Mahabharatha episode 46

 

Janamejaya said: “Dvijottama! You have narrated the great history of the Kurus, the Mahabharata, in a concise form. Alas! I am very curious to hear this story with its figurative meanings in detail from you.

You should explain this again in detail. I was not satisfied with the great history you just told me.

The reason why the pious Pandavas, who were praised by the people, killed all those who were not worthy of being killed, was no small one.

Why did those who were saints, powerful, and blameless, resist and endure the suffering inflicted on them by evil spirits?

Dwijotama! How did the mighty Vrikodara, who had the strength of an elephant, endure his anger despite the difficulties? Even though Draupadi was powerful and was tormented by evil spirits, why didn't she burn Dhartarastra to ashes with her fierce eyes?

How did the two Parthas and the two Madrisutas follow Yudhishthira even when they were being deceived by evil spirits in the game?

Why did Yudhishthira, the greatest of the righteous, suffer that supreme suffering even though he was unworthy?

How did even the Pandava Dhananjaya, who had the charioteer Krishna, who could single-handedly send all the armies to his ancestral home, endure?

"Tapodhana! Tell me how all this happened - tell me the deeds performed by those great charioteers at every moment."

Vaishampayana said: “I will fully narrate the work of the great sage Vyasa, the great soul revered throughout the world, of great brilliance. This virtuous work, narrated by the soul of the wise Satyavati, contains one hundred thousand verses.

The scholar who reads this and the man who listens to it will attain the divine state of Brahma.

As sacred as the Vedas, this Purana about the sages is the best of all that is to be heard. In it, the Artha-Dharmas are fully taught and the history of these great saints gives the intellect to seek salvation.

The scholar who recites this Veda of Krishna to the Shudras, the charitable, the truthful, and the religious will attain wealth.

By listening to this history, a man can certainly avoid the sin of horrendous fetal killing. Those who desire victory should listen to this history of the name of jaya; such a one can defeat all enemies and attain greatness. If the queen and the prince listen to this many times, they will have great offspring and experience great welfare.

This is a virtuous arthashastra and a great religious science. As the infinitely wise Vyasa said, it is also the science of salvation.

This is being said now and will be told later. Sons who listen are born and servants who do pleasing deeds are found.

A person who constantly listens to this will immediately be freed from all sins committed by speech, mind, or body.

Those who listen to the great birth of Bharata without slander will have no fear of disease. Then how  does the fear of heaven come from?

Wanting to do good, Krishnadvaipayana created this to bring happiness, success, longevity, and virtue, and spread the fame of the great soul Pandavas and other Kshatriyas, whose brilliance was beyond the reach of the earth, throughout the worlds.

Just as the ocean and the mountains are known as jewels, so too is mahabharatha renowned.

Here, the scholar who tells this to the Brahmins on a full moon day wins heaven in the next world and joins the Brahma world.

If one recites even one verse of this in Shraddha to the Brahmins, their Shraddha will become inexhaustible and even their ancestors will be satisfied.

The sins committed by a person during the day due to ignorance are erased as he listens to the story of mahabharatha.

The great birth of Bharata is called the Mahabharata. He who knows this becomes free from all sins.

For three years, sage Krishnadwaipayana got up every day and composed this incomparable epic of the Mahabharata.

"Bharatshabha! Whatever is contained in this about dharma, artha, kama and moksha, it is everywhere. But what is not here, is nowhere."

This is the fifty-sixth chapter of the Mahabharata, in the Adi Parva, in the Anshavatarana Parva, in the Sri Mahabharata, called Mahabharata Prashamsa.