The Great Epic of the Bhārata dynasty 3.256: ṣaṭpañcāśadadhika dviśatatamo'dhyāyaḥ

3.256.1

vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca |
jayadrathastu saṃprekṣya bhrātarāvudyatāyudhau |
prādravattūrṇamavyagro jīvitepsuḥ suduḥkhitaḥ || 1 ||

Vaisampayana said, "Jayadratha flying for his life upon beholding those two brothers with upraised arms, was sorely grieved and bolted off with speed and coolness. But the mighty and indignant Bhimasena, descending from his chariot, ran after him thus fleeing, and seized him by the hair of his head. And holding him high up in the air, Bhima thrust him on the ground with violence. And seizing the prince by the head, he knocked him about. And when the wretch recovered consciousness, he groaned aloud and wanted to get up on his legs. But that hero endued with mighty arms kicked him on the head. And Bhima pressed him on the breast with his knees as well as with his fists. And the prince thus belaboured, soon became insensible. Then Falguna dissuaded the wrathful Bhimasena from inflicting further chastisement on the prince, by reminding him of what Yudhishthira had said regarding (their sister) Dussala. But Bhima replied, saying, 'This sinful wretch hath done a cruel injury to Krishna, who never can bear such treatment. He, therefore, deserveth to die at hands! But what can I do? The king is always overflowing with mercy, and thou, too, art constantly putting obstacles in my way from a childish sense of virtue!' Having said these words, Vrikodara, with his crescent-shaped arrow, shaved the hair of the prince's head, heaving five tufts in as many places. Jayadratha uttered not a word at this. Then Vrikodara, addressing the foe said, 'If thou wishest to live, listen to me. O fool!

3.256.2

taṃ bhīmaseno dhāvantamavatīrya rathādbalī |
abhidrutya nijagrāha keśapakṣe'tyamarṣaṇaḥ || 2 ||

3.256.3

samudyamya ca taṃ roṣānniṣpipeṣa mahītale |
gale gṛhītvā rājānaṃ tāḍayāmāsa caiva ha || 3 ||

3.256.4

punaḥ saṃjīvamānasya tasyotpatitumicchataḥ |
padā mūrdhni mahābāhuḥ prāharadvilapiṣyataḥ || 4 ||

3.256.5

tasya jānuṃ dadau bhīmo jaghne cainamaratninā |
sa mohamagamadrājā prahāravarapīḍitaḥ || 5 ||

3.256.6

viroṣaṃ bhīmasenaṃ tu vārayāmāsa phalgunaḥ |
duḥśalāyāḥ kṛte rājā yattadāheti kaurava || 6 ||

3.256.7

bhīmasena uvāca |
nāyaṃ pāpasamācāro matto jīvitumarhati |
draupadyāstadanarhāyāḥ parikleṣṭā narādhamaḥ || 7 ||

3.256.8

kiṃ nu śakyaṃ mayā kartuṃ yadrājā satataṃ ghṛṇī |
tvaṃ ca bāliśayā buddhyā sadaivāsmānprabādhase || 8 ||

3.256.9

evamuktvā saṭāstasya pañca cakre vṛkodaraḥ |
ardhacandreṇa bāṇena kiṃcidabruvatastadā || 9 ||

3.256.10

vikalpayitvā rājānaṃ tataḥ prāha vṛkodaraḥ |
jīvituṃ cecchase mūḍha hetuṃ me gadataḥ śṛṇu || 10 ||

3.256.11

dāso'smīti tvayā vācyaṃ saṃsatsu ca sabhāsu ca |
evaṃ te jīvitaṃ dadyāmeṣa yuddhajito vidhiḥ || 11 ||

I shall tell thee the means to attain that wish! In public assemblies and in open courts thou must say,--I am the slave of the Pandavas.--on this condition alone, I will pardon thee thy life! This is the customary rule of conquest on the field of battle.' Thus addressed and treated, king Jayadratha said to the mighty and fierce warrior who always looked awful, 'Be it so!' And he was trembling and senseless and begrimed with dust. Then Arjuna and Vrikodara, securing him with chains, thrust him into a chariot. And Bhima, himself mounting that chariot, and accompanied by Arjuna, drove towards the hermitage. And approaching Yudhishthira seated there, he placed Jayadratha in that condition before the king. And the king, smiling, told him to set the Sindhu prince at liberty. Then Bhima said unto the king, 'Do thou tell Draupadi that this wretch hath become the slave of the Pandavas.' Then his eldest brother said unto him affectionately, 'If thou hast any regard for us, do thou set this wretch at liberty!' And Draupadi too, reading the king's mind, said, 'Let him off! He hath become a slave of the king's and thou, too, hast disfigured him by leaving five tufts of hair on his head.' Then that crest-fallen prince, having obtained his liberty, approached king Yudhishthira and bowed down unto him. And seeing those Munis there, he saluted them also.

3.256.12

evamastviti taṃ rājā kṛcchraprāṇo jayadrathaḥ |
provāca puruṣavyāghraṃ bhīmamāhavaśobhinam || 12 ||

3.256.13

tata enaṃ viceṣṭantaṃ baddhvā pārtho vṛkodaraḥ |
rathamāropayāmāsa visaṃjñaṃ pāṃsuguṇṭhitam || 13 ||

3.256.14

tatastaṃ rathamāsthāya bhīmaḥ pārthānugastadā |
abhyetyāśramamadhyasthamabhyagacchadyudhiṣṭhiram || 14 ||

3.256.15

darśayāmāsa bhīmastu tadavasthaṃ jayadratham |
taṃ rājā prāhasaddṛṣṭvā mucyatāmiti cābravīt || 15 ||

3.256.16

rājānaṃ cābravīdbhīmo draupadyai kathayeti vai |
dāsabhāvaṃ gato hyeṣa pāṇḍūnāṃ pāpacetanaḥ || 16 ||

3.256.17

tamuvāca tato jyeṣṭho bhrātā sapraṇayaṃ vacaḥ |
muñcainamadhamācāraṃ pramāṇaṃ yadi te vayam || 17 ||

3.256.18

draupadī cābravīdbhīmamabhiprekṣya yudhiṣṭhiram |
dāso'yaṃ mucyatāṃ rājñastvayā pañcasaṭaḥ kṛtaḥ || 18 ||

3.256.19

sa mukto'bhyetya rājānamabhivādya yudhiṣṭhiram |
vavande vihvalo rājā tāṃśca sarvānmunīṃstadā || 19 ||

3.256.20

tamuvāca ghṛṇī rājā dharmaputro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ |
tathā jayadrathaṃ dṛṣṭvā gṛhītaṃ savyasācinā || 20 ||

Then the kind-hearted king Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma, beholding Jayadratha in that condition, almost supported by Arjuna, said unto him, 'Thou art a free man now; I emancipate thee! Now go away and be careful not to do such thing again; shame to thee! Thou hadst intended to take away a lady by violence, even though thou art so mean and powerless! What other wretch save thee would think of acting thus?" Then that foremost king of Bharata's race eyed with pity that perpetrator of wicked deeds, and believing that he had lost his senses, said, 'Mayst thy heart grow in virtue! Never set thy heart again on immoral deeds! Thou mayst depart in peace now with thy charioteers, cavalry and infantry.' Thus addressed by Yudhishthira, the prince, O Bharata, was overpowered with shame, and bending down his head, he silently and sorrowfully wended his way to the place where the Ganga debouches on the plains. And imploring the protection of the god of three eyes, the consort of Uma, he did severe penance at that place. And the three-eyed god, pleased with his austerities deigned to accept his offerings in person. And he also granted him a boon! Do thou listen, O monarch, how the prince received that boon! Jayadratha, addressing that god, asked the boon, 'May I be able to defeat in battle all the five sons of Pandu on their chariots!' The god, however, told him 'This cannot be.' And Maheswara said, 'None can slay or conquer them in battle.

3.256.21

adāso gaccha mukto'si maivaṃ kārṣīḥ punaḥ kvacit |
strīkāmuka dhigastu tvāṃ kṣudraḥ kṣudrasahāyavān |
evaṃvidhaṃ hi kaḥ kuryāttvadanyaḥ puruṣādhamaḥ || 21 ||

3.256.22

gatasattvamiva jñātvā kartāramaśubhasya tam |
saṃprekṣya bharataśreṣṭhaḥ kṛpāṃ cakre narādhipaḥ || 22 ||

3.256.23

dharme te vardhatāṃ buddhirmā cādharme manaḥ kṛthāḥ |
sāśvaḥ sarathapādātaḥ svasti gaccha jayadratha || 23 ||

3.256.24

evamuktastu savrīḍaṃ tūṣṇīṃ kiṃcidavāṅmukhaḥ |
jagāma rājā duḥkhārto gaṅgādvārāya bhārata || 24 ||

3.256.25

sa devaṃ śaraṇaṃ gatvā virūpākṣamumāpatim |
tapaścacāra vipulaṃ tasya prīto vṛṣadhvajaḥ || 25 ||

3.256.26

baliṃ svayaṃ pratyagṛhṇātprīyamāṇastrilocanaḥ |
varaṃ cāsmai dadau devaḥ sa ca jagrāha tacchṛṇu || 26 ||

3.256.27

samastānsarathānpañca jayeyaṃ yudhi pāṇḍavān |
iti rājābravīddevaṃ neti devastamabravīt || 27 ||

3.256.28

ajayyāṃścāpyavadhyāṃśca vārayiṣyasi tānyudhi |
ṛte'rjunaṃ mahābāhuṃ devairapi durāsadam || 28 ||

Save Arjuna, however, thou shall be able to only check them (once) on the field of battle! The heroic Arjuna, with mighty arms, is the god incarnate styled Nara. He practised austerities of old in the Vadari forest. The God Narayana is his friend. Therefore, he is unconquerable of the very gods. I myself have given him the celestial weapon called Pasupata. From the regents also of all the ten cardinal points, he has acquired the thunder-bolt and other mighty weapons. And the great god Vishnu who is the Infinite Spirit, the Lord Preceptor of all the gods, is the Supreme Being without attributes, and the Soul of the Universe, and existeth pervading the whole creation. At the termination of a cycle of ages, assuming the shape of the all-consuming fire, he consumed the whole Universe with mountains and seas and islands and hills and woods and forests. And after the destruction of the Naga world also in the subterranean regions in the same way, vast masses of many-coloured and loud-pealing clouds, with streaks of lightning, spreading along the entire welkin, had appeared on high. Then pouring down water in torrents thick as axles of cars, and filling the space everywhere, these extinguishing that all-consuming fire!

3.256.29

yamāhurajitaṃ devaṃ śaṅkhacakragadādharam |
pradhānaḥ so'straviduṣāṃ tena kṛṣṇena rakṣyate || 29 ||

[paragraph continues] He had the ascetic's staff and water-pot in hand, and was marked with the emblem of a curl of hair on the breast. And that adorable Being wore matted locks and the sacrificial thread, and he was stout and handsome and resplendent with lustre. And that Being, arriving at the sacrificial enclosure of Vali, king of the Danavas, entered the sacrificial assembly with the aid of Vrihaspati. And beholding that dwarf-bodied Being, Vali was well-pleased and said unto him, 'I am glad to see thee, O Brahmana! Say what is it that thou wantest from me!' Thus addressed by Vali, the dwarf-god replied with a smile, saying, 'So be it! Do thou, lord of the Danavas, give me three paces of ground!' And Vali contented to give what that Brahmana of infinite power had asked. And while measuring with his paces the space he sought. Hari assumed a wonderful and extraordinary form. And with only three paces he instantly covered this illimitable world. And then that everlasting God, Vishnu, gave it away unto Indra. This history which has just been related to thee, is celebrated as the 'Incarnation of the Dwarf', And from him, all the gods had their being, and after him the world is said to be Vaishnava, or pervaded by Vishnu. And for the destruction of the wicked and the preservation of religion, even He hath taken his birth among men in the race of the Yadus. And the adorable Vishnu is styled Krishna. These, O king of Sindhu, are the achievements of the Lord whom all the worlds worship and whom the learned describe as without beginning and without end, unborn and Divine! They call Him, the unconquerable Krishna with conchshell, discus and mace, and adorned with the emblem of a curl of hair, Divine, clad in silken robes of yellow hue, and the best of those versed in the art of war. Arjuna is protected by Krishna the possessor of these attributes. That glorious and lotus-eyed Being of infinite power, that slayer of hostile heroes, riding in the same chariot with Pritha's son, protecteth him! He is, therefore, invincible; the very gods cannot resist his power, still less can one with human attributes vanquish the son of Pritha in battle! Therefore, O king, thou must let him alone! Thou shalt, however, be able to vanquish for a single day only, the rest of Yudhishthira's forces along with thine enemies--the four sons of Pandu!"

3.256.30

evamuktastu nṛpatiḥ svameva bhavanaṃ yayau |
pāṇḍavāśca vane tasminnyavasankāmyake tadā || 30 ||

Vaisampayana continued, "Having said these words unto that prince, the adorable Hara of three eyes, the destroyer of all sins, the consort of Uma, and lord of wild beasts, the destroyer of (Daksha's) sacrifice, the slayer of Tripura and He that had plucked out the eyes of Bhaga, surrounded by his dwarfish and hunch-backed and terrible followers having frightful eyes and ears and uplifted arms, vanished, O tiger among kings, from that place with his consort Uma! And the wicked Jayadratha also returned home, and the sons of Pandu continued to dwell in the forest of Kamyaka."