CHAPTER CVI
(DANTAVAKRAS SPEECH)
VAISHAMPAYANA said: - After the highly powerful Sunitha had thus expressed himself, the heroic Dantavakra, the king of Karusha said (1).
Dantavakra said:—"O ye kings, what the king of Magadha and Sunitha have said for our well-being appears to me as proper (2). I cannot blame these nectarine words out of malice, pride or of my own desire for victory (3). Who, else save them, can give vent, in the midst of kings, to such words grave like an ocean and sanctioned by the science of Polity? (4). Listen to what I say which you should keep in memory. O kings, what wonder is there that Vāsudeva has come here? (5). He has come here for this maiden as we have all done. What virtue or blemish lies there? (6). We all unitedly laid siege to Gomanta. Why do you then find fault with the battle? (7). O kings, on account of Kansa's foolishness those two heroes first lived in Vrindāvana (8). Thereupon in order to slay them both Kansa invited Rāma and Keshava and set an infuriated elephant against them. Slaying that elephant those two heroes entered the arena (9). Thereafter by virtue of their own prowess, they slew Kansa, the king of Mathurā, seated in the sporting arena, like one dead, with his followers (10). What offence did they commit thereby, that we all, elderly in age, came to Mathura at (another's) instigation (11). O kings, terrified at our huge and overwhelming army, Rāma and Keshava, leaving their own city and soldiers, fled away to Gomanta (12). We still pursued them there; and though expert in the art of fighting we were defeated in the battle-field by those two boys (13). Though they did not fight with us, with cars, elephants, horses and infantry, still, as the Kshatriyas should do, we laid seige to the hill and set fire to it (14). O ye leading Kshatryas, if they had given up their life quietly in that conflagration considering it a forest fire we would have considered them humbled. We blame Janārddana because he fought against us (15). As the matters have now stood it appears that wherever we shall go we will pick up a quarrel. Let us, therefore, O king, contract friendship with Krishna (16). Besides, Krishna has not come to this city of Kundina for picking up a quarrel. He has come for the maiden. Why should he fight with another (17)? Krishna is not an ordinary human being. He is the foremost of men in this land of mortals, the foremost of gods in the land of celestials. He is the Deity and the Creator of the worlds. In God there is no malice, pride or crookedness (18–19). They are not stupified, they do not grow lean and are not visited by any calamity. They always remove the calamities of those who bow unto them. In order to show his true form, Vishnu, the king of gods has come here with Garuda. You should also know that Krishna never goes with his army to slay his enemies. That he has come here accompanied by the leading Bhojas, Vrishnis, Andhakas and Yadavas indicates his desire of contracting friendship with you (20–22). Therefore, O kings, let us go and offer the high-souled Keshava hospitality with arghya and water to rinse his mouth (23). What more, if we make peace with Keshava we shall be able to live freed from anxiety and fear" (24).
Hearing the words of the intelligent Dantavakra, Sālwa, the foremost of speakers, said to the kings (25).
Salwa said:—"What is the use of this fear? Had we trembled in Krishna's fear and thought it proper to make peace with him, we would have left our weapons at that time (26). Besides what is the necessity of speaking ill of our own army and extolling another? Such is not the duty of the Kshatriya kings (27). We are all born in great royal families and have glorified our respective races. Why should then our sense be poorly like that of a coward (28)? I know Devaki's son Krishna as the immortal, eternal, Prime Deity Vishnu, invincible unto the kings, powerful, adored of all the worlds, Vaikuntha and the preceptor of the entire world, mobile and immobile (29-30). I know full well all the objects of Vishnu. He has in view, for incarnating a portion of His Self, the destruction of king Kansa, the relieving of the earth of her burden, our destruction and the protection of the worlds. (I know also) that a great battle will take place between Vishnu and all the kings (31–32). O kings, I know truly that consumed by the fire of his discus we will go to the abode of Yama. Still considering that no one meets with untimely death, no one survives when the proper time comes and the lease of his life runs out in due time; therefore a man should not entertain fear (33–34). When the ascetic virtue of the Daityas is annihilated the Divine Vishnu, conversant with Yoga, brings about their destruction in proper time (35). This Lord of gods sent down Virochona's son, the highly powerful Bali, to the nether region (36). O kings, Vishnu has performed many other feats like this; you should not therefore question the subject of fighting—for Vishnu has not come here to fight. Besides he, whom the maiden will choose, will get her. What chance is there of a quarrel amongst the kings? Let us all be reconciled now (37-38)".
Vaishampāyana said:—The intelligent kings thus spoke amongst themselves. But king Bhishmaka did not say any thing out of regard for his son (39).
He knew his own son to be highly-powerful, elated with pride, fearful in battle, a mighty car-warrior and well protected by Bhārgava weapons (40).
Bhishmaka said:—"My son is highly powerful and is ever arrogant. He does not fear any one in battle and he won’t stoop before Krishna (41). If Krishna carries away the maiden by the strength of his arms forsooth a great dissension will take place amongst the powerful warriors (42). Alas, how will this my son, evil disposed towards Krishna, survive? I do not see any means of his escaping with his life, from Keshava (43). Alas, how shall I, for my daughter, set my eldest son, the enhancer of the joy of the departed manes, in fight against Keshava and his son (44). My son Rukshavan, elated with pride and possessed by ignorance, who does not return from the battle-field, does not pray for boons from Nārāyana (45). Forsooth he will be consumed like cotton thrown into fire. The heroic king of Karavira Shrigāla was in no time consumed by the powerful Keshava, fighting in various ways. While living in Vrindavana, the powerful Keshava held up the mount Govardhana with one finger for seven days. Remembering his superhuman feat my mind is drooping (46-48). Coming on the mount (Govardhana) along with all the gods, Sachi's lord (Indra), the slayer of Vitra, sprinkled Krishna and recognised him as Upendra (his younger brother) (49). The dreadful Nāga Kālya, burning in the fire of his poison and effulgent like Death, was subdued by Vasudeva in the lake of Yamunā, The highly powerful horse-shaped Dānava Keshi, irrepressible even unto the gods, was slain by him. Killing the demon of Panchajana he brought back from the abode of Yama Sāndipani’s son who was lost in water for ever (50–52). Fighting with many on the mount Gomanta both Rāma and Keshava destroyed many horses and cars and struck terror into their enemies (53). There those two highly powerful sons of Vasudeva brought about the destruction of the elephants through elephants, that of the car-warriors through car-warriors, that of the cavalry through cavalry and that of the infantry through infantry (54). The way in which they destroyed the elephants, horses and cars in that battle, none amongst the gods, Asuras, Gandharvas, Yakshas, Uragas, Rākshasas, Nāgas, Daityas, Pichāsas, Guhyakas has been able to imitate. Thinking of that battle my mind is greatly drooping (55–56). I had never seen before on earth a man more powerful than Vāsudeva the foremost of the celestials nor have I heard that such a man was ever born in the land of immortals (57). Truly has the mighty-armed king Dantavakra said that we should reconciliate the highly powerful Vāsudeva for our well-being" (58).
Vaishampāyana said:—Having thus thought, in his mind, over the weakness and strength of the respective armies Bhismaka felt a desire to go to eternal Krishna for propitiating him (59). Many a king, proficient in the Science of Polity, approved of his going, and he too, having benedictory songs sung by panegyrists and bards, set out (69). After the expiration of the night all the kings, performing their morning rites, sat in their respective quarters (61). The spies, who were sent to the city of Vidarbha, returned and communicated every thing secretly to their master (62). Hearing of Krishna’s Abhisekha[1] from their emissaries, some amongst those kings attained to delight and others were stricken with fear and sorrow. And many paid no attention to it. Thus moved by the (news of) Krishna's Abhisheka the army of the kings, abounding in men, horses and elephants, was agitated like a huge ocean and divided into three divisions (64). Marking the division of the kings, the foremost of kings Bhismaka began to think within himself about the unthought-of insult offered to them by him. And in order to be informed of their object he, with a burning heart, went to their assembly. In the meantime carrying on their heads the letter announcing Krishna Abhisheka, the emissaries, despatched by Kaishika, entered into that ocean-like assembly of the kings (64–67).
[1] The literal meaning of the word is bathing or sprinkling. It is often used for initiation, royal unction &c. sprinkling with the water of the Ganges, or water in which various articles have been immersed being an essential part of the rite. Here it means a religious ceremony which includes the presentation of a variety of articles, fruits, jems &c. along with water or fluid substance for the bathing of the deities to whom worship is offered.
Source: https://archive.org/details/AProseEnglishTranslationOfHarivamsh
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