The new king

The coronation

Soon, all the arrangements were made for the coronation of Yudhishthira as the new king of the Kurus. The consent of Dhritarashtra was taken in advance for the ritual. A golden throne was placed in the hall where such ceremonies are held. Yudhishthira and Draupadi were made to sit on that throne facing east. Krishna and Satyaki sat facing the Pandava. Bhima and Arjuna took the seats to either side of Yudhishthira. All the others sat around them in the order of priority.

Dhaumya who accompanied the Pandavas throughout their days in exile was the priest in charge. He, then, performed the rituals, sanctifying the water for the anointing ceremony. Krishna was given a gold decorated conch shell to pour the holy water on the head of the senior Pandava and his queen.

At that time drums and other auspicious musical instruments were played by the court musicians heralding the ceremony. The Brahmins chanted Vedic texts and pronounced blessings for the new king and his queen. Yudhishthira made generous gifts to all those who performed the ritual.

Assigning duties

Then Yudhishthira made his first announcement by in the hall as the new king. “I have accepted this throne only to perform my duties as per the guidance by my father (uncle), Dhritarashtra. His choices and decisions are mine, too. I request to all the citizens of this country and especially all the office bearers to pay special regards to him as the true king of the land”.

Yudhishthira, then, declared the special duties assigned to his brothers and other important persons. Bhima was made the prince apparent (yuvaraja). Arjuna was reputed for his sense of fairness and justice and he was made responsible for ensuring justice for the citizens in the country. Nakulla was a skilled warrior and an expert on horses. He was installed as the commander in chief of the Kaurava army.

Yudhishshira needed someone at his side, always ready to act on the situations that may arise. Sahadeva was made minister without portfolio, to remain with the king at all times.

Vidura was made the chief minister. Yushishthira announced. “My uncle, Vidura, shall be in charge of the six departments of the king (shadguNa), namely, that of making peace (sandhi), destroying the enemy by making war, etc. (vigraha), making tactical moves and manoevres (yana), waiting for the right opportunity to strike (Asana), playing duplicity (dwaidha) when the occasion arises and remaining subordinate to an enemy when he is stronger (Asraya)”.

Sanjaya was given the overall management of the palace. Dhaumya was made the chief priest. Kripa was given the post of the teacher of the Kurus, to instruct the young princes on all areas of warfare. Yuyulsu was given the responsibility to look after Dhritarashtra at all times.

The last rites

Dhritarashtra, then, performed the last rites of his sons. Yudhishthira conducted the necessary rituals for all the other relations killed in the war. He made generous gifts in the name of each of the princes and kings killed. He did that specifically mentioning the name of those killed on behalf their wives and mothers to make the ladies happy.

Yudhishthira also ordered rest houses to be built and ponds and wells dug in the names of the deceased. That was a noble way to commemorate the warriors who gave up their lives.

The allocation of palaces

The king, then, consulted his uncle, Dhritarashtra, and allocated the houses for his brothers. He gave the palace of Duryodhana to Bhima and that of Dussasana to Arjuna. Nakula got the palace of Durmarshana and Sahadeva, that of Durmukha. Suitable places were earmarked for others also in the palace complex of Hastinapura.

After giving suitable houses to all, Yudhishthira said. “You all have suffered long years on my account. Now, enjoy life peacefully in our ancestral land.”

In the company of Krishna

Krishna and Satyaki spent the night at Arjuna’s place. Yudhishthira met him next morning. By then, all had enjoyed the much needed rest after the long days of war. The king addressed Krishna and spoke. “Did you not sleep well at night? We have won all that we have today only with your help”. But, Krishna kept quiet and appeared to be lost in thought.

Surprised, Yudhishthira spoke again. “You appear to be meditating. Is there anything wrong?”

Then, Krishna replied.

“Bhishma who is resting on a bed of arrows and who is like fire with its flame about to die down is thinking of me. To him I went with my mind”

“He, whose bow string let out such a terrible sound like thunder that even Indra found it unbearable, to him I went with my mind”

“He, who defeated all kings and won the hands of the three princesses (of Kasi), to him I went with my mind”

“He, who fought with Parasurama for twenty three days and still remained unbeaten, to him I went with my mind”

Krishna reminisced in this way all the valiant deeds of Bhishma in the past. Yudhishthira said. “Krishna, what all you said about my grand father is entirely true. We want now to go and meet him. Please lead us from the front”.

Accordingly, Krishna proceeded to meet Bhishma in the battle field accompanied by the Pandavas.

(To be continued)

Yudhishthira moves to Hastinapura

We have taken a rather long break from the main story going briefly into the tales of the sixteen kings and into their background. Vyasa had narrated them to Yudhishthira to console him for the loss of his kith and kin.

Yudhishthira could forget his own sorrows to a great extent after hearing to the wise words of Vyasa. Then, he had several questions relating to the duties of a king. How many different types of sin are their and what are the remedies for them? To the query of the Pandava, the sage went into the different categories of sins and the atonements for them.

The sage guessed that the Pandava was thinking of his own sin when he asked the question. Vyasa pointed out that for a king the performance of the great horse sacrifice would suffice to free himself from the sin of all the crimes committed in a war. The sage concluded asking the Pandava prince to leave his sorrow behind and get on with his duties.

Yudhishthira had further queries on the type of food that can be eaten and not, and the type of gifts and the qualification of the right persons to receive them. Vyasa gave appropriate clarification on those issues. The Pandava, then, wanted to know of the codes of conduct of people in the main four professions (castes). The sage said. “If you want to know about them, the best person to ask will be Bhishma. Your grand father had learnt them directly from Brihaspati, the teacher of the gods. Go to him before he leaves this world. He will tell you all in detail”.

But, Yudhishthira was reluctant. He asked. “How can I go to him now, after I got him down in the war through devious means?

It was Krishna who responded to that point. “Do not think of all that happened in the war now. You need to get the codes of conduct from your grandfather to rule the land as a model king. You need to approach him for the sake of the country and your subjects. Take it as your duty.”

Yudhishthira in Hastinapura

(Apparently, the first thing for Yudhishthira to do was to establish himself as the new king and move to the original capital city of the Kurus before approaching Bhishma)

Accordingly, the Pandava discarded all the sorrow and the feeling of guilt from his mind and started to Hatinapura in a chariot driven by sixteen white horses. Bhima led the horses. Nakula and Sahadeva swayed two fans, made of the white and bushy tail of the Camara deer (Caamara), which is the royal insignia. Dhritarashtra and Gandhari were carried in a well decorated palanquin ahead of others. Elders like Vidura, Kunti and Vyasa moved in front in separate chariots. Krishna followed behind in his own chariot, accompanied by Satyaki.

The Brahmins walked ahead chanting verses from the Vedas and blessing the Pandavas with long life. Several bards moved along with them singing songs of praise to Yudhishthira and his brothers. The procession was accompanied by horse mounted soldiers on either side. Ordinary citizens in large numbers followed the royal entourage on foot.

The residents of Hastinapura gave a tumultuous welcome to their new ruler. The entire city was decorated with white garlands and flags in various colours. Aromatic smell emanated from every nook and corner of the palace by the burning of incense and other sweet smelling substances. Women thronged along the wide avenues leading to the palace to get a view of the royal procession. Yudhishthira had already won their hearts during his earlier reign.

A dissenting voice

The party entered Hastinapura in due course. The palace was already kept ready for anointing the new king. Brahmins in large number had gathered in the hall. They all proclaimed “victory” to Yudhishthira.

A voice could be heard from among them that said. “Yudhishthira, you do not deserve this after killing all your elders and teachers!” The face of all who heard the inauspicious remark fell at that time. Yudhishthira, too, looked down and meekly admitted his mistake.

But, the rest of the Brahmins protested loudly in unison. They said. “We do not support this man who is definitely not one of us. May he perish for uttering this falsehood!” It is said that the body of the person immediately went up in flames by the meditative power of all the Brahmins assembled.

All were baffled by the sudden drama that took place. Then, they heard Krishna speaking. “This man was, in fact, a demon with the name Carvaka who came in the guise of a Brahmin. He was destined to this death.”

The story of Carvaka

Krishna, then, went to tell the story of Carvaka. He was a demon of the first epoch (Krita Yuga). He meditated on Brahma for a long time and made the god appear before him. When asked for a boon of his choice the demon asked for protection from all living beings. Brahma refused to grant an all powerful boon like that. Instead, the demon was asked to limit his choice. He, then, agreed to leave out Brahmins, who posed no threat to him because of their meek nature, from the list. Brahma blessed him accordingly.

“Carvaka, then, started tormenting all creatures, especially the gentle folks like the Brahmins and their rituals. When complained, Brahma asked all to be patient. The demon was destined to be doomed in the fourth epoch (Kali Yuga) in the presence of the Pandavas. That was how all this happened. True to the condition in the boon, the wrath of the Brahmins reduced the demon to ashes.”

We shall get to the actual coronation in the next episode.

Of Sixteen Kings (Part 3)

Introduction

We already have come across Yayati in a separate story in Samskruthi. He was the father of Puru and Yadu, the former being the ancestor of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas and the latter, of Krishna and Satyaki. He belonged to the lunar dynasty. The story was about his exchange of youth with his son, Puru.

It is worth mentioning the importance of the last king of the sixteen, Pruthu. Chronologically, he should have come much earlier. He was so famous that the earth itself got the name “the daughter of Prithu (Prithvi)”. Other epics like the Mahabhagavata describe how he approached “the earth” and requested her to provide nourishment to the living beings. The response of the earth was that the she would, in the form of a cow, let the king to milk her, provided the king approached her with a suitable calf. It is said that Pruthu made the mountain “Meru” as the calf and milked all the nourishments, like the grass, corn vegetables and fruits, required by various living beings from the cow, which was the earth.

11. Yayati

He had won over the entire world. Then, he performed so many of the famous sacrificial rituals in which he donated mountains of gold to Brahmins. He divided the earth into parts and handed them over to his sons. But, he made Puru his true follower and retired to forest in due course.

Yet,

He died, Srinjaya, who was four fold

As meritorious as you are

Even more blessed than your son

Do not feel sad for your son

12. Ambareesha

This king was born as the son Nabhaga who was the brother of Ikshwaku. Thus, he may not be considered of the Ikshvaku dynasty, but, is certainly of the solar lineage.

The king performed thousands of sacrificial rituals and made such generous gifts that the people said that there was none like him earlier or later.

Yet,

He died, Srinjaya, who was four fold

As meritorious as you are

Even more blessed than your son

Do not feel sad for your son

13. Sasabindu

Sasabindu (SaSabindu) was the son of Citraratha and belonged to the Yadava dynasty of the lunar lineage. He had innumerable number of children from his thousands of wives. All his sons were great warriors. He performed great sacrifices and offered gold covered elephants, horses and cows in thousands as gifts to the Brahmins who participated in them.

Yet,

He died, Srinjaya, who was four fold

As meritorious as you are

Even more blessed than your son

Do not feel sad for your son

14. Gaya

He was the son of a king named Amoortarayasa . Gaya performed great rituals for a thousand years and lived on the left over from what was offered to the gods (hutocchishtam). The god of fire (Vahni) was so pleased that he asked Gaya to choose any boon. The king asked for so much wealth that his coffers would remain undiminished even after making any number of generous gifts. He also wanted his mind to remain steady (Sraddha) in following the right path (dharma). The god of fire granted that to Gaya. Then, the king performed rituals for another thousand years. He pleased the gods by offering “soma” and the ancestors with their choice offering (swadha). He also made his subjects happy with whatever they desired to have.

Yet,

He died, Srinjaya, who was four fold

As meritorious as you are

Even more blessed than your son

Do not feel sad for your son

15. Ranteedeva

He was the son of Sankrutya (sankrutya) and belonged to the lunar lineage of dynasties. He won a boon from Indra that he would never fall short of food and there would always be visitors to his land for him to feed. As a result there were always guests who arrived in thousands in his palace and he made generous gifts to them all. It is said that so much of meat was offered to his guests that the remains flowed as a river with the name Carminvati (carmiNvati).

Yet,

He died, Srinjaya, who was four fold

As meritorious as you are

Even more blessed than your son

Do not feel sad for your son

16. Pruthu

Pruthu was born into the family of Dhruva as the son of Vena. He was so powerful that the rivers and even the seas offered no resistance on his way. The farmers could make rich harvests even without tilling when he ruled. There was plenty of everything in the land and no one fell sick. It is said that Pruthu offered gifts that formed into twenty one hillocks to Brahmins.

Yet,

He died, Srinjaya, who was four fold

As meritorious as you are

Even more blessed than your son

Do not feel sad for your son

The story of the sixteen kings concludes here.

Of sixteen kings (Part 2)

Introduction

We have come across a few kings of the solar lineage in the Ikshwaku dynasty. The next four are also of the same dynasty.

We have covered Bhageeratha in one of the stories in Samskruthi some time ago. Sagara was also mentioned in the same story.

Dileepa is also very famous. Poet Kalidasa earned his name through the work called “the dynasty of Raghu (raghu vamSam)”. The poet narrated the story of a few kings of the Ikshwaku dynasty starting with Dileepa, through Sreerama to Agnivarna. All were kings of great repute, except for the last one or two. The disintegration of the dynasty was caused by the last, Agnivarna, through his neglect of duties and indulgence in pleasure. One famous stanza from this particular poem has been posted to Samskruthi (www.kunjunny.blogspot.com)

Sreerama is, of course, very famous because of Valmiki’s celebrated poem called “in the foot steps of Sreerama (ramayaNam)”.

7. Sagara

We know that the great king of the Ikshwaku dynasty is no more. When he traveled his sixty thousand sons followed him like the stars accompanying the moon. The entire world was once brought under his rule. He, then, performed one thousand horse sacrificial rituals (aSwamedha) and gave away gifts, even houses, of gold.

Out of anger he made a deep hole to be dug by the sea (so deep that reached the world below – paataaLa - in search of his lost horse that was let loose to establish his supremacy. (This has been mentioned earlier in the story of Bhageeratha in Samskruthi ).

Yet,

“He died, Srinjaya, who was four fold

As meritorious as you are

Even more blessed than your son

Do not feel sad for your son”

8. Bhageeratha

The son of Sagara performed such a ritual (Yajna) in which Indra got so intoxicated after drinking Soma that he challenged one thousand demons to battle and defeated them all. Bhageeratha gifted thousands of maiden seated in chariots to deserving Brahmins. Each of those chariots was drawn by four horses and was accompanied by thousands of gold decorated elephants, cattle and goats.

The celestial river Ganges (ganga) came and sat on his lap (as though) and came to be known, since then, as Bhaageerathi (as daughter of Bhageeratha).

Yet,

“He died, Srinjaya, who was four fold

As meritorious as you are

Even more blessed than your son

Do not feel sad for your son”

9. Dileepa

Dileepa performed so many rituals in which every object was made of gold. He offered them all as gift to Brahmins at the end. Thousands of heavenly musicians and dancers (Gandharva) took part in his rituals, played on their Veena and danced.

Three sounds always echoed in the land of Dileepa – the sound that emanated from his bow string (from wars), that of chanting of Vedas (from rituals) and of the command, “give, give”.

Yet,

“He died, Srinjaya, who was four fold

As meritorious as you are

Even more blessed than your son

Do not feel sad for your son”

10. Sreerama

He is the hero of the famous Ramayana epic and belonged to the same Ikshvaku dynasty to which Marutta belonged. He ruled from the capital city, Ayodhya.

It is said that when Rama ruled the land there was none who was a destitute nor were there any widows. No type of calamity occurred in the land. It always rained in time. Food and other essentials were always plentiful.

Yet,

“He died, Srinjaya, who was four fold

As meritorious as you are

Even more blessed than your son

Do not feel sad for your son”

The concluding part of the story of Sakuntala

Please go to the concluding part of ‘the story of Sakuntala’ along with a narrative of Kalidasa’s play around the same theme in Samskruthi (www.kunjunny.blogspot.com) for it.

Bharata, the son of Dushyanta and Sakuntala

We have covered Bharata in the first installment of the story of the sixteen kings. We should have gone through his birth which was covered in the story of Dushyanta and Sakuntala narrated in the very first book of Mahabharata (Aadi Parvam) in its chapter on the birth of the main characters (Sambhava Parvam). That was just before the story of Yayati.

Dushyanta belonged to the lunar dynasty and came after Yayati in the lineage of the kings. As we have mentioned, the world famous love story of Kalidasa under the name of “Sakuntala and the token of recognition (Abhijnana SaakuntaLam )” is based on this Mahabharata tale. We shall talk about the main differences between the two after going through the story as told by the great poet, Veda Vyasa.

Please go to ‘the story of Sakuntala’ in Samskruthi (www.kunjunny.blogspot.com) for it.