Chapter 261

Vaisampayana said, “One day, having previously ascertained that thePandavas were all seated at their ease and that Krishna was reposingherself after her meal, the sage Durvasa, surrounded by ten thousanddisciples repaired to that forest. The illustrious and upright kingYudhishthira, seeing that guest arrived, advanced with his mothers toreceive him. And joining the palms of his hands and pointing to a properand excellent seat, he accorded the Rishis a fit and respectful welcome.And the king said unto him, ‘Return quick, O adorable sir, afterperforming thy diurnal ablutions and observances.’ And that sinless Muni,not knowing how the king would be able to provide a feast for him and hisdisciples, proceeded with the latter to perform his ablutions. And thathost of the Muni, of subdued passions, went into the stream forperforming their ablutions. Meanwhile, O king, the excellent princessDraupadi, devoted to her husbands, was in great anxiety about the food(to be provided for the Munis). And when after much anxious thought shecame to the conclusion that means there were none for providing a feast,she inwardly prayed to Krishna, the slayer of Kansa. And the princesssaid, ‘Krishna, O Krishna, of mighty arms, O son of Devaki, whose poweris inexhaustible, O Vasudeva, O lord of the Universe, who dispellest thedifficulties of those that bow down to thee, thou art the soul, thecreator and the destroyer of the Universe. Thou, O lord, artinexhaustible and the saviour of the afflicted. Thou art the preserver ofthe Universe and of all created beings. Thou art the highest of the high,and the spring of the mental perceptions Akuli and Chiti![88] O Supremeand Infinite Being, O giver of all good, be thou the refuge of thehelpless. O Primordial Being, incapable of being conceived by the soul orthe mental faculties or otherwise, thou art the ruler of all and the lordof Brahma. I seek thy protection. O god, thou art ever kindly disposedtowards those that take refuge in thee. Do thou cherish me with thykindness. O thou with a complexion dark as the leaves of the blue lotus,and with eyes red as the corolla of the lily, and attired in yellow robeswith, besides, the bright Kaustubha gem in thy bosom, thou art thebeginning and the end of creation, and the great refuge of all. Thou artthe supreme light and essence of the Universe! Thy face is directedtowards every point. They call thee Supreme Germ and the depository ofall treasures. Under thy protections, O lord of the gods, all evils losetheir terror. As thou didst protect me before from Dussasana, do thouextricate me now from this difficulty.”

Vaisampayana continued, “The great and sovereign God, and Lord of theearth, of mysterious movements, the lord Kesava who is ever kind to thedependents, thou adored by Krishna, and perceiving her difficulty,instantly repaired to that place leaving the bed of Rukmini who wassleeping by his side. Beholding Vasudeva, Draupadi bowed down to him ingreat joy and informed him of the arrival of the Munis and every otherthing. And having heard everything Krishna said unto her, ‘I am very muchafflicted with hunger, do thou give me some food without delay, and thenthou mayst go about thy work.’ At these words of Kesava, Krishna becameconfused, and replied unto him, saying, ‘The sun-given vessel remainsfull till I finish my meal. But as I have already taken my meal today,there is no food in it now. Then that lotus-eyed and adorable being saidunto Krishna, ‘This is no time for jest, O Krishna.–I am much distressedwith hunger, go thou quickly to fetch the vessel and show it to me.’ WhenKesava, that ornament of the Yadu’s race, had the vessel brought untohim,–with such persistence, he looked into it and saw a particle of riceand vegetable sticking at its rim. And swallowing it he said unto her,’May it please the god Hari, the soul of the Universe, and may that godwho partaketh at sacrifices, be satiated with this.’ Then the long-armedKrishna, that soother of miseries, said unto Bhimasena, ‘Do thou speedilyinvite the Munis to dinner. Then, O good king, the celebrated Bhimasenaquickly went to invite all those Munis, Durvasa and others, who had goneto the nearest stream of transparent and cool water to perform theirablutions. Meanwhile, these ascetics, having plunged into the river, wererubbing their bodies and observing that they all felt their stomachs tobe full. And coming out of the stream, they began to stare at oneanother. And turning towards Durvasa, all those ascetics observed,’Having bade the king make our meals ready, we have come hither for abath. But how, O regenerate Rishi, can we eat anything now, for ourstomachs seem to be full to the throat. The repast hath been uselesslyprepared for us. What is the best thing to be done now?’ Durvasa replied,’By spoiling the repast, we have done a great wrong to that royal sage,king Yudhishthira. Would not the Pandavas destroy us by looking down uponus with angry eyes? I know the royal sage Yudhishthira to be possessed ofgreat ascetic power. Ye Brahmanas, I am afraid of men that are devoted toHari. The high-souled Pandavas are all religious men, learned, war-like,diligent in ascetic austerities and religious observances, devoted toVasudeva, and always observant of rules of good conduct. If provoked,they can consume us with their wrath as fire doth a bale of cotton.Therefore, ye disciples, do ye all run away quickly without seeing them(again)!”

Vaisampayana continued, “All those Brahmanas, thus advised by theirascetic preceptor, became greatly afraid of the Pandavas and fled away inall directions. Then Bhimasena not beholding those excellent Munis in thecelestial river, made a search after them here and there at all thelanding places. And learning from the ascetics of those places that theyhad run away, he came back and informed Yudhishthira of what hadhappened. Then all the Pandavas of subdued senses, expecting them tocome, remained awaiting their arrival for some time. And Yudhishthirasaid, ‘Coming dead of night the Rishis will deceive us. Oh how, can weescape from this difficulty created by the facts?’ Seeing them absorbedin such reflections and breathing long deep sighs at frequent intervals,the illustrious Krishna suddenly appeared to them and addressed themthese words: ‘Knowing, ye sons of Pritha, your danger from that wrathfulRishi, I was implored by Draupadi to come, and (therefore) have I comehere speedily. But now ye have not the least fear from the Rishi Durvasa.Afraid of your ascetic powers, he hath made himself scarce ere this.Virtuous men never suffer. I now ask your permission to let me returnhome. May you always be prosperous!'”

Vaisampayana continued, “Hearing Kesava’s words, the sons of Pritha, withDraupadi, became easy in mind. And cured of their fever (of anxiety),they said unto him, ‘As persons drowning in the wide ocean safely reachthe shore by means of a boat, so have we, by thy aid, O lord Govinda,escaped from this inextricable difficulty. Do thou now depart in peace,and may prosperity be thine.’ Thus dismissed, he repaired to his capitaland the Pandavas too, O blessed lord, wandering from forest to forestpassed their days merrily with Draupadi. Thus, O king, have I related tothee the story which thou askedest me to repeat. And it was thus that themachinations of the wicked sons of Dhritarashtra about the Pandavas inthe forest, were frustrated.”