Krishnavatara IV: The Book of Bhima
BHAVAN’S BOOK UNIVERSITY
KRISHNAVATARA
VOLUME IV
THE BOOK OF BHIMA
By
K.M.MUNSHI
2020
BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN
Kulapati K.M.Munshi Marg
Mumbai – 400007
All Rights Reserved
© Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Kulapati K. M. Munshi Marg
Mumbai - 400007
First Print Edition: 1967
Second Print Edition: 1973
Third Edition: 1980
Fourth Print Edition: 1983
Fifth Print Edition: 1988
Sixth Print Edition: 1990
Seventh Print Edition: 2006
Eighth Print Edition: 2010
Ninth Print Edition: 2013
Tenth Print Edition: 2018
First e-edition: 2020
KULAPATI’S PREFACE
The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan—that Institute of Indian Culture in Bombay—needed a Book University, a series of books which, if read, would serve the purpose of providing higher education. Particular emphasis, however, was to be put on such literature as revealed the deeper impulsions of India. As a first step, it was decided to bring out in English 100 books, 50 of which were to be taken in hand, almost at once.
It is our intention to publish the books we select, not only in English, but also in the following Indian languages: Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.
This scheme, involving the publication of 900 volumes, requires ample funds and an all-India organisation. The Bhavan is exerting its utmost to supply them.
The objectives for which the Bhavan stands are the reintegration of Indian culture in the light of modern knowledge and to suit our present-day needs and the resuscitation of its fundamental values in their pristine vigour.
Let me make our goal more explicit:
We seek the dignity of man, which necessarily implies the creation of social conditions which would allow him freedom to evolve along the lines of his own temperament and capacities; we seek the harmony of individual efforts and social relations, not in any makeshift way, but within the frame-work of the Moral Order; we seek the creative art of life, by the alchemy of which human limitations are progressively transmuted, so that man may become the instrument of God, and is able to see Him in all and all in Him.
The world, we feel, is too much with us. Nothing would uplift or inspire us so much as the beauty and aspiration which such books can teach.
In this series, therefore, the literature of India, ancient and modern, will be published in a form easily accessible to all. Books in other literatures of the world, if they illustrate the principles we stand for, will also be included.
This common pool of literature, it is hoped, will enable the reader, eastern or western, to understand and appreciate currents of world thought, as also the movements of the mind in India, which though they flow through different linguistic channels, have a common urge and aspiration.
Fittingly, the Book University’s first venture is the Mahabharata, summarised by one of the greatest living Indians, C. Rajagopalachari; the second work is on a section of it, the Gita by H.V.Divatia, an eminent jurist and student of philosophy. Centuries ago, it was proclaimed of the Mahabharata: “What is not in it, is nowhere.” After twenty-five centuries, we can use the same words about it. He who knows it not, knows not the heights and depths of the soul; he misses the trials and tragedy and the beauty and grandeur of life.
The Mahabharata is not a mere epic: it is a romance, telling the tale of heroic men and women and of some who were divine; it is a whole literature in itself, containing a code of life, a philosophy of social and ethical relations, and speculative thought on human problems that is hard to rival: but, above all, it has for its core the Gita, which is, as the world is beginning to find out, the noblest of scriptures and the grandest of sagas in which the climax is reached in the wondrous Apocalypse in the Eleventh Canto.
Through such books alone the harmonies underlying true culture, I am convinced, will one day reconcile the disorders of modern life.
I thank all those who have helped to make this new branch of the Bhavan’s activity successful.
K.M.Munshi
New Delhi
1, Queen Victoria Road,
October 3, 1951
INTRODUCTION
Who has not heard of Sri Krishna who delivered the message of the Bhagavad Gita and whom the Bhagavat calls ‘God Himself’?
From the earliest days that my memories can go back to, Sri Krishna has been, in a sense, dominating my imagination. In my childhood, I heard his adventures with breathless amazement. Since then I have read of him, sung of him, admired him, worshipped him in a hundred temples and every year on his birthday at home. And day after day, for years and years, his message has been the strength of my life.
Unfortunately, his fascinating personality, which could be glimpsed in what may be called the original Mahabharata, has been overlaid with legends, myths, miracles and adorations for about three hundred years.
Wise and valorous, he was loving and loved, far-seeing and yet living for the moment, gifted with sage-like detachment and yet intensely human; the diplomat, the sage and the man of action with a personality as luminous as that of a divinity.
The urge, therefore, came upon me, time and again, to embark upon a reconstruction of his life and adventures by weaving a romance around him.
It was an almost impossible venture, but like hundreds of authors in all parts of India for centuries, I could not help offering him whatever little of imagination and creative power I possessed, feeble though they were.
I have called the whole work Krishnavatara, The Descent of the Lord. The First Part, which ends with the death of Kamsa, has been named “The Magic Flute”, for it deals with his boyhood associated with the flute, which hypnotized men, animals and birds alike, sung with such loving tenderness by innumerable poets.
I have named the Second Part, which ends with Rukmini Haran, The Wrath of an Emperor, as the central theme is the successful defiance by Sri Krishna of Jarasandha, the Emperor of Magadha. The Third Part is entitled The Five Brothers and ends with Draupadi’s Swayamvara. The Fourth Part is entitled The Book of Bhima and the Fifth Part is entitled The Book of Satyabhaama. The Sixth Part, which is now being serially published in the Bhavan’s Journal, is entitled The Book of Vyaasa, the Master.
I hope to carry forward the series till the episode when, on the battle-field of Kurukshetra, Krishna reveals himself as the Eternal Guardian of the Cosmic Law—Saashvata Dharma Gopta—to Arjuna, if it is His will that I should do so.
I have followed the techniques since 1922 to reconstruct the episodes connected with Chyavana and Sukanya in Purandara Parajaya (a play), Agastya and Lopamudra, Vasishta and Vishwamitra, Parashurama and Sahasrarjuna in Vishvaratha (a romance), Deve Didheli (a play), Vishwamitra Rishi (a play), Lomaharshini (a romance) and Bhagavan Parashurama (a romance), and now Sri Krishna and the heroes and heroines of Mahabharata in these volumes of Krishnavatara.
Time and again, I have made it clear that none of these works is an English rendering of any old Purana.
In reconstructing Sri Krishna’s life and adventures, I had, like many of my predecessors, to reconstruct the episodes inherited from the past, so as to bring out his character, attitude and outlook with the personality-sustained technique of modern romance. I had also to give flesh and blood to various obscure characters in the Mahabharata.
In the course of this adventure, I had often to depart from the legend and myth, for such reconstruction by a modern author must necessarily involve the
exercise of whatever little imagination he has. I trust He will forgive me for the liberty I am taking, but must write of Him as I see Him in my imagination.
K.M. Munshi
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,
Chowpatty Road, Bombay-7
August 15, 1967.
CONTENTS
KULAPATI’S PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
CONTENTS
CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY
PROLOGUE
THE YADAVAS
THE KURUS
THE FIVE BROTHERS
1. DRAUPADI'S BRIDAL NIGHT
2. BHIMA TAKES OVER
3. ARJUNA'S ORDEAL
4. BHIMA PREPARES FOR THE JOURNEY
5. THE PRINCESS WITH THE FLYING FEET
6. BHIMA COMES TO HIS OWN RESCUE
7. DURYODHANA THREATENS SUICIDE
8. DUHSHASANA THREATENS
9. THE DECISION OF THE GRANDFATHER
10. BHANUMATI IN DISTRESS
11. THE SISTERS
12. DURYODHANA RECEIVES THE BRIDAL PROCESSION
13. BALIYA’S AKHADA
14. REKHAA’S MISSION
15. SHADOWS OF THE COMING STRIFE
16. JALANDHARAA HAS HER WAY
17. THE AGHORI’S HUT
18. JOURNEY TO KAILAS
19. THE MIRACLE
20. GRANDFATHER IN ACTION
21. KRISHNA GIVES A PROMISE
22. BHANUMATI’S PLIGHT
23. KRISHNA MEETS BHANUMATI
24. THE MASTER’S ADVICE
25. THE RAJYA SABHA
26. YUDHISHTHIRA’S PLEDGE
27. “HE IS GONE”
28. BHIMA IN A FURY
29. A DREAM CITY
30. HOW TO BULD A DREAM CITY
31. THE STRANGE AWARD
32. HOW KRISHNA KEPT HIS PROMISE
EPILOGUE
NOTES
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 7
Chapter 10
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 21
Chapter 25
Chapter 32
GLOSSARY
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY
Sri Krishna
BALARAAMA - His elder brother.
VASUDEVA- His father and Chief of Shoora tribe of Yadavas.
DEVAKI- His mother.
UDDHAVA- His intimate friend and third son of his uncle Devabhaaga.
YUYUDHAAN SAA'IYAKI - His friend and a Yadava Chief.
GURU SANDIPANI - His teacher, with his ashram at Ujjain.
ACHARYA SUVETAKETU - His friend and Sandipani's principal disciple.
RUKMINI AND SHAIBYA - His wives.
SUBHADRA - His sister, and later wife of Arjuna.
* * * *
Bhishma (Also Gangeya)
KING SHANTANU- His father, Emperor of Hastinapura of the Kuru tribe.
SATYAVATI - His step-mother, Dowager Empress of Hastinapur.
CHITRANGADA, VICHITRAVEERYA -His step-brothers. Satyavati's sons.
AMBIKAA, AMBALIKAA - Two daughters of the King of Kashi married to Vichitraveerya.
KRISHNA DVAIPAAYANA VYAASA - the Best of Munis, son of Sage Paraashara by Satyavati and great-grandson of the Vedic Rishi Vasishtha.
JAIMINI - His principal disciple.
* * *
Pandavas
PANDU - son of Ambalikaa begotten by Krishna Dvaipaayana Vyaasa, and King of Hastinapur.
KUNTI - Pandu's wife.
YUDHISHTHIRA (also Dharmaraaja), BHIMA, ARJUNA - Pandu's sons by Kunti.
MAADRI - Pandu's second wife.
NAKUIA, SAHADEVA- Pandu's twin sons by Maadri .
• • •
KURUS
DHRITARAASHTRA- Blind son of Ambika begotten by Krishna Dvaipaayana Vyaasa, and father of the Kurus.
GAANDHARI - His wife.
SHAKUNI - His brother-in-law.
DURYODHANA, DUSHAASAN-Two of his sons.
VIDURA- son of a maid-servant begotten by Krishna Dvaipaayana Vyaasa, and the principal Minister of Dhritaraashtra.
* * *
Panchalas
DRUPAD YAJNASENA - King of Panchala (Capital Kampilya).
KRISHNAA DRAUPADI - Drupad's daughter and wife of the Five Brothers.
DHRISTADYUMNA, SHIKHANDIN, SATYAAJIT - Drupad's sons.
* * *
Others
JARAASANDHA- Emperor of Magadha.
DRONAACHARYA - A pupil of Parashuraama and teacher of the Pandavas and the Kurus in the art of war.
ASWATTHAAMA- Dronaacharya's son.
KRIPACHARYA- Dronaacharya's brother-in-law and colleague.
VIRAT- King ofMatsya.
* * *
PROLOGUE
THE YADAVAS
In the days of the ancient fathers of our race, the Aryas, a vigorous people, spread over India, intermarrying with the Nagas, fighting with them or among themselves, and founding or destroying kingdoms.
The Arya rishis, dedicated to learning and self-discipline, lived in their hermitages, communing with the gods and spreading the Arya way of life based on Satya, Yajna and Tapas—Truth, Sacrifice and Purity—which they called Dharma.
Long before kingdoms were established in the fertile plains of North India by adventurous Arya kings, the Yadavas had pushed their way across the river Ganga. Of them, the confederated tribes of the Shooras, the Andhakas and the Vrishnis were the most powerful.
These confederated tribes cleared the forests in the valley of the Yamuna and established settlements which collectively came to be called Shoorasena after Shoora, the most powerful of their chiefs. Later they conquered Mathura, which in their hands grew in power, prosperity and influence.
The irrepressible Yadavas of Mathura had an inveterate horror of restraint. They would not have a king. Their affairs were carried on by a council of chiefs. However, Ugrasena, the chief of the Andhaka clan, came to be called ‘king’ by courtesy.
Andhaka Ugrasena’s son, Kamsa, grew up, reckless, wild and ambitious. He distinguished himself by his valour and married Asti and Prapti, the daughters of Emperor Jarasandha of Magadha, who cherished the mighty ambition of subduing all the kings of the earth by guile and force. Kamsa became a trusted lieutenant, captured power in Mathura and used it tyrannically.
Shoora, the powerful chief of the Shoora tribe, married Marishaa, the daughter of the Naga chief, Aryaka, and begot sons, among whom were Vasudeva and Devabhaga and daughters, among whom were Prithaa and Shrutashravaa.
Prithaa, the eldest, was given in adoption to King Kuntibhoja and came to be known as Kunti. Shrutashravaa, the other daughter of Shoora, was married to King Damaghosha of Chedi and gave birth to a son by name Shishupala, who, headstrong and ambitious, also wanted to win the favour of Jarasandha, the Emperor of Magadha.
Vasudeva, Shoora’s eldest son, married Devaki, the daughter of Devaka, the brother of King Ugrasena.
To avert the prophecy that the eighth son of his cousin Devaki would kill him, Kamsa put Vasudeva and Devaki in prison and killed their first six sons immediately they were born.
The seventh child, extracted from the womb long before his time, was secreted away and grew up as Samkarshana Balarama.
The eighth son, Krishna who, according to the prophecy, was going to be the redeemer of the Yadavas, was taken away to Gokul at midnight as soon as he was born, and was brought up by Nanda, the chief among the cowherds of Gokul.
Devabhaga, the younger brother of Vasudeva, begot Uddhava, who, when an infant, was sent to Gokul to be brought up as Krishna's companion.
Balarama, Krishna and Uddhava grew up strong, handsome and venturesome. Krishna, the most loving and lovable of them, became the favourite of the cowherd community and the darling of the milkmaids of Vrindavan, the place Nanda had migrated to.
When Krishna was sixteen, he was brought to M
athura, where he killed his maternal uncle, the wicked Kamsa.
Krishna, Balarama and Uddhava went to complete their education and training in arms in the school of the Guru Sandipani. While living with Sandipani, Krishna rescued his son Punardatta from kidnappers by a miraculous exploit.
When Jarasandha heard that his son-in-law had been killed by Krishna, he marched on Mathura to avenge his death. Unable to face the siege of the town by such a powerful foe, the Yadavas allowed Krishna and Balarama to steal away from it at night. They travelled to Gomantaka situated across the Sahyadri and lived among the Garuda tribes.
Jarasandha pursued Krishna and Balarama to Gomantaka, but he and his friends were put to flight by the intrepid young men.
With their fame resounding through Aryavarta, Krishna and Balarama returned in triumph to Mathura, where the Yadavas, under their leadership, became strong and disciplined.
In order to destroy the Yadavas of Mathura, Jarasandha decided to strengthen his alliance with King Bhishmaka of Vidarbha and King Damaghosha of Chedi. He arranged that Bishmaka's daughter Rukmini should be married to Shishupala, son of King Damaghosha of Chedi, while his own grand-daughter was to be married to Rukmi, the son of Bhishmaka.
To carry out the arrangement, a swayamvara was staged at Kundinapura, the capital of Vidarbha. In fact, it was a fraud against the ancient ways of the Aryas, for no choice was to be left to Rukmini, but to marry Shishupala. Krishna, with several Yadava chiefs and their allies, went to Kundinapura uninvited and induced Bhishmaka to give up the swayamvara.
Krishna's fame grew and his fabulous exploits gave him the halo of a demi-god.
Jarasandha, however, was unforgiving. He decided to destroy the Yadavas of Mathura. He, therefore, made up his mind not to take any Arya king into his confidence, and entered into a pact with Kala Yavana, the savage king of the region beyond the river Sindhu. According to his pact, the Yavana was to march on Mathura from the west and he himself from the east; they would destroy the Yadavas and burn Mathura to the ground.
To save the Yadavas from the fate which awaited them if they were trapped by these overwhelming forces, Krishna led them across swamps and deserts to faraway Saurashtra. There they settled in the kingdom of Kukudmin whose daughter Revati was married to Balarama. Their capital, Dwaraka soon became a flourishing port.