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The Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3 by or: Kisari Mohan Ganguli

O >> or: Kisari Mohan Ganguli >> The Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3






8

Vaishampayana said, "Even after hearing the words of Vidura, the chief of
the Kurus, afflicted with grief on account of the death of his sons, fell
down senseless on the Earth. Beholding him fall down in that state, his
friends, as also the island-born Vyasa, and Vidura, and Sanjaya, and
other well-wishers, and the attendants who used to wait at the gates and
who enjoyed his confidence, sprinkled cool water over his body, and
fanned him with palm leaves, and gently rubbed him with their hands. For
a long while they comforted the king while in that condition. The
monarch, recovering his senses after a long time, wept for a long while,
overwhelmed with grief on account of the death of his sons. He said, Fie
on the state of humanity! Fie on the human body! The woes that are
suffered in this life frequently arise from the very state of humanity.
Alas, O lord, great is the grief, like poison or fire, that one suffers
at the loss of sons, of wealth, of kinsmen, and relatives. That grief
causes the limbs to burn and our wisdom to be destroyed. Overwhelmed with
that grief, a person regards death to be preferable. This calamity that
has overtaken me through ill-luck is even like that. It will not, I see,
end except with life itself. O best of regenerate ones, I shall,
therefore, put an end to my life this very day. Having said these words
unto his high-souled sire, that foremost of all persons conversant with
Brahman, Dhritarashtra, overwhelmed with grief, became stupefied. The
king, O monarch reflecting on his woes, became speechless. Hearing these
words of his, the puissant Vyasa thus spoke unto his son afflicted with
grief on account of the death of his children.

"Vyasa said, O mighty-armed Dhritarashtra, listen to what I say. Thou art
possessed of learning, thou hast great intelligence, and thou, O puissant
one, art skilled in understanding duties. Nothing of that which should be
known is unknown to thee, O scorcher of foes! Without doubt, thou knowest
the instability of all things doomed to death. When the world of life is
unstable when this world itself is not eternal, when life is sure to end
in death, why then, O Bharata, dost thou grieve? Before thy very eyes, O
king, the concatenation of facts brought about by Time making thy son the
cause, produced this hostility. This destruction of the Kurus, O king,
was inevitable. Why then dost thou grieve for those heroes that have
attained to the highest end? O thou of mighty arms, the high-souled
Vidura knew everything. With all his might he had endeavoured, O king, to
bring about peace. It is my opinion that the course marked out by Destiny
cannot be controlled by anyone, even if one struggles for eternity. The
course that was settled by the gods was heard directly by me. I will
recite it to thee, so that tranquillity of mind may be thine. Once
before, without any fatigue, I repaired very quickly to the court of
Indra. There I beheld all the denizens of heaven assembled together.
There were, O sinless one, all the celestial rishis also, headed by
Narada. There, O monarch, I saw also the Earth (in her embodied form).
The latter had repaired to the gods for the accomplishment of a
particular mission. Approaching the gods, she said, "That which ye all
should do for me hath, ye blessed ones, been already promised by you
while you were in Brahmas abode. Let that be accomplished soon." Hearing
these words of hers, Vishnu, the adored of all the worlds, smilingly
addressed her in the midst of the celestial conclave, saying, "The eldest
of the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra, who is known by the name of
Duryodhana, will accomplish thy business. Through that king, thy purpose
will be achieved. For his sake, many kings will assemble together on the
field of Kuru. Capable of smiting, they will cause one another to be
slain through the instrumentality of hard weapons. It is evident, O
goddess, that thy burthen will then be lightened in battle. Go quickly to
thy own place and continue to bear the weight of creatures, O beauteous
one!" From this thou wilt understand, O king, that thy son Duryodhana,
born in Gandharis womb, was a portion of Kali, sprung for the object of
causing a universal slaughter. He was vindictive, restless, wrathful, and
difficult of being gratified. Through the influence of Destiny his
brothers also became like him. Shakuni became his maternal uncle and
Karna his great friend. Many other kings were born on earth for aiding in
the work of destruction. As the king is, so do his subjects become. If
the king becomes righteous, even unrighteousness (in his dominions)
assumes the shape of righteousness. Servants, without doubt, are affected
by the merits and defects of their masters. Those sons of thine, O king,
having obtained a bad king, have all been destroyed. Conversant with
truth, Narada, knew all this. Thy sons, through their own faults, have
been destroyed, O king! Do not grieve for them, O monarch! There is no
cause for grief. The Pandavas have not, O Bharata, the least fault in
what has happened. Thy sons were all of wicked souls. It is they that
caused this destruction on earth. Blessed be thou; Narada had truly
informed Yudhishthira of all this in his court on the occasion of the
rajasuya sacrifice, saying, "The Pandavas and the Kauravas, encountering
each other, will meet with destruction. Do that, O son of Kunti, which
thou shouldst!" Upon these words of Narada, the Pandavas became filled
with grief. I have thus told thee that which is an eternal secret of the
gods. This will destroy thy grief and restore to thee a love of thy
life-breath, and cause thee to cherish affection for the Pandavas, for
all that has happened has been due to what had been ordained by the gods.
O thou of mighty arms, I had learnt all this sometime before. I also
spoke of it to king Yudhishthira the just on the occasion of his foremost
of sacrifices, the rajasuya. When I secretly informed him of all this,
Dharmas son endeavoured his best for preserving peace with the Kauravas.
That, however, which is ordained by the gods proved too powerful (to be
frustrated by him). The fiat, O king of the Destroyer, is incapable of
being baffled anyhow by mobile and immobile creatures. Thou art devoted
to virtue and possessed of superior intelligence, O Bharata! Thou knowest
also that which is the way and that which is not the way of all
creatures. If king Yudhishthira learns that thou art burning with grief
and losing thy senses frequently, he will cast off his very life-breath.
He is always compassionate and possessed of wisdom. His kindness extends
even to all the inferior creatures. How is it possible, O king, that he
will not show compassion to thee, O monarch? At my command, and knowing
that what is ordained is inevitable, as also from kindness to the
Pandavas, continue to bear thy life, O Bharata! If thou livest thus, thy
fame will spread in the world. Thou shalt then be able to acquire a
knowledge of all duties and find many years for obtaining ascetic merit.
This grief for the death of thy sons that has arisen in thy heart, like a
blazing fire, should always be extinguished, O king, by the water of
wisdom!""

Vaishampayana continued, "Hearing these words of Vyasa of immeasurable
energy and reflecting upon them for a little while, Dhritarashtra said, O
best of regenerate ones, I am exceedingly afflicted by a heavy load of
grief. My senses are repeatedly forsaking me and I am unable to bear up
my own self. Hearing, however, these words of thine about what had been
ordained by the gods, I shall not think of casting off my life-breath and
shall live and act without indulging in grief! Hearing these words of
Dhritarashtra, O monarch, Satyavatis son, Vyasa, disappeared then and
there."



9

Janamejaya said, "After the holy Vyasa had departed, what, O regenerate
sage, did king Dhritarashtra, do? It behoveth thee to tell me this. What
also did the Kuru king, the high-souled son of Dharma, do? And how did
those three, Kripa and others, do? I have heard of the feats of
Ashvatthama and the mutual denouncement of curses. Tell me what happened
next and what Sanjaya next said (unto the old king)."

Vaishampayana said, "After Duryodhana had been slain and all the troops
slaughtered, Sanjaya, deprived of his spiritual sight, came back to
Dhritarashtra.

"Sanjaya said, The kings of diverse peoples, that came from diverse
realms, have all, O king, gone to the regions of the dead, along with thy
sons. Thy son, O king, who had constantlybeen implored (for peace) but
who always wished to terminate his hostility (with the Pandavas by
slaughtering them) has caused the earth to be exterminated. Do thou, O
king, cause the obsequial rites of thy sons and grandsons and sires to be
performed according to due order!"

Vaishampayana continued, "Hearing these terrible words of Sanjaya, the
king fell down on the Earth and lay motionless like one deprived of life.
Approaching the monarch who was lying prostrate on the Earth, Vidura,
conversant with every duty, said these words: Rise, O king, why dost thou
lie down thus? Do not grieve, O bull of Bharatas race! Even this, O lord
of Earth, is the final end of all creatures. At first creatures are
non-existent. In the interim, O Bharata, they become existent. At the
end, they once more become non-existent. What cause of sorrow is there in
all this? By indulging in grief, one cannot get back the dead. By
indulging in grief, one cannot die himself. When such is the course of
the world, why dost thou indulge in grief? One may die without having
been engaged in battle. One also escapes with life after being engaged in
battle. When ones Time comes, O king, one cannot escape! Time drags all
kinds of creatures. There is none dear or hateful to Time, O best of the
Kurus! As the wind tears off the ends of all blades of grass, even so all
creatures, O bull of Bharatas race, are brought by Time under its
influence. All creatures are like members of the same caravan bound for
the same destination. What cause of sorrow is there if Time meets with
one a little earlier than with another? Those again, O king, that have
fallen in battle and for whom thou grievest, are not really objects of
thy grief, since all those illustrious ones have gone to heaven. By
sacrifices with profuse presents, by ascetic austerities, and by
knowledge, people cannot so easily repair to heaven as heroes by courage
in battle. All those heroes were conversant with the Vedas; all of them
were observant of vows; all of them have perished, facing the foe in
battle. What cause of sorrow then is there? They poured their arrowy
libations upon the bodies of their brave foes as upon a fire. Foremost of
men, they bore in return the arrowy libations poured upon themselves. I
tell thee, O king, that there is no better way to heaven for a Kshatriya
than through battle. All of them were high-souled Kshatriyas, all of them
were heroes and ornaments of assemblies. They have attained to a high
state of blessedness. One should not grieve for them. Do thou comfort thy
own self. Do not grieve, O bull among men! It behoveth thee not to suffer
thyself to be overwhelmed with sorrow and abandon all action."



10

Vaishampayana said, "Hearing these words of Vidura, that bull of Bharatas
race (Dhritarashtra) ordered his car to be yoked. The king once more
said, Bring Gandhari hither without delay, and all the Bharata ladies.
Bring hither Kunti also, as well as all the other ladies with her. Having
said these words unto Vidura, conversant with every duty, Dhritarashtra
of righteous soul, deprived of his senses by sorrow, ascended on his car.
Then Gandhari, afflicted with grief on account of the death of her sons,
accompanied by Kunti and the other ladies of the royal household, came at
the command of her lord to that spot where the latter was waiting for
her. Afflicted with grief, they came together to the king. As they met,
they accosted each other and uttered loud wails of woe. Then Vidura, who
had become more afflicted than those ladies, began to comfort them.
Placing those weeping fair ones on the cars that stood ready for them, he
set out (with them) from the city. At that time a loud wail of woe arose
from every Kuru house. The whole city, including the very children,
became exceedingly afflicted with grief. Thoseladies that had not before
this been seen by the very gods were now helpless, as they were, for the
loss of their lords, seen by the common people. With their beautiful
tresses all dishevelled and their ornaments cast off, those ladies, each
attired in a single piece of raiment, proceeded most woefully. Indeed,
they issued from their houses resembling white mountains, like a dappled
herd of deer from their mountain caves after the fall of their leader.
These fair ladies, in successive bevies, O king, came out, filled with
sorrow, and ran hither and thither like a herd of fillies on a circus
yard. Seizing each other by the hand, they uttered loud wails after their
sons and brothers and sires. They seemed to exhibit the scene that takes
place on the occasion of the universal destruction at the end of the
Yuga. Weeping and crying and running hither and thither, and deprived of
their senses by grief, they knew not what to do. Those ladies who
formerly felt the blush of modesty in the presence of even companions of
their own sex, now felt no blush of shame, though scantily clad, in
appearing before their mothers-in-law. Formerly they used to comfort each
other while afflicted with even slight causes of woe. Stupefied by grief,
they now, O king, refrained from even casting their eyes upon each other.
Surrounded by those thousands of wailing ladies, the king cheerlessly
issued out of the city and proceeded with speed towards the field of
battle. Artisans and traders and Vaishyas and all kinds of mechanics,
issuing out of the city, followed in the wake of the king. As those
ladies, afflicted by the wholesale destruction that had overtaken the
Kurus, cried in sorrow, a loud wail arose from among them that seemed to
pierce all the worlds. All creatures that heard that wail thought that
the hour of universal destruction had come when all things would be
consumed by the fire that arises at the end of the Yuga. The citizens
also (of Hastinapura), devoted to the house of Kuru, with hearts filled
with anxiety at the destruction that had overtaken their rules, set up, O
king, a wail that was as loud as that uttered by those ladies."



11

Vaishampayana said, "Dhritarashtra had not proceeded for more than two
miles when he met with those three great car-warriors, Sharadvatas son
Kripa, Dronas son (Ashvatthama), and Kritavarma. As soon as the latter
obtained a sight of the blind monarch possessed of great power, the three
heroes sighed in grief and with voices choked in tears weepingly
addressed him, saying, Thy royal son, O king, having achieved the most
difficult feats, has, with all his followers, gone to the region of
Indra. We are the only three car-warriors of Duryodhanas army that have
escaped with life. All the others, O bull of Bharatas race, have
perished. Having said these words unto the king, Sharadvatas son Kripa,
addressing the grief-afflicted Gandhari, said these words unto her, Thy
sons have fallen while engaged in achieving feats worthy of heroes, while
fearlessly fighting in battle and striking down large numbers of foes.
Without doubt, having obtained those bright worlds that are attainable
only by the use of weapons, they are sporting there like celestials,
having assumed resplendent forms. Amongst those heroes there was no one
that turned back from battle. Every one of them has fallen at the end or
edge of weapons. None of them joined his hands, begging for quarter.
Death in battle at the end or edge of weapons has been said by the
ancients to be the highest end that a Kshatriya can obtain. It behoveth
thee not, therefore, to grieve for any of them. Their foes, O queen, the
Pandavas, too, have not been more fortunate. Listen, what we, headed by
Ashvatthama, have done unto them. Learning that thy son had been slain
unrighteously by Bhima, we slaughtered the Pandavas after entering their
camp buried in sleep. All the Pancalas have been slain. Indeed, all the
sons of Drupada, as also all the sons of Draupadi, have been slaughtered.
Having caused this carnage of the sons of our foes, we are flying away
since we three are incapable of standing in battle with them. Our foes,
the Pandavas, are all heroes and mighty bowmen. They will soon come up
with us, filled with rage, for taking vengeance on us. Hearing the
slaughter of their sons, those bulls among men, infuriated with rage,
those heroes, O illustrious lady, will speedily pursue our track. Having
caused a carnage (in their sleeping camp) we dare not stay. Grant us
permission, O queen! It behoveth thee not to set thy heart on sorrow.
Grant us thy permission also, O king! Summon all thy fortitude. Do thou
also observe the duties of a Kshatriya in their highest form. Having said
these words unto the king, and circumambulating him, Kripa and Kritavarma
and Dronas son, O Bharata, without being able to withdraw their eyes from
king Dhritarashtra possessed of great wisdom, urged their steeds towards
the banks of the Ganga. Moving away from that spot, O king, those great
car-warriors, with hearts plunged in anxiety, took one anothers leave and
separated from one another. Sharadvatas son, Kripa, went to Hastinapura;
Hridikas son repaired to his own kingdom; while the son of Drona set for
the asylum of Vyasa. Even thus those heroes, who had offended the
high-souled sons of Pandu, respectively proceeded to the places they
selected, afflicted with fear and casting their eyes on one another.
Having met the king thus, those brave chastisers of foes, before the sun
rose, went away, O monarch, to the places they chose. It was after this,
O king, that the sons of Pandu, those great car-warriors, encountered the
son of Drona, and putting forth their prowess, vanquished him, O monarch,
(in the way already related)."



12

Vaishampayana said, "After all the warriors had been slaughtered, king
Yudhishthira the just heard that his uncle Dhritarashtra had set out from
the city called after the elephant. Afflicted with grief on account of
the death of his sons, Yudhishthira, O king, accompanied by his brothers,
set out for meeting his uncle, filled with sorrow and overwhelmed with
grief for the slaughter of his (hundred) sons. The son of Kunti was
followed by the high-souled and heroic Krishna of Dasharhas race, and by
Yuyudhana, as also by Yuyutsu. The princess Draupadi also, burning with
grief, and accompanied by those Pancala ladies that were with her,
sorrowfully followed her lord. Yudhishthira beheld near the banks of the
Ganga, O king, the crowd of Bharata ladies afflicted with woe and crying
like a flight of she-ospreys. The king was soon surrounded by those
thousands of ladies who, with arms raised aloft in grief, were indulging
in loud lamentations and giving expression to all kinds of words,
agreeable and disagreeable: Where, indeed, is that righteousness of the
king, where is truth and compassion, since he has slain sires and
brothers and preceptors and sons and friends? How, O mighty-armed one,
hath thy heart become tranquil after causing Drona, and thy grandsire
Bhishma, and Jayadratha, to be slaughtered? What need hast thou of
sovereignty, after having seen thy sires and brothers, O Bharata, and the
irresistible Abhimanyu and the sons of Draupadi, thus slaughtered?
Passing over those ladies crying like a flight of she-ospreys, the
mighty-armed king Yudhishthira the just saluted the feet of his eldest
uncle. Having saluted their sire according to custom, those slayers of
foes, the Pandavas, announced themselves to him, each uttering his own
name. Dhritarashtra, exceedingly afflicted with grief on account of the
slaughter of his sons, then reluctantly embraced the eldest son of Pandu,
who was the cause of that slaughter. Having embraced Yudhishthira the
just and spoken a few words of comfort to him, O Bharata, the
wicked-souled Dhritarashtra sought for Bhima, like a blazing fire ready
to burn everything that would approach it. Indeed, that fire of his
wrath, fanned by the wind of his grief, seemed then to be ready to
consume the Bhima-forest. Ascertaining the evil intentions cherished by
him towards Bhima, Krishna, dragging away the real Bhima, presented an
iron statue of the second son of Pandu to the old king. Possessed of
great intelligence, Krishna had, at the very outset, understood the
intentions of Dhritarashtra, and had, therefore, kept such a contrivance
ready for baffling them. Seizing with his two arms that iron Bhima, king
Dhritarashtra, possessed of great strength, broke into pieces, thinking
it to be Bhima himself in flesh and blood. Endued with might equal to
that of 10,000 elephants, the king reduced that statue into fragments.
His own breast, however, became considerably bruised and he began to
vomit blood. Covered with blood, the king fell down on the ground like a
parijata tree topped with its flowery burden. His learned charioteer
Sanjaya, the son of Gavalgana, raised the monarch and soothing and
comforting him, said, Do not act so. The king then, having cast off his
wrath and returned to his normal disposition, became filled with grief
and began to weep aloud, saying, Alas, oh Bhima, alas, oh Bhima!
Understanding that he was no longer under the influence of wrath, and
that he was truly sorry for having (as he believed) killed Bhima,
Vasudeva, that foremost of men, said these words, Do not grieve, O
Dhritarashtra, for thou hast not slain Bhimasena! That is an iron statue,
O king, which has been broken by thee! Understanding that thou wert
filled with rage, O bull of Bharatas race, I dragged the son of Kunti
away from within the jaws of Death. O tiger among kings, there is none
equal to thee in strength of body. What man is there, O mighty-armed one,
that would endure pressure of thy arms? Indeed, as no one can escape with
life from an encounter with the Destroyer himself, even so no body can
come out safe from within thy embrace. It was for this that yonder iron
statue of Bhima, which had been caused to be made by thy son, had been
kept ready for thee. Through grief for the death of thy sons, thy mind
has fallen off from righteousness. It is for this, O great king, that
thou seekest to slay Bhimasena. The slaughter of Bhima, however, O king,
would do thee no good. Thy sons, O monarch, would not be revived by it.
Therefore, do thou approve of what has been by us with a view to secure
peace and do not set thy heart on grief!"

Section 13

Vaishampayana said, "Certain maid-servants then came to the king for
washing him. After he had been duly washed, the slayer of Madhu again
addressed him, saying, Thou hast, O king, read the Vedas and diverse
scriptures. Thou hast heard all old histories, and everything about the
duties of kings. Thou art learned, possessed of great wisdom, and
indifferent to strength and weakness. Why then dost thou cherish such
wrath when all that has overtaken thee is the result of thy own fault? I
spoke to thee before the battle. Both Bhishma and Drona, O Bharata, did
the same, as also Vidura and Sanjaya. Thou didst not, however, then
follow our advice. Indeed, though exhorted by us, thou didst not yet act
according to the counsels we offered, knowing that the Pandavas were
superior to thee and thine, O Kauravya, in strength and courage. That
king who is capable of seeing his own faults and knows the distinctions
of place and time, obtains great prosperity. That person, however, who,
though counselled by well-wishers, does not accept their words, good or
bad, meets with distress and is obliged to grieve in consequence of the
evil policy he pursues. Observe thou a different course of life now, O
Bharata! Thou didst not keep thy soul under restraint, but suffered
thyself to be ruled by Duryodhana. That which has come upon thee is due
to thy own fault. Why then dost thou seek to slay Bhima? Recollecting thy
own faults, govern thy wrath now. That mean wretch who had, from pride,
caused the princess of Pancala to be brought into the assembly has been
slain by Bhimasena in just revenge. Look at thy own evil acts as also at
those of thy wicked-souled son. The sons of Pandu are perfectly innocent.
Yet have they been treated most cruelly by thee and him."

Vaishampayana continued, "After he had thus been told nothing but the
truth by Krishna, O monarch, king Dhritarashtra replied unto Devakis son,
saying, It is even so, O thou of mighty arms! What thou sayest, O
Madhava, is perfectly true. It is parental affection, O thou of righteous
soul, that caused me to fall away from righteousness. By good luck, that
tiger among men, the mighty Bhima of true prowess, protected by thee,
came not within my embrace. Now, however, I am free from wrath and fever.
I desire eagerly, O Madhava, to embrace that hero, the second son of
Pandu. When all the kings have been dead, when my children are no more,
upon the sons of Pandu depend my welfare and happiness. Having said these
words, the old king then embraced those princes of excellent frames,
Bhima and Dhananjaya, and those two foremost of men, the two sons of
Madri, and wept, and comforted and pronounced blessings upon them."

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Edgar Lee Masters - "Children of the Market Place"

William Elliot Griffis - "The Religions of Japan"

John Mason Tyler - "The Whence and the Whither of Man"

Sir Valentine Chirol - "India, Old and New"

President Obama teams up with one of Marvel's greatest heroes, reports Alison Flood
Articles published by guardian.co.uk Books

Murder One closing so did we commit this crime?

Barack Obama is teaming up with Spider-Man in a new comic from Marvel, which will see the future president exchanging a fist-bump with Peter Parker's alter ego.

The five-page story takes place in Washington DC on inauguration day, when one of Spidey's oldest enemies, the Chameleon, attempts to stop Obama's swearing-in ceremony. Fortunately, Peter Parker is covering the event as a photographer, and jumps in to save the day.

"Ya hear that, Chameleon? The president-elect here just appointed me ... secretary of shuttin' you up," Spider-Man says as he thwacks the Chameleon in the face. "I hope this doesn't ruin the inauguration for you," he tells Obama, as the Chameleon is led away by security officials. "Honestly, I'm more upset by the Chameleon's shockingly deficient understanding of the electoral process," Obama replies.

Spidey then cedes the limelight to Obama. "This is your day, after all, and I know it wouldn't look good to be seen palling around with me," he says, in a nod to Sarah Palin's comment that the then presidential candidate had been "palling around with terrorists".

The story, written by Zeb Wells and illustrated by Todd Nauck and Frank D'Armata, will appear as a bonus feature in Amazing Spider-Man 583, which goes on sale on 14 January.

"When we heard that president-elect Obama is a collector of Spider-Man comics, we knew that these two historic figures had to meet in our comics' Marvel Universe," said Marvel's editor-in-chief Joe Quesada. "A Spider-Man fan moving into the Oval Office is an event that must be commemorated in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man."

In October, graphic novel biographies of Obama and his then rival John McCain were published by IDW. April will see Michelle Obama appearing in the Female Force comic book series.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Poetry Workshop creature features

For many years my local corner shop displayed a large sign in its window telling local residents to "use us or lose us!" It always looked a rather toothless threat to me. After all, if I didn't use them, what difference would it make to me if they weren't there? And surely a corner shop, one that had been there for years, would have enough customers to survive without recourse to such apocalyptic warning? But it didn't and was soon converted into flats.

This community shop was destroyed not so much by the pressures of the supermarkets or people's commuting patterns, but simply by customer apathy. It's something to think about as crime writers and readers across the world mourn the imminent passing of Maxim Jakubowski's celebrated Charing Cross Road bookshop in London, Murder One.

Apathy is a strange word to connect to a bookstore that thrives on passion. It's noticeable when you walk through the door, when you speak to the friendly, knowledgeable staff, when you look at the shelves and see the vast range of titles on offer. This isn't your regular kind of bookstore: the first time I visited spent a whole lunch break looking up and down, from floor to ceiling from table to table; it was an hour that changed my perception of both crime writing and of bookselling.

Murder One was – and for a few weeks will remain – a shop that took crime seriously. Not in the sense that it intellectualised it, or made unsubstantiated claims for its importance, but in the way that it treated crime writing with the respect it was due. With a genre that has so many off-shoots, branches and sub-genres, it took a shop of Murder One's calibre to show just how diverse, interesting and mentally stimulating crime could be – far more than the guilty pleasure I had, until then, considered it.

Thanks to judicious recommendations, enticing table displays and hours of foraging among the stacks, I discovered writers that I would never have picked up, let alone read. You could always get the latest blockbuster, but delve a little deeper and you'd find books that were not stocked anywhere else, novels that, like the perfect crime, were hidden from public view. The Martin Beck novels by Sjöwall & Wahlöö – probably my favourite sequence of novels in any genre – were introduced to me via Murder One, as were Kem Nunn, Sue Grafton, and Henning Mankell. It's also the staff of Murder One who piqued my interest in the inimitable Fred Vargas, and I can't thank them enough for the introduction.

Inclusive and without snobbery, Murder One amply demonstrated that the best bookshops are places not just of commerce, but of community; places that make feel you belong. It's the kind of store that bibliophiles dream about: well-stocked, well-staffed and shabby enough to lose days browsing within. It's just unfortunate that such shops don't have enough paying customers to keep them afloat, or that these customers visit all too infrequently – something of which I'm certainly guilty.

These kinds of shops are facing a long, bloody battle – and one which, without significant reinforcements, they are likely to lose. As we hear of the travesty of another brilliant independent going down, we'll mourn the loss, wring our hands and damn Amazon and the supermarkets and Waterstone's. Yet perhaps the most important detail we'll probably keep under wraps: the last time we actually spent any money there.

Murder One closing its doors for the final time is undoubtedly a .38 shell for independent bookshops, but whether it's body blow or a warning shot all depends upon us, the consumers. No one, no matter how iconic or established, can exist on fond memories alone: just ask Woolworths. Use these shops now, because it doesn't take a master sleuth to deduce what will happen if we don't.

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