Parva 1 Chapter 39: akrūra caritam - legend of akrūra - legend of syamantaka-jewel [contd]

King akrūra of babhru family had a long time desire to possess syamantaka-jewel, for which purpose, he asked satrā-jit for the hand of the virtuous lady satya-bhāma... but when he found that the jewel had been stolen by kṛṣṇa he is mortified, and when kṛṣṇa returned it to satrā-jit, his desire is freshened... but now satyabhama is not there with satrājit to seek in marriage... hence he conspired with shata-dhanva, the son of hṛdīka, another bhoja, to ‘somehow’ bring the jewel, but shatadhanva ignobly murdered satrājit in the mid of night, stole the jewel, and trusted it over to king akrūra... In other readings akrūra did not say to shatadhanva to murder satājit in the mid of the night like a coward. But shatadhanva did so out of his devilish greed, and he brings the jewel to akrūra requesting him to hide it, which akrūra refuses in the first instance, and accepts at a later stage. In fact there are three who tried to gain satyabhāma, as well as the jewel... they are akrūra, kṛta-varma, and this shata-dhanva; all the three felt underrated when bhāma and jewel are given to kṛṣṇa, hence the revenge. This has got parallels with rukmiṇi-kalyāṇa legend. akrūraḥ tu tato ratnam ādāya bharatarṣabha | samayaṁ kārayāṁ cakre na a-vedyo ahaṁ tvaya iti uta || 1-39-4 vayam abhyupayāsyāmaḥ kṛṣṇena tvām abhidrutam | mama adya dvārakā sarvā vashe tiṣṭhati asaṁśayam || 1-39-5 Taking that jewel from shatadhanva, akrūra made a pact with him saying, “If kṛṣṇa attacks you, we both will have to counter-attack him, because we both are sailing in the same boat close to the wind called kṛṣṇa... hence, I wish you’d not divulge that the jewel is with me now... forsooth, the whole of dvārka is now under my control, no doubt about it...” saying so akrūra left for the city kāśi... hate pitari duḥkha ārtā satyabhāmā yaśasvinī | prayayau ratham āruhya nagaraṁ vāraṇāvatam || 1-39-6 satyabhāmā tu tat vṛttaṁ bhojasya śatadhanvanaḥ | bhartur nivedya duḥkha ārtā pārśvastha aśrūn nyavartayat || 1-39-7 pāṇḍavānāṁ tu dagdhānāṁ hariḥ kṛtva udaka kriyām | kulya arthe cāpi pāṇḍūnāṁ nyayojayata sātyakim || 1-39-8 tataḥ tvaritam āgatya dvārakāṁ madhusūdanaḥ | When her father king satrājit is murdered, the illustrious satyabhāma is perturbed and repaired to the city of vāraṇāvata on a chariot, where kṛṣṇa is attending the funeral rites of pāṇḍavā-s that are by then burnt in the lac house built by duryodhana... reaching there she clung to her husband in anguish, and tearfully informed him what shatadhanva of the bhoja race had perpetrated... Then madhusūdana assigned the duty of attending the funeral rites of pāṇḍavā-s to sātyaki and reached dvāraka post-haste... pārśvastha= in the flank, clung to; kulya arthe= funeral rite, for the purpose of – for continuing. pūrvajaṁ halinaṁ śrīmān idaṁ vacanam abravīt || 1-39-9 hataḥ prasenaḥ siṁhena satrājit śatadhanvanā | syamantakaḥ sa mat gāmī tasya prabhuḥ ahaṁ vibho || 1-39-10 tat āroha rathaṁ śīghraṁ bhojaṁ hatvā mahābalam | syamantako mahābāho hi asmākaṁ sa bhaviṣyati || 1-39-11 On reaching dvāraka kṛṣṇa spoke like this to his elder brother bala-rāma, the plough-wielder: “as to how a lion killed prasena-jit, shatadhanvana killed satrā-jit... feral avid coups... somehow, that jewel syamantaka is advancing towards me, and hence I shall be its freeholder... therefore, 0 mighty armed hero, let us go to eliminate that highly powerful shatadhanva... let us enchariot immediately to begin the foray... then make that syamantaka-jewel as ours... tataḥ pravavṛte yuddhaṁ tumulaṁ bhoja kṛṣṇayoḥ | śatadhanvā tato'krūram avaikṣat sarvato disham || 1-39-12 saṁrabdhau tau ubhau dṛṣṭvā tatra bhoja janārdanau | śakto'pi śāṭhyāt hārdikyam akrūro na abhyapadyata || 1-39-13 There ensued a terrible battle between shatadhanva of bhojā-s and kṛṣṇa, in which shatadhanva, unable to fight with both janārdanā-s, kṛṣṇa and bala-rāma, looked ahead to the help from akrūra, but in vain... though akrūra is capable, somehow, he has not come to the succour of the demoralised shatadhanva, the son of hṛ+dīka... apa-yāne tato buddhiṁ bhojaḥ cakre bhaya-arditaḥ | yojanānāṁ śataṁ sa agraṁ hayayā pratyapadyata || 1-39-14 vikhyātā hṛdayā nāma śata-yojana-gāminī | bhojasya vaḍavā rājan yayā kṛṣṇam ayodhayat || 1-39-15 kṣīṇāṁ javena ca hayām adhvanaḥ shata-yojane | dṛṣṭvā rathasya tāṁ vṛddhiṁ śatadhanvānamārdayat || 1-39-16 tataḥ tasyā hayāyāḥ tu śramāt khedāt ca bhārata | kham utpetur atha prāṇāḥ kṛṣṇo rāmam athābravīt || 1-39-17 Thereat stricken with fear shatadhanwa thought of fleeing, and suddenly galloped a distance of a hundred yojanā-s in fright, because he has a horse called hṛdaya which can zip for a maximum of hundred yojanā-s in a single scoot... yet, kṛṣṇa’s chariot chased him with twice that speed, as it were, because the horses yoked to his chariot, namely sainya, sugrīva, megha-puṣpa, valāhaka, are more horsepowered in mpm, [miles per minute] speed... seeing the pace of the chasing chariot of kṛṣṇa, shatadhanva charged his horse to quickly cover more distance, but it collapsed since it is overcharged, and the lives of that horse galloped skyward,... dismounting the dead horse then shatadhanva started to run on foot... tiṣṭhasva iha mahābāho dṛṣṭa-doṣā hayā mayā | padbhyāṁ gatvā hariṣyāmi manī-ratnaṁ syamantakam || 1-39-18 Then kṛṣṇa said to his brother bala-rāma: "O mighty armed brother, please stay here for a while... there appears a drawback with our horses- dṛṣṭa-doṣā hayā... they need rest... that desperado took to his feet... so, I too will chase him on foot and expropriate - hariṣyāmi - that syamantaka-jewel...” then bala-rāma stayed behind and kṛṣṇa ran after shatadhanva... Or Then kṛṣṇa said to his brother bala-rāma: "O mighty armed brother, please stay here for a while... there appears a drawback with his horse... it is put to rest - dṛṣṭa-doṣā hayā – that desperado took to his feet... so, I too will chase him on foot and help myself to - hariṣyāmi - that syamantaka-jewel...” then bala-rāma stayed behind and kṛṣṇa ran after shatadhanva... padbhyām eva tato gatvā śatadhanvānam achyutaḥ | mithilām abhito rājan jaghāna parama astra vit || 1-39-19 syamantakaṁ ca na apashyat hatvā bojaṁ mahābalam | nivṛttaṁ ca abravīt kṛṣṇaṁ ratnaṁ dehi iti lāṅgalī || 1-39-20 na asti iti kṛṣṇaḥcha uvāca tato rāmo ruṣānvitaḥ | Thereupon, o king janamejaya, going on foot, achyuta aka kṛṣṇa, highly skilled in the use of arms, killed shatadhanwa almost near at mithila province... though kṛṣṇa slew the highly powerful bhoja king shatadhanva, he did not find syamantaka-jewel on his body, and he cheerlessly got back to his brother... seeing kṛṣṇa’s return from his pursuit balarāma asked him "where is that jewel... give it me..." “It is not there with him... my effort is bootless...” said kṛṣṇa to balarāma... dhik śabdam asakṛt kṛtvā prati uvāca janārdanam || 1-39-21 bhrātṛtvāt marṣayāmi eṣa svasti te astu vrajāmi aham | kṛtyaṁ na me dvārakayā na tvayā na ca vṛṣṇibhiḥ || 1-39-22 Thereat bala-rāma is enraged repeatedly exclaiming “Fie, fie upon you..." and he said to janārdana, "so far, I have been countenancing your hoaxes and humbugs because you are my brother... no more of it... now, I have nothing to do with you or with vṛṣṇi-s, or with dvāraka... let me break our bonds asunder... fare thee well, for I must leave thee...” pravivesha tato rāmo mithilām ari-mardanaḥ | sarva kāmaiḥ upachitaiḥ maithilena abhipūjitaḥ || 1-39-23 bala-rāma thus parting with kṛṣṇa went to mithila city where the king of mithila received him reverently, providing all meetly comforts... and bala-rāma stayed there for sometime... etasmin eva kāle tu babhrur matimatāṁ varaḥ | nānā rūpān kratūn sarvān ājahāra nirargalān || 1-39-24 dīkṣām ayaṁ sa kavacaṁ rakṣa arthaṁ pravivesha ha | syamantaka-kṛte prājṣo gāndī-putro mahāyaśāḥ || 1-39-25 atha ratnāni ca agryāṇi dravyāṇi vividhāni ca | ṣaṣṭiṁ varṣāṇi dharmātmā yajṣeṣu viniyojayat || 1-39-26 akrūra yajṣā iti te khyātāḥ tasya mahātmanaḥ | bahu anna dakṣiṇāḥ sarve sarva kāma pradāyinaḥ || 1-39-27 In the meanwhile the most intelligent akrūra, the dynast of babhru, collecting various articles at the beneficence of syamantaka-jewel, which procuration is otherwise not-so-easy affair, embarked to perform numerous vedic rituals; that highly illustrious son of lady gāndini, namely akrūra, entering into the initiatory rites of vedic rituals, which served him like an armour – dīkśa kavacam - he employed most excellent jewels, numerous other articles, and distributed a variety foodstuffs and donations, free-for-all in those rituals; thus he continued to perform vedic rituals for sixty years, whereby those vedic rituals of that high-souled akrūra, have been denominated for their lavish performing as ‘akrūra yajṣā-s’, vedic rituals of akrūra... atha duryodhano rājā gatvā tu mithilāṁ prabhuḥ | gadā-śikṣāṁ tato divyāṁ balabhadrāt avāptavān || 1-39-28 During the period of balarāma’s stay at mithila city, duryodhana of kauravā-s went to mithila and learned the intricacies of mace-fight from balarāma... prasādya tu tato rāmo vṛṣṇi andhaka mahārathaiḥ | ānīto dvārakām eva kṛṣṇena ca mahātmanā || 1-39-29 Later, kṛṣṇa, along with other chariot-warriors of vṛṣṇi and andhaka dynasties like ugrasena et al. went to mithila and propitiated balarāma to come home establishing that syamantaka jewel is not in his custody, and when balarāma became flexile, then they led him forth to dvāraka... akrūraḥ tu andhakaiḥ sārdham atha āyāt bharatarṣabha | hatvā satrājitaṁ yuddhe saha bandhuṁ mahābalam || 1-39-30 jṣāti bheda bhayāt kṛṣnaḥ tam upekṣitavān atha | Much later to the murder of satrājit by shatadhanva, and later to akrūra’s performance of vedic rituals etc, there occurred a tussle among yādava clansmen and one yādava killed another yādava, named shatrughna... akrūra took the side of killed yādava, and there ensued a skirmish, in which akrūra’s side is defeated and he fled along with fleeing andhaka kinsmen... noticing further infighting among his own clansmen, kṛṣṇa remained unflappable... This verse is a kliṣṭānvayi – cumbersome to parse. Where is akrūra in all these days, in kāśi, mathura or in dvāraka... performing huge vedic rituals without the knowledge of kṛṣṇa... etc, etc questions will pop up, with this and next verses... apa-yāte tatha akrūre na avarṣat pākaśāsanaḥ || 1-39-31 anāvṛṣṭyā yadā rājyam abhavat bahudhā kṛśam | tataḥ prasādayāmāsur akrūraṁ kukura andhakāḥ || 1-39-32 punaḥ dvāravatīṁ prāpte tasmin dānapatau tataḥ | pravavarṣe sahasrākṣaḥ kacche jala-nidheḥ tadā || 1-39-33 When akrūra went away indra did not cause rain... and when the country is cripplingly devastated with famine, then kukurā-s and andhakā-s began to assuage akrūra...and when the liberal akrūra returned to dvāraka the thousand-eyed indra began to discharge showers on the sea coast where dvāraka is situated... kacche= sa+jale; tīra pradeshe; hence, the name Kutch, in Rann of Kutch, near at gujarāt. kanyāṁ ca vāsudevāyā svasāraṁ śīla-saṁmatām | akrūraḥ pradadau dhīmān prītyarthaṁ kurunandana || 1-39-34 “O, janamejaya, the dynast of kurus... besides, the intelligent akrūra gave his chastely sister to kṛṣṇa in order to please him... atha vijṣāya yogena kṛṣṇo babhru gataṁ maṇim | sabhā-madhye gataṁ prāha tam akrūraṁ janārdanaḥ || 1-39-35 yat tat ratnaṁ maṇi-varaṁ tava hasta gataṁ vibho | tat prayacchasva mānārhaṁ mayi mā an-āryakaṁ kṛthāḥ || 1-39-36 ṣaṣṭi varṣe gate kāle yat roṣo abhūt mama anagha | sa saṁrūḍho asakṛt prāptaḥ tataḥ kāla atyayo mahān || 1-39-37 Guessing by his riches and liberality so far shown by akrūra, kṛṣṇa concluded that the syamantaka jewel must be with him alone... then janārdana said to him in the midst of an assembly, "cede that syamantaka-jewel that is in thy possession so far, O king akrūra, to me... let honour be with you... no swindling please... the wrath raked in me by a series of arraignments levelled at me, just owing to that jewel, has not subsided for the last sixty years... much is the time that lapsed in this hide-and-seek... so, show it up... tataḥ kṛṣṇasya vacanāt sarva sāttvata saṁsadi | pradadau taṁ maṇiṁ babhrur akleshena mahāmatiḥ || 1-39-38 tataḥ tam ārjava-prāptaṁ babhror hastāt ariṁdamaḥ | dadau hṛṣṭa-manāḥ kṝṣṇaḥ taṁ maṇiṁ babhrave punaḥ || 1-39-39 sa kṛṣṇa hastāt saṁprāptaṁ maṇiratnaṁ syamantakam | ābadhya gāndhinī putro virarāja aṁśumān iva || 1-39-40 Thereupon at the counsel of kṛṣṇa the high-minded akrūra unexcitedly, took off his upper cloth, untied a parcel tied at its end, took out a golden casket, opened it and exposed syanataka-jewel whereby the whole assembly became fulgent... then akrūra gave the jewel to kṛṣṇa in the midst of the assembled sātwatā-s, aka yādavās... receiving the jewel from akrūra who gave it away with all simplicity, hari, the repressor of enemies, trifled with it for some time, and returned it to akrūra, as a restitution, with a delighted heart... on receiving the jewel from kṛṣṇa 's hands akrūra, the son of lady gāndini, without concealing it anymore, now hung it loose on his chest whereby he appeared dazzling like the sun... kṛṣṇa toyed with that jewel for sometime pondering as to who should possess it. There are only three people to have it; firstly, it is lady bhāma who should have it; but her brusqueness does not warrant it; then comes tāla-dhvaja, aka bala-rāma, named so because his ensign is palm-tree; but he is a happy-go-lucky personality least bothered for making much of rituals etc, but much bothered for wine-and-dine affairs; next comes kṛṣṇa himself; he cannot go on sitting to peacefully perform rituals and patiently go on giving carities, leaving other works. So, it is akrūra who remained as the best of bad lot to have the jewel. These celestial items like jewels, chariots, bows etc, obtained needlessly, will not stay in someone’s house without calamities, if that householder is unscrupulous about them. This syamantaka jewel is a giver. It gives loads and loads of gold etc whenever requisitioned. At the same time, it insists on the circulation of wealth it has given, through philanthropy. Neither satrājit, nor prasena-jit, nor shatadhanva are givers in take-and-give syndrome. So, they ceased to exist, one by one. Hence, kṛṣṇa chicaned balarāma out of it. Ultimately, because kṛṣṇa is also not a laissez-aller-giver, he thought that it is better akrūra have this jewel because he already opened some free-distribution centres of all sorts. yaḥ tu evaṁ śṛṇuyāt nityaṁ shuchir bhūtvā samāhitaḥ | sukhānāṁ sakalānāṁ ca phala bhāgi iha jāyate || 1-39-41 A-brahma bhuvanāt cāpi yaśaḥ khyātiḥ na saṁśayaḥ | bhaviṣyati nṛpaśreṣṭha satyam etat bravīmi te || 1-39-42 He who listens to this episode of syamantaka-jewel collectedly with a spiritual-mind will acquire all the desired fruits in this world and his renown ascends even up to the abode of brahma... I tell this truly... --o)0(o-- iti śrīmanmahābhārate khileṣu harivaṁśe harivaṁśaparvaṇi – akrūra caritam nāma - ekonacatvāriṁśo'dhyāyaḥ Thus, this is the thirty-ninth chapter of first canto called harivamsha-parva, in harivamśa-purāṇa, the sequel of mahābhārata, narrating the legend of akrūra, along with the legend of syamantaka–jewel.