Royal Rivals: the Pandavas and Kauravas[214]
[214] _Pron._ pan´davas _and_ kow´ravas.
King Pandu's Two Wives—Pritha and the Sun God—Birth of Karna—The
Indian Moses—Babe rescued from Floating Cradle—Pandu slays Brahman
in Deer Guise—His Doom pronounced—Queen burned on King's Pyre—Blind
Brother becomes Rajah—The Rival Princes—Attempt to kill Bhima—His
Visit to the Underworld—The Draught of Strength—Drona, Preceptor of
Princes—His Royal Rival Draupada—Training of Young Warriors—The
Faithful Bhil Prince—His Sacrifice.
King Pandu became a mighty monarch, and was renowned as a warrior and a
just ruler of his kingdom. He married two wives: Pritha, who was chief
rani, and Madri[215], whom he loved best.
[215] _Pron._ pree´tha _and_ ma-dree´.
Now Pritha was of celestial origin, for her mother was a nymph; her
father was a holy Brahman, and her brother, Vasudeva, was the father
of Krishna.[216] When but a babe she had been adopted by the Rajah of
Shurasena, whose kingdom was among the Vindhya mountains. She was of
pious heart, and ever showed reverence towards holy men. Once there
came to the palace the great Rishi Durvasas, and she ministered unto
him faithfully by serving food at any hour he desired, and by kindling
the sacred fire in the sacrificial chamber. After his stay, which was
in length a full year, Durvasas, in reward for her services, imparted
to Pritha a powerful charm[217], by virtue of which she could compel
the love of a celestial being. One day she had a vision of Surya, god
of the sun; she muttered the charm, and received him when he drew nigh
in the attire of a rajah, wearing the celestial ear-rings. In secret
she became in time the mother of his son, Karna, who was equipped at
birth with celestial ear-rings and an invulnerable coat of mail, which
had power to grow as the wearer increased in stature. The child had the
eyes of a lion and the shoulders of a bull.
[216] Krishna of the Yadavas was descended from the moon through Yadu:
Bharata was descended through Puru, Yadu's brother.
[217] A _mantra_.
In her maidenly shame Pritha resolved to conceal her new-born babe.
So she wrapped him in soft sheets and, laying under his head a costly
pillow, placed him in a basket of wicker-work which she had smeared
over with wax. Then, weeping bitterly, she set the basket afloat on the
river, saying: “O my babe, be thou protected by all who are on land,
and in the water, and in the sky, and in the celestial regions! May all
who see thee love thee! May Varuna, god of the waters, shield thee from
harm. May thy father, the sun, give thee warmth!... I shall know thee
in days to come, wherever thou mayst be, by thy coat of golden mail....
She who will find thee and adopt thee will be surely blessed.... O my
son, she who will cherish thee will behold thee in youthful prime like
to a maned lion in Himalayan forests.”
The basket drifted down the River Aswa until it was no longer seen by
that lotus-eyed damsel, and at length it reached the Jumna; the Jumna
gave it to the Ganges, and by that great and holy river it was borne
unto the country of Anga.... The child, lying in soft slumber, was kept
alive by reason of the virtues possessed by the celestial armour and
the ear-rings.
Now there was a woman of Anga who was named Radha, and she had peerless
beauty. Her husband was Shatananda, the charioteer. Both husband
and wife had for long sorrowed greatly because that they could not
obtain a son. One day, however, their wish was gratified. It chanced
that Radha went down to the river bank, and she beheld the basket
drifting on the waves. She caused it to be brought ashore; and when it
was uncovered, she gazed with wonder upon a sleeping babe who was as
fair as the morning sun. Her heart was immediately filled with great
gladness, and she cried out: “The gods have heard me at length, and
they have sent unto me a son.” So she adopted the babe and cherished
him. And the years went past, and Karna grew up and became a powerful
youth and a mighty bowman.
Pritha, who was comely to behold, chose King Pandu at her swayamvara.
Trembling with love, she placed the flower garland upon his shoulders.
Madri came from the country of Madra[218], and was black-eyed and
dusky-complexioned. She had been purchased by Bhishma for the king with
much gold, many jewels and elephants and horses, as was the marriage
custom among her people.
[218] Identified with Cashmere by some of the authorities.
The glories of King Bharata's reign were revived by Pandu, who achieved
great conquests and extended his territory. He loved well to go
a-hunting, and at length he retired to the Himalaya mountains with
his two wives to pursue and slay deer. There, as fate had decreed, he
met with dire misfortune. One day he shot arrows at two deer which
he beheld sporting together; but they were, as he discovered to his
sorrow, a holy Brahman and his wife in animal guise. The sage was
wounded mortally, and ere he died he assumed his wonted form, and
foretold that Pandu, whom he cursed, would die in the arms of one of
his wives.
The king was stricken with fear; he immediately took vows of celibacy,
and gave all his possessions to Brahmans; then he went away to live in
a solitary place with his two wives.
Some have told that Pandu never had children of his own, and that the
gods were the fathers of his wives' great sons. Pritha was mother of
Yudhishthira[219], son of Dharma, god of justice, and of Bhima, son
of Vayu, the wind god, and also of Arjuna[220], son of mighty Indra,
monarch of heaven. Madri received from Pritha the charm which Durvasas
had given her, and she became the mother of Nakula and Sahadeva, whose
sires were the twin Aswins, sons of Surya, the sun god. These five
princes were known as the Pandava brothers.
[219] _Pron._ yoo-dish´thi-ra (_h_ sounded after _t_).
[220] _Pron._ arjoo´na´´.
King Pandu was followed by his doom. One day, as it chanced, he met
with Madri, his favourite wife; they wandered together in a forest, and
when he clasped her in his arms he immediately fell dead as the Brahman
had foretold.
His sons, the Pandava brothers, built his funeral pyre, so that his
soul might pass to heaven. Both Pritha and Madri desired to be burned
with him, and they debated together which of them should follow her
lord to the region of the dead.
Said Pritha: “I must go hence with my lord. I was his first wife and
chief rani. O Madri, yield me his body and rear our children together.
O let me achieve what must be achieved.”
Madri said: “Speak not so, for I should be the chosen one. I was King
Pandu's favourite wife, and he died because that he loved me. O sister,
if I survived thee I should not be able to rear our children as thou
canst rear them. Do not refuse thy sanction to this which is dear unto
my heart.”
So they held dispute, nor could agree; but the Brahmans, who heard
them, said that Madri must be burned with King Pandu, having been his
favourite wife. And so it came to pass that Madri laid herself on the
pyre, and she passed in flames with her beloved lord, that bull among
men.
Meanwhile King Pandu's blind brother, Dhritarashtra, had ascended the
throne to reign over the kingdom of Bharatavarsha, with Bhishma as his
regent, until the elder of the young princes should come of age.
Dhritarashtra had taken for wife fair Gándhári, daughter of the Rajah
of Gándhára. When she was betrothed she went unto the king with eyes
blindfolded, and ever afterwards she so appeared in his presence. She
became the mother of a hundred sons, the eldest of whom was Duryodhana.
These were the princes who were named the Kauravas, after the country
of Kuru-jangala.[221]
[221] The upper part of the Punjab, which was ruled over ultimately by
the sons of Duryodhana. Another explanation is that the Kauravas, or
Kuru brothers, were called after their eponymous ancestor, King Kuru.
The Kuru people are believed to be a group of the tribes mentioned
in the _Rigveda_. The Kurus may have been late-comers who formed a
military aristocracy, and displaced earlier settlers who opposed their
rule.
The widowed Pritha returned to Hastinapur with her three sons and the
two sons of Madri also. When she told unto Dhritarashtra that Pandu his
brother had died, he wept and mourned greatly; then he bathed in holy
waters and poured forth the funeral oblation. The blind king gave his
protection to the five princes who were Pandu's heirs.
So the Pandavas and Kauravas were reared together in the royal palace
at Hastinapur. Nor was favour shown to one cousin more than another.
The young princes were trained to throw the stone and to cast the
noose, and they engaged lustily in wrestling bouts and practised
boxing. As they grew up they shared work with the king's men; they
marked the young calves, and every three years they counted and branded
the cattle. Yet, despite all that could be done, the two families lived
at enmity. Of all the young men Bhima[222], of the Pandavas[223], was
the most powerful, and Duryodhana[224], the leader of the Kauravas,
was jealous of him. Bhima was ever the victor in sports and contests.
The Kauravas could ill endure his triumphs, and at length they plotted
among themselves to accomplish his death.
[222] _Pron._ bhee´ma.
[223] The _Mahá-bhárata_ favours the Pandavas from the outset.
[224] _Pron._ door-yo´dhan-a.
It chanced that the young men had gone to dwell in a royal palace on
the banks of the Ganges. One day, when they feasted together in the
manner of warriors, Duryodhana put poison in the food of Bhima, who
soon afterwards fell into a deep swoon and seemed to be dead. Then
Duryodhana bound him hand and foot and cast him into the Ganges; his
body was swallowed by the waters.
But it was not fated that Bhima should thus perish. As his body sank
down, the fierce snakes, which are called Nagas, attacked him; but
their poison counteracted the poison he had already swallowed, so that
he regained consciousness. Then, bursting his bonds, he scattered the
reptiles before him, and they fled in terror.
Bhima found that he had sunk down to the city of serpents, which is in
the underworld. Vasuki, king of the Nagas, having heard of his prowess,
hastened towards the young warrior, whom he desired greatly to behold.
Bhima was welcomed by Aryaka, the great grandsire of Pritha, who was a
dweller in the underworld. He was loved by Vasuki, who, for Aryaka's
sake, offered great gifts to fearless Bhima. But Aryaka chose rather
that the lad should be given a draught of strength which contained the
virtues of a thousand Nagas. By the king of serpents was this great
boon granted, and Bhima was permitted to drain the bowl eight times. He
immediately fell into a deep slumber, which continued for the space of
eight days. Then he awoke, and the Nagas feasted him ere he returned
again unto his mother and his brethren, who were mourning for him the
while. Thus it fell that Bhima triumphed over Duryodhana, for ever
afterwards he possessed the strength of a mighty giant. He related unto
his brothers all that had befallen him, but they counselled him not to
reveal his secret unto the Kauravas, his cousins.
About this time the prudent Bhishma deemed that the young men should
be trained to bear arms; so he searched far and wide for a preceptor
who was at once a warrior and a scholar, a pious and lofty-minded man,
and a lover of truth. Such was Drona, the brave and god-adoring son of
Bharadwaja. He was well pleased to have care of the princes, and to
give them instruction worthy of their rank and martial origin.
Drona had no mother: his miraculous birth was accomplished by a
beautiful nymph, and his sire was Bharadwaja, a most pious Brahman. Of
similar origin was Drupada[225], son of a rajah named Prishata[226].
Drona and Drupada were reared together like brothers by the wise
Bharadwaja, and it was the hope of both sires that their sons would
repeat their own lifelong friendship. But when, after happy youth, they
grew into manhood, fate parted them. The rajah retired from the throne,
and Drupada ruled the kingdom of Panchala[227]. Bharadwaja died soon
afterwards, and Drona married a wife named Kripa, who became the mother
of his son Ashwatthama[228]. The child was so named because at birth he
uttered a cry like to the neighing of a horse. Drona devoted himself
to rearing his son, while he accumulated the wisdom of the sages and
performed sacred rites with pious mind like to his holy sire.
[225] _Pron._ droo´pa-da.
[226] _Pron._ prish´ata.
[227] _Pron._ pan-chal´a.
[228] _Pron._ ash-wat-tha´ma. _Aswa_, a horse; _sthama_, sound or
strength.
When the sage Jamadagni, son of Bhrigu, closed his career, he bestowed
his great wealth on the sons of Brahmans. Drona received heavenly
weapons and power to wield them. Then he bethought him to visit
Drupada, the friend of his youth, and share his inheritance with
him.[229]
[229] Apparently Drona had a claim to part of the kingdom ruled over by
Drupada.
Drona stood before the rajah and exclaimed: “Behold thy friend.”
But Drupada frowned; his eyes reddened with anger, and for a while he
sat in silence. At length he spoke haughtily and said:
“Brahman, it is nor wise nor fitting that thou shouldst call me friend.
What friendship can there be between a luckless beggar and a mighty
rajah?... I grant that in youth such a bond united us, one to another,
but it has wasted away with the years. Do not think that the friendship
of youth endures for ever in human hearts; it is weakened by time, and
pride plucks it from one's bosom. Friendship can exist only between
equals as we two once were, but no longer chance to be. Hear and know!
Rich and poor, wise and ignorant, warriors and cowards, can never be
friends; it is for those who are of equal station to exercise mutual
esteem.... Say, can a Brahman respect one who is ignorant of the Vedas?
Can a warrior do other than despise one who cannot go forth to battle
in his rumbling chariot? Say, can a monarch condescend to one who is
far beneath him?... Begone, then, thou dreamer! Forget the days and the
thoughts of the past.... I know thee not....”
Drona heard the harsh words of his old friend with mute amaze. For a
moment he paused. Then abruptly he turned away, nor spake he in reply.
His heart burned with indignation as he hastened out of the city.
In time he reached the city of Hastinapur, and Bhishma bade him
welcome. When Drona undertook the training of the princes he said:
“I will do as is thy desire, O Bhishma, but on condition that when
the young men are become complete warriors they will help me to fight
against mine enemy, Drupada, the Rajah of Panchala.”
Bhishma gave willing consent to this condition. Thereafter Drona abode
with his wife in the royal palace, and his son Ashwatthama was trained
with the Pandavas and Kauravas. He became the family priest as well
as the instructor of the princes. And ere long the young men were
accomplished warriors, and deeply learned in wisdom and in goodness.
Drona took most delight in the Pandavas. Yudhishthira was trained as a
spearman, but he was more renowned as a scholar than for feats of arms.
Arjuna surpassed all others in warrior skill; he was of noble bearing,
and none like him could ride the steed, guide the elephant, or drive
the rattling chariot, nor could any other prince withstand his battle
charge or oppose him in single combat. He was unequalled with javelin
or dart, with battleaxe or mace, and he became the most famous archer
of his day. Strong Bhima learned to wield the club, Nakula acquired
the secret of taming steeds, and Sahadeva became a mighty swordsman,
and acquired great knowledge of astronomy.
Drona trained the Kauravas with diligence also, as well as his own son,
who was wise and brave; but among all his pupils he loved Arjuna best,
for he was the most modest and the most perfect, the most fearless, and
yet the most obedient to his preceptor.
Duryodhana of the Kauravas was jealous of all the Pandavas, and
especially of Arjuna.
The fame of Drona as a preceptor was spread far and wide, and the sons
of many rajahs and warriors hastened to Hastinapur to be instructed by
him. All were welcomed save one, and he was the son of the rajah of the
robber Bhils. This young man pleaded that he might be trained as an
archer, but without avail. Drona said: “Are not the Bhils highwaymen
and cattle-lifters? It would be a sin, indeed, to impart unto one of
them great knowledge in the use of weapons.”
When he heard these words, the rajah's son was stricken with grief, and
he turned homeward. But he resolved to become an accomplished warrior.
So he fashioned a clay image of Drona and worshipped it, and wielded
the bow before it until his fame as an archer was noised abroad.
One day Drona went forth with the princes to hunt in the Bhil kingdom.
Their dog ran through the woods, and it beheld the dark son of the
rajah of the Bhils and barked at him. Desiring to display his skill,
the young man shot seven arrows into the dog's mouth ere it could be
closed, and, moaning and bleeding, the animal returned thus to the
princes.
Wondering greatly, the princes searched for the greatly-skilled
archer, and found him busy with his bow. They spoke, saying: “Who art
thou?” And the Bhil made answer: “I am a pupil of Drona.”
When Drona was brought to the place, the young man kissed his feet.
Said the wise preceptor: “If thou art my pupil, I must receive my
reward.”
The young man made answer: “Command me, and I will give thee whatsoever
thou dost desire.”
Said Drona: “I should like to have the thumb of thy right hand.”
The faithful prince of the Bhils did not hesitate to obey his
preceptor; with a cheerful face he severed his thumb from his right
hand and gave it to Drona.
After his wound had healed, the young man began to draw his bow with
his middle fingers, but found that he had lost his surpassing skill,
whereat Arjuna was made happy.
All the other Bhil warriors who trained in archery followed the
prince's example and drew the bow with their middle fingers, and this
custom prevailed ever afterwards amongst the tribe.
Now when all the Hastinapur princes had become expert warriors, Drona
addressed the blind king, as he sat among his counsellors, and said:
“O mighty rajah, thy sons and the sons of thy brother Pandu have now
attained surpassing skill in arms, and they are fit to enter the
battlefield.”
Said the king, who was well pleased: “So thy task is finished, O noble
son of Bharadwaja? Let now a place be made ready, in accordance with
thy desire, so that the princes may display their martial skill in the
presence of their peers and the common people.”
Then Drona, accompanied by Vidura, the king's brother, made choice of
a wide and level plain on which the Pandavas and Kauravas might perform
their mighty feats.
So be it next told of the great tournament on the plain, and of the
coming of illustrious Karna.