20. JARASANDHA :

THE Pandavas ruled Indraprastha in all
glory. Those who surrounded
Yudhishthira urged him to perform the
Rajasuya sacrifice and assume the title of
Emperor. It is evident that imperialism
had an irresistible glamour even in those
days.


Yudhishthira sought Sri Krishna's advice
in this matter. When Krishna learnt that
Dharmaputra desired to see him, he set
out in a chariot harnessed with swift
horses and reached Indraprastha.
Yudhishthira said: "'My people urge me to
perform Rajasuya, but as you know, only
he who can secure the respect and
allegiance of all kings, can perform that
sacrifice and win the status of emperor.
Advise me, you are not among those
whose affection makes them blind and
partial. Nor are you one of those who
advise to please and whose counsel is
pleasant rather than true or wholesome."
Krishna replied: "Quite so and that is why
you cannot be emperor while the mighty
Jarasandha of Magadha is alive and
unconquered. He has conquered many
kings and holds them in subjection. All
the kshatriyas, including the redoubtable
Sisupala himself, are afraid of his prowess
and are submissive to him. Have you not
heard of the wicked Kamsa, the son of
Ugrasena? After he had become the sonin-
law and ally of Jarasandha my people
and I attacked Jarasandha. After three
years of continuous fighting we had to
acknowledge defeat and we left Mathura
and moved to Dwaraka in the west, and
built a new city where we are living in
peace and plenty. Even if Duryodhana,
Karna and others do not object to your
assuming the title of emperor, Jarasandha
will certainly oppose it. And the only way
to overcome his opposition is to defeat
and kill him. You can then not only
perform the Rajasuya but also rescue and
win the adherence of the kings who
languish in his prisons."


At these words of Krishna, Yudhishthira
said: "I agree. I am but one of the many
kings who rule their kingdoms with
fairness and justice and lead happy
unambitious lives. It is mere vanity and
vainglory to desire to become an emperor.
Why should not a king rest satisfied with
his own kingdom? So, I shall give up this
desire to be an emperor. And really, the
title has no temptations for me. It is my
brothers who wish it. When you yourself
are afraid of Jarasandha what can we hope
to do?"


Bhima did not at all like this spirit of
cowardly contentment.
Bhima said: "Ambition is the noblest
virtue of a king. What is the good of being
strong if one does not know his own
strength? I cannot reconcile myself to live
a life of idle ease and contentment. He
who casts off indolence and properly
employs political means, can conquer
even those stronger than himself. Strength
reinforced by stratagem will surely do
much. What, indeed, cannot be
accomplished by a combination of my
physical strength, Krishna's wisdom and
Arjuna's dexterity? We can conquer
Jarasandha's might, if we three join and
set about it without doubts or fears."


Krishna interposed: "Jarasandha should
certainly be slain and fully deserves it. He
has unjustly cast eighty-six princes in
prison. He has planned to immolate a
hundred kings and is waiting to lay hold
of fourteen more. If Bhima and Arjuna
agree, I shall accompany them and
together we will slay that king by
stratagem and set free the imprisoned
princes. I like this suggestion."


Yudhishthira was not pleased with this
advice. He said: "This may really mean
sacrificing Bhima and Arjuna who are to
me as my two eyes, merely to gratify a
vain desire to be an emperor. I do not like
to send them on this dangerous errand. It
seems to me far better to give up the idea
altogether."


Arjuna said: "What is the use to us of an
existence without heroic deeds, born as
we are of an illustrious line? A Kshatriya
though endowed with all other good
qualities, will not become famous if he
does not exert himself. Enthusiasm is the
mother of success. We can seize fortune if
we do our duties energetically. Even a
powerful man may fail if, through
lassitude, he does not employ the means
he has. Failure is due, in the vast majority
of cases, to ignorance of one's own
strength. We know we are strong, and we
are not afraid of using our strength to the
utmost. Why should Yudhishthira suppose
that we are incapable of this? When we
have become old, it will be time to assume
the ochre robe, resort to the forest and
pass the rest of our days in penance and
austerities. Now, we should lead strenuous
lives and do heroic deeds worthy of the
traditions of our race."


Krishna was delighted to hear these words
and said: "What else can Arjuna, born of
Kunti in the Bharata race, advise? Death
comes to all, the hero as well as the
sluggard. But the noblest duty of a
kshatriya is to be true to his race and faith,
and overcoming his foes in righteous
battle, to win glory."
Finally Yudhishthira assented to the
unanimous opinion that their duty lay in
slaying Jarasandha.


This conversation has a curiously modern
ring about it and shows that powerful men
in ancient days used very much the same
specious reasoning as now.