(Vaka-vadha Parva continued)
"Vaisampayana said, 'After Bhima had pledged himself to accomplish the
task, saying, "I will do it," the Pandavas, O Bharata, returned home with
the alms they had obtained during the day. Then Yudhishthira, the son of
Pandu from Bhima's countenance alone, suspected the nature of the task he
had undertaken to accomplish. Sitting by the side of his mother,
Yudhishthira asked her in private, "What is the task, O mother, that Bhima
of terrible prowess seeketh to accomplish? Doth he do so at thy command or
of his own accord?" Kunti replied, "Bhima, that chastiser of foes, will at
my command, do this great deed for the good of the Brahmana and the
liberation of this town."
"'Yudhishthira said, "What rash act hast thou done, O mother! It is
difficult of being performed and almost amounteth to suicide! The learned
never applaud the abandonment of one's own child. Why dost thou, O mother,
wish to sacrifice thy own child for the sake of another's? Thou hast, O
mother, by this abandonment of thy child, acted not only against the
course of human practices but also against the teachings of the Vedas.
That Bhima, relying on whose arms we sleep happily in the night and hope
to recover the kingdom of which we have been deprived by the covetous son
of Dhritarashtra, that hero of immeasurable energy, remembering whose
prowess Duryodhana and Sakuni do not sleep a wink during the whole night
and by whose prowess we were rescued from the palace of lac and various
other dangers, that Bhima who caused the death of Purochana, and relying
on whose might we regard ourselves as having already slain the sons of
Dhritarashtra and acquired the whole earth with all her wealth, upon what
considerations, O mother, hast thou resolved upon abandoning him? Hast
thou been deprived of thy reason? Hath thy understanding been clouded by
the calamities thou hast undergone?"
"'On hearing these words of her son, Kunti said, "O Yudhishthira, thou
needst not be at all anxious on account of Vrikodara. I have not come to
this resolve owing to any weakness of understanding. Respected by him, and
with our sorrows assuaged, we have, O son, been living in the house of
this Brahmana, unknown to the sons of Dhritarashtra. For requiting, O son,
that Brahmana, I have resolved to do this. He, indeed, is a man upon whom
good offices are never lost. The measure of his requital becometh greater
than the measure of the services he receiveth. Beholding the prowess of
Bhima on the occasion of (our escape from) the house of lac, and from the
destruction also of Hidimva, my confidence in Vrikodara is great. The
might of Bhima's arms is equal unto that of ten thousand elephants. It was,
therefore, that he succeeded in carrying you all, each heavy as an
elephant, from Varanavata. There is no one on earth equal unto Bhima in
might; he may even overcome that foremost of warriors, the holder of the
thunderbolt himself. Soon after his birth he fell from my lap on the
breast of the mountain. By the weight of his body the mass of stone on
which he fell down broke in pieces. From this also, O son of Pandu, I have
come to know Bhima's might. For this reason have I resolved to set him
against the Brahmana's foe. I have not acted in this from foolishness or
ignorance or from motive of gain. I have deliberately resolved to do this
virtuous deed. By this act, O Yudhishthira, two objects will be
accomplished; one is a requital of the services rendered by the Brahmana
and the other is the acquisition of high religious merit. It is my
conviction that the Kshatriya who rendereth help unto a Brahmana in
anything acquireth regions of bliss hereafter. So also a Kshatriya who
saveth the life of a Kshatriya achieveth that great fame in this world as
in the other. A Kshatriya rendering help unto a Vaisya also on this earth
certainly acquires world-wide popularity. One of the kingly tribe should
protect even the Sudra who cometh to him for protection. If he doeth so,
in his next life he receiveth his birth in a royal line, commanding
prosperity and the respect of other kings. O scion of Puru's race, the
illustrious Vyasa of wisdom acquired by hard ascetic toil told me so in
bygone days. It is therefore, that I have resolved upon accomplishing
this."'"