Bhagavada Vahini - Chapter 17

[Guest guest]

Bhagavada Vahini by Sathya Sai Baba

 

Chapter 17

Vyasa's Voice that Heals - Recalling the Bygone Days

 

Emperor Parikshith journeyed in state over the entire Indian

continent, acquainting himself with the administrative excellence of

the rule of his grandfathers, with the unique relationship which they

had established between themselves and Lord Krishna who had then come

down on earth as Man, listening to the experiences of many a saint

and scholar who lived in those halcyon days, and reflecting on those

cheering memories, as he travelled along. Often he was overcome with

remorse at the thought that he was not alive during those days when

the grandparents were in such heavenly bliss.

 

Vyasa's Voice that Heals

 

While thus immersed in the joy of recollecting the annals of his

forefathers and the glory of those bygone days with Krishna, Vyasa,

the great sage, appeared before him quite unexpectedly; he welcomed

him with great honour and seated him on an elevated seat. The sage

praised the rule of Parikshith and said that he was reminded of the

reign of the Pandavas. The young king listened reverentially to his

talk. After some time, Vyasa said, " Son, I must be going now " . But

Parikshit said, " It is like placing a dish of delicacies before a

starving man and just when he is about to stretch his hand towards

it, dragging it away from his grasp. Your accounts of the adventures

of my grandfathers and of the splendour of Sri Krishna are like the

most precious gems spread out before me; but, you cause the most

painful disappointment to me by refusing to let me have them. Your

leaving me just now makes me feel desperately sorry " .

 

He pleaded with the sage to stay a little longer. " Tell me on what

mission you have come. Be with me for some more time and assuage the

hunger that is gnawing me. I missed the great good fortune that my

grandparents had to spend their lives with the Lord Himself. I shall

save myself from decline, at least by listening to their exploits and

their devotion which drew upon them His Grace.

 

Seeing the King who prayed in great earnestness and humility, Vyasa

said, " Son do not feel that you are in any way inferior or less

endowed with good fortune. I declare that no one else had such good

fortune as you earned. For, you drew upon yourself the Grace of the

Lord, the moment you were born. The Lord, Vasudeva, gave you the

breath of life; He raised you in His arms and played with you, while

you were yet a baby. You too stuck to Him so close that you scarce

kept aloof. Your youngest grandfather, Sahadeva, had to pluck you by

force from Krishna and hand you over to the women in the inner halls.

You were named ceremonially by Vasudeva Himself. What a memorable

scene it was! You showed us that you were a wonderful child; you

followed with your eyes the Lord wherever He moved, whichever side He

turned. You were intent on " pariksha " (finding out) where He was, as

no one else was in that hall that day. Krishna hid Himself very

cleverly behind pillars and tried various means of diverting your

attention away from Him; but, you proved too clever even for Him!

Your eyes were searching for Him alone; they saw only Him and His

splendid Form.

 

All of us who were then present were wonderstruck at your devotion

and concentration. It appeared as if you were examining each face and

trying to find out whether it was Krishna's; your face fell when you

saw it was not; it blossomed when your eyes saw Him and Him only.

Scholars and simple folks, ryots and rajahs, realised that you were a

remarkable child. That is the reason why, when your grandfather

Dharmaraja prayed to Him to give you an appropriate name, He named

you after your strange behavious, Parikshith (he who examines, he who

tries to find out).

 

When the Lord announced this name to Dharmaraja, in the hearing of

that vast gathering of courtiers and scholars and sages, they all

applauded, saying, " Very apt, excellent, fine " . " Being so richly

favoured by fortune it is not meet that you should condemn yourself

as unlucky. You were fondled by the Lord; He played with you and

watched your gambols; He gave you your name. How few earn this

fortune! Do not consider these just common gifts of Grace " .

 

Tears of joy welled from the eyes of Parikshith at these words. He

had a question rising up from his throat, but, Vyasa saw him

swallowing it and so he patted him on the shoulder and encouraged him

to ask it. " Son, it looks as if you desire to put some query to me.

Ask without hesitation, do not quail " . Taking courage from this

prompting, Parikshith said, " Worthy master! Man cannot know the value

of either joy or grief, unless he is aware of them. The joyful

contacts of which you spoke now were awarded me when I was scarcely

aware of the bliss inherent in them. Real joy can be tasted only when

one is conscious of its value. If a child is given a billion-rupee

diamond, it will only deal with it as a lump of glass. The happiness

of being with the Lord, which you say I had in my childhood, is as in-

effective as the joy experienced in past births. I did not know then

what precious moments they were. Had I known it, were I capable of

knowing it, I could have treasured that joy for ever. Now it is all

mere inference. I have no ocular proof of the Grace of the Lord which

I received then; so, I depend now on auricular proof only. So, please

tell me of the greatness and glory of Krishna; let my ears drink the

nectar of those stories " .

 

Vyasa was moved by his entreaty; he agreed. " Son, do you consider His

leelas to be just one or two? How can I relate to you His leelas

which are beyond one's capacity to enumerate. So, ask about what He

did in connection with some particular person, or during some

particular incident or situation; I shall gladly tell you all the

details " . Parikshith was elated at this; he begged him with folded

hands, " Master! Tell me how this great attachment between my

grandparents and Lord Krishna was born. "

 

Vyasa burst into laughter. " Son, your earnestness surprises me much.

For, only such earnest individuals can get Jnana; I am delighted that

you have this deep yearning. So, I shall tell you what you have asked

for. Listen! " Saying this, Vyasa made himself comfortable in his

seat; Parikshith, too, got ready to hear, with a heart that was

blossoming with joy and ears that widened in the ambition to learn.

 

" Son! King Drupada grew anxious to give his only daughter in marriage

to a suitable groom but, could not succeed in securing one, in spite

of the most diligent search. So, he announced a Swayamvara (festival

for choice of Bridegroom) and, kings of great might and majesty

assembled in his capital, along with scholars endowed with charming

personality, all eager to wed the princess whose beauty was

unexcelled in the three worlds. They were all proud of their wealth

and valour, for they felt they could win her by those attainments.

 

In that assembly hall, the king had fixed a contrivance on a pillar.

It was a wheel revolving fast, a wheel that was reflected in a sheet

of water, below the pillar on which it turned. The wheel had a 'fish'

tied on it: the competitors for the hand of the princess were asked,

one by one, to come forward and, drawing the bow looking at the

reflection, shoot at the fish target up above. Drupada announced his

intention to give away his daughter in marriage to whomsoever hit the

target, so prepared. The city was full of princes and kings who had

arrived to try their hands at this unique festival of bowmanship.

 

News of this festival reached the ears of your grandparents who had

then assumed the role of Brahmins, to mislead the wily Kauravas. They

felt at first that they should not come out in the open on that

occasion; but, Arjuna, your grandfather, was able to persuade his

brothers to attend the festival of valour, for, as he said, no

Kshatriya should stay away when bowmen compete for a worthy prize.

 

Thus it happened that the five brothers sat among the assembly, in

the garb of Brahmins, like a group of lions, casting a halo of

heroism around; all eyes were drawn towards the place where they sat;

people commented on their presence, many in admiration, some in

derision; some praised them as champions, some laughed at them as

prize fighters or cooks. The whispers aroused by them spread all

round.

 

Lord Krishna had come for that festival. His eyes were fixed on

Arjuna all the time; this was noticed by his brother, Balarama, who

spoke, something to his brother. At last, the Swayamvara contest

began; one by one, the candidates proceeded to the shadow seen in the

water and aimed the arrow at the 'fish' rotating above. They failed

and returned pale with humiliation. They walked back to their seats,

heavy with disappointment and shame, and sat sunk in sorrow.

 

Krishna had no intention to rise and have a try at the target, for,

He sat quiet in His own place. If He had that intention, He could

have quite easily hit the 'fish' and won. But, who can gauge the

depths of His mind?

 

Just then, Arjuna rose and proceeded towards the 'contrivance',

casting a lightning flash of brilliance over the assembly by the

heroic aura of his personality. Droupadi, the princess, lifted her

head and watched him in admiration. Her mind merged in that flash of

light. In an instant, Arjuna's arrow split the 'fish'; he won. The

applause of the gathering rose to the skies. The princess came

forward and wedded him, placing a garland of flowers around his neck

and holding his hand.

 

When Arjuna emerged from the Hall holding the hand of the bride, the

horde of defeated kings and princes yelled that the rules of the

contest were broken, since a Brahmin who had no right to compete in

bowmanship was allowed to participate and declared the winner. They

fell on your grand father, in an angry clump. But, Bhima pulled out a

huge tree by its roots and whirled it at the crowd of foiled kings.