{"collection":"Hinduism","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/hin/dutt/maha07.htm","path":"hin/dutt/maha07.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/hin/dutt/maha07.htm","text":"The Ramayana and Mahabharata, by Romesh C. Dutt, [1899]\n(The Council of War)\nTHE term of banishment having expired, Yudhishthir demanded that the kingdom of Indra-prastha should be restored to him. The old Dhrita-rashtra and his queen and the aged and virtuous councillors advised the restoration, but, the jealous Duryodhan hated his cousins with a genuine hatred, and would not cement. All negotiations were therefore futile, and preparations were made on both sides for the most sanguinary and disastrous battle that bad ever been witnessed in Northern India.\nThe portions translated in this Book are from Sections i., ii. iii., xciv., cxxiv., and exxvi. of Book v. of the original text.\nMirth and song and nuptial music waked the echoes of the night,\n Youthful bosoms throbbed with pleasure, lovelit glances sparkled bright,\nBut when young and white-robed USHAS ope'd the golden gates of day,\n To Virata's council chamber chieftains thoughtful held their way,\nStones inlaid in arch and pillar glinted in the glittering dawn,\n Gay festoons and graceful garlands o'er the golden cushions shone!\nMatsya's king, Panchala's monarch, foremost seats of honour claim,\n Krishna too and Valadeva, Dwarka's chiefs of righteous fame,\nBy them sate the bold Satyaki from the sea-girt western shore,\n And the godlike sons of Pandu,--days of dark concealment o'er,\nYouthful princes in their splendour graced Virata's royal hall,\n Valiant sons of valiant fathers, brave in war, august and tall,\nIn their gem-bespangled garments came the warriors proud and high,\n Till the council chamber glittered like the star-bespangled sky\nKind the greetings, sweet the converse, soft the golden moments fly,\n Till intent on graver questions all on Krishna turn their eye,\nKrishna with his inner vision then the state of things surveyed,\n And his thoughts before the monarchs thus in weighty accents laid.\n\"Known to all, ye mighty monarchs! May your glory ever last,\n 'True to plighted word Yudhishthir hath his weary exile passed,\nTwelve long years with fair Draupadi in the pathless jungle strayed,\n And a year in menial service in Virata's palace stayed,\nHe hath kept his plighted promise, braved affliction, woe, and shame,\n And he begs, assembled monarchs, ye shall now his duty name.\nFor he swerveth not from duty kingdom of the sky to win,\n Prizeth hamlet more than empire, so his course be free from sin,\nLoss of realm and wealth and glory higher virtues in him prove,\n Thoughts of peace and not of anger still the good Yudhishthir move!\nMark again the sleepless anger and the unrelenting hate\n Harboured by the proud Duryodhan driven by his luckless fate,\nFrom a child, by fire or poison, impious guile or trick of dice,\n He hath compassed dark destruction by deceit and low device!\nPonder well, ye gracious monarchs, with a just and righteous mind,\n Help Yudhishthir with your counsel, with your grace and blessings kind,\nShould the noble son of Pandu seek his right by open war,\n Seek the aid of righteous monarchs and of chieftains near and far?\nShould he smite his ancient foemen skilled in each deceitful art,\n Unforgiving in their vengeance, unrelenting in their heart?\nShould he rather send a message to the proud unbending foe,\n And Duryodhan's haughty purpose seek by messenger to know?\nShould he send a noble envoy, trained in virtue, true and wise,\n With his greetings to Duryodhan in a meek and friendly guise?\nAsk him to restore the kingdom on the sacred Jumna's shore\n Either king may rule his empire as in happy days of yore?\"\nKrishna uttered words of wisdom pregnant with his peaceful thought,\n For in peace and not by bloodshed still Yudhishthir's right he sought.\nKrishna's elder Valadeva, stalwart chief who bore the plough,\n Rose and spake, the blood of Vrishnis mantled o'er his lofty brow:\n\"Ye have listened, pious monarchs, to my brother's gentle word,\n Love he bears to good Yudhishthir and to proud Hastina's lord,\nFor his realm by dark blue Jumna good Yudhishthir held of yore,\n Brave Duryodhan ruled his kingdom on the ruddy Ganga's shore,\nAnd once more in love and friendship either prince may rule his share,\n For the lands are broad and fertile, and each realm is rich and fair!\nSpeed the envoy to Hastina with our love and greetings kind,\n Let him speak Yudhishthir's wishes, seek to know Duryodhan's mind,\nMake obeisance unto Bhishma and to Drona true and bold,\n Unto Kripa, archer Karna, and to chieftains young and old,\nTo the sons of Dhrita-rashtra, rulers of the Kuru land,\n Righteous in their kingly duties, stout of heart and strong of hand,\nTo the princes and to burghers gathered in the council hall,\n Let him speak Yudhishthir's wishes, plead Yudhishthir's cause to all.\nSpeak he not in futile anger, for Duryodhan holds the power,\n And Yudhishthir's wrath were folly in this sad and luckless hour,\nBy his dearest friends dissuaded, but by rage or madness driven,\n He hath played and lost his empire, may his folly be forgiven!\nIndra-prastha's spacious empire now Duryodhan deems his own,\n By his tears and soft entreaty let Yudhishthir seek the throne,\nOpen war I do not counsel, humbly seek Duryodhan's grace,\n War will not restore the empire nor the gambler's loss replace!\"\nThus with cold and cruel candour stalwart Valadeva cried,\n Wrathful rose the brave Satyaki, fiercely thus to him replied.\nShame unto the halting chieftain who thus pleads Duryodhan's part,\n Timid counsel, Valadeva, speaks a woman's timid heart,\nOft from warlike stock ariseth weakling chief who bends the knee,\n As a withered fruitless sapling springeth from a fruitful tree!\nFrom a heart so faint and craven, faint and craven words must flow,\n Monarchs in their pride and glory list not to such counsel low,\nCouldst thou, impious Valadeva, midst these potentates of fame,\n On Yudhishthir pious-hearted cast this undeserv\u00e9d blame?\nChallenged by his wily foeman and by dark misfortune crost,\n Trusting to their faith Yudhishthir played a righteous game and lost,\nChallenge from a crown\u00e9d monarch can a crown\u00e9d king decline,\n Can a Kshatra warrior fathom fraud in sons of royal line?\nNathless he surrendered empire true to faith and plighted word,\n Lived for years in pathless forests Indra-prastha's mighty lord,\nPast his years of weary exile, now he claims his realm of old,\n Claims it, not as humble suppliant, but as king and warrior bold,\nPast his year of dark concealment, bold Yudhishthir claims his own,\n Proud Duryodhan now must render Indra-prastha's jewelled throne!\nBhishma counsels, Drona urges, Kripa. pleads for right in vain,\n False Duryodhan will not render sinful conquest, fraudful gain,\nOpen war I therefore counsel, ruthless and relentless war,\n Grace we seek not when we meet them speeding in our battle car!\nAnd our weapons, not entreaties, shall our foemen force to yield,\n Yield Yudhishthir's rightful kingdom or they perish on the field,\nFalse Duryodhan and his forces fall beneath our battle's shock,\n As beneath the bolt of thunder falls the crushed and riven rock!\nWho shall meet the helm\u00e9d Arjun in the gory field of war,\n Krishna with his fiery discus mounted on his battle-car,\nWho shall face the twin-born brothers by the mighty Bhima led,\n And the vengeful chief Satyaki with his bow and arrows dread?\nAncient Drupad wields his weapon peerless in the field of fight,\n And his brave son, born of AGNI, owns an all-consuming might,\nAbhimanyu, son of Arjun, whom the fair Subhadra bore,\n And whose happy nuptials brought us from far Dwarka's sea-girt shore,\nMen on earth nor bright Immortals can the youthful hero face,\n When with more than Arjun's prowess Abhimanyu leads the race!\nDhrita-rashtra's sons we conquer and Gandhara's wily son,\n Vanquish Karna though world-honoured for his deeds of valour done,\nWin the fierce-contested battle and redeem Yudhishthir's own,\n Place the exile pious-hearted on his father's ancient throne!\nAnd no sin Satyaki reckons slaughter of the mortal foe,\n But to beg a grace of foemen were a mortal sin and woe,\nSpeed we then unto our duty, let our impious foemen yield,\n Or the fiery son of Sini meets them on the battle-field!\"\nFair Panchala's ancient monarch rose his secret thoughts to tell,\n From his lips the words of wisdom with a graceful accent fell:\n\"Much I fear thou speakest truly, hard is Kuru's stubborn race,\n Vain the hope, the effort futile, to beseech Duryodhan's grace\nDhrita-rashtra pleadeth vainly, feeble is his fitful star,\n Ancient Bhishma, righteous Drona, cannot stop this fatal war,\nArcher Karna thirsts for battle, moved by jealousy and pride,\n Deep Sakuni, false and wily, still supports Duryodhan's side!\nVain is Valadeva's counsel, vainly shall our envoy plead,\n Half his empire proud Duryodhan yields not in his boundless greed,\nIn his pride he deems our mildness faint and feeble-hearted fear,\n And our suit will fan his glory and his arrogance will cheer!\nTherefore let our many heralds travel near and travel far,\n Seek alliance of all monarchs in the great impending war,\nUnto brave and noble chieftains, unto nations east and west\n North and south to warlike races speed our message and request!\nMeanwhile peace and offered friendship we before Duryodhan place,\n And my priest will seek Hastina, strive to win Duryodhan's grace,\nIf he renders Indra-prastha, peace will crown the happy land,\n Or our troops will shake the empire from the east to western strand!\"\nVainly were Panchala's Brahmans sent with messages of peace,\n Vainly urged the Kuru elders that the fatal feud should cease,\nProud Duryodhan to his kinsmen would not yield their proper share,\n Pandu's sons would not surrender, for they had the will to dare!\nFatal war and dire destruction did the mighty gods ordain,\n Till the kings and arm\u00e9d nations strewed the red and reeking plain,\nKrishna in his righteous effort sought for wisdom from above,\n Strove to stop the war of nations and to end the feud in love,\nAnd to far Hastina's palace Krishna went to sue for peace,\n Raised his voice against the slaughter, begged that strife and feud should cease!\nSilent sat the listening chieftains in Hastina's council hall,\n With the voice of rolling thunder Krishna spake unto them all:\n\"Listen, mighty Dhrita-rashtra, Kuru's great and ancient king,\n Seek not war and death of kinsmen, word of peace and love I bring!\n'Midst the wide earth's many nations Bharats in their worth excel,\n Love and kindness, spotless virtue, in the Kuru-elders dwell,\nFather of the noble nation, now retired from life's turmoil,\n Ill beseems that sin or untruth should thy ancient bosom soil!\nFor thy sons in impious anger seek to do their kinsmen wrong,\n And withhold the throne and kingdom which by right to them belong,\nAnd a danger thus ariseth like the comet's baleful fire,\n Slaughtered kinsmen, bleeding nations, soon shall feed its fatal ire!\nStretch thy hands, O Kuru monarch! prove thy truth and holy grace,\n Man of peace! avert the slaughter and preserve thy ancient race.\nYet restrain thy fiery children, for thy mandates they obey,\n I with sweet and soft persuasion Pandu's truthful sons will sway.\n'Tis thy profit, Kuru monarch! that the fatal feud should cease,\n Brave Duryodhan, good Yudhishthir, rule in unmolested peace,\nPandu's sons are strong in valour, mighty in their arm\u00e9d hand,\n INDRA shall not shake thy empire when they guard the Kuru land!\nBhishma is thy kingdom's bulwark, doughty Drona rules the war,\n Karna matchless with his arrows, Kripa peerless in his car,\nLet Yudhishthir and stout Bhima by these noble warriors stand,\n And let helmet-wearing Arjun guard the sacred Kuru land,\nWho shall then contest thy prowess from the sea to farthest sea,\n Ruler of a worldwide empire, king of kings and nations free?\nSons and grandsons, friends and kinsmen, will surround thee in a ring,\n And a race of loving heroes guard their ancient hero-king,\nDhrita-rashtra's lofty edicts will proclaim his boundless sway,\n Nations work his righteous mandates and the kings his will obey!\nIf this concord be rejected and the lust of war prevail,\n Soon within these ancient chambers will resound the sound of wail,\nGrant thy children be victorious and the sons of Pandu slain,\n Dear to thee are Pandu's children, and their death must cause thee pain!\nBut the Pandavs skilled in warfare are renowned both near and far,\n And thy race and children's slaughter will methinks pollute this war,\nSons and grandsons, loving princes, thou shalt never see again,\n Kinsmen brave and car-borne chieftains will bedeck the gory plain!\nPonder yet, O ancient monarch! Rulers of each distant State,\n Nations from the farthest regions gather thick to court their fate,\nFather of a righteous nation! Save the princes of the land,\n On the armed and fated nations stretch, old man, thy saving hand!\nSay the word, and at thy bidding leaders of each hostile race\n Not the gory field of battle but the festive board will grace,\nRobed in jewels, decked in garlands, they will quaff the ruddy wine,\n Greet their foes in mutual kindness, bless thy holy name and thine!\nThink, O man of many seasons! When good Pandu left this throne,\n And his helpless loving orphans thou didst cherish as thine own,\n'Twas thy helping steadying fingers taught their infant steps to fame,\n 'Twas thy loving gentle accents taught their lips to lisp each name,\nAs thine own they grew and blossomed, dear to thee they yet remain,\n Take them back unto thy bosom, be a father once again!\nUnto thee, O Dhrita-rashtra! Pandu's sons in homage bend,\n And a loving peaceful message through my willing lips they send:\nTell our monarch, more than father, by his sacred stern command\n We have lived in pathless jungle, wandered far from land to land,\nTrue unto our plighted promise, for we ever felt and knew,\n To his promise Dhrita-rashtra cannot, will not be untrue!\nYears of anxious toil are over and of woe and bitterness,\n Years of waiting and of watching, years of danger and distress.\nLike a dark unending midnight hung on us this age forlorn,\n Streaks of hope and dawning brightness usher now the radiant morn!\nBe unto us as a father, loving not inspired by wrath,\n Be unto us as a teacher, pointing us the righteous path,\nIf perchance astray we wander, thy strong arm shall lead aright,\n If our feeble bosom fainteth, help us with a father's might!\nThis, O king! the soft entreaty Pandu's sons to thee have made,\n These are words the sons of Pandu unto Kuru's king have said,\nTake their love, O gracious monarch! Let thy closing days be fair,\n Let Duryodhan keep his kingdom, let the Pandavs have their share.\nCall to mind their noble suffering, for the tale is dark and long\n Of the outrage they have suffered, of the insult and the wrong,\nExiled into Varnavata, destined unto death by flame,\n For the gods assist the righteous, they with added prowess came,\nExiled into Indra-prastha, by their toil and by their might\n Cleared a forest, built a city, did the rajasuya rite,\nCheated of their realm and empire and of all they called their own,\n In the jungle they have wandered and in Matsya lived unknown,\nOnce more quelling every evil they are stout of heart and hand,\n Now redeem thy plighted promise and restore their throne and land!\nTrust me, mighty Dhrita-rashtra! trust me, lords who grace this hall,\n Krishna pleads for peace and virtue, blessings unto you and all,\nSlaughter not the arm\u00e9d nations, slaughter not thy kith and kin,\n Mark not, king, thy closing winters with the bloody stain of sin,\nLet thy sons and Pandu's children stand beside thy ancient throne,\n Cherish peace and cherish virtue, for thy days are almost done!\"\nFrom the monarch's ancient bosom sighs and sobs convulsive broke,\n Bhishma wiped his manly eyelids and to proud Duryodhan spoke:\n\"Listen, prince, for righteous Krishna counsels love and holy peace,\n Listen, youth, and may thy fortune with thy passing years increase!\nYield to Krishna's words of wisdom, for thy weal he nobly strives,\n Yield and save thy friends and kinsmen, save thy cherished subjects' lives,\nForemost race in all this wide earth is Hastina's royal line,\n Bring not on them dire destruction by a sinful act of thine!\nSons and fathers, friends and brothers, shall in mutual conflict die\n Kinsmen slain by dearest kinsmen shall upon the red field lie,\nHearken unto Krishna's counsel, unto wise Vidura's word,\n Be thy mother's fond entreaty and thy father's mandate heard!\nTempt not wrath and fiery vengeance on thy old heroic race,\n Tread not in the path of darkness, seek the path of light and grace,\nListen to thy king and father, he hath Kuru's empire graced,\n Listen to thy queen and mother, she hath nursed thee on her breast!\"\nOut spake Drona priest and warrior, and his words were few and high,\n Clouded was Duryodhan's forehead, wrathful was Duryodhan's eye:\n\"Thou hast heard the holy counsel which the righteous Krishna said,\n Ancient Bhishma's voice of warning thou hast in thy bosom weighed,\nPeerless in their godlike wisdom are these chiefs in peace or strife,\n Truest friends to thee, Duryodhan, pure and sinless in their life!\nTake their counsel, and thy kinsmen fasten in the bonds of peace,\n May the empire of the Kurus and their warlike fame increase,\nList unto thy old preceptor! Faithless is thy fitful star,\n And they feed thy passions falsely, those who urge and counsel war!\nCrown\u00e9d kings and arm\u00e9d nations will contest for thee in vain,\n Vainly brothers, sons, and kinsmen will for thee their lifeblood drain,\nFor the victor's crown and glory never, never can be thine,\n Krishna conquers, and brave Arjun! mark these deathless words of mine!\nI have trained the youthful Arjun, seen him bend the warlike bow,\n Marked him charge the hostile forces, marked him smite the scattered foe.\nFiery son of Jamadagni owned no greater loftier might,\n Breathes on earth no mortal warrior conquers Arjun in the fight!\nKrishna too, in war resistless, comes from Dwarka's distant shore,\n And the bright-gods quake before him whom the fair Devaki bore,\nThese are foes thou may'st not conquer, take an ancient warrior's word,\n Act thou as thy heart decideth, thou art Kuru's king and lord!\"\nThen in gentler voice Vidura sought his pensive mind to tell,\n From his lips serene and softly words of woe and anguish fell:\n\"Not for thee I grieve, Duryodhan, slain by vengeance fierce and keen,\n For thy father weeps my bosom and the aged Kuru queen!\nSons and grandsons, friends and kinsmen slaughtered in this fatal war,\n Homeless, cheerless, on this wide earth they shall wander long and far,\nFriendless, kinless, on this wide earth whither shall they turn and fly,\n Like some birds bereft of plumage, they shall pine awhile and die,\nOf their race and sad survivors they shall wander o'er the earth,\n Curse the fatal day, Duryodhan, saw thy sad and woeful birth!\nTear-drops filled his sightless eyeballs, anguish shook his ag\u00e9d frame,\n As the monarch soothed Duryodhan by each fond endearing name:\n\"Listen, dearest son, Duryodhan, shun this dark and fatal strife,\n Cut not grief and death's black shadows on thy parents' closing life,\nKrishna's heart is pure and spotless, true and wise the words he said,\n We may win a worldwide empire with the noble Krishna's aid,\nSeek the friendship of Yudhishthir loved of righteous gods above,\n And unite the scattered Kurus by the lasting tie of love!\nNow at full is tide of fortune, never may it come again,\n Strive and win, or ever after all repentance may be vain.\nPeace is righteous Krishna's counsel and he comes to offer peace,\n Take the offered boon, Duryodhan! Let all strife and hatred cease!\"\nSilent sat the proud Duryodhan wrathful in the council hall,\n Spake to mighty-arm\u00e9d Krishna and to Kuru warriors all:\n\"Ill becomes thee, Dwarka's chieftain, in the paths of sin to move,\n Bear for me a secret hatred, for the Pandavs secret love,\nAnd my father, wise Vidura, ancient Bhishma, Drona bold,\n Join thee in this bitter hatred, turn on me their glances cold!\nWhat great crime or darkening sorrow shadows o'er my bitter fate,\n That ye chiefs and Kuru's monarch mark Duryodhan for your hate,\nSpeak, what nameless guilt or folly, secret sin to me unknown,\n Turns from me your sweet affection, father's love that was my own?\nIf Yudhishthir, fond of gambling, played a heedless reckless game,\n Lost his empire and his freedom, was it then Duryodhan's blame,\nAnd if freed from shame and bondage in his folly played again,\n Lost again and went to exile, wherefore doth he now complain?\nWeak are they in friends and forces, feeble is their fitful star,\n Wherefore then in pride and folly seek with us unequal war,\nShall we, who to mighty INDRA scarce will do the homage due,\n Bow to homeless sons of Pandu and their comrades faint and few,\nBow to them while warlike Drona leads us as in days of old,\n Bhishma greater than the bright-gods, archer Karna true and bold?\nIf in dubious game of battle we should forfeit fame and life,\n Heaven will ope its golden portals for the Kshatra slain in strife,\nIf unbending to our foemen we should press the gory plain,\n Stingless is the bed of arrows, death for us will have no pain!\nFor the Kshatra knows no terror of his foeman in the field,\n Breaks like hardened forest timber, bonds not, knows not how to yield,\nSo the ancient sage Matanga of the warlike Kshatra. said,\n Save to priest and sage preceptor unto none he bends his head!\nIndra-prastha which my father weakly to Yudhishthir gave,\n Nevermore shall go unto him while I live and brothers brave,\nKuru's undivided kingdom Dhrita-rashtra rules alone,\n Let us sheathe our swords in friendship and the monarch's empire own,\nIf in past in thoughtless folly once the realm was broke in twain,\n Kuru-land is re-united, never shall be split again!\nTake my message to my kinsmen, for Duryodhan's words are plain,\n Portion of the Kuru empire sons of Pandu seek in vain,\nTown nor village, mart nor hamlet, help us righteous gods in heaven,\n Spot that needle's point can cover not unto them be given!\"","title":"The Ramayana and Mahabharata: Book VII: The Council of War","type":"page"}