(_Draupadi-harana Parva_)
Vaisampayana said, "One day, having previously ascertained that the
Pandavas were all seated at their ease and that Krishna was reposing
herself after her meal, the sage Durvasa, surrounded by ten thousand
disciples repaired to that forest. The illustrious and upright king
Yudhishthira, seeing that guest arrived, advanced with his brothers to
receive him. And joining the palms of his hands and pointing to a proper
and excellent seat, he accorded the _Rishis_ a fit and respectful
welcome. And the king said unto him, 'Return quick, O adorable sir,
after performing thy diurnal ablutions and observances.' And that
sinless _Muni_, not knowing how the king would be able to provide a
feast for him and his disciples, proceeded with the latter to perform
his ablutions. And that host of the _Muni_, of subdued passions, went
into the stream for performing their ablutions. Meanwhile, O king, the
excellent princess Draupadi, devoted to her husbands, was in great
anxiety about the food (to be provided for the _Munis_). And when after
much anxious thought she came to the conclusion that means there were
none for providing a feast, she inwardly prayed to Krishna, the slayer
of Kansa. And the princess said, 'Krishna, O Krishna, of mighty arms, O
son of Devaki, whose power is inexhaustible, O Vasudeva, O lord of the
Universe, who dispellest the difficulties of those that bow down to
thee, thou art the soul, the creator and the destroyer of the Universe.
Thou, O lord, art inexhaustible and the saviour of the afflicted. Thou
art the preserver of the Universe and of all created beings. Thou art
the highest of the high, and the spring of the mental perceptions
_Akuli_ and _Chiti_![48] O Supreme and Infinite Being, O giver of all
good, be thou the refuge of the helpless. O Primordial Being, incapable
of being conceived by the soul or the mental faculties or otherwise,
thou art the ruler of all and the lord of Brahma. I seek thy protection.
O god, thou art ever kindly disposed towards those that take refuge in
thee. Do thou cherish me with thy kindness. O thou with a complexion
dark as the leaves of the blue lotus, and with eyes red as the corolla
of the lily, and attired in yellow robes with, besides, the bright
_Kaustubha_ gem in thy bosom, thou art the beginning and the end of
creation, and the great refuge of all. Thou art the supreme light and
essence of the Universe! Thy face is directed towards every point. They
call thee Supreme Gem and the depository of all treasures. Under thy
protections, O lord of the gods, all evils lose their terror. As thou
didst protect me before from Dussasana, do thou extricate me now from
this difficulty.'"
[48] Both these words are of doubtful meaning. It seems they are
employed in the Vedas to denote the faculties of knowledge and
the moral sense respectively.
Vaisampayana continued, "The great and sovereign God, and Lord of the
earth, of mysterious movements, the lord Kesava who is ever kind to the
dependents, thus adored by Krishna, and perceiving her difficulty,
instantly repaired to that place leaving the bed of Rukmini who was
sleeping by his side. Beholding Vasudeva, Draupadi bowed down to him in
great joy and informed him of the arrival of the _Munis_ and every other
thing. And having heard everything Krishna said unto her, 'I am very
much afflicted with hunger, do thou give me some food without delay, and
then thou mayst go about thy work.' At these words of Kesava, Krishna
became confused, and replied unto him, saying, 'The sun-given vessel
remains full till I finish my meal. But as I have already taken my meal
today, there is no food in it now.' Then that lotus-eyed and adorable
being said unto Krishna, 'This is no time for jest, O Krishna.--I am
much distressed with hunger, go thou quickly to fetch the vessel and
show it to me.' When Kesava, that ornament of the Yadu's race, had the
vessel brought unto him,--with such persistence, he looked into it and
saw a particle of rice and vegetable sticking at its rim. And swallowing
it he said unto her, 'May it please the god Hari, the soul of the
Universe, and may that god who partaketh at sacrifices, be satiated with
this.' Then the long-armed Krishna, that soother of miseries, said unto
Bhimasena, 'Do thou speedily invite the _Munis_ to dinner.' Then, O good
king, the celebrated Bhimasena quickly went to invite all those _Munis_,
Durvasa and others, who had gone to the nearest stream of transparent
and cool water to perform their ablutions. Meanwhile, these ascetics,
having plunged into the river, were rubbing their bodies and observing
that they all felt their stomachs to be full. And coming out of the
stream, they began to stare at one another. And turning towards Durvasa,
all those ascetics observed, 'Having bade the king make our meals ready,
we have come hither for a bath. But how, O regenerate _Rishi_, can we
eat anything now, for our stomachs seem to be full to the throat. The
repast hath been uselessly prepared for us. What is the best thing to be
done now?' Durvasa replied, 'By spoiling the repast, we have done a
great wrong to that royal sage, king Yudhishthira. Would not the
Pandavas destroy us by looking down upon us with angry eyes? I know the
royal sage Yudhishthira to be possessed of great ascetic power. Ye
Brahmanas, I am afraid of men that are devoted to Hari. The high-souled
Pandavas are all religious men, learned, war-like, diligent in ascetic
austerities and religious observances, devoted to Vasudeva, and always
observant of rules of good conduct. If provoked, they can consume us
with their wrath as fire doth a bale of cotton. Therefore, ye disciples,
do ye all run away quickly without seeing them (again)!'"
Vaisampayana continued, "All those Brahmanas, thus advised by their
ascetic preceptor, became greatly afraid of the Pandavas and fled away
in all directions. Then Bhimasena not beholding those excellent _Munis_
in the celestial river, made a search after them here and there at all
the landing places. And learning from the ascetics of those places that
they had run away, he came back and informed Yudhishthira of what had
happened. Then all the Pandavas of subdued senses, expecting them to
come, remained awaiting their arrival for some time. And Yudhishthira
said, 'Coming dead of night the _Rishis_ will deceive us. Oh how, can we
escape from this difficulty created by the fates?' Seeing them absorbed
in such reflections and breathing long deep sighs at frequent intervals,
the illustrious Krishna suddenly appeared to them and addressed them
these words: 'Knowing, ye sons of Pritha, your danger from that wrathful
_Rishi_, I was implored by Draupadi to come, and (therefore) have I come
here speedily. But now ye have not the least fear from the _Rishi_
Durvasa. Afraid of your ascetic powers, he hath made himself scarce ere
this. Virtuous men never suffer. I now ask your permission to let me
return home. May you always be prosperous!'"
Vaisampayana continued, "Hearing Kesava's words, the sons of Pritha,
with Draupadi, became easy in mind. And cured of their fever (of
anxiety), they said unto him, 'As persons drowning in the wide ocean
safely reach the shore by means of a boat, so have we, by thy aid, O
lord Govinda, escaped from this inextricable difficulty. Do thou now
depart in peace, and may prosperity be thine.' Thus dismissed, he
repaired to his capital and the Pandavas too, O blessed lord, wandering
from forest to forest passed their days merrily with Draupadi. Thus, O
king, have I related to thee the story which thou askedest me to repeat.
And it was thus that the machinations of the wicked sons of
Dhritarashtra about the Pandavas in the forest, were frustrated."