Mahabharata 11.11: ekādaśo'dhyāyaḥ

11.11.1

vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca |
hateṣu sarvasainyeṣu dharmarājo yudhiṣṭhiraḥ |
śuśruve pitaraṃ vṛddhaṃ niryātaṃ gajasāhvayāt || 1 ||

Vaishampayana said, "After all the warriors had been slaughtered, king Yudhishthira the just heard that his uncle Dhritarashtra had set out from the city called after the elephant. Afflicted with grief on account of the death of his sons, Yudhishthira, O king, accompanied by his brothers, set out for meeting his uncle, filled with sorrow and overwhelmed with grief for the slaughter of his (hundred) sons. The son of Kunti was followed by the high-souled and heroic Krishna of Dasharha’s race, and by Yuyudhana, as also by Yuyutsu. The princess Draupadi also, burning with grief, and accompanied by those Pancala ladies that were with her, sorrowfully followed her lord. Yudhishthira beheld near the banks of the Ganga, O king, the crowd of Bharata ladies afflicted with woe and crying like a flight of she-ospreys. The king was soon surrounded by those thousands of ladies who, with arms raised aloft in grief, were indulging in loud lamentations and giving expression to all kinds of words, agreeable and disagreeable: ‘Where, indeed, is that righteousness of the king, where is truth and compassion, since he has slain sires and brothers and preceptors and sons and friends? How, O mighty-armed one, hath thy heart become tranquil after causing Drona, and thy grandsire Bhishma, and Jayadratha, to be slaughtered?

11.11.2

so'bhyayātputraśokārtaḥ putraśokapariplutam |
śocamāno mahārāja bhrātṛbhiḥ sahitastadā || 2 ||

11.11.3

anvīyamāno vīreṇa dāśārheṇa mahātmanā |
yuyudhānena ca tathā tathaiva ca yuyutsunā || 3 ||

11.11.4

tamanvagātsuduḥkhārtā draupadī śokakarśitā |
saha pāñcālayoṣidbhiryāstatrāsansamāgatāḥ || 4 ||

11.11.5

sa gaṅgāmanu vṛndāni strīṇāṃ bharatasattama |
kurarīṇāmivārtānāṃ krośantīnāṃ dadarśa ha || 5 ||

11.11.6

tābhiḥ parivṛto rājā rudatībhiḥ sahasraśaḥ |
ūrdhvabāhubhirārtābhirbruvatībhiḥ priyāpriye || 6 ||

11.11.7

kva nu dharmajñatā rājñaḥ kva nu sādyānṛśaṃsatā |
yadāvadhītpitṝnbhrātṝngurūnputrānsakhīnapi || 7 ||

11.11.8

ghātayitvā kathaṃ droṇaṃ bhīṣmaṃ cāpi pitāmaham |
manaste'bhūnmahābāho hatvā cāpi jayadratham || 8 ||

11.11.9

kiṃ nu rājyena te kāryaṃ pitṝnbhrātṝnapaśyataḥ |
abhimanyuṃ ca durdharṣaṃ draupadeyāṃśca bhārata || 9 ||

What need hast thou of sovereignty, after having seen thy sires and brothers, O Bharata, and the irresistible Abhimanyu and the sons of Draupadi, thus slaughtered?’ Passing over those ladies crying like a flight of she-ospreys, the mighty-armed king Yudhishthira the just saluted the feet of his eldest uncle. Having saluted their sire according to custom, those slayers of foes, the Pandavas, announced themselves to him, each uttering his own name. Dhritarashtra, exceedingly afflicted with grief on account of the slaughter of his sons, then reluctantly embraced the eldest son of Pandu, who was the cause of that slaughter. Having embraced Yudhishthira the just and spoken a few words of comfort to him, O Bharata, the wicked-souled Dhritarashtra sought for Bhima, like a blazing fire ready to burn everything that would approach it. Indeed, that fire of his wrath, fanned by the wind of his grief, seemed then to be ready to consume the Bhima-forest. Ascertaining the evil intentions cherished by him towards Bhima, Krishna, dragging away the real Bhima, presented an iron statue of the second son of Pandu to the old king. Possessed of great intelligence, Krishna had, at the very outset, understood the intentions of Dhritarashtra, and had, therefore, kept such a contrivance ready for baffling them. Seizing with his two arms that iron Bhima, king Dhritarashtra, possessed of great strength, broke into pieces, thinking it to be Bhima himself in flesh and blood.

11.11.10

atītya tā mahābāhuḥ krośantīḥ kurarīriva |
vavande pitaraṃ jyeṣṭhaṃ dharmarājo yudhiṣṭhiraḥ || 10 ||

11.11.11

tato'bhivādya pitaraṃ dharmeṇāmitrakarśanāḥ |
nyavedayanta nāmāni pāṇḍavāste'pi sarvaśaḥ || 11 ||

11.11.12

tamātmajāntakaraṇaṃ pitā putravadhārditaḥ |
aprīyamāṇaḥ śokārtaḥ pāṇḍavaṃ pariṣasvaje || 12 ||

11.11.13

dharmarājaṃ pariṣvajya sāntvayitvā ca bhārata |
duṣṭātmā bhīmamanvaicchaddidhakṣuriva pāvakaḥ || 13 ||

11.11.14

sa kopapāvakastasya śokavāyusamīritaḥ |
bhīmasenamayaṃ dāvaṃ didhakṣuriva dṛśyate || 14 ||

11.11.15

tasya saṃkalpamājñāya bhīmaṃ pratyaśubhaṃ hariḥ |
bhīmamākṣipya pāṇibhyāṃ pradadau bhīmamāyasam || 15 ||

11.11.16

prāgeva tu mahābuddhirbuddhvā tasyeṅgitaṃ hariḥ |
saṃvidhānaṃ mahāprājñastatra cakre janārdanaḥ || 16 ||

11.11.17

taṃ tu gṛhyaiva pāṇibhyāṃ bhīmasenamayasmayam |
babhañja balavānrājā manyamāno vṛkodaram || 17 ||

11.11.18

nāgāyutabalaprāṇaḥ sa rājā bhīmamāyasam |
bhaṅktvā vimathitoraskaḥ susrāva rudhiraṃ mukhāt || 18 ||

Endued with might equal to that of 10,000 elephants, the king reduced that statue into fragments. His own breast, however, became considerably bruised and he began to vomit blood. Covered with blood, the king fell down on the ground like a parijata tree topped with its flowery burden. His learned charioteer Sanjaya, the son of Gavalgana, raised the monarch and soothing and comforting him, said, ‘Do not act so.’ The king then, having cast off his wrath and returned to his normal disposition, became filled with grief and began to weep aloud, saying, ‘Alas, oh Bhima, alas, oh Bhima!’ Understanding that he was no longer under the influence of wrath, and that he was truly sorry for having (as he believed) killed Bhima, Vasudeva, that foremost of men, said these words, ‘Do not grieve, O Dhritarashtra, for thou hast not slain Bhimasena! That is an iron statue, O king, which has been broken by thee! Understanding that thou wert filled with rage, O bull of Bharata’s race, I dragged the son of Kunti away from within the jaws of Death. O tiger among kings, there is none equal to thee in strength of body. What man is there, O mighty-armed one, that would endure pressure of thy arms? Indeed, as no one can escape with life from an encounter with the Destroyer himself, even so no body can come out safe from within thy embrace. It was for this that yonder iron statue of Bhima, which had been caused to be made by thy son, had been kept ready for thee.

11.11.19

tataḥ papāta medinyāṃ tathaiva rudhirokṣitaḥ |
prapuṣpitāgraśikharaḥ pārijāta iva drumaḥ || 19 ||

11.11.20

paryagṛhṇata taṃ vidvānsūto gāvalgaṇistadā |
maivamityabravīccainaṃ śamayansāntvayanniva || 20 ||

11.11.21

sa tu kopaṃ samutsṛjya gatamanyurmahāmanāḥ |
hā hā bhīmeti cukrośa bhūyaḥ śokasamanvitaḥ || 21 ||

11.11.22

taṃ viditvā gatakrodhaṃ bhīmasenavadhārditam |
vāsudevo varaḥ puṃsāmidaṃ vacanamabravīt || 22 ||

11.11.23

mā śuco dhṛtarāṣṭra tvaṃ naiṣa bhīmastvayā hataḥ |
āyasī pratimā hyeṣā tvayā rājannipātitā || 23 ||

11.11.24

tvāṃ krodhavaśamāpannaṃ viditvā bharatarṣabha |
mayāpakṛṣṭaḥ kaunteyo mṛtyordaṃṣṭrāntaraṃ gataḥ || 24 ||

11.11.25

na hi te rājaśārdūla bale tulyo'sti kaścana |
kaḥ saheta mahābāho bāhvornigrahaṇaṃ naraḥ || 25 ||

11.11.26

yathāntakamanuprāpya jīvankaścinna mucyate |
evaṃ bāhvantaraṃ prāpya tava jīvenna kaścana || 26 ||

11.11.27

tasmātputreṇa yā sā te pratimā kāritāyasī |
bhīmasya seyaṃ kauravya tavaivopahṛtā mayā || 27 ||

11.11.28

putraśokābhisaṃtāpāddharmādapahṛtaṃ manaḥ |
tava rājendra tena tvaṃ bhīmasenaṃ jighāṃsasi || 28 ||

Through grief for the death of thy sons, thy mind has fallen off from righteousness. It is for this, O great king, that thou seekest to slay Bhimasena. The slaughter of Bhima, however, O king, would do thee no good. Thy sons, O monarch, would not be revived by it. Therefore, do thou approve of what has been by us with a view to secure peace and do not set thy heart on grief!’"

11.11.29

na ca te tatkṣamaṃ rājanhanyāstvaṃ yadvṛkodaram |
na hi putrā mahārāja jīveyuste kathaṃcana || 29 ||

11.11.30

tasmādyatkṛtamasmābhirmanyamānaiḥ kṣamaṃ prati |
anumanyasva tatsarvaṃ mā ca śoke manaḥ kṛthāḥ || 30 ||