The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Vana Parva, Part 1
Religion
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Vana Parva, Part 1
Epic literature, Sanskrit
whose voracious appetite is like that of a wolf, is able to destroy with
the sole strength of his powerful arms, and without the help of any
weapons of war, a formidable array of hostile troops. The forces in the
field of battle were utterly unmanned on hearing his war-cry. And now
the strong one is suffering from hunger and thirst, and is emaciated
with toilsome journeys. But when he will take up in his hand arrows and
diverse other weapons of war, and meet his foes in the field of battle,
he will then remember the sufferings of his exceedingly miserable
forest-life, and kill his enemies to a man: of a certainty do I
anticipate this. There is not throughout the whole world a single soul
who can boast of strength and prowess equal to his. And his body, alas!
is emaciated with cold, and heat and winds. But when he will stand up
for fight, he will not leave a single man out of his foes. This powerful
hero, who is a very great warrior when mounted on a car--this Bhima, of
appetite rivalling a wolf's conquered single-handed all the rulers of
men in the east, together with, those who followed them in battle; and
he returned from those wars safe and uninjured. And that same Bhima,
miserably dressed in the bark of trees, is now leading a wretched life
in the woods. This powerful Sahadeva vanquished all the kings in the
south; those lords of men who had gathered on the coast of the
sea,--look at him now in an anchorite's dress. Valiant in battle Nakula
vanquished single-handed the kings who ruled the regions towards the
west,--and he now walks about the wood, subsisting on fruit and roots,
with a matted mass of hair on the head, and his body besmeared all over
with dirt. This daughter of a king, who is a great soldier when mounted
on a car, took her rise from beneath the altar, during the pomp of
sacrificial rites. She hath been always accustomed to a life of
happiness; how is she now enduring this exceedingly miserable life in
this wood! And the son of the god of virtue,--virtue which stands at the
head of all the three pursuits of life--and the son of the wind-god and
also the son of the lord of celestials, and those two sons of the
celestial physicians,--being the sons of all those gods and always
accustomed to a life of happiness, how are they living in this wood,
deprived of all comforts? When the son of Virtue met with defeat and
when his wife, his brothers, his followers, and himself were all driven
forth, and Duryodhana began to flourish, why did not the earth subside
with all its hills?'"
SECTION CXX
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account