Jaimineya Mahabharatha- Ashwamedhika Parva - Page 4

As they near Hastinapur, Krishna, gives instructions to the younger Yadavas on how their behaviour should be in Hastinapur. He informs them they should not expect the same luxurious life they had got used to in Dwaraka. Krishna especially stresses that intoxicants of all kinds should be avoided . He advises Pradyumna and others to show utmost respect to Yudhishthira and Kunti and asks the female members of his family to ensure that the necessary offerings are made at the time of the yagna. 

Krishna asks his entourage to camp on the banks of Yamuna while he goes ahead to meet Yudhishthira in his palace. Krishna's arrival is announced by the guards. Yudhishthira hurries to meet him. Krishna pays his respects to Yudhishthira , Vidura, Dritarashtra and Kripachrya ( who are also present there.)

A happy Arjuna touches Krishna's feet and receives his blessings as do the twins. Yudhishthira on hearing that Devaki and other Yadavas had camped outside the city rushes to receive them, beckoning Draupadi to come with him.

Yudhishthira and Draupadi cordially receive the Yadavas and respectfully fall at Devaki's feet.  

Krishna tells Yudhishthira that his mother is desirous of seeing the sacrificial horse.  

Yudhishthira gives permission and all of them go to the place where the horse was being worshipped by the priest Dhaumya.

(Stay tuned... Dhamaakedaar action follows...)

On seeing the horse being whisked away in front of his eyes, Krishna became very agitated. He knew this was a challenge thrown at him rather than Yudhishthira. Daruka brought his chariot and Krishna blew his Panchajanya. Krishna assured Yudhishthira (who by now had slipped into his panic mode) that the horse would be somehow brought back.

Krishna then holds out a Bira (a betel leaf preparation) and issues an open challenge that whosoever feels brave enough to fight Anushalva and bring the horse back should take the Bira from his hands.  

After a moments' silence both Pradyumna and Vrishketu approach Krishna and agree to take up his challenge. Krishna is happy and gives his blessings to both of them. 

Pradyumna and Vrishketu plunged headlong into the enemy ranks and began to decimate them. Anushalva, seeing the them faced Pradyumna first. After a few hot words, both of them begin fighting furiously. Pradyumna struck Anushalva with five arrows. Anushalva responded by hitting Pradyumna on the chest with several arrows. Due to the impact of the arrows, Pradyumna began to feel giddy and almost fainted on the battle field. He was brought to safety by his charioteer . Pradyumna tried to get up , but still feeling faint began to whirl around and fell down in a swoon near Krishna. 

Krishna, seeing Pradyumna in that condition, felt ashamed and became very angry. He began to lash out at his son, abusing him with the choicest words. Every one present there trembled on seeing krishna's anger and the treatment he was meting out to his son. 

Krishna continued to scold and rebuke Pradyumna saying that while Arjuna could remember his sons with pride, he (krishna) could not say the same.  Poor Pradyumna who was cowering under his father's rage and still lying on the ground could do nothing and say nothing. Bhima seeing that Krishna's anger was both unjustified and unwarranted attempted to soothe him. He recounted Pradyumna's valorous deeds in the past and explained that Pradyumna had fainted not due to fear but due to the impact of Anushalva's arrows.

Krishna cools down and Bhima departs for the battlefield where Vrishaketu is holding out on his own. 

I was curious about how Anushalva would be king of anything if his brother's kingdom was destroyed.  Also, Pradhyumna was more than a match for Shalva, but above, Anushalva had no problems defeating him?

I tend to think that in terms of military prowess, all the Yadavas were far superior to the Kurus.  Best demonstration was Satyaki destroying 100 of Drona's chariots on day 14 of the war.  Had Krishna and his sons actually fought the war on the Pandava side, they'd have overwhelmed the Kaurava elders - I doubt that even Bheeshma was much of a match for Pradhyumna, let alone the above narrative that Pradhyumna is wounded but Vrishaketu was holding out on his own.

Villi Bharatam- yes, Vyasar Virundhu -No. What is the second book about ? MB ,SB or Hari Vamsa?

I think that when judging something that took place in a different age and culture, one needs to try & avoid judging the characters by today's standards.  For instance, if you recall, in the AS Ramayan, they once put in Kaushalya's mouth the concerns and sentiments of modern women, particularly when anticipating the troubles waiting for Sita.  That sounded very anachronistic, given what the attitudes were at the time.  But Rajagopalachari is only too happy to apply his views of what's right and wrong to events as they happened in the Treta and Dwapar Yugas, and seems to miss some of the ways the culture evolved b/w then and his time.