Mahabharata 11.9: navamo'dhyāyaḥ

11.9.1

janamejaya uvāca |
gate bhagavati vyāse dhṛtarāṣṭro mahīpatiḥ |
kimaceṣṭata viprarṣe tanme vyākhyātumarhasi || 1 ||

Janamejaya said, "After the holy Vyasa had departed, what, O regenerate sage, did king Dhritarashtra, do? It behoveth thee to tell me this. What also did the Kuru king, the high-souled son of Dharma, do? And how did those three, Kripa and others, do? I have heard of the feats of Ashvatthama and the mutual denouncement of curses. Tell me what happened next and what Sanjaya next said (unto the old king)."

9

Janamejaya said, "After the holy Vyasa had departed, what, O regenerate sage, did king Dhritarashtra, do? It behoveth thee to tell me this. What also did the Kuru king, the high-souled son of Dharma, do? And how did those three, Kripa and others, do? I have heard of the feats of Ashvatthama and the mutual denouncement of curses. Tell me what happened next and what Sanjaya next said (unto the old king)."

Vaishampayana said, "After Duryodhana had been slain and all the troops slaughtered, Sanjaya, deprived of his spiritual sight, came back to Dhritarashtra.

"Sanjaya said, ‘The kings of diverse peoples, that came from diverse realms, have all, O king, gone to the regions of the dead, along with thy sons. Thy son, O king, who had constantlybeen implored (for peace) but who always wished to terminate his hostility (with the Pandavas by slaughtering them) has caused the earth to be exterminated. Do thou, O king, cause the obsequial rites of thy sons and grandsons and sires to be performed according to due order!’"

Vaishampayana continued, "Hearing these terrible words of Sanjaya, the king fell down on the Earth and lay motionless like one deprived of life. Approaching the monarch who was lying prostrate on the Earth, Vidura, conversant with every duty, said these words: ‘Rise, O king, why dost thou lie down thus? Do not grieve, O bull of Bharata’s race! Even this, O lord of Earth, is the final end of all creatures. At first creatures are non-existent. In the interim, O Bharata, they become existent. At the end, they once more become non-existent. What cause of sorrow is there in all this? By indulging in grief, one cannot get back the dead. By indulging in grief, one cannot die himself. When such is the course of the world, why dost thou indulge in grief? One may die without having been engaged in battle. One also escapes with life after being engaged in battle. When one’s Time comes, O king, one cannot escape! Time drags all kinds of creatures. There is none dear or hateful to Time, O best of the Kurus! As the wind tears off the ends of all blades of grass, even so all creatures, O bull of Bharata’s race, are brought by Time under its influence. All creatures are like members of the same caravan bound for the same destination. What cause of sorrow is there if Time meets with one a little earlier than with another? Those again, O king, that have fallen in battle and for whom thou grievest, are not really objects of thy grief, since all those illustrious ones have gone to heaven. By sacrifices with profuse presents, by ascetic austerities, and by knowledge, people cannot so easily repair to heaven as heroes by courage in battle. All those heroes were conversant with the Vedas; all of them were observant of vows; all of them have perished, facing the foe in battle. What cause of sorrow then is there? They poured their arrowy libations upon the bodies of their brave foes as upon a fire. Foremost of men, they bore in return the arrowy libations poured upon themselves. I tell thee, O king, that there is no better way to heaven for a Kshatriya than through battle. All of them were high-souled Kshatriyas, all of them were heroes and ornaments of assemblies. They have attained to a high state of blessedness. One should not grieve for them. Do thou comfort thy own self. Do not grieve, O bull among men! It behoveth thee not to suffer thyself to be overwhelmed with sorrow and abandon all action.’"

11.9.2

vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca |
etacchrutvā naraśreṣṭha ciraṃ dhyātvā tvacetanaḥ |
saṃjayaṃ yojayetyuktvā viduraṃ pratyabhāṣata || 2 ||

Vaishampayana said, "After Duryodhana had been slain and all the troops slaughtered, Sanjaya, deprived of his spiritual sight, came back to Dhritarashtra.

11.9.3

kṣipramānaya gāndhārīṃ sarvāśca bharatastriyaḥ |
vadhūṃ kuntīmupādāya yāścānyāstatra yoṣitaḥ || 3 ||

Vaishampayana said, "Hearing these words of Vidura, that bull of Bharata’s race (Dhritarashtra) ordered his car to be yoked. The king once more said, ‘Bring Gandhari hither without delay, and all the Bharata ladies. Bring hither Kunti also, as well as all the other ladies with her.’ Having said these words unto Vidura, conversant with every duty, Dhritarashtra of righteous soul, deprived of his senses by sorrow, ascended on his car. Then Gandhari, afflicted with grief on account of the death of her sons, accompanied by Kunti and the other ladies of the royal household, came at the command of her lord to that spot where the latter was waiting for her. Afflicted with grief, they came together to the king. As they met, they accosted each other and uttered loud wails of woe. Then Vidura, who had become more afflicted than those ladies, began to comfort them. Placing those weeping fair ones on the cars that stood ready for them, he set out (with them) from the city. At that time a loud wail of woe arose from every Kuru house. The whole city, including the very children, became exceedingly afflicted with grief. Thoseladies that had not before this been seen by the very gods were now helpless, as they were, for the loss of their lords, seen by the common people. With their beautiful tresses all dishevelled and their ornaments cast off, those ladies, each attired in a single piece of raiment, proceeded most woefully. Indeed, they issued from their houses resembling white mountains, like a dappled herd of deer from their mountain caves after the fall of their leader. These fair ladies, in successive bevies, O king, came out, filled with sorrow, and ran hither and thither like a herd of fillies on a circus yard. Seizing each other by the hand, they uttered loud wails after their sons and brothers and sires. They seemed to exhibit the scene that takes place on the occasion of the universal destruction at the end of the Yuga. Weeping and crying and running hither and thither, and deprived of their senses by grief, they knew not what to do. Those ladies who formerly felt the blush of modesty in the presence of even companions of their own sex, now felt no blush of shame, though scantily clad, in appearing before their mothers-in-law. Formerly they used to comfort each other while afflicted with even slight causes of woe. Stupefied by grief, they now, O king, refrained from even casting their eyes upon each other. Surrounded by those thousands of wailing ladies, the king cheerlessly issued out of the city and proceeded with speed towards the field of battle. Artisans and traders and Vaishyas and all kinds of mechanics, issuing out of the city, followed in the wake of the king. As those ladies, afflicted by the wholesale destruction that had overtaken the Kurus, cried in sorrow, a loud wail arose from among them that seemed to pierce all the worlds. All creatures that heard that wail thought that the hour of universal destruction had come when all things would be consumed by the fire that arises at the end of the Yuga. The citizens also (of Hastinapura), devoted to the house of Kuru, with hearts filled with anxiety at the destruction that had overtaken their rules, set up, O king, a wail that was as loud as that uttered by those ladies."

10

Vaishampayana said, "Hearing these words of Vidura, that bull of Bharata’s race (Dhritarashtra) ordered his car to be yoked. The king once more said, ‘Bring Gandhari hither without delay, and all the Bharata ladies. Bring hither Kunti also, as well as all the other ladies with her.’ Having said these words unto Vidura, conversant with every duty, Dhritarashtra of righteous soul, deprived of his senses by sorrow, ascended on his car. Then Gandhari, afflicted with grief on account of the death of her sons, accompanied by Kunti and the other ladies of the royal household, came at the command of her lord to that spot where the latter was waiting for her. Afflicted with grief, they came together to the king. As they met, they accosted each other and uttered loud wails of woe. Then Vidura, who had become more afflicted than those ladies, began to comfort them. Placing those weeping fair ones on the cars that stood ready for them, he set out (with them) from the city. At that time a loud wail of woe arose from every Kuru house. The whole city, including the very children, became exceedingly afflicted with grief. Thoseladies that had not before this been seen by the very gods were now helpless, as they were, for the loss of their lords, seen by the common people. With their beautiful tresses all dishevelled and their ornaments cast off, those ladies, each attired in a single piece of raiment, proceeded most woefully. Indeed, they issued from their houses resembling white mountains, like a dappled herd of deer from their mountain caves after the fall of their leader. These fair ladies, in successive bevies, O king, came out, filled with sorrow, and ran hither and thither like a herd of fillies on a circus yard. Seizing each other by the hand, they uttered loud wails after their sons and brothers and sires. They seemed to exhibit the scene that takes place on the occasion of the universal destruction at the end of the Yuga. Weeping and crying and running hither and thither, and deprived of their senses by grief, they knew not what to do. Those ladies who formerly felt the blush of modesty in the presence of even companions of their own sex, now felt no blush of shame, though scantily clad, in appearing before their mothers-in-law. Formerly they used to comfort each other while afflicted with even slight causes of woe. Stupefied by grief, they now, O king, refrained from even casting their eyes upon each other. Surrounded by those thousands of wailing ladies, the king cheerlessly issued out of the city and proceeded with speed towards the field of battle. Artisans and traders and Vaishyas and all kinds of mechanics, issuing out of the city, followed in the wake of the king. As those ladies, afflicted by the wholesale destruction that had overtaken the Kurus, cried in sorrow, a loud wail arose from among them that seemed to pierce all the worlds. All creatures that heard that wail thought that the hour of universal destruction had come when all things would be consumed by the fire that arises at the end of the Yuga. The citizens also (of Hastinapura), devoted to the house of Kuru, with hearts filled with anxiety at the destruction that had overtaken their rules, set up, O king, a wail that was as loud as that uttered by those ladies."

11.9.4

evamuktvā sa dharmātmā viduraṃ dharmavittamam |
śokaviprahatajñāno yānamevānvapadyata || 4 ||

11.9.5

gāndhārī caiva śokārtā bharturvacanacoditā |
saha kuntyā yato rājā saha strībhirupādravat || 5 ||

11.9.6

tāḥ samāsādya rājānaṃ bhṛśaṃ śokasamanvitāḥ |
āmantryānyonyamīyuḥ sma bhṛśamuccukruśustataḥ || 6 ||

11.9.7

tāḥ samāśvāsayatkṣattā tābhyaścārtataraḥ svayam |
aśrukaṇṭhīḥ samāropya tato'sau niryayau purāt || 7 ||

11.9.8

tataḥ praṇādaḥ saṃjajñe sarveṣu kuruveśmasu |
ākumāraṃ puraṃ sarvamabhavacchokakarśitam || 8 ||

11.9.9

adṛṣṭapūrvā yā nāryaḥ purā devagaṇairapi |
pṛthagjanena dṛśyanta tāstadā nihateśvarāḥ || 9 ||

11.9.10

prakīrya keśānsuśubhānbhūṣaṇānyavamucya ca |
ekavastradharā nāryaḥ paripeturanāthavat || 10 ||

11.9.11

śvetaparvatarūpebhyo gṛhebhyastāstvapākraman |
guhābhya iva śailānāṃ pṛṣatyo hatayūthapāḥ || 11 ||

11.9.12

tānyudīrṇāni nārīṇāṃ tadā vṛndānyanekaśaḥ |
śokārtānyadravanrājankiśorīṇāmivāṅgane || 12 ||

11.9.13

pragṛhya bāhūnkrośantyaḥ putrānbhrātṝnpitṝnapi |
darśayantīva tā ha sma yugānte lokasaṃkṣayam || 13 ||

11.9.14

vilapantyo rudantyaśca dhāvamānāstatastataḥ |
śokenābhyāhatajñānāḥ kartavyaṃ na prajajñire || 14 ||

11.9.15

vrīḍāṃ jagmuḥ purā yāḥ sma sakhīnāmapi yoṣitaḥ |
tā ekavastrā nirlajjāḥ śvaśrūṇāṃ purato'bhavan || 15 ||

11.9.16

parasparaṃ susūkṣmeṣu śokeṣvāśvāsayansma yāḥ |
tāḥ śokavihvalā rājannupaikṣanta parasparam || 16 ||

11.9.17

tābhiḥ parivṛto rājā rudatībhiḥ sahasraśaḥ |
niryayau nagarāddīnastūrṇamāyodhanaṃ prati || 17 ||

11.9.18

śilpino vaṇijo vaiśyāḥ sarvakarmopajīvinaḥ |
te pārthivaṃ puraskṛtya niryayurnagarādbahiḥ || 18 ||

11.9.19

tāsāṃ vikrośamānānāmārtānāṃ kurusaṃkṣaye |
prādurāsīnmahāñśabdo vyathayanbhuvanānyuta || 19 ||

11.9.20

yugāntakāle saṃprāpte bhūtānāṃ dahyatāmiva |
abhāvaḥ syādayaṃ prāpta iti bhūtāni menire || 20 ||

11.9.21

bhṛśamudvignamanasaste paurāḥ kurusaṃkṣaye |
prākrośanta mahārāja svanuraktāstadā bhṛśam || 21 ||