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
Vaisampayana said, "Exiled to the woods the sons of Pritha with Krishna
seated in the evening, conversed with one another afflicted with sorrow
and grief. And the handsome and well informed Krishna dear unto her
lords and devoted to them, thus spake unto Yudhishthira, 'The sinful,
cruel, and wicked-minded son of Dhritarashtra certainly feeleth no
sorrow for us, when, O king, that evil-hearted wretch having sent thee
with myself into the woods dressed in deer-skin feeleth no regret! The
heart of that wretch of evil deeds must surely be made of steel when he
could at that time address thee, his virtuous eldest brother, in words
so harsh! Having brought thee who deservest to enjoy every happiness and
never such woe, into such distress, alas, that wicked-minded and sinful
wretch joyeth with his friends! O Bharata, when dressed in deer-skin
thou hast set out for the woods, only four persons, O monarch, _viz_.,
Duryodhana, Karna, the evil-minded Sakuni, and Dussasana that bad and
fierce brother of Duryodhana, did not shed tears! With the exception of
these, O thou best of the Kurus, all other Kurus filled with sorrow shed
tears from their eyes! Beholding this thy bed and recollecting what thou
hadst before, I grieve, O king, for thee who deservest not woe and hast
been brought up in every luxury! Remembering that seat of ivory in thy
court, decked with jewels and beholding this seat of _kusa_ grass, grief
consumeth me, O king! I saw thee, O king, surrounded in thy court by
kings! What peace can my heart know in not beholding thee such now? I
beheld thy body, effulgent as the sun, decked with sandal paste! Alas,
grief depriveth me of my senses in beholding thee now besmeared with mud
and dirt! I saw thee before, O king, dressed in silken clothes of pure
white! But I now behold thee dressed in rags! Formerly, O king, pure
food of every kind was carried from thy house on plates of gold for
Brahmanas by thousands! And, O king, food also of the best kind was
formerly given by thee unto ascetics both houseless and living in
domesticity! Formerly, living in thy mansion thou hadst ever filled with
food of every kind plates by thousands, and worshipped the Brahmanas
gratifying every wish of theirs! What peace, O king, can my heart know
in not beholding all this now? And, O great king, these thy brothers,
endued with youth and decked with ear-rings, were formerly fed by cook
with food of the sweet flavour and dressed with skill! Alas, O king, I
now behold them all, so undeserving of woe, living in the woods and upon
what the wood may yield! My heart, O King knoweth no peace! Thinking of
this Bhimasena living in sorrow in the woods, doth not thy anger blaze
up, even though it is time? Why doth not thy anger, O king, blaze up
upon beholding the illustrious Bhimasena who ever performeth everything
unaided, so fallen into distress, though deserving of every happiness?
Why, O king, doth not thy anger blaze up on beholding that Bhima living
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