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The Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 by or: Kisari Mohan Ganguli

o >> or: Kisari Mohan Ganguli >> The Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1




"And Santanu married Ganga, who bore him a son Devavrata who was
afterwards called Bhishma. And Bhishma, moved by the desire of doing good
to his father, got him married to Satyavati who was also called
Gandhakali. And in her maidenhood she had a son by Parasara, named
Dwaipayana. And upon her Santanu begat two other sons named Chitrangada
and Vichitravirya. And before they attained to majority, Chitrangada had
been slain by the Gandharvas. But Vichitravirya became king, and married
the two daughters of the king of Kasi, named Amvika and Amvalika. But
Vichitravirya died childless. Then Satyavati began to think as to how the
dynasty of Dushmanta might be perpetuated. Then she recollected the Rishi
Dwaipayana. The latter coming before her, asked, 'What are thy commands?'
'She said, 'Thy brother Vichitravirya hath gone to heaven childless.
Beget virtuous children for him.' Dwaipayana, consenting to this, begat
three children, viz., Dhritarashtra, Pandu, and Vidura. King
Dhritarashtra had a hundred sons by his wife, Gandhari in consequence of
the boon granted by Dwaipayana. And amongst those hundred sons of
Dhritarashtra, four became celebrated. They are Duryodhana, Duhsasana,
Vikarna, and Chitrasena. And Pandu had two jewels of wives, viz., Kunti,
also called Pritha, and Madri. One day Pandu, while out a-hunting, saw a
deer covering its mate. That was really a Rishi in the form of a deer.
Seeing the deer in that attitude, he killed it with his arrows, before
its desire was gratified. Pierced with the king's arrow, the deer quickly
changed its form and became a Rishi, and said unto Pandu, 'O Pandu, thou
art virtuous and acquainted also with the pleasure derived from the
gratification of one's desire. My desire unsatisfied, thou hast slain me!
Therefore, thou also, when so engaged and before thou art gratified,
shalt die!' Pandu, hearing this curse, became pale, and from that time
would not go in unto his wives. And he told them these words, 'Through my
own fault, I have been cursed! But I have heard that for the childless
there are no regions hereafter.' Therefore, he solicited Kunti to have
offspring raised for him. And Kunti said, 'Let it be', So she raised up
offspring. By Dharma she had Yudhishthira; by Maruta, Bhima: and by
Sakra, Arjuna. And Pandu, well-pleased with her, said, 'This thy co-wife
is also childless. Therefore, cause her also to bear children.' Kunti
saying, 'So be it,' imparted unto Madri the mantra of invocation. And on
Madri were raised by the twin Aswins, the twins Nakula and Sahadeva. And
(one day) Pandu, beholding Madri decked with ornaments, had his desire
kindled. And, as soon as he touched her, he died. Madri ascended the
funeral pyre with her lord. And she said unto Kunti, 'Let these twins of
mine be brought up by thee with affection.' After some time those five
Pandavas were taken by the ascetics of the woods to Hastinapura and there
introduced to Bhishma and Vidura. And after introducing them, the
ascetics disappeared in the very sight of all. And after the conclusion
of the speech of those ascetics, flowers were showered down upon the
spot, and the celestial drums also were beaten in the skies. The Pandavas
were then taken (by Bhishma). They then represented the death of their
father and performed his last honours duly. And as they were brought up
there, Duryodhana became exceedingly jealous of them. And the sinful
Duryodhana acting like Rakshasa tried various means to drive them away.
But what must be can never be frustrated. So all Duryodhana's efforts
proved futile. Then Dhritarashtra sent them, by an act of deception to
Varanavata, and they went there willingly. There an endeavour was made to
burn them to death; but it proved abortive owing to the warning counsels
of Vidura. After that the Pandavas slew Hidimva, and then they went to a
town called Ekachakra. There also they slew a Rakshasa of the name of
Vaka and then went to Panchala. And there obtaining Draupadi for a wife
they returned to Hastinapura. And there they dwelt for some time in peace
and begat children. And Yudhishthira begat Prativindhya; Bhima, Sutasoma;
Arjuna, Srutakriti; Nakula, Satanika; and Sahadeva, Srutakarman. Besides
these, Yudhishthira, having obtained for his wife Devika, the daughter of
Govasana of the Saivya tribe, in a self-choice ceremony, begat upon her a
son named Yaudheya. And Bhima also obtaining for a wife Valandhara, the
daughter of the king of Kasi, offered his own prowess as dower and begat
upon her a son named Sarvaga. And Arjuna also, repairing to Dwaravati,
brought away by force Subhadra. the sweet-speeched sister of Vasudeva,
and returned in happiness to Hastinapura. And he begat upon her a son
named Abhimanyu endued with all accomplishments and dear to Vasudeva
himself. And Nakula obtaining for his wife Karenumati, the princess of
Chedi, begat upon her a son named Niramitra. And Sahadeva also married
Vijaya, the daughter of Dyutimat, the king of Madra, obtaining her in a
self-choice ceremony and begat upon her a son named Suhotra. And
Bhimasena had some time before begat upon Hidimva a son named
Ghatotkacha. These are the eleven sons of the Pandavas. Amongst them all,
Abhimanyu was the perpetuator of the family. He married Uttara, the
daughter of Virata, who brought forth a dead child whom Kunti took up on
her lap at the command of Vasudeva who said, 'I will revive this child of
six months.' And though born before time, having been burnt by the fire
of (Aswatthaman's weapon) and, therefore, deprived of strength and energy
he was revived by Vasudeva and endued with strength, energy and prowess.
And after reviving him, Vasudeva said, 'Because this child hath been born
in an extinct race, therefore, he shall be called Parikshit'. And
Parikshit married Madravati, thy mother, O king, and thou art born to
her, O Janamejaya! Thou hast also begotten two sons on thy wife
Vapushtama, named Satanika and Sankukarna. And Satanika also hath
begotten one son named Aswamedhadatta upon the princess of Videha.

"Thus have I, O king, recited the history of the descendants of Puru and
of the Pandavas. This excellent, virtue-increasing, and sacred history
should ever be listened to by vow-observing Brahmanas, by Kshatriyas
devoted to the practices of their order and ready to protect their
subjects; by Vaisyas with attention, and by Sudras with reverence, whose
chief occupation is to wait upon the three other orders. Brahmanas
conversant in the Vedas and other persons, who with attention and
reverence recite this sacred history or listen to it when recited,
conquer the heavens and attain to the abode of the blessed. They are also
always respected and adored by the gods, Brahamanas, and other men. This
holy history of Bharata hath been composed by the sacred and illustrious
Vyasa. Veda-knowing Brahmanas and other persons who with reverence and
without malice hear it recited, earn great religious merits and conquer
the heavens. Though sinning, they are not disregarded by any one. Here
occurs a sloka, 'This (Bharata) is equal unto the Vedas: it is holy and
excellent. It bestoweth wealth, fame, and life. Therefore, it should be
listened to by men with rapt attention.'"



SECTION XCVI

(Sambhava Parva continued)

"Vaisampayana said, 'There was a king known by the name of Mahabhisha
born in the race of Ikshvaku. He was the lord of all the earth, and was
truthful (in speech) and of true prowess. By a thousand horse-sacrifices
and a hundred Rajasuyas he had gratified the chief of the celestials and
ultimately attained to heaven.

"One day the celestials had assembled together and were worshipping
Brahman. Many royal sages and king Mahabhisha also were present on the
spot. And Ganga, the queen of rivers, also came there to pay her
adorations to the Grandsire. And her garments white as the beams of the
moon was displaced by the action of the wind. And as her person became
exposed, the celestials bent down their heads. But the royal sage
Mahabhisha rudely stared at the queen of rivers. And Mahabhisha was for
this cursed by Brahman, who said, 'Wretch, as thou hast forgotten thyself
at the sight of Ganga, thou shalt be re-born on earth. But thou shall
again and again attain to these regions. And she, too, shall be born in
the world of men and shall do thee injuries. But when thy wrath shall be
provoked, thou shalt then be freed from my curse.'

"Vaisampayana continued, 'King Mahabhisha then recollecting all the
monarchs and ascetics on earth, wished to be born as son to Pratipa of
great prowess. And the queen of rivers, too, seeing king Mahabhisha lose
his firmness, went away, thinking of him wishfully. And on her way, she
saw those dwellers in heaven, the Vasus, also pursuing the same path. And
the queen of rivers beholding them in the predicament, asked them, 'Why
look ye so dejected? Ye dwellers in heaven, is everything right with
you?' Those celestials, the Vasus, answered her, saying, 'O queen of
rivers, we have been cursed, for a venial fault, by the illustrious
Vasishtha in anger. The foremost of excellent Rishis, Vasishtha, had been
engaged in his twilight adorations and seated as he was, he could not be
seen by us. We crossed him in ignorance. Therefore, in wrath he hath
cursed us, saying, Be ye born among men!' It is beyond our power to
frustrate what hath been said by that utterance of Brahma. Therefore, O
river, thyself becoming a human female make us the Vasus, thy children. O
amiable one, we are unwilling to enter the womb of any human female.'
Thus addressed, the queen of rivers told them, 'Be it so and asked them,
'On earth, who is that foremost of men whom ye will make your father?'

"The Vasus replied, 'On earth, unto Pratipa shall be born a son, Santanu,
who will be a king of world-wide fame.' Ganga then said, 'Ye celestials,
that is exactly my wish which ye sinless ones have expressed. I shall,
indeed, do good to that Santanu. That is also your desire as just
expressed.' The Vasus then said, 'It behoveth thee to throw thy children
after birth, into the water, so that, O thou of three courses (celestial,
terrestrial, and subterranean) we may be rescued soon without having to
live on earth for any length of time.' Ganga then answered, 'I shall do
what ye desire. But in order that his intercourse with me may not be
entirely fruitless, provide ye that one son at least may live.' The Vasus
then replied, 'We shall each contribute an eighth part of our respective
energies With the sum thereof, thou shall have one son according to thy
and his wishes. But this son shall not begat any children on earth.
Therefore, that son of thine endued with great energy, shall be
childless.'

"The Vasus, making this arrangement with Ganga, went away without Waiting
to the place they liked.'"



SECTION XCVII

(Sambhava Parva continued)

"Vaisampayana said. 'There was a king of the name of Pratipa, who was
kind to all creatures. He spent many years in ascetic penances at the
source of the river Ganga. The accomplished and lovely Ganga, one day,
assuming the form of a beautiful female, and rising from the waters, made
up to the monarch. The celestial maiden, endued with ravishing beauty,
approached the royal sage engaged in ascetic austerities, and sat upon
his right thigh that was, for manly strength, a veritable Sala tree. When
the maiden of handsome face had so sat upon his lap, the monarch said
unto her, 'O amiable one, what dost thou desire? What shall I do?' The
damsel answered, 'I desire thee, O king, for my husband! O foremost one
of the Kurus, be mine! To refuse a woman coming of her own accord is
never applauded by the wise.' Pratipa answered, 'O thou of the fairest
complexion, moved by lust, I never go in unto others' wives or women that
are not of my order. This, indeed, is my virtuous vow.' The maiden
rejoined, 'I am not inauspicious or ugly. I am every way worthy of being
enjoyed. I am a celestial maiden of rare beauty; I desire thee for my
husband. Refuse me not, O king.' To this Pratipa answered, 'I am, 'O
damsel, abstaining from that course to which thou wouldst incite me. If I
break my vow, sin will overwhelm and kill me. O thou of the fairest
complexion, thou hast embraced me, sitting on my right thigh. But, O
timid one, know that this is the seat for daughters and daughters-in-law.
The left lap is for the wife, but thou hast not accepted that. Therefore,
O best of women, I cannot enjoy thee as an object of desire. Be my
daughter-in-law. I accept thee for my son!'

"The damsel then said, 'O virtuous one, let it be as thou sayest. Let me
be united with thy son. From my respect for thee, I shall be a wife of
the celebrated Bharata race. Ye (of the Bharata race) are the refuge of
all the monarchs on earth! I am incapable of numbering the virtues of
this race even within a hundred years. The greatness and goodness of many
celebrated monarchs of this race are limitless. O lord of all, let it be
understood now that when I become thy daughter-in-law, thy son shall not
be able to judge of the propriety of my acts. Living thus with thy son, I
shall do good to him and increase his happiness. And he shall finally
attain to heaven in consequence of the sons I shall bear him, and of his
virtues and good conduct.'

"Vaisampayana continued, 'O king, having said so, the celestial damsel
disappeared then and there. And the king, too, waited for the birth of
his son in order to fulfil his promise.'

"About this time Pratipa, that light of the Kuru race, that bull amongst
Kshatriyas, was engaged, along with his wife, in austerities from desire
of offspring. And when they had grown old, a son was born unto them. This
was no other than Mahabhisha. And the child was called Santanu because he
was born when his father had controlled his passions by ascetic penances.
And the best of Kurus, Santanu, knowing that region of indestructible
bliss can be acquired by one's deeds alone, became devoted to virtue.
When Santanu grew up into a youth, Pratipa addressed him and said, 'Some
time ago, O Santanu, a celestial damsel came to me for thy good. If thou
meetest that fair-complexioned one in secret and if she solicit thee for
children, accept her as thy wife. And, O sinless one, judge not of the
propriety or impropriety of her action and ask not who she is, or whose
or whence, but accept her as thy wife at my command!'" Vaisampayana
continued, 'Pratipa, having thus commanded his son Santanu and installed
him on his throne, retired into the woods. And king Santanu endued with
great intelligence and equal unto Indra himself in splendour, became
addicted to hunting and passed much of his time in the woods. And the
best of monarchs always slew deer and buffaloes. And one day, as he was
wandering along the bank of the Ganges, he came upon a region frequented
by Siddhas and Charanas. And there he saw a lovely maiden of blazing
beauty and like unto another Sri herself; of faultless and pearly teeth
and decked with celestial ornaments, and attired in garments of fine
texture that resembled in splendour the filaments of the lotus. And the
monarch, on beholding that damsel, became surprised, and his raptures
produced instant horripilation. With steadfast gaze he seemed to be
drinking her charms, but repeated draughts failed to quench his thirst.
The damsel also beholding the monarch of blazing splendour moving about
in great agitation, was moved herself and experienced an affection for
him. She gazed and gazed and longed to gaze on him evermore. The monarch
then in soft words addressed her and said, 'O slender-waisted one, be
thou a goddess or the daughter of a Danava, be thou of the race of the
Gandharvas, or Apsaras, be thou of the Yakshas or the Nagas, or be thou
of human origin, O thou of celestial beauty, I solicit thee to be my
wife!'"



SECTION XCVIII

(Sambhava Parva continued)

"Vaisampayana said, 'The maiden then, hearing those soft and sweet words
of the smiling monarch, and remembering her promise to the Vasus,
addressed the king in reply. Of faultless features, the damsel sending a
thrill of pleasure into the heart by every word she uttered, said, 'O
king, I shall become thy wife and obey thy commands. But, O monarch, thou
must not interfere with me in anything I do, be it agreeable or
disagreeable. Nor shall thou ever address me unkindly. As long as thou
shalt behave kindly I promise to live with thee. But I shall certainly
leave thee the moment thou interferest with me or speakest to me an
unkind word.' The king answered, 'Be it so.' And thereupon the damsel
obtaining that excellent monarch, that foremost one of the Bharata race
for her husband, became highly pleased. And king Santanu also, obtaining
her for his wife, enjoyed to the full the pleasure of her company. And
adhering to his promise, he refrained from asking her anything. And the
lord of earth, Santanu, became exceedingly gratified with her conduct,
beauty, magnanimity, and attention to his comforts. And the goddess Ganga
also, of three courses (celestial, terrestrial, and subterranean)
assuming a human form of superior complexion and endued with celestial
beauty, lived happily as the wife of Santanu, having as the fruit of her
virtuous acts, obtained for her husband, that tiger among kings equal
unto Indra himself in splendour. And she gratified the king by her
attractiveness and affection, by her wiles and love, by her music and
dance, and became herself gratified. And the monarch was so enraptured
with his beautiful wife that months, seasons, and years rolled on without
his being conscious of them. And the king, while thus enjoying himself
with his wife, had eight children born unto him who in beauty were like
the very celestials themselves. But, O Bharata, those children, one after
another, as soon as they were born, were thrown into the river by Ganga
who said, 'This is for thy good.' And the children sank to rise no more.
The king, however, could not be pleased with such conduct. But he spoke
not a word about it lest his wife should leave him. But when the eighth
child was born, and when his wife as before was about to throw it
smilingly into the river, the king with a sorrowful countenance and
desirous of saving it from destruction, addressed her and said, 'Kill it
not! Who art thou and whose? Why dost thou kill thy own children?
Murderess of thy sons, the load of thy sins is great!'" His wife, thus
addressed, replied, 'O thou desirous of offspring, thou hast already
become the first of those that have children. I shall not destroy this
child of thine. But according to our agreement, the period of my stay
with thee is at an end. I am Ganga, the daughter of Jahnu. I am ever
worshipped by the great sages; I have lived with thee so long for
accomplishing the purposes of the celestials. The eight illustrious Vasus
endued with great energy had, from Vasishtha's curse, to assume human
forms. On earth, besides thee, there was none else to deserve the honour
of being their begetter. There is no woman also on earth except one like
me, a celestial of human form, to become their mother. I assumed a human
form to bring them forth. Thou also, having become the father of the
eight Vasus, hast acquired many regions of perennial bliss. It was also
agreed between myself and the Vasus that I should free them from their
human forms as soon as they would be born. I have thus freed them from
the curse of the Rishi Apava. Blest be thou; I leave thee, O king! But
rear thou this child of rigid vows. That I should live with thee so long
was the promise I gave to the Vasus. And let this child be called
Gangadatta.'"



SECTION XCIX

(Sambhava Parva continued)

"Santanu asked, 'What was the fault of the Vasus and who was Apava,
through whose curse the Vasus had to be born among men? What also hath
this child of thine, Gangadatta, done for which he shall have to live
among men? Why also were the Vasus, the lords of the three worlds,
condemned to be born amongst men? O daughter of Jahnu, tell me all.'

"Vaisampayana continued, 'Thus addressed, the celestial daughter of
Jahnu, Ganga, then replied unto the monarch, her husband, that bull
amongst men, saying, 'O best of Bharata's race, he who was obtained as
son by Varuna was called Vasishtha, the Muni who afterwards came to be
known as Apava. He had his asylum on the breast of the king of mountains
called Meru. The spot was sacred and abounded with birds and beasts. And
there bloomed at all times of the year flowers of every season. And, O
best of Bharata's race, that foremost of virtuous men, the son of Varuna,
practised his ascetic penances in those woods abounding with sweet roots
and water.

"Daksha had a daughter known by the name of Surabhi, who, O bull of
Bharata's race, for benefiting the world, brought forth, by her
connection with Kasyapa, a daughter (Nandini) in the form of a cow. That
foremost of all kine, Nandini, was the cow of plenty (capable of granting
every desire). The virtuous son of Varuna obtained Nandini for his Homa
rites. And Nandini, dwelling in that hermitage which was adored by Munis,
roamed about fearlessly in those sacred and delightful woods.

"One day, O bull of Bharata's race, there came into those woods adored by
the gods and celestial Rishis, the Vasus with Prithu at their head. And
wandering there with their wives, they enjoyed themselves in those
delightful woods and mountains. And as they wandered there, the
slender-waisted wife of one of the Vasus, O thou of the prowess of Indra,
saw in those woods Nandini, the cow of plenty. And seeing that cow
possessing the wealth of all accomplishments, large eyes, full udders,
fine tail, beautiful hoofs, and every other auspicious sign, and yielding
much milk, she showed the animal to her husband Dyu. O thou of the
prowess of the first of elephants, when Dyu was shown that cow, he began
to admire her several qualities and addressing his wife, said, 'O
black-eyed girl of fair thighs, this excellent cow belongeth to that
Rishi whose is this delightful asylum. O slender-waisted one, that mortal
who drinketh the sweet milk of this cow remaineth in unchanged youth for
ten thousand years.' O best of monarchs, hearing this, the
slender-waisted goddess of faultless features then addressed her lord of
blazing splendour and said, 'There is on earth a friend of mine, Jitavati
by name, possessed of great beauty and youth. She is the daughter of that
god among men, the royal sage Usinara, endued with intelligence and
devoted to truth. I desire to have this cow, O illustrious one, with her
calf for that friend of mine. Therefore, O best of celestials, bring that
cow so that my friend drinking of her milk may alone become on earth free
from disease and decrepitude. O illustrious and blameless one, it
behoveth thee to grant me this desire of mine. There is nothing that
would be more agreeable to me.' On hearing these words of his wife, Dyu,
moved by the desire of humouring her, stole that cow, aided by his
brothers Prithu and the others. Indeed, Dyu, commanded by his lotus-eyed
wife, did her bidding, forgetting at the moment the high ascetic merits
of the Rishi who owned her. He did not think at the time that he was
going to fall by committing the sin of stealing the cow.

"When the son of Varuna returned to his asylum in the evening with fruits
he had collected, he beheld not the cow with her calf there. He began to
search for them in the woods, but when the great ascetic of superior
intelligence found not his cow on search, he saw by his ascetic vision
that she had been stolen by the Vasus. His wrath was instantly kindled
and he cursed the Vasus, saying, 'Because the Vasus have stolen my cow of
sweet milk and handsome tail, therefore, shall they certainly be born on
earth!'

"O thou bull of Bharata's race, the illustrious Rishi Apava thus cursed
the Vasus in wrath. And having cursed them, the illustrious one set his
heart once more on ascetic meditation. And after that Brahmarshi of great
power and ascetic wealth had thus in wrath cursed the Vasus, the latter,
O king, coming to know of it, speedily came into his asylum. And
addressing the Rishi, O bull among kings, they endeavoured to pacify him.
But they failed, O tiger among men, to obtain grace from Apava--that
Rishi conversant, with all rules of virtue. The virtuous Apava, however,
said, 'Ye Vasus, with Dhava and others, ye have been cursed by me. But ye
shall be freed from my curse within a year of your birth among men. But
he for whose deed ye have been cursed by me he, viz., Dyu, shall for his
sinful act, have to dwell on earth for a length of time. I shall not make
futile the words I have uttered in wrath. Dyu, though dwelling on Earth,
shall not beget children. He shall, however, be virtuous and conversant
with the scriptures. He shall be an obedient son to his father, but he
shall have to abstain from the pleasure of female companionship.'

"Thus addressing the Vasus, the great Rishi went away. The Vasus then
together came to me. And, O king, the begged of me the boon that as soon
as they would be born, I should throw them into the water. And, O best of
kings, I did as they desired, in order to free them from their earthly
life. And O best of kings, from the Rishi's curse, this one only, viz.,
Dyu, himself, is to live on earth for some time.'

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We do not know the women's names, but their voices are quite distinct. All are pregnant. But while the first woman awaits the birth of her baby with a moon-like serenity, the other two are not so lucky. One, whose previous pregnancies have failed to go to term, is experiencing a heartbreaking late miscarriage; the other is a young student whose accidental pregnancy will end in her child being put up for adoption.

Sylvia Plath's only play was never intended for the stage, being broadcast instead on BBC radio in August 1962. Less than six months later, Plath killed herself, but not before the burst of astonishing creative energy that produced her extraordinary, terrifying Ariel poems.

Anyone who knows Plath's poetry will see the connection between Three Women and Plath's subsequent poems, particularly in the way she talks about the agony of childbirth, the rush of love for this tiny alien being, and both the wonder and wounded rawness of motherhood. It is a beautiful piece, full of startling imagery that draws you in through the sheer intensity of its femaleness, and because it so precisely articulates the emotions that are often thought but seldom voiced by women - certainly not in the early 1960s - about men, motherhood and our relationship to our bodies.

It's been 20 years since there has been an attempt at a professional stage version and - in a theatre world that happily accepts the poetic offerings of Sarah Kane and Debbie Tucker Green, or the staged possibilities of The Waves, one of Plath's own inspirations for the piece, I see no reason why it shouldn't be brought to life. Sadly, it doesn't breathe here, in a production by Robert Shaw that is clearly a labour of love, but which never finds a way to give the internal a physical reality. Plath's poetry, like most babies, is more robust than it appears - and won't break if treated with a little less reverence and considerably more grit.

Instead, what we are offered is tinkling piano music, mournful mood lighting, an innocuous pale setting, as well as three perfectly good but indisputably ladylike performances that capture none of the wounded redness of Plath's poetry, and do her the disservice of making her sound bleached and somewhat prissy. It's a pity. What might have been a wonder ends up a mere curiosity.

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