MAHA-P008
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Dhritarashtra continues to narrate the main events of the Mahabharata that led to the defeat of Kauravas...
'Hear, O Sanjaya, all that happened thereupon and came to my knowledge. And when you hear all that I say, you shall then know me for one with a prophetic eye.
When I heard that Arjuna, having bent the bow, had pierced with his arrows the curious mark (A difficult to target object) and brought it down to the ground, and bore away in triumph the maiden Krishna ( here means Draupadi), in the sight of the assembled princes, then, Sanjaya I had no hope of success. [Illustrates the archery skill of Arjuna]
When I heard that Subhadra of the race of Madhu had, after forcible seizure been married by Arjuna in the city of Dwaraka, and that the two heroes of the race of Vrishni (Krishna and Balarama the brothers of Subhadra) without resenting it had entered Indraprastha (The Kingdome of Pandavas) as friends, then, Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. [Emphasizes the fact that Lord Krishna had a infallible relation with Pandavas.]
When I heard that Arjuna, by his celestial arrow preventing the downpour by Indra the king of the gods, had gratified Agni by making over to him the forest of Khandava, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. [This demonstrates the divine favor & blessings of Devas (Demigods) on Pandavas.]
When I heard that the five Pandavas with their mother Kunti had escaped from the house of lac, and that Vidura was engaged in the accomplishment of their designs, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. [This stresses the vigil that the Pandavas would have nurtured after the Kauravas used treacherous methods to kill Pandavas. It also reveals the vengeance that some Pandavas would have developed against Kauravas]
When I heard that Arjuna, after having pierced the mark in the arena had won Draupadi, and that the brave Panchalas had joined the Pandavas, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. [Again, illustrates the archery skill of Arjuna]
When I heard that Jarasandha*, the foremost of the royal line of Magadha, and blazing in the midst of the Kshatriyas, had been slain by Bhima with his bare arms alone, then, Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. [Illustrates the Valor of Bhima]
* Jarasandha was a great and powerful king of Magadha, and son of Brihadratha, a Vedic king. He is generally held in negative light owing to his enmity with the Yadav clan in the Mahabharata.
When I heard that in their general campaign the sons of Pandu had conquered the chiefs of the land and performed the grand sacrifice of the Rajasuya (As explained in MAHA-P006), then, Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. [This illustrates the might of Pandavas who complete the hard Rajasuya yaga. This yaga makes the performer of the yaga or sacrifice the emperor. ]
When I heard that Draupadi, her voice choked with tears and heart full of agony, with but one raiment on, had been dragged into court and was ill-treated, I had no hope of success. [This illustrates the wicked nature of Kauravas and also the wrath that they earned from Pandavas by ill-treating their wife.]
When I heard that the wicked wretch Duhsasana was striving to strip her of that single garment, had only drawn from her person a large heap of cloth without being able to arrive at its end, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. [When Duhsasana started stripping Draupadi, by the grace of Lord Krishna he could not remove her clothes. This illustrates the divine favor that Draupadi had and also the curse that Kauravas would have earned while trying to strip her of her clothes.]
When I heard that Yudhishthira, beaten by Saubala** at the game of dice and deprived of his kingdom as a consequence thereof, had still been attended upon by his brothers of incomparable prowess, then, Sanjaya, I had no hope of success.
**Saubala here means Shakuni.
When I heard that the virtuous Pandavas weeping with affliction had followed their elder brother (Yudhishtra) to the wilderness and exerted themselves for the mitigation of his discomforts, then, Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. [This illustrates the might of the affection that Pandavas had on his brother Yudhishtra.]
'When I heard that Yudhishthira had been followed into the wilderness by Snatakas## and noble-minded Brahmins who live upon alms, then, Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. [This illustrates the support that the virtuous Pandavas gained from noble men.]
##Snatakas- A Brahmin who, after performing the ceremonial lustrations(To purify by means of ceremony) required on his finishing his studentship (Brahmachari) under a teacher, returns home and begins the second period of his life as a Householder (Grihasthashrami).
When I heard that Arjuna, having, in combat, pleased the god of gods, Tryambaka$ (the three-eyed) in the disguise of a hunter, obtained the great weapon Pasupata¢, then Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. [This emphasizes that the Kauravas had no chance of victory as Pashupatastra makes one undefeatable in battle.]
$Tryambaka- Lord Shiva :)
¢Pasupata (or) Pashupatastra is the irresistible and most destructive personal weapon of Lord Shiva. The Pashupata astra is capable of destroying creation and vanquishing all beings. The Pashupatastra was used in the Kurukshetra war by Arjuna to kill Jayadratha.
When I heard that the just and renowned Arjuna after having been to the celestial regions, had there obtained celestial weapons from Indra himself then, Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. [Again, this demonstrates the divine favor & blessings of Devas (Demigods) on Pandavas.]
When I heard that afterwards Arjuna had vanquished the Kalakeyas and the Paulomas♠proud with the boon they had obtained and which had rendered them invulnerable even to the celestials, then, Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. [This illustrates the indomitable nature of Arjuna.]
♠The Kalakeyas and Paulomas – Ferocious demons.
When I heard that Arjuna, the chastiser of enemies, having gone to the regions of Indra for the destruction of the Asuras, had returned successful, then, Sanjaya, I had no hope of success.
When I heard that Bhima and the other sons of Pritha (Kunti) accompanied by Vaisravana♥[Again, this demonstrates the divine favor & blessings of Devas (Demigods) on Pandavas.]
♥Vaisravana – Kubera (A demigod) is the king of wealth.
When I heard that my sons, guided by the counsels of Karna, while on their journey of Ghoshayatra (walk or procession to the stations of the herdsmen), had been taken prisoners by the Gandharvas (Celestial beings) and were set free by Arjuna, then, Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. [The superiority of Arjuna over Kauravas and Karna is illustrated here.]
When I heard that Dharma (Yama, the god of death & justice) having come under the form of a Yaksha (A divine being) had proposed certain questions to Yudhishthira then, Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. [This exemplifies the judicious nature of Yudhishtra.]
When I heard that my sons had failed to discover the Pandavas under their disguise while residing with Draupadi in the dominions of Virata§, then, Sanjaya, I had no hope of success.
§Virata was a king in whose court the Pandavas spent a year in concealment during their exile. He was married to Queen Sudeshna and was the father of Prince Uttara and Princess Uttara.
When I heard that the principal men of my side had all been vanquished by the noble Arjuna with a single chariot while residing in the dominions of Virata, then, Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. [This illustrates the indomitable nature of Arjuna.]
Towards the end of the year that the Pandavas spent at the Matsya kingdom in hiding as per their agreement with Kauravas, Duryodhana attacked Matsya and brought the army of Hastinapura to their borders. King Virata had already taken his entire army to another battle, so Uttar, son of Virata went to confront Duryodhana's army with Arjuna (disguised as the eunuch dancer Brihannala, due to a curse) as his charioteer. While initially Uttar was confident of his abilities, he panicked upon seeing the legendary warriors at the head of Duryodhana's forces, particularly Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, Karna, and Asvatthama. Uttar dismounted the chariot and ran for his life, but Arjun gave chase and caught him, chiding him for his cowardice. Arjuna then revealed his true identity to Uttar who was skeptical and believed Arjuna only when he uttered his ten aliases. Arjuna then took charge and single-handedly and defeated the entire Hastinapura army in a spectacular show of his masterful archery. After this war he was called as Mahabahu (meaning – One with mighty arms i.e., mighty warrior.)
When I heard that Vasudeva (Lord Krishna) of the race of Madhu, who covered this whole earth by one foot, was heartily interested in the welfare of the Pandavas, then, Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. [This explains the Divine favor for Pandavas.]
This gist of Mahabharata containing the important events will continue..... :) :) :)
Hope you people like it!!!
I strongly encourage you to offer your views on the subject as comments.
And for people, who are skeptical about me becoming a Sanyasi.....
I am not destined to become one and I accept that with equanimity. I am well aware of my karma and I shall execute them with style & elegance :P :P :P
----------Anand Hariharan.
