“Vaishampaayana said, ‘O Bharata (Janamejaya), after Bhima had
pledged himself to accomplish the task, saying, ‘I will do it,’ the Pandavas
returned home with the alms (Bhiksha in Sanskrit) they had obtained during the day. Then Yudhishthira – the Pandava from
Bhima's face alone, suspected the nature of the task he had undertaken to
accomplish. Sitting by the side of his mother, Yudhishthira asked her in
private, ‘O mother, what is the task that Bhima of terrible capabilities seeks
to accomplish? Does he do so at your command or of his own accord?’
“Kunti replied, ‘Bhima, that punisher of enemies, will
at my command, do this great deed for the good of the Brahmana and the
liberation of this town.’
“Yudhishthira said, ‘What rash act have you done, O
mother! It is difficult of being performed and almost amounts to suicide! The learned never applaud the abandonment of one's own child.
Why do you, O mother, wish to sacrifice your own child for the sake of
another's? You have, O mother, by this abandonment of thy child, acted not only
against the course of human practices but also against the teachings of the
Vedas. That Bhima, relying on whose arms we sleep happily in the night and hope
to recover the kingdom of which we have been deprived by the greedy son of Dhritarashtra
(Duryodhana);
that hero of immeasurable energy, remembering whose capabilities Duryodhana and
Shakuni do not sleep a wink during the whole night and by whose capabilities we
were rescued from the palace of lac and various other dangers, that Bhima who
caused the death of Purochana, and relying on whose might we regard ourselves
as having already slain the sons of Dhritarashtra and acquired the whole earth
with all her wealth, upon what considerations, O mother, have you resolved upon
abandoning him? Have you been deprived of your reason (meaning have you
gone mad)? Has your understanding been
clouded by the calamities you have undergone?’
“On hearing these words of her son, Kunti said, ‘O
Yudhishthira, you need not be anxious at all on account of Vrikodara (Bhimasena). I have not come
to this resolve owing to any weakness of understanding. O son (Yudhishthira), respected by him (Brahmana) and with our sorrows relieved, we have been
living in the house of this Brahmana, unknown to the sons of Dhritarashtra. O
son, for returning (favour) that
Brahmana, I have resolved to do this. Indeed, he is a man upon whom good favours
are never lost. The measure of his return becomes greater than the measure of
the services he receives.
“Seeing the capabilities of Bhima on the occasion of (our escape from) the house
of lac, and from the destruction also of Hidimba, my confidence in Vrikodara is
great. The might of Bhima's arms is equal to that of ten thousand elephants. Therefore,
it was that he succeeded in carrying you all, each heavy as an elephant, from Vaaranaavata.
There is no one on earth equal to Bhima in might; he may even overcome that
foremost of warriors, the holder of Vajra (Lord Indra) Himself. Soon after his birth he fell from my lap on the surface of
the mountain. By the weight of his body the mass of stone on which he fell down
broke in pieces. O Pandava, from this also I have come to know Bhima's might.
For this reason have I resolved to set him against the Brahmana's enemy.
“I
have not acted in this from foolishness or ignorance or from motive of gain. I
have deliberately resolved to do this action of Dharma. O Yudhishthira, by this
act two objects will be accomplished; one is a return of the services rendered
by the Brahmana and the other is the acquisition of high merit of Dharma. It is
my conviction that the Kshatriya who renders help to a
Brahmana in anything acquires regions of happiness hereafter. So, also a
Kshatriya who saves the life of a Kshatriya achieves that great fame in this
world as in the other (world). Also, a Kshatriya
rendering help to a Vaishya on this earth certainly acquires world-wide
popularity. One of the kingly tribe should protect the Shudra who comes to him
for protection. If he does so, in his next life he receives his birth in a
royal line, commanding prosperity and the respect of other kings. O
scion of Puru's race (Yudhishthira), the respected Vyasa of wisdom acquired by
hard monastic toil told me so in former days. It is therefore, that I have resolved
upon accomplishing this.’”
No comments:
Post a Comment