Pratijna Parva — The oath of Arjuna

Yudhishthira said When, O mighty-armed one, you had gone against the Samshaptaka hosts, the preceptor Drona exerted himself vigourously for capturing me.

We then began to resist Drona and his troops arrayed in order on all sides, by dispensing off our troops and car divisions in counter array and striving hard.

Though he was thus resisted by many and though I was well protected, yet he began to smite us with agility, afflicting us with his sharp shafts.

My troops then, thus afflicted by Drona, were not even able, in battle, to look at his divisions what to speak of the thought of breaking through them!

Then we all, O sire, spoke to Subhadra's son, who was unequalled in his prowess, saying-'O lord, do you break through these divisions of the enemy.'

That highly puissant hero then thus urged on by ourselves, like a good horse, prepared himself to take that burden upon himself, however unbearable it might have been for him.

Then that boy of tender years, endued with energy and possessed of the knowledge of weapons received from you, broke through that array, like Suparna entering into the ocean.

Then we followed that hero in battle, that son of a daughter of the Satvata race, desirous of entering the hostile ranks even through the path he then opened for us.

Then alas, O sire, the puny ruler of the Sindhus, king Jayadratha resisted us all, through the virtue of a boon received from the god Rudra (Mahadeva).

Thereupon Drona, Kripa, Karna, Drona's son, the king of the Kosalas and Kritavarman-these six car-warriors surrounded the son of Subhadra.

Thus surrounded by all those mighty carwarriors in battle, that boy though striking to the best of his abilities, was deprived of the use of his car, by the tremendous odds he was fighting against.

Thus when Abhimanyu was deprived of the use of his car by those warriors, Dushasana's son, who himself was involved in great catastrophe, succeeded, as fate would have it, in making Abhimanyu see his end.

Having slain thousands of men, steeds, carwarriors and tusked elephants and eight thousands car-warriors and nine hundred elephants.

Two thousand princes and many other unknown heroes and also having dispatched king Brihadbala to Heaven.

That one of highly illustrious soul through Destiny, attained his own end. Thus everything that now burns us with grief, has taken place.

That foremost of men has also in his way, ascended to paradise.” Sanjay Said-Thus Arjuna hearing the word spoken by the virtuous king Yudhishthira.

And saying, O my son! and sighing like a furnace, fell down on the earth in great distress. Then every one present, with melancholy countenances sat surrounding Dhananjaya.

And highly distressed they began to gaze vacantly at one another with winkless eyes. Then regaining his consciousness and burning with rage, the son of Vasava.

Shivering as if with fever and repeatedly sighing and squeezing his hands and drawing deep breaths and with eyes flooded with tears and rolling his eyes like one mad, said these

Arjuna said I tell you this for sooth that, tomorrow I will slay Jayadrath, provided that, afraid of being slain, he does not forsake the sons of Dhritarashtra.

Or seek our refuge or that of Krishna the foremost of all male being or that of yourself, O monarch. I will surely slay Jayadratha tomorrow.

Tomorrow will I slay Jayadratha who forgetting his friendship for me, has been doing good to the sons of Dhritarashtra and who has become instrumental in bringing about the slaughter of my boy.

Desirous of protecting him in battle whosoever shall fight with me, I will cover him, O king, with my arrows, be he Drona himself or Kripa.

O foremost of men, O best of heroes, if I do not do tomorrow in battle what I promise to do, then let me not ever attain to the regions which the righteous attain after death.

Those regions which are allotted to those who ravish their own mothers, to those who slay their fathers, who violate their preceptor's beds and who are malicious; those regions which are reserved for those who harbour hatred against the righteous, who speak maliciously of others, who appropriate the wealth entrusted with them and who betray their trusts; those regions that are for them who abuse others' wives enjoyed by them before or for them that slay Brahmanas or for them that slaughter the kine or for them that drink payasas or eat food prepared from barley or herbs or articles prepared from milk, sesamum and rice and Pupas and other kinds of cakes or meat, without having first offered them to the gods.

Even those regions shall I attain to, if I do not slay Jayadratha. Those regions to which they go who contemn the Brahmanas devoted to the study of the Vedas or otherwise deserving of veneration or those that are senior in years or those that are senior in years or those that are pious or those that are preceptors, (even those region shall mine if I do not slay Jayadratha). That end which becomes theirs who touch the Brahmanas and the fire with their feet, that end which becomes theirs, who throw phlegm or excretions on and discharge urine in water, even that most miserable end shall be mine, if indeed I do not slay Jayadratha tomorrow.

That end that overtakes him who bathes naked in water or him who does not hospitably entertain a guest; that and that overtakes them who accept bribes, speak falsehoods and deceive and cheat men; that end that overtakes them who offend against their own souls or who falsely utter praises, that end ihat overtakes low wretches who eat sweetmeats before servants, and wives and dependents without giving them a share of them, may that end also overtake me if I do not slay Jayadratha.

That end which overtakes the cruel-hearted wretch who without maintaining a pious and sons obedient protege casts him off or him who without giving a deserving neighbour the offerings in a sraddha, gives them to one undeserving of them; that end that overtakes them who accept in marriage Vrishalis; that end which becomes his who indulges in wine, his who contemns those that are worthy of veneration or his who is ungrateful or his who speaks evil of his brethren, that end shall also soon overtake me if I do not slay Jayadratha.

(If I fail in killing Jayadratha) the hellish living obtained by the people eating meal through left hand, put the food on lap while eating, not abandon the seat of Palasha and brush of Tenduki shall be accepted by me.

If I fail in killing Jayadratha tomorrow, the status of living or the insults as befallen on the persons described hereinafter shall be accepted by me. These persons are-the Brahmins who fear of winter, the Kshatriya who fears of battle, the village where single well is dug for drinking water and where Vedic hymns never chanted-the persons living in such village for six mouths, the people who condemn the scriptures, who cohabit and sleep in the day, who set others' home on fire and poison them, who seldom arrange offering and entertain guests, who disturb cows to drink water, who enjoy intercourse with wife during her marriage by collecting fee, who make numerous clients and live on service even after born in Brahmin family, who enjoy intercourse unnatural way (insertion of penis in mouth) or do intercourse in the day and who promise to give something to any Brahmin but avoid lateron under influence of greed.

The ends of all those wretched persons whom I have not enumerated, as also of those whom I have here mentioned, shall soon overtake me, if, after this night passing away, I do not slay Jayadratha tomorrow.

Now listen to another oath of mine. If tomorrow's sun sets before I succeed in slaying this sinful wretch, then even here shall I enter into a blazing fire.

Asuras and the celestials, mortals, winged creatures, reptiles or ancestral manes, rangers of the night, Brahmanical or celestials sages, the mobile and immobile things and beings and what other things there may be on the face of the earth, even all these will not be able to protect that foe of mine.

If he enters the nether regions or ascends to the skies or repairs to the celestial regions or to the dominion of the Daityas, I will still, with a group of hundred, shafts, cut-off the head of Abhimanyu's enemy, when this night passed away."

Sanjaya Said Having spoken these words, Arjuna began to twang his bow with both his right and left arms. Rising above the voice of Arjuna, the sound of the twanging bow touched even the very heavens.

When Arjuna had thus taken that oath Janardana blew the conch Panchajanya and Phalguna also excited with rage blew his conch Devadatta.

Then that conch Panchajanya being filled with the breath of the undeteriorating Krishna, emitted a loud sound and that sound then caused the universe, the nether regions, the heavens and the quarters O lord, to tremble, as if the end of a Yuga had come.

Then when the high-souled Arjuna had taken that oath, sounds of thousands of musical instruments and fierce war-cries, arose from the encampment of the Pandavas.