Sambhava Parva — Bhima's drinking of Ambrosia

Vaishampayana said : Then Bhishma, the king (Dhritarashtra) and Kunti with their friends, celebrated the Shraddha of Pandu and offered the ambrosial Pinda.

They feasted the Kurus and also many thousands of Brahmanas, whom they gave many gems and much wealth with many villages.

Thus being cleansed to Hastinapur with those best of the Bharata race, the sons of Pandu.

All the citizens and the people bewailed for that best of the Bharata race (Pandu), as if they had lost their own relative.

After the completion of the Shraddha Vyasa, seeing all the people plunged in grief, spoke to his bereaved and greatly afflicted mother (Satyavati) thus,

“The days of happiness are gone; the days of misery have come. Sin begins to increase day by day; the world has lost its youth.

The fearful Time, endued with many Mayas, full of various faults and loss of all virtuous acts, will now come.

By the evil doings of the Kurus the world will be destroyed; (therefore) go into the forest of asceticism, devoting yourself to Yoga meditation.

Do not be able witness of the terrible annihilation of your own race. Saying "Be it so," she entered the inner apartments and addressed her daughters-in-law thus.

"O Ambika, have heard that inconsequence of the evil deeds of your grandsons, this Bharata dynasty with its subjects will perish.

If you give me permission, I shall go to the forest with Kausalya, so grieved at the loss of her son."

O descendant of the Bharata race, having said this to Ambika and taking the permission of Bhishma, Satyavati of excellent vows went to the forest with her daughter-in-law.

O best of the Bharata race, she perforined severe asceticism. O great king, she then gave up her body and obtained heaven.

Then the sons of king Pandu, after performing all the purifying rites mentioned in the Vedas, began to grow up in a royal style in the house of their father.

They played in great joy with the sons of Dhritarashtra; and they excelled them all in the boyish sports with their superior strength.

In speed, in striking the object aimed at, in eating, in scattering dust, Bhimasena beat all the sons of Dhritarashtra.

O king, that son of Pandu (Bhima), when they were all engaged in sports, pulled them by the hair and made them fight with one another, laughing all the while. Vrikodara (Bhima) easily defeated those one hundred and one (Dhritarashtra's) sons of great energy, as if they were but one instead of one hundred and one. He sized them by the hair and throwing them down, he dragged them along the ground; some breaking their knees, some their heads and some their shoulders.

When playing in the water, he sometimes seized ten of them by his arms and drowned them in the water. He left them off only when they were almost dead.

When they got upon a tree together fruits, Bhima shook the tree by striking it with his feet.

Being shaken and whirled by that shock, down came with all speed the princes with the fruits.

In speed, in pugilistic encounters, or in speed, the princes could not excel Bhima in any way.

Bhima thus prided himself by tormenting the sons of Dhritarashtra out of boyish pranks. In fact he had no ill will towards them.

Seeing these extraordinary exhibitions of strength by Bhima, the mighty armed eldest of Dhritarashtra (Duryodhana), the conceived hostility towards him.

The wicked and unrighteous (Duryodhana), through ignorance and ambition (of possessing wealth), inclined to commit acts of sin. son

(He thought), the son of Kunti, this Vrikodara (Bhima, this second Pandava, is the foremost in strength, I must destroy him by artifice.

The greatly strong and powerful Bhima challenges one hundred of us in pride.

Therefore, when he will be asleep in the gardens of the palace, we shall throw him into the Gangas. Afterwards confining his eldest brother Yudhisthira and his younger brother (Arjuna), I shall reign soie king over the earth.' Duryodhana, having determined to do this wicked act, watched for an opportunity to injure Bhima.

O descendant of Bharata, he built for the purpose of water sport an extraordinary and beautiful palace.

With many rooms filled with all sorts of luxuries, decorated with hangings of broad cloth and with banners flying from its top.

O descendant of Bharata, its name was "water sport house" and it was situated in the Country named Pramanakota.

The cooks, expert in wicked acts, kept there ready various kinds of viands (drinkable, likeable, chewable and suckable).

When all was ready, they gave information to the son of Dhritarashtra (Duryodhana.) Thereupon the wicked minded Duryodhana said to the Pandavas.

"Let us all brothers go to the banks of the Gangas, adorned with gardens and wood, there to sport in the water.

Yudhisthira replied by saying, “Let it be so." The Kurus with the Pandavas, mounted on cars resembling cities and on excellent native elephants, left the town. Arriving at that garden and wood, they dismissed their attendants. They surveyed the beauty of the garden and the wood; and then those heroes, all the brothers, entered the palace as lions enter the mountain caves.

On entering the palace they saw that its windows looked vary graceful; and its artificial water fountains were splendid. The architects had handsomely plastered the walls and the ceilings and the painters had painted them beautifully. There were tanks of pure water in which blossomed thousands of lotuses. Their banks were decked with various flowers whose fragrance filled the atmosphere and the grounds, were all over covered with the season flowers.

On entering the palace, all the Kurus and the Pandavas sat down and began to enjoy the luxurious things provided for them.

They then began to play and exchange morsels of food with one another. The wicked Duryodhana had mixed some virulent poison with the food of Bhimasena with the desire of making away with him.

That wicked youth, whose heart was a razor, but whose tongue was ambrosia, rose like a (loving) brother and friend. The wicked man himself fed (Bhima) with a large quantity of it. Bhima too ate it, knowing that there was nothing wrong. Thereupon Duryodhana felt himself very happy in his mind; that worst of men thought that he had compassed his end.

They then, all the Pandavas and the Kurus, were joyfully engaged in sporting in the water.

At the end of the spot, they dressed themselves with white garments and decked themselves with various ornaments. In the evening the heroes, the supporters of the Kuru honour, felt themselves fatigued from the sport in the water and they resolved to rest in the pleasure house. Having made others exercise in the water; the powerful Bhima felt himself very much tired and occupying a large space he lay down on the ground.

He was fatigued and he was under the influence of the poison. The cool air spread the poison all over his body and the son of Pandu (Bhima) became senseless.

Duryodhana then himself bound Bhima with the cords of creepers and he then pushed from the land that dead like hero into the water.

The senseless Pandava (Bhima) sunk into the water and fell on the Naga boys in the abode. of the Nagas. Thereupon, thousands of Nagas, endued with virulently poisonous fangs, began to bit Bhima.

Having been thus bitten, the virulent vegetable poison in his body was neutralised by the snake poison.

The serpents had bitten all over his body except his chest, the skin of which was so tough that their fangs could not penetrate it.

The son of Kunti (Bhima), having regained his consciousness, burst open the cords and he then pressed them (snakes) all under the ground. Some fled in boar and the rest, that escaped death from Bhima's hands, went and spoke to Vasuki, the king of the snakes, equal to Indra.

"O king of snakes, a certain man, bound with the cords of creepers, sank into water. Perhaps he drank poison, for he was insensible.

Finding him insensible, we began to bite him, but he soon regained his senses and burst open the cords. He then began to press up to the ground. You should inquire who is this greatly powerful man."

Thereupon, Vasuki, asked by the inferior Nagas, went there. And saw mighty armed Bhima of fearful deeds. There was a chief of the snakes, named Arka; he the grandfather of the father of Pritha (Kunti); he the grandson of his grandson and embraced him. The greatly illustrious Vasuki was much pleased. The king of the snakes said, “What should we do to please him? Let him be given gems and wealth in profusion.”

Having been thus addressed, the Naga (Arka) thus replied to Vasuki, “O king of the snakes, when you are pleased with him, he required no amassing of wealth.

was saw When you are pleased, let this greatly powerful prince drink (of the vessel of) Rasa (ambrosia), in which vessel there is the strength of one thousand elephants.

Let this prince drink of it as much as he can.” Vasuki replied to the Naga (Arka) “Be it So."

Thereupon, purifying himself carefully, the Pandava Bhima sat facing the east and began to drink the Rasa. The Nagas performed auspicious rites.

At one breath that powerful man (Bhima) quaffed off a whole vessel; thus (one after the other) that son of Pandu quaffed off eight successive jars.

Thereupon, that chastiser of foes, that mighty armed Bhimasena lay down in happiness on a celestial bed given by the Nagas.