43. Brimming with joy Bhim embraces Arjun, Duryodhan panicky

The words soon spread around. Dhritarashtra was greatly upset. Duryodhan and his brothers were nervous. Arjun’s brothers were ecstatic. Bhim beyond himself with joy embraced his worthy younger sibling. He always had a very high regard for Arjun’s talent. But Arjun himself was quite reticent. With great poise and equanimity, he looked for opportunities to add more to his acquisitions. He continued to attend to the steadfast service of his Master, and practise very hard in the line dictated by Dronacharya. With blessings and benevolence of his worthy Guru, Arjun surpassed all other fellow disciples. Many begun calling him as the greatest archer of the planet!

42. Arjun gets Brahmastra from Dronacharya

Over the next few days the Guru kept a track of both the disciples. Although he had a natural bias for his son, he could not help liking Arjun equally if not more, as the Pandava prince was proving to be more devoted, talented, self-possessed and above all a worthy learner.

In an auspicious day, the Master called Arjun and said,

‘Son, I am satisfied by your progress and intend to hand you over one of the most powerful divyastras. this is a brahmastra by category and as such infallible. Most certainly it would destroy the target. Are you ready to receive?’ he asked Arjun.

‘It is my fortune Sir, that you deem me to be fit for the weapon. I am at your feet to learn.’ – Arjun replied.

Dronacharya gave a brief background:

‘This weapon is called “Brahmashir’. My Guru Agnivesh received it from Saint Agastya and gave it to me after I pleased him with hard work and devotion. And now I give it to you as I find you to be the fittest of all my disciples including my son Aswathama, to tell you the truth. But..’ he seemed to be pondering a while keeping Arjun in great suspense.

‘But what Sir? Kindly order me. I am prepared to undergo any hardship as you may ask of me, whether you give me this weapon or not. I count your blessings more important than anything else.’ – Arjun submitted with poise, dignity and devotion.

Dronacharya did not seem to listen these words. After some pause, he continued from where he had left,

‘ But you need to promise me two things. First, you must never make a wrong use of it – in fact, on the humans as they are too weak to withstand its immense force. May be you would find it useful against brute force like demons or extra territorial forces like Gandharvas. Second, you must give me words that, should the situation demands, you will not be afraid to fight against me, your Guru,.’

Arjun agreed. Touching the lotus feet of Dronacharya, he said, ‘Master, I promise’. As the hugely powerful weapon passed from Guru to his disciple, there was a metamorphosis in Arjun’s life. His confidence grew enormously at one stroke. He had a feeling he could now fight against any force in the creation – in the world, netherworld and heaven.

41. Shall be watching your progress- so said Guru Dronacharya

Two worthy disciples were listening with rapt attention. They looked at their Guru with reverence. Their eyes however sought to ask him if he finds them worthy for this purpose. The Guru understood the silent question and cleared the air:

‘I have no doubt about your competence – both of you. You have already excelled in traditional archery. I am happy you can shoot arrows in hundreds and thousands without a break. You have also managed to handle some of the primary grades of divyastras. By that capability, you have already transported yourselves to a different league - you are already admired by your fellow disciples, but’ …..,

the Master continued:

‘These little achievements must not make you complacent. You have potential to achieve more… much more, I’m sure of that. Look! The ability of a great archer is proved not so much in using a divyastra but in being able to withdraw it if the situation demands so – I mean calling back the weapon after launching it. That is indeed an extremely onerous task and requires harder training. Now I would tell you what you must do to achieve that proficiency.’

Then Dronacharya explained the matter in details to both disciples. By the time his talks ended all princes returned and the Guru permitted all of them to break for lunch. Before taking leave Arjun and Aswathama touched his revered feet, as the Master whispered into their ears: ‘I shall be watching your progress!’

40. Arjun and Aswathama belong to a different league of archers

It was a sultry summer noon, Guru Dronacharya was seen sitting under a banyan tree with two of his most favourite disciples – Arjun and Aswathama. He was giving them special lessons. His other disciples were sent to fetch water from the nearby river and they had not returned till then. The princes had a very hard training schedule right from the dawn. They were therefore enjoying the break and seemed to be in no hurry to return. But these two would not like to loose even seconds – especially Arjun was keen to make use of every bit of the waking hours in taking new lessons from his Guru. At present, Dronacharya was taking a special session on ‘divyastra’. Earlier he had told his disciples about both Divyastras and Brahmastras. It was time to begin imparting the lessons to the deserving few. He was thus addressing his most favourite disciple Arjun and his son Aswathama, whom he felt worthy:

‘Divyastras are not for every one. Didn’t I try hard enough to teach these to many of you, but how many have been able to grasp? Few… very few.. ‘ and he continued heaving a sigh,

‘The fact is that divyastras are very powerful weapons that can cause huge destruction of men and material. To handle that power, mere skill does not suffice. One has to develop psychic power. One has to have exemplary self restraint and a meditative mind. Look, such weapons are driven by mantras. Thus only warriors of elevated and focused mind can impart them with life force. These weapons mobilize elemental forces from the Nature which make them so powerful and devastating.’

39. Dhritarashtra and Bhisma

Bhisma understood Dhritarashtra's desire for expansion of his kingdom. But he well knew this was no easy matter, but could happen if only the King was judicious especially with regard to making the choice of his successor. He thus put forth his views:

 

‘But there’s a necessary condition to make this happen. You have to make a statesman’s choice when selecting the crown prince – the one who will succeed you. He can make or mar things.’

At this rejoinder, the blind king again sank into whirlpool of thoughts. He loved his sons dearly and more so Duryodhan. He always longed to see him as his successor. At the same time, he knew Yudhisthir was more competent to shoulder the responsibility. Bhisma, Dronacharya, Kripacharya and other elders and the citizens of Hastinapur were in praise of the eldest son of Kunti and not Duryodhan. As he thought more and more his discomfort only aggravated. So he decided to wind up the session and retire to the palace to share his anxiety with Gandhari.

38. Princes of Hastinapuri will conquer the world!

This brief description of the kings and princes in the holy land of Bharat, some neighbouring and some others distant, did not give much comfort to the blind king.

‘As you say, formidable are these kings and their countries. Sir, tell me as to how then to extend the power of Hastinapur? I am damned, a born blind person.’ 

Seeing him despondent, Bhisma comforted the King:

‘King, you have no reason to give up hope. Look, I alone can conquer all these kings. But then..’

Eager Dhritarashtra could not wait even for seconds, ‘But what Sire?’.

Bhisma sympathised with his impatience and continued,

‘I have grown old and therefore shall not be around to protect the acquisitions for long. The young princes – I mean Kunti’s and your sons are the hopes of Hastinapur. They are being groomed very well by Dronacharya, the most revered of all masters. They will restore the past glories of Hastinapur. May be they would accomplish even more than their ancestors.’

Dhritarashtra was happy. He dreamt of Duryodhan ruling over a vast Kaurava kingdom. But his reverie was snapped by Bhisma:

37. Dhritarashtra and Bhisma discussing plans for conquest

Dhritarashtra was both happy and unhappy hearing Bhisma – happy because he could avoid an immediate engagement with an issue he did not really feel concerned; unhappy because, Srikrishna was the nephew of Kunti. The blind king’s gut assessment was that Shrikrishna would be closer to Kunti’s sons than his. Thoughts of future flashed through his mind. He knew the nature of his sons and sons of Kunti and tried to figure out how would they be affected if Shrikrishna were really the incarnation of God, as Bhisma said.

The Kaurava king grew sullen as he pondered over the future possibilities. All these days, he never apprehended any external influence on the balance of power between the Kaurava and Pandava princes. But now, if Bhisma was to be believed, a new and formidable source of power had now risen in the horizon. Dhritarashtra sank deep in thoughts to search out an alternative that could somehow allay this nascent fear of Srikrishna. But as a seasoned diplomat he was determined not to betray his thoughts. As if he discounted the account given by Bhisma, Dhritarashtra asked him:

‘Sire, for long Kauravas have not gone for conquests. Brother Pandu had spread the fame of the Kuru dynasty far and wide through conquests. But, I, an ill-fated, a born blind.... have not been able to maintain those, let alone add to it. Now, please inform me about the feasibility of a conquest plan.’

To that Bhisma said:

‘King, in this holy land of ancestor Bharat, there are many mighty and powerful kings who are not easy to subjugate. Let me mention some of them. Look at the Far East. Bhagadatta ruling over Pragjyotishpur and vast stretch of coastal countries is simply formidable. He has friendship with  Indra - the Lord of the Heavens. While he rides high on his huge elephant in the battlefield, his enemies simply give up hope of life. In Magadh Jarasandha reigns supreme – his name casts fears in neighboring kingdoms. In the southwest the Matsya kingdom is quite powerful. Its king Birat and his brother-in-law Kichak are powerful warriors. Matsya’s neighbor, I mean the Trigarta kings are also valorous and would fight to the finish to retain their dignity. Five princes ruling the kingdom of Kekoy have surpassed most contemporary royalties by their prowess, courage and gallantry. King Bhismak of Bhojkotpur appears as Lord Yama to his enemies in the battleground. King Shallya of Madra, the uncle of the Pandavas, is also a renowned warrior and feared by opponents. King Sudakhsin of Kamboj, and King Brihadwal of Ayodhya are always avoided by enemies such are their prowess. King, this holy land has many more of such illustrious rulers. They are indeed difficult to exceed.’