Mahabharata – 210
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                     Aadivamsavatarana Parva
Childhood of Kauravas and Pandavas

At the instance of Duryodhana a play house was built on the Ganges. And there while feasting Duryrodhana served poisonous food to Bhima and Bhima became fast asleep.Duryodhana dragged the sleeping Bhima and threw him away into the waters.The waves of the Ganges carried Bhima into the nether land where snakes reign.Consequently Bhima did not returned to the palace of Hastinapura unlike other Pandavas and unlike Kauravas. While they were searching where Bhima could be, Bhima now carried off by the river Ganges reached the realm of snakes.The king of the snakes Vasuki recognised Bhima as his kin and Bhima was served a great quantity of nectar.After drinking nectar in abundance Bhima instantly fell asleep.  

Bhimasena awoke from that sleep on the eighth day, and felt as strong as he was before.Thanks to the nectar that he drank.It destroyed the effects of  the drug offered by Duryodhana  Seeing him awake, the Nagas began to console and cheer him, saying -------- Oh you of mighty arms, the strength-giving liquor you drank will give you the might of ten thousand elephants! No one now will be able to conquer you in fight. Bathe in this holy water and return home.Your brothers and mother are unhappy  because of your absence. Then Bhima purified himself with a bath in the said waters, and decked himself in white robes and white flowers.He ate the auspicious paramanna offered by the Nagas which destroys all the poisons. Then, decked in beautiful celestial ornaments, Bhima received the adorations and blessings of the snakes, and saluting them in return, rose from the nether region. The Nagas reached him in the same gardens and the play house near Hastinapura where he was sporting before being thrown into the Ganges. Then the snakes vanished in a flash from the sight. The mighty Bhimasena, reaching there in that sporting ground, ran with speed to his mother. He bowed down to her and to his eldest brother, and smelled the heads of his younger brothers. Affectionate to each other, they all repeatedly exclaimed --- We are fortunate today, Oh what a joy!You are again with us.

 Then Bhima narrated everything about the villainy of Duryodhana, to his brothers.He also narrated the lucky and unlucky incidents that had happened to him in the world of the serpents. Then  Yudhishthira said to Bhima  --- Observe silence on this. Do not speak of this to any one. He also said to Pandavas ---From this day, you all protect one another with great care. Thus cautioned by the righteous Yudhishthira, they all, with Yudhishthira himself, became very vigilant from that day. And when they understood that giving kalkuta poison to Bhima was the foul play of Duryodhana  they were very much cautious in keeping the secret.They  maintained silence on the unhappy incidents that happened to Bhima.The wise Vidura  counselled them continuously. When that terrible poison planned for the destruction of Bhima failed, Duryodhana  was very much depressed and  was very much speculative. Meanwhile, the king Dhritarashtra seeing  the energetic princes passing their time in idleness and growing naughty,appointed one teacher of  Gautama clan as their preceptor and sent them to him for teaching. He was known as Kripacharya. Kripacharya was well-skilled in the Vedas and it was under him that the princes began to learn the use of arms.

Mahabharata – 209
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                     Aadivamsavatarana Parva
Childhood of Kauravas and Pandavas

The wonderful palace for water sport was built and one day   Kauravas and the Pandavas assembled there.They  sat down and began to relish the foods provided for them. They became active in play and began to exchange mouthful of food with one another. Meanwhile the wicked Duryodhana had mixed the powerful  kalkuta poison with a quantity of food, with the object to serve the same to Bhima. That wicked youth who had nectar in his tongue and a razor in his heart, rose at length as if in a playful mood, and in a friendly way he fed Bhima largely with that poisoned food. Duryuodhana now felt himself  lucky.He was exceedingly glad at heart. Then the sons of Dhritarashtra and Pandu together became cheerfully engaged in sporting in the water. Their sport ended when they felt very tired. They dressed themselves in clean clothes, and decked themselves with various ornaments. Fatigued with play, they were willing to rest in the evening in that pleasure house.

Due to over exercise in the waters, the powerful Bhima was excessively fatigued. On rising from the water, he lay down in the pleasure house. He was exhausted and under the influence of the poison. Bhima was in deep sleep in  the cool breeze of the river.

 He lost his senses at once. Seeing this Duryodhana bound him with chords of shrubs, and threw him into the waters. The unconscious Bhima sank down till he reached the Naga kingdom. Nagas, having sharp teeth with their hoods over flowing with virulent venom, bit him by thousands. The poison taken earlier by Bhima unknowingly, mingled in the blood  of  Bhima, was neutralised by the snake-poison. This reminds us the homeopathy therapeutic system that preaches similia similibus curantum.The serpents had bitten all over the body, except Bhima’s chest. The skin of the chest was so tough that their teeth could not penetrate it.

On regaining consciousness, the son of Kunti shattered the ties of his hands and body and began to press the snakes down under the ground. A few fled for life, and going to their king Vasuki said --- Oh king! A man drowned under the waters, bound with ropes made of  chords of shrubs, probably  had drunk

poison. For when he  fell amongst us, he was unconscious. But when we began to bite him, he regained his senses, and tearing the ropes that bound him, commenced hitting us. May you  please enquire who he is. Then Vasuki, in compliance with the request of the nagas, went to the place and saw the great Bhimasena. Then the most gentle Vasuki recognised Bhimasena.Bhima was the  grand son of  Kuntibhoja.Kuntibhoja in turn was the grand son of Vasuki.Vasuki was very much pleased at the site of Bhima and embraced him. Then, Vasuki, learning all that happened to Bhima  was pleased with Bhima, and said to  the serpents with satisfaction, ------ How are we to please him? Let him have wealth  and gems as much as he desires.

On hearing the words of Vasuki, the serpent  said to Vasuki ---when You are  pleased with him, no need of wealth for him. Permit him to drink of rasakunda  (nectar-vessels) and let him aquire immeasurable strength . There is the strength of a thousand elephants in each one of those vessels. Let this boy drink as much as he can.

The king of serpents who likened Indra the king of gods gave his consent. And the serpents then took Bhima to the rasakunda. There upon began auspicious rites.

 Then purifying himself, Bhimasena facing the east began to drink nectar. At one breath, he drank  the content of a whole vessel, and in this manner he drank from eight successive vessels,till he was full. At length, the serpents prepared an excellent bed for him, on which he lay down at ease.

Be that as  it may, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, after having sported in the waters, set out for Hastinapura without Bhima. Some were on horses, some on elephants, while others in chariots and other conveyances. And on their way they said to one another --- Perhaps, Bhima has gone before us. And the wicked Duryodhana was glad at heart without seeing Bhima.He entered the city with his brothers in joy.

The virtuous Yudhishthira, was unaware of the foul play of  Duryodhana.He always  regarded others to be as honest as himself.On reaching the palace affectionate Yudhishthira went to his mother and after paying due respect to her  said -------- Oh mother!, has Bhima come? Oh mother!, I don't find him here. Where may he go ? We have searched him everywhere in the gardens and the woods. But we did not find him. At last,we thought that Bhima preceded before us all. Oh mother!We have come here in great anxiety.Arriving here, where has he gone? Or have you sent him anywhere? Oh mother! tell me, I am full of doubts as to the fortunes of  the mighty Bhima. He was asleep and has not come. I conclude he is no more.

 Hearing these words of Yudhishthira, Kunti began to cry out  in anxiety,and said ---------- Dear son, I have not seen Bhima. He did not come to me. Go and look for Bhima immediately with your brothers. Saying this to Yudhishthira she summoned Vidura, and said --------Oh illustrious Vidura Bhimasena is missing! Where has he gone? The other brothers have all come back from the gardens.Only Bhima does not come home.You immediately along with the Pandavas look for Bhima in the gardens.

They shouted loudly crying  Bhima! Bhima! Where are you? But they were unable to find out Bhima.Therefore they returned to the palace and said to Kunti ------- Oh mother! we are unable to find out mighty Bhima.Kunti said -------- Duryodhana does not like him at all. The Kaurava is crooked and ill natured and low-minded and reckless. I am afraid that Duryodhana may have slain him out of anger.I am worried. Indeed, it burns my heart.

Vidura replied  ------ Blessed lady! Do not say so protect your other sons with care. If the wicked Duryodhana is accused, he may do harm later to your remaining sons. The great sage Vyasa has said that all your sons will have  long life. Therefore, Bhima will surely return and cheer your heart.Then wise Vidura, having said this to Kunti, returned to his house, while Kunti, in great anxiety, continued to stay at palace with her children.

  

Mahabharata – 208
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                     Aadivamsavatarana Parva
Childhood of Kauravas and Pandavas

Vedavyasa is a psychologist par excellence.Childhood is very important.The truths that wake up in the child hood sink deep into the heart of the children only to persist with them throghout their life.When we learnt that the Pandavas came home at Hasthinapura we hoped that the five brothers mingling with their hundred cousins would create great fun. The palace of Hasthinapura,would be loud with the with the shouts of the children in the echoing green of the palace garden.But alas our expectations came to nought. Bhima was superior to all of them in physical strength. Instead of helping his brothers with his physical prowess what he did was to torture his brothers with his immeasurable strength.Dear readers if you had a brother as great as Hercules and if he had beaten you every day for sport how would you feel? Ourselves being weak could not hold out against Bhima or Hercules.And then what would we do?We would take to craft to out do Bhima.Although their child hood passed in the groves and grottoes of  wilderness and ashramas Bhima did not learn the art of tranquility and peace.Consequently   Duryodhana   planned that when Bhima should sleep in the garden, they had better throw him into the river Ganges. Duryodhana said to himself --- Afterwards, confining Bhima’s eldest brother Yudhishthira and his younger brother Arjuna by force, I shall be able to rule the entire kingdom without any difficulty.

Thus planne, the wicked Duryodhana and he was ever on the watch to find out an opportunity for injuring Bhima. At a beautiful place called Pramanakoti on the banks of the Ganga, Duryodhana built a palace decorated with nicely hanging colourfu clothes and other decorative materials.He built this palace for sporting in the water. Filled it with all kinds of entertaining things and delicious food. Colourful flags fluttered on the top of the mansions. The name of the house was Udakkridan or playing in the waters.It was built in a style so that the major part of it floated on the river Ganga.It was a miracle of architecture. Skillful cooks prepared various kinds of food . When all was ready, the employees gave intimation to Duryodhana. Then the evil-minded Duryodhana said to the Pandavas --- Let us all go to the banks of the Ganga furnished with trees and crowned with flowers and we will sport there in the water. Yudhishthira agreed to this. The sons of Dhritarashtra taking the Pandavas with them, mounted country-born elephants of great size and chariots, and left the capital. Leaving at the capital Bhisma and other seniors they reached the place. Observing the beauty of the gardens and the woods, they entered the palace, like lions entering in their mountain caves. On entering they saw that the architecture of the palace was appealing. Wall paintings were also admirable. The windows looked very graceful, and the artificial fountains were splendid. Here and there were tanks of transparent water in which bloomed forests of lotuses. The banks were decked with various flowers whose fragrance filled the atmosphere.

Mahabharata – 207
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                     Aadivamsavatarana Parva
Childhood of Kauravas and Pandavas

According to Hindu tradition when a father or a mother or someone very close as a kin dies some particular near and dear ones of the deceased one are deemed to be polluted for a time.After observation of a rituals they are absolved of the pollution. The  Pandavas as per the rituals were absolved of the pollutions caused by the death of their father and mother.Now they began to grow up in the home of their father. Whenever they were busy in play with the sons of Dhritarashtra, their superiority to the sons of Dhritarastra became evident. In race, in striking the objects aimed at, in consuming food, and scattering dust and lump of earth, Bhimasena beat all the sons of Dhritarashtra. While Duryodhana  and others playing happily, Bhimasena carried of to a place by force. He held the heads of one another of the sons of Dhritarastra and hit ones head  with another’s. And he easily defeated those hundred and one sons of  Dhritarashtra as if they were one instead of being a hundred and one. The mighty Bhima used to seize them  by his strength and threw them down. He dragged them along the earth. By this, some had their knees broken, some had their heads wounded, and some had their shoulders bruised. Bhima while playing water - game, sometimes used to hold ten of them together and drowned them into the water, till they were nearly dead. When the sons of Dhritarashtra climbed a tree for plucking fruits, Bhima used to shake that tree, by striking it with his foot, so that the boys fell down on the ground along with the fruits. In fact, those princes were no match for Bhima in wrestling, in race or in hand -to -hand fight. Bhima used to make a display of his strength by thus torturing them in childishness. But he did not do anything from ill will. Seeing the might of Bhima, the powerful Duryodhana, began to develop hostility towards him. And the wicked and immoral Duryodhana, through ignorance and ambition, made up a plan in doing harm to Bhima by foul means.  Duyodhana contemplated --- There is no one of us who can compare with the second Pandava Bhima the son of Kunti,in prowess. Singly Bhima has the strength and courage to defeat all of us together in a combat. And Duryodhana meditated how he could out do Bhima with fair means or foul.

Mahabharata – 206
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                     Aadivamsavatarana Parva

Satyvati left for the woods on the advice of Vyasa. Seeing the mournful atmosphere and the broken – hearted citizens of Hastinapura the great Vyasa, said to his nearly senseless mother Satyavati out of deep grief --- Mother, our days of happiness have gone by and days of misfortune are come. Sin begins to increase day by day. The world has lost her charm of youth. The kingdom of the Kauravas will no longer continue on the path of righteousness because of the wrong-doing and oppression. By going to the woods, devote yourself to meditation and Yoga. Henceforth the society will be filled with dishonesty and wrong. Good work will cease. Do not witness in this old age the end of your race. Let it be so said Satyavati and, entered the inner apartments. She addressed  her daughter-in-law and said ---Oh Ambika ! I heard that in consequence of the deeds of your grandsons Duryodhana and others, this Bharata dynasty and its subjects will perish. If it suits you, let us go to the forest along with this mournful Ambalika who has lost her son. Ambika replied --- Let it be so. Then the well behaved queen Satyavati taking Bhishma in confidence, proceeded to the forest along with her daughter in laws Ambika and Ambalika.On reaching the woods with her two daughters-in-law, she became engaged in profound meditation, and in course of time leaving their mortal bodies ascended to the heaven.

Mahabharata – 205
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
     Aadivams avatarana Parva

The observation of funeral ceremony of Pandu and Madri
The dead bodies of Pandu and his wife Madri were brought to Hastinapura. Dhritarashtra  said ----Oh Vidura!, perform the funeral ceremonies of the best  among kings,Pandu, and of  queen Madri also, in right royal style. Distribute cattle, clothes, gems and different kinds of wealth. Every one may receive as much as they ask for, for the ascent to heaven of Pandu and Madri. Make arrangements also for Kunti's performing the last rites of Pandu and Madri in such a style as pleases her. And let Madri's body be carefully wrapped  so that neither the Sun nor Vayu may see it. Do not lament  for the sinless Pandu. He was a famous king and he has left behind five heroic sons equal to the celestials themselves. Then Vidura said ----- So be it.  In consultation with Bhishma, Vidura fixed a sacred place for the funeral rites of Pandu. The family priests went out of the city without loss of time, carrying with them the blazing sacred fire fed with ghee and providing fragrance therewith. Then the friends, relatives, and followers,carried a palanquin wrapping it up in cloth, decked with  flowers of the season.They sprinkled various excellent perfumes over it. They approached the body of the monarch and decked it with garlands and other suitable ornaments for the king. Then placing the covered body of the king with that of his queen on that excellent palaquin decked out  brightly. They carried the palanquin on their shoulders. Many of them held  the white umbrella over the palanquin and waved fly-brush over it. There were sounds of various musical instruments. The whole scene looked bright and grand. Hundreds of people began to distribute gems among the crowd on the occasion of the funeral rites of the king. At length some beautiful clothes and white umbrellas and larger fly-brushes,were brought for the great ceremony. The priests clothed in white walked in the front of the procession offering tribute by pouring  ghee on the sacred fire ablaze.And Brahmanas,and Kshatriyas,and Vaisyas, and Sudras by thousands followed the deceased king,loudly crying --- Oh prince! where do you go,leaving us behind, and making us unhappy and wretched for ever?

And Bhishma, and Vidura, and the Pandavas,also all wept aloud.At last they came to a beautiful wood on the banks of the Ganga. There they laid down the palanquin on which the truthful and great prince and his spouse.Then they brought water and,washed the prince's body.They covered the body with several kinds of fragrant paste.They coated it with sandal paste.They then clothed it in a white dress made of indigenous fabrics.With the new dress on, the king seemed as if he was living.When the other funeral ceremonies also were finished in harmony with the directions of the priests, the Kauravas set fire to the dead bodies of the king and the queen, bringing lotuses, sandal-paste, and other fragrant substances to the pyre.

.

Then seeing the bodies  aburning,Ambalika burst out, Oh my son, my son!’--and fell down senseless on the ground. And seeing her senseless on the ground the citizens and the dwellers of the provinces began to weep from grief and affection for their king. And the birds of the air and the beasts of the field were touched by the lamentations of Kunti. Thus weeping, Bhishma,Vidura, Dhritarashtra,the Pandavas and the Kuru ladies,all performed the water ceremony of the king.And when all this was over, the people, themselves filled with sorrow,began to console the bereaved sons of Pandu.And the Pandavas with their friends began to sleep on the ground.Seeing this the Brahmanas and the other citizens also rearranged their beds in the same way.Young and old, all the citizens mourned on account of the sons of the king Pandu, and passed twelve days in mourning with the weeping Pandavas. Then on the thirteenth day Kunti and Pandavas with their friends and Bhishma performed the Sraddha of the deceased Pandu andMadri, and offered the Pinda with nectarine offerings. And they feasted the Kauravas and thousands of Brahmanas to whom they also gave gems and lands. Then the citizens returned to Hastinapura with the sons of Pandu. All of then fell to weeping for the departed king. It seemed as if they had lost one of their kins.

Mahabharata – 204

by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
    Aadivamsavatarana Parva

At Hastinapura Royal gate Kunti with childrens and bodies of king Pandu and queen Madri

With the passing away of Pandu and Madri the children of Pandu with their mother Kunti left the forests to go back home to Hastinapura.The ascetics who lived in the forest accompanied Kunti and her children in their journey home.They reached the lion gate of the palace of Hastinapura. The ascetics then requested the guards of the gate to inform the king of their arrival.The men carried the message at once to the court. And the citizens of Hastinapura,hearing of the arrival of thousands of gleemen and ascetics,were  astonished. The citizens soon after the sunrise began to come out in numbers with their wives and children to see those ascetics. Seated in all kinds of cars and conveyances by thousands, vast numbers of Kshatriyas with their wives,and Brahmanas with theirs came out. And Vaisyas and Sudras also responded in a large number on the occasion. The vast gathering was very peaceful, they were not jealous of each other. Rather their virtuous heart was filled with  sorrow. And there also came out Bhishma,the son of Santanu. Somadatta, Valhika and the royal blind sage Dhritarashtra,Sanjaya and Vidura himself and the respected Satyavati and the illustrious Ambalika and Gandhari accompanied by other ladies of the royal household also showed up. The hundred sons of Dhritarashtra, decked with various ornaments, also came out. Then the Kauravas accompanied by their priest, saluted the rishis by lowering their heads and took their seats before them. The citizens also saluting the ascetics and bowing down to them by way of touching the ground,took their seats there.Then Bhishma, seeing that huge gathering perfectly quiet,duly worshipped, those ascetics by offering them water to wash their feet.He offered them the customary arghya. And having done this, he informed them about the sovereignty and the kingdom.Then the oldest of the ascetics with matted hair on head and clothed in animal skin,stood up. Taking other rishis in confidence he spoke as follows---You  all know that the ruler of the kingdom of the Kurus known as king Pandu, had after abandoning the worldly  pleasures decided to dwell in the Sata-Sringa mountain. He adopted the Brahmacharya mode of life there. By some miracles his eldest son, Yudhishthira,was born there, by the grace of Dharma himself. Then that illustrious king obtained from Vayu this other son--the foremost of all mighty men--called Bhima. This other son, begotten upon Kunti by Indra,is Dhananjaya.His achievements will surprise all bowmen in the world. Look here again at these, twin children begotten upon Madri by the twin Aswins. Leading a life in righteousness, during Vanaprastha in the woods, the illustrious Pandu has thus revived the almost extinct line of his forefathers. The birth, mental and physical maturity, and Vedic studies of these children of Pandu, will, no doubt, give you great pleasure. Steadily adhering to the path of the virtuous and the wise, and leaving behind him these children, Pandu departed from us seventeen days ago. His wife Madri, seeing king Pandu’s death sacrificed her life through penance and has gone with her lord to the region reserved for chaste wives. Accomplish now whatever rites should be performed for their benefit. These are the unburnt bodies of king Pandu and queen Madri. Here also are their children, with their mother.Let these be now received with due honour. After the completion of the first rites in honour of the dead, let the virtuous Pandu, who had all along been the supporter of the dignity of the Kurus, have the first offerings of annual Sraddha performed with a view to place him formally among the Pitris or the ancestors.The ascetics with Guhyakas, having said this to the Kurus, disappeared in a flash from the very sight of the people and Kurus. And seeing the Rishis and the Siddhas thus vanish in their sight like vapour appearing and disappearing in the skies, the citizens filled with wonder returned their homes.

Mahabharata – 203
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                     Aadivamsavatarana Parva

 The journey to Hastinapura after the demise of king Pandu.The godlike counsellors - the rishis, seeing the death of Pandu, consulted with one another and said --  The virtuous and the renowned king Pandu, abandoning both sovereignty, and kingdom came here for practicing ascetic austerities and resigned himself to the ascetics dwelling on this mountain. He presently ascended to the heaven, leaving his wife and infant sons as a trust in our hands. Our
duty now is to reach the dead bodies of the deceased Pandu and of Madri to Hastinapur so that their funeral rites are duly observed by their family. Here it should be mentioned that seeing king Pandu dying Madri his wife was terribly shocked. She plunged in meditation and
gave up her life. To give up life with the aid of meditation is no joke. Only those who are adept in the technology of yoga can give up life that presides over the body. In fact the Indian yogis know that the body is not the self. With the death of the body the self does not die. So the yogis be they  male or female can easily give up their body and yet they can protect their selves or souls.Does it sound absurd? We can not espy the soul leaving the body. With us common men the soul or self does not exist if there is no body housing the soul or the self. But voluntarily deaths in India still persist. One need not leave the worldly life and become a saint to become capable of giving up the body. Madri was a queen. She was not officially initiated in the lore of an ascetic. She had children and she wanted her children to be looked after. Despite that she gave up her life. In recent times there was a great political activists named Vinoba Bhave who felt that he lived for quite a long time and hence he decided to leave his body. To that end he fasted for days together and die before the eyes of the media and the world.However like Vinoba of today Madri of yesterday gave up her life. Madri was impelled by her love for deceased husband and she became a suttee .Madri’s dead body as well as the dead body of king Pandu must be shifted to Hastinapur where the royal family lived. Besides Kunti was left alone with five children to be looked after. So the rishis decided that Kunti along with her children should go back to Hastinapur their home. So those godlike rishis with great hearts ,summoning one another, resolved to go to Hastinapura with Pandu's children, desiring to place
them in the hands of Bhishma and Dhritarashtra. The ascetics set out presently, taking with them the children and Kunti and the two dead bodies. It was a long journey from mountains to Hastinapur. And though unused to hard life, the affectionate Kunti now regarded the journey as very short indeed. Having arrived at Hastinapura within a short time, the illustrious Kunti presented herself at the main gate of Hastinapura.
When they reached Hastinapura  Yudhishthira was sixteen years old, Bhima was fifteen years and Arjuna was fourteen years old. Nakula and Sahadeva were thirteen years old. They lived with  Duryodhana and others for thirteen years. Then they left for Laksha house and stayed
there for six months. Afterwards there were the marriage of Bhima with Hidimba and the birth of Ghatotkacha. Next they stayed for six months at Ekchakrapuri. And further in the house of king Drupada for one year. They returned to Hastinapura and stayed their with  Duryodhana
and others for five years. At Indraprastha they lived for twenty-three years. Afterwards they were defeated in the dice game and left the kingdom and stayed in the woods for twelve years and one year they stayed in secret. Then after the battle of Kurukshetra they ruled the kingdom for thirty six years. Then they crowned Parishkhit as the king and proceeded towards  heaven. Yudhishthira  was hundred eight years old at that time.

 

Mahabharata – 202
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
Aadivamsavatarana Parva

A Note on Madri’s death

The Madri episode is rather singularly important.One of the  present authors Ramesh has visited a few alien lands.And he has learnt from them that India is such a country where wives must accompany their dead husbands to the funeral pier.Is it not horrible? This is known as suttee custom.But the truth is otherwise.In the puranas it has been narrated how the wife of Lord Shiva died on her own hearing humiliating words regarding her husband Lord Shiva during a yajna or sacrificial rite organised by the father in law of Lord Shiva whose name was Daksa.The wife of Lord Shiva was so deeply identified with her husband Shiva that she could not tolerate a single humiliating word about her husband.When her father himself maligned Lord Shiva, her husband, with harsh words she could not bear with them and she voluntraly gave up her body.She is the ideal of Indian womanhood on a particular level.There could be different ideals in any society whatever.In other words with some women the worship of the husband is the be all and end all.So if the husband is maligned she can give up her own life.She is called a suttee.There was a one little girl named Savitri.She was married to a young man named Styavan.Satyavan died presently after the marriage.Savitri through her penance encountered Yama or the god of death and brought back the fleeting breath of Satyavan.There are many such instances of suttees in Indian mythology,puranas and even in history.In fact suttee is a term to describe a woman who is cent percent devoted to her husband.Madri was such a suttee who voluntarily ended her own life to accompany  her beloved husband on his journey to the life here - after.Kunti another wife of king Pandu however lingered on earth to look after the children of king Pandu.Although every one was full of praise for Madri no one slighted Kunti for not going to death in an attitude.In fact many people in ancient India believed that the body is not the self.There is the individual soul or jivatman that presides over what we call the living body.The soul or jivatman does not die with the death of the body.Weapons can not tear it asunder.Fire can not burn it.Water can not wet it.The wind can not dry it.Now those who believe in this myth can give up their lives merrily for a cause.We know that Jesus did not die on the cross.May be he let his body die on the cross.The women who are devoted to their husbands always carry a cross with themselves.In all probabilities the oldest inscription as to a woman becoming a suttee entering into the funeral pier of the deceased husband  date back to either eleventh century or thirteenth century A.D. in Orissa. Dr.A.K. Coomarswami of Ceylon and Dr A S Altekar in their seperate books have dwelled on suttee tradition with great insight.In the inscription of Orissa it has been narrated how a princess voluntarily gave up her life when her husband had passed away despite entreaties of her royal parents.A Mughal emperor tried to prevent a lady from dying on the funeral pier of her husband.He promised her all the glory and gold of the emperor.But he failed.Later he wrote a poem in praise of a Hindu woman.In nineteenth century Ahalya bai of Gujrat tried to prevent her widowed daughter from dying on the funeral pier of her husband.In 1948  (?) the elder sister in law of Dr. A.S. Altekar the great Indologist,voluntarily died on the funeral pier of her dead husband. And of late there has been the incident of Roopkanwar.Reporters are divided among them as to whether Roop died on her own or not.Be that as it may when the Mughals killed Hindu kings and raped Hindu women, the women of the royal family of Rajasthan leaped into the fire lest they were molested by Muslim aggressors. Since then it was customary for royal women to follow their dead husbands to the funeral pier.But fine.If people think that a wife is pushed into the funeral pier of their dead husband in India, it is far from truth.The present authors belong to the brahmin caste. The brahmins are said to be most orthodox. But in last two hundred years no widow of their family has died in the funeral pier of their dead husband.So pushing the widow into the fire as soon as her husband dies is a myth about Hindu custom.True that the Potuguese Indo - Anglian poet Derozio witnessed a widow being burnt presently after her husband’s death. But this does not speak of Hindu custom.With the advent of the Britishers and the Europeans India’s economy was shattered.India was richer than Europe in the seventeenth century.But when the  economy was out of joints some widows were pushed into fire.The colonial India and the  post colonial India has been witnessing the shut down of factories.Consequently mothers have often killed their children and husband kill their wives.The fear of hunger often goad them to collective sucide.Such incidents have taken place in the so called civilised West.Jude the Obscure of Thomas Hurdy holds testimony to it.But this does not mean that killing wives and children or that children dying on their own has been the custom of human society today.So we will request our readers not to be carried away by the propaganda that India was a land where widows were pushed into the funeral pier of their dead husbands.And  one must not read false and manipulated truths about ancient Indian society in the episode of Madri.We are all praise for Madri who followed her husband to the life hereafter.Besides,the West should be aware of Foucalt.Foucalt pointed out that every age has its episteme.With the passing away of the age the episteme vanishes.Hence we can not know the past as it was.The past remains to us unkown and unknowable despite the fact that often we know much about the past.                                                      

Mahabharata –201
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya

Aadivams avatarana Parva

 Pandu’s death

Seeing his five handsome sons growing up before him in the forest on the beautiful mountain slope, Pandu felt the utmost  might of his arms once more to revive. One day in the season of spring in between the month of Vaisakha and Chaitra there was abundance and abandon in Nature. All the flowering plants were decked with new blossoms and the trees bent down with the weight of their flowers and fruits and every creature became full of lust.The king accompanied by his wife Madri, began to move in the woods.

There were Palasas and Tilakas and Mangoes and Champakas and Parihadrakas and Karnikaras, Asokas and Kesaras and Atimuktas and Kuruvakas with flock of maddened bees sweetly humming about all around. And there were flowers of blossoming Parijatas with the cuckoos pouring forth their music from every twig echoing with the sweet hums of the black bees. And there were also many fine pools of water overgrown with hundreds of fragrant lotuses. Seeing all these, Pandu felt the desire to make love.Moving like a celestial with a romantic heart amidst such scenic beauty, Pandu was alone with his wife Madri in semi-transparent clothes.And seeing the youthful Madri thus dressed,the king's desire flamed up like  fire.And he was not able to suppress his desire thus kindled at the sight of his beautiful wifeMadri.Her eyes were like lotus-petals.He was completely overwhelmed.The king then seized her against her will.But Madri trembling in fear resisted him to the best of her might.Swayed  by  desire,he forgot everything about his misfortune.And, uninhibited by the fear of the curse and impelled by fate,the king,overpowered by passion, forcibly sought and embraced Madri,as if he wished to put an end to his own life.His reason,thus blinded by the strong lovemaking desire became the destroyer of   himself.And the king Pandu,of virtuous soul, thus succumbed to the inevitable influence of Time,while united in intercourse with his wife.Then Madri, holding  the body of her senseless lord,began to cry loudly.Hearing the cries of grief Kunti with her sons and the twins of Madri, came to the spot where the king lay in that state. Then,Madri addressing Kunti in a piteous voice,said, --- Oh Kunti!Come here alone, and let the children stay there.Hearing these words of Madri,Kunti, instructed the children to stay there.And ran with speed, shouting,‘Woe to me!’And seeing both Pandu and Madri lying down on the ground she moved in grief and sorrow,said --- Oh Madri!Of passions under complete control,the king,had all along been watched by me with care.How did he then forgetting the rishi's curse,approach you with burning desire? Oh Madri! this foremost of men should have been protected by you always.Why did you tempt him in loneliness?Always gloomy at the thought of the rishi's curse,how come he  became merry with you in loneliness? Oh Madri!You are more fortunate than myself,you are really to be envied,for you have seen the face of our lord thtoughout with gladness and joy. Lastly Madri replied ---  Oh Devi! With tears in my eyes,I resisted the king number of times, but the king could not control his passions, determined,to make the rishi's curse true.Kunti then said --- I am the older of his wedded wives,the chief religious merit must be mine.Therefore,Oh Madri!Do not  prevent me from achieving that which I must be achieved.I must follow our lord to the region of the dead.Oh Madri ! Rise up,and quit his body for me.Bringing up these children. Madri replied --- I  held tightly our lord, and I have not allowed him to depart. Therefore,I shall follow him.My appetite for sex has  not been fulfilled.You are my older sister,Oh! let me have your sanction.The king had approached me, desiring to have sex.His appetite remained unsatisfied.Shall I not follow him in the region of Yama to satisfy him? Oh respectable one!If I survive you,it is certain that I shall not be able to bring up your children as if they are mine.Will not sin touch me on that account? But, you,Oh Kunti !, shall be able to bring up my sons as if they are yours.The king,while making love with me, has gone to the region of spirits.Therefore, my body should be burnt with his.Oh respectable sister!,Do not refuse to give your sanction to this which is agreeable to me.You will certainly bring up the children carefully.That indeed, would be very agreeable to me.And I have no other desire. Having said this, the honourable Madri,the wedded wife of Pandu,ascended the heaven with her lord with utmost devotion. 

Mahabharata –200
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
    Aadivams avatarana Parva

Horoscope of Arjuna

The natal chart of Arjuna also finds Saturn – Mars conjunction which suggests that his life will be fraught with troubles. But everywhere he will come out victorious.Because Mars is in its own house in the tenth,and an exalted Saturn directly aspects the tenth house.Arjuna’s ascendant is cancer.So he will have a pleasing personality.Venus is in the ninth house and exalted.He will have higher education and a taste for fine arts.Jupiter is in the ninth house.It is the own house of Jupiter.So he will be virtuous and religious and learned. Jupiter aspects the ascendant. So he will have a long life.Jupiter is also the lord of the sixth.So enemies can not hold out against him.Mars,the lord of the tenth is also the lord of the fifth house.So he will have a noble son but Rahu is deposited in the fifth house.Besides Saturn aspects Mars.So his noble son might not live for long.Curiously enough Sun and Moon exchange aspects.It is a great yoga speaking of prowess,wealth and fame.The ascendant is aspected by Mars, Jupiter,Mercury and Saturn.Hence Arjuna’s personality is outstanding outdoing everyone else around him.      

Mahabharata – 199
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
    Aadivamsa vataranaparva

       Horoscope of Duryodhana

Duryodhana was born on the same day as Bhima at Hastinapura. He was younger than Bhima by a few hours.The narrative gives the natal chart of Duryodhana as well.Curiously enough the ascendant of Bhima as well as that of Duryodhana are in the air sign.So there should be some similarity between Bhima and Durdyodhana.The ascendant of Durdyodhana is Libra and there the exalted Saturn is deposited along with the second lord Mars.The Saturn – Mars conjunction in the first house of  Durdyodhana shows that  Durdyodhana ‘s life will be as full of trouble as that of        Bhima and  Yudhishitira.Rahu in the second house points out that Durdyodhana will be harsh in his speeches he can not maintain good relation with his relatives.Mars in the ascendant point out that his brothers will be devoted to him.The third house is owned by Jupiter.And the lord of the third house is in the sixth.So those who are virtuous among his brothers might go against him.The fourth house belongs to the exalted Saturn.And it is aspected by Mars.So it seems that the family of Durdyodhana will stand by him.The fifth house is deposited with Mercury.The fifth lord is exalted.Besides Jupiter is in its own house in the sixth.So it seems that  Durdyodhana should be singularly lucky as to his children.The seventh lord Mars is in the ascendant.So his wife shall stand by him.The eighth house is occupied by Ketu which is debilitated.Very naturally the thighs of  Durdyodhana should be rather feeble.The tenth lord Moon is deposited in the eleventh which is the house of Sun. Jupiter aspects the tenth house.Saturn also aspects the tenth house.Sun is in the sixth.So Durdyodhana   will dominate over his enemies and he will enjoy power for a long passage of time.Ketu in the eighth house shows that he will be slain may be in a battle. 

Mahabharata – 198
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
    Aadivamsa vataranaparva

          Horoscope of Bhima

The narrative gives us  the horoscopes of the  protagonists of the main action.Or else the horoscopes of the persons mentioned in the narrative gives one the notion that it is these persons who are destined to play the most significant role in the narrative.Those who are initiated into the esoteric significance of the natal charts will naturally guess the shape of things to come for the persons whose horoscopes are there.Consequently those readers will always be aware of what natal chart speculates and what their real life as delineated by the narrative.

Let us now look at the chart of Bhimsena.Here the ascendent is Gemini.The lord of the ascendent is in the ninth house.It is friendly house for him.It is also the lord of the fourth house.Consequently the native’s personality will be devoted to religious values.The lord of the second house Moon is in the third.So the native will  be very cruel and merciless.The Moon is in the constellation of Ketu.So the native might suffer from depression.The mutual aspect of Mercury and Moon suggests that the native will be practical minded.The lord of the third house is in the tenth.So it seems that prowess will be responsible for his success in his working life.The lord of the fifth house is in the tenth.But the lord of the sixth is in the fifth.So he will not be fortunate as to his children.Curiously enough Saturn is in the fifth house along with Mars.Saturn is exalted here.Saturn is the lord of the eighth and the ninth.It underlines his devotion to religion.But he is not always a follower of traditional religious tenets.The conjunction of Saturn and Mars suggests that he shall have to pass through countless troubles throughout his life.The sixth lord Mars is in the fifth.So he is not fortunate as to his sons.Rahu is placed in the sixth.Naturally he will have countless mean minded enemies.The seventh lord Jupiter is in the tenth.So his wives are chaste and virtuous.They will help him in his actions.The tenth is occupied by three planets Sun, Jupiter and Venus.Venus is exalted here and Jupiter is in its own house.The placement of Venus in Jupiter’s house shows that the native’s activities will be largely directed towards helping others.Exalted Venus in the tenth shall make him an expert in the field of catering technology.He will always follow the path of virtue and he will always be employed in the service of his elder brother who is symbolised both by Sun and Venus.The twelfth lord Venus  in the tenth shows that he will be away from home to serve others.The eleventh lord aspects the eleventh house along with the ninth lord Saturn.So he will earn a lot in the righteous way.

Mahabharata – 197
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya

Aadivamsavatarana

Horoscope of Yudhishitira

Let us now look at the natal charts of the five sons of Pandu.

Yudhishitira  was the eldest son of Pandu.His ascendant is Leo.The lord of the ascendant is in the tenth house which is Taurus.So Yudhishitira has a royalty about him.He should always act like a king and he is destined to be the king of a vast empire.The Sun is accompanied with Mercury the lord of the second house and the eleventh house. So he is not short of wealth.And victory should be always with him.The third house stands for brothers and prowess.Saturn is exalted in the third house.So he is peerless in prowess. But it is due to his brothers.The third house is aspected by Mars and Venus.Mars is in his own house.Quite naturally his brothers should very great in prowess.They are good looking as well because of the aspect of Venus in the third house.But the exchange of the aspects of Mars and Saturn the native must go through lot of trouble.May be his mother suffered during his birth.The fourth house is that of Mars.Mars is well placed in his own house in Aries.So he should have a palacial old fashioned built space for his living.But the lord of the twelveth house is debilitated in the fourth house so he will not enjoy a peaceful life at home.The world away from the home would be home for him. Moon stands for mind and we can guess that his mind shall be often restless.This is further underlined because the Moon is in the constellation of Mercury.The Moon is aspected by Mercury.The aspect of Mercury on Moon is not however beneficial.So his mother shall have to face many distresses.The twelveth lord in fourth tells us that much of his time he has to live away from home.Rahu is placed in fifth house and it is debilitated so there will be mishap as regards to his children.Rahu in the fifth might mislead his intelligence.And may be he might be given to gambling for a time.The sixth lord is Saturn placed in the third where it is exalted.No wonder that he will over come his enemies.The seventh lord also is Saturn which is exalted.Besides the Jupiter is in the seventh house,so his wife should be a great virtuous woman and intelligent.Jupiter is the fifth lord in the seventh house aspecting the ascendant so his wife will be largely responsible for his prowess.He will be very virtuous. And his intelligence might some times go astray because of Rahu and Moon.But he has an innate love for virtue.The eighth lord Jupiter is in seventh so it seems that he will not be able to make his wife happy.The ninth is occupied by Venus and Mars.A strong Mars in the ninth will make him firm in pursuing the virtuous way of life.The tenth is occupied by the Sun and Mercury so his actions will bring about wealth.But the eleventh house occupied by Ketu sometimes might stand in the way of his income will suffer.The lord of the twelfth house is debilitated so he may be addicted to gambling and he might lose wealth there by.