name Dru-
pada. Drona became versed in the science of arms,
and further obtained from the great son of Bhrigu all
his weapons and the mysteries of controlling them.
Leaving the son of Bhrigu, he went to his old friend