SECTION XXII
"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 the an injury, why, the 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 the speak
erroneously!'
"Krishna said,--'O you 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 your city.) Having perpetrated
that wicked wrong how dost you 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 your own order as animals (fit for
sacrifice)! Fool as you 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 your 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 you is so
sure of leading to heaven, proud as you are 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 are thou
noted for your valour. Thy prowess, O king, can be borne by us. It is,
therefore, that I say so. O king of Magadha, cast off your superiority and
pride in the presence of those that are your 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 you 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."
--------------------END OF PARVA 2 : UPA-PARVA 22 ---------------------
