Venisamhara 6

English (machine translation) 6

Language: English

Though brushed aside by these bees, its nectar shaken free, / as if internally dusted with rays of the moon, its buds bursting open, / may this scattered handful of flowers at Hari's feet / bestow upon this assembly an accomplishment delightful to behold! // 1.1

6.3

Moreover:

Abandoning the delight of the round dance, on the sands of the Kālindī, / as Kaṃsa's foe pursued Rādhikā, weeping and departing in lover's pique, / placing his feet upon the imprints of hers, his body bristling with thrills— / may his unthwarted entreaty, gazed upon by his mollified beloved, foster you! // 1.2

6.4

Moreover:

Watched with love by the Goddess, with alarm and agitation by demon women crying, "What is this?", / with compassion by sages whose inner being is composed of truth and peace, with a smile by Viṣṇu, / by the proud demon warriors who had drawn their weapons, quieting the panic of their brides, / and with joy by the deities at the burning of the citadel of Maya—may Dhūrjaṭi protect you! // 1.3

6.5

[At the end of the preliminary benediction]

6.6

Stage director:
Enough of prolixity!

Who composed that nectar named the Bhārata, to be drunk by the hollow of the ear,
that free from passion, free from darkness, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana I revere. // 1.4

6.7

[Looking all around:]
So, leaders of the audience, we have a small submission to make:

Here this poetic composition is scattered like another handful of flowers;
like bees with honey drops, however sparse, enjoy its slight virtues! // 1.5

6.8

So, we are prepared to perform the drama named Veṇīsaṃhāra, the work of the poet Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa, who has the mark of a lion. Therefore, out of regard for the poet’s exertion, or out of respect for the lofty subject matter, or out of curiosity to see a new drama, I request your kind attention.

6.9

[In the tiring-room]

6.10

Noble sir, make haste, make haste! By order of the noble Vidura, these men are calling all the actors together: 'Let the preparations, beginning with the uninterrupted arrangement of musical instruments, be set in motion! For it is the time of the entrance of the son of Devakī, the wielder of the discus, who is followed by eminent sages such as Pārāśarya, Nārada, Tumburu, and Jāmadagnya; who out of desire for the welfare of the lineage of Bharata has undertaken the embassy in person; and who is eager to set forth toward the camp of the great king Duryodhana!'

6.11

Stage director: / [Listening, with joy] / Ah, indeed! Today, this whole lineage of Bharata and the entire body of kings have been favored by the blessed Viṣṇu—the Lord capable of the origin, preservation, and dissolution of the universe—by the enemy of Kaṃsa himself acting as envoy to bring about peace, the cause of extinguishing the cataclysmic fire of war between these two royal sons of Kuru and Pāṇḍu. So why, assistant stage director, do you not begin the musical performance together with the actors?

6.12

[Entering]

6.13

Assistant stage director: / So be it. I will begin. Basing it on which season should the song be sung?

6.14

Stage director:
Indeed, taking recourse to this very autumn season, whose vault of heaven and quarters are made white by moonlight, stars, krauñca cranes, flocks of geese, saptacchada trees, night-blooming lotuses, day-blooming lotuses, and the pollen of kāśa flowers, whose reservoirs hold sweet water, let the musical performance commence! For in this autumn:

Having fine wings, uttering sweet cries, adorning the directions, and haughty in their rapturous onset,
the wild geese fall to the surface of the earth under the sway of the season. // 1.6

6.15

Assistant stage director: / [With agitation] / Noble sir, heaven forbid! May the inauspicious omen be averted!

6.16

Stage director: / [With an embarrassed smile] / Worthy friend, through the desire to describe the autumn season, geese are called dhārtarāṣṭras. Why then do you say, 'Heaven forbid! May the inauspicious omen be averted'?

6.17

Assistant stage director: / It is not that I do not know. But because of the ominous sense of your words, in truth my heart trembled.

6.18

Stage director:
Worthy friend, has not all misfortune been averted now that Kaṃsa's foe has himself undertaken the embassy and makes peace? For:

With the fire of enmity extinguished through the pacification of their enemies,
may the sons of Pāṇḍu rejoice together with Mādhava;
and having adorned the earth with blood and healed from war,
may the sons of the Kuru king rest at peace along with their servants! // 1.7

6.19

[In the tiring-room, with indignation]

6.20

Ah! Base scoundrel, reciter of false benedictions, wretched actor!

Striking at our lives and stores of wealth / by means of the fire of the lac house, poisoned food, and entry into the assembly hall, / and having dragged the garments and hair of the daughter-in-law of the Pāṇḍavas, / can the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra rest at peace while I am alive? // 1.8

6.21

[Limb of the juncture: allusion]

6.22

[The stage director and the assistant stage director listen]

6.23

Assistant stage director: / Noble sir, from where does this come?

6.24

Stage Director:
[Looking behind]
Ah, here indeed comes angry Bhīmasena right this way, followed by Sahadeva, unable to tolerate peace with the Kurus because of Vāsudeva's departure, with a terrifying knitting of brows that resembles the three-pronged trident at the dreadful gateway of death set upon his broad forehead, as if drinking us all in with the cast of his eyes! It is not proper to stand before him. Therefore, let us two go elsewhere from here.

6.25

[Both exit.]

6.26

Prologue.

6.27

[Then enters the angry Bhīmasena, followed by Sahadeva.]

6.28

Bhīmasena:
Ah, wicked-souled reciter of false benedictions, wretched actor! [He recites again the verse beginning with 'The lac house…'.]

6.29

Sahadeva:
[Appeasingly]
Noble brother, bear with it, bear with it! This speech of that son of Bharata is truly approved by us. 'Those whose fire of enmity is extinguished'—this is entirely true! He says: 'May the Kurus together with their servants, their bodies wounded and adorning the earth with blood, dwell in heaven!'

6.30

Bhīmasena:
[Reproachfully]
Indeed, indeed, you should not ponder inauspicious things for the Kauravas! They are your brothers to be made peace with!

6.31

Sahadeva:
[Angrily:]
Noble brother:

If the king did not restrain Dhṛtarāṣṭra's sons,
who have committed hostility at every step, which younger brother of yours would endure it? // 1.9

6.32

Bhīmasena:
It is so. That is why from this day onward I stand apart from you all. Behold:

In the enmity that indeed grew between the Kurus and me while still a boy,
neither our noble elder brother is the cause, nor the diademed one, nor you two;
like Jarāsaṃdha's chest healed back together,
Bhīma in fury tears asunder the peace—unite it, if you will! // 1.10

6.33

[Limb of the juncture: "parikara" according to V, from 1.2]

6.34

Sahadeva:
[Appeasingly]
Noble brother, when you have thus accumulated such excessive wrath, our elder may perhaps feel aggrieved.

6.35

Bhīmasena:
What is this distress our elder feels? Does our elder even know distress? Behold:

Seeing the daughter of the Pāñcāla king in such a state in the royal court,
dwelling so long in the forest with hunters, wearing bark garments,
remaining concealed in Virāṭa's abode in improper employments,
our elder feels distress when I am distressed, but not even today toward the Kurus! // 1.11

6.36

Therefore, Sahadeva, turn back! And speak thus to the king in the words of Bhīma, inflamed by resentment that has grown for far too long:

6.37

Sahadeva:
Noble brother, what [should I say]?

6.38

Bhīmasena:
Report this to him:

Let me indeed remain plunged in the sin of transgressing your command;
let censure indeed be earned even in the midst of younger brothers who observe propriety;
as I extirpate the Kauravas, my mace reddened with blood flashing forth in rage,
for this one day you are not my elder, nor am I subject to your will! // 1.12

6.39

[He strides haughtily.]

6.40

Sahadeva:
[Following him, to himself]
Ah, how has my noble brother entered Pāñcālī's courtyard? Well, I shall just stay right here. [He stands.]

6.41

Bhīmasena:
[Turning around and looking]
Sahadeva, go and attend to our elder. I too shall enter the armoury and take up my weapons.

6.42

Sahadeva:
Noble brother, this is not the armoury; this is Pāñcālī's courtyard.

6.43

Bhīmasena:
[Reflecting]
What, is this not the armoury, but Pāñcālī's courtyard? [Laughing slightly, with joy] I must bid farewell to Pāñcālī! [Affectionately taking Sahadeva by the hand] Dear child, come. Let you also witness how the noble elder afflicts us, desiring peace with the Kurus.

6.44

[Both mime entering.]

6.45

Sahadeva:
Noble brother, here is a seat spread out. Sitting down here, may the noble brother await Kṛṣṇa's arrival.

6.46

Bhīmasena:
[Sitting down]
Dear child, by this mention of Kṛṣṇa's arrival, I am reminded: on what condition was the lord Kṛṣṇa dispatched to Suyodhana to make peace?

6.47

Sahadeva:
Noble brother, for five villages.

6.48

Bhīmasena:
[Covering his ears:]
Alas, alas! That such should be the eclipse of majesty even in his majesty Ajātaśatru! Truly, my heart seems to tremble! [Turning around and standing:] Therefore, little brother, it was not spoken by you, nor heard by me.

Whatever mighty, exceedingly fierce kṣatriya majesty belonged to this king,
playing at dice back then, he has surely lost that as well! // 1.13

6.49

[Offstage]

6.50

"Take heart, my lady, take heart!"

6.51

"Take heart, my lady, take heart!"

6.52

Sahadeva:
[Looking toward the tiring-room, to himself:]
Ah, how is it that Yājñasenī approaches my noble brother, her eyes veiled by a film of tears that well up again and again? Now a greater trouble has arrived!

Whatever lightning-like fire is stored up today in my angry elder brother,
this Kṛṣṇā, like the monsoon, will surely make it flare! // 1.14

6.53

[Then enters Draupadī as described, and a maidservant. Draupadī sighs tearfully.]

6.54

Maidservant:
Take heart, my lady, take heart! Prince Bhīmasena, whose feud with the Kurus is everlasting, will dispel your grief.

6.55

Take heart, my lady, take heart! Prince Bhīmasena, whose feud with the Kurus is everlasting, will dispel your grief.

6.56

Draupadī:
My girl Buddhimatikā, that will happen if he will oppose the great king.

6.57

My girl Buddhimatikā, that will happen if he will oppose the great king.

6.58

Maidservant:
[Looking:]
Here stands the prince! So let my lady approach him.

6.59

Here stands the prince! So let my lady approach him.

6.60

Draupadī:
My girl, let us do so.

6.61

My girl, let us do so.

6.62

[They walk about.]

6.63

Maidservant:
[Approaching:]
Victory, victory to the prince!

6.64

Victory, victory to the prince!

6.65

Bhīmasena:
[Not hearing, he recites again the verse beginning with 'That powerful…']

6.66

Maidservant:
[Turning round:]
My lady, the prince appears to be extremely angry.

6.67

My lady, the prince appears to be extremely angry.

6.68

Draupadī:
My girl, if that is so, even this disregard gives me comfort. Therefore, sitting right here, I shall first listen to my lord's resolve.

6.69

My girl, if that is so, even this disregard gives me comfort. Therefore, sitting right here, I shall first listen to my lord's resolve.

6.70

[Both do so.]

6.71

Bhīmasena:
[Angrily, addressing Sahadeva]
What, a peace treaty for five villages?

If I do not crush the hundred Kurus in battle in my fury,
if I do not drink the blood from Duḥśāsana’s chest,
if I do not shatter Suyodhana’s two thighs with my mace,
then let your king make peace on this condition! // 1.15

6.72

Draupadī:
[Joyfully, aside]
Lord, I have never heard such words from you before. Say it again!

6.73

Lord, I have never heard such words from you before. Say it again!

6.74

Bhīmasena:
[Without hearing, recites again, beginning with "I do not crush..."]

6.75

Sahadeva:
Noble brother, was the great king's message understood as if [he were] foolish?

6.76

Bhīmasena:
What cleverness, then, is in this?

6.77

Sahadeva:
Noble brother, this was instructed by the elder brother:

6.78

Bhīmasena:
To whom?

6.79

Sahadeva:
To Suyodhana.

6.80

Bhīmasena:
To what effect?

6.81

Sahadeva:

Indraprastha, Vṛkaprastha, Jayanta, Vāraṇāvata—
give these four villages, and any single fifth. // 1.16

6.82

Bhīmasena:
What then?

6.83

Sahadeva:
So I consider that by this request for villages named one by one, and by not mentioning a fifth, it is simply an exposing of the occasions of injury: the poisoned food, the burning of the lac house, the assembly hall of the dice match, and the like.

6.84

Bhīmasena:
[Haughtily]
Dear boy, by doing so, what is accomplished?

6.85

Sahadeva:
Noble brother, by doing so, before the world a heart fearing the destruction of its own clan is revealed, and the impossibility of making peace with the king of the Kurus is demonstrated.

6.86

Bhīmasena:
All this is utterly futile! That there could be no peace treaty with the king of the Kurus was declared at the very moment when all of us, setting out from here to the forest, swore the destruction of the Kuru lineage. Moreover, does the destruction of the lineage of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons bring shame upon you in the eyes of the world? Furthermore, you fool:

In the eyes of the world, does the destruction of your enemy’s lineage out of wrath shame you,
and does the dragging of your wife’s hair in the assembly not cause you shame? // 1.17

6.87

Draupadī:
[Aside]
Lord, they feel no shame. Do not forget it yourself!

6.88

Lord, they feel no shame. Do not forget it yourself!

6.89

Bhīmasena:
[Remembering]
Dear boy, why is Pāñcālī delayed?

6.90

Sahadeva:
Noble brother, how long ago the lady arrived! But overcome by anger, even though she had arrived, noble brother did not notice her.

6.91

Bhīmasena:
[Looking, respectfully]
Queen, my anger being violently roused, I did not notice your ladyship even though you had arrived. Therefore, you should not be angry.

6.92

Lord, my distress is at your indifference, not when you are angry.

6.93

Lord, my distress is at your indifference, not when you are angry.

6.94

Bhīmasena:
If that is so, consider your humiliation gone. [Taking her hand, seating her beside him, and looking at her face]
Why, however, do I see your ladyship looking troubled?

6.95

Lord, what cause for sorrow can there be while you are present?

6.96

Lord, what cause for sorrow can there be while you are present?

6.97

Bhīmasena:
Why do you not speak? [Looking at her hair]
Or rather, what need is there to tell?

While the sons of Pāṇḍu are alive and have not gone far away,
if the daughter of the king of Pāñcāla endures such a state! // 1.18

6.98

Draupadī:
My girl, Buddhimatikā, report it to my lord. Who else is grieved by my insult?

6.99

My girl, Buddhimatikā, report it to my lord. Who else is grieved by my insult?

6.100

Maidservant:
As the queen commands. [Approaching Bhīma with folded hands]
Prince, today the queen had cause for distress even greater than this.

6.101

As the queen commands. Prince, today the queen had cause for distress even greater than this.

6.102

Bhīmasena:
What could possibly be greater than this? Tell me, tell me!

In this forest fire of the Kuru lineage, who is this that acts like a moth,
touching her whose braid is unbound, Kṛṣṇā, like a column of black smoke? // 1.19

6.103

Maidservant:
Let the prince listen. Today the queen, accompanied by the mother and surrounded by her fellow wives headed by Subhadrā, went to pay homage to the feet of the noble Gāndhārī.

6.104

Let the prince listen. Today the queen, accompanied by the mother and surrounded by her fellow wives headed by Subhadrā, went to pay homage to the feet of the noble Gāndhārī.

6.105

Bhīmasena:
That was proper. Elders must indeed be revered. What next, what next?

6.106

Maidservant:
Then, as she was returning, she was seen by Bhānumatī.

6.107

Then, as she was returning, she was seen by Bhānumatī.

6.108

Bhīmasena:
[Angrily]
Ah! Seen by the enemy's wife! Ah, a fitting occasion for the queen's anger! What next, what next?

6.109

Maidservant:
Then, looking at the queen and turning her gaze to her friend's face, she smiled slightly with pride and said:

6.110

Then, looking at the queen and turning her gaze to her friend's face, she smiled slightly with pride and said:

6.111

Bhīmasena:
Not only seen, but spoken to! Ah, what shall we do? What next, what next?

6.112

Maidservant:
"Ah, Yājñasenī! It is heard that five villages are being requested. Why then is your hair not yet bound up?"

6.113

“Ah, Yājñasenī! It is heard that five villages are being requested. Why then is your hair not yet bound up?”

6.114

Bhīmasena:
Sahadeva, did you hear that?

6.115

Sahadeva:
Why speak of this? She is, after all, Duryodhana's wife. Look:

For the minds of women become like those of their husbands through companionship;
even a sweet creeper turns intoxicating when clinging to a poisonous tree. // 1.20

6.116

Bhīmasena:
Buddhimatikā, what did the queen say then?

6.117

Maidservant:
Prince, if she were without attendants, only then would the queen reply.

6.118

Prince, if she were without attendants, only then would the queen reply.

6.119

Bhīmasena:
What, then, did you say?

6.120

Maidservant:
I replied thus: "Ah, Bhānumatī! While your hair is not unbound, how can our queen’s hair be bound up?"

6.121

I replied thus: “Ah, Bhānumatī! While your hair is not unbound, how can our queen’s hair be bound up?”

6.122

Bhīmasena:
[With satisfaction]
Well done, Buddhimatikā, well done! That was spoken as befits our attendant! [Gives his ornaments to Buddhimatikā]
Revered daughter of the king of Pāñcāla, listen. Before long:

Bhīma, his hands red with thick, coagulated, clotted blood
of Suyodhana whose pair of thighs has been shattered by the stroke of his violent mace whirled by trembling arms,
will tie up your hair, O queen! // 1.21

6.123

[Dramatic juncture limb: parinyāsa, according to V 6.71]

6.124

Draupadī:
Lord, what is difficult for you when thoroughly enraged?
May your brothers endorse this resolution of yours!

6.125

Lord, what is difficult for you when thoroughly enraged? May your brothers endorse this resolution of yours!

6.126

[Dramatic juncture limb: vilobhana, according to V 6.72]

6.127

Sahadeva:
We have supported it!

6.128

[Behind the scenes, a great clamour. All listen with astonishment.]

6.129

Bhīmasena:

Deep as the rumbling of Mandara rolling in the caverns flooded by the churning, agitated waters of the ocean,
fierce at the strikes of the drumstick as the mutual collision of thunderous storm clouds of cosmic dissolution,
the foremost herald of Kṛṣṇā’s fury, a gale of ill omen and thunderbolts portending the destruction of the Kuru lineage,
a comrade echoing our lion-roar—by whom is this war drum being struck? // 1.22

6.130

[Entering in agitation]

6.131

Chamberlain:
Prince, here is the blessed Vāsudeva!

6.132

[All rise with folded hands.]

6.133

Bhīmasena:
[In agitation]
Where is the blessed one?

6.134

Chamberlain:
Suyodhana, infuriated by his partiality to the Pāṇḍavas, began to bind him!

6.135

[All act out agitation.]

6.136

Bhīmasena:
What? Bound him?

6.137

Chamberlain:
No, no! He began to bind him.

6.138

Bhīmasena:
What did the lord do?

6.139

Chamberlain:
Then that exalted soul, having shaken off the Kuru family who were swooning at the flash of splendour of the universal form he displayed, has arrived at the camp of our army. He wishes to see the prince without delay.

6.140

Bhīmasena:
[With a laugh of derision]
What, indeed! Did the wicked Suyodhana wish to bind the blessed one? [Looking up into the air]
Ah, wicked wretch, defiler of the Kuru race! When you have thus transgressed all bounds, the wrath of the Pāṇḍavas must need only a pretext!

6.141

Sahadeva:
Noble brother, does that wicked Suyodhana not recognize even the blessed Vāsudeva in his true form?

6.142

Bhīmasena:
Child, this vile soul is indeed bewildered. How could he know? Look:

He whom those who delight in the self, whose minds are fixed in undifferentiated meditation,
whose knots of darkness are severed by the surge of wisdom, and who are established in pure being,
behold as a certain light beyond darkness or lights—
how could this one, blinded by delusion, know that primeval God? // 1.23

6.143

Worthy Jayaṃdhara, what does the elder brother resolve upon now?

6.144

Chamberlain:
The prince will know the great king's resolve by going in person.
[Exit.]

6.145

[Behind the scenes, after a clamour]

6.146

Ho there! Leaders of our akṣauhiṇīs—Drupada, Virāṭa, the Vṛṣṇis, the Andhakas, Sahadeva, and the rest—and chief warriors of the Kaurava army, hear this:

That which was carefully restrained by a mind fearing to break a vow of truth, / that which was even sought to be forgotten by the peaceful one desiring peace for his family— / that great fire of Yudhiṣṭhira's anger, fueled by the kindling of the dice game / through dragging the hair and garments of the royal daughter-in-law, now rages in the forest of the Kurus! // 1.24

6.147

Bhīmasena:
[Listening, with joy]
Let it blaze forth, let it blaze forth with unchecked sweep—the fire of wrath of my noble elder brother!

6.148

[Draupadī:]
Lord, why is this war drum being struck at every moment now, deep as the rumbling of dissolution clouds?

6.149

Lord, why is this war drum being struck at every moment now, deep as the rumbling of dissolution clouds?

6.150

Bhīmasena:
Queen, what else? A sacrifice is underway!

6.151

[Draupadī:]
[With astonishment]
What sacrifice is this?

6.152

What sacrifice is this?

6.153

[Bhīmasena:]
The sacrifice of battle! For indeed:

We four are the officiating priests; the blessed Hari is the director of the ritual; / the king is consecrated for the sacrifice of battle; his wife has undertaken the vow; / the Kauravas are the sacrificial beasts; the soothing of our beloved's suffering from insult is the fruit; / and to invite the kṣatriyas, the loud drum of fame resounds! // 1.25

6.154

Sahadeva:
Noble brother, let us go now, authorized by our elders, to act in accordance with valour.

6.155

Bhīmasena:
Dear boy, here we are, fully prepared to execute our elder's command. [Rising]
Queen, we go now to destroy the Kuru family.

6.156

[Draupadī:]
[Holding back tears]
Lord, may good fortune attend you, as it did Hari when he went against the asuras in battle!

6.157

Lord, may good fortune attend you, as it did Hari when he went against the asuras in battle!

6.158

Both:
We have accepted your words of blessing.

6.159

[Draupadī:]
And moreover, my lord, returning again from the battle, you must comfort me!

6.160

And moreover, my lord, returning again from the battle, you must comfort me!

6.161

[Bhīmasena:]
Nay, daughter of the king of the Pāñcālas, why these false consolations even today?

You shall not see Vṛkodara again / with a face downcast in shame from the exhaustion of insult, / until he has wiped out the sons of Kuru! // 1.26

6.162

[Draupadī:]
Lord, do not, do not wander about heedless of your body, your fire of anger kindled by the insult to the daughter of Yajñasena! For it is heard that the enemy forces must be traversed with caution.

6.163

Lord, do not, do not wander about heedless of your body, your fire of anger kindled by the insult to Yājñasenī! For it is heard that the enemy forces must be traversed with caution.

6.164

[Bhīmasena:]
Ah, noble kṣatriya woman!

Where foot soldiers advance by stepping upon the tops of chariots / sunk in the mire of the blood, fat, flesh, and brains of elephants shattered by mutual clashes; / where headless trunks dance to the drums of inauspicious jackals howling in their grand gathering for drinking copious blood— / the sons of Pāṇḍu are skilled at moving within the waters of this single ocean of battle! // 1.27

6.165

[All exit.]

6.166

Thus ends the first act.

The second act.

6.167

[Then enters the chamberlain.]

6.168

[Chamberlain:]
I have been ordered by the great king Duryodhana: “Vinayaṃdhara, go quickly! Let Queen Bhānumatī be sought out: has she returned or not from the time of paying homage at my mother's feet? For after seeing her, I must go to the battlefield to honor the leaders of our army—the son of Rādhā, Jayadratha, and the rest—who have slain Abhimanyu.” Therefore I must go more swiftly. Ah, the commanding power of the great king, that for me, overcome by old age, service in the inner apartments is a matter of mere protocol! Or rather, why should I blame old age, since such conduct and dress are customary for all attendants of the inner apartments? For indeed:

Even though I have eyes, I have not looked directly upward; even though I have heard, I have not listened fully; / though able-bodied, I leaned upon a cane assigned by office as my authority; / with my mind fixed everywhere upon stumbling, I never walked haughtily; / for one whose life has been claimed by servitude, what, pray, has old age done to me? // 2.1

6.169

[Walking about, looking into the air]
Vihaṃgikā, has Bhānumatī returned after bowing at the feet of her mother-in-law? [Listening]
What do you say? “This Queen Bhānumatī, desiring her husband's victory in battle, has performed obeisance at the feet of her elders and gods, and, having commenced a religious observance today, is staying in the small pleasure garden.” Then, good woman, go to your duty, while I too announce to the great king that the queen is here. [Walking about]
Well done, devoted wife, well done! Even though you are a woman, you are superior, not the great king, who—while the sons of Pāṇḍu, his enemies, powerful or powerless, accompanied by Vāsudeva, are up in arms—even today enjoys amorous sports in the inner apartments! [Thinking]
Here is another perverse deed of my master. Why?

Bhīṣma, who even vanquished that sage whose axe was never blunted since he first took up weapons, / has been laid low by arrows by the sons of Pāṇḍu, without bringing sorrow to him; / yet he is delighted at the slaying of a mere boy, Abhimanyu, / who was alone, exhausted from conquering numerous mature archer foes, and whose bow was cut by the enemy! // 2.2

6.170

In every way, destiny will grant us welfare. So let me report Queen [Bhānumatī]'s presence here to the great king. [Exit.]

6.171

The introductory scene ends.

6.172

[Then enters Queen Bhānumatī seated, with a female friend and a maidservant.]

6.173

[Friend:]
Friend Bhānumatī, why do you now, having become the queen of the proud great king Duryodhana, lose your composure in this way and grieve exceedingly, merely for the sight of a dream?

6.174

Friend Bhānumatī, why do you now, having become the queen of the proud great king Duryodhana, lose your composure in this way and grieve exceedingly, merely for the sight of a dream?

6.175

[Maid:]
Mistress, Suvadanā speaks well. Does not a person who dreams babble in delirium?

6.176

Mistress, Suvadanā speaks well. Does not a person who dreams babble in delirium?

6.177

[Bhānumatī:]
Handmaiden, it is so. But this dream appears exceedingly inauspicious to me.

6.178

Handmaiden, it is so. But this dream appears exceedingly inauspicious to me.

6.179

[Friend:]
Dear friend, if so, tell the dream, so that both of us, comforting you, may avert it by praising dharma, chanting the names of deities, and holding dūrvā grass and other auspicious things.

6.180

Dear friend, if so, tell the dream, so that both of us, comforting you, may avert it by praising dharma, chanting the names of deities, and holding dūrvā grass and other auspicious things.

6.181

[Maid:]
Suvadanā speaks well indeed. It is heard that inauspicious dreams turn to good results through the praise of the deities.

6.182

Suvadanā indeed speaks well. It is heard that dreams of evil portents turn out auspicious through the praise of the deities.

6.183

Bhānumatī: If that is so, then I shall tell it. Pay close attention now.

6.184

If that is so, then I shall tell it. Pay close attention now.

6.185

Friend: I am attentive. Let my dear friend speak.

6.186

I am attentive. Let my dear friend speak.

6.187

Bhānumatī: Friend, through fear I have forgotten it! Wait then while I recall everything and speak. [She acts being deep in thought.]

6.188

Friend, through fear I have forgotten it! Wait then while I recall everything and speak.

6.189

[Then enters Duryodhana and the chamberlain.]

6.190

Duryodhana: Well said is this verse of someone's: / An injury done to one's injurers, whether in secret or openly, whether great or small, whether done by oneself or by another, produces great delight. // 2.3

6.191

Because today, hearing that Abhimanyu was slain by Droṇa, Karṇa, Jayadratha, and others, our heart seems to breathe again.

6.192

Chamberlain:
Your majesty, this was not too difficult for Karṇa and Jayadratha, endowed with the power of the preceptor's weapons. What praise is there really here?

6.193

King: Vinayaṃdhara, what do you say? "One young boy, his bow cut down, was slain by many—what praise is there in this for the bulls among the Kurus?" Fool, look! / When the aged Gāṅgeya was slain by putting forward Śikhaṇḍin, / whatever praise was the sons of Pāṇḍu's, that very praise shall be ours! // 2.4

Linked texts (1)

Veṇīsaṃhāra — Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa, Sanskrit