Canto 7 - The Slaying of Rishbha 'Rakshasa'

1. Later on, Jarasandha, the son of Brihadratha when naturally inherited the ancestral kingdom from his father, was excited like the water in a small puddle.

2. Whatever he had been learning from his childhood from professors, led him to practice them in order to acquire proficiency and expertise in the art of morality.

3. Accordingly, he was given training in different activities and the art of ruling the kingdom. He became expert to be called the master of all arts and as such acquired unforeseen expertise in the arts of morality. Like the moon he grew more and more perfect as the moon of the full moon day to shine brightest amongst the stars.^[1]

4. He became highly wonderful and extremely skillful in giving unexpected blows to his foes, he became an unforeseen expert in duel fighting and established himself as the greatest warrior. He was considered the strongest man in the world.

5. He had unusual and unparalleled prowess and sagacity in politics. He was friendly to the devotee of god on the earth, that is, he loved those who loved their country and mother earth. In return, he was loved by one and all, young and old alike with his good deeds and valourous actions!^[2]

6. The king was considered God on earth whom all worshipped with all respect and reverence and praised him wholeheartedly as though he were God Himself! They worshipped him with utmost love and honoured themselves by bestowing various gifts on him with utmost happiness and love. He received the kings with utmost respect and reverence and gave them gifts of love!

7. The king offered feast with special sweetmeats that were so alluring even to those who do not like sweets at all. He behaved in the most tender hearted way to all other kings. The king offered love and respect through the feast despite their offering nothing to him from their heart!^[3]

8. As mentioned before, Jarasandha was excited since he was bubbling with his youthful spirit. Brihadratha concentrated on his son’s youthful qualities. The son followed the instructions of his father to the letter and spirit!^[4]

9. The king, having been influenced by the sages, was known as the beloved of the wise. He praised the prince, his son as the beloved of the sages but also of his subjects, who esteemed him as the man of sterling qualities.^[5]

10. His qualities of head and heart won him admirers from sages to the subjects. The subjects noticed that the King praised his son, even they wished to step into his shoes in praising him as they were also impressed by prince’s qualities of head and heart. They received the king’s approval through the glow of his eyes.

11. The wise, who had witnessed the deeds and actions of Jarasandha could evaluate him as a successful ruler as they were thoroughly convinced in the matter. As such, they praised him to the skies and showered their sincere and wholehearted blessings on him!^[6]

12. Brihadratha’s enemies noticed that his son’s fame and name were growing minute by minute. They began burning with utmost jealousy in the heart of their hearts. They could also foresee his bright future and hence they became all the more jealous.^[7]

13. He ruled the people of Magadha to the satisfaction and happiness of one and all, none of their hearts’ desires remained unfulfilled. The king never showed indifference to his people when they approached him for help. They never returned uncared for and unattended to.

14. The forests surrounding Magadha were densely populated by the wild animals and as such became impenetrable. It was always resounded with the terrible roaring of the lions and also infected by the most poisonous king cobras. Thus entire forest area gave impression to humans that the world was coming to an end with impending danger around.^[8]

15. The trees on the high mountains seemed continually worried since they were shaken to the roots by the hurricanes that made the trees on the aweinspiring mountains bestow the impression of a terrible terrain.^[9]

16. This tall and huge mountainous terrain presented the impression of huge bulls to some rogue night-walkers, who spent their nights there and gorged on the animals there. But the animals roaming around had abandoned their fear. The dichotomy of this forest life is that the animals abandoned their fear and had their food to their fill without any fear, but they were gorged by the nightwalkers!^[10]

17. There in the dense forest, Jarasandha was in his composed stature. He started, as usual, for hunting in the company of his youthful friends bubbling with enthusiasm, despite his having reverence for Brahmins and enjoying their love.^[11]

18. Jarasandha was addicted to the hunting of the deer, especially the rare black ones i.e. 'Krishnasaram' and the golden deer 'Kanchanam' which had become dear to him. These deers were available for hunting only they were lost in roaming in the terrible paths of the wilderness and mountainous terrain.^[12]

19. This man of stupendous strength killed many a wild animal on the mountain terrain and in the forest with hundreds of keen arrows that touched the target unfailing. The animals went about in this wild sanctuary quite freely without any fear. The heroic hobby in the days of yore, was to go on hunting which Jarasandha enjoyed fully in the company of the friends of his own age!

20. The wild animals here, roused by fear raised a shriek, all of a sudden; on hearing this night walker, were roused to the poison called wrath and roamed about in fury in the immovable mountains.

21. The night-roamers saw from the far off mountain peak that the prince was arriving into the terrible mountain terrain galloping on a horse for the purpose of hunting his own food.

22. It’s evident from the present instance of nature that enmity should be eliminated gradually, as night is dispelled by the brightness that had been hidden so far. The night walker, who was roused by hunger to wrath, noticed that night was approaching which is the time for him to be engaged in nefarious activities.^[13]

23. The demon Rishabh was roused to the utmost wrath which he expressed by stamping his feet heavily which sounded like the cyclone which shook the palaces and ordinary houses alike like the blind without any discrimination.

24. The locks of the houses were broken open in hurry, but the sound sleep of the people was undisturbed. The loving embrace of the humans was undisturbed, too.^[14]

25. He gorged in that human flesh despite it’s being prohibited from eating but he enjoyed that eating! Unattainable are the profits unprofitable. He drank human blood like a thirsty person who drinks water in excess.

26. The nightwalker thought that he would gorge on that human flesh and drink his blood to quench his thirst. He would distribute the same to others on his own mountain.^[15]

27. The pot bellied king of the demons was extremely contented with the feast that he had. He was over appeased with it and spent the night in sound sleep induced by over eating.

28. He stamped his feet on the ground, the sound of which was resounded at the mouth of the valley. There was no sound; even the mountains seemed asleep in the night. The belching sound of the nightwalker sounded like the roar of the wild animals which frightened even the mountains which became silent out of terror.^[16]

29. The king never allowed the lives of his own beloved subjects to be taken; it was not easy for him to allow them to be killed. When they saw their grief stricken master they could not help saying thus:

30. “Please do not consider yourself stricken by grief. Please take it as the test of the Almighty. We can learn from life that carking cares and corroding anxieties are given by the Lord just to test us. There’s no other purpose of cares and anxieties except to make us realize that they are meant to test man’s faith in God,

31. The nightwalkers had strong limbs to destroy others and also those who were pretty bodied and timid by nature.

32. The war between the protectors of the earth and the demons belonged not to the present but to the past. It is like innumerable elephants’ killing ants more in number! It’s the irony of fate that the demons were unsuccessful in killing the king, the divine representative!^[17]

33. Brihadratha spoke in utmost and uncontrollable anger and distress on hearing the unbearable words of his minister about the menace of the demon.

34. “It’s known to me that many an animal supported by you had been killed on the Chetak mountain where the demon lived. It is to avenge me that the demon has killed my subjects.

35. It is proved that hunting animals was a waste of energy and also an act of cruelty, too. The demon said “My subjects consider your prince as a bad son since he had hunted in the domain of the demon." This was the root cause of all problems l

36. You wait even in difficulties like the proverbial rat. You have reason to be satisfied despite your difficulties. One should use brains to escape from dangers without suffering. It is not the size that matters but the way we think to get out of difficulties.

37. Having noticed that the words of his father were replete with ire and stained with anger, he immediately replied that it’s a waste to lose temper which will only lead to worries. It would be known only through experience in future.

38. In his wrath the king ordered his minister to get his army ready without any delay. On hearing this he ordered his army which was famous to be powerful.

39. Entire army got ready, decorated with armoury without delay since they were confident that the prince would take proper decision. They requested Brihadratha with utmost obedience. The subjects had implicit faith in the regime of the king and the Prince whom they considered as divine representatives on the Earth and disobedience to them is profanity for them!

40. Having closely checked the entire army, the king, along with his son, ordained strong code of conduct based on his own long standing experience. "We can see that discipline was stressed upon as essential quality of an efficient army."

41. Having been advised thus by the ministers, the king invited even Brahmins who were equally revered. When they were about to embark upon varjourney they were roused to innate erotic feelings.

42. The outlets of the city were controlled by the king the army was in possession of praiseworthy armoury. The chariots hoisted their flags of victory and started off on their journey of war to attain victory.

43. Then the demon believed only when he heard with his own ears that the army was fast approaching to occupy his place, which was unbelievable, as it never occurred before. The demon could detect in the midday that he went in to the very extreme point of wrath induced by acute hunger.

44. The demon was roused to uncontrollable ire by the hunger of the midday. He gave outward expression of the same by uprooting big trees one by one just by giving them blows with his strong and powerful hands and heaped them all up in the impenetrable forest, infested by poisonous cobras.

45. The demon looked very ferocious in his protruding teeth with their extraordinary sheen. Despite sheen, his face looked ugly and fearful. He started uprooting huge trees in his mad wrath

46. The demon started burning with the fire of enmity and as a result all the ten directions were echoed with his wrathful shrieks, which were echoed in king’s palace and fell in the ears of the King, the lover of fighting.

47. The demon, like a big tree falling from the roots, with the terrible sound of breaking, fell to the ground. His servitors terror-stricken at the sight, even started trembling.

48. The demon lost the control of his senses as the time ticked away. He went on stamping the ground with his strong feet and dug it his sharp nails of on the toes.

49. The bull among the demons and the master of innumerable servitors, is described here wearing arms, they did not know the secret behind the wrath of their master, though. The demon roared like thunder inducing terror. It was so awe inspiring that it looked as though the sky would fall to the ground.

50. The roaring of the demon was so terrible that not only the roamers in the wild but the servants of the demons too trembled in terror. Moreover, the sound of the roar was unbearable to their eardrums. As such, all of them embarked upon waging war against the demons. The terrible roar of the demon unintentionally invited the residents to wage war out of terror!

51. That was how the king of animals, the lion, came to the field and all others sped the field like the deer, the timid animal. Similarly, all in the field fled when the king of Magadha came to the field to fight his enemy. The demon immediately showed his muscle strength in his mad anger and shrieked helplessly.^[18]

52. The demon was excited with the idea of getting human flesh, as though it were a ball of delicate flowers. He imagined he could easily tackle the assault of the enemy with the help of his servants. As he noticed the king galloping, he imagined that he could easily defeat him and gorge him in quite successfully.^[19]

53. Brihadratha noticed the very sorry state of his army and was very much disconcerted and spoke to Jarasandha thus:”What a sorry state of affairs.

It appears there is no valour anymore”.

54. “Why is this demon’s audacity not a bit reduced despite his being pierced constantly by arrows, he goes on spewing venom like king cobra.”

55. Jarasandha understood his father’s words very clearly. He could see that they were dipped in the clay called ‘Doubt’. It was perhaps his father’s order that he was bound to which angered him all the more.

56. He thought over for a moment and his mind was filled with grief and gloom which incited him to aim his sharp arrows at the breast of the mean minded demon.

57. The nightwalker lost his life with a loud shriek when sharp arrows were aimed at him and pierced through his heart. There was a terrible flow of blood from his body and breathed his last within seconds.

58. There were springs of blood gushing forth every minute out of countless wounds on the body of the demon like the fountains that fall from the top of the innumerable mountains. He fell violently like a huge and rough mountain.^[20]

59. The demon’s huge body thus falling prey to the ire of Jarasandha was noted by all and he was praised as the most valorous in the entire world.

60. The king was excited by the victory he won over the demon to mark which he got the three types of kettle drums made out of the sweat-wet skin of the vanquished demon, and got them hoisted on the top of the chariot of victory while going back to his capital.

61. Three-folded kettle drums, made of sweat soaked skin of the devil, were hoisted on the chariot of Victory as the only symbol of victory of the king. The servants of the king were on the top of the chariot to show the sovereignty of the king

62. "It is certain that this word of mine will always remain in your heart as these kettle drums make the metallic sound, what other kind of welfare is required? This sound itself means welfare of the kingdom-no other kind of sound is required."

63. He reached the pinnacle of fame today on the heights of these mountains. He received not only the veneration of his subjects but also the utmost respect from the world outside. He received recognition of his subjects and the world outside for his valour in killing the ferocious demon.

64. The king, having said like that made victorious cry and entered the city along with his son. Is there not a saying that happiness is great when we achieve success in our sincere efforts?

65. The king eulogized the prowess of his own son in the battlefield. He thought it was time to look for his wife. He consulted his ministers and Brahmins in the matter of getting his son married soon. The king realized his responsibility as a father to look for a suitable wife for him now that he was strong and sagacious enough to manage himself and his kingdom.

66. The king envisioned that his son’s bride would be beautiful in figure with lotus like eyes coming from a respectable and renowned family, would marry the prince with full approval of his subjects.

67. The posture of the bride was as though she were bitten by the snake called love, that is, the god of love was dominant on every limb of her body. It was evident of her falling in love. As she was thin, her total structure was attractive and alluring the young mind. As such, she had all the attractive features of becoming the wife of a young and valorous prince.

68. Jarasandha, thus enjoyed his bubbling youth and the sight of his would be enough to attract his wife. Even Brihadratha cast his looks on the bride of his son and was elated at the sight. The bride of Jarasandha was endowed with a beautiful figure and lovely looks to attract the attention of the onlookers, leaving alone stealing the heart of Jarasandha, the prince.

69. One day the king of Magadha cast a look at the delicate and peaceful face of his beloved grandson at the auspicious moment in the morning and was very much pleased. There were tears of joy tripping from his eyes.

70. Whatever was predicted about the fate of his grandson by those who could foresee the future, had predicted that the young man would be leading a very perfect life which made him extremely happy since he was the root cause of the growth of his clan.

71. The kingdom of Jarasandha was endowed with plenty and prosperity. He performed the duty of a householder and looked after his subjects to make them happy. But he was not very much pleased with his dearest grandson being a weakling. He had doubts about his seriousness when he would become the king in future

72. The king was extremely happy with the qualities of his son’s head and heart, and his ability to rule over the kingdom. He was delighted to see his own image in his son in the sharpness of his intellect and in his skill to rule over the kingdom.

73. The songs were sung in praise of his son’s victory. Though the senior king was pleased by his own son’s performance as king, he was indifferent to his grandson’s playfulness.

74. The king discussed, as per rules, the matter of the crowning of his own son, the prince, with the ministers and decided. Gradually he got peace of mind in watching his moon like face and getting drowned in the waters of love.

75. Then the king, along with hundreds of Brahmins, anointed his son, the prince with utmost pleasure and dedicated the self sufficient kingdom unto him. And then he, with his two wives, left for the forest in the company of great sages, to spend the rest of his life in penance.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Accordingly, in different activities and arts he was given training to rule ever since he was young. He has become expert in all arts to be called as the Master artist of all arts! Like the moon he grew more and more perfect as the moon of the full moon day to shine brightest amongst the stars. There are similes that describe the heroic qualities of Jarasandha through similes.

[2]:

The theory of Divinity of kingship was prevalent in the days of the Mahabharata which is given expression here. The theory of Divinity of kingship authorises that the king is the representative of God on earth–‘bhudeva’ and obeisance to him was mandatory and going against the king was considered going against God. The king, in return, considered his subjects as his own since Rajabhakti was mandatory. As such, absolute faith in the king was warranted of the subjects in a kingdom for smooth running governance!

[3]:

He gave to all without expecting anything from them in return. The heroic qualities of Jarasandha are highlighted in the last two verses, his “Dheerodatta” character is highlighted in these stanzas, though. The purpose of the tragic hero is to win the hearts of all to intensify the feelings of tragedy.

[4]:

Jarasandha’s father guided his all round development and the son followed his father’s advice to the letter since he was an obedient son. The friendly relationship between Jarasandha and his father is revealed here.

[5]:

They had the least doubt in considering him the best of men. Jarasandha’s relationship with his father was that of a friend based on mutual understanding!

[6]:

The all round appreciation that Jarasandha could win from the wise is highlighted here.

[7]:

Jarasandha’s impending tragic end is indicated in the ever growing qualities of his head and heart only incited jealousy in the hearts of his enemies.

[8]:

The description of the forest with all its wild animals and poisonous cobras shows that the Magadha kingdom I was impenetrable to the enemy.

[9]:

The area surrounded by hundreds of big and small mountains and hills, presented a glorified and terrific look!! The scenery, on the whole, inspired awe in the hearts of the viewers

[10]:

This stanza contains the description of the awe inspiring aspect of nature.

[11]:

Jarasandha fulfilled his kshatriya dharma in hunting animals as a sport despite his having reverence to the wise Brahmins who were against animal killing.

[12]:

Jarasandha was choosy in his hunting. He never killed ordinary animals. That was his royal taste, indeed.

[13]:

We have symbolic description of nature to associate the night for sinful activities with the nightwalker’s wrath.

[14]:

The scene of the cyclone created by the wrath of Jarasandha, is described here -no harm is intended to the common man, he is safe, despite a tumultuous tempest caused by the hero’s wrath.

[15]:

The brutality of the night walker is highlighted in these lines.

[16]:

We can perceive the baneful influence of the supernatural on the natural

[17]:

The futility of the fight of the 'rakshasas' (demons) against the king, is pointed out in this stanza. The anointed king and his soldiers were like elephants and the demons are like ants which can easily be crushed by the mighty elephants which were greater in number and stronger in might.

[18]:

The simile of the hunt and hunted is beautiful, indeed!

[19]:

Such were his demonic thoughts! The simile of the ball of flowers is appropriate to describe a human in the hands of a demon, in the last shloka is very beautiful.

[20]:

There is a skilful use of appropriate similes to describe the rough stature of the demon and his innumerable wounds from which blood was gushing forth like the water from the waterfalls.