Chapter 2
“Yudhishthira said, Ye deities, I do not see here Radhas son ofimmeasurable prowess, as also my high-souled brothers, and Yudhamanyu andUttamaujas, those great car-warriors that poured their bodies (aslibations) on the fire of battle, those kings and princes that met withdeath for my sake in battle. Where are those great car-warriors thatpossessed the prowess of tigers? Have those foremost of men acquired thisregion? If those great car-warriors have obtained these regions, thenonly do you know, ye gods, that I shall reside here with thosehigh-souled ones. If this auspicious and eternal region has not beenacquired by those kings, then know, ye gods, that without those brothersand kinsmen of mine, I shall not live here. At the time of performing thewater rites (after the battle), I heard my mother say, Do thou offeroblations of water unto Karna. Since hearing those words of my mother, Iam burning with grief. I grieve also incessantly at this, ye gods, thatwhen I marked the resemblance between the feet of my mother and those ofKarna of immeasurable soul, I did not immediately place myself underorders of that afflicter of hostile ranks. Ourselves joined with Karna,Shakra himself would have been unable to vanquish in battle. Wherever maythat child of Surya be, I desire to see him. Alas, his relationship withus being unknown, I caused him to be slain by Arjuna. Bhima also ofterrible prowess and dearer to me than my life-breaths, Arjuna too,resembling Indra himself, the twins also that resembled the Destroyerhimself in prowess, I desire to behold. I wish to see the princess ofPancala, whose conduct was always righteous. I wish not to stay here. Itell you the truth. Ye foremost ones among the deities, what is Heaven tome if I am dissociated from my brothers? That is Heaven where thosebrothers of mine are. This, in my opinion, is not Heaven.
“The gods said, If thou longest to be there, go then, O son, withoutdelay. At the command of the chief of the deities, we are ready to dowhat is agreeable to thee.
Vaishampayana continued: Having said so, the gods then ordered thecelestial messenger, O scorcher of foes, saying, Do thou show untoYudhishthira his friends and kinsmen. Then the royal son of Kunti and thecelestial messenger proceeded together, O foremost of kings, to thatplace where those chiefs of men (whom Yudhishthira had wished to see)were. The celestial messenger proceeded first, the king followed himbehind. The path was inauspicious and difficult and trodden by men ofsinful deeds. It was enveloped in thick darkness, and covered with hairand moss forming its grassy vesture. Polluted with the stench of sinners,and miry with flesh and blood, it abounded with gadflies and stingingbees and gnats and was endangered by the inroads of grisly bears. Rottingcorpses lay here and there. Overspread with bones and hair, it wasnoisome with worms and insects. It was skirted all along with a blazingfire. It was infested by crows and other birds and vultures, all havingbeaks of iron, as also by evil spirits with long mouths pointed likeneedles. And it abounded with inaccessible fastnesses like the Vindhyamountains. Human corpses were scattered over it, smeared with fat andblood, with arms and thighs cut off, or with entrails torn out and legssevered.
“Along that path so disagreeable with the stench of corpses and awfulwith other incidents, the righteous-souled king proceeded, filled withdiverse thoughts. He beheld a river full of boiling water and, therefore,difficult to cross, as also a forest of trees whose leaves were sharpswords and razors. There were plains full of fine white sand exceedinglyheated, and rocks and stones made of iron. There were many jars of ironall around, with boiling oil in them. Many a Kuta-salmalika was there,with sharp thorns and, therefore, exceedingly painful to the touch. Theson of Kunti beheld also the tortures inflicted upon sinful men.
“Beholding that inauspicious region abounding with every sort offoulness, Yudhishthira asked the celestial messenger, saying, How farshall we proceed along a path like this? It behoveth thee to tell mewhere those brothers of mine are. I desire also to know what region isthis of the gods?
“Hearing these words of king Yudhishthira the just, the celestialmessenger stopped in his course and replied, saying, Thus far is yourway. The denizens of Heaven commanded me that having come thus far, I amto stop. If thou art tired, O king of kings, thou mayst return with me.
“Yudhishthira, however, was exceedingly disconsolate and stupefied by thefoul odour. Resolved to return, O Bharata, he retraced his steps.Afflicted by sorrow and grief, the righteous-souled monarch turned back.Just at that moment he heard piteous lamentations all around, O son ofDharma, O royal sage, O thou of sacred origin, O son of Pandu, do thoustay a moment for favouring us. At thy approach, O invincible one, adelightful breeze hath begun to blow, bearing the sweet scent of thyperson. Great hath been our relief at this. O foremost of kings,beholding thee, O first of men, great hath been our happiness. O son ofPritha, let that happiness last longer through thy stay here, for a fewmoments more. Do thou remain here, O Bharata, for even a short while. Aslong as thou art here, O thou of Kurus race, torments cease to afflictus. These and many similar words, uttered in piteous voices by persons inpain, the king heard in that region, wafted to his ears from every side.
“Hearing those words of beings in woe, Yudhishthira of compassionateheart exclaimed aloud, Alas, how painful! And the king stood still. Thespeeches of those woe-begone and afflicted persons seemed to the son ofPandu to be uttered in voices that he had heard before although he couldnot recognise them on that occasion.
“Unable to recognise voices, Dharmas son, Yudhishthira, enquired, saying,Who are you? Why also do you stay here?
“Thus addressed, they answered him from all sides, saying, I am Karna! Iam Bhimasena! I am Arjuna! I am Nakula! I am Sahadeva! I amDhrishtadyumna! I am Draupadi! We are the sons of Draupadi! Even thus, Oking, did those voices speak.
“Hearing those exclamations, O king, uttered in voices of pain suitableto that place, the royal Yudhishthira asked himself What perverse destinyis this? What are those sinful acts which were committed by thosehigh-souled beings, Karna and the sons of Draupadi, and theslender-waisted princess of Pancala, so that their residence has beenassigned in this region of foetid smell and great woe? I am not aware ofany transgression that can be attributed to these persons of righteousdeeds. What is that act by doing which Dhritarashtras son, kingSuyodhana, with all his sinful followers, has become invested with suchprosperity? Endued with prosperity like that of the great Indra himself,he is highly adored. What is that act through the consequence of whichthese (high-souled ones) have fallen into Hell? All of them wereconversant with every duty, were heroes, were devoted to truth and theVedas; were observant of Kshatriya practices; were righteous in theiracts; were performers of sacrifices; and givers of large presents untobrahmanas. Am I asleep or awake? Am I conscious or unconscious? Or, isall this a mental delusion due to disorders of the brain?
“Overwhelmed by sorrow and grief, and with his senses agitated byanxiety, king Yudhishthira indulged in such reflections for a long time.The royal son of Dharma then gave way to great wrath. Indeed,Yudhishthira then censured the gods, as also Dharma himself. Afflicted bythe very foul odour, he addressed the celestial messenger, saying, Returnto the presence of those whose messenger thou art. Tell them that I shallnot go back to where they are, but shall stay even here, since, inconsequence of my companionship, these afflicted brothers of mine havebecome comforted. Thus addressed by the intelligent son of Pandu, thecelestial messenger returned to the place where the chief of the deitieswas, viz., he of a hundred sacrifices. He represented unto him the actsof Yudhishthira. Indeed, O ruler of men, he informed Indra of all thatDharmas son had said!
