Mahabharata Vol. 2 (Penguin Translated Texts) (40 page)

‘“We have now been overtaken by misfortune. However, if you engage in action, there is no doubt that this misfortune will be removed. Even if you are unsuccessful, you will have the pride and this is also true of Vrikodara, Bibhatsu and the twin brothers. The tasks of others have obtained success and ours might also be. Without undertaking the task first, how can one know what the outcome will be? Having cleaved the earth with his plough and sown the seed, the farmer waits silently for the rains to be the cause. However, if the rains do not favour him, the farmer is not to be blamed. He knows he has done everything that any other man could have. Even if we do not obtain the fruits of success, the slightest bit of blame will not attach to us. The intelligent one keeps this in mind and does not blame himself. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Even if the objective is not attained, though one has acted, there is no reason to despair, because there are two other reasons too.
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There is success and there is failure. But lack of inclination is a different thing altogether. Success in a task is the united outcome of many factors. If the required attributes are deficient, the fruit may be incomplete, or non-existent. O one without decay! But if the task is not begun, neither fruit nor attributes can be seen. According to his strength and power, the intelligent one brings together time, place, means and auspicious rites for prosperity. Those who are not deluded must act. Valour will be the instructor. Among the qualities required for action, valour is the most important. If an intelligent person sees one
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who is superior in many qualities, he should employ conciliation and other kinds of tasks. O Yudhishthira! He should wish for his misery and destruction. This is true of oceans
and mountains, not to speak of mortal men. By looking for the weaknesses in an enemy, a man satisfies a debt to himself, as well as to the enemy. A man should never think ill of himself. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Prosperity does not come to one who thinks of himself as having become overpowered. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! This is the foundation for the success of the world. It is said that the reasons for success are many and depend on the time and the place.

‘“In earlier times, a learned brahmana was lodged in my father’s house.
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O bull among the Bharata lineage! He told all this, first propounded by Brihaspati,
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to my father. He also taught all this to my brothers. I overheard this conversation at home. O King Yudhishthira! He explained this to me comfortingly, when I would arrive on some task, or when I was serving, or when I was seated on my father’s lap.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Having heard these words of Yajnaseni, the intolerant Bhimasena went to the king.
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He sighed angrily and told him, “For the sake of kingship, tread along the road of dharma, one used by righteous ones. Deprived of dharma, artha and kama, what do you gain by living in this hermitage of ascetics? Duryodhana did not rob the kingdom through dharma, honesty or energy, but through deceitful gambling with dice. Our kingdom was stolen the way a weak scavenging jackal steals a piece of meat from stronger lions. O king! Why have you abandoned artha, which is the source of dharma and kama, tormenting yourself in this wilderness
in some trifling pursuit of dharma? Protected by the wielder of the Gandiva,
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our kingdom could not even have been robbed by Shakra. But because of our obedience to you, it was stolen in front of our eyes. While we were still alive, our riches were taken away from us because of you, like bilva fruit or cattle from those who are crippled. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! You are always firm in desiring dharma. But it is because we sought to do what is pleasing to you, that we now face this great calamity. O bull among the Bharata lineage! It was because our selves were under your control that we are now ploughing our friends and providing delight to our enemies. It was our stupidity that we did not kill the sons of Dhritarashtra. But because we followed your commands, that evil deed is now tormenting us. O king! Look at you, living in a home meant for animals. This is the act of a coward, not one served by the strong. This is not approved by Krishna,
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or Bibhatsu, or Abhimanyu, or Srinjaya,
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or I myself, or the two sons of Madri. Because you are dharma, you always oppress yourself by your vow towards dharma. O king! But isn’t it possible that despair has condemned you to the life of an impotent? It is only cowards who are incapable of winning back their prosperity. They love despair, which bears no fruits and destroys everything. You have strength and sight. You can see your manliness. O king! But because you have resorted to gentleness, you do not feel our distress.

‘“While we have always been forgiving, the sons of Dhritarashtra regard us as incapable. This causes more grief than death in battle. If all of us were to die in battle, in a straight fight and without turning back, that would have been better, because we would have obtained worlds after death. O bull among the Bharata lineage! And if we killed them all and obtained back the entire earth, that would also be superior. If we are always devoted to our tasks and established in our own dharma, if we wish to obtain great fame, if we wish to repulse enmity, then the signs are that for our own sake, we should embark on war.
Our kingdom has been stolen by others. We will be praised and not censured. O king! Dharma that causes affliction to our friends and our own selves is vice. It is not dharma. It is bad dharma. A man who always resorts to dharma follows weak dharma. Dharma and artha desert him, like happiness and unhappiness leave a man who is dead. One who suffers dharma’s afflictions for the sake of dharma alone is not learned. He does not know the true purpose of dharma, like a blind one does not know the rays of the sun. He who thinks that artha exists only for the sake of artha, does not know about artha. He is like a servant tending to cattle in the forest. He who excessively pursues artha and doesn’t pay attention to the other two goals
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deserves to be censured, like the killer of a brahmana, and should be killed by all beings. In that way, he who always pursues kama and ignores the other two goals of dharma and artha, is certain to be robbed of his friends and will be weak in dharma and artha. He is certain to be killed at the end of the kama, like a fish that roams with pleasure until the pond dries up. It is for this reason that the learned are never confused about dharma and artha. They are required for kama, like kindling for a fire. Dharma is the root of all artha and dharma is united with artha. Know that the two are rooted in each other, like the ocean and the clouds. One feels a sensation of pleasure when one touches objects that have artha. This kama is a state of the mind and has no physical existence. O king! A man who pursues artha should also strive for great dharma. He who strives for kama also seeks artha, because from kama one obtains nothing else. Kama yields no fruit other than desire, once that fruit is used up. The learned regard it as ashes from wood. O king! Just as a seller of meat kills small birds, in that way, it is the nature of that which is not dharma to kill beings. One who does not perceive the nature of dharma because of desire and avarice deserves to be killed by all beings. He remains evil-minded, here and in the hereafter. O king! It is known to you that artha is derived from the possession of objects. You also know about its nature and its various transformations. Its loss, or destruction at the time of old age and death, is regarded as a calamity. That affliction
has now overtaken us. The five senses, the mind and the heart find pleasure when there is attachment to objects. In my view, that is the supreme fruit of one’s deeds. Thus, dharma, artha and kama should be considered separately. A man should not be excessively addicted to dharma, or to artha, or to kama. All of them must always be served. The sacred texts decree that dharma must be followed in the first, artha in the middle and kama in the last.
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The sacred texts decree that, in due order and according to age, kama must be observed in the first, artha in the second and dharma in the last.
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O supreme among eloquent ones! Learned ones who know the nature of time apportion their time in due order, serving all of dharma, artha and kama. O king! O descendant of the Kuru lineage!
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Whether freedom from these or obtaining them is the superior goal for those who seek to obtain happiness is a question that you should reflect on, with every means at your disposal. O king! You should then swiftly act on obtaining either the former or the latter. He who lives a life of vacillation between the two is immersed in a miserable state.

‘“You know dharma and you have always practised it. On knowing this, your well-wishers are urging you to act. O king! Donations, sacrifices, honesty, worship, retention of the Vedas and uprightness—these represent powerful and supreme dharma, here and in the hereafter. O king! But one who is distressed and destitute cannot serve these. O tiger among men! This holds even if one has all the qualities. O king! The universe is based on dharma and there is nothing that is above dharma. O king! But dharma can only be served through great wealth. O king! Such wealth can never be obtained through begging or through impotence, but can always be obtained by one whose intelligence is based on dharma. O bull among men! Begging brings success to brahmanas. But that has been forbidden to you. Therefore,
seek to obtain the artha that you desire by exercising your energy. Begging is not recommended, nor the life of a vaishya or a shudra. In the heart of kshatriyas, the special dharma is that of strength. The wise and the learned say that nobility is dharma. Therefore, strive for nobility and do not stop short of it. O Indra among kings! You know the eternal dharma. Awake! You have been born to perform cruel deeds,
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those that other men suffer from. The fruits that you obtain by nurturing your subjects can never be condemned. O king! This is the eternal dharma that the preserver
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has determined for you. O Partha! If you deviate from this, you will provide cause for laughter to the world. Men do not praise deviation from one’s own dharma. O Kounteya! Make your mind that of a kshatriya. Forsake this lassitude of mind. Rely on valour. Bear the weight like a beast of burden. O king! No one has won the world with only dharma in his soul. No king has won prosperity and fortune in this way. One can obtain a kingdom by deceiving inferior ones, who have avarice in their hearts, with a sweet tongue, like one with a spear
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obtains food. O bull among the Pandavas! The asuras were the elder brothers and were prosperous in every way.
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But the gods conquered them through deceit. O lord of the earth! O mighty-armed one! Knowing that everything belongs to those with strength, win over the enemies by resorting to deceit. There is no archer who is equal to Arjuna in battle. There is no man who is my equal in wielding the club. O king! A strong one engages in battle on the basis of strength, not on the basis of greater numbers or greater enterprise. O Pandava! Therefore, resort to your prowess. Prowess is the source of artha. Nothing else is the source. It is not useless, like the shade of a tree during the winter. O Kounteya! If one desires greater artha, one should give up some artha, like seeds sown on the ground. There is no doubt about this. But when the
gain of artha is equal to the expenditure made of artha, or smaller than it, expenditure is not the indicated task. That would be like scratching an ass. O Indra among men! In that way, a man who gives up a little bit of dharma for the sake of obtaining greater dharma is certainly considered to be wise. If an enemy possesses friends, learned ones make them their friends. Then, when the enemy is weakened because his friends have left him, they overcome him. O king! Those who are strong embark on a battle on the basis of prowess, not only enterprise or sweet words. That is how all the subjects are made one’s own. By uniting together, weak ones can kill a stronger enemy, like bees kill someone trying to steal the honey.

‘“O king! The sun sustains and destroys all beings with its rays. Be like the sun. O king! Just as it was observed by our grandfathers, we have heard the ancient accounts about the observance of austerities, so as to protect the earth in accordance with ordinances. On witnessing your affliction, the world has decided that the sun may lose its light and the moon its beauty. O king! Separately and collectively, when assemblies gather together in conversation, they praise you and censure the other.
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O king! Over and above this, when brahmanas and the Kurus assemble, they happily talk about your adherence to the truth. They say you have never uttered a falsehood because of delusion, meanness, greed, fear, desire or wish for prosperity. If a king acquires demerits in an attempt to win the earth, all of that can later be countered through sacrifices and offering of large quantities of dakshina. O king! Just as the moon emerges from darkness, he is freed from all his sins by giving villages and thousands of cows to brahmanas. O descendant of the Kuru lineage!
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O Yudhishthira! All the citizens and residents of the countryside, both young and old, often praise you. The kingdom vested in Duryodhana is like a dog’s skin touched by milk, the brahman in a shudra, truth in a robber and strength in a woman. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! These are the words that have been uttered in the world since ancient times. Even women and children say it, as if it was part of studying.

‘“Therefore, mount the chariot that is stocked with all the implements. Let the best of brahmanas pronounce benedictions over you, so that your supreme objective is successful. Set out instantly, and today itself, for Gajasahrya.
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Surrounded by your brothers, who are skilled in the use of weapons and wield firm bows, and whose valour is like that of venomous serpents, you will be like the killer of Vritra
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surrounded by the Maruts. Use your energy to destroy the weak enemies, like the destroyer of the asuras. O Kounteya! O immensely strong one! Rob the sons of Dhritarashtra of their prosperity. No man on earth can withstand the touch of arrows when they are unleashed from Gandiva. Shafted in feathers of vultures, they are like virulent serpents. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! When I am enraged in battle, no warrior, no elephant and no noble steed can withstand the force of my club. O Kounteya! With the help of the Srinjayas,
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the Kekayas and the bulls among the Vrishnis, how can we not win back our kingdom in battle?”’