ed, " Oh I what have I said ? " Yudhishthira had come
back early, and the mother appealed to him to decide
how she could avoid having uttered an untruth, and
yet Krishn^ be without sin. Arjuna had won her, let
him marry her, said Yudhishthira. But Arjuna
answered that he could not righteously marry before
his two elder brothers. Then Yudhishthira remem-
bered Vy&sa's strange prophecy, and said : " The
puspicious Draupadi shall be the common wife of all."
Just then in came Shri Krishna, who said, touching the
feet of His elder, Yudhishthira, "I am Krishna!"
and they greeted each other joyfully, but soon part-
ed, lest attention should be drawn to the sons of
P^ndu. Then, when they eaten, they lay down to
THE MARRIAGE OF KRISHNA 6l
sleep, the brothers lying side by side, their mother
along their heads and Krishn^ at their feet, and ere
they slept they talked of weapons and battles as
warriors would. Novv Krishna's brother, anxious
about his sister's fate, had crept into the little house
unseen, and overheard the conversation, and, hasten-
ing back to his father he told him that the youths
were no Brahmanas, nor were they Vaishyas nor
Shfldras, for their talk was that of warriors, and they
were like the sons of Pandu,
Then was Drupada glad exeedingly, and sent his
priest to find out who these youths were ; but Yudhish-
thira would only say that Krishni had been fairly
won, and that the king must not grieve that the
princess should belong to the hero who had fulfilled
the conditions he had himself laid down. Meanwhile
the king prepared a feast, and gathered many things
suitable to each of the four orders ; and when the
princes, after dining, turned to the weapons with eager
interest, he was glad, hoping that they were Kshat-
triyas. At last he asked who they were, and Yudhish-
thira said that they were the sons of PSndu, and told
the delighted king of their escape and later adventures.
Then came the question of Krishna's marriage,
and Drupada said that she might marry any one of
the five brothers ; but Yudhishthira said that his
62 THE PEraLS AND TRIUMPHS OF THE PANPAVAS
mother had ordered that Krishna should be their
common wife : we " ever enjoy equally a jewel we may
obtain." But, protested Drupada, how may a woman
have five husbands ? " O son of Kunti, pure as thou
art and acquainted with the rules of morality, it be-
hoveth thee not to commit an act that is sinful, and
opposed both to usage and the Vedas." "My tongue,"
said Yudhishthira, "never uttered an untruth. My
heart also never turneth to that which is sinful. My
mother commandeth so, and my heart also approveth
of it." But king Drupada could not agree, and dis-
cussion arose, during which VySsa arrived and appeal
was made to him. He took Drupada apart and told
him that the five sons of Pandu were four Indras of
the past and the son of the present Indra, and he
showed him in a vision the divine forms of the bro-
thers ; then he explained that Krishna was the Goddess
Shri, born as a woman in order that she might be the
wife of these Indras, and that in her last birth
Mah§.deva had decreed that she should thus have five
husbands, because she had urgently asked five times
over for a husband. On this Drupada yielded, and
the princess Krishna was married to the five sons of
pandu. [ § 167-200. ]
The Pandavas now began to regain prosperity,
Shri Krishna sending them vast stores of wealth, but
A HAPPY ESCAPE 6$
Duryodhana and his friends, hearing of their escape,
began fresh plots against them. Karna advised open
war ere yet the Pandavas had grown strong, but
Bhishma declared that he could never approve of a
quarrel with them, and that half the kingdom
ought to be given over to them. " A good name,"
said he, "is, indeed, the source of one's strength we,
are fortunate that the Pandavas have not perished.
We are fortunate that Kunti liveth O tiger
among men, hearing of the fate that overtook Kunti,
the world doth not regard Purochana as so guilty as
it regardeth thee. O king, the escape, therefore, of
the sons of Pandu with life from that conflagration,
and their reappearance, do away with thy evil repute.
Know, O thou of Kuru's race, that as long as those
heroes live, the wielder of the thunder himself cannot
deprive them of their ancestral share in the kingdom.
The Pandavas are virtuous and united. They are
being wrongly kept out of their equal share in the
kingdom. If thou shouldst act rightly, if thou
shouldst do what is agreeable to me, if thou shouldst
seek the welfare of all, then give half the kindom un-
to them." Drona spoke in the same sense, as did
Vidura, Karna bitterly opposing, and finally Dhrita-
rashtra sent Vidura to bring the sons of Kunti
home.
64 THE PERILS AND TRIUMPHS OF THE PiNDAVAS
Great was the joy of the people on their arrival ;
" the whole city became radiant," and king Dhrita-
rAshtra gave them half the kingdom, bidding them
reside at Kh^ndavaprastha. Kh&ndavaprastha was
at that time an unreclaimed desert, but the P^ndavas
soon built themselves a beautiful city on a site chosen
with the help of Vy^sa. So fair was this city that
men compared it with Indra's city, and called it
Indraprastha.
One day NSrada came to see them, and, talking
with the brothers, he warned them against the disunion
that might arise from their having a common wife.
He advised them to make some rule as to their
relations with her, and they agreed that when one of
them was in Krishna's company, any one of the
others that interrupted those two should go into the
forest as an exile for twelve years. Now it happened
that some robbers stole a Brahmana's cattle, and the
man, lamenting his loss, cried to the Pandavas for
t-justice. Arjuna heard him and promised to redress
the wrong, but his weapons were all in the room
where Yudhishthira was sitting with Draupadi.
What could he do? If he did not protect the Brih-
mana blame would full on the king, for a king in
whose kingdom wrong went unpunished was held as
sinful. True, if he went into the room he would in-
REGARD FOR TRUTH 65
cur the penalty of exile. " But I care not if I have to
go to the w6ods and die there. Virtue is superior to
the body, and lasteth after the body has perished."
So he went into the foom and spoke to Yudhishthira,
and, taking his weapons, pursued the thieves and re-
stored his cattle to the Brahmana. Then he returned
to the palace, and, going to Yudhishthira, asked his
leave to observe his vow by retiring to the woods.
The young king, grieved and agitated, begged him to
remain. " O hero, well do I know the reason why
thou didst enter my chamber, and didst what thou
regardest to be an act disagreeable to me. But there
is no displeasure in my mind Desist from thy
purpose. Do what I say. Thy virtue hath sustained
no diminution. Thou hast not disregarded me." But
Arjuna was not to be moved. " I have heard, even
from thee, that quibbling is not permitted in the dis-
charge of duty. I cannot waver from truth. Truth
is my weapon."
This regard for truth is one of the most salient
characteristics of the Aryans, and is continually
coming out in this history. The love of truth, the
horror of falsehood — these we find in men and
women alike, in all castes and all ranks. An Aryan
youth cannot tell a lie without shaming his ancestors.
So the blameless Arjuna set out on his exile, and
E
66 THE PERILS AND TRIUMPHS OF THE PINPAVAS
ere long, as he was bathing and performing his pQja,
Ulupt, a water-nymph, the daughter of the king of
the NAgas, caught him round the waist and dragged
him to the bottom of the stream into her palace.
Interrupted in his worship in this unceremonious way,
Arjuna, seeing a fire burning in the palace, quietly
finished his devotions, and then asked the nymph
why she had carried him off. She told him that she
had fallen in love with him, and Arjuna )M'elded to
her urgency and remained with her till the following
morning. He then went on his way, meeting with
many adventures, and visiting holy places, till he
reached the land of Shri Krishna, and the Holy One
came to see His friend. Presently they went together
to Dv^raka, and there Arjuna saw the beautiful
Subhadra, the sister of Shri Krishna. He fell deeply
in love with her, and Shri Krishna advised him to
carry her off by force, as this was a Kshattriya cus-
tom. Arjuna sent a message to Yudhishthira, and,
receiving his consent, he watched his opportunity,
and carried the maiden off in his chariot as she was
walking with her attendants. These gave the alarm,
and all the chiefs of tlie Yadavas and Vrishnis
gathered together, hot with anger, eager to pursue
and fight with Arjuna. But Shri Krishna soothed
them with gentle words, praising Arjuna, and coun-
THE BIRTH OF ABHIMANYU 67
selling them to go after him and bring him back tn
friendship, for where could be found for SubhadrS a
better husband than he ? Then the chiefs did as He
advised, and Arjuna lived in Dv&rakS for awhile, and,
when the twelve years of exile were over, he returned
to Indrapiastha, accompanied by Keshava and Bala-
r^ma and many great warriors, and the Vrishnis
brought as wedding gifts vast stores of wealth and
animals. There, in Indraprastha,SubhadrS gave birth
to Abhimanyu, the favourite of Shri Krishna, whose
life was to be so short and glorious ; for he was
Varchas, the son of the God Soma, who only allowed
him to leave heaven for sixteen years, to fight oo'
Kurukshetra, and from that field " my boy of mighty
arms shall re-appear before me." [§ 201-223, 6^.]
There to Keshava and Arjuna, sporting in the
woods, came Agni one day in the guise of a BrSh-
mana, asking their aid to consume the forest of
Kh^ndava, protected by Indra. Brahma had advised
him to seek the help of Nara and Narayana, then on
earth as Arjuna and Shri Krishna, and he came to
them begging for it. Arjuna said that he had no
proper bow nor a sufficient supply of arrows, and he
needed a car with swift horses, and a mighty weapon
for Keshava. Then Agni thought of Varuna, the
God of the waters, and, Varuna appearing in answer
68 THE PERILS AND TRIUMPHS OF THE PlNDAVAS
to his thought, Agni prayed him to give to Arjuna
the great bow called Gandiva, and the inexhaustible
quivers, and the ape-bannered car of king Soma, and
to give to Shri Krishna the discus of great fame.
Varuna gave these weapons as he was asked, and Agni
blazed forth in the forest of Khandava, and, when
Indra sent clouds to pour down rain, Arjuna shower-
ed arrows on them and dispersed them. And for
fifteen days the forest burned till it was destroyed,
and only six living creatures escaped from it, one
of whorri was Maya, an Asura, who ran to Arjuna
to protect him.
And when all was over, Indra, pleased with the
skill and courage of his son, appeared to Keshava
and Arjuna as they were resting, and offered them a
boon. Then Arjuna asked Indra to give him his
celestial weapons, and Indra answered: " When the
illustrious Mahadeva becomes pleased with thee, then,
O son of Pandu, I v/ill give thee all my weapons,"
And " Vasudeva [Shri Krishna] asked that His
friendship with Arjuna might be eternal." [| 224-
236.]
[End of the Adi Parva,]
- ' CHAPTER IV.
The Gathering of the Storm-Clouds
We now begin the second volume of the " Maha-
bharata ", the Sabha Parva, taking its name from
the three fateful assemblies, the record of which maizes
up its contents.
You remember that in the burning of the forest
of Khandava, Maya, a Danava, escaped. In grati-
tude for the saving of his life by Arjuna, he was
eager to do something in return ; Arjuna answered
kindly and courteously, but refused his offer of service,
and, on Maya pressing the offer, bade him do some-
thing for Shri Krishna : Vasudeva, on reflection, de-
sired him, since he was the foremost of artists, to
build a splendid palace for Yudhishthira, and Maya
consented with delight, and, returning to the capital,
measured out a large piece of land as site for the
building. [ § i. ]
Shri Krishna just then went away home, and we
may delay a moment to mark the reverence He ever
showed to His elders — He who was God. In taking
farewell, He made obeisance with His head to the
feet of His father's sister, and worshipped the Br^h-
70 THE GATHERING OF THE STORM-CLOUDS
manas, Yudhishthira and Bhima — the two latter being
His seniors [ § 2. ] On another occasion we read that
He " was engaged at His own will in wasliing the
feet oi" the lirahmanas." [ § 35. ] He did not shew
the modern spirit of careless disrespect, but set the
example of the most dutiful reverence to those who,
physically, were His superiors.
Maya informed the Pandavas that he had once,
during a sacrifice near lake Vindu by the DSnavas,
gathered large stores of precious stones ; in the lake
were also a club belonging to the king of the Danavas
and Varuna's great conch, Devadatta. He went thi-
ther and brought back all these treasures, giving the
club to Bhima, the conch-shell to Arjuna, and using
the gems for the building of a wonderful palace.
It had golden walls, and arches on golden columns,
and flowers of gems floating on a tank with crystal
steps and embankments of marble set with pearls.
And round were blossoming trees of fragrant scents,
and tanks with swans and other aquatic birds and
lotuses. In fourteen months the peerless palace was
ready, and a great opening ceremony was held to
which came kings from many countiies — the first
Sabh^, or assembly, recorded in this volume. [ § 3, 4.]
Hither came NSrada, a great Rishi, and " behold-
ing the learned Rishi arrive, the eldest of the P&ndla-
A king's duties 71
vas, conversant with all rules of duty, quickly stood
up with his younger brothers. Bending low with
humility, the monarch cheerfully saluted the Rishi "
with all proper forms, and then Narada put questions
to the king to see if he properly carried out his
duties. The king, according to Hindu teaching,
stands at the head of a nation, vested with Divine
authority. He has the heaviest duties and the heavi-
est responsibilities, the most unceasing labour demand-
ing the most incessant industry. If he be good,
all goes well with his people, and he is answerable
for the welfare and prosperity of the State. Later,
we shall hear Bhishma on the duties of a king ; now,
Narada questions Yudhishthira. Does he divide his
time judiciously, giving to religion, pleasure and profit
severally its rightful share? Does he choose his minis-
ters wisely and pay his troops regularly ? Does he
support the wives and children of the men who
had given their lives for him in battle, and protect
his conquered foes? Is he equally accessible to all,
and "can every one approach thee without fear as if
thou wast their mother and father?" Is his expendi-
ture covered by a fourth, a third, or a half of his income?
Are the agriculturists contented? " Are large tanks
and lakes established all over thy kingdom at proper
distances, without agriculture being in thy realm en-
72 THE GATHERING OF THE STORM-CLOUDS
tirely dependent on the showers of heaven? The
agriculturah'sts in thy kingdom want not either seed
or food ?" Does he make loans of seed to the tillers,-
and see that honest men manage agriculture, trade,
cattle-rearing, and lending'on interest? Does he ever
commit injustice from covetousness, folly or pride?
Are ^ his ministers above bribery? Does he see that
taxes are not unjustly levied? Does he give artisans
vvaees and materials at intervals of not more than
four months? Does he protect his kingdom from
dangers, and " cherishest thou, like a father, the blind,
the lame, the dumb, the deformed, the friendless and
ascetics that have no homes? Hast thou banished
these six evils, O monarch, sleep, idleness, fear, anger,
weakness of mind, procrastination ? " Then Yudhish-
thira bowed down to Narada, worshipping his feet,
and promising to fulfil the duties on which he had
been questioned, and Narada then described to the
assembly some of the celestial palaces [ § 5-1 1. ]
Now it appeared from his account that only one
king, Harishchandra, was living in the palace of
Indra, and Yudhishthira enquired as to his merits
and also asked for news of his own father. Narada
answered that Harishchandra had performed the
Rajasuya sacrifice, thus gaining the heaven of Indra,
and that Pandu wished his son Yudhishthira to con-
A RIGHTEOUS KING 73
quer the earth and perform the Rajasuya sacrifice, so
that he, as his father, sharing his son's merit, might
attain to the same place. This message Narada
brought to Yudhishthira, warning him, at the same
time, of the difficulties attendant on the sacrifice. At
it, the performer of the sacrifice was acclaimed as
emperor, and the kings of the earth would only
submit to a monarch at once righteous and powerful.
Yudhishthira questioned himself and his counsellors
as to whether he was worthy to perform this sacrifice.
Now the state of his kingdom was the proof of his
righteousness as king. He " was always kind to his
subjects, working for the good of all, without making
any distinctions." The people called him Ajata-
shatru, "having no one as enemy." He "cherished
every one as belonging to his family," and his bro-
thers loyally aided him. " Owing to all this, the
kingdom became free from disputes and fear of every
kind. And all the people became attentive to their
respective occupations. The rains became so abund-
ant as to leave no room for desire ; and the kingdom
grew in prosperity Indeed, during the reign of
Yudhishthira, who was ever devoted to truth, there
was no extortion, no stringent realisation of arrears
of rent, no fear of disease, of fire, or of death by
poisoning and incantations in the kingdom." To this
74 THE GATHERING OF THE STORM-CLOUDS
good and gentle king his counsellors with one voice
said that he was worthy to perform the sacrifice.
He, however, still revolved the matter in his mind,
reckoning up his resources, not over-hasty, but re-
membering " that the wise never come to grief owing
to their always acting after full deliberation." He
finally decided to send to Shri Krishna and ask for
his advice, knowing that he could find no better
counsellor.
Shri Krishna quickly came at His friend's request,
and, when He heard of the proposed sacrifice, He
declared that one great obstacle stood in the way.
Yudhishthira, indeed, was worthy to perform the
sacrifice, but he could only offer it if he were acknow-
ledged by all the kings as their chief, and there was
one king, Jarasandha of mighty power, who would
never bow down to him as lord. Now Jarasandha
intended to offer a terrible human sacrifice, in which
the victims were to be one hundred in number, each
one a king. Eighty-six kings he had conquered and
was then holding captive ; thus only fourteen more
were wanted to complete the tale.. The man who
prevented Jarasandha from accomplishing this crime,
said Shri Krishna, "will surely win blazing renown."
So he counselled attack on Jarasandha. [§ 12-15].
THE THREE HEROES 75
It was decided, after some discussion, that it was
useless to fight JarSsandha with an army — his strength
was too great. Better let Shri Krishna go to him
with Bhima and Arjuna ; in Him was policy, in
Bhlma strength, in Arjuna prosperity. But Yudhish-
thira objected to the danger they would run, till : " if
thou knowest my heart, if thou hast any faith in me,"
said Shri Krishna finally, "then make over to me, as
a pledge, Bhima and Arjuna without loss of time."
At this, Yudhishthira gave way, respectfully saying
that he was under His command ; let Arjuna " follow
Krishna, the foremost of the Yadavas. and let Bhima
follow Arjuna. Policy and good fortune and might
will bring about success." Then the three heroes
dressed themselves up as Snataka Brahmanas and
set out for Magadha, the capital of Jarasandha. But
unlike peaceful Brahmanas, they broke down, as they
approached Magadha, the peak of a mountain wor-
shipped by the inhabitants, entered the city by an
improper gate, and passing through the streets, vio-
lently seized garlands and robes wherewith to deck
themselves. Arrived at the palace, they saw king
JarSsandha, who quickly rose up to receive them as
Brahmanas, but they would not accept his worship,
Keshava asking him to see them after midnight.
When the king came, he began to question his guests
•^6 THE GATHERING OF THE STORM-CLOUDS
as to their strange behaviour. Snataka Brahmanas
did not deck themselves with flowers and sandal-
paste, nor break down hills, nor come into a city with
violence. Shri Krishna answered gravely that Kshat-
triyas and Vaishyas could observe the Snataka vow
as well as Brahmanas, that flowers denoted pros-
perity, that " an enemy's abode should be entered
through a wrong gate," and that " having entered the
foe's abode for the accomplishment of our purpose,
we accept not the worship offered to us." Surprised,
king Jarasandha demanded to know his offence, and
Shri Krishna told him that it lay in his proposal to
offer human beings in sacrifice to Rudra. This crime
they were there to prevent. And declaring His name
and those of His companions, he concluded : " O
king of Magadha, we challenge thee ! Fight standing
before us ! Either set free all the monarchs, or go
thou to the abode of Yama" (the king of death).
King Jarasandha accepted the challenge, and, instal-
ing his son on the throne, he chose Bhima as his
lopponent. For fourteen days they wrestled, and at
last Bhima, feeling his foe yielding, caught him in
his terrible grip, whirled him round, and broke his
back against his knee. Then Shri Krishna set free
the kings, and, mounting on Jar^sandha's famous
celestial car, drove away with the brothers from the
UNITY OF THE BROTHERS 77
scene of victory. The liberated kings and Jara-
sandha's son all accepted Yudhishthira as lord para-
mount, and the warriors returned home in triumph.
[§16-24.]
The four j^ounger brothers then set out with
armies, Arjuna to the north, Bhima to the east,
Sahadeva to the south, and Nakula to the west — lay-
ing all nations under tribute to Yudhishthira. Here
lay the strength of the Pandavas. All done by the
four brothers was done for their elder brother. All
they conquered, they conquered for him. All they
gained, they gained- for him. Each returning, laden
with wealth, they " presented all that w^ealth to
Yudhishthira." Thus the great sacrifice became pos-
sible. [§ 25-33.]
In reading the " Mahabharata ", one is continually
reminded of the wealth of India in ancient days, in
the days when she put religion first and worldly
matters second. As she sank down from her spiritual
pre-eminence, she became weak, she fell a prey to con-
querors, and her vast treasures were gradually dis-
persed. We find gorgeous buildings with well-built
walls, windows covered with network of gold, in-
teriors decorated with rows of pearls, staircases strewn
with costly carpets. [§ 34.] We find among the tri-
bute brought to king Yudhishthira not only vast
78 THE GATHERING OE THE STORM-CLOUDS
stores of gems and golden coins, but golden jars and
plate, ivory-handled and gem-decked swords, inlaid
armour, cars splendidly adorned, fine blankets of
wool, clothes woven from jute and from the threads
of insects, rich carpets, costly beds, gold-embroidered
stuffs, silks, perfumes, sandalwood. Thousands of
elephants, horses, mules, asses, are sent, decked with
splendid housings. Everywhere there is evidence of
artistic taste, as well as of the most gorgeous magni-
ficence. Nothing could shew more plainly the high
civilisation of ancient India, her uncounted wealth,
her abundant prosperity, than the descriptions of
great ceremonies given in such books as the " MahS-
bharata" and the " RSmSyana," books of unchallenged
antiquity. In addition to this, there is evidence of
widely spread abundance and prosperity among the
masses of the people ; we see shops running over
with goods, citizens' houses gaily decked for pageants.
Where the blessings of the Gods are gained by piety,
reverence, dutifulness and charity, there all good
things are found, material wealth among them.
To the sacrifice came kings from all quarters, and
Nakula was sent to HastinApura to formally invite
Bhishma and Dhritarashtra. Thither came also Vi-
dura and Drona and the sons of Dhritarashtra, with
Karna and Kripa, and all the heroes who play great
THE FIRST ARGHYA 79
parts in our story. Yudhishthira placed the whole
treasure at the command of Bhishma and Drona and