महाभरत
महाभरत
Mahābharata
As retold by
Michael Dolan, B.V. Mahāyogi
The Duel of Giants
Paraśurāma was angered with me. His eyes red with rage he said, “Obey me or die.”
| TV version of Bhishma vs. Parashuram |
I replied, “O best of brahmaṇas, you are my guru. You
taught me the use of arms. I cannot take up arms against you or contest you in
combat. It is against dharma.”
Paraśurāma said, “As your guru I order you. Take this
maiden and preserve your race!”
I said, “As you well know, I swore an oath to my father before the gods. I cannot break my word. You well know the importance of obedience to one's father. I cannot break my word. Your labors for Amba are in vain. I cannot
forsake dharma.”
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| Bhishma's Oath |
“Then die! Coward or half-man, you dare to challenge the
word of your guru? Prepare to die!”
I replied, “Some orders given by guru may come from pride.
How can I follow orders that go against dharma? If you want to test me in
battle, I am happy to meet you in a clean fight.” And so saying, I put on my
armor and prepared to fight.
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| Graphic Novel Interpretation of Bhishma vs Parashurama |
Parashurama swore: “Then Let thy mother Jahnavi, O Bhiṣma; behold thee dead on the
plain of Kurukṣetra, and your body picked by vultures and crows. Let the Ganges
pour forth her waters in tears for her son on this day. O proud and insolent
boy, always ready for a fight, today your guru will teach you the final lesson.
Prepare to die.”
So I bowed before my guru and said his pranam mantra. I
prepared my car for battle and rode out into the plains of Kurukṣetra where we
two were to meet in mortal combat. I readied my weapons and prayed to Viṣṇu.
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| Battle Chariot: Egypt, 1300 B.C. |
When I was ready I turned to my guru and
said, “You should mount a battle chariot like mine, my preceptor. You stand no
chance against my weapons.”
| Parashuram |
That great
exterminator of princes said, “The Earth, O Bhiṣma, is my chariot. The four
Vedas are my horses. The wind is my driver, and my armor, the Vedic mantras.
And as he said this, as if by a miracle, I beheld the son of Jamadagni seated on
a Great War chariot equipped with all kinds of weapons. His chariot did not
touch the ground and was driven by celestial horses. He came at me and
unleashed a terrible shower of arrows. As he came I was glad that if I were to
die in battle, my death would come at the hands of my guru, the great
Paraśurāma, and my entrance into heaven was assured.
As he
showered me with arrows I got off my chariot and went on foot to him and bowed
before him, offering him praises in Sanskrit poetry. I said, “O Rama, you may
be superior or equal to me in power, but I shall fight thee as thou art my own
true guru. Bless me guru deva with victory in this terrible duel.” So saying, I
bowed before him. My guru deva, Paraśurāma the terrible exterminator of
princes, smiled and said, “I would have cursed you if you had not performed
this reverence. I cannot wish you victory, but use what I taught you against
me. Fight fairly; I am pleased with you who never deviate from the principles
of dharma.”
BHIṢMA DUELS PARAŚURĀMA
He waited until I had returned to my chariot, when he
struck me with 960 arrows. My horses and charioteers were covered with his
shafts.
| Battle tactics, stone carving India |
I then told my preceptor, “My Lord, my arrows will not
strike you, but they are aimed at the ego of warrior-hood that you have
assumed.” I then showered a rain of arrows upon him. We fought like this for
three days. Neither of us could gain advantage. We used the snake arrows, fire
arrows, mantra arrows and many other weapons at our disposal.
| Ancient battle techniques of war, Assyria, 2000 BC |
At last we began using mystical weapons, the
Guhyaka, the Agneya, the Varuna, and were at the point of causing great peril
to the world. Finally we understood the futility of our combat. If we had
continued, we would have destroyed the world.
I was unable to vanquish him, and he equally unable to vanquish me. No
good would come of further war between us. The only result of unleashing so
many weapons would be the direct destruction of the universe itself. The gods themselves asked us to desist.
Some say that I won the battle, but it was not so. Neither of us could get the upper hand. After hurling every weapon known to god or man Paraśurāma was unable
to defeat me in mortal combat, as I was unable to defeat him. Our battle was inconclusive. Exhausted, we withdrew from the field after exchanging mutual respect.
Still, Amba was not satisfied. She was determined to have her revenge.
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| Star TV version of Amba |
