Chapter 3

Vaishampayana said: “At that time the Vrishni ladies dreamed every nightthat a woman of black complexion and white teeth, entering their abodes,laughed aloud and ran through Dvaraka, snatching from them the auspiciousthreads in their wrists. The men dreamt that terrible vultures, enteringtheir houses and fire-chambers, gorged themselves on their bodies. Theirornaments and umbrellas and standards and armour were seen to be takenaway by terrible Rakshasas. In the very sight of the Vrishnis, the discusof Krishna, given by Agni, made of iron and having its nave composed ofhardest adamant, ascended into the firmament. In the very sight ofDaruka, the excellent car of Vasudeva, of solar effulgence, and properlyequipped, was taken away by the horses yoked unto it. Those foremost ofsteeds, numbering four, (Saivya, Sugriva, Meghapushpa and Valahaka), andendued with the speed of thought, fled away, dragging the car after themalong the surface of the ocean. The two great standards of Krishnas carand Valadevas car, that with the device of Garuda and that bearing thedevice of the palmyra, which were reverently worshipped by those twoheroes, were taken away by Apsaras who, day and night, called upon theVrishnis and the Andhakas to set out on a pilgrimage to some sacredwater. When these omens were seen and heard, those foremost of men, themighty car-warriors of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas, became desirous ofsetting out, with their whole families, on a pilgrimage to some sacredwater. They prepared diverse kinds of viands and edibles and diversekinds of wines and meat. The troops of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas,blazing with beauty and endued with fierce energy, then set out from thecity on cars and steeds and elephants. The Yadavas, then, with theirwives, proceeded to Prabhasa and took up their residence there, each inthe (temporary) habitation that was assigned to him, and all having anabundance of provisions consisting of edibles and drink.

“Hearing that they had taken up their abode on the sea-coast, Uddhava,the wisest of men, who was, besides, well-versed in Yoga, proceeded thereand took his leave (for departing). Krishna, with joined hands, salutedUddhava, and seeing him bent on departing (from the world) and knowingthat the destructions of the Vrishnis was at hand, did not feel anydisposition to prevent him. The mighty car-warriors among the Vrishnisand the Andhakas, whose hour had come, then saw Uddhava proceed on hisgreat journey, filling the whole welkin with his splendour. The Vrishnis,mixing with wine the food that had been cooked for high-souled Brahmanas,gave it away unto monkeys and apes. Those heroes of fierce energy thenbegan their high revels, of which drinking formed the chief feature, atPrabhasa. The entire field echoed with the blare of hundreds of trumpetsand abounded with actors and dancers plying their vocations. In the verysight of Krishna, Rama began to drink, with Kritavarma, Yuyudhana andGada; and Vabhru also did the same. Then Yuyudhana, inebriated with wine,derisively laughing at and insulting Kritavarma in the midst of thatassembly, said, What Kshatriya is there who, armed with weapons, willslay men locked in the embraces of sleep and, therefore, already dead?Hence, O son of Hridika, the Yadavas will never tolerate what thou hastdone. When Yuyudhana had said these words, Pradyumna, that foremost ofcar-warriors, applauded them, expressing his disregard for the son ofHridika.

“Highly incensed at this, Kritavarma, emphasising his disregard forSatyaki, by pointing to him with his left hand, said these words:Professing thyself to be a hero, how couldst thou so cruelly slay thearmless Bhurishrava who, on the field of battle, ( gave up all hostileintentions and) sat in praya?

“Hearing these words of his, Keshava, that slayer of hostile heroes,giving way to wrath, cast an angry glance at Kritavarma. Then Satyakiinformed the slayer of Madhu as to how Kritavarma had behaved towardsSatrajit for taking away from him the celebrated gem Syamantaka. Hearingthe narrative, Satyabhama, giving way to wrath and tears, approachedKeshava and sitting on his lap enhanced his anger (for Kritavarma). Thenrising up in a rage, Satyaki said, I swear to thee by Truth that I shallsoon cause this one to follow in the wake of the five sons of Draupadi,and of Dhrishtadyumna and Shikhandithey that were slain by this sinfulwretch, while they were asleep, with the assistance of Dronas son. O thouof slender waist, Kritavarmas period of life and fame have come to theirend.

“Having said these words, Satyaki rushed at Kritavarma and severed hishead with a sword in the very sight of Keshava. Yuyudhana, havingachieved this feat, began to strike down others there present. Hrishikesaran to prevent him from doing further mischief. At that time, however, Omonarch, the Bhojas and Andhakas, impelled by the perverseness of thehour that had come upon them, all became as one man and surrounded theson of Sini. Janardana of mighty energy, knowing the character of thehour, stood unmoved without giving way to anger at the sight of thoseheroes rushing in wrath at Satyaki from every side. Urged by fate andinebriated with drink, they began to strike Yuyudhana with the pots fromwhich they had been eating. When the son of Sini was being thusassaulted, Rukminis son became highly enraged. He rushed forward forrescuing Satyaki who was engaged with the Bhojas and the Andhakas. Enduedwith might of arms and wealth of energy, those two heroes exertedthemselves with great courage. But as the odds were overwhelming, both ofthem were slain in the very sight of Krishna. The delighter of the Yadus,beholding his own son, and the son of Sini too, slain, took up, in wrath,a handful of the Eraka grass that grew there. That handful of grassbecame a terrible bolt of iron endued with the energy of the thunderbolt.With it Krishna slew all those that came before him. Then the Andhakasand the Bhojas, the Saineyas and the Vrishnis, urged by Time, struck oneanother in that fearful melee. Indeed, O king, whoever amongst them tookup in wrath a few blades of the Eraka grass, these, in his hands, becamesoon converted into a thunderbolt, O puissant one. Every blade of grassthere was seen to be converted into a terrible iron bolt. All this, know,O king, was due to the curse denounced by Brahmanas. He who hurled ablade of grass saw that it pierced through even such things as wereutterly impenetrable. In fact, every blade was seen to become a terriblebolt having the force of thunder. Son killed sire, and sire killed son, OBharata. Inebriated with wine, they rushed and fell upon one another. TheKukuras and the Andhakas met with destruction like insects rushing at ablazing fire. As they were thus being slaughtered, no one among themthought of escaping by fight. Knowing that the hour of destruction hadcome, the mighty-armed Keshava stood there, eyeing everything. Indeed,the slayer of Madhu stood, raising a bolt of iron formed of a blade ofgrass. Beholding that Samva was slain, as also Charudeshna and Pradyumnaand Aniruddha, Madhava became filled with rage. Beholding Gada lying deadon the ground, his wrath became enhanced. The wielder of Sarnga and thediscus and the mace then exterminated the Vrishnis and the Andhakas.Hear, O king, what that conquerer of hostile towns, Vabhru of mightyenergy and Daruka then said to Krishna, O holy one, a very large numberof men has been slain by thee. Turn now to where Rama has gone. We wishto go there where he has proceeded.”