English
Vyasa had lived the life of an anchorite in the woods, and liis severe austerities had made him terrible in appearance. The two widows were so frightened at him that the elder one closed her eyes, and so gave birth to a blind son, who received the name of Dhr/ta-rash/ra ; and the younger turned so pale that her son was called Pa?i<iu, ' the pale.' SatyavatI wished for a child without blemish, but tlie elder widow shrank from a second association with Vyasa, and made a slave girl take her place. From this girl was born a son who was named Vidura. These children were brought up by their uncle Bhishma, who acted as regent. WHien they became of age, Dhrita-rash/ra was deemed incapable of reigning in con- sequence of his blindness, and Pa7ic?u came to the throne. The name Pa?ic?u has suggested a suspicion of leprosy, and either through that, or in consequence of a curse, as the poem states, he retired to the forest, and I)hrita-rash^ra then became king. V\xndw. had two wives, Kunti or Pntha, daughter of /Sura, king of the /Sura-senas, and Madri, sister of the king of the Madras ; but either through disease or the curse passed upon him, lie did not consort with his wives. He retired into solitude in the Himalaya mountains, and there he died ; his wives, who accom- MAHA-BHARA TA. 185 paiiied him having borne him five sons. The paternity of these children is attributed to different gods, but Pamfu acknowledged them, and they received the patronymic of PaTic^ava. Kunti was the mother of the three elder sons, and Madri of the two younger. Yudhi-sh/hira (firm in fight), the eldest, was son of Dharma, the judge of the dead, and is considered a pattern of manly firmness, justice, and integrity. Bhima or Bhima-sena (the terrible), the second, was son of Vayu, the god of the wind. He was noted for his strength, daring, and brute courage ; but he was coarse, choleric, and given to vaunting. He was such a great eater that he was called Yrikodara, ' wolf's belly.' Arjuna (the bright or silvery), the third, was son of Indra, the god of the sky. He is the most prominent character, if not the hero, of the poem. He was brave as the bravest, high-minded, generous, tender-hearted, and chivahic in his notions of honour. Kakula and Saha-deva, the fourth and fifth sons, were the twin children of Madrl by the Aswini Kumaras, the twin sons of Surya, the sun. They were brave, spirited, and amiable, but they do not occupy such pro- minent positions as their elder brothers. Dhr^ta-rash/ra, who reigned at Hastina-pura, was blind. By his wife Gandhari he had a hundred sons, and one daughter named Du/i-salii. This numerous offspring was owing to a bless- ing from Vyasa, and was produced in a marvellous w^ay. [See Gandliari.) From their ancestor Kuru these princes w^ere known as the Kauravas. The eldest of them, Dur-yodhana (hard to subdue), w^as their leader, and w^as a bold, crafty, malicious man, an embodiment of all that is bad in a prince. Wliile the Pa?^u princes were yet children, they, on the death of their father, were brought to Dhrita-rash^ra, and presented to him as his nephews. He took charge of them, showed them great kindness, and had them educated with his ow^n sons. Differences and dis- likes soon arose, and the juvenile emulation and rivalry of the princes ripened into bitter hatred on the part of the Kauravas. This broke into an open flame when Dhrita-rash/ra nominated Yudlii-sh^hira as his Yuva-raja or heir-apparent. The jealousy and the opposition of his sons to this act was so great that Dhrita-rash/ra sent the Pa?it/avas away to Yarawavata, where they dwelt in retirement. AYliile they were living there Dur- yodhana plotted to destroy his cousins by setting fire to their house, which he had caused to be made very combustible All 1 86 MAHA-BHARATA. the five brothers were for a time supposed to have perished in the fire, but they had received timely warning from Yidura, and they escaped to the forest, where they dressed and lived in dis- guise as Brahmans upon alms. AATiile the PawZavas were living in the forest they heard that Draupada, king of the Panchalas, had proclaimed a swayam-vara, at which his daughter Draupadi was to select her husband from among the princely and warlike suitors. They went there, still disguised as Brahmans. Arjuna bent the mighty bow which had defied the strength of the Kauravas and all other compe- ' titors, and the Pa?i6?avas were victorious over every opponent. They threw off their disguise, and Draupadi was won by Arjuna. The brothers then conducted Draupadi to their home. On their arrival they told their mother KuntI that they had made a great acquisition, and she unwittingly directed them to share it among tliem. The mother's command could not be evaded, and Vyasa confirmed her direction ; so Draupadi became the wife in com- mon of the five brothers, and it was arrancfed that she should dwell for two days in the house of each of the five brothers in succession. This marriage has been justified by a piece of special pleading, which contends that the five princes were all portions of one deity, and therefore onl}^ one distinct person, to whom a Avoman might lawfully be married. This public appearance made known the existence of the Pa?if/avas. Their uncle Dhrita-rash/ra recalled them to his court and divided his kingdom between his own sons and them. His sons received Hastina-pura, and the chief city given to his nephews was Indra-prastha on the river Yamuna, close to the modern Dellii, where the name still survives. The close proxi- mity of Hastina-pura and Indra-prastha shows tliat the territory of Dhrita-rash/ra must have been of very moderate extent. The reign of Yudhi-sli/hira was a pattern of justice and wisdom. Having conquered many countries, he announced his iirbention of performing the Raja-suya sacrifice, thus setting up a claim to universal dominion, or at least to be a king over kings. Tliis excited still more the hatred and envy of the sons of Dlwita- rfish^ra, who induced their father to invite the Pa??-f?avas to Hastina-pura. The Kauravas had laid their jilot, and insidiously prevailed upon Yudhi-sh/liira to gamble. His opponent was <Sakuni, uncle of the Kaurava princes, a great gambler and a MAHA-BHARATA. 187 cheat. Yiidhi-sli/liira lost his all : his wealth, his palace, his king- dom, his brothers, himself, and, last of all, their wife. Draiipadi was brought into the assembly as a slave, and when she rushed out she was dragged back again by her hair by Du/i-6'asana, an insult for which Bhima vowed to drink his blood. Dur-yodhana also insulted her by seating her upon his thigh, and Bhima vowed that he Avould smash that thigh. Eoth these vows he afterwards performed. Through the interference and commands of Dhrita-rash/ra the possessions of Yudhi-sh/hira were restored to him. Eut he was once more tempted to play, upon the con- dition that if he lost he and his brothers should pass twelve years in the forest, and should remain incognito during the thirteenth year. He was again the loser, and retired with his brothers and wife into exile. In the thirteenth year they en- tered the service of the king of Vira/a in disguise — Yudhi-sh/hira as a Brahman skilful as a gamester ; Bhima as a cook ; Arjuna as a eunuch and teacher of music and dancing; Nakula as a horse-trainer ; and Saha-deva as a herdsman. Draupadi also took service as attendant and needlewoman of the queen, Su-desh-a. The five princes each assumed two names, one for use among themselves and one for public use. Yudhi-sh/hira was Jaya in private, Kanka in public ; Bhima Avas Jayanta and Ballava ; Arjuna was Vijaya and Brihan-nala ; Nakula was J aya-sena and Granthika; Saha-deva was Jayad-bala and Arish/a-nemi, aYaisya. The beauty of Draupadi attracted Kichaka, brother of the queen, and the chief man in the kingdom. He endeavoured to seduce her, and Bhima killed him. The relatives of Kichaka were about to burn Draupadi on his funeral pile, but Bhima appeared as a wild Gandliarva and rescued her. The brothers grew in favour, and rendered great assistance to the king in repelling the attacks of the king of Trigartta and the Kauravas. The time of exile being expired, the princes made themselves known, and Abhimanyu, son of Arjuna, received Uttara, the king's daughter, in marriage. The Paw6?avas now determined to attempt the recovery of their kingdom. The king of Yii^a/a became their firm ally, and preparations for the war began. Allies were sought on all sides.