I ask: doth that Karna of wicked soul lie today on the bare ground, slain
with thy keen arrows equipped with kanka feathers? Having slain the
Suta's son in battle, thou hast accomplished a deed highly agreeable to
me! Encountering him in battle, hast thou really slain that Suta's son,
who, filled with arrogance and pride and bragging of his heroism, used to
search everywhere on the field of battle for thee? Hast thou, O sire,
really slain in battle that sinful wretch who used to always challenge
thee and who was desirous for thy sake of giving unto others a
magnificent car, made of gold along with a number of elephants and bulls
and steeds? Hast thou really slain today that sinful wight who was
exceedingly dear to Suyodhana, and who, intoxicated with pride of
heroism, used always to brag in the assembly of the Kurus? Encountered in
battle, doth that wretch lie today on the field, his limbs exceedingly
mangled with sky-ranging shafts sped by thee from thy bow and all steeped
in blood? Have the two arms of Dhritarashtra's son been (at last) broken?
Have those words been unfulfilled, uttered from folly by him who, filled
with pride, used to always boast in the midst of the kings for gladdening
Duryodhana, saying, 'I will slay Phalguna'? O son of Indra, hath that
Karna of little understanding been slain by thee today, that Suta's son
who made the vow that he would not wash his feet as long as Partha lived?
That Karna of wicked understanding who in the assembly; before the Kuru
chiefs, had addressed Krishna, saying, 'Why, O Krishna, dost thou not
abandon the Pandavas that are divested of might, exceedingly weak, and
fallen?' That Karna who had vowed for thy sake, saying that he would not
return from battle without having slain Krishna and Partha. I ask, doth
that Karna of sinful understanding lie today on the field, his body
pierced with shafts? Thou knowest the nature of the battle that took
place when the Srinjayas and the Kauravas encountered each other, the
battle in which I was brought to that distressful plight. Encountering
that Karna, hast thou slain him today? O Savyasaci, hast thou today, with
blazing shafts sped from gandiva, cut off from the trunk of that Karna of
wicked understanding his resplendent head decked with earrings? Pierced
with Karna's shafts today, I had, O hero, thought of thee (that thou
wouldst slay him)! Hast thou then, by the slaughter of Karna, made that
thought of mine true? In consequence of the protection granted him by
Karna, Suyodhana, filled with pride, always recked us little. Displaying
thy prowess, hast then today destroyed that refuge of Suyodhana? That
Suta's son of wicked soul, that Karna of great wrath, who had formerly,
in the presence of the Kauravas and in the midst of the assembly called
us sesame seeds without kernel, encountering that Karna in battle, hast
thou slain him today? That Suta's son of wicked soul who had, laughing
the while, commanded Duhshasana to forcibly drag Yajnasena's daughter won
in gambling by Subala's son, hath he been slain today by thee? That Karna
of little understanding who, having been counted as only half a
car-warrior during the tale of rathas and atirathas, had upbraided that
foremost of all wielders of weapons on Earth, our grandsire Bhishma, hath
he been slain by thee? Extinguish, O Phalguna, this fire in my heart that
is born of vindictiveness and is fanned by the wind of humiliation, by
telling me that thou hast slain Karna today, having encountered him in
battle! The news of Karna's slaughter is exceedingly agreeable to me.
Tell me, therefore, how the Suta's son hath been slain! Like the divine
Vishnu waiting for the arrival of Indra with the intelligence of Vritra's
slaughter, I had so long waited for thee, O hero!"'"
67
"Sanjaya said, 'Hearing these words of the righteous king who had been
filled with anger, that high-souled atiratha, Jishnu of infinite energy,
replied unto the invincible Yudhishthira of great might, saying, "While
battling with the samsaptakas today, Drona's son who always proceedeth at
the head of the Kuru troops, O king, suddenly came before me, shooting
shafts that resembled snakes of virulent poison. Beholding my car, of
rattle deep as the roar of clouds, all the troops began to encompass it.
Slaying full five hundred of those, I then, O foremost of kings,
proceeded against Drona's son. Approaching me, O king, that hero with
great resolution rushed against me like a prince of elephants against a
lion, and desired to rescue, O monarch, the Kaurava car-warriors that
were being slaughtered by me. Then, in that battle, O Bharata, the
preceptor's son, that foremost of heroes among the Kurus, incapable of
being made to tremble, began to afflict me and Janardana with whetted
shafts resembling poison or fire. While engaged in battle with me, eight
carts, each drawn by eight bullocks, carried his hundreds of arrows. He
shot them all at me, but like a wind destroying the clouds I destroyed
with my shafts that arrowy shower of his. He then shot at me, with skill
and force and resolution, thousands of other arrows, all sped from his
bow-string stretched to his very ear, even like a black cloud in the
season of rains pouring in torrents the water with which it is charged.
So quickly did Drona's son career in that battle that we could not
discern from which side, the left or the right, he shot his arrows, nor
could we notice when he took up his arrows and when he let them off.
Indeed, the bow of Drona's son was seen by us to be incessantly drawn to
a circle. At last, the son of Drona pierced me with five whetted arrows
and Vasudeva also with five whetted arrows. Within the twinkling of an
eye, however, I afflicted him with the force of thunderbolts. Exceedingly
afflicted with those shafts sped by me, he soon assumed the form of a
porcupine. All his limbs became bathed in blood. Beholding his troops,
those foremost of warriors all covered with blood and overwhelmed by me,
he then entered the car-division of the Suta's son. Seeing the troops
overwhelmed by me in battle, and struck with fear, and beholding the
elephants and steeds flying away, that grinder (of hostile hosts), viz.,
Karna approached me quickly with fifty great carwarriors. Slaying them
all and avoiding Karna, I have quickly come hither for seeing thee. All
the Pancalas are afflicted with fear at sight of Karna like kine at the
scent of a lion. The Prabhadrakas also, O king, having approached Karna,
are like persons that have entered the wide open jaws of Death. Karna has
already despatched to Yama's abode full seventeen hundred of those
distressed car-warriors. Indeed, O king, the Suta's son did not become
cheerless till he had a sight of us. Thou hadst first been engaged with
Ashvatthama and exceedingly mangled by him. I heard that after that thou
wert seen by Karna. O thou of inconceivable feats, I thought that thou
must have, O king, been enjoying rest (in the camp), having come away
from the cruel Karna. I have seen, O son of Pandu, the great and
wonderful (Bhargava) weapon of Karna displayed in the van of battle.
There is now no other warrior among the Srinjayas that is able to resist
the mighty car-warrior Karna. Let Sini's grandson Satyaki and
Dhrishtadyumna, O king, be the protectors of my car-wheels. Let the
heroic princes Yudhamanyu and Uttamauja protect my rear. O thou of great
glory, encountering that heroic and invincible car-warrior, viz., the
Suta's son, staying in the hostile army, like Sakra encountering Vritra,
O foremost of kings, I will, O Bharata, fight with the Suta's son if he
can be found in this battle today. Come and behold me and the Suta's son
contending with each other in battle for victory. There, the Prabhadrakas
are rushing towards the face of a mighty bull. There, O Bharata, 6,000
princes are sacrificing themselves in battle today, for the sake of
heaven. If, putting forth my strength, I do not, O king, slay Karna today
with all his relatives while engaged in battle with him, then that end
will be mine, O lion among kings, which is his that does not accomplish a
vow taken by him. I beg of thee, bless me, saying that victory will be
mine in battle. Yonder, the Dhartarashtras are about to devour Bhima. I
will, O lion among kings, slay the Suta's son and his troops and all our
foes!"'"
68
"Sanjaya said, 'Hearing that Karna of mighty energy was still alive,
Pritha's son Yudhishthira of immeasurable energy, exceedingly angry with
Phalguna and burning with the shafts of Karna, said these words unto
Dhananjaya, "O sire, thy army is fled and hath been beaten in a way that
is scarcely honourable! Inspired with fear and deserting Bhima, thou hast
come hither since thou hast been unable to slay Karna. Thou hast, by
entering her womb, rendered the conception of Kunti abortive. Thou hast
acted improperly by deserting Bhima, because thou wert unable to slay the
Suta's son. Thou hadst, O Partha, said unto me in the Dwaita woods that
thou wouldst, on a single car, slay Karna. Why, then, through fear of
Karna hast come hither, avoiding Karna and deserting Bhima? If in the
Dwaita woods thou hadst said unto me, 'O king, I shall not be able to
fight with Karna,' we would then, O Partha, have made other arrangements
suitable to the circumstances. Having promised me the slaughter of Karna,
thou hast not, O hero, kept that promise. Bringing us into the midst of
foes, why hast thou broken us into pieces by throwing us down on a hard
soil? Expecting diverse good things and benefits from thee, O Arjuna, we
have always uttered blessings on thee. All those expectations, however, O
prince, have proved vain like those of persons expectant of fruit getting
instead of a tree burthened only with flowers! Like a fish-hook hid
within a piece of meat, or poison overlaid with food, thou didst, for
disappointing us at last, point out destruction in the shape of kingdom
unto ourselves covetous of kingdom! For these thirteen years, O
Dhananjaya, we have, from hope, lived relying on thee, like seeds sown on
earth in expectation of the showers sent by the gods in season! Even
these were the words that a voice in the skies had said unto Pritha on
the seventh day after thy birth, O thou of foolish understanding! 'This
son of thine that is born will have the prowess of Vasava himself! He
will vanquish all his heroic foes! Endued with superior energy, he will
at Khandava vanquish all the celestials united together and diverse other
creatures. This one will subjugate the Madras, the Kalingas, and the
Kaikeyas. This one will, in the midst of many kings, slay the Kurus.
There will be no bowman superior to him, and no creature will ever be
able to vanquish him. With his senses under control, and having obtained
mastery over all branches of knowledge, this one, by merely desiring it,
will bring all creatures under subjection to himself. This high-souled
son that is born of thee, O Kunti, will in beauty be the rival of Soma,
in speed of the god of wind, in patience of Meru, in forgiveness of
Earth, in splendour of Surya, in prosperity of the Lord of treasures, in
courage of Sakra, and in might of Vishnu. He will be the slayer of all
foes like Vishnu, the son of Aditi. Endued with immeasurable energy, he
will be celebrated for the destruction he will deal to foes and the
success he will win for friends. He will, besides, be the founder of a
race!' Even thus, in the skies, on the summit of the Satasringa
mountains, in the hearing of many ascetics, that voice spoke. All that,
however, hath not come to pass. Alas, it shows that the gods even may
speak untruths! Hearing also the words of praise always uttered about
thee by many foremost of Rishis, I never expected that Suyodhana would
win success and prosperity or that thou thyself wouldst be afflicted with
the fear of Karna! Thou ridest upon an excellent car constructed by the
celestial artificer himself, with axles that do not creak, and with
standard that bears the ape. Thou bearest a sword attached to thy belt of
gold and silk. This thy bow Gandiva is full six cubits long. Thou hast
Keshava for thy driver. Why, then, through fear of Karna hast thou come
away from battle, O Partha? If, O thou of wicked soul, thou hadst given
this bow to Keshava and become his driver, then Keshava could have (by
this time) slain the fierce Karna like the lord of the Maruts (Sakra)
slaying with his thunder the Asura Vritra. If thou art unable to resist
the fierce son of Radha today, as he is careering in battle, give this
thy Gandiva today to some other king, that may be thy superior in (the
use and knowledge of) weapons. If that be done, the world will not then
behold us bereft of sons and wives, deprived of happiness in consequence
of the loss of kingdom, and sunk, O son of Pandu, in an unfathomable hell
of great misery. It would have been better for thee if thou hadst never
been born in the womb of Kunti, or having taken thy birth there, if thou
hadst come out on the fifth month an abortion, than to have, O prince,
thus come away from battle, O thou of wicked soul! Fie on thy Gandiva,
fie on the might of thy arms, fie on thy inexhaustible arrows! Fie on thy
banner with the gigantic ape on it, and fie on thy car given thee by the
god of fire!"'"
69
"Sanjaya said, 'Thus addressed by Yudhishthira, Kunti's son owning white
steeds, filled with rage, drew his sword for slaying that bull of
Bharata's race. Beholding his wrath, Keshava, conversant with the
workings of the (human) heart said, "Why, O Partha, dost thou draw thy
sword? I do not, O Dhananjaya, behold anyone here with whom thou hast to
fight! The Dhartarashtras have now been assailed by the intelligent
Bhimasena. Thou comest from battle, O son of Kunti, for seeing the king.
The king has been seen by thee. Indeed, Yudhishthira is well. Having seen
that tiger among kings who is endued with prowess equal to that of a
tiger, why this folly at a time when thou shouldst rejoice? I do not see
here, O son of Kunti, the person whom thou mayst slay. Why then dost thou
desire to strike? What is this delusion of thy mind? Why dost thou, with
such speed, take up that formidable sword? I ask thee this, O son, of
Kunti! What is this that thou art about, inasmuch as, O thou of
inconceivable prowess, thou graspest that sword in anger?" Thus addressed
by Krishna, Arjuna, casting his eyes on Yudhishthira, and breathing like
an angry snake, said unto Govinda, "I would cut off the head of that man
who would tell me 'Give thy Gandiva to another person." Even this is my
secret vow. Those words have been spoken by this king, O thou of
immeasurable prowess, in thy presence, O Govinda! I dare not forgive
them. I will for that slay this king who himself fears the slightest
falling from virtue. Slaying this best of men, I will keep my vow. It is
for this that I have drawn the sword, O delighter of the Yadus. Even I,
slaying Yudhishthira, will pay off my debt to truth. By that I will
dispel my grief and fever, O Janardana. I ask thee, what do you think
suitable to the circumstances that have arisen? Thou, O sire, knowest the
entire past and future of this universe. I will do what thou wilt tell
me.'"
"Sanjaya continued, 'Govinda then said, "Fie, fie," unto Partha and once
more continued to say, "I now know, O Partha, that thou hast not waited
upon the old, since, O tiger among men, thou hast yielded to wrath at a
time when thou shouldst not have done so. No one that is acquainted with
the distinctions of morality would act in the way, O Dhananjaya, in which
thou, O son of Pandu, that art unacquainted with them, art acting today!
He, O Partha, is the worst of men who committeth acts that should not be
done and doeth acts that are apparently proper but condemned by the
scriptures. Thou knowest not the decisions of those learned men who,
waited upon by pupils, declare their opinions, following the dictates of
morality. The man that is not acquainted with those rulings becomes
confounded and stupefied, O Partha, even as thou hast been stupefied, in
discriminating between what should be done and what should not. What
should be done and what should not cannot be ascertained easily.
Everything can be ascertained by the aid of the scriptures. Thou,
however, art not acquainted with the scriptures. Since (believing
thyself) conversant with morality, thou art desirous of observing
morality (in this way, it seems) thou art actuated by ignorance. Thou
believest thyself to be conversant with virtue, but thou dost not know, O
Partha, that the slaughter of living creatures is a sin. Abstention from
injury to animals is, I think, the highest virtue. One may even speak an
untruth, but one should never kill. How then, O foremost of men, couldst
thou wish, like an ordinary person, to slay thy eldest brother, the King,
who is conversant with morality? The slaughter of a person not engaged in
battle, or of a foe, O Bharata who has turned his face from battle or who
flies away or seeks protection or joins his hands or yields himself up or
is careless, is never applauded by the righteous. All these attributes
are in thy superior. This vow, O Partha, was adopted by thee before from
foolishness. In consequence of that vow thou art now, from folly,
desirous of perpetrating a sinful act. Why, O Partha, dost thou rush
towards thy reverend superior for slaying him, without having resolved
the exceedingly subtle course of morality that is, again, difficult of
being understood? I will now tell thee, O son of Pandu, this mystery
connected with morality, this mystery that was declared by Bhishma, by
the righteous Yudhishthira, by Vidura otherwise called Kshatri, and by
Kunti, of great celebrity. I will tell thee that mystery in all its
details. Listen to it, O Dhananjaya! One who speaks truth is righteous.
There is nothing higher than truth. Behold, however, truth as practised
is exceedingly difficult to be understood as regards its essential
attributes. Truth may be unutterable, and even falsehood may be utterable
where falsehood would become truth and truth would become falsehood. In a
situation of peril to life and in marriage, falsehood becomes utterable.
In a situation involving the loss of one's entire property, falsehood
becomes utterable. On an occasion of marriage, or of enjoying a woman, or
when life is in danger, or when one's entire property is about to be
taken away, or for the sake of a Brahmana, falsehood may be uttered.
These five kinds of falsehood have been declared to be sinless. On these
occasions falsehood would become truth and truth would become falsehood.
He is a fool that practises truth without knowing the difference between
truth and falsehood. One is said to be conversant with morality when one
is able to distinguish between truth and falsehood. What wonder then in
this that a man of wisdom, by perpetrating even a cruel act, may obtain
great merit like Valaka by the slaughter of the blind beast? What wonder,
again, in this that a foolish and ignorant person, from even the desire
of winning merit, earns great sin like Kausika (living) among the rivers?"
"'Arjuna said, "Tell me, O holy one, this story that I may understand it,
viz., this illustration about Valaka and about Kausika (living) among
rivers."
"'Vasudeva said, "There was a certain hunter of animals, O Bharata, of
the name of Valaka. He used, for the livelihood of his son and wives and
not from will, to slay animals. Devoted to the duties of his own order
and always speaking the truth and never harbouring malice, he used also
to support his parents and others that depended upon him. One day,
searching for animals even with perseverance and care, he found none. At
last he saw a beast of prey whose sense of smell supplied the defect of
his eyes, employed in drinking water. Although he had never seen such an
animal before, still he slew it immediately. After the slaughter of that
blind beast, a floral shower fell from the skies (upon the head of the
hunter). A celestial car also, exceedingly delightful and resounding with
the songs of Apsaras and the music of their instruments, came from heaven
for taking away that hunter of animals. That beast of prey, having
undergone ascetic austerities, had obtained a boon and had become the
cause of the destruction of all creatures. For this reason he was made
blind by the Self-born. Having slain that animal which had resolved to
slay all creatures, Valaka went to heaven. Morality is even so difficult
of being understood. There was an ascetic of the name of Kausika without
much knowledge of the scriptures. He lived in a spot much removed from a
village, at a point where many rivers met. He made a vow, saying, 'I must
always speak the truth.' He then became celebrated, O Dhananjaya, as a
speaker of truth. At that time certain persons, from fear of robbers,
entered that wood (where Kausika dwelt). Thither even, the robbers,
filled with rage, searched for them carefully. Approaching Kausika then,
that speaker of truth, they asked him saying, 'O holy one, by which path
have a multitude of men gone a little while before? Asked in the name of
Truth, answer us. If thou hast seen them, tell us this'. Thus adjured,
Kausika told them the truth, saying, 'Those men have entered this wood
crowded with many trees and creepers and plants'. Even thus, O Partha,
did Kausika give them the information. Then those cruel men, it is heard,
finding out the persons they sought, slew them all. In consequence of
that great sin consisting in the words spoken, Kausika, ignorant of the
subtilities of morality, fell into a grievous hell, even as a foolish
man, of little knowledge, and unacquainted with the distinctions of
morality, falleth into painful hell by not having asked persons of age
for the solution of his doubts. There must be some indications for
distinguishing virtue from sin. Sometimes that high and unattainable
knowledge may be had by the exercise of reason. Many persons say, on the
one hand, that the scriptures indicate morality. I do not contradict
this. The scriptures, however, do not provide for every case. For the
growth of creatures have precepts of morality been declared. That which
is connected with inoffensiveness is religion. Dharma protects and
preserves the people. So it is the conclusion of the Pandits that what
maintains is Dharma. O Partha, I have narrated to you the signs and
indications of Dharma. Hearing this, you decide whether Yudhishthira is
to be slaughtered by you or not." Arjuna said, "Krishna, your words are
fraught with great intelligence and impregnated with wisdom. Thou art to
us like our parents and our refuge. Nothing is unknown to thee in the
three worlds, so thou art conversant with the canons of morality. O
Keshava of the Vrishni clan, thou knowest my vow that whoever among men
would tell me, 'Partha, give thy Gandiva to some one braver than you,' I
shall at once put an end to his life. Bhima has also made a promise that
whoever would call him 'tularak', would be slaughtered by him there and
then. Now the King has repeatedly used those very words to me in thy
presence, O hero, viz., 'Give thy bow.' If I slay him, O Keshava, I will
not be able to live in this world for even a moment. Having intended
again the slaughter of the king through folly and the loss of my mental
faculties, I have been polluted by sin. It behoveth thee today, O
foremost of all righteous persons, to give me such counsel that my vow,
known throughout the world, may become true while at the same time both
myself and the eldest son of Pandu may live.'"
"'Vasudeva said, "The king was fatigued, and under the influence of
grief, He had been mangled in battle by Karna with numerous arrows. After
that, O hero, he was repeatedly struck by the Suta's son (with his
shafts), while he was retreating from battle. It was for this that,
labouring under a load of sorrow, he spoke those improper words unto thee
in wrath. He provoked thee by those words so that thou mightest slay
Karna in battle. The son of Pandu knows that the wretched Karna is
incapable of being borne by any one else in the world (save thee). It was
for this, O Partha, that the king in great wrath said those harsh words
to thy face. The stake in the game of today's battle has been made to lie
in the ever alert and always unbearable Karna. That Karna being slain,
the Kauravas would necessarily be vanquished. Even this is what the royal
son of Dharma had thought. For this the son of Dharma does not deserve
death. Thy vow also, O Arjuna, should be kept. Listen now to my counsels
that will be agreeable to thee, to counsels in consequence of which