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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




Thus addressed by Keshava, Arjuna, that slayer of hostile heroes, quickly
alighted from the car, taking with him his bow with shaft fixed on the
string. Softly wishing good unto the preceptor's son and then unto
himself, and unto all his brothers, that scorcher of foes then bowed unto
all the gods and all his superiors and let off his weapon, thinking of
the welfare of all the worlds and uttering the words, Let Ashvatthama's
weapon be neutralised by this weapon!'

That weapon, quickly let off by the wielder of gandiva, blazed up with
fierce flames like the all-destroying fire that appears at the end of the
yuga. Similarly, the weapon that had been shot by Drona's son of fierce
energy blazed up with terrible flames within a huge sphere of fire.
Numerous peals of thunder were heard; thousands of meteors fell; and all
living creatures became inspired with great dread. The entire welkin
seemed to be filled with noise and assumed a terrible aspect with those
flames of fire. The whole earth with her mountains and waters and trees,
trembled. Then the two great rishis, Narada, who is the soul of every
creature, and the grandsire of all the Bharata princes (Vyasa), beholding
those two weapons scorching the three worlds, showed themselves there.
The two rishis sought to pacify the two heroes Ashvatthama and
Dhananjaya. Conversant with all duties and desirous of the welfare of all
creatures, the two sages, possessed of great energy, stood in the midst
of those two blazing weapons. Incapable of being overwhelmed by any
force, those two illustrious rishis, placing themselves between the two
weapons, stood like two blazing fires. Incapable of being checked by any
creature endued with life, and adorned by the gods and danavas, they two
acted in this way, neutralising the energy of the two weapons and doing
good to all the world.

The two rishis said, "Those great car-warriors who have fallen in this
battle were acquainted with diverse kinds of weapons. They, however,
never shot such a weapon upon human beings. What act of rashness is this,
ye heroes, that ye have done?"



15

Vaishampayana said, "At the very sight, O tiger among men, of those two
rishis possessed of splendour like that of fire, Dhananjaya quickly
resolved to withdraw his celestial shaft. Joining his hands, he addressed
those rishis, saying, I used this weapon, saying, "Let it neutralise the
(enemy's) weapon!" If I withdraw this high weapon, Drona's son of sinful
deeds will then, without doubt, consume us all with the energy of his
weapon. Ye two are like gods! It behoveth you to devise some means by
which our welfare as also that of the three worlds may be secured!'

Having said these words Dhananjaya withdrew his weapon. The withdrawal of
that weapon by the gods themselves in battle is exceedingly difficult.
Not excepting the great Indra himself, there was nobody save the son of
Pandu, who was capable of withdrawing that high weapon after it had once
been let off. That weapon was born of Brahma energy. No person of
uncleansed soul can bring it back after it is once let off. Only one that
leads the life of a brahmacari can do it. If one who has not practised
the vow of brahmacarya seeks to bring it back after having shot it, it
strikes off his own head and destroys him with all his equipments. Arjuna
was a brahmacari and an observer of vows. Having obtained that almost
unobtainable weapon, he had never used it even when plunged into
situations of the greatest danger. Observant of the vow of truth,
possessed of great heroism, leading the life of a brahmacari, the son of
Pandu was submissive and obedient to all his superiors. It was for this
that he succeeded in withdrawing his weapon.

Drona's son, beholding those two rishis standing before him, could not by
his energy withdraw his own terrible weapon. Unable to withdraw the high
weapon in battle, Drona's son, O king, with a cheerless heart, said unto
the island-born rishi these words, Threatened by a great danger, and
desirous of protecting my life, I let off this weapon, through fear of
Bhimasena, O sage! This Bhimasena of false behaviour, acted sinfully, O
holy one, while slaying the son of Dhritarashtra in battle! It is for
this, O regenerate one, that of uncleansed soul as I am I let off this
weapon. I dare not, however, withdraw it now. Having inspired this
irresistible and celestial weapon with the energy of fire, I let it off
for the destruction of the Pandavas. Contrived for the destruction of the
Pandavas, that weapon, therefore, will take away the lives of all the
sons of Pandu. O regenerate one, I have, in wrath, done this sinful deed.
I invoked this weapon in battle for the destruction of the Pandavas.'

Vyasa said, "Pritha's son Dhananjaya, O child, was acquainted with the
weapon called brahmashira. Neither from wrath, nor for thy destruction in
battle, did he shoot this weapon. Arjuna, on the other hand, used it for
baffling thy weapon. He has again withdrawn it. Having obtained even the
brahmastra through thy sire's instructions, the mighty-armed Dhananjaya
did not fall off from a kshatriya's duties. Arjuna is possessed of such
patience, and such honesty. He is, besides, conversant with every weapon,
Why dost thou seek to compass the destruction of such a person with all
his brothers? That region where the weapon called brahmashira is baffled
by another high weapon suffers a drought for twelve years, for the clouds
do not pour a drop of water there for this period. For this reason, the
mighty-armed son of Pandu, although he had the power, would not, from
desire of doing good to living creatures, baffle thy weapon with his. The
Pandavas should be protected; thy own self should be protected; the
kingdom also should be protected. Therefore, O thou of mighty arms,
withdraw this celestial weapon of thine. Dispel this wrath from thy heart
and let the Pandavas be safe. The royal sage Yudhishthira never desires
to win victory by perpetrating any sinful act. Give unto these that gem
which is on thy head. Taking that, the Pandavas will in return grant thee
thy life!"

Drona's son said, "This my gem is more valuable than all the wealth that
has ever been earned by the Pandavas and the Kauravas. If this gem is
worn, the wearer ceases to have any fear from weapons or disease or
hunger! He ceases to have any fear of gods and danavas and nagas! His
apprehensions from rakshasas as also from robbers will cease. Even these
are the virtues of this gem of mine. I cannot, by any means, part with
it. That, however, O holy one, which thou sayest, should be done by me.
Here is this gem. Here is myself. This blade of grass (inspired into a
fatal weapon) will, however, fall into the wombs of the Pandava women,
for this weapon is high and mighty, and incapable of being frustrated. O
regenerate one, I am unable to withdraw it, having once let it off. I
will now throw this weapon into the wombs of the Pandava women. As
regards thy commands in other respects, O holy one, I shall certainly
obey them."

Vyasa said, "Do then this. Do not, however, entertain any other purpose,
O sinless one! Throwing this weapon into the wombs of the Pandava women,
stop thyself."

Vaishampayana continued, "The son of Drona, having heard these words of
the island-born, threw that uplifted weapon into the wombs of the Pandava
women."



16

Vaishampayana said, "Understanding that that weapon was thrown (into the
wombs of the Pandava women) by Drona's son of sinful deeds, Hrishikesha,
with a cheerful heart, said these words unto him: A certain brahmana of
pious vows, beholding Virata's daughter who is now daughter-in-law to
Arjuna, while she was at Upaplavya, said, "While the Kuru line will
become extinct, a son will be born to thee. This thy son for that reason,
will be called by the name of Parikshit." The words of that pious man
shall become true: the Pandavas shall have a son called Parikshit. Unto
Govinda, that foremost one of the Satvata race, while he was saying these
words, Drona's son, filled with wrath, replied, saying, This, O Keshava,
that thou sayest from thy partiality for the Pandavas, shall not happen.
O thou of eyes like lotus-petals, my words cannot but be fulfilled.
Uplifted by me, this weapon of mine shall fall on the foetus that is in
the womb of Virata's daughter, upon that foetus which thou, O Krishna,
art desirous of protecting.'

The holy one said, "The fall of this mighty weapon will not be fruitless.
The foetus will die. But being dead, it will live again and have a long
life! As regards thyself, all wise men know thee for a coward and a
sinful wretch! Always engaged in sinful acts, thou art the slayer of
children. For this reason, thou must have to bear the fruit of these thy
sins. For 3,000 years thou shalt wander over this earth, without a
companion and without being able to talk with anyone. Alone and without
anybody by thy side, thou shalt wander through diverse countries, O
wretch, thou shalt have no place in the midst of men. The stench of pus
and blood shall emanate from thee, and inaccessible forests and dreary
moors shall be thy abode! Thou shalt wander over the Earth, O thou of
sinful soul, with the weight of all diseases on thee.

The heroic Parikshit, attaining to age and a knowledge of the Vedas and
the practice of pious vows, shall obtain all weapons from the son of
Sharadvata. Having obtained a knowledge of all high weapons, and
observant of all kshatriya duties, that righteous-souled king shall rule
the earth for sixty years. More than this, that boy shall become the
mighty-armed king of the Kurus, known by the name of Parikshit, before
thy very eyes, O thou of wicked soul! Though burnt by the energy of thy
weapon's fire, I shall revive him. O lowest of men, behold the energy of
my austerities and my truth."

Vyasa said, "Since, disregarding us, thou hast perpetrated this
exceedingly cruel act, and since thy behaviour is such although thou art
a good brahmana (by birth), therefore, those excellent words that
Devaki's son has said, will, without doubt, be realised in thy case, an
adopter as thou hast been of kshatriya usages!"

Ashvatthama said, "With thyself among all men, O holy one, I shall live!
Let the words of this illustrious and foremost of men become true!"

Vaishampayana continued, "Drona's son, then, having made over his gem to
the high-souled Pandavas, cheerlessly proceeded, before their eyes, to
the forest. The Pandavas who had killed and chastised all their foes,
placed Govinda and the island-born Krishna and the great ascetic Narada
at their head, and taking the gem that was born with Ashvatthama, quickly
came back to the intelligent Draupadi who was sitting in observance of
the praya vow.

Those tigers among men, borne by their excellent steeds resembling the
wing in fleetness, came back with him of Dasharha's race to their
encampment. Speedily alighting from their cars, those great car-warriors,
themselves much more afflicted, beheld, Drupada's daughter Krishna
afflicted with woe. Approaching the cheerless princess stricken with
sorrow and grief, the Pandavas with Keshava, sat round her.

Then the mighty Bhimasena, desired by the king, gave that celestial gem
unto her and said these words: "This gem, O amiable lady, is thine. The
slayer of thy sons hath been vanquished. Rise, casting off thy sorrow,
and recollect the duties of a kshatriya lady. O thou of black eyes, when
Vasudeva was about to set out (from Upaplavya) on his mission of peace,
thou hadst, O timid lady, said even these words unto the slayer of Madhu,
"I have no husbands! I have no sons, nor brothers! Nor art thou alive, O
Govinda, since the king desires for peace!" Those bitter words were
addressed by thee to Krishna, that foremost of persons! It behoveth thee
to recollect those words of thine that were so consistent with kshatriya
usages.

The wretched Duryodhana, that obstacle on the way of our sovereignty, has
been slain. I have quaffed the blood of the living Duhshasana. We have
paid off the debt we owed to our enemy. People, while talking, will not
be able to censure us any longer. Having vanquished Drona's son, we have
set him free for the sake of his being a brahmana and of the respect that
should be shown to our deceased preceptor. His fame hath been destroyed,
O goddess, only his body remains! He has been divested of his gem and on
earth he has been reft of his weapons!"

Draupadi said, "I desired to only pay off our debt for the injury we have
sustained. The preceptor's son is worthy of my reverence as the preceptor
himself. Let the king bind this gem on his head, O Bharata!" The king
then, taking that gem, placed it on his head, at the desire of Draupadi
and regarding it as a gift from the preceptor. Holding on his head that
excellent and celestial gem, the puissant king looked beautiful like a
mountain with the moon above it. Though stricken with grief on account of
the death of her sons, the princess Draupadi, possessed of great mental
strength, gave up her vow. Then king Yudhishthira enquired of the
mighty-armed Krishna, saying the following words."



17

Vaishampayana said, "After all the troops had been slain during the hour
of sleep by those three car-warriors, king Yudhishthira in great grief
said these words unto him of Dasharha's race: How, O Krishna, could my
sons, all of whom were mighty car-warriors, be slaughtered by the sinful
and wretched Ashvatthama of no great skill in battle? How also could
Drona's son slay the children of Drupada, all of whom were accomplished
in weapons, possessed of great prowess, and capable of battling with
hundreds of thousands of foes? How could he slay that foremost of
car-warriors, Dhrishtadyumna, before whom the great bowman Drona himself
could not appear? What act was done by the preceptor's son, O bull among
men, in consequence of which he succeeded in slaying, single-handed, all
our men in battle?'

The holy one said, "Verily, Drona's son had sought the aid of that
highest of all the gods, the eternal Mahadeva. It was for this that he
succeeded in slaying, single-handed, so large a number of warriors. If
Mahadeva be gratified, he can bestow even immortality. Girisha can give
such valour as will succeed in checking Indra himself. I know Mahadeva
truly, O bull of Bharata's race! I know also his various acts of old. He,
O Bharata, is the beginning, the middle, and the end of all creatures.
This entire universe acts and moves through his energy.

The puissant Grandsire, desirous of creating living creatures, saw Rudra;
and the Grandsire asked him, saying, "Create living creatures without
delay!" Thus asked, Rudra of tawny locks, saying, "So be it!" plunged
into the water and practised austerities for a long time, inasmuch as he
was sensible of the defects of living creatures. Having waited in
expectation of Rudra for a very long time, the Grandsire, by a fiat of
his will, invoked into existence another being for making him the creator
of all kinds of living things. Beholding Girisha plunged into the waters,
this (second) being said unto his sire, "If there be no being born before
me, then I will create living creatures!" His sire replied unto him,
saying, "There is no other first-born being besides thee! This Sthanu has
plunged into the water! Go and create living creatures, without any
anxiety!"

That being then created many living creatures, having Daksha for their
first, who created all these creatures of four kinds. As soon, however,
as they were created, they ran O king, towards their sire, afflicted with
hunger and desirous of devouring him. The second being whom Brahma had
created, thereupon ran towards him, desirous of protection from his own
offspring. And he said unto the Grandsire, "O illustrious one, protect me
from these, and let these creatures have their food assigned unto them!"
Then the Grandsire assigned herbs and plants and other vegetables as
their food, and unto those that were strong he assigned the weaker
creatures as the means of sustenance. Their sustenance having been thus
assigned, the newly-created creatures all went away to regions they
desired, and cheerfully multiplied by union with their respective species.

After the creatures had multiplied and the Grandsire had become well
pleased, the first-born rose from the water and beheld the living
creation. He saw that diverse kinds of creatures had been created and
that they had multiplied by their own energy. At this sight, Rudra became
angry and caused his procreative limb to disappear in the bowels of the
Earth. The unfading Brahma, soothing him by soft words, said unto him, "O
Sharva, what wert thou doing so long within the water? For what reason,
also hast thou caused thy limb of generation to disappear in the bowels
of the Earth?" Thus questioned, that lord of the universe wrathfully
answered the lord Brahman, "Somebody else has created all these
creatures! What purpose then would be served by this limb of mine? I have
by my austerities, O Grandsire, created food for all these creatures.
These herbs and plants also will multiply like those that will subsist
upon them!" Having said these words, Bhava went away, in cheerlessness
and rage, to the foot of the Menjavat mountains for practising severer
austerities."



18

The holy one said, "After the krita-yuga had elapsed, the gods, desirous
of performing a sacrifice, duly made preparation for one according to the
directions laid down in the Vedas. They collected clarified butter and
the other requisites. And they not only devised what the requisites of
their sacrifice should be, but also determined those amongst themselves
that should have a share in the sacrificial offerings.

Not knowing Rudra truly, the celestials, O king, assigned no share for
the divine Sthanu. Seeing that the celestials assigned to him no share in
the sacrificial offerings, Sthanu, clad in deer skins, desired to destroy
that Sacrifice and with that object constructed a bow. There are four
kinds of Sacrifices: the loka Sacrifice, the Sacrifice of special rites,
the eternal domestic Sacrifice, and the Sacrifice consisting in the
gratification derived by man from his enjoyment of the five elemental
substances and their compounds. It is from these four kinds of Sacrifice
that the universe has sprung. Kapardin constructed that bow using as
materials the first and the fourth kinds of Sacrifices. The length of
that bow was five cubits. The sacred (mantra) "vashat," O Bharata, was
made its string. The four parts, of which a Sacrifice consists, became
the adornments of that bow.

Then Mahadeva, filled with rage, and taking up that bow, proceeded to
that spot where the celestials were engaged in their Sacrifice. Beholding
the unfading Rudra arrive there attired as a brahmacari and armed with
that bow, the goddess Earth shrunk with fear and the very mountains began
to tremble. The very wind ceased to move, and fire itself, though fed,
did not blaze forth. The stars in the firmament, in anxiety, began to
wander in irregular courses. The Sun's splendour decreased. The disc of
the Moon lost its beauty. The entire welkin became enveloped in a thick
gloom. The celestials, overwhelmed, knew not what to do. Their Sacrifice
ceased to blaze forth. The gods were all terrified. Rudra then pierced
the embodiment of Sacrifice with a fierce shaft in the heart. The
embodied form of Sacrifice, assuming the shape of a deer, fled away, with
the god of fire. Approaching heaven in that form, he blazed forth in
beauty. Rudra, however, O Yudhishthira, pursued him through the skies.
After Sacrifice had fled away, the gods lost their splendour. Having lost
their senses, the gods were stupefied.

Then the three-eyed Mahadeva, with his bow, broke in rage the arms of
Savitri, and plucked out the eyes of Bhaga and the teeth of Pushana. The
gods then fled away, as also all the several parts of Sacrifice. Some
amongst them, reeling as they sought to fly away, fell down senseless.
The blue-throated Rudra, having agitated them thus, laughed aloud, and
whirling the horn of his bow, paralysed them. The celestials then uttered
a cry. At their command, the string of the bow broke. The string having
broken, the bow became stretched into a line. The gods then approached
the bowless god of gods and, with the embodied form of Sacrifice, sought
the protection of the puissant Mahadeva and endeavoured to gratify him.

Gratified, the great god threw his wrath into the water, O king, that
wrath, assuming the form of fire, is always employed in consuming that
liquid element. He then gave unto Savitri his arms, Bhaga his eyes, and
Pushana his teeth. And he also restored the Sacrifices themselves, O
Pandava! The world once more became safe and sound. The gods assigned
unto Mahadeva all the libations of clarified butter as the share of great
deity. O monarch, when Mahadeva had become angry, the whole world had
thus become agitated: when he became gratified everything became safe.
Possessed of great energy, the god Mahadeva was gratified with
Ashvatthama. It was for this that thy sons, those mighty car-warriors,
could be slain by that warrior. It was for this that many other heroes,
the Pancalas, with all their followers, could be slain by him. Thou
shouldst not suffer thy mind to dwell on it. It was not Drona's son that
accomplished that act. It was done through the grace of Mahadeva. Do now
what should next be done."

The end of Sauptika-parva.









The Mahabharata

of

Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa

BOOK 11

Stri-parva



Translated into English Prose from the Original Sanskrit Text

by

Kisari Mohan Ganguli

[1883-1896]

Scanned and Proofed by Mantra Caitanya. Additional proofing and
formatting at sacred-texts.com, by J. B. Hare, October 2003.



1

(Jalapradanika-parva)

Om! Having bowed down unto Narayana and Nara, the foremost of male
beings, and unto the goddess Sarasvati, must the word Jaya be uttered.

Janamejaya said, "After Duryodhana had fallen and after all the warriors
also had fallen, what, O sage, did king Dhritarashtra do on receipt of
the intelligence? What also did the high-souled Kuru king Yudhishthira,
the son of Dharma, do? What did the three survivors (of the Kuru army)
viz. Kripa and the others do? I have heard everything about the feats of
Ashvatthama. Tell me what happened after that mutual denunciation of
curses. Tell me all that Sanjaya said unto the blind old king."

Vaishampayana said, "After he had lost his century of sons, king
Dhritarashtra, afflicted with grief on that account, cheerless, and
looking like a tree shorn of its branches, became overwhelmed with
anxiety and lost his power of speech. Possessed of great wisdom, Sanjaya,
approaching the monarch, addressed him, saying, Why dost thou grieve, O
monarch? Grief does not serve any purpose. Eight and ten Akshauhinis of
combatants, O king, have been slain! The earth hath become desolate, and
is almost empty now! Kings of diverse realms, hailing from diverse
quarters, united with thy son (for aiding him in battle) have all laid
down their lives. Let now the obsequial rites of thy sires and sons and
grandsons and kinsmen and friends and preceptors be performed in due
order."

Vaishampayana continued, "Destitute of sons and counsellors and all his
friends, king Dhritarashtra of great energy suddenly fell down on the
earth like a tree uprooted by the wind.

"Dhritarashtra said, Destitute as I am of sons and counsellors and all my
friends, I shall, without doubt have to wander in sorrow over the earth.
What need have I now of life itself, left as I am of kinsmen and friends
and resembling as I do a bird shorn of its wings and afflicted with
decrepitude? Shorn of kingdom, deprived of kinsmen, and destitute of
eyes, I cannot, O thou of great wisdom, shine any longer on earth like a
luminary shorn of its splendours! I did not follow the counsels of
friends of Jamadagnis son, of the celestial rishi Narada, and of
island-born Krishna, while they offered me counsel. In the midst of the
assembly, Krishna told me what was for my good, saying, "A truce (tense)
to hostilities, O king! Let thy son take the whole kingdom! Give but five
villages to the Pandavas!" Fool that I was, for not following that
advice, I am now obliged to repent so poignantly! I did not listen to the
righteous counsels of Bhishma. Alas, having heard of the slaughter of
Duryodhana whose roars were as deep as those of a bull, having heard also
of the death of Duhshasana and the extinction of Karna and the setting of
the Drona-sun, my heart does not break into pieces. I do not, O Sanjaya,
remember any evil act committed by me in former days, whose consequences,
fool that I am, I am suffering today. Without doubt, I committed great
sins in my former lives, for which the Supreme Ordainer has set me to
endure such a measure of grief. This destruction of all my kinsmen, this
extermination of all my well-wishers and friends, at this old age, has
come upon me through the force of Destiny. What other man is there on
earth who is more afflicted than my wretched self? Since it is so, let
the Pandavas behold me this very day firmly resolved to betake myself to
the long way that leads to the regions of Brahman!"

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Various - "Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 152, May 2, 1917"

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Poster poems: Ballads
Articles published by guardian.co.uk Books

Fidel and Che: a revolutionary friendship

After last week's fairly open theme, I thought I'd go with something a bit more structured this time. As I type this, I'm listening to Steeleye Span and thinking about the great ballad traditions of Britain and Ireland. What is a ballad? I suppose the most inclusive definition would be that it's a singable narrative poem: that covers a multitude but will do for the moment.

Ballads in English stretch back to the middle ages, with fine examples to be found among the Scottish border ballads and the English Robin Hood poems. These early ballads are among the best-known poems and stories in the language, and form part of the common heritage of English speakers everywhere. They gave rise to a tradition of ballad-making that endures down to the present day.

In fact, most poets since have tried their hand at the ballad at one time or another, and the result has been to deny any definition more specific than the one I ventured in my first paragraph. If you look around the internet, you'll come up with a wide selection of poems that are called ballads but have little in common formally. Stanza length varies from two to 10 or more lines, and all sorts of metrical and rhyming patterns are used. A good number will be singable in only the loosest possible sense, and at times the narrative tends to get lost in a mesh of more-or-less successful verbal embroidery.

So, what should a ballad be? Well, "proper" ballad stanzas are quatrains in which the first and third lines have four stresses and the second and third have three. The lines will rhyme A-B-C-B or A-B-A-B. It's as simple, and as difficult, as that. Here's an example, from Robert Burns's extremely singable Comin Thro' the Rye:

Gin a body meet a body
          Comin thro' the rye,
Gin a body kiss a body –
          Need a body cry.

Burns wrote a good number of ballads, and his lead was followed by many 19th-century poets. Two examples that I particularly like are Robert Browning's Confessions and Christina Rossetti's Up-Hill, but you can find ballads by just about any Romantic or Victorian poet if you look for them.

There is a long, strong tradition of ballads and ballad singers in Ireland, too. It is hardly surprising, then, that the great appropriator of tradition, WB Yeats, tried his hand at the form. At least four of his poems have the word "ballad" in the title; the pick of the bunch, for my money, is The Ballad of Father Gilligan, which may have benefited from having been written with a specific tune in mind.

Ballads continued to be written in the 20th century; perhaps the most unexpected exponents were Ezra Pound, with his Ballad of the Goodly Fere, and WH Auden. In fact, the ballad The Quarry is probably my favourite Auden poem.

And so, this week I invite a chorus of balladeering. You may choose to go the whole hog and write in ballad stanzas or you might prefer to take a more liberal view of the formal requirements. Either way, sing up and – as they say at all the best Irish sessions when calling for a bit of hush for the singer – one voice please.

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When Argentinian doctor Che Guevara and Cuban lawyer Fidel Castro met in Mexico City, it was the beginning of a friendship that would change the world. Simon Reid-Henry talks about the contrasting personalities of the leading men in his groundbreaking dual biography, Fidel and Che