SECTION XXII
(Jarasandhta-badha Parva Continued)
"Jarasandha said,--'I do not recollect if I
ever acted injuriously towards ye! Even upon a careful mental scrutiny I fail
to see the injury I did unto ye. When I have never done ye an injury, why, ye
Brahmanas do ye regard me, who am innocent, as your foe? O, answer me truly,
for this, indeed, is the rule followed by the honest. The mind is pained at the
injury to one's pleasure and morality. That Kshatriya who injures an innocent
man's (sources of) pleasure and morality even if he be otherwise a great
warrior and well-versed in all rules of morality, obtains, without any doubt
the fate of sinners (hereafter) and falls off from prosperity. The practices of
the Kshatriyas are the best of those that are honest in the three worlds
Indeed, those that are acquainted with morality applaud the Kshatriya practices.
Adhering to those practices of my order with steady soul, I never injure those
that are under me. In bringing this charge, therefore, against me, it appears
that ye speak erroneously!'
"Krishna said,--'O thou of mighty arms,
there is a certain person of the head of a (royal) line who upholdeth the
dignity of his race At his command have we come against thee. Thou hast
brought, O king, many of the Kshatriyas of the world as captives (to thy city.)
Having perpetrated that wicked wrong how dost thou regard thyself as innocent?
O best of monarchs, how can a king act wrongfully towards other virtuous kings?
But thou, O king, treating other kings with cruelty, seekest to offer them as
sacrifice unto the god Rudra! O son of Vrihadratha, this sin committed by thee
may touch even us, for as we are virtuous in our practices, we are capable of
protecting virtue. The slaughter of human being as sacrifice unto the gods is
never seen. Why dost thou, therefore, seek to perform a sacrifice unto god
Sankara by slaughtering human beings? Thou art addressing persons belonging to thy
own order as animals (fit for sacrifice)! Fool as thou art, who else, O
Jarasandha, is capable of behaving in this way? One always obtaineth the fruits
of whatever acts one performeth under whatever circumstances. Therefore,
desirous as we are of helping all distressed people, we have, for the
prosperity of our race, come hither to slay thee, the slaughterer of our
relatives. Thou thinkest that there is no man among the Kshatriyas (equal to
thee). This, O king, is a great error of judgment on thy part. What Kshatriya
is there, O king, who endued with greatness of soul and recollecting the
dignity of his own parentage, would not ascend to eternal heaven that hath not
its like anywhere, falling in open fight? Know O bull among men, that
Kshatriyas engage themselves in battle, as persons installed in sacrifices,
with heaven in view, and vanquish the whole world! Study of the Vedas, great
fame, ascetic penances, and death in battle, are all acts that lead to heaven.
The attainment of heaven by the three other acts may be uncertain, but death in
battle hath that for its certain consequence. Death in battle is the sure cause
of triumph like Indra's. It is graced by numerous merits. It is for this reason
that he of a hundred sacrifices (Indra) hath become what he is, and by
vanquishing the Asuras he ruleth the universe. Hostility with whom else than
thee is so sure of leading to heaven, proud as thou art of the excessive
strength of thy vast Magadha host? Don't disregard others, O king. Valour
dwelleth in every man. O king of men, there are many men whose valour may be
equal or superior to thine. As long as these are not known, so long only art
thou noted for thy valour. Thy prowess, O king, can be borne by us. It is,
therefore, that I say so. O king of Magadha, cast off thy superiority and pride
in the presence of those that are thy equals. Go not, O king, with thy children
and ministers and army, into the regions of Yama. Damvodhava, Kartavirya,
Uttara, and Vrihadratha, were kings that met with destruction, along with all
their forces, for having disregarded their superiors. Desirous of liberating
the captive monarchs from thee, know that we are certainly not Brahmanas. I am
Hrishesha otherwise called Sauri, and these two heroes among men are the sons
of Pandu. O king of Magadha, we challenge thee. Fight standing before us.
Either set free all the monarchs, or go thou to the abode of Yama.
"Jarasandha said,--'I never make a captive
of a king without first vanquishing him. Who hath been kept here that hath not
been defeated in war? This, O Krishna, it hath been said, is the duty that
should be followed by the Kshatriyas, viz., to bring others under sway by the
exhibition of prowess and then to treat them as slaves. Having gathered these
monarchs with the intention of offering them as sacrifices unto the god, how
shall I, O Krishna, from fear liberate them to-day, when I recollect also the
duty I have recited of a Kshatriya? With troops against troops arrayed in order
of battle, or alone against one, or against two, or against three, at the same
time or separately, I am ready to fight.'"
Vaisampayana said,--"Having spoken thus, and
desiring to fight with those heroes of terrible achievements, king Jarasandha
ordered (his son) Sahadeva to be installed on the throne. Then, O bull of the
Bharata race, the king, on the eve of battle, thought of his two generals
Kausika and Chitrasena. These two, O king, were formerly called by everybody in
the world of men by the respectful appellations of Hansa and Dimvaka. And, O
monarch, that tiger among men, the lord Sauri ever devoted to truth, the slayer
of Madhu, the younger brother of Haladhara, the foremost of all persons having
their senses under complete control, keeping in view the command of Brahma and
remembering that the ruler of Magadha was destined to be slain in battle by
Bhima and not by the descendant of Madhu (Yadavas), desired not to slay himself
king Jarasandha, that foremost of all men endued with strength, that hero
possessed of the prowess of a tiger, that warrior of terrible valour."
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