INDIA. treated as a model of goodness and wisdom, is in- HISTORY OF tended as an apology for the unwarlike conduct of PART II. the Brahmans themselves, or for the cowardice of some priest-ridden Raja, who had been brought under the thraldom of the Brahmans. war. racter of the manyu. The story of the death of Abhimanyu, and the Touching chatragical incidents which followed, forms, perhaps, story of Abhione of the most touching events in the history of the How far the details are mythical will be a matter of opinion; but the main story is painfully pathetic. The boy bridegroom had been cowardly overpowered and slaughtered after performing prodigies of valour; and the beauty and sweetness of his countenance in death excited the pity of all who beheld him. But the wrath of the spectators was excited not so much by the dastardly conduct of the six warriors who had surrounded the stripling, as by the malicious proceeding of Jayadratha, the ill-conditioned Raja who had endeavoured to carry off Draupadí in the jungle, and who on the present occasion obstructed the Pándavas in their efforts to rush to the rescue. Under such circumstances the vow of the bereaved father to take the life of Jayadratha becomes intelligible, and the details connected with the performance of the vow are such as might have been expected in an ancient tradition which has been more or less embellished by the bards. But there are one or two collateral scenes which are very suggestive. The combat between Savage chaBhurisrava and Sátyaki is fearfully savage. After combat between desperate struggle without weapons, Bhurisrava throws his enemy upon the ground, and drags him along by the hair, and then prepares to cut off his a racter of the Bhurisrava and head. Arjuna interferes, contrary to the laws of INDIA. PART II. kicks HISTORY OF War, and saves Sátyaki by mutilating Bhurisrava. Lastly, Sátyaki falls upon his wounded enemy, and buffets him, and then cuts off his head. Such atrocious proceedings seem to have excited both armies to madness; and led to that desperate battle by torch-light which furnishes, perhaps, the most picturesque description of hand-to-hand carnage which can be found in the history of war. Review of the death of Drona. He had The death of Drona, the venerable preceptor of the Kauravas and Pándavas, was evidently regarded as a turning-point in the great struggle. nearly vanquished the Pándavas by the slaughter of their chief allies; but he in his turn was slain by the son of one of his victims. He had defeated and put to death his ancient enemy Drupada, the Raja with whom he had been at feud when he first entered the service of Maháraja Dhritarashtra ; and it is a curious circumstance that the Pándavas had originally aided their preceptor in revenging himself upon Drupada, and had subsequently taken the daughter of Drupada to wife. Dhrishta-dyumna, the son of Drupada, swore to revenge the death of his father, and did eventually succeed in beheading Drona, as Drona had beheaded Drupada. But in the Mahá Bhárata the story of the combat between Dhrishta - dyumna and Drona is complicated by mythical details, which have apparently a two-fold object in view; namely, first to represent Drona as a Bráhman, and a faithful worshipper of Vishnu; and, secondly, to cover or conceal a treacherous lie which seems to have been told by Yudhishthira. Extraordinary The outline of these mythical additions may be in Mythical details recorded in the Mahá Blárata. account of a lie inadvertently told by Yud hishthira. dicated in a few words, and may perhaps serve as a sample of much of the religious matter which has The HISTORY OF INDIA. PART II. been grafted upon the original tradition. battle between Dhrishta-dyumna and Drona was fought with magical weapons, and gods and Rishis were amongst the spectators. Many armies came to the aid of Dhrishta-dyumna, but the martial skill of Drona, and his long and faithful worship of Vishnu, enabled him to resist every enemy. At length Krishna sugKrishna, somewhat inconsistently with his divine character, told Yudhishthira that if he would assure Drona that his son Aswattháma was dead, the old warrior would immediately lay down his arms and become an easy prey. Yudhishthira, however, gests the lie. gests a prevari utterly refused to tell a lie, even to secure the death of so powerful an enemy. Krishna then endea- Krishna sugvoured to overcome the difficulty by directing the cation.. Pándavas to slay an elephant which was named Aswattháma; as by so doing the statement that Aswattháma was dead would cease to be a lie. Bhíma accordingly killed the elephant, and then told Drona that Aswattháma was dead. But Drona was convinced that Bhíma was telling a falsehood; and in his anger he slew ten thousand cavalry and twenty thousand infantry, and would have destroyed all the armies of the Pándavas, had he not been restrained by the gods and Rishis who reminded him that he was a Bráhman. Drona, however, was still disturbed by the idea that Aswattháma might be dead, and accordingly asked Yudhishthira, who had never been known to tell a falsehood. Yudhish1- Manner in thira accordingly intended to say:-" Aswattháma thira is said to is dead; not indeed the man but the elephant." No sooner, however, had he uttered the first part of the sentence than Krishna and Arjuna sounded their war-shells with all their might, and Drona only which Yudhish have told a lie. HISTORY OF heard the words:-" Aswattháma is dead!" INDIA. Drona dies in At PART II. the same time Drona was assailed by evil omens. His left eye began to quiver, his left hand began to shake, his heart grew weak, and tears flowed from the eyes of his horse. He still, however, continued fighting until Bhíma again assured him that Aswattháma was dead. Believing now that his son was really slain, he stripped himself of his arms, and sat upon the end of his chariot cross-legged like a Yogi. He then drew up all the breath of his body into a spot in the neighbourhood of his heart, and drove it into his head, upon which the top of his skull was burst open, and his soul escaped through the orifice like a ray of the sun. Dhrishta-dyumna then rushed upon the expiring body and cut off the head. The terrible story of the revenge of Aswat tháma for the slaughter of his father will appear hereafter. Escape of his soul through his skull. 3rd, Karna's command-two days. Three important combats. By the death of Drona the Kauravas were once more deprived of their Generalissimo, and Karna was elected to succeed to the command. Karna only held this post for two days, namely, the sixteenth and seventeenth of the war; but within this brief period are crowded some of the most decisive events in the great struggle. The most important combats which took place during Karna's command were as follows: 1st, The battle between Karna and Yudhishthira. 2nd, The battle between Bhíma and Duhsá sana. 3rd, The crowning battle between Karna and Arjuna. The story of these incidents is as follows: INDIA. PART II. Election of Generalissimo of the war, and command. struggle. Now Drona had been slain in the fifth day of his com- HISTORY OF mand, and on the fifteenth day of the war; and when it was evening the Kauravas assembled together and elected Karna to be their Generalissimo in the room of Drona. Karna to be Next morning the Kauravas, commanded by Karna, again of the Kauravas. went out to battle on the plain of Kurukshetra; and there Sixteenth day was a great slaughter, and the rivers flowed with blood, and first of Karna's the whole plain was covered with corpses; and when it was Indecisive evening the battle was stayed, and the Pándavas and Kauravas returned to their respective camps. Now after nightfall Duryodhana summoned Karna, and Duhsásana, and Sakuni, and many others to Council, and said :-"This is the sixteenth day of our war with the Pándavas, and some of our greatest Captains, such as Bhishma and Drona, have been slain to our great reproach." Karna then smote his hands together, and said :-" It has so happened that the Pándavas have escaped with their lives from my attack this day, but you shall see how I will deal with them to-morrow, as well as with their army; for I have determined with my- Karna eugages self either to slay Arjuna and his brethren to-morrow, or to lay my head level with the ground." At these words Duryodhana and the other Kauravas returned with great elation of mind to their several quarters. to slay Arjuna. of the war and Karna's com On the morning of the seventeenth day, both armies Seventeenth day bathed and perfumed themselves, and arrayed themselves second of in all their splendour; and they all said to each other: mand. "This will be the great day of the war, and whoever comes out safely from this day's battle will be like one who is born again." And when both armies had been drawn up in opposite ranks, Karna ascended his chariot, and drove to the chariot of Duryodhana, and said :-"This is the day on which I will slay Arjuna, and now if I do not kill him you shall never see me again: But Arjuna has Krishna for his charioteer; and if Sálya, the Raja of Madra, will drive my chariot, I shall be certain to get the better of Arjuna, for if any one in all this army can match Krishna in driving, it is Sálya." So Raja Duryodhana went with some of his brethren to the quarters of Sálya, and Súlya was not yet Karna desires would drive his that Sálya chariot. |