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At the end of Āraṇyakaparvan chapter 36, Bhīma suggests that they should consider their exile complete and prepare for battle because they have lived in the forest for thirteen months, and a month can be synonymous with a year.
At the end of Āraṇyakaparvan chapter 36, Bhīma suggests that they should consider their exile complete and prepare for battle because they have lived in the forest for thirteen months, and a month can be synonymous with a year.
When Virāṭa hits Yudhiṣṭhira in the face with a die, and makes his nose bleed, we find out that Bṛhannaḍā = Arjuna had sworn this pratijñā: whoever wounds Kaṅka = Yudhiṣṭhira or sheds his blood, except in battle, will surely not live!
To prevent Arjuna from fulfilling this pratijñā by slaying Virāṭa and destroying his kingdom, Yudhiṣṭhira cupped his hands to catch the blood before it could touch the ground, Kṛṣṇā Draupadī collected the blood in a golden brass bowl, and Bṛhannaḍā was made to wait outside.
Thus, by thwarting Arjuna's pratijñā, the Pāṇḍavas avoided conflict with Virāṭa and made him their ally.
Kṛṣṇā Draupadī's now-famous vow to leave her hair loose until she has been avenged is not found in the critical edition. In Udyogaparvan, her hair is described as mṛdu-saṃhāraṃ, gently gathered, when she shows it to Kṛṣṇa Vāsudeva, reminding him that Duḥśāsana had grabbed it.
Instead, Kṛṣṇā vows (Sabhāparvan 71.19-20):
yatkṛte'ham imāṃ prāptā teṣāṃ varṣe caturdaśe
hata-patyo hata-sutā hata-bandhu-jana-priyāḥ
bandhu-śoṇita-digdh'āṅgyo mukta-keśyo rajasvalāḥ
evaṃ kṛt'odakā nāryaḥ pravekṣyanti gaj'āhvayam
In the fourteenth year, the women of those who brought me to this (condition) will have their husbands killed, their sons killed, their family-folk and dear ones killed. Their limbs smeared with their family's blood, their hair loose, menstruating, even thus those women will offer water and enter the elephant-named (Hāstinapura).
Kṛṣṇā opposes any peaceful resolution and ultimately fulfils her vow through the war, believing that it is dharma. Ironically, Kṛṣṇā is unable to enjoy the long-awaited spectacle, and it is the mother of her slain enemies who has to console her, because Kṛṣṇā's own brothers and sons are slain on the night after the war is won.
In Sabhāparvan, Bhīma vows to drink Duḥśāsana's blood, smash Duryodhana's left thigh with his gadā, and step on his head.
Later playwrights imagined two more vows by Bhīma:
1. to smear Duryodhana's blood on Kṛṣṇā's hair before gathering it into a braid (Bhaṭṭa-Nārāyaṇa's play Veṇī-saṃhāra)
2. to kick Duryodhana's crown (Bāṇa's lost play Mukuṭa-tāḍita)
Bhīma fulfils all of these vows without equivocation, no matter what anyone else says about dharma.
On the thirteenth night of war, Arjuna swears a long pratijñā (twenty verses) to slay Jayadratha before sunset (Droṇaparvan 51.20-39).
satyaṃ vaḥ pratijānāmi śvo'smi hantā Jayadratham
na ced vadha-bhayād bhīto Dhārtarāṣṭrān prahāsyati
I swear to you truly, tomorrow I'll kill Jayadratha unless he, afraid with fear of being slain, abandons Dhṛtarāṣṭra's sons.
na c'āsmāñ śaraṇaṃ gacchet Kṛṣṇaṃ vā puruṣ'ottamam
bhavantaṃ vā mahārāja! śvo'smi hantā Jayadratham
And if he doesn't take refuge with us, or with Kṛṣṇa the supreme being, or with you, great King! tomorrow, I'll kill Jayadratha.
Dhārtarāṣṭra-priyakaraṃ mayi vismṛta-sauhṛdam
pāpaṃ bāla-vadhe hetuṃ śvo'smi hantā Jayadratham
He does what Dhṛtarāṣṭra's sons want, and has forgotten goodwill to me, that wicked cause of a child's death - tomorrow, I'll kill Jayadratha.
rakṣamāṇāś ca taṃ saṃkhye ye māṃ yotsyanti ke cana
api Droṇa-Kṛpau vīrau chādayiṣyāmi tāñ śaraiḥ
Whoever protects him in battle and fights with me, whoever they may be, even the valiant Droṇa and Kṛpa, I'll cover them with arrows.
yady etad evaṃ saṃgrāme na kuryāṃ puruṣa-rṣabhāḥ
mā sma puṇyakṛtāṃ lokān prāpnuyāṃ śūra-saṃmatān
If I don't do this just so in the war, bulls among people! may I truly not reach the rebirths of those who do well, approved by the brave.
ye lokā mātṛ-hantṝṇāṃ ye c'āpi pitṛ-ghātinām
guru-dāra-gāmināṃ ye ca piśunānāṃ ca ye tathā
sādhūn asūyatāṃ ye ca ye c'āpi parivādinām
ye ca nikṣepa-hartṝṇāṃ ye ca viśvāsa-ghātinām
bhukta-pūrvāṃ striyaṃ ye ca nindatām agha-śaṃsinām
brahmaghnānāṃ ca ye lokā ye ca goghātinām api
pāyasaṃ vā yav'ānnaṃ vā śākaṃ kṛsaram eva vā
saṃyāv'āpūpa-māṃsāni ye ca lokā vṛthā'śnatām
tān ahn'aiv'ādhigaccheyaṃ na ced dhanyāṃ Jayadratham
The rebirths of those who kill their mothers, and of those who murder their fathers, of those who consort with elders' wives, and also of those who are disloyal, of those who envy decent people and of those who slander, of those who steal deposits, of those who betray trust, of those who first enjoy a woman and then censure her by revealing sin, the rebirths of those who kill brāhmaṇas, and of those who kill cows, of those who eat milk-pudding, barley-grains, leafy vegetables, or even gruel, cakes, dumplings, and meats without consecration - may I proceed there within a day if I don't kill Jayadratha!
ved'ādhyāyinam atyarthaṃ saṃśitaṃ vā dvij'ottamam
avamanyamāno yān yāti vṛddhān sādhūṃs tathā gurūn
And where one goes by disrespecting a Veda-student, or an extraordinarily disciplined, excellent twice-born brāhmaṇa, or old people, decent people, and elders.
spṛśatāṃ brāhmaṇaṃ gāṃ ca pāden'āgniṃ ca yāṃ labhet
yā'psu śleṣma purīṣaṃ vā mūtraṃ vā muñcatāṃ gatiḥ
tāṃ gaccheyaṃ gatiṃ ghorāṃ na ced dhanyāṃ Jayadratham
The fate that they may attain who touch a brāhmaṇa, a cow, or fire with the foot, or who discharge mucus or feces or urine into water - may I go to that terrible fate if I don't kill Jayadratha!
nagnasya snāyamānasya yā ca vandhy'ātither gatiḥ
utkocināṃ mṛṣo'ktīnāṃ vañcakānāṃ ca yā gatiḥ
ātm'āpahāriṇāṃ yā ca yā ca mithyā'bhiśaṃsinām
bhṛtyaiḥ saṃdṛśyamānānāṃ putra-dār'āśritais tathā
asaṃvibhajya kṣudrāṇāṃ yā gatir mṛṣṭam aśnatām
tāṃ gaccheyaṃ gatiṃ ghorāṃ na ced dhanyāṃ Jayadratham
The fate of one who is naked while bathing, of one whose guest is frustrated, the fate of those bribed, of those whose speeches deceive, of those who cheat, of those who misrepresent themselves, of those who falsely advertise, also of those who are fully visible to their dependents to whom their children and wives resort, the fate of those who eat pure food without sharing with the poor - may I go to that terrible fate if I don't kill Jayadratha!
saṃśritaṃ vā'pi yas tyaktvā sādhuṃ tadvacane ratam
na bibharti nṛśaṃs'ātmā nindate c'opakāriṇam
arhate prātiveśyāya śrāddhaṃ yo na dadāti ca
anarhate ca yo dadyād vṛṣalī-patyur eva ca
madyapo bhinna-maryādaḥ kṛtaghno bhrātṛ-nindakaḥ
teṣāṃ gatim iyāṃ kṣipraṃ na ced dhanyāṃ Jayadratham
Or even the cruel-natured one who abandons his follower, a decent person satisfied with his orders, doesn't maintain him, and censures his benefactor, and the one who doesn't give śrāddha to a neighbour as he should, and the one who may give it where he shouldn't, even for a disreputable woman's husband, the drunkard who crosses limits, the ungrateful brother-censurer - may I go to their fates promptly if I don't kill Jayadratha!
dharmād apetā ye c'ānye mayā n'ātr'ānukīrtitāḥ
ye c'ānukīrtitāḥ kṣipraṃ teṣāṃ gatim avāpnuyām
yadi vyuṣṭām imāṃ rātriṃ śvo na hanyāṃ Jayadratham
Any others who stray from dharma, but weren't mentioned by me here, and those that I mentioned - may I promptly reach their fate if this night reaches daybreak and tomorrow I don't kill Jayadratha!
imāṃ c'āpy aparāṃ bhūyaḥ pratijñāṃ me nibodhata
yady asminn ahate pāpe sūryo'stam upayāsyati
ih'aiva saṃpraveṣṭā'haṃ jvalitaṃ jāta-vedasam
Also, listen again to this other vow from me: if the sun sets while this wicked one isn't killed, right here I shall enter a burning fire, whose property is whatever is born.
asura-sura-manuṣyāḥ pakṣiṇo v'oragā vā
pitṛ-rajanicarā vā brahma-devarṣayo vā
caram acaram ap'īdaṃ yat paraṃ c'āpi tasmāt
tad api mama ripuṃ taṃ rakṣituṃ n'aiva śaktāḥ
Asuras, Suras, and humans, or winged ones, or snakes, or forefathers and night-roamers, or brāhmaṇa sages and divine sages, even this animate and inanimate world, and even what is beyond it, even they are surely unable to protect that enemy of mine.
yadi viśati rasātalaṃ tad agryaṃ
viyad api devapuraṃ diteḥ puraṃ vā
tad api śara-śatair ahaṃ prabhāte
bhṛśam abhipatya ripoḥ śiro'bhihartā
Whether he enters that finest underworld-base or the sky, even a divine city or Diti's city, even then, in the morning, I will attack forcefully with hundreds of arrows and snatch off my enemy's head.
This speech is remarkable for its attention to dharma. Arjuna begins his pratijñā with allowances for Jayadratha to remain alive. Jayadratha could simply back out from the war (as he promptly tries to do). Arjuna is willing to pardon Jayadratha if he asks, or even if either Kṛṣṇa or Yudhiṣṭhira is honour-bound to protect him from Arjuna. Arjuna is very brief about his reasons to kill Jayadratha, and we have to guess what he means. In contrast with that brevity, Arjuna lists all kinds of traitors and ingrates who fail to observe dharma with their benefactors, and wishes their penalty upon himself if he fails to kill Jayadratha. Notably, Arjuna never says that he deserves the penalty if he fails to avenge Abhimanyu. Instead, the implication of his speech seems to be that Jayadratha is guilty of treachery and ingratitude to Arjuna, and if Arjuna leaves Jayadratha unpunished, Arjuna will incur Jayadratha's sin.
The first accusation, Dhārtarāṣṭra-priyakaraṃ - Jayadratha does what Dhṛtarāṣṭra's sons want, could apply to everyone on the other side, including Droṇa and Kṛpa who had helped to kill Abhimanyu. It only deserves mention if Jayadratha was wrong to side with his wife's brothers. Perhaps Jayadratha, having been released from slavery by Yudhiṣṭhira after an offense that deserved the death penalty even if he begged for mercy (Āraṇyakaparvan 255.46), shouldn't have been fighting against the Pāṇḍavas at all. However, when the Pāṇḍavas themselves had been released from slavery by Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Duryodhana with his brothers, Śakuni, and Karṇa had been released from slavery to the Gandharvas, does it make sense to single out Jayadratha as an ingrate? Refusing to accept defeat and returning to fight another day wasn't unethical; it was an ideal of kṣatriya dharma. Nevertheless, the second accusation, mayi vismṛta-sauhṛdam - he has forgotten goodwill to me, implies that Arjuna expected gratitude from Jayadratha, whose life he had saved when Bhīma was beating him. Unlike the other enslaved enemies, Jayadratha owed his life, not just his freedom, to the man whose son he trapped. That could explain why Arjuna didn't vow to slay Dauḥśāsani, who had slain Abhimanyu, or Droṇa, Aśvatthāman, Kṛpa, Karṇa, and Kṛtavarman, who had joined Bṛhadbala to fight Abhimanyu six-on-one, but Arjuna decided that Jayadratha should not live another day. The third accusation, pāpaṃ bāla-vadhe hetuṃ - wicked cause of a child's death, wasn't about Jayadratha's exact role in the scheme to trap Abhimanyu. What Jayadratha did was wicked because he was the one participant who should have spared Arjuna's child.
Interesting perspectives.
What is even more interesting is the importance of Nyaya. Because Pratigya and Kartavya are personal and Nyaya is more impactful.
Let's play a game: Find the Mālinī verse in this passage!
To win this game, you have to read the above passage from Mahābhārata, in which Arjuna vows to kill Jayadratha, and send me a PM by 11:59 PM IST on Friday, November 4, 2022, with the correct answer to my question.
Question: Which verse in this passage is in the poetic metre called Mālinī?
Bonus Question: Which is the only other non-Śloka (non-Anuṣṭubh) verse in this passage? Can you name its poetic metre?
The syllabic definition of Mālinī (and that of Śloka Anuṣṭubh) can be found in the Metres of Saṃskṛta Poetry topic in the Saṃskṛta Text Discussion Forum. Any member of India Forums can auto-join this private forum.
https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/162032894
Ready? Set? Go!
Let's play a game: Find the Mālinī verse in this passage!
To win this game, you have to read the above passage from Mahābhārata, in which Arjuna vows to kill Jayadratha, and send me a PM by 11:59 PM IST on Friday, November 4, 2022, with the correct answer to my question.
Question: Which verse in this passage is in the poetic metre called Mālinī?
Bonus Question: Which is the only other non-Śloka (non-Anuṣṭubh) verse in this passage? Can you name its poetic metre?
The syllabic definition of Mālinī (and that of Śloka Anuṣṭubh) can be found in the Metres of Saṃskṛta Poetry topic in the Saṃskṛta Text Discussion Forum. Any member of India Forums can auto-join this private forum.
https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/162032894
Ready? Set? Go!
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