Mahabharata Vol. 1 (Penguin Translated Texts) (37 page)

‘O king! Know that they were all brave and unrivalled charioteers. They were all skilled in battle, all knowledgeable in the Vedas and wise in the ways of ruling. They were skilled in the science of relationships and were radiant in knowledge. O lord of the earth! When the time was right, Dhritarashtra considered the matter carefully and married them to wives who were their equals. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! With the permission of Subala’s daughter, the king married Duhshala to Jayadratha, the king of Sindhu.’

Janamejaya said, ‘O you who are knowledgeable about the nature of the brahman! You have recounted to me the excellent and superhuman story of the human origins of the sons of Dhritarashtra. O Brahmana! In accordance with birth, you have also told me their names. Now I wish to hear about the Pandavas. They were great-souled and the equal of the king of the gods in valour. You have earlier told me that they were the partial incarnations of the gods themselves.
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O Vaishampayana! I now wish to hear about their origins and their superhuman deeds. Please tell me all.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘One day, in the great forest frequented by deer and predatory beasts, King Pandu saw a stag that was the leader of its herd mating with a doe. With five swift and sharp arrows that were decorated with golden feathers in their shafts, Pandu shot both the stag and the doe. O king! The stag was actually the immensely energetic son of a rishi, blessed with the power of austerities. The energetic one was uniting with his wife in the form of a deer. While still united with the doe, he fell down on the ground instantly and as he began to lose his senses, lamented in a human voice.

‘The deer said, “Even evil men who are enslaved by lust and anger, are therefore deprived of reason and are always sinful, stay away from such cruel deeds. A man’s judgement does not swallow destiny. Destiny swallows judgement. The wise never sanction anything that is forbidden by destiny. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! You were born in a dynasty that was always devoted to dharma. Overcome by lust and avarice, how have you lost all your reason?” Pandu replied, “O deer! In dealing with deer, kings behave no differently from enemies; they kill them. Therefore, you should not blame me in your delusion. Deer can be killed openly and through trickery. That is the dharma of kings. Since you know that, why are you blaming me? When seated at a sacrifice, the rishi Agastya went on a hunt. He offered each deer in that great forest to all the gods. This is the sanction of dharma. Then why are you reproving me? According to Agastya’s actions, the likes of you are offerings at sacrifices.” The deer said, “Earlier, they never unleashed arrows without considering preparedness.
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There is a time for this and killing at such times is praised.” Pandu replied, “It is known that killing occurs, whether prepared or unprepared, through different means—strength and sharp arrows. O deer! Why are you blaming me?”

‘The deer said, “O king! I do not blame you because you have killed a deer or because you have caused me injury. But instead of
performing such a cruel act, you should have waited until my act of intercourse was complete. This is a time that is for the welfare of all beings and desired by all beings. Which learned one will kill a deer engaged in intercourse in the forest? You have rendered futile my attempt to obtain offspring. O Kourava! O Pourava! This lineage has had rishis and is famous for its righteous acts. This act was unworthy of you. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! This greatly cruel act is condemned in all the worlds. It destroys attainment of heaven and fame and is against dharma. You are acquainted about pleasures from uniting with women. You also know the sacred texts and norms of dharma. You are the equal of a god. You should not have committed such an act, which is unworthy of reaching heaven. O best of kings! Your duty is to punish men who act cruelly, are engaged in evil acts and have abandoned the three
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goals. O best of men! O king! What have I done that you killed me? I am a sage in the form of a deer and live on roots and fruit. I always live peacefully in the forest. Since you have caused injury to me, you will certainly be injured. Since you have been cruel to a helpless couple, when you are overcome through the pangs of desire, death will overtake you. I am a sage named Kimdama, unparalleled in austerities. Ashamed of men, I was engaged in intercourse with this deer. Assuming the form of a deer, I roamed with other deer in this dense forest. The sin of killing a Brahmana will not vest on you, since you did that unknowingly. O foolish one! But since you killed me in the form of a deer when I was overcome by desire, you will meet with the same fate that has befallen me. Overcome by desire, when you unite with your loved one, at that very instant, you will depart for the land of the dead. The woman with whom you unite in your last moments will also go to the land of the king of the dead, inescapable for all beings. Out of devotion towards you, that best of intelligent ones will follow you. You have now brought me into grief when I was in the midst of pleasure. Like that, you will be afflicted with misery when you have just found happiness.” Having said this, in great pain, the deer gave up its life. In an instant, Pandu was also immersed in grief.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘After the deer’s death, the king and his wives lamented grievously, as if they had lost a relative.

‘Pandu said, “Even if born in righteous families, deluded by the net of desire, men confront calamity because of their deeds and when their intelligence is destroyed. I have heard that my own father was born from a man always devoted to dharma. But he died when he was still young, because he lived a life addicted to desire. Through the illustrious rishi Krishna Dvaipayana, self-controlled in speech, I was born in the field of that lustful king. Despite that, I have become evil-hearted and my lowly mind is spent on the evil chase of deer, deserted by the gods. I am tied down by a great vice and I will now seek salvation. Following the undecaying example set by my father, I will now follow a meritorious way of life. I will certainly tie myself to a life of extreme austerities. I will live alone, spending each day under a single tree.
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I will shave off my head and become a hermit who begs for his food as he roams the earth. I will cover myself with dust and be without a home and without refuge. The foot of a tree will be my home. I will renounce everything that is loved or hated. I will neither grieve nor rejoice, and praise and blame will be the same to me. I will not seek homage or greetings. I will be at peace and without possessions. I will not mock anyone, nor will I furrow my brow at anyone. With a smiling face, I will always devote myself to the welfare of all creatures. I will never transgress the four orders, movable and immovable, and will treat them all equally, like my own children. Once every day, I will beg my food from two or five families and sustain myself. If it is impossible to obtain food in this way, I will fast. I will eat only a little and will never be greedy. I will never beg for more and never include more than seven.
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I will think of the cutting off of one arm with an axe and the covering of the other with sandalwood the same way. I will not think of one as good and the other as evil, since both are equal. I will not act so as to live, nor
act so as to die. Life and death are the same and I will not welcome one and hate the other. I will give up all the rituals for prosperity that those who are alive indulge in and times for their observance. I will always give up everything that makes the senses work. I will cleanse myself of all sin and even give up that done in the name of dharma. I will be free from all sin and all traps. I will not be under anyone’s powers, but will follow the dharma of being as free as the wind. I will always sustain myself in this way and no other. I will make my body walk the path of fearlessness and not deviate. I will not follow the miserable path of dogs, followed by those without virility. I will follow my own righteous dharma and tread the lovely path of not using one’s virility. He who is honoured and dishonoured and lusts for another life with hungry eyes, becomes full of desire and treads the path of dogs.” When he had uttered these words, the king sorrowfully sighed.

‘He looked at Kunti and Madri and said, “Tell Kousalya,
kshatta
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Vidura, the king and all his relatives, the lady Satyavati, Bhishma, the royal priests, great-souled soma-drinking and rigid-vowed Brahmanas and old citizens who live here under my protection that Pandu will leave for the forest.” Hearing these words of their husband, who had made up his mind on leaving for the forest, both Kunti and Madri addressed him in these words. “O bull of the Bharata lineage! We are your wives under dharma. There are other stages of life
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that you can observe with us and still perform great austerities. There is no doubt that even then, you will attain heaven. We will also control our senses, devote ourselves to our husband’s world, give up all happiness and desire and perform great austerities. O lord of the earth! O immensely wise one! If you forsake us, there is no doubt that we will give up our lives today.” Pandu replied, “If this decision of yours is in conformity with dharma, I will follow the undecaying path shown by my father with both of you. I will give up the pleasant life of villages and perform great austerities. I will
eat roots and fruit, wear the bark of trees and roam in the great forest. I will bathe in the morning and evening and make offerings to the fire. I will make my body thin by eating less. I will wear skins and my hair will be matted. I will expose myself to hot and cold winds, hunger, thirst and exhaustion. Through difficult austerities, I will reduce my body. I will seek solitude and live on fruits, be they ripe or unripe. I will worship the ancestors and the gods with food found in the forest, water and words. The sight of a man living for vanaprastha has never affected superior residents. How can it affect those who are inferior?
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Until my body perishes, I will perform the severest penances laid down in the sacred texts for those who live in forests.” Having said this to his wives, the king, a descendant of the Kuru lineage, gave the jewel from his crown, necklace, earrings, bracelets and valuable garments and ornaments belonging to his wives to the Brahmanas.

‘Pandu then again said, “Go to Nagapura
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and say that Pandu has left for the forest. He has given up riches, desire, happiness and the supreme joy of sex. The descendant of the Kuru lineage has left with his wives.” Hearing these words of the lion of the Bharata lineage, the servants and attendants sorrowed and lamented. They bewailed in loud and pitiable voices. They shed hot tears and took their leave of the lord of the earth. Then they left for Hastinapura with his message. On hearing the details of all that had happened in the great forest, Dhritarashtra, best among kings, mourned for Pandu.

‘Living on roots and fruit, the Kourava prince Pandu went with his wives to the mountain named Nagasabha. He went to Chaitraratha and crossed the Varishena. Then he crossed the Himalayas and went to Gandhamadana. Protected by the great beings,
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the siddhas and
the supreme rishis, the king lived for some time on the mountains and for some time on the plains. He then went to the lake Indradyumna and crossed Hansakuta. Then the ascetic king arrived at Shatashringa.’
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Vaishampayana said, ‘There the valorous one engaged in the best of austerities and soon became a favourite of the siddhas and the charanas. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He was devoted to service, had no ego, was disciplined and was in control of his senses. Through his own power, he went to heaven. To some, he was a brother. To some others, he was a friend. Other rishis protected him like a son. O bull among the Bharata lineage! After a long time, Pandu attained such great heights of pure austerity that he became a brahmarshi. With his wives, he wished to cross the Shatashringa and reach heaven. With his wives, he was about to start on a northward direction.

‘The ascetics told him, “As we went northwards, climbing the king of the mountains, we have seen inaccessible regions on the mountain, the playgrounds of the gods, gandharvas and apsaras, Kubera’s garden, laid out on plain and uneven ground, the sloping banks of great rivers and impenetrable caverns in mountains. There are regions that are always covered with snow and without trees, animals and birds. Some large tracts are inaccessible. No bird can cross them, not to speak of animals. The only thing that can go there is air, siddhas and supreme rishis. O bull among the Bharata lineage! How can these princesses cross that king of the mountains? Do not make them sink in that misery and do not go there.” Pandu replied, “O illustrious ones! It is said that one without a son has no door to heaven. I have no son and I tell you that I am in great sorrow. According to dharma, men are born on this earth with four debts—
to ancestors, gods, rishis and men. The man who does not discharge them at the right time has no worlds. This has been established by those who know dharma. The gods are pleased through sacrifices, the sages through studying and austerities, the ancestors through sons and shraddhas and men through kindness. According to dharma, I have discharged my debts towards rishis, gods and other men. O ones blessed with the power of austerities! I have not yet been freed from the debt towards my ancestors and I am troubled. It is certain that when my body perishes, so will the ancestors. The best of men are born so as to give birth to offspring. I was begotten by the great-souled one
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in my father’s field. Like that, should I have offspring in my father’s field?” The ascetics replied, “O king! O one who is devoted to dharma! We know that there are offspring for you, learned, beautiful, unblemished, and like the gods themselves. We have seen this through our divine sight. O tiger among men! Through your acts, accomplish what the gods have destined for you. The thinking and intelligent man always obtains fruit that are not spoilt. O son! The fruit can be seen. Exert yourself. When you have obtained offspring with all the qualities, you will find happiness.” Having heard these words of the ascetics, Pandu was worried. He remembered that his own procreative powers had been lost thanks to the deer’s curse.