46. PRINCE UTTARA :

UTTARA, the son of Virata, set off with
enthusiasm from the city in his chariot
with Brihannala as his charioteer and
commanded the latter to drive quickly to
the place where the Kauravas had rounded
up the cows.



Willingly, the horses were put to their best
speed. And presently the Kaurava army
was sighted, at first a gleaming, line,
enveloped in a cloud of dust that seemed
to go up to the skies.



Going nearer, Uttara saw the great army
drew in battle by Bhishma, Drona, Kripa,
Duryodhana and Karna. At that sight, his
courage, which had been gradually drying
up during the rapid rush to the field, was
quite gone. His mouth went dry and his
hair stood on end.



His limbs were all in a tremble. He shut
his eyes with both his hands to keep out
the fearsome sight. He said:"How can I,
single-handed, attack an army? I have no
troops, since the king, my father, has
taken all available forces, leaving the city
unprotected. It is absurd to think that one
man can alone fight a well-equipped
army, led by world-renowned warrior! Oh
Brihannala, turn back the chariot."



Brihannala laughed and said: "O prince,
you started from the city, full of fierce
determination and the ladies expect great
things of you. The citizens also have put
their trust in you. Sairandhri praised me
and I have come at your request. If we
return without recovering the cows, we
shall become the laughing-stock of all. I
will not turn back the chariot. Let us stand
firm and fight. Have no fear." With these
words Brihannala began to drive the
chariot towards the enemy and they
approached quite close to them.



Uttara's distress was pitiable. He said in a
quaking voice: "I cannot do it, I simply
cannot. Let the Kauravas march off with
the cows and if the women laugh, let
them. I do not care. What sense is there in
fighting people who are immeasurably
stronger than we fight? Do not be a fool!
Turn back the chariot. Otherwise, I shall
jump out and walk back." With these
words Uttara cast off his bows and
arrows, got down from the chariot and
began to fly towards the city, mad with
panic.



This should not be taken as something that
has never happened in life. Nor is Uttara's
panic during his first battle, by any means,
singular.



Fear is a strong instinctive feeling, though
it can be overcome by will-power or
strong motives like love, shame or hate, or
more usually, by discipline.



Even men who have afterwards
distinguished themselves by heroic deeds
have confessed to having felt something
like panic fear, the first time they came
under fire. Uttara was by no means an
exceptional coward, for he fought and fell
gauntly at Kurukshetra.



Arjuna pursued the running prince,
shouting to him to stop and behave like a
Kshatriya. The braided hair of the
charioteer began to dance and his clothes
began to wave as he ran in pursuit of
Uttara. The prince fled hither and thither,
trying to dodge the hands that would stop
him.



Those of the Kaurava army, who could
see this spectacle, found it amusing.
Drona was puzzled at the sight of
Brihannala who, albeit dressed
fantastically, seemed a man rigged out as
a woman and to remind him curiously of
Arjuna.



When he remarked about this, Karna said:
"How can this be Arjuna? What does it
matter even if he is? What can Arjuna
alone do against us in the absence of the
other Pandavas? The king has left his son
alone in the city and gone with his whole
army to fight against Susarma. The young
prince has brought the attendant of the
ladies of the palace as his charioteer. That
is all."



Poor Uttara was imploring Brihannala to
let him go, promising untold wealth if he
did so. He appealed to his pity: "I am the
only son of my mother. I am a child
grown up on my mother's lap. I am full of
fear."



But, Brihannala wanted to save him from
himself, and would not let him go. He
pursued him, seized him and dragged him
to the chariot by force.
Uttara began to sob and said: "What a fool
I was to brag! Alas! What will happen to
me?"



Arjuna said kindly, soothing the prince's
fears: "Be not afraid. I shall fight with the
Kauravas. Help me by looking after the
horses and driving the chariot, and I shall
do the rest. Believe me, no good ever
came of flight. We will rout the enemy
and recover your cows. You will have all
the glory." With these words Arjuna lifted
the prince on to the chariot and, putting
the reins in his hands, asked him to drive
towards a tree near the burial ground.
Drona, who was watching all this intently,
knew that the fantastically dressed
charioteer was Arjuna and shared his
knowledge with Bhishma.



Duryodhana turned to Karna and said:
"Why should we worry who he is? Even if
he is Arjuna, he will be only playing into
our hands, for his being discovered will
send the Pandavas to the forest for another
twelve years."



As soon as they came near the tree
Brihannala bade the prince get down,
climb the tree and take down the arms
hidden there. The prince said in alarm and
grief: "People say that what hangs on this
tree is the corpse of an old huntress. How
can I touch a dead body? How can you
ask me to do such a thing?"



Arjuna said: "It is not a corpse, prince. I
know that it contains the weapons of the
Pandavas. Climb up the tree bravely and
bring them down. Do not delay."
Seeing that resistance was of no avail
Uttara climbed up the tree as Brihannala
had asked him to and took, in great
disgust, the bag tied up there and came
down.



When the leather bag was opened, he saw
weapons as bright as the sun. Uttara stood
amazed at the sight of the gleaming
weapons and covered his eyes.
He mustered courage and touched them.



The touch seemed to send a stream of
hope and high courage into him. He asked
with ardor: "O charioteer, what a wonder!
You say that these bows, arrows and
swords belong to the Pandavas. They have
been deprived of their kingdom and they
have retired to the forest. Do you know
them? Where are they?"



Then Arjuna told him briefly how they
were all in Virata's court. He said:
"Kanka, who serves the king, is
Yudhishthira. Valala, the cook who
prepares such nice dishes for your father,
is none other than Bhima. Sairandhri, for
insulting whom Kichaka was killed, is
Draupadi. Dharmagranthi, who looks after
the horses and Tantripala, the keeper of
the cows, are Nakula and Sahadeva
respectively. I am Arjuna. Be not afraid.



O prince, you will soon see me defeat the
Kauravas even in the sight of Bhishma,
Drona and Aswatthama and recover the
cows. You will also gain renown and it
will be a lesson to you."



Then Uttara folded his hands and said: "O
Arjuna, how fortunate I am to see you
with my own eyes! So, Arjuna is the
victorious hero whose very contact has
put heart and courage into me. Forgive the
wrongs I have done through ignorance."



As they approached the Kaurava host,
Arjuna recounted some of his heroic
deeds, so that Uttara might not lose grip of
his newly awakened courage. Arriving in
front of the Kauravas, he got down,
prayed to God, removed the conchbangles
from his hands and put on leather
gauntlets.



He then tied a cloth on his flowing hair,
stood facing the east, meditated on his
armor, got into the chariot and gloried in
the familiar feel of his famous Gandiva
bow. He stringed it and thrice twanged the
string whose shrill note raised an echo
from all sides.



Hearing the sound, the heroes of the
Kaurava army said to one another: "This
surely is Gandiva's voice." When Arjuna
stood on the chariot in all his godlike
stature and blew his conch Devadatta, the
Kaurava army was alarmed and a frenzied
shout arose that the Pandavas had come.
The story of Uttara, who spoke boastfully
in the ladies' boudoirs and fled in panic at
the sight of the hostile array, his not been
introduced in the Mahabharata, merely as
a comic interlude.



It is in ordinary human nature to look with
contempt on lower levels of conduct in
ability. The rich scorn the poor, the
beautiful scorn the plain, and the strong
scorn the weak. Brave men despise
cowards. But Arjuna was no ordinary
man. He was a great soul and a true hero
who felt that his duty as a strong, brave
man was to help others to rise above their
weakness.



Knowing that nature had endowed him
with courage and bravery at birth, and that
he owed them to no special exertions on
his part, he had the true humility of the
really great. And he did what he could to
put courage into Uttara and make him
worthy of his lineage. This was Arjuna's
characteristic nobility. He never abused
his strength and power. One of his many
names is Bibhatsu, which means one who
shrank from doing an unworthy act, and
he lived up to it.



Next : 47. PROMISE FULFILLED


Continues......