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(Woman's Love)
TRUE to their word the sons of Pandu went with Draupadi into exile, and
passed twelve years in the wilderness; and many were the incidents which
checkered their forest life. Krishna, who had stood by Yudhishthir in his
prosperity, now came to visit him in his adversity; he consoled Draupadi in her
distress, and gave good advice to the brothers. Draupadi with a woman's pride
and anger still thought of her wrongs and insults, and urged Yudhishthir to
disregard the conditions of exile and recover his kingdom. Bhima too was of the
same mind, but Yudhishthir would not be moved from his plighted word.
The great rishi Vyasa came to visit Yudhishthir, and advised Arjun,
great archer as he was, to acquire celestial arms by penance and worship. Arjun
followed the advice, met the god SIVA in the guise of a hunter, pleased him by
his prowess in combat, and obtained his blessings and the pasupata
weapon. Arjun then went to INDRA's heaven and obtained other celestial arms.
In the meanwhile Duryodhan, not content with sending his cousins to exile,
wished to humiliate them still more by appearing before them in all his regal
power and splendour. Matters how ever turned out differently from what he
expected, and he became involved in a quarrel with some gandharvas, a
class of aerial beings. Duryodhan was taken captive by them, and it was the
Pandav brothers who released him from his captivity, and allowed him to return
to his kingdom in peace. This act of generosity rankled in his bosom and
deepened his hatred.
Jayadratha, king of the Sindhu or Indus country, and a friend and ally of
Duryodhan, came to the woods, and in the absence of the Pandav brothers carried
off Draupadi. The Pandavs however pursued the king, chastised him for his misconduct,
and rescued Draupadi.
Still more interesting than these various incidents are the tales and
legends with which this book is replete. Great saints came to see Yudhishthir
in his exile, and narrated to him legends of ancient times and of former kings.
One of these beautiful episodes, the tale of Nala and Damayanti, has been
translated into graceful English verse by Dean Milman, and is known to many
English readers. The legend of Agastya who drained the ocean dry; of
Parasu-Rama a Brahman who killed the Kshatriyas of the earth; of Bhagiratha who
brought down the Ganges from the skies to the earth; of Mann and the universal
deluge; of Vishnu and various other gods; of Rama and his deeds which form the
subject of the Epic Ramayana;-these and various other legends have been
inter woven in the account of the forest-life of the Pandavs, and make it a
veritable storehouse of ancient Hindu tales and traditions.
Among these various legends and tales I have selected one which is singular
and striking. The great truth proclaimed under the thin guise of an eastern
allegory is that a True Woman's Love is not conquered by Death. The story is
known by Hindu women high and low, rich and poor, in all parts of India; and on
a certain night in the year millions of Hindu women celebrate a rite in honour
of the woman whose love was not conquered by death. Legends like these, though
they take away from the unity and conciseness of the Epic, impart a moral
instruction to the millions of India the value of which cannot be overestimated.
The portion translated in this Book forms Sections ccxcii. And ccxciii., a
part of Section ccxciv. and Sections ccxcv. and ccxcvi. of Book iii. of the
original text.
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