Lakshman Rao U
Sanjaya reports that Krishna, who had remained silent, now deliberately lashes out at the extreme anxiety of Arjuna. His silence had carried deep meaning, and when he finally spoke, his eloquence poured forth in carefully chosen words, each like a sharpened arrow. He declared that Arjuna’s mental state was neither sufficiently masculine to inspire passionate…
Sanjaya reported to the blind king how, by the divine will of Śrī Krishna, the entire battlefield stood revealed before Arjuna. As Arjuna gazed, his eyes rested not merely on opposing ranks but on faces long known and loved. He saw fathers and grandsires, teachers and venerable elders, brothers and cousins, friends and companions, bound…
All the commanders were thrown into intense strain the moment they heard the Marshal’s bugle, and each, stirred individually, lifted his own instrument and proclaimed the call to arms. Thus conches, kettle drums, tabors, trumpets, bugles, and cow horns burst forth together, hurling defiance and summoning battle. Sanjaya reported this sight to Dhritarashtra with reluctant…
Dharmaraja, having sought the blessings of the elders, returned to his ranks with a mind absorbed in the coded exchange he had held with Bhishma and Drona. Their counsel demanded subtlety to decipher, and their intricate, suggestive words swirled ceaselessly in his thoughts. The most difficult task before him was to understand Dharma. In the…
Sanjaya’s report on the battlefield and the preparations of kings, though vast and vivid, failed to satisfy the blind monarch. A lurking doubt troubled his heart regarding the strength of the Pandavas, and the shocking revelation of Sanjaya’s future vision weighed heavily upon his conscience. The sins of past complacency and greed now stood before…
Sanjaya said that Duryodhana, after issuing the necessary commands for the protection of the grandsire and commander-in-chief of the army, rose early the next morning, completed his daily rites, and summoned his generals to assemble the forces upon the battlefield. Conches, kettle drums, and war trumpets resounded; the silent plain was suddenly filled with clamour…
Sanjaya continued his subtle description of the earth, its resources, and its rich culture to King Dhritarashtra, not merely as a recital of lands and wealth but as a gentle effort to free the king’s mind from greed, the root of all disorder. O King, not only rivers and mountains, but forests also are the…
At a moment of pure insight, freed from greed and awakened to human limitation, Sanjaya gave to Dhritarashtra a living vision of the earth, seeking to preserve the land from the ruin of war. He first spoke of the vastness of the universe, of its unity and harmony, and then gently declared the earth to…
King Janamejaya, eager to comprehend the ancient struggle in all its depth, questioned Vaishampayana about the Pandavas and the Kauravas, asking how, driven by fierce desire to surpass one another, they strove to attain their chosen ends, how the war arose, and how it unfolded step by step. The sage rejoiced at the king’s earnest…
Sanjaya said to the blind king that your son, under the guise of courteous inquiry, was pressing the grandsire into distress by urging him to recount his past exploits, not with pure intent but to test his strength and stir his pride. The son of Ganga, feeling inward unease, found no pleasure in narrating his…
