Krishnavatara III: The Five Brothers Read online

  'I know your daughter well, noble King. She would make a noble and heroic wife to the finest Kshatriya in Aryavarts', said Sandipani.

  'She would be a fitting wife for Krishna, I assure you', remarked Drupada.

  'Krishna is not likely to accept your proposal. If he does he will have to pledge himself to fight his cousins, the Five Brothers whom he loves greatly,' said Sandipani.

  'Gurudeva, I am sure he would listen to you', said Drupada 'And if Krishna accepts my daughter, I will give him all that he wants, even a part of my kingdom, and see that the Yadavas are rehabilitated in Mathura.'

  'Will your daughter be willing to win Krishna Vaasudeva?' asked Sandipani. 'Krishna may not accept a bride who wants him, not for what he is, but for what she wants him to be.'

  'Draupadi has heard the story of his exploits. She admires him very much. But she is a proud girl,' said Drupada with a smile. She inherits her father's spirit and may not stoop to conquer'.

  'It may be that she will forget her pride when she meets him who knows? His being a master charioteer is the smallest part of him,' added Sandipani.

  'What is he like, by nature?' asked Drupada.

  'He is not merely a warrior. In three years, since the Yadavas settled in Saurashtra, his leadership has given them not only freedom from fear, but strength and riches. Their horses and cattle have multiplied.

  Their ships fare forth from the port of Dwarka on to the high seas and bring back immense wealth from unknown shores,' said Sandipani

  'Now I can understand why the Yadavas worship him as if he was god', said Drupada.

  'He releases mysterious streams of faith and has become the source of Inspiration to the Yadavas; they are no longer what they were-turbulent and irrepressible. The trials they have endured and the leadership of Krishna have given them a wonderful sense of discipline. That is why the Yadavas can subdue the surrounding principalities and, as a crowning achievement, inflict a crushing defeat on Shalva, the ally of their arch-enemy Jarasandha,' said Sandipani, and carried away by admiration he added with a smile: 'Besides, Krishna is a very dangerous person to meet, I tell you. To meet him is to love him. To love him is to surrender oneself to him. Though he is my pupil, if god could be a man, he would be Krishna.'

  'Then, I beg of you, Gurudeva, help me', said Drupada folding his hands. 'I will do everything that I can to win him for my daughter. He would fulfil the pledge for me. That would also bring about an alliance between the Panchalas and the Yadavas'.

  'Noble King, when I go to Prabhasa Tirtha next, I will tell him what you have offered. But I have yet to see a man who can make a decision for Krishna', said Sandipani, and the Guru's face glowed with pride.

  2. SANDIPANI ARRIVES

  Guru Sandipani and his pupils were arriving at Prabhasa Tirtha from Bhrigu Tirtha by sea by about mid-day.

  Krishna, the son of Vasudeva, the chief of the Shoora Yadavas, rose earlier than usual from his bed. When he received the respectful greetings of his spouses, Rukmini, the Vidarbha Princess of flaming beauty, and Shaibya, the dark Princess of Karavirapura, whose smile was a song of beauty, he said with mock solenmity: 'Today Gurudeva is coming and is going to decide whether you are keeping your husband happy or not'.

  Rukmini put out her tongue impudently. We are going to complain that our husband is keeping everyone happy but ourselves'.

  'Try. Who will believe you, looking at your face? No one will, will he, Shaibya?' asked Krishna and departed.

  He proceeded to the beach with his elder brother Balarama and his friend Yuyudhana, the son of Satyaka, generally called Satyaki.

  Balarama was a giant in size and strength. By nature he was good-natured, frank and hearty, though when engaged in a mace combat he could smash skulls, with amazing skill. He loved Krishna above everything else, and being free from personal vanity, took greater pride in the achievements of his younger brother than in his own.

  Satyaki was a fiery young man, lithe and sinewy, skilled in arms and an athlete, and an expert chariot warrior too. He followed Krishna like his shadow and keenly shared any adventure he embarked upon with steadfast loyalty.

  As was their daily routine, Krishna, Balarama and Satyaki joined the Yadavas on the beach, where most of the young and able-bodied ones gathered every morning to acquire greater skill in weapons and keep themselves in fighting trim.

  These exercises were in the nature of daily training for collective action and had stood the Yadavas in good stead in their swift rise to power. They had come to look upon physical endurance and bodily vigour as the essential requirements in life.

  As Krishna met the young Yadavas gathered on the beach he accosted some by a word, some by a smile, still others by nod or gesture of friendliness. In response he was greeted with spontaneous shouts of "Jaya Shri Krishna", for out of devotion they had come to add the honorific word "Shri" to his name.

  A retainer was waiting with his mace named Kaumodaki and his bow, Sharnga, which he alone could wield. Today, however, he did not enter the mace combat nor shoot an arrow as was his wont. He rested content merely to cheer others who excelled in the performance.

  The exercise over, Krishna and Balarama, with the Yadavas, went for a swim in the sea. After swimming, they stood in the water and performed their morning worship of the rising sun. Then they offered their daily worship at the shrine of Somanatha, the God of gods.

  It was a cold, crisp winter morning. Gargacharya, the venerable preceptor of the Yadavas and Krishna, accompanied by Balarama and Satyaki, went to the jetty to receive Sandipani and his pupils. Many Yadavas of note and other people had also collected on the beach to give the Guru a hearty welcome.

  When the pupils, led by the principal disciples of Sandipani, stepped ashore from the boats, the venerable Gargacharya received them with his blessing. The disciples and the pupils also paid their respects to Krishna and Balarama, whom they held in great admiration as former pupils of the school, who had miraculous achievements to their credit.

  With a staff in his hand and dressed in the skin of an antelope, Sandipani, tail, gaunt and sinewy, stepped out of the last boat, his greying hair blowing about his face in the sea breeze, and enveloped Krishna in an affectionate embrace.

  Sandipani looked at his favourite pupil with frank admiration. A strenuous life, led with great intensity, had scarcely left any marks on him. The brow was as smooth as a young woman's; the eyes sparkled with joy; the laughter was spontaneous. The grace of his body gave little evidence of the muscular power which could, when required, keep the four stormy horses of a running chariot under control and speed the whirling chakra to sever the head of an enemy.

  The Guru observed with great satisfaction that his pupil wore his eminence without a trace of vanity. Not a word or gesture escaped him which could indicate that he had performed exploits which were heard with awe-inspired interest in courts and village squares alike.

  A fresh garland of champaka flowers was swinging cheerfully from his neck. His peacock feather waved gaily on his diadem as he laughed. The yellow pitambar which he wore was folded impeccably.

  Sandipani's heart overflowed with joy. It was the greatest feat of his strenuous life, thought Sandipani, to have fathered such a spiritual son.

  Krishna stepped aside and Sandipani hastened to embrace Balarama. The heavy-bodied giant encircled the wiry Guru in his massive arms and left the old teacher breathless.

  'And where is Uddhava?' asked Sandipani.

  'Krishna has sent him to Hastinapura,' laughed Balarama, 'as if Dwaraka was not good enough for him.'

  During these years, Krishna, while looking after the interests of the Yadavas, had never failed to follow the happenings in the outside world. Even in the prosperity which had come to the Yadavas, he had never forgotten that the fate of Dharma was ultimately bound up with the fortunes of Aryavarta.

  Krishna had also never ceased to cherish the memory of the happy days he had spent with Arjuna and Bhima when, one after the other, they had visited Mathur
a, and he had followed their career in the distant north with great interest.

  Vinda and Anuvinda, the twin Princes of Avanti, had been his loyal friends from the time they had all been pupils at Sandipani's school. Avanti was developing into a great centre to which men from all parts of Aryavarta were attracted, and the Princes, whenever they could, kept Krishna informed of the developments in different parts of the country.

  The Brahmans too kept the common consciousness flowing throughout the Arya world. They visited one country after another, going on pilgrimage, attending sacrificial sessions, visiting schools of learning, reciting the exploits of ancient kings, imparting the teachings of the sages, and seeking the patronage of kings or warriors or the rich members of the community.

  In their peregrinations, the Brahmans never missed visiting the holy shrine of Somanatha at Prabhasa, and when there, invariably received generous hospitality and lavish gifts from the Yadavas, and in return, gave an account of whatever they had learned in the countries they had been visiting.

  All who came to Dwaraka were as much fascinated with Krishna's graciousness and wisdom as they were awed by the superb way in which he had built up the power of the Yadavas. When they left Dwaraka, they carried with them the tales of his exploits to retail them wherever they went.

  It was Guru Sandipani's school which steadily maintained a flow of communication between the different parts of the country. The Guru himself, on account of the confidence which was placed in him by the kings and the rishis, was an authority on the policies of both of these.

  Krishna, therefore, knew what was happening in the outside world.

  After Rukmini's proposed swayamvara had been turned by Krishna into a fiasco, Jarasandha had returned home to Rajagriha, the capital of Magadha, frustrated and furious. During these three years he had made no attempt to invade any of the kingdoms ruled by the Arya kings, though reports had it that he was waiting for an opportunity to overwhelm the King of Kashi.

  However, as Krishna knew, the final victory of Dharma largely depended upon the attitude of the Kurus of Hastinapura, and of the Panchalas of Kampilya-the two most populous of the Arya races.

  The fertile lands which the Kurus and the Panchalas occupied along the banks of the Ganga formed the heart of Aryavarta. It Included Kurukshetra and Brahmarshidesh, where the most revered of the sages had their ashrams and where the standard of Kshatriya conduct was set by the venerable Gangeya. Generally called Grandfather Bhishma, this pillar of the Kuru power, single-minded in the pursuit of Dharma, was as strict in personal and public life as he was terrible in war.

  Krishna felt the situation in Hastinapura heartening. The blind King Dhritarashtra had had the wisdom to appoint Yudhishthira, the eldest son of his deceased brother Pandu, and Krishna's cousin as the yuvaraja. Within a short time, with Grandfather Bhishma's blessings, he had gained the love of his people and a reputation for being a just and benevolent ruler.

  Krishna was also delighted to hear that Arjuna, the third of Pandu's sons and the friend whom he cherished, had given stability to the empire of the Kurus by his victories in the wars. His fame as a warrior of miraculous power had spread everywhere and his exploits were sung in every royal hall.

  However, the situation was not free from uncertainty. When Yudhishthira was installed as the yuvaraja, Duryodhana, the eldest son of Dhritarashtra, came to Saurashtra on the pretext of perfecting the art of mace combat under Balarama, its recognised master.

  Duryodhana after his arrival wormed himself into the affections of Balarama and became his favourite pupil. He was also at pains to make friends with Krishna, who was the last person to repulse a proffered friendship.

  Spiteful and malicious by temperament, this Kuru prince, as Krishna could see, had lashed himself into a jealous rage at Yudhishthlra being appointed the yuvaraja, and had really come to Dwarka to ascertain whether the Yadavas would befriend him if there was a clash between him and the Five Brothers. Krishna had been, therefore, glad that with him away for about a year all intrigues would be hushed in Hastinapura and the Five Brothers would happily be left free to strengthen their hold on the Kurus.

  Krishna knew that Yudhishthira was pledged to Dharma; that the Five Brothers were devoted to each other; that they were held in high regard by their venerable Grandfather Bhishma, and in great affection by the Best of Munis, Veda Vyasa, foremost among the seers.

  With Yudhishthira as the yuvaraja and later the Emperor of Hastinapura, and Arjuna too, the irresistible warrior, by his side, Krishna felt confident that Dharma would come to be respected, and violence and wickedness subdued. That was the only hope of the Arya way of life flourishing and reclaiming those people who were alien to it.

  When, after a year's stay with him, Duryodhana left for Hastinapura, Krishna could see that things would now be not too easy for the Five Brothers. The time, therefore, had come for him to go north, give strength to his cousins, the Five Brothers, and forge an alliance which would stand as a bulwark for Dharma.

  The long-awaited opportunity to go north had presented itself two months before when he had received a pressing invitation from Yudhishthira to come to Hastinapura. In response, Uddhava, his beloved friend and cousin, had been sent in advance to announce that he, Krishna, was coming.

  3. THE TEACHER AND THE PUPIL

  Since his Guru desired to see him, Krishna went to Gargacharya's ashram, after the midday meal.

  Sandipani was seated on a deer skin under the shade of a banyan tree, surrounded by some pupils. When Krishna joined him, the other disciples left them to themselves, sensing a special purpose in this visit.

  Sandipani soon came to the subject which was uppermost in his mind. His voice was earnest and his deep-set eyes grave. He said: 'Krishna, my son, I am glad to see you so well and so happy. What are your plans, now that the Yadavas are thriving? Are you content with what you have done so far?'

  'Gurudeva, because of your blessing, the gods have been very kind to me,' said Krishna with equal seriousness, for between the two of them there was a close bond of understanding. 'The Yadavas are now free from the fear of Jarasandha. They are strong and united, and also prosperous-perhaps more prosperous than is good for them,' he added with a smile. 'Some of us are prone to lapse into riotous living.'

  'Remember you were not born to make the Yadavas rich,' said Sandipani. 'Riches and Dharma do not go together.'

  'I don't know what I was born for. Many people seem to know more about it than I do,' remarked Krishna with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. 'You must discover what I should do next.'

  'I wish I was fit to do so, my son,' said Sandipani with an apologetic smile, for he often wondered whether it was not his pupil who kept him on his mettle all the time. 'However, is it not time, Krishna, to think of all men, not of the Yadavas only? You alone can achieve the impossible and establish Dharma among men,' he added.

  'I must rest content to face whatever task confronts me for the moment, without going specially out of my way to seek new ones,' said Krishna thoughtfully.

  'Well, the task has come to you in the shape of your Guru,' said Sandipani with a smile. 'He brings you a message from King Drupada of Panchala. He wants a favour from you. After telling you all about it, I can, if you like, speak about it to King Ugrasena and your noble father.'

  'King Drupada is sending me a message?' said Krishna, his eyes wide with surprise.

  'Krishna, he offers you his daughter Draupadi, in marriage,' said Sandipani slowly, watching the reactions of his pupil. 'She is beautiful, gifted and highly intelligent. In return for your accepting her, he also offers to give you a part of his kingdom and to help the Yadavas rebuild Mathura which is now a wilderness.'

  Krishna started smiling, his eyes shining merrily. 'I wish every task you asked me to perform were so tempting, Gurudeva. It seems I am a very desirable son-in-law. But how have I merited this favour from so great a king? Everyone, except myself, seems to have forgotten that the kings would not sit with me, a gopal, at
the swayamvara of Bhishmaka's daughter.'

  The teacher was also infected by Krishna's merriment and laughed heartily before he said: 'Drupada, does not merely confer a favour on you; he also asks for one.'

  'In what way could I possibly be of service to the noble lord of Panchala?' asked Krishna.

  'In a very real way,' replied Sandipani. 'Drupada, as you must have heard, has suffered brutal humiliation at the hands of Dronacharya, that great master of war, the military leader of the Kurus. He made the King part with some lands north of the Ganga. Since then, the King has only one aim to live for-to avenge the humiliation. And he wants you to help him do so.'

  Krishna laughed aloud. 'And Draupadi will be my fee for destroying Dronacharya!'

  Sandipani raised a warning linger. 'Don't think this a foolish jest, Krishna. I know Draupadi. Don't be unjust to her. She is noble; she is devoted to her father; she will marry none but the most redoubtable hero in Aryavarta, so that his pledge may be fulfilled. Few daughters live for their fathers as she does.'

  'But why me? There are many redoubtable heroes in Aryavarta who will do what her father wants them to,' said Krishna, again laughing merrily.

  'She thinks you are the best of them or perhaps the only one she would choose,' said Sandipani. 'And she is the finest woman in existence.'

  Krishna, holding up his hand with his thumb and finger joined together, as teachers often do when explaining something, summarised the offer with a smile. 'Drupada's favour then comes to this: I am to marry a very determined woman. I then fight Dronacharya, and if necessary all his pupils, the Kuru Princes, to avenge her father's defeat. I leave my position as a humble Yadava to become a tributary of Panchala. Incidentally I induce the Yadavas to leave this beautiful land and rebuild a wilderness. It is a very tempting offer indeed!'

  There was no irony in what Krishna said. He was only analysing the situation with an unerring clarity. Sandipani looked on admiringly; this pupil of his had the sanity of outlook which he wished many other kings and warriors possessed.