WE WILL DISCUSS THIS IN 2 THREADS
SOURCE : KMG Original translation of Ved Vyas Mahabharat
THIS THREAD IS DIVIDED INTO THREE PARTS
1) OPINION OF BHISHMA
2) OPINION OF DURYODHAN
3) OPINION OF KRIPA
--------------------------
>>>>PART 1
* WHAT PITAHMAH BHISHMA TOLD ABOUT
ARJUNA TO DURYODHANA WHILE
CATEGORISING RATHIS,MAHARATHIS &
ATIRATHIS!
NARRATIVE:
As regards Gudakesha(Arjuna), of reddish
eyes, having Narayana for his ally, there is not
among both the armies any brave car-warrior
that can be regarded as his equal. Let men
alone, it hath not been heard by us that even
among gods, Asuras, Uragas, Rakshasas and
Yakshas, there ever was born before, or there
ever will be born hereafter, any car-warrior
like unto him! O great king, intelligent Partha
owneth that car which is furnished with the
banner bearing the device of the ape; the
driver of that car is Vasudeva! Dhananjaya
himself is the warrior who fighteth from it; his,
again, is that celestial bow called Gandiva; he
owneth again those steeds fleet as the wind;
his coat of mail is impenetrable and of
celestial make; his two large quivers are
inexhaustible; his arms have been obtained
from the great Indra, Rudra, Kuvera, Yama
and Varuna; and upon his car, again, are
those maces of frightful mien, and diverse
other great weapons having the thunderbolt
amongst them! What car-warrior can be
regarded as his equal, who, stationed on a
single car' slew in battle a thousand Danavas,
having their abode in Hiranyapura? Inflamed
with wrath, possessed of great might and
prowess, incapable of being baffled, that
mighty-armed warrior, while protecting his
own army, will certainly exterminate thy
troops! Myself and preceptor (Drona) among
the two armies, and no third car-warrior, O
great king, can advance against Dhananjaya,
that scatterer of arrowy showers! Pouring his
shafts, like the very clouds during the rainy
season when propelled by mighty winds, that
son of Kunti when Vasudeva as his second,
steppeth for battle! He is skilful and young,
while both of us are old and worn out!'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Hearing these
words of Bhishma, and recollecting with
trembling heart, the well-known valour of the
sons of Pandu and thinking of it, as if it were
present before their eyes, the massive arms of
kings, decked with bracelets and smeared with
sandal-paste, seemed to hang down divested
of might.'"
www.sacred-texts.com/hin/--------------------------
>>>>PART 2
* WHAT DURYODHANA HAD TO SAY:
EVEN DURYODHANA (SUYODHANA) ACCEPTED
NOBODY IS EQUAL TO ARJUNA IN ARCHERY
NOT EVEN HIS OWN BEST FRIEND KARNA:
NARRATIVE:
"Sanjaya said, Upon the fall, O king, of the
ruler of the Sindhus, thy son Suyodhana, his
face bedewed with tears, and himself filled
with grief and breathing hot sighs like a snake
whose fangs have been broken, that offender
against the whole world, viz., thy son,
experienced bitter affliction. Beholding that
great terrible slaughter of his troops caused by
Jishnu and Bhimasena and Satwata in battle,
he became pale, dejected and melancholy,
and his eyes became filled with tears. And he
came to think no warrior existed on the earth
that could be compared with Arjuna. Neither
Drona, nor the son of Radha, nor
Aswatthaman, nor Kripa, O sire, is competent
to stand before Arjuna when the latter is
excited with wrath, And Suyodhana, said unto
himself, 'Having vanquished in battle all the
mighty car-warriors of my army, Partha slew
the ruler of the Sindhus. None could resist
him. This my vast host hath almost been
exterminated by the Pandavas. I think, there
is no one that can protect my army, no, not
even Purandara himself. He, relying upon
whom I have been engaged in this passage-at-
arms in battle, alas, that Karna hath been
defeated in battle and Jayadratha slain. That
Karna relying upon whose energy I regarded
Krishna as straw who came to sue me for
peace, alas, that Karna hath been vanquished
in battle.'
www.sacred-texts.com/hin/--------------------------
>>>>PART 3
* KRIPACHARYA'S OPINION ABOUT KARNA &
ARJUNA:
1st NARRATIVE:
"Kripa said (To Karna):, 'O Radheya, thy
crooked heart always inclineth to war. Thou
knowest not the true nature of things; nor
dost thou take into account their after-
consequences. There are various kinds of
expedients inferrable from the scriptures. Of
these, a battle hath been regarded by those
acquainted with the past, as the most sinful.
It is only when time and place are favourable
that military operations can lead to success. In
the present instance, however, the time being
unfavourable, no good results will be
deprived. A display of prowess in proper time
and place becometh beneficial. It is by the
favourableness or otherwise (of time and
place) that the opportuneness of an act is
determined. Learned men can never act
according to the ideas of a car-maker.
Considering all this, an encounter with Partha
is not advisible for us. Alone he saved the
Kurus (from the Gandharvas), and alone he
satiated Agni. Alone he led the life of a
Brahmacharin for five years (on the breast of
Himavat). Taking up Subhadra on his car,
alone he challenged Krishna to single combat.
Alone he fought with Rudra who stood before
him as a forester. It was in this very forest
that Partha rescued Krishna while she was
being taken away (by Jayadratha). It is he
alone that hath, for five years, studied the
science of weapons under Indra. Alone
vanquishing all foes he hath spread the fame
of the Kurus. Alone that chastiser of foes
vanquished in battle Chitrasena, the king of
the Gandharvas and in a moment his
invincible troops also. Alone he overthrew in
battle the fierce Nivatakavachas and the
Kalakhanchas, that were both incapable of
being slain by the gods themselves. What,
however, O Kama, hath been achieved by thee
single-handed like any of the sons of Pandu,
each of whom had alone subjugated many
lords of earth? Even Indra himself is unfit to
encounter Partha in battle. He, therefore, that
desireth to fight with Arjuna should take a
sedative. As to thyself, thou desirest to take
out the fangs of an angry snake of virulent
poison by stretching forth thy right hand and
extending thy forefinger. Or, wandering alone
in the forest thou desirest to ride an infuriate
elephant and go to a boar without a hook in
hand. Or, rubbed over with clarified butter
and dressed in silken robes, thou desirest to
pass through the midst of a blazing fire fed
with fat and tallow and clarified butter. Who is
there that would, binding his own hands and
feet and tying a huge stone unto his neck,
cross the ocean swimming with his bare arms?
What manliness is there in such an act? O
Kama, he is a fool that would, without, skill in
weapons and without strength, desire to fight
with Partha who is so mighty and skilled in
weapons? Dishonestly deceived by us and
liberated from thirteen years' exile, will not
the illustrious hero annihilate us? Having
ignorantly come to a place where Partha lay
concealed like fire hidden in a well, we have,
indeed, exposed to a great danger. But
irresistible though he be in battle, we should fight against him. Let,
therefore, our troops, clad in mail, stand here
arrayed in ranks and ready to strike. Let Drona and Duryodhana and Bhishma and
thyself and Drona's son and ourselves, all fight with the son of Pritha. Do not O Kama, act so
rashly as to fight alone. If we six car-warriors be united, we can then be a match for and
fight with that son of Pritha who is resolved to fight and who is as fierce as the wielder of the thunderbolt. Aided by our troops arrayed in ranks, ourselves--great bowmen--standing
carefully will fight with Arjuna even as the Danavas encounter Vasava in battle.'"
www.sacred-texts.com/hin/2nd NARRATIVE:
While Karna was uttering those words, Kripa,
the mighty armed son of Saradwat, smiling the
while, addressed the Suta's son in these words, 'Thy speech is fair, O Karna! If words
alone could lead to success, then with thee, O son of Radha, as his protector, this bull among the Kurus would be considered to have the amplest measure of protection. Thou boastest much, O Karna, in the presence of the Kuru chief, but thy prowess is seldom witnessed, nor, indeed, any result (of thy boastful
speeches). Many a time have we seen thee encounter the sons of Pandu in battle. On every one of those occasions, O Suta's son,
thou hast been vanquished by the Pandavas.
While Dhritarashtra's son was being taken
away (as a captive) by the Gandharvas, all the
troops fought on that occasion except thy single self, who was the first to fly away. In
Virata's city also, all the Kauravas, united together, including thyself and thy younger
brother were vanquished by Partha in battle.
Thou art not a match for even one of the sons
of Pandu, viz., Phalguna, on the field of battle.
How then canst thou venture to vanquish all
the sons of Pandu with Krishna at their head?
Thou indulgest in too much brag, O Suta's son!
Engage thyself in battle without saying anything. To Put forth prowess without
indulging in brag is the duty of good men. Ever
roaring aloud, O Suta's son like the dry clouds of autumn, thou showest thyself, O Karna to be without substance. The king, however, does not understand it. Thou
roarest, O son of Radha, as long as thou seest
not the son of Pritha. These thy roars disappear when thou seest Partha near.
Indeed, thou roarest as long as thou art out of
the range of Phalguna's shafts. Those roars of
thine disappear when thou art pierced with
Partha's shafts. Kshatriyas evince their eminence by means of their arms; Brahmanas,
by means of speech; Arjuna evinces his by
means of the bow; but Karna, by the castles he builds in the air. Who is there that will
resist that Partha who gratified Rudra himself
(in battle)?'
www.sacred-texts.com/hin/---END OF THREAD ---
--TO BE CONTINUED --
THANK YOU ALL
No comments:
Post a Comment